You

by Nella Tyler

  I broke away from the kiss, trembling and breathless. “We—we agreed to talk,” I said, swallowing down the taste of him that lingered on my lips and tongue.

  “You’re right,” Ty said, nodding, his face serious. “Let’s grab something to eat, and let’s talk about what’s going on between us.”

  In spite of what I’d said, I didn’t quite have the strength to leave his arms. I took a deep breath and pressed my body against his for just a moment longer, and then I pulled back and exhaled. “Okay,” I said, nodding. “Let’s do this.”

  Chapter Ten

  As soon as Nicole had calmed, we went into the dining hall together. In spite of the way that she’d thrown herself into my arms, I wasn’t sure if she was feeling comfortable enough for me to hold her hand. I wanted to give her space—but the fact that she hadn’t resisted my kiss, or told me no, and that she had pressed herself against me for just a moment, gave me a little hope.

  I wanted to tell her how adorable she looked, how much her new haircut made her look exactly like a woodland sprite or a fairy of some kind, but I held back. I knew better than to push myself on her; we would have to hash out what had happened to us, and I would have to be patient and listen to what Nicki had to say.

  I grabbed food from the different stations without even thinking, without caring what it was that I got, and I suspected that Nicole was doing the same thing. It was like I had to occupy my hands—I needed to be doing something, or I would end up touching her, unable to help myself.

  I managed to shake myself out of my distraction long enough to choose the right soda from the dispenser, and then Nicole and I stepped out of the serving area and into the dining room proper. “How about over there?” I pointed to a spot at the end of one of the three long tables that dominated the dining hall. It was empty—but there were a few people only a few feet away.

  “I want somewhere a little more private,” Nicole admitted, blushing slightly. “Can we go outside?” I glanced at the terrace. No one was sitting out there—which was rare for the time of year. I nodded.

  “That sounds perfect,” I told her, giving her another smile. My heart was beating faster in my chest, skipping a beat every few moments. I was happy to see Nicole, happy to have felt her in my arms—but I was nervous about what she might say to me when we finally got down to the discussion we had to have.

  We both walked across the dining room, and I had to resist the urge to take her hand in mine again. I caught a few people who were glancing at us, interested—curious—and I knew that there would be rumors, no matter what the outcome of the conversation was.

  For a few moments, Nicole and I sat at a table outside, picking at our food, taking occasional bites. I wasn’t particularly hungry, and the food I’d picked in my distraction wasn’t particularly good. “Do you want to start, or should I?” Nicole looked up from her plate and smiled wryly.

  “You’re the one who asked for a meeting,” she said. “Tell me what you want to know, and I guess…I’ll decide if I want to answer.” That was less than promising; but I took a deep breath and put my fork down.

  “What exactly happened between us? I mean, from your perspective.” I licked my lips, thinking of the kiss we’d had only a few moments before. That hadn’t been the kiss of a girl who had absolutely no interest in me.

  “We separated,” Nicole said, her cheeks turning slightly pinker with a blush. She looked down at her plate and then up at me. “I mean, I told you at the time…”

  “Yeah, but you told me you needed to back off a bit,” I pointed out. “And I know you’ve been avoiding me. If it was just a little space and time you needed that would be one thing.”

  “I did need space,” Nicole said, looking away from me as her blush deepened a little more. “I just didn’t…I didn’t feel comfortable with the way things were going.”

  “When did I make you feel uncomfortable?” I gritted my teeth to try and control the rush of instinctive anger that came up in me, the defensive instinct to deny everything. “Tell me, please. I want to know if it’s something I can fix.”

  “It wasn’t—it wasn’t anything you did, specifically,” Nicole said. She picked at the food on her plate. “I just worried about our future.”

  “What had you worried?” I thought about Kelsey—the image of her flashed into my brain. I had finally managed to completely get her out of my life over winter break, after weeks of texting and pleas and insistence that we were meant to be together.

