Let Life Happen

by Jaqueline Snowe

  “Absolutely not,” I replied sternly, looking back and forth between his eyes.

  He looked at me long and hard. The air shifted, and suddenly I wasn’t feeling so brave.

  He undid his tie slowly, dropping it on the floor. He unbuttoned his shirt, one at a time, seducing me with his hands. “There’s no going back after this. Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?”

  “Yes,” I whispered.

  He smiled wildly. “I hate to do this to your beautiful dress, but it needs to go.” He took the bottom hem in both hands and ripped it off me. “I’ll buy you a new one. I don’t really care.”

  He began kissing my bare shoulder, my neck, and he left a mark right above my collarbone. “That’s just in case anyone else gets any ideas. You’re all mine, Jenna.”

  I stood there trembling in just a bra and thong. He deliberately slid them both off before stripping out of his own clothes. I could barely breathe. This wasn’t just fucking; this was making love, and I was out of my element. I was about to panic, but he kept me grounded.

  “You are so fucking beautiful.” Aiden, completely confident in the nude, began kissing me into oblivion. His hands explored my breasts. He pinched my nipples and then replaced his fingers with his mouth, teasing me with his teeth.

  “God, you feel good.”

  “You like this, baby? Tell me what you want.” His voice was huskier than I’d ever heard.

  “Keep doing that. Harder.” I moaned into my fist.

  And he did. I was already close to exploding, so when he finally brought his fingers to my center, I was drenched.

  “You’re soaked. Is that all for me?”

  He didn’t wait for me to answer before he kissed down my stomach and began to flick me with his tongue. He already knew my body better than I did. It only took minutes. “You’re so close, baby.”

  He combined the sensations of his finger and tongue, and I felt myself exploding. “Oh fuck, yes!” I shuddered around his mouth, and I felt like I was floating.

  “You taste fucking amazing. I can’t wait to be inside you.” As I caught my breath, he continued kissing and stroking me, and before I realized it, I was building toward another orgasm. “I need to hear you scream my name, Jenna.”

  “So close. Don’t stop.”

  “I won’t, babe. Come into my mouth.”

  At his words, I came undone once again and was screaming his name. “Fuck yes, Aiden. God.”

  He lifted his head, and I was struck by how gorgeous he was. His gray eyes were almost silver in passion.

  He reached over to grab a condom and slipped it on within seconds.

  He positioned himself over me, but before entering me, he kissed me. Hard. Passionately. And in that one kiss, he ruined me for every other guy.

  “You are better than any dream I’ve ever had,” he whispered into my ear.

  He pushed himself inside me, and I saw stars. He filled me in a way I didn’t know possible. Not all hope was lost, and not all love caused pain. You just had to find the moments worth living for.

  “You feel so good. Give me your mouth,” he demanded and softly kissed me.

  He thrust into me in a rhythm my hips matched, and he constantly whispered how perfect it was. I was past the point of talking. My body took control, and I just enjoyed the ride.

  I knew he was close by how tense his body became, but he stopped and pulled out. “You’re not done yet, beautiful.”

  He put his tongue to use again, building me back up, so close. My body screamed in frustration. Just as I was about to shout with anger, he pushed himself inside me and tilted my hips at an angle. It caused him to rub against my clit.

  In a moment of pure high, we came together.

  He crashed on top of me, breathless. “Holy shit.”

  “Yeah.” I was out of breath, still floating out of my body.

  “That was…Wow.”

  “Uh-huh.” I nodded but kept my eyes closed.

  “My ears are ringing.” He slowly pulled out of me but didn’t get up from the bed. He pushed up onto his elbows, rolling us onto our sides, and said softly, “Look at me, Jenna.”

  I did.

  “This is new for me.”

  “What? Cuddling after sex?” I grinned up at him.

  “No. I’ve never made love to anyone before.”

  “Then it was worth the wait, because it was fucking amazing.”

  His smile reached his eyes, and he smacked me on the ass before getting up to clean up.

