Burning Down the House

by Allie Gail

“Okay, what’s it gonna be? House of 1000 Corpses, Halloween or Trick ’R Treat?”

  Returning from trading my clothes for a comfortable gray sleepshirt, I flopped down on the opposite end of the sofa and pulled a soft fleece throw over my legs. It was 9:00, the kids had dispersed and the porch light was out, and I was ready for some peace and quiet. Well, as much peace and quiet as one can expect with scream queens getting hacked to pieces onscreen. October TV is the best. When else can you get an endless supply of horror movies on a dozen different channels?

  “Trick ’R Treat,” I decided, happily curling up underneath the fleece blanket. At the other end of the couch, Rob was facing me with his back against the armrest and long legs bent so I had enough room. He switched to the requested channel before tossing the remote onto the coffee table.

  “Sara...” He gave me a reproachful look. “Are you really gonna sit way over there?”

  I felt my insides dissolve into warm goo at his overt invitation. Without a word I slid across the couch in between those long legs to snuggle up against his chest, while his arms enfolded me in their warmth. “That’s better,” he murmured, pulling the blanket up over us. I couldn’t have agreed more. This was pure heaven. Better than walks on the beach, better than chocolate, better than…

  Sex?

  I wouldn’t know about that. But if ever there was anyone who made me anxious to find out, it was him.

  We lay there together in mutual silence, watching the movie in the dark, and it wasn’t long before one of his hands moved slowly from my waist to find its way underneath my nightshirt where he began idly stroking my thigh. I tried to keep my attention focused on the plot. I really did. But it was difficult to concentrate with his fingers lightly grazing my skin, and all but impossible when they started working their way upward.

  I sucked in my breath sharply when he drew them across my belly, and behind me I heard him chuckle softly. “Ah, I forgot, you’re ticklish…”

  “Don’t even think about it,” I warned him, my stomach muscles clenching at the prospect.

  “Think about what?” His thumb gently skimmed the bottom of one of my breasts and I relaxed again, closing my eyes blissfully.

  “Um. Never mind…”

  “So this is okay?” he breathed suggestively, surrounding the curve with his hand and squeezing while stroking the tip with his thumb. His other arm came around my waist to hitch me closer to him, so close I could feel the conspicuous hard-on wedged against the small of my back. Even through the sturdy denim of his jeans I could feel it, thick and solid and very prominent.

  “Mm-hmm…” I arched my back a little, pushing against his thighs with my hands while he continued his erotic massage with both hands now. I wondered if he could feel the runaway rhythm of my heart. There was no alarm clock to rudely interrupt us this time. We had no classes to get to, no place to be and all the infinite time in the world. At least, it seemed that way. Tomorrow didn’t exist yet. If I lost myself in the abyss of right now, maybe it would never come.

  “Sara…” he whispered into my hair.

  “Hm?”

  “Turn over for me.”

  Careful not to knee him in the jewels, I gingerly shifted my position until I was facing him, stretched out across the length of his body to look demurely down at him. “That better?”

  “That’s perfect.” Grasping the back of my head with his hands, he gently captured my bottom lip between his teeth before pulling me into a deep, hungry kiss that gained in force as his tongue sought out mine. I welcomed him in willingly. Pressed against his firm erection, I felt a familiar and desperate ache building within me. I wanted him to fill that need that had never before been eased by another person’s touch. I wanted it more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life. And judging from the intensity of his kiss and the throbbing hardness beneath me…so did he.

  When I finally pulled away long enough to catch my breath, he took the opportunity to tug my nightshirt up over my head and toss it across the back of the couch, leaving me in nothing but a pair of lacy black panties. Then he lowered his head just enough to latch on to one of my nipples with his mouth. I felt like screaming with the consummate pleasure of it all. Stripped almost bare and straddled over the sexiest high school running back in existence - my nightly fantasies had suddenly come alive in vibrant reality.

  “Mm…every part of you tastes so good.” His tongue traced a few teasing circles before he caught me in his warm mouth again and sucked gently. God, it was like some kind of exquisite, exotic torture. My whole body was starting to tremble.