  I had told her in no uncertain terms that I was never going to be interested in her, and that nothing was ever going to happen to us. And then I had blocked her everywhere I could think of, and told campus security not to let her into the dining hall, dorms, or student union.

  “It’s nothing,” Nicole said, shrugging.

  “If it’s nothing you wouldn’t have pushed me away,” I pointed out. “Come on, Nicki. I can take it. I need to know what it was.” Nicole bit her bottom lip and I wondered if she knew just how tempting, just how deliciously beautiful she looked when she did that. “Nicole…” She sighed and looked up, her lips twisting into an expression that wasn’t quite a smile.

  “It was Kelsey,” she said. “When—when we went out, you just…you didn’t push her away right off the bat, and you didn’t come after us. And then you didn’t really explain anything about it, and someone told me you’d been with her for three years.”

  The words poured out of her in a torrent and I struggled to keep track of them. “And I thought that if you’d been in such a serious relationship so recently, and if you were graduating so soon, I couldn’t be anything but like—like a fling, or a rebound, or something.” Her eyes watered, and she looked at me with real pain in her face.

  “You could never be a rebound,” I said, shaking my head. “I took you to meet my parents, didn’t I?” I sighed. I knew that it had been a mistake to keep Nicole as much in the dark as possible about Kelsey. “I never would have asked you to meet my mom and dad if I didn’t think things were pretty serious between us.” I reached out and took her hand in mine; it was cold, but it warmed after a moment. “I really do want to be with you—and we can find a way to be together after my graduation.”

  “That’s…that’s good,” Nicole said, licking her lips and looking down at her plate. “I just…” she shrugged.

  “What? What else?” I reached out and put my fingers under her chin, tilting her face upward. “You can tell me, whatever it is.”

  “I can’t,” Nicole said, shaking her head.

  “I need to explain about Kelsey,” I told her, taking a deep breath. “Yes, I was with her for a long time—three years. I broke up with her after trying everything that I could to make things work between us. And when I say everything, I mean everything.” I smiled wryly. “So by the time I broke things off altogether, I was sick and tired of her.” I took another quick breath. “The night you saw her grinding on me…” I shook my head. “That—I mean, that was a big part of what contributed to Kelsey and I not being able to work out. All I did was to make sure that she got home okay.”

  I held Nicole’s gaze for a long moment. “You believe me, don’t you?”

  “Why didn’t you just say that the next day?” Nicole frowned.

  “I was being a stupid coward,” I admitted. I smiled weakly. “I thought if I made as little a fuss about it as possible, it would be for the best.” Nicole half-smiled.

  “I probably should have been more up front about asking,” she said, glancing down. “But even—even if I trust you on this…why would you want to be with me?”

  “What do you mean?” I frowned at her. “Why wouldn’t I want to be with you? You’re beautiful and smart and sweet and funny and just…amazing.”

  “I’m not smart,” Nicole said, tugging her face free of my hand and shaking her head. “I’m an idiot. I’ve only just barely been able to keep my grades afloat this first year.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “You deserve a woman who’s like…who ha
s a degree, and who can make you proud.”

  “You do make me proud,” I told her.

  “But I’m—I’m doing better this semester, but I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the rest of the way. I don’t even know what I can study. I’m useless.” She started to cry, and I stood up, quickly moving to the other side of the table, taking the bench next to her.

  “This is about more than just the grades, isn’t it?” Nicole sniffled.

  “The—the guy you saw at the party. Dillon.” Her breath hitched in her throat, and I took her hand in mine, giving it a squeeze. “You know he was my ex, but you don’t know…”

  “How did it end between you?” I remembered that Nicole had said something about never being good enough for him—something about Dillon being an asshole who criticized her constantly.

  “I wanted to be a cosmetologist,” Nicole said slowly. “The only thing I’ve ever really like to do is hair and makeup, thinks like that.” She smiled sadly. “But Dillon had me convinced that I was going to be wasting my time—that it was trashy, and low rent, and just…” she shook her head. “He told me that if I didn’t go to college and get a degree I was just going to end up some knocked up welfare queen, and that he would never stand for it.”

