Kissing Carter: A College Romance

by Zara Rivas

  I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence because she was kissing me again. She was kissing me. I quickly kissed her back, and we became entangled in this insanely hot, insanely, passionate kiss.

  I pushed her back on the bed, and when I felt her bite my lip, I knew I was reaching the point of no return. As badly as I wanted her, and I had never wanted anyone more than I wanted her, I didn't want the first time we slept together to be like this. I wanted it to be…special.

  But, it was getting harder and harder to remember that I wanted it to be special with the way she was kissing me and running her fingers up my back. Thankfully, I didn't have to worry about my self-control, because the sound of the door slamming shut made me jump off of Harper.

  Ashley stood there, her face pink with embarrassment. "Oh, damn…, I'm sorry… we need to get some sign or something."

  "It's okay," I said quickly, even though my body didn't agree with that. "I should be going anyway."

  Harper looked up at me, frustration filling those gorgeous blue eyes of hers. Her lips were kind of puffy from our deep kissing, and it made me want to kiss them again. Instead, I brushed some stray hairs off of her face.

  "Go on a date with me this weekend," I said, giving her a smile that I hoped made her weak.

  "A date?"

  "Yeah, a date. You know, we go out for a romantic time, just the two of us?" I glanced over at Ashley, who was pretending to be busy at her desk.

  Harper narrowed her eyes at me. "Do you even know how to go on a date?" Talk about killing the moment.

  "I'm a fast learner," I said, my voice low and deep.

  I can tell by the way she was breathing that she wanted to, but she shook her head. "I can't. I mean, I want to, but Charlotte and I are heading home this weekend."

  I was stunned at how disappointed I felt. "Oh, okay."

  "Rain check?" She asked.

  I nodded, giving her a soft kiss on her lips. "We better. Goodnight." I looked over at Ashley, who was watching us with a grin. When she noticed I was looking, she whipped her head back around. "Goodnight, Ashley."

  She started to giggle. "Night, Carter."

  I walked into the hall, a smile forming on my face as I thought about that kiss. I had never kissed like that. A kiss that almost felt better than-

  "Carter?"

  I turned around and saw Charlotte standing in front of Harper's door. She seemed surprised to see me. "Oh, hey Char," I said, pulling her into a hug when she walked up to me.

  "What are you doing here?" She asked, glancing back at Harper's door.

  "I…" I felt my heart start to race as Charlotte stood there, watching me. I knew Harper would want me to come up with an excuse, which was hard to do, considering Charlotte knew me well enough to know when I was lying.

  "I was just coming to see Harper," she explained, giving up on waiting for my answer. I was suddenly thankful Charlotte was so talkative. "She seemed a little strange at the movies, didn't she?"

  "I, uh, didn't notice."

  "Of course you didn't," she said with a laugh. "I just wanted to make sure she was okay and not overwhelmed or anything."

  "That's nice of you," I said, wishing I could tell her that Harper was just fine, and she had no reason to worry.

  "Thanks," she smiled at me. "You never said what you were doing around here?"

  "I was…on my way to find this hot freshman. I met the other night." A sick feeling filled my stomach as the lie came out of my mouth. I wasn't sure if it was because I was flat out lying to my best friend or if it was because I was talking about some girl other than Harper even if she was imaginary.

  She rolled her eyes at me. "I should've known; you'll never change," she said with a laugh.

  I wanted to tell her that I already did. "I heard you guys were heading home this weekend; we should all ride together."

  "Yeah, of course. We were planning to leave after class on Friday, so just come by my room then," she told me. "Have fun tonight."

  She turned and walked back towards Harper's door. I watched her go, wishing I could tell her the truth. The truth about how I felt about Harper and what I hoped was happening between us. The truth that I wasn't on my way to find some girl because I hadn't looked at, or thought about, another girl since Harper stepped foot on this campus.

  When I walked into Charlotte's room, someone was sitting on her bed that I didn't expect to see.

  Carter.

  His face broke into a grin when he saw me, so I quickly dropped my gaze to the ground, trying to avoid the danger of his smile, and they landed on a black duffle bag. His black duffle bag. What the hell? We had been texting nearly nonstop over the last two days, and coming home with us for the weekend was never mentioned.

  My eyes shot back up to his, searching for some explanation. "What are you doing here?"

  "Harper!" Charlotte scolded me. Truthfully I hadn't even realized she was standing in the room.

  "I just mean…no one told me about this," I said, staring directly at Carter so he would pick up my hint.

  Charlotte shrugged before she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What's the big deal? We normally drive home together."

  "Right," I muttered. "Wouldn't you rather stay here and keep Noah company?" I asked, staring harder at him.

  Either he wasn't picking up on what I was trying to say, or he was ignoring it. Given that it was Carter, I would go with the latter. I knew that I was rude, but the thought of being in the car with Carter and Charlotte made my stomach churn. It was getting harder and harder to keep my feelings cool around him, and I still wasn't ready to let Charlotte in on anything, since I wasn't sure about anything yet.

  He gave me that smirk of his, one that used to annoy me but now kind of drove me crazy, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I love Noah and all, but there are more important people back home."

  I tried not to blush at his words. He was talking about his parents.

  "So we should get going," Charlotte said, glancing at the clock on her wall before turning her attention back to me. Well, more like the luggage by my feet. "Jeeze Harper, you're bringing three bags with you? You know we are only going to be there for the weekend, right?"

  That was another difference between Charlotte and me- she was perfectly fine in jeans and a t-shirt, while I always wanted a little more oomph in my look. "I can't help that I like variety," I told her.