  “Are you cold?” He reached blindly around me for the fleece blanket, but it had fallen to the floor at some point earlier.

  “No, not really.” I sighed when he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me securely against him. “So. What happened to ‘friends without benefits’?”

  “Fuck that. You should know by now I have no willpower where you’re concerned.”

  Smiling to myself at his confession, I worked one hand in between our tightly pressed bodies to slide down to the bulge in his pants. Stroking him through the denim, I was rewarded with a low groan before he reached down to unsnap his jeans. Oh, heaven help me…this is it, isn’t it?

  Hearing my nearly inaudible gasp, he stopped what he was doing to look up at me with smoldering eyes. “Yes or no, Sara?”

  There was only one answer to give. I truly believed I’d wither and die if I didn’t have him tonight, right now, this very minute. “Yes,” I whispered.

  Abruptly he rolled over on top of me, then stood up. For one dreadful moment I thought he’d inexplicably changed his mind. But then he took both my hands and pulled me to my feet. I felt suddenly vulnerable, standing there in front of him with practically nothing on. At least the only light was the glow coming from the television. The movie was almost over, and I couldn’t recall a single scene from it.

  “Why don’t we go to bed,” Rob suggested, guiding me down the dark hallway to his room. He didn’t bother turning on the light. Feeling totally exposed, I was grateful for that. My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and I could just make out his silhouette as he dropped my hand and began undressing. My heart thumped wildly against my chest.

  “Wait…uh, wait a second,” I said, suddenly remembering the birth control pills in my bathroom drawer. I hadn’t been taking them long enough for them to be fully effective. I was supposed to wait seven days to be safe. Shit, that could be a problem. “Do you have any protection?”

  “There’s some condoms in my nightstand.”

  Okay…condoms in the nightstand. I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that. Why exactly did he have condoms in here? I’d never seen him with anyone else. Why are you obsessing about it, scatterbrain? He probably has them for the same reason you went on the pill. For you, duh.

  Shimmying out of my panties, I groped around for the covers and pulled them back so I could slide in bed underneath them. I cannot believe I’m bare ass naked in Rob’s bed. This is too crazy. I heard the sound of a drawer opening and closing, then felt the slight movement of the bed as he crawled in beside me. One arm slipped around my waist and for the first glorious time, I felt his bare body against mine.

  “Well, hey there,” he whispered, trailing his fingers down my back. I felt his hard-on against my belly and my hands itched to touch him there.

  “Hey,” I replied breathlessly. “Come here often?”

  He laughed softly at my unintentional play on words. “As a matter of fact, I do…come here often. Never quite like this before.”

  “Then how?”

  Reaching for my hand, he navigated it to his stiff penis and folded my fingers around it. The skin there was amazingly smooth. I marveled at how something could be so rock-hard and yet so soft at the same time. With his own hand, he guided mine into the slow rhythm that he wanted. “Like this,” he breathed against my lips before pressing his mouth to mine. I reveled in the taste of his tongue again while stroking him the way he
liked.

  But touching him like this was igniting a blaze that desperately needed to be extinguished, and now, so I boldly threw one leg over his hip and rubbed my slick heat against him. I wanted so badly to feel him inside me, I was literally aching. Never mind that I’d never done this before - I was ready to climb him like Mount Everest.

  “Oh…God, Sara…” Groaning between clenched teeth he squeezed my backside, grinding his length against my wetness hard enough to elicit a soft moan from me. “Hold that thought,” he said, pulling away just long enough to reach for the condom he’d placed on top of the nightstand. Ripping open the packet, he quickly rolled it on and pushed me gently over onto my back.

  With one hand he guided himself to my entrance, then tried to push his way in. Of course, he didn’t get very far. Feeling the pressure against my internal barrier, I instinctively shrank back against the pillows. Hesitating, he tried again. And got nowhere. It just wasn’t going in.

  The hazel eyes stared down at me in disbelief. “Holy hell…you’ve never done this before! Have you?”

