by Ted Evans
“Hey, do you want to do something crazy?” I asked.
She glanced at me, eyebrows arched, but the other look had disappeared.
“Sure,” she said.
I opened my mouth, but didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, “Wow, I didn’t think you’d agree that quickly.”
She shrugged. “I have nothing better to do, and if you’d like to entertain me, I won't complain. What was it you wanted to do?”
“Let’s go see the Grand Canyon,” I suggested.
She looked like she was going to agree when she paused and pursed her lips. The excitement I didn’t even realize was starting to grow in my chest disappeared. I knew it. There was no way she’d go off with some strange guy. Sane people didn’t do that in the world we currently lived in.
“I would love to,” she said, surprising me yet again. “But I need to go soon. I’ve got no money, I’ll need to see if I can get something from my bank account, and I need to be out of my suite in…” she hesitated, then pulled out her phone to check the time. “In the next couple hours, though probably sooner than that…”
Then, she went on eating, like she saw nothing strange about the situation at all.
I watched her for a while, having forgotten to eat myself, but she was finishing up on her honeyed toast. She brushed off the crumbs onto the plate, then poured herself some water.
“So,” I started slowly, once she was finished. “If I took care of your room issue, you could stay longer?”
She frowned. “Why would you do that?”
“Let’s say I want to see the Grand Canyon. What room?”
She was still frowning, but she gave me her room number. Again, I had to sigh at this girl. Naïve, too innocent, or just too trusting? I had no idea which she was, but I didn’t find her calculating, either.
I set my plate on the table then got up. The hotel phone was on the desk a couple of feet away, and I made the call to reception. It was easy enough to extend her stay for a few days and have the tab charged to my room. The hotel was discreet, so I wasn’t asked any unnecessary questions. In less than five minutes, I turned back to Klara.
“It’s done,” I said with a grin. “You’ve got no excuse now, right?”
She stared at me for a moment, then huffed a laugh.
“Yeah. No excuses. But can I at least go to my room to get changed, first?”
Chapter Five
Klara
He let me go change, but he made me wait for him to finish his breakfast, then as I dumped the plates outside the room for room service, then he followed me back to my room. It was a smaller suite, but it at least had two rooms and a bathroom, and I had him wait in the front room as I changed.
I didn’t have time to wash my underwear, so I just folded it and put it far away in my suitcase. I’d have to remember it later.
Then, we headed out.
“How are we getting there?” I asked. “Do you have a car?”
I’d wasted money to get a flight, thinking I’d have to make my way back by bus, since I didn’t think the cash I had would be enough for much, and in the end didn’t last nearly as long as I’d hoped, anyway. It was just about everything I’d been saving up since I got my first job when I was sixteen, but until I finished high school, I used up more than I saved, so while it wasn’t little, it wasn’t a lot, either.
When I realized there was not much point in continuing to save it, since I had insurance for everything else, I used it up. Well, not all of it. There were still the funds in my savings account, which was half of the total, but they weren’t as easy to get my hands on. If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have bothered with it.
“I don’t have a car,” Jake said.
I whirled around to him, back to the present, my regrets pushed to the back of my mind for the time being.
Once I’m back home, I’ll worry about all of it, I told myself.
“If you don’t have a car, then how are we getting there?”
He grinned. “Well, I could always rent one, or hire one if I’d rather not drive, but I have a much better idea.”
I wasn’t sure what idea that was, but since I’d already said I was going, and he’d extended my stay at the hotel for a few days, I couldn’t just back out. So as he headed for the entrance to the hotel, I followed right behind him.
Normally, I wouldn’t be so trusting of a stranger. I wouldn’t have so readily agreed to spend time with him like this, even if I wasn’t interested. Though, if I was my usual self, I wouldn’t have ended up in Vegas in the first place.
Outside the hotel, a car was waiting for us. Jake had gone forward and was holding the door open, and I slipped inside. He told the driver where to go before getting inside after me, so I didn’t get to hear it.
“Hang on. You aren’t here alone, so shouldn’t you tell your brother and his friends that you’ll be leaving, at least? What if they come looking for you? A trip to the canyon will take hours, right?”
I’d thought of stopping by to see it, but it wasn’t on my way home, and I didn’t have the cash for it. Besides, between visiting the Grand Canyon and clubbing, I went with the wilder option. Not that I’d had any plan.
“There’s no need to worry about them,” Jake said dismissively. “Besides, I’m a grown man, I can take care of myself, so they won't be worrying.” Then, he grinned at me. “And we won't be taking near as long.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’ll see.”
There was some light traffic, but we arrived at our destination not long after, and my jaw dropped when I saw where we were going out.
“Are we supposed to be here?” I whispered.
Jake just grinned as the car stopped and he got out. I scrambled after him, then followed slowly behind him as he walked up to the helicopter.
“I’ve heard the helicopter tour is the best way to go for a better experience,” he explained, looking over his shoulder. “We’ll be able to see the whole canyon from above, and we’ll be making a few stops, too. It’ll be amazing.”
