“Kip, can I talk to you for a second?” I ask once they have their hot water.
Kade jumps up like my words were lava spilling on the floor at his feet, rushing to join the other pledges by the pool table. Kip follows him with his eyes like he wished he’d stayed, and I’m reminded of Jeremy’s words as I take the seat next to him.
Don’t be a dick, Adam. Don’t be like Clay.
“Are you taking Skyler out tonight?” I ask, remembering from his little stunt at Kappa Kappa Beta’s chapter that their date is supposed to be this evening.
Kip takes a drink of his hot water, simply nodding in lieu of an answer.
I sigh, running my hands back through my hair as I grasp for the right words to say. “Listen, I don’t have claims on her or anything, but I still care about her,” I say honestly. “And I swear to God, if you fuck her over, I will personally fuck you up.”
So much for not being a dick.
The words fly out before I have the chance to run them through my head, to digest them and decipher a way to say them in a more respectful way. Still, I find myself watching Kip confidently, as if those words were exactly what I planned to say.
Kip swallows down his frustration, and I can’t help but admire the way he’s able to school his features and say his next words calmly and respectfully.
“You won’t have to do that.”
I search his eyes for a sign of a lie there, but find nothing. Satisfied, and frankly out of words to say, I just nod, standing and leaving him alone as I make my way back to Jeremy.
“Well, that looked like it went well,” he says, his eyes on Kip behind me.
“I’m working on it, okay?”
Jeremy chuckles. “Okay. By the way, a cute little redhead just showed up asking for you.”
I can’t hide the smile that that news spreads on my face, and Jeremy waggles his eyebrows in response to it, as if he knows something no one else does.
“And on that note, I’m officially off duty,” I say, walking backward toward the front door. “Can you handle wrapping all this up?”
“I got it, El Presidente. Go have fun.”
I roll my eyes, turning away from him, but he calls out again.
“No. Seriously. Please, for the love of God and for all our sakes, have some fun.”
I flip him off over my shoulder, tucking that little finger away as soon as I round the corner and see Cassie standing in the foyer.
Her back is to me, her unruly red hair pulled over one shoulder of her emerald green hoodie as she mindlessly twists the strands into a braid. She scans the picture of our founders hanging on the wall, her Keds turned inward a little, legs covered by a pair of dark jeans.
Sliding my hands into my pockets, I slip up behind her, my lips close to her neck as I eye the picture over her head.
“Back then, they were told not to smile when they took pictures,” I say, and she jumps a little, but then a small smile spreads on her lips. “What’s my excuse going to be when all the pledges from this semester look just as miserable in their photograph?”
Cassie turns, one eyebrow climbing toward her hairline. “I guess the rumors about you being a dictator president to the new guys are true, then, huh?”
“Hey, can’t make it easy on them,” I say with a shrug.
Her green eyes twinkle as she smiles wider, the gold flecks in those green irises even more pronounced thanks to the deep shade of her hoodie. “Can’t make it anything less than brutal, from what I’ve heard.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say, exasperated. I pull her under my arm for a hug, inhaling the scent of her strawberry shampoo. “Jeremy’s already on my ass, okay? I’ll ease up.”
“Do whatever you want,” she says when we pull away, my hand finding hers. “You’re a great president, Adam. Whatever you think is best, I believe it.”
A warm surge of pride tickles my ribcage as I tug her back toward my room.
“Alright, enough of that. I didn’t ask you over to talk about Greek stuff.”
“What did you invite me over for?”
“Mind-blowing sex.”
She balks at my attempt at dry humor, coming to a complete stop inside my bedroom. A deep blush shades her cheeks, crawling quickly down her neck as she opens her mouth to respond and closes it again without a single peep coming out.
I chuckle, shutting the door behind us and plopping down on my bed, patting the spot next to me.
“Kidding. Come here.”
She lets out a breath, but her body is still tense as she sits next to me.
“I got you something. Close your eyes.”
Cassie watches me curiously, her nervousness easing as confusion takes its place.