  “If you wanted to do cosmetology, why didn’t you go back to that when you left him?” Nicole blinked, looking confused for a moment.

  “At first it was because I still thought he might be right,” she explained slowly. “But then…I’d gotten in here, and I thought that I at least…should try…” she shook her head, looking sadder than ever. “But now I just think I’m too stupid for anything. I’d probably fail cosmetology school, too.”

  “I think you should try,” I told her, leaning in to kiss her on the forehead. “If it’s what you love to do—and you definitely have talent for it,” I tousled her hair, “then you should do that. And I’ll help you.” I kissed Nicole’s forehead again, and then her cheek, and then her lips.

  “How could you help me?” I grinned and shrugged.

  “There’s a cosmetology school near my home town—from what I understand, it’s pretty great,” I told her. “I could help you with the transfer process.” She gave my hand a squeeze.

  “You really don’t think that it’s stupid?” I shook my head.

  “I think you’ve got a gift, and you should do something that makes you happy.” I smiled and kissed Nicole once more, wrapping my arms around her waist and holding her close. “And I think if you’re going to a cosmetology school near my home town, it’ll be a lot easier for us to keep seeing each other.” Nicole chuckled.

  “You’ve just got an answer for everything, don’t you?” I kissed along the column of her throat, thinking about how good it would be to come home to Nicole at the end of the day, how much I wanted her as part of my daily life.

  “It’ll be great, just you wait and see,” I told her. “I’ll set everything up the way we want it to be.”

  Epilogue: Six Months Later

  I smiled to myself as I parked my beat-up old car in my assigned spot at the apartment complex and turned the key in the ignition to shut it down. I felt a little tired—but I was happier than I had been in months, maybe years. I had just finished my first day of cosmetology classes and even though I knew it would get tougher, I also knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be, doing what I should have been doing all along.

  Ty had been true to his word, helping me with my application and transfer to Premier Beauty & Salon Cosmetology School. It was about twenty minutes outside of his hometown, and when I’d gotten my acceptance, Ty had even helped me move into an apartment—one that we agreed to share—in town, so I wouldn’t have to commute.

  I wasn’t really able to pay much in the way of rent, but Ty was more than capable of paying for both of us, at least until I was on my feet and working as a hair dresser and stylist. Ty had been even better than he promised; he’d helped me with my application, he’d prepared me for my interviews, and he had even gone with me to talk to my parents about my choice.

  We’d been living together for about four months. After finals, I went back to my parents’ house while I waited to find out if Premier would admit me, and we made our plans together. Ty did his CPA exams, and got one of the top scores in the region—making him an absolute shoe-in to start at his father’s accounting firm. He wasn’t making the kind of salary his dad enjoyed, but he was making more than enough to support us for a while, especially since we’d managed to find a nice, cheap apartment to live in together.

  I unlocked our front door and threw my car keys into the bowl on the table in the entryway, and headed for the kitchen. It was five-thirty; Ty would be home in about thirty minutes, and I’d gotten word from his parents that they wanted to come over for dinner as well. I was more than happy to have them.

  I started to work on dinner, beef Stroganoff over egg noodles with peas and carrots on the side. It was simple and homey, but it was something I’d been making since I was a teenager and Ty loved it. There was something weirdly comforting about cooking for him, just like there was about doing laundry for him, or cleaning our little apartment together; it was soothing to do things for the man I loved, and to take care of a home that was partially my own—even if it was a small, one-bedroom apartment.

  I had just gotten the sauce finished and set it to simmer, when I heard the door open. “Welcome home, babe!” I didn’t turn, but I could picture Ty in my mind, kicking off his shoes and putting his keys in the bowl with mine, taking off the blazer he’d put on that morning, and striding into the kitchen. His arms wrapped around me from behind, and I smiled as he nuzzled against the nape of my neck.