  He bounced back down next to me a minute later. “No, Jenna, you were worth the wait.”

  Chapter 34

  What-Ifs Are Never Good for the Brain-Aiden

  I had always gotten good grades. Always. I worked my ass off studying, unbeknownst to my dad and brother. Then, I partied and had sex to relieve stress. Thankfully, Jenna was fucking dynamite in bed. And she liked to party as much as I did as long as it didn’t mess up work or studying.

  I was just pissed off today. Everything was happening at once. It was the last week before Christmas break, and to say I was stressed was an understatement. The list of shit I had to do was long as hell. Instead of starting on it, I went to the gym to run off some steam.

  Jenna: Yo. We meeting at the library later?

  Aiden: Planning on it. You working now?

  Jenna: Just got off. Getting lunch with Cyn and Gage to work out details and see Ainsley.

  Aiden: K. I’ll let you know when I’m heading there.

  Jenna: You okay?

  Aiden: I’m fine.

  Jenna: Okay. Normally you would’ve commented on the fact I just typed “just got off.”

  Aiden: Sorry, busy now.

  Jenna: Okay…you sure you’re all right?

  Aiden: Nothing’s wrong. I’ll see you later.

  I might have sounded like an asshole, but I didn’t want her smothering me with her willingness to help. I was being a huge asshole to even think she was smothering me at all, because she would help me with anything I asked. And she never, not once, acted clingy. If anything, I was more overbearing than her. I promised myself I would make it up to her later and apologize at dinner.

  I ran a couple miles and felt loads better. I was just about to shower when my dad called.

  “Yeah, Dad, what’s up?”

  “Just talked to one of the head guys at the criminology school. Got you set up for an interview with them for an internship next summer.”

  “Dad, I really appreciate the gesture, but I can’t. I have to take four summer classes to try and catch up so I can graduate on time.” I sighed. He still wasn’t letting me make my own decisions.

  “This should make up for missing classes. I could talk to them and see if they would pull some strings. It’s one of the best schools in California, and luckily, I knew one of them from a past case. He owed me. So what do you think?”

  I kicked the locker next to me and groaned. “I can’t do it.”

  “Why not?” he barked in his icy, authoritative tone I loathed.

  Was he deaf? “Did you not hear me say I’ll have summer classes?”

  “I could pull some strings.”

  “No, Dad. Stop. I want to do this on my own. I wasn’t lying when I told you I need to do this for myself.” I ran a hand down my face.

  “What if you fail? What are you going to do?”

  “Figure it out on my own. Isn’t that the point of growing up?” How was he the parent in this relationship?

  “Why won’t you accept my help?”

  “I want to earn it on my own. I don’t want your help.” I knew my words would get under his skin.

  “Fine. When you fuck up, you’d better not expect me to be there to pick you up.”

  “Damn it!” I punched my locker with my phone still in my hand, and I instantly regretted it. My phone shattered, and my hand bled.

  “You okay, dude?” someone behind me asked.

>   “Yeah. Fine.” I grabbed my stuff and just left the gym without showering. Now, adding to my list, I had to get my phone replaced.

  But I had a meeting with the chapter leader first. I only showed up ten minutes late, which was amazing on its own.

  “Aiden, your enrollment numbers are great, and you have no scandals.” Nicolas eyed me, a small smile on his lips.

  “Why does it feel like there’s a big but coming?”

  “The house GPA last year was at a 3.8. Currently, there are five members who have at least one F with finals coming up. Although this is still the highest on campus, some of the guys at the top are worried. We think you need to enforce a tighter study schedule and study groups this last week.”

  I nodded. “Yes, sir. We have a house meeting Sunday, so I’ll address it then and make sure it’s done.”

  He tapped his hand on the tabletop. “Great! Also, will you be staying at the house over Christmas break?”

  “If needed, I will.” I hoped I could.

  “To save some money, we want the house emptied for a week. Do you have somewhere to crash?”

