“Can I see the rest of your house?” I asked her, kissing her plump lips again, and feeling them curve up into a smile against my own.
“You mean, the bedroom?” Kate asked me. Her voice had transformed into that low, sexy whisper that made ache for her.
“We can start there, sure.” I had every intention of having her in every room of her house. On every surface of her house. Up against every wall, on every floor. Against the doors, the windows. Everywhere. Hell, I’d fuck her on the ceiling if we could figure that out. But we could start with the bed. That was fine with me.
Kate’s small bedroom was painted a brilliant eggplant purple, and everything inside it was ivory and white. The lamp in the corner washed everything with a warm glow. The room was neat, stylish, and lovely, but I didn’t have the energy or capacity to appreciate it at the moment. The only thing I could think about was getting Kate out of her little blue dress.
She worked down the hidden zipper underneath her left arm, shrugging out of her dress and sending it down to pool around her feet. Underneath, she wore a tight, sexy bustier with laces in the back and a tiny thong. All her lingerie was in a light, blush pink, which just happened to match her heels perfectly. My lips parted in appreciation and surprise. Thought had definitely gone into this sexy ensemble, and it showed.
“Whoa,” I managed. “You look--” I trailed off, looking for an appropriate adjective but utterly hypnotized by what I was seeing. If I were a cartoon character, my eyes would have been bugging out and my jaw would be dragging along the ground.
Holy hell.
“You like?” she asked in her bedroom voice, spinning around to display her mostly bare, entirely fuckable, round ass for me.
“You’re beautiful,” I told her. I’m sure she could hear the awe in my voice. Saying that I merely ‘liked’ her in sexy lingerie was the understatement of the century.
Unable to wait any longer to touch her, I steered her by the waist to the bed, pressing her down into the coverlet and touching every inch of her long, smooth legs. Every time our skin touched, a little ping of electricity shot through me.
Although this wasn’t our first time together, it still felt brand new for me. I was certain that it always would. She was unbelievable. Getting used to her would be like getting used to seeing a unicorn. It just couldn’t happen.
Kate’s big, blue eyes shined in the low light of her bedroom. My cock was hard enough to hurt, and when her mischievous fingers worked down my zipper and found me, I gasped and nearly came in her hands then and there like a teenager.
“I want you,” she whispered up at me, stroking eagerly with one hand while unbuttoning my shirt with the other. “I want to taste you.” She licked her plump lips and stared at my cock eagerly.
That was an invitation I would never, ever turn down.
When she wrapped her lips around me, my hands shook from the intensity of the feeling. Her mouth was paradise. There could be nothing better than watching Kate suck my cock in her little corset and thong. She worked on me like I was a puzzle she wanted to solve, or a game she wanted to win. I was more than willing to let her play with me, except that she was much too good at it. Every stroke was pure bliss. Her wet lips and smooth, hot tongue would make short work of me. I knew there was no way I could hold out for long.
“You’re going to make me come way too quickly if you keep that up,” I told her, grabbing her hair at the nape of her neck and holding her back. Her tongue flicked out to brush me one last time, and I shivered. I knew I’d have to get her back for that. “My turn.”
We maneuvered a bit on the bed and then I worked her insubstantial little thong down those long, gorgeous legs. Did she really think she was too tall? It must have been the jealousy of other women that convinced her of that. She was all legs, and they were absolutely flawless.
But not as flawless, or as perfect as the pink pussy that lay exposed between her white thighs. I kissed her there hesitantly at first, savoring the clean, sweet taste of her. She smelled like woman and sex. Her pussy tasted as good at her mouth had felt on my cock a moment before, and the noises that she made when I worshipped her there were my reward. I took my time, lavishing attention on her and hoping she knew that it gave me just as much pleasure to give as to receive from her. She arched her back and touched the back of my head to urge me on, and I happily complied, adding my fingers to the mix eagerly.
I gazed up at her while I tasted her, seeing her biting her lip and rolling her hips. She was getting close. “Fuck,” she moaned. She was almost there. Her whole body was shaking as she fucked my face, and I used my thumb to press and rub her warm, swollen little clit. She came with a whimpering little moan. Her eyes were glassy and vacant when I dragged myself up to her level on the pillows, and her body was pliant under my hands.
“More,” she whispered into my lips, probably tasting herself on my mouth. I was glad she wanted more, because at this point I needed to use her pussy. I’d waited as long as I physically could.
I turned her on her side to face me and hitched her left leg up onto my right hip. I rolled the condom on with shaking hands. Her pussy was dripping wet when I notched my cock against her. She moaned when she felt it. “Please,” she begged. I penetrated her in one quick thrust, and it was only a few short strokes before she caught on, grinding her hips down against me and bouncing her tits against my chest. Neither one of us stood much of a chance of lasting very long.
Kate came again within moments, her mouth falling open in bliss and her back arching like a bow. I pushed her flat onto her back and pounded into her a few hard and fast strokes more. Her tight little pussy was still pulsing around me when I came. When I finally climaxed, it was hard enough that I collapsed atop her a second later, then realizing that I was probably crushing her, and rolling—cursing—onto the side. We lay there, panting, side by side for a long moment.