  “God, it’s good to see you, Nicki-love,” he murmured. His chest rose and fell against my back as he sighed. “How was your first day?”

  “Amazing,” I told him, turning around to face him. “It was exactly the way I’d hoped it would be.”

  “So no second thoughts?” I shook my head. “That’s what I was hoping to hear.” Ty leaned in closer and kissed me on the lips, holding my body tightly against his.

  After a long moment he broke away, his bright eyes warm as he looked down at me. “What are we having for dinner? It smells delicious.”

  “Beef stroganoff, egg noodles, and peas and carrots,” I told him. “Also—your parents are coming over for dinner. Your mom called me this afternoon to ask if I would mind if she imposed on us. Apparently they’re renovating the kitchen and she’s getting tired of eating out all the time.”

  “When are they supposed to be coming by?” Ty’s hands wandered over my body slowly, teasing me, trailing along my curves. I could see the glint in his eyes and feel the heat simmering in his skin.

  “Seven o’clock,” I told him. Ty glanced at the clock on the stove.

  “Then we have just enough time to have a little alone-time, and then clean up before they get here,” he said, smiling slowly. “That is, if you’re in the mood for that.”

  I giggled. Ty and I had become excellent at quickies since we’d moved in together—he was absolutely insatiable and I found myself getting turned on more and more quickly, loving the sex more and more. Ty slipped his hands up underneath my t-shirt, skimming the sensitive skin just underneath where my bra ended, and he kissed me again hungrily, pulling me away from the stove.

  I stopped him long enough to set the pot of sauce to simmer, and then we both hurried toward the bedroom together. Ty grabbed me by the waist and lifted me up, throwing me onto the bed and then covering my body with his own. I giggled, reaching out and fumbling with the buttons on his dress shirt, squirming as Ty tugged my t-shirt up to expose my belly and then my breasts.

  One by one our clothes fell away, tossed across the room or fallen to the floor. I felt myself getting hotter and hotter, wetter and wetter by the moment, as Ty’s mouth trailed along the column of my throat and moved down to my breasts. His hand slipped up between my legs and I moaned out as he began to t
ouch me, stroking and rubbing, finding my clit by feel.

  I squirmed and writhed, kissing and nibbling along Ty’s throat, letting my hands wander all over his body as we both became more and more turned on by the moment. I found Ty’s cock, hard and hot, by touch, and began to stroke him in time with his touches, rubbing my thumb against the tip.

  After a few moments that felt like an eternity, Ty shifted against my body, rocking his hips against mine. “Fifteen minutes—think we can do it?”

  “Oh totally,” I said breathlessly. “Twice, at least.” Ty chuckled and thrust into me all at once, beginning to move inside of me right away, his hips pressed against mine, our bodies falling into a rhythm together that neither of us could resist.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist and pushed my hips down to meet his thrusts, the tension and heat building up inside of my body in a matter of minutes. I kissed Ty everywhere my lips could reach, touched him everywhere my hands could find. It always felt so good, so right whenever we had sex—and this time was no different from any of the other times.

  I felt the tension mounting like a knot somewhere deep down between my hips, and every thrust from Ty made it more intense, until I was moaning helplessly, grabbing at Ty’s head, at his shoulders, trembling with the need to finally get off.

  All at once, the tension snapped, and wave after wave of pleasure washed through my body. Ty kept going, thrusting hard and fast, and as the last spasms jolted through me I realized he was taking my challenge—he was going to see if he could make me come twice in fifteen minutes.

  He slowed for a few moments, and then we were at it again, touching each other everywhere, kissing and tasting and exploring each other’s bodies. I felt the tension mounting in my body once more, and I tried to hold back, tried to make Ty come—but before I knew it, I was moaning out once more, shivering and trembling as I hit my second climax in less than fifteen minutes.

  I felt Ty’s body tense against mine, and then he was coming too, moaning against my neck and shoulder, shuddering against me. We fell together onto the bed, panting and gasping for breath, and I felt myself smiling in breathless pleasure.