“Yeah, but how much was that cost,” I muttered.
I trusted his judgment since I didn’t know anyone who had been to the Grand Canyon, but if he expected me to pitch in for the cost, there was no way.
He chuckled. “Nothing for you to worry about. It’s not much extra to add one more person, and there’s no way I would have gone with the rest of the guys since there'd be too many of us. It’s also not the kind of thing you do for a bachelor party, and I don’t know when, or if, I’ll be back in Vegas again.”
I side-eyed him as he greeted and spoke to the pilot. He and his brother didn’t seem to be all that close since his dad had to talk him into going to his brother’s bachelor party. Though I had to wonder if he just felt cornered by them because they wanted something for him that he didn’t want for himself.
In a way, I thought we were similar in that way. I acted the way it was expected of me by my parents, but it wasn’t like I ever thought of going against them.
A lot of people wouldn’t believe it, but I was fine the way I was.
I was the girl who never once missed school, or tried to skip. I did my homework first thing before I got home, and unless I had a book to read or something, I was always studying. I wasn’t the top student at my school, but I was definitely at the top percentile. My parents never gave me a curfew, because when I went out with my friends, I always got myself home by five no matter what. I did chores when it was my turn to, with minor grumblings.
This didn’t change much when I went to college. I was introverted, too, so it wasn’t like I had a lot of friends to begin with, and I lost touch of a lot of them once college came up. I went to a good school not too far from home, and since I didn’t have to live at the school, I decided to continue staying at home and commute every day.
I lived very straight, and by some people’s standards, a very boring life. I was content with it. If I wanted some fun and excitement, I
would find a good book, or a good show, or whatever I could read or watch online, not to mention my large music collection. I would have continued to be that way, too. If not for the piece of news that changed everything.
Jake finished talking to the pilot, and he went ahead and opened the door to the helicopter after us. Jake startled me by grabbing my hand and dragging me in behind him with a huge grin on his face.
“Come on! This is going to be fun.”
I took his word for it as I got into the helicopter. We belted in, were handed headphones, and the blades started moving. My heart was beating hard in my chest before we even got off the ground, and when I felt Jake’s hand come over mine, I clutched onto it without thinking twice.
The pilot would occasionally speak up, and after getting spooked the first time, I got used to it.
Whoever told him about this, their advice was right. Seeing the Grand Canyon from the top was the best view, and it wasn’t like that was all we did. There were stops the helicopter made, where we could get out to stretch our legs and walk around for a bit before we had to head to our next stop.
The most enjoyable part, though, wasn’t the view, but being with Jake.
He was amazing, and spending the day with him made me realize that my attraction to him before wasn’t a fluke. It was also very much reciprocated. While we were in the helicopter, he would hold onto my hand. When we stepped out of it, he either had a hand on me or an arm around me.
For someone who’d only had two relationships, where one could be counted as innocent since the farthest that one got before we broke up was a few, chaste kisses.
This obvious attraction, though, was something I’d never experienced before. I didn’t know if it was amplified because of circumstances, and because I wasn’t holding back and acting shy like I usually would, but the entire time, I felt hot.
By the end of the tour, I realized I’d spent more time thinking about Jake touching me more than the great view.
The helicopter made the last stop, back in the city. Jake and I were both quiet as we left the helicopter. I assumed there would be a car to take us back to the hotel, but it hadn't arrived yet, and we ended up standing in wait. I was suddenly very aware of Jake’s arm that was wrapped around my waist. My heart was beating fast in my chest, and my hands were fidgeting in front of me, my fingers unable to stay still.
“Klara.”
I jumped, feeling a thump in my chest. I already knew his voice was amazing, but it seemed to have gone deeper as he said my name from so close. I let out a shaky breath as my heart beat a fast beat.
“Yes?” I said, and my voice came out a shaky whisper.
The arm around my waist squeezed, and my breath stuttered. I felt some disappointment when he pulled his arm away, but then he was turning me around. He cupped my face between his hands and leaned down to kiss me.
It was nothing like the kisses I’d had before. It wasn’t soft, or romantic, or sloppy. Yet still, I had a feeling he was holding himself back. It was a hard, hot, steamy kiss, and I trembled as my arms went around his shoulders.
Chapter Six
Jake
Klara was trembling. I’d only kissed her, and I thought she would shake apart in my arms.
Damn.
What happened to all those innocent intentions I had earlier? I was starting to wonder if I’d had any from the moment she fell into me at the club. Sure, I didn’t try coming onto her before, but that would’ve been in poor taste.
She was, however, a beautiful woman that I was spending the day with, and it was obvious the attraction wasn’t just on my part.
The first time, she didn’t seem to have any reaction, but that could have been because she was nervous for her first time on a helicopter. Every time after that, though, she’d kept blushing and fidgeting. More than once, I’d caught her staring at me when she thought I wasn’t looking.
Honestly, I wasn’t going to try anything. It wasn’t the reason I asked her to go out with me to the Grand Canyon. I did want to see it, and it meant time away from my brother, which was a good thing. But seeing her sweet reactions, I couldn’t help touching her more. She didn’t push me away; she seemed even to invite the touches. Not to mention the way she would look at me.