“Close your eyes,” I say again, leaning in to peck her lips.
She giggles, finally letting her lids flutter closed as I grab her wrists, turning her palms up toward the ceiling. Once I’m sure she’s not looking, I reach behind my headboard for the gift, laying it in her lap where her hands are waiting.
Cassie’s brows pull together once the board touches her palms. “It’s kind of heavy. What is it?”
“Open your eyes and find out.”
When she does, the little smile on her face fades instantly, her lips parting as her eyes sweep over the wood in her hand.
“Adam…” she says, my name just a breath on her lips. She pulls her hands from under the gift — a long board — and runs her fingertips over the designs splashed over the bottom of it. “Did you… did you make this?”
“I did. Well,” I clarify quickly, one hand finding the back of my neck. “I mean, I didn’t make the long board, of course, but I did the design. It’s decoupage, or whatever it’s called.”
She smiles a little as I butcher the word, her eyes still glued to the board as she trails her fingers over each design.
“I did the Palm South University crest, of course,” I say, pointing to it. “And then your letters — KKB — and I tried to make the whole thing in your colors. Lots of blues and golds. And I put some doctor stuff on there, see the stethoscope?”
She pauses when her fingers touch the bottom of the board — the Key West section.
“Dolphins,” she muses, her eyes flicking up to meet mine. “Like the ones we saw when we did the boat trip.”
“Yeah,” I admit, heat tingeing my neck. “I put a little of us on there. Not too much, I wanted it to be mostly you, but I added the dolphins. And pizza from Moon Pie.” I point to the oversized slice of Hawaiian. “Just a few things.”
There are pictures of her with her sisters, the largest being one of her and Skyler last Spring Break, and she eyes each one of them before landing on a small one of us near the middle of the board. It’s from one of the intramural football games she came to watch, right after I tackle hugged her in my dirty gear as she tried unsuccessfully to shove me away.
Cassie laughs, though tears flood her eyes. “It’s so… perfect. I can’t believe you did this.” She looks at me then, swallowing. “Thank you, Adam.”
“You’re welcome. I hope you like it.”
“I love it,” she says quickly, running her hand over the board again. Then, she slips it carefully down to the floor, the nerves back on her face as she faces me again.
“What?” I ask, searching the unspoken questions in her eyes.
“I was just thinking…” she says, her voice a whisper as she scoots closer to me on the bed. One hand reaches forward, playing with the hem of my polo. “That first thing you said, about why you brought me here… you said you were kidding… but… maybe, it doesn’t have to be a joke.”
Her eyes flick up to mine then, wide and hopeful, and her cool hand slips under the fabric of my shirt, her fingertips brushing against my abdomen as I suck in a breath.
“Cassie…”
“We don’t have to go all the way,” she says hurriedly, but she slips her fingertips between the band of my jeans and my boxers, making every thought in my brain turn to fuzz. “I just… Adam, I
can’t go another second without you touching me. I mean,” she clarifies, scooting even closer, one of her ankles crossing over mine. “Really touching me.”
I growl out my next breath, my hand covering hers. I wrap my fingers around her wrist, pulling her forward, and she climbs into my lap without another word. When her thighs straddle mine, she rolls her hips hard, and I press my forehead to hers.
“Wait.”
She pauses, her hands fisting in my hair as her eyes find mine.
“I just, before we go any further, I want you to know that every single chance I get to touch you, every chance I get to put my hands where you don’t let any other hands go, it means… everything to me.”
She swallows, the corners of her mouth turning up a bit.
“Does that mean you’ll touch me where you haven’t before?”
The question is just a whisper, but it pains me like it was blown through an air horn. I wince, gripping the thick fabric of her hoodie as I pull her flush against me.
“If you’ll let me, yes.”
“Please,” she whispers immediately, rolling her hips again. Then, her lips land on mine, soft and inviting, and I know there’s nothing else I can do but give her what she needs.