  “Of course. We do plan on having our annual New Year’s party. Is it still allowed?”

  He bobbed his head a couple times. “Yes. Yes, we’re just shutting down for a week starting the Sunday after finals. You guys can come back the twenty-ninth if you need to.”

  “I’ll make sure they know.”

  He pushed back his chair, standing and shaking my hand. “Then we’re good here. Good luck on finals.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  I waited until he left before taking a couple deep breaths. I had to now enforce study tables for the next week and ask either my dad or brother if I could crash with them for a couple weeks. Not my definition of a good time.

  Next on the list: meet with the party planners for our New Year’s Eve bash. Then renegotiate the contract with our chef. Then, finally, get some goddamn work done. Plus, after the day that wouldn’t end, I now had to go to the store for my phone.

  Three hundred dollars later, I turned the phone on and saw I had two texts from Jenna.

  Jenna: Hey. I don’t know in what context you meant “later,” but I’ve been at the library for five hours, so I’m heading out.

  Jenna: It’s now after dinner. If you didn’t want to hang out, you should’ve just let me know. I don’t appreciate being stood up.

  “Fucking shit!” There was a three-hour difference between the texts, and I hadn’t realized it was nine. I needed to go apologize. Majorly.

  I tried calling her twice, but no luck.

  “Damn, damn, damn it.” I drove to their apartment and banged on the door. “Jenna, please open up. I can explain everything.”

  I waited ten minutes, but there was no answer. The only other place I thought of was the bar.

  As soon as I walked in, I saw her. She sat on a barstool, holding a bottle of beer to her mouth, watching a basketball game on TV. Her expression killed me. I did that to her.

  I took a step toward her, and as if she sensed my presence, she turned around. The pain in her eyes made me stop.

  “Jenna. Please. It’s not what you think.”

  She didn’t say anything, just continued sipping her beer and looked at the booth behind me. I waited for her to get up, and I put my hand on her back. I needed to touch her. A feeling of panic coursed through me, and I refused to think about what would happen if she didn’t believe me.

  “I’m sorry about today. So much shit happened.”

  “Go on.” She didn’t have a bite to her tone. She just sat there and assessed me. She could see right through me, and it terrified me.

  “Okay, well, to start off, my morning was shit. My dad and I got into it, and I had a list of things to do all day.”

  I began ripping up the coaster in front of me, and she stopped me with her hands. She saw the scabs forming on my right knuckles and ran her fingers over them with a questioning look. She was giving me the chance to explain before talking, and I appreciated the hell out of that. Most girls would’ve gone off on me.

  “When you texted me this morning, I was in the middle of a workout, which ended with my dad telling me I was going to fuck up. I punched a locker, busted my hand, and then shattered my phone.”

  “Is your hand okay?” she asked quietly, still holding it in her soft palms.

  “I’m sure it’s fine. I didn’t really check it.”

  She got up and came back moments later with a bag of ice. “You need to ice it. It looks bad. Sorry to interrupt.”

  “You can interrupt me anytime. Don’t apologize.”

  She gave me a half smile. Score.

  “Okay, after I broke my phone, I had appointments for the frat for hours. I didn’t have a second to go get a new phone or even find Jon to have him text you. Also, found out I have to stay with my brother for a couple weeks, so naturally, I’m really excited about it. We’re getting along, but it’s still major for me. And by the time I realized it had been hours, I freaked out and tried calling you the second I got my phone fixed.”

  “You did?” Her brow furrowed in concern.

  “You weren’t just ignoring my calls?”

  “Uh, no. I would’ve answered. My phone must be in my jacket. I kept it in the bike.”

  She held the ice on my hand and lightly ran her thumb over my knuckles.

  “Jenna, I’m sorry I stood you up. I know we were supposed to meet at the library and then grab dinner. But please know I would never intentionally stand you up.”

  “I understand.” She nodded.

  “So you’re not pissed at me?”

  “Pissed? No. I was upset earlier, and I’m sorry I doubted you. I just assumed the worst. It’s an annoying trait of mine. I’m working on it.”