It was more instinct than common sense that had me doing what I did.
Even though I didn’t want to, I pulled back from the kiss. The limo would be arriving any time soon, and I didn’t want to give the driver a show.
“Sorry for doing that so suddenly,” I said in apology.
Klara didn’t reply, and my eyes opened, only for me to freeze.
Fuck it!
I was never one for the innocent types. Because I was pretty much the bad boy in high school, we’d be more than likely to butt heads, or never meet at all. But Klara had on the sweetest expression. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were parted and wet, a little swollen from the kiss. Her eyes were a little dazed as they stared up at me, hungry, and her arms were still holding onto me.
This had never happened before. Maybe it was a buried kink or something, because I’d popped a boner, and all she’d done was look at me.
“What?” she murmured, looking like she hadn't heard me at all.
I swallowed, suddenly feeling very conscious of her curves pressing against me.
This is so embarrassing. Was I a teenager, or what?
A sound made me look up, and I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.
“Oh, the limo is here.”
Klara immediately had on a disappointed expression. She frowned, and just like before, her lower lip stuck out. Before I’d thought it was cute, but right then, with her cheeks rosy, her lips still wet and swollen, she looked sexy.
Fuck!
My cock pulsed in my pants, but I ignored it. I pulled her arms off and shifted my jacket to hide my crotch. Thankfully, it was already getting dark.
Klara gasped when she saw the vehicle that pulled up to us. It was another arrangement I’d made for the day. After touring the Grand Canyon, we could have a long drive to check out some sites in the city. I thought it was time we just went back, though.
“Oh, wow,” Klara breathed out. “I’ve never been in a limo before.”
“Wait?” I asked, managing to sound mostly normal. “Not even for prom, or anything?”
She smiled, but it looked a little sad. “I never really attended prom at the end of high school. I kinda felt like going, but no one invited me, and I didn’t want to show up alone, so…”
Honestly, I didn’t go either, but I wasn’t interested. I just lied to my parents and took the girl I was with back then to a hotel and went back home the next morning.
The limo came to a stop in front of us. It was a bit uncomfortable, but I only had to take a few steps to open the door, and I gave her a slightly strained smile.
“Why don’t you get inside, then? Your first time in a limo should be memorable.”
She giggled. “Well, it’ll probably be my only time in one, but thanks.”
Klara slipped into the limo, and I took a deep breath before following her. She wasn’t sitting down, though, and she hadn't gone fully inside, either. She had paused, probably admiring the interior. She was more or less crawling forward, and my eyes dropped to her eyes before I quickly looked away.
“Oh! Sorry, come in. I was just looking around; I don’t know where to sit…”
The inside of the limo had seats along the sides as well. I didn’t mind where she went, though I wouldn’t mind if she sat next to me.
“Go anywhere you’d like,” I said.
“Okay!”
Finally, she moved, and I got inside and sat. I tugged the door closed. The partition was already up, so I’d have to message the driver quickly before we started moving.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
I wasn’t looking, so I wasn’t sure how it happened, or if it was an accident, because there was a light squeal, then Klara was falling into me for
the second time since I’d met her. Only this time, her forearm hit my thigh as her butt fell into the seat. The real problem was that her hand landed right on my crotch. Where my hard-on hadn't gone down yet.
Fuck!
“Huh?” her hand flexed on my cock, and I hissed. “What is...?”
Our heads turned at the same time. She was leaning against my side, and our faces were close. She hadn't moved her hand, but I could tell by her expression that she didn’t know what she was touching, at first.
“Klara,” I said through gritted teeth. “That isn’t my thigh or anything, you know?”
She blinked. “Huh?”
Her eyes looked down at where she had her hand. She gasped, her mouth falling open as her face went red.
She didn’t remove her hand, though. She was frozen for a few seconds; then she repeated that flexing motion with her hands.
I cursed under my breath, then pounced.
“Are you that innocent, or have you been trying to seduce me, Klara?”
“Hm?”
I had an arm around her waist, and I’d pushed her, so she was lying back on the seat. The hand that had been on my crotch was in my hand, and I was crouched over her. Her face was still red, lips parted, and she was breathing a little roughly.
Before I knew it, I’d ducked my head down to kiss her. Only, I didn’t hold back at all this time. I nipped and licked at her lips, occasionally sucking on them. Klara melted into the kiss easily enough, and I slid my tongue into her mouth to deepen the kiss. Slowly, we shifted, attached at the lips, until she was lying properly on the seat with me in between her thighs. It was a bit of a tight fit in the limo since we were on the shorter seat, but I didn’t care.
“W-what was that,” Klara gasped in between breaths when we separated.
“I did say your first limo ride should be memorable,” I said with a dark chuckle, pressing a kiss to her throat. “That was an erection, Klara. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice?”
She squeaked. “O-of course I did! I-I was just s-surprised.”
I sighed, closing my eyes with a groan. Even her shy stuttering was cute.