It’s all I can manage to repeat my conversation with my aunt in my head, to remind myself why I’m waiting, why I’m going slow, as Cassie intensifies our kiss. She’s all hands and moans, breaths and touches. Her hands rip at my clothes, my hair, my skin, her lips devouring mine. But I keep my pace, forcing her to slow down, asking her to trust me.
We’ve waited so long, had so many years — so many people between us — but I’d wait twice as long, and suffer through twice as much, if it meant I got to have her in the long run.
That’s why I take my time, and that’s why I promise myself again that I can make her feel good without hurting her, that I can give without taking, that I can go slow and make every moment with her count.
At the end of it all, when Cassie McBee looks back on her life, she will never forget the moments of us. She’ll remember every word, every touch, every kiss — and in those moments, she’ll find no pain — only the brightest joy.
That’s the promise I vow to keep.
Cassie strips my shirt over my head, and I roll us until she’s beneath me, her red hair splayed out against the light blue cotton of my pillowcases. I don’t realize I’m trembling until I reach for the hem of her hoodie, helping her ease out of it. She lays back again, her chest heaving under the simple white tank top covering her bra.
For a moment, I just stare at her, eyes slowly climbing over every curve of her. When I make it back to her eyes, they’re underlined by bright red cheeks and a shy smile.
“No one looks at me the way you do,” she whispers.
“I’d kill them if they did.”
She laughs, helping me as I work the button and zipper on her jeans. I pull the stiff fabric down over her hips, her thighs, until I can peel the denim off her calves and let it fall to the floor. A soft, mint green pair of cotton panties is the only barrier now between my eyes and the place I ache to touch Cassie most, and the weight of that is like a bag of bricks on my chest.
I force a shaky breath, dragging one finger over the cotton before dipping it just a centimeter underneath, brushing the soft, bare skin of her that rests underneath. Cassie arches into the touch, her eyes fluttering closed as both fists twist in my comforter.
I’m still trembling as I slip my thumbs under each strap of her panties, stripping them down slowly. I don’t even know where I drop them, because my eyes are too busy devouring the newly exposed view — one I’ve never seen before. Cassie blushes deeper as my eyes greedily take her in — every inch, every freckle, every single centimeter of pale, white skin.
She still has her tank top and bra on, and as much as I want to see all of her exposed, I don’t move to dispose of those last two articles. They’re all that keep me from feasting on all of her, and I know if I had her completely naked in my bed, I wouldn’t have the strength to stop until I was so deep inside her that I became a permanent mark.
Instead, I kiss my way slowly down her arms, shoving her tank top up enough to lick a line down her stomach, and then I settle between her legs. Her emerald pools never leave me as I hoist her thighs up, the backs of them resting on my shoulders, and I hold her gaze as my tongue flicks out, just marginally, just enough for the first taste.
We both moan, the sounds mixing together in a symphony of pleasure and pain.
I close my eyes, steeling a breath before I lower my mouth again, this time running my tongue long and flat against her. From her slick opening all the way up to her tender, swollen bud, I taste her, the heat from my next breath making goosebumps explode over her legs.
She whimpers, writhing under my hands pinned at her waist. I just hold her steady, lips closing over her clit as I suck gently. Cassie’s legs quiver more, her fists twisting in my comforter more until they fly into my hair with the same pressure.
It would be a bold-face lie if I said I never imagined what Cassie would taste like, what she’d look like if I ever got the chance to throw her down on my bed and ravage her the way I wanted to. But everything I’d ever imagined, every wet dream I’d ever had was so wrong, so far off, I almost laugh.
She’s so much sweeter than I imagined, and the vision of her in my bed is enough to make me come, even without her touching me. Her cheeks had started as a dusty pink, but they grow a deeper shade by the second, with each and every touch of my tongue adding another drop of crimson under her freckles. Her eyes, closed tight, hypnotize me every time they fly open, finding me there between her legs with my mouth fastened on her. Her hands, weaved into my hair, tug and grip, and I feel every movement like a direct electric spark to my dick.