  “Um. No.” Why did he make it sound as if I’d done something wrong? Was it a crime to be a virgin these days?

  “Oh shit, baby…” Shifting all his weight onto one arm, he used the opposite hand to brush an errant lock of hair away from my face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “What should I have said?”

  “I don’t know. It just seems like you might’ve given me a little advance warning.” He ran a finger across my lips. “I had no idea.”

  “I don’t know why you act so surprised.”

  “Am I hurting you? Do you want me to stop?”

  “No, I don’t want you to stop!” To provide validation, I wrapped both legs around his waist and lifted my hips a little. His eyelids fluttered shut in ecstasy. “Please, Rob…don’t stop...I don’t want you to,” I quietly begged.

  “You sure?” His voice sounded shaky. I was pretty sure by now he was past the point of no return anyway.

  “Very sure…”

  He didn’t need any more convincing. Pushing against my resistance in short thrusts, he leaned down to kiss me and whisper against my cheek, “Take a nice deep breath for me, baby girl. Then let yourself relax.”

  I did like he said and inhaled, but the breath I released was broken by my startled yelp. With one quick, hard thrust he’d found his way in. The sharp pain was fleeting, inconsequential. Gone in an instant. He held himself inside me, frozen. “You okay?”

  “Yes…I’m fine.” That was a lot easier than I’d expected.

  He started moving again, very slowly, retreating to the point of withdrawing before gradually pushing his way back inside, filling me, stretching me…never in my life had I ever felt anything so intensely, incredibly stimulating. Tangling my fingers in his silky strands, I raised my hips to meet the thrusts that were coming quicker now. The sensation that had been hanging on the precipice all evening finally burst forth in all its glory and I clenched handfuls of his hair as he literally rocked my world.

  I heard my name spill from his lips in a husky groan, felt him contract within me, and the arms on either side tremored before releasing some of the burden of their weight to rest against me. Drained and spent, we lay there silently for a moment while I traced the contours of his shoulder blades and felt his ragged breath come and go with mine. I’d never felt so completely…complete. A hundred confusing emotions swept through me in that instant. I wanted to laugh, cry, profess my love - though every rational part of me knew damn well it would be stupid to do any of those things. So instead all I did was kiss him on the shoulder and say teasingly, “Now that was the best birthday present ever.”

  “That was the best anything ever.” He lifted his head to brush my lips before carefully pulling away. “I’ll be right back.” Climbing out of bed, he vanished into the bathroom, presumably to get rid of the evidence. I stretched out luxuriously with a silly grin on my face. A virgin no more…holy cow, I just let Rob Kensington pop my cherry! Who would’ve ever thought? Me and Goth Boy?

  He returned to slide between the sheets again, cuddling me close to his smooth, hard chest. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  “Not at all,” I sighed contentedly. He began to caress my cheek with his thumb, and my eyes closed in pure rapture. It was hard to believe this was the same guy who, just two months ago, was crudely demanding that I stay out of his way. Life can be very unpredictable.

  “You are so hard to resist,” he admitted in a low voice. “I knew I was in trouble the minute you walked in that door in August. Damned if I wasn’t right.”

  “You think I’m trouble?” I wondered if I should feel insulted by that remark.

  “That’s not what I meant, Saralou.” He kissed the tip of my nose and I smiled. “But I do think we need to establish a few ground rules.”

  Rules? My heart began to sink as I imagined all sorts of scenarios. Was he about to tell me something I didn’t want to hear? I thought about all those nights he’d supposedly been over at Trent’s after football practice. Maybe he was seeing someone else and I just didn’t know about it. “What are you talking about?” I asked faintly.

  “I’m talking about your dad. He doesn’t need to know about this.”

  Oh…right.

  “We just have to be careful, is all I’m saying. If he ever has reason to suspect something’s going on, things could get…messy. You know what I mean?”

  “Better safe than sorry, is that what you’re saying?”

  “Exactly. We should keep it on the down low for now.”