“I’m in love with you,” I told her a few minutes later.
“Hmm?” she replied, nuzzling into my side. She was about to fall asleep, I could tell.
This again? Poor sleepy Kate. What have I done to you?
“Nothing baby, you go to sleep,” I told her, still completely charmed that this was her reaction to orgasm. She was so, so sleepy. It was fucking adorable.
“Ok,” she mumbled, laying her head against my chest and wrapping one arm and one leg around me possessively. I carefully undid her little corset, not wanting her to have to sleep in something that looked so binding. By the time I got it off of her, she was completely out cold, and I was all but trapped half beneath her. I was apparently going to be her body pillow tonight. There were much worse fates. I settled in and kissed her forehead. I could tell her I loved her tomorrow. There was still time.
32
Kate
Six years ago…
The weeks and months went by, but I barely noticed their passing. I was just marking my time. Emails started piling up in my school inbox, professors were asking if I wanted to drop the classes I hadn’t been attending, and classmates were wondering if I was ill. My calendar pinged with assignment due dates and missed tests. My coach was calling to ask why I skipped practice. I ignored them all. None of it mattered anymore.
I took up smoking cigarettes, even though I didn’t have the money and knew it was an unhealthy habit. It looked cool, and my new friends did it, so I did it, too. And it gave me something to do with my hands while other people were eating. I no longer had any desire to eat. I’d lost probably fifteen pounds. It was the reverse freshman fifteen.
My new friends, a motley group of students that were the opposite of a good influence, took me under their collective, tattered wing and showed me all the different ways to self-medicate my new depression. Some ways were harmless: I got two tattoos and a few new piercings. Some ways were harmful: I tried drugs I never would have touched before. I drank, and I smoked, and I flirted with anyone that gave me the time of day. But all the strategies I tried were pointless. None of it really
made me feel better. Still, it didn’t make me feel any worse, either. At least I was distracted.
Eventually I found myself at a house party, staring across the crowded room at Cole. He was staring back at me in shock, clearly not expecting me there. And why would he? Why would I be invited to a party filled with upperclassmen? Well, because I was the life of the party now. I’d make out with anyone. I’d dance on tables. This was the new, improved Kate. Kate 2.0 couldn’t be rejected because Kate 2.o didn’t give a fuck about anything.
Except that Kate 2.0 was a lie. The moment I saw Cole, all my newfound bravado evaporated into nothing. I felt clearheaded for the first time in months. And it hurt.
I stole away from the frat boy I’d been flirting with and made my way outside to smoke a cigarette. I sat on the stairs of the back porch and prayed that Cole would leave me alone.
“You shouldn’t be here, Kate,” the low voice from behind me warned. I turned to face him reluctantly. He was still as goddamn perfect as he ever had been. It made me want to beg him to like me, and it just wasn’t fair. He moved to sit next to me on the stair and I leaned away from him. The nearness made me feel lightheaded.
“You really don’t need to babysit me, Cole. I’m a big girl.”
“Is that why you’re smoking cigarettes now? Because you’re a big girl?” His voice was skeptical.
I frowned and took another drag. “I’ve always smoked,” I lied.
He pulled the cigarette out of my hand and snuffed it out before going through my purse and confiscating the pack. “Don’t make me tell Ward about this.” He handed me a piece of gum instead. I unwrapped it and chewed it obstinately.
I didn’t want to deal with Ward knowing about Kate 2.0. I could buy more cigarettes tomorrow. Still…
“This is blackmail,” I told Cole.
“This is for your own good.”
“What do you know about what’s good for me?” My voice was bitter.
“A lot more than you think.” The bitterness in his tone gave me pause. I turned to look at him to see him staring at his shoes. His face was unexpectedly sad.
We sat in silence for a while. I’d expected him to go inside and leave me alone out here, but he didn’t. He just…stayed. He drank his beer and stared out at the lawn or his shoes. Every now and then he would steal a glance at me and then look away again. I stared at him unabashedly.
“What’s the matter with you?” I questioned. I was bold enough to ask now that I knew he didn’t like me. A guy like Cole had no right to be unhappy. He had everything. There was no girl at the party going on inside behind us that wouldn’t be thrilled to go home with him tonight. And that included the ones that had boyfriends.
Cole arched an eyebrow. “Me?”
“Yeah, you,” I laughed unkindly at him. “Why are you out here pouting with me? You should be in there,” I jerked my head in the direction of the door.
“I hate parties.”
“Really? I love them.” That was another lie. I didn’t mind parties, and I liked being social, but parties that were just about getting drunk and then pairing off made me depressed. This was definitely that kind of party.
“I hate the noise and I hate the crowds,” Cole told me. He poked at the laces in his shoe with a bobby pin he probably lifted from my purse. “I hate flirting with strangers and I hate it when strangers flirt with me.”
That was the entire point of parties like this. “Then why are you even here?”
He shrugged. Silence descended again. I thought he was never going to answer but eventually he sighed and said, “I have to at least pretend to be normal.”