My hands slide from her hips to grip the tops of her thighs as I pull her closer, swirling my tongue over her clit before I lick her with a flat tongue from bottom to top again. I moan with the motion, causing a new wave of goosebumps as she writhes beneath me.
“Adam,” she whispers, my name such a sweet, torturous plea on her lips that I groan again, sucking her clit with more force between my teeth.
I could taste her forever like this — devouring her like she’s my last meal, or maybe my first, or maybe both all in one. But she’s close. I can tell by the way she moves under my touch, but the heat in her cheeks, by the way her eyes squeeze shut, the muscles in her legs tensing as she reaches for the finish line in sight.
And I want her to detonate under my touch.
Slowly, I run the fingertips of my right hand down over her inner thigh, my tongue still working her clit as my fingers find her slick entrance. My middle finger dances there, soaking up her sweet wetness, with just enough pressure for the tip of it to dip inside her.
Cassie moans louder, her fingers tangling in my hair with her plea. She wants more, she wants me inside her, and even though I know it will practically kill me — I answer her request like it’s all I’ve wanted to do in my entire life.
With as much composure as I can manage, I slip that middle finger inside her.
We both moan when my first knuckle disappears, and when she squeezes around the full finger, coating my second knuckle with her desire, I curse out loud at the tight feel of her.
“Fuck, Cassie,” I breathe, withdrawing my finger slowly just to slide it back inside her. I curl the tip of it, brushing her sensitive G-spot as she arches off the bed. “I thought I knew… I thought I was ready to feel you like this, but God, it’s killing me.” I kiss her mound. “You’re fucking perfect.”
She moans at my words, fingers flying from my hair back to the comforter as she grasps for something to hold onto. But it’s too late. With a few more curls of my finger and a gentle suck of her clit between my teeth, she comes for me, flying into oblivion with only my hands to root her back to Earth.
Cassie doesn’t scream like a porn star, or fake moan with the sole purpose of putting on a show.
Instead, all the blood in her cheeks rushes down to her clit, swelling in my mouth as she whimpers through her almost-silent release. She calls my name under the soft, hushed groans of pleasure, her breaths shallow and heated, and when she’s done, her entire body collapses into a satiated heap in my hands.
And I feel like I’ve just run a marathon in the desert heat.
I smile, kissing her tender clit softly as I withdraw my finger and crawl up to kiss her parted lips. Her breaths even out slowly, her mouth seeking mine between exhales. Every time her tongue swirls in a dance with mine, she smiles a little more, like tasting herself on me is too good to be true.
I nuzzle into her neck as I roll her to one side, her back to me as she faces my wall and I wrap myself around her. We fit together so easily, so perfectly, my knees tucking into the backs of hers in an immaculate seam. I sigh into the back of her neck, kissing it softly before tugging her more into my chest.
Cassie rolls her hips, her bottom brushing against the swollen head of my cock as I inhale a stiff groan.
“Your turn,” she whispers, hand reaching back, but I wrap my fingers around her wrist to stop her.
“Not tonight. Tonight, it’s about you.”
She rolls in my arms, looking up at me with a pout that I know got her whatever she wanted growing up.
“But I want to touch you, too. I want to taste you, too.”
My eyes nearly cross at the thought of that, of her lips around me, her mouth taking me inside her. I groan, adjusting my throbbing hard-on under my jeans as I kiss her forehead.
“You will. But not tonight, okay?” Pulling back, I brush her hair out of her face, running the pad of my thumb over her blushed cheeks. “I meant what I said about going slow. We have all the time in the world to touch each other, to explore each other. But right now, I just want to hold you. I just want to make you feel safe.”
Tears well in her eyes, and she shakes her head, burying her face into my chest.
We don’t say another word, but her fingertips circle the skin on my back as I run my own through her unruly curls. I’m not sure how long she’s in my arms before her breaths even out, her chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm as she falls asleep. I don’t dare move, not even when my left arm screams at me before becoming numb altogether.
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