  “Thank God.” I sighed. Confusion clouded her expression, and I moved seats so I was on the same side as her. “I still feel awful and am so damn glad you believe me. I played the what-if game the whole way here.”

  “We should have a rule that if either one of us wants this to end or we lose interest or whatever, we tell the other person immediately.”

  I didn’t like hearing end. Not one bit. “I don’t like this rule. It’s not going to happen.”

  “You don’t know that, Aiden. Just promise. This way I know if something like this happens again, it’ll be because of an accident and not something else.”

  She was just protecting herself. It made me feel ashamed for even making her doubt how I felt about her. “I promise, Jenna, I will always be honest with you. With the good and the bad things. Good enough?”

  “I guess. Yeah. It works.” She finally smiled, and her eyes were back to their normal color and fiery glint. “So living with your brother? Why?”

  “We’re closing the frat house for a week to save money. We can open it back up for our New Year’s party. Speaking of, do you have plans?”

  She thought for a second. “Don’t know for sure. I may have to work.”

  “Ask off.”

  “Calm down, bossy. Let me see what your offer is.” She smirked.

  “1920s party. Gambling. Dancing. Food. Me.” I waggled my eyebrows.

  She snorted. “Not the best offer I’ve had, but okay. I’ll ask off.”

  “Not the best offer, my ass.” I pulled her into me so her head rested on my shoulder. “Did we just get through our first argument?”

  “Psh. It wasn’t even an argument. But yeah, I guess we did.”

  “Wanna go make up in the back of a car?”

  “Wow.” She licked her lips and smiled. “I’m going to politely decline your generous and thoughtful proposition.”

  “Are you sure? I’ll apologize over and over again.” Her laugh warmed me, but she still shook her head.

  “Hate to break this to you, Aiden, but for the next couple days, I’m going to be out of commission.”

  “What, why? Are you okay?”<
br />
  “Stop overreacting. Yes. I’m perfectly fine. It’s just my time of the month.”

  “Ohhh.” I nodded and pictured horns popping out of her head and fangs from her mouth. It was a weird picture, but she would’ve been hot as a devil vampire. Okay, weird thought.

  “Stop giving me a look like I’m just gonna cry and snot all over you. I’m not too bad with mood swings, so you’re safe.”

  “Come to think of it. I saw you almost all the time all semester, and I never noticed if you acted weird. Well, weirder than normal.” I nudged her with my elbow.

  “Funny guy.”

  “Want to go get ice cream and watch Crazy Stupid Love?”

  Her eyes widened, and she blinked a couple times before nodding. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah. Ice cream is in my top five favorite foods, and yes, I stole your top five idea. I’ve been using it lately. Plus, I love that movie, and chicks dig it. And, hello. Man crush Monday, Ryan Gosling.”

  “You amaze me sometimes.” She laughed.

  “Yeah, I get that a lot.” She hit me, but as always, there wasn’t much heat to it. “Let’s go, shorty. I’ll even let you feel me up during the movie.”

  “I’ll make sure they write you were a martyr in your obituary.”

  “Only for you, babe.” I winked.

  Chapter 35

  My Heart Was Three Sizes Too Small-Jenna

  “MERRY Christmas and Happy Holidays,” Maya sang throughout the apartment, wearing a Grinch onesie. “It’s time to scream and shout.”

  “Scream and shout!” Kennedy joined her, holding a hairbrush as a microphone. “Come on. Join us, Jenna!”

  I rolled my eyes but joined them for the chorus. Were we too old to be listening to old N’Sync albums? Abso-fucking-lutely. But we didn’t care. “When do you think this song will get old?”

  “Never, J. We won’t let it get old. What’s on the agenda for today?”

  “Guys. I’m leaving tomorrow to stay with family in Colorado, so we have to have our annual girls’ Christmas tonight. I can’t believe I almost couldn’t do it!” Kennedy shrieked. “You don’t work tonight, right?”