  “Sure. We can do that.” How would my dad react if he found out? I knew he was fairly liberal and definitely not a puritan when it came to sex. During my summers here I’d woken up more than once to find one of his “friends” in our kitchen flipping pancakes. Also, I was eighteen now and technically considered an adult. But as Rob had pointed out before, in my father’s eyes I was still his little girl. The last thing I wanted was to give him an excuse to kick our houseguest to the curb. Not that I honestly thought he’d ever do something like that. It didn’t fit his benevolent personality and besides, he really seemed to adore Rob. But it just wasn’t worth the risk. “Tell me something.”

  “Okay.”

  Pausing, I debated for a moment before chickening out. “No, never mind.”

  “What is it?” he gently pressed. “Go ahead. Ask me anything.”

  “Forget it - it’s stupid.”

  Grasping my chin, he forced me to look straight into his twinkling eyes. “Now listen up here, little miss - you either spit it out or I’ll have to spank it out of you.”

  I stifled a giggle at his so-called threat. “Really? ’Cause I might like it. Was that supposed to intimidate me or something?”

  “Yeah…I didn’t think that one through. Come on now, what’s your question? Let’s hear it.”

  “All right. Um…” I hoped he didn’t think I was some kind of possessive stalker type for asking this. “Why do you have condoms in your room?”

  He considered this. “I think what you really want to know is whether or not I’m a man whore. Am I right?”

  “Okay…we’ll go with that.”

  “How many girls have you seen me with?”

  “None,” I had to admit.

  “That’s right, none. I bought them not long ago just in case, with you in mind - and yeah, I know it was presumptuous but I wanted to be prepared just in case. I think I knew all along this was coming. No pun intended.”

  “Oh.” I felt a little foolish, but immensely relieved and now I was glad I’d asked. At least I wouldn’t be obsessing over it. I should have quit while I was ahead, but my need to know all was a rebellious driving force. “But you’ve done this before,” I blurted, and it came out as a statement rather than a question. Of course it wasn’t his first time. He was way too confident and self-assured to be new at this.

  He pressed his forehead against mine. “Not with anyone who mattered.”


  I decided that was enough for now. Suddenly I didn’t want to know any more. Not now, not tonight. Tonight was ours.

  “I’m on the pill,” I confessed.

  “You are?”

  “Yeah, but I just started taking them three days ago so I didn’t figure they were working yet.”

  He was just about to say something when his cell phone started going off somewhere on the floor. Rolling over, he reached down to dig it out of his pants and held it up to see who the caller was.

  “It’s Trent. This oughta be good.” After answering the call with, “What’s up, ass clown?” he turned on the speakerphone option with a grin. I could hear voices shouting and loud music in the background.

  “Hey man! Need you to do me a solid.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Come pick me up. I need a ride.” Dana’s muffled voice said something I couldn’t make out before Trent rephrased his request. “We need a ride. Me an’ sexy Alice here - she done had too much of the drink me potion…”

  Even in the darkness, I could see Rob’s eyes turn to the ceiling. “I assume you’re out at Savage River.”

  “You assume…correctly.” Trent began to laugh raucously, obviously finding his own wit terribly funny.

  “Hang tight. I’m on my way, gimme half an hour.” He dropped the phone on the nightstand with a sigh. “Dammit.”

  I couldn’t help laughing. “Sounds like they both had a little too much of the drink me potion.”

  “Wanna go for a ride?”

  “Sure. Just give me five minutes to get dressed.”

  In my own bathroom, I found a pink smear on the toilet paper but that was to be expected. I was glad it wasn’t worse. Dana told me she bled all over the place her first time. That was summer before last, when she was infatuated with some lifeguard she met during her vacation in Ocean City. I remembered meeting him once. His name was Harley, and he was a bronzed beefcake with long hair and the IQ of a box of instant mashed potatoes. Their relationship didn’t last long.

  After hastily brushing my teeth and rubbing on a bit of scented lotion, I dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue Adidas hoodie before meeting Rob in the living room. He already had the car keys in his hand and was waiting for me. I felt a flutter in the pit of my stomach at the mere sight of him, and when he placed his hands on my waist to pull me near I felt every pore reverberate in response.