“Why do you have to do that? I don’t bother.” Kate 2.0 didn’t care about being normal, although Kate 1.o hadn’t been particularly concerned with fitting in either. I’d been the odd one out all my life, so I guess I’d just gotten used to it after a while. Being stared at for being tall, or poor, or strange, it just no longer mattered to me. The stares just rolled off my back like water off a duck.
“Otherwise Ward and Lucas will get suspicious.”
My heart thumped in my chest. “Wait a second,” I said, and Cole looked over at me with wide eyes. Scared eyes. Holy shit. “Are you gay?” I asked, stunned.
Cole’s eyes got even bigger. Then he laughed. He laughed so hard that he started coughing from the leftover cigarette smoke and then laugh-coughed some more. When he finally stopped, he shook his head and chuckled. “No. I’m not gay, Kate.” His laughter bubbled up again and I scowled until it died down. “But thanks for the laugh.”
He might not be gay, but he was hiding something. I was now one hundred percent sure of that. “Then what are you worried about Ward and Lucas finding out about?”
Silence. We sat there a little longer. I was banking that if I just sat here for long enough he would answer me, and he did. “I’ve got a problem.”
“Is the problem that you’re attracted to men in a sexual way?” I ventured. I was still not convinced. It would be the simplest solution. Plus, it would make me feel a whole lot better. I found myself seriously hoping he was gay. Maybe if he was gay, we could at least be friends.
He rolled his eyes at me. “No. I’m not gay. I promise you that.” He sighed. “My problem is that I have an attraction to a woman who I shouldn’t have feelings for. If I sit around and sulk all day, Ward and Lucas will eventually figure it out.”
Oh no. He had a crush on someone else? Why couldn’t he have just been gay?
I didn’t know how to reply, so I didn’t. Cole continued to poke at his shoelaces with my bobby pin. I stared straight ahead of me at the green grass of the backyard. This house backed up to a golf course and it seemed to go on and on.
“This woman you like, why can’t you be with her?” I asked. It was a somewhat masochistic thing to ask, but I was too curious to protect myself. In fact, if I was smart, I’d have left this conversation a while back. But I’d never been very smart.
“It’s complicated.”
“We’ve got time.”
He looked over at me and took a sip of his beer. “She’s unattainable. Let’s just leave it at that.”
Unattainable? That could mean that she was already with someone. Or it could mean that she didn’t like him back. Or it could mean that she was a professor or something. Or it could mean that she lived in Canada. It could mean a lot of things. But I supposed it didn’t matter what the details were. He was in love with someone that he couldn’t have.
“I’m sorry,” I heard myself saying. “I know how that is.”
He paused mid-sip and then swallowed hard. He knew I was talking about him. “Thanks.” He didn’t sound all that thankful.
“Maybe you just need to get your mind off her,” I suggested. “That’s what I do when I’m sad about something. I find distractions.” I was thinking about the boring frat boy that I’d been flirting with all night. I wasn’t even sure I would recognize him if I went back inside. The only thing I’d really noticed about him was that he was wearing a polo shirt and boat shoes. That was pretty much the frat boy uniform though, so it didn’t help me narrow it down much.
“Why do you think I’m at this party tonight? I’m looking for a distraction.”
“Did you find one yet? There are plenty of pretty girls in there.”
“I found you. You’re pretty.”
His amber eyes looked dark brown in the moonlight. I thought at first that I’d misinterpreted what he was saying, but then he kissed me. Electricity and emotion poured through my veins, making my heart pound furiously. His soft lips were everything I’d ever wanted, and I was captivated by the feeling.
“Are you asking me to be your distraction?” I asked him when he pulled away.
“Only if you want to be.” His voice was the tiniest bit sad. It was almost like he wanted me to say no.
Instead, I kissed him again. We made out for a while and then walked out on the golf course together. We made love in the soft, green grass, under the full moon.
Cole didn’t know I was a virgin, but he was so gentle and giving with me that there was no pain. I came easily under his touch. He was so beautiful, and I was so nervous, but I gave myself to him completely. I could only hope that I was doing it right, although he showed no signs that I disappointed him. We lay for a bit in the grass, just breathing together in the dark. Then we walked back to the party, hand in hand, before going our separate ways.
My misadventures as Kate 2.0 continued until I got tired of her and then I had to bust my ass to catch up in my classes. I almost lost my scholarship, but somehow, I made it through my freshman year. I never saw Cole again during college.
33
Kate
Present day…
When I woke up the next morning, the sun was shining but my bed was empty. Cole must have gone home. I drew my knees up to my chest and tried not to feel abandoned. Tears were starting to burn the edges of my eyes and I fought against the feeling of loneliness. Then I heard the front door open and shut and steps down the hallway. Cole came around the corner with two cups and a bag from the donut place down the street. Relief flowed through me.
“You woke up!” he said. “I hoped I would get back before you did.”
I grinned at him, feeling foolish. Of course he wouldn’t disappear on me. Cole was a gentleman. “All is forgiven if there’s a glazed donut in that bag for me.”
“There might be.” His sexy smile was better than breakfast pastries.
Kiss Me Like You Missed Me Page 16