  She gave me a soft smile, her grey eyes kind. "I know you do. Just remember there is no one back home to impress."

  I tried desperately not to glance in Carter's direction. She was right, though. I could wear as many short dresses and low cut shirts as I wanted, but that still wouldn't erase the many unattractive moments Carter has already witnessed in my life. He has already seen me bawl over sappy chick flicks, colds that were so bad they turned my nose red, and my awful hello kitty pajamas. It made me cringe just thinking about it.

  "Well, I think you look great," Carter said, causing both of us to turn and look at him.

  "Thanks," I said softly, trying to keep my face from turning red.

  Charlotte looked back at the clock, and I knew it was killing her that we were running late. "Are you guys ready?" She asked, already halfway out the door.

  I nodded, bending over to pick up one of my bags. When I stood back up, Carter was standing next to me.

  "Can I help you carry your bags?"

  I coughed in surprise. "No, I'm okay."

  He narrowed his eyebrows at me. "You can't carry three bags."

  "I think I got them here just fine."

  "Stop being ridiculous and just let me-"

  "I'm not ridiculous," I interrupted him loudly, placing a hand on my hip, even though I knew I was.

  "What could you guys possibly be fighting over now?" Charlotte asked, frustration obvious in her voice. She sounded like mom, though I would never tell her that.

  I turned around to shoot her an apologetic smile. "Nothing, we're coming." When I turned back around, I saw that
Carter had taken the distraction to his advantage and was holding my other two bags. I opened my mouth to protest, but then Carter gave me a look that made my knees weak.

  "Harper," he said in a low voice. "Just let me carry your bags."

  I nodded, still at a loss for words. Between that look, and the voice he used, I probably would've agreed to anything.

  We arrived at Charlotte's car and shoved our bags into the trunk. Charlotte stood on her tiptoes to slam her trunk shut, then she went around and got into the driver's seat. Carter and I were still standing there, and I realized we had reached our second obstacle of the trip: who got the front seat? It was a long tradition that Carter and I would fight over who got to ride in the front and who was stuck in the backseat. I always felt I got the right because she was my sister, and Carter felt like it was his right cause; he was the best friend. No wonder Charlotte hated driving with us.

  Carter glanced at the passenger side door, then at me, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was. "Do you want to sit up there?" He asked, offering the spot to me for the first time.

  I shook my head, thrown off guard at how Cartier like he was acting towards me. "No, you go ahead. You have longer legs and would probably be more comfortable."

  He gave me a smirk, eyeing me up and down. "You have some pretty nice legs too."

  "I said long, not nice," I said with a soft laugh as he took a step towards me.

  The wanting look in his eyes made my heart bang against my chest. "Did you?"

  It had been two days since we kissed, and suddenly it felt like two days too long. I had this aching feeling in my heart that I knew wouldn't go away until I pressed my lips against his. And suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to pull him to me, getting a taste of his lips, and I was pretty sure he wanted it just as much as I did, considering the way he was staring at me.

  Just when I was ready to lose my mind and grab hold of him completely, Charlotte honked the horn, causing me to jump a mile.

  "You take the front," I muttered, climbing quickly into the backseat before I had time to act on my insane thoughts.

  Carter slides into the front seat, and I stared at the back of his head, taking in his messy brown hair. I couldn't believe how badly I wanted to touch it. I clasped my hands together, trying to fight off the urge to reach over and run my fingers through it.

  "Let me guess," Charlotte said, starting to drive. "You guys were going at it?"

  Carter coughed into a fist. "What?"

  "Fighting over the front seat?" She said, glancing over at him.

  Carter's eyes met mine in the review mirror, and I knew we both didn't have the energy to lie. The only thing we had been fighting outside the car was the urge to start making out against the car.

  "What's Noah doing this weekend without you?" I asked, trying to change the subject. I know anything dealing with Noah was a good choice.

  "Besides spending it crying that is," Carter added in, causing me to grin.

  "Haha," she said, and I knew she was rolling her eyes. "His friends are coming in from Tennessee, so I'm sure he won't even be missing me," she said, even though no one, including herself, would believe that.

  "Speaking as a male, as much as we want to hang out with our friends, they can't take the place of a girl," Carter said, flipping through the radio stations.

  "You would know," Charlotte teased him. Even though it was a joke, something she probably teased him about a hundred times, his body stiffened at her words.

  He cleared his throat as he continued to flip through the stations. Finally, he stopped. "You like this one, right, Rapunzel?"

  "Uh, yeah."

  Charlotte's eyes met mine in the review mirror, and they were full of questions. "What kind of blackmail do you have on Carter to make him act this nicely?"

  I laughed nervously, picking at a hole in my jeans. It was the pair my mom had complained about buy for me because she couldn't understand why we were spending that much money on a pair of jeans covered in holes.

  Carter must have sensed me stalling because he laughed. "It's kind of like the calm before the storm," he explained to Charlotte.

  "Too bad, it was a pleasant change."

  "You're home! You're home!" Mom squealed, as if we were unaware of the fact, and ran up to pull me into a tight hug. Then she pulled away slowly, still holding on to my arms and looked me over. "You're even thinner! Don't you like the food there? You need to come home for food more often."

  "Mom!" I laughed, kissing her on the cheek before she went to hug Charlotte.

  When she saw Carter standing there, a surprised smile formed on her lips. "Carter, what are you doing here, honey? Did you forget your parents are away this weekend?"

  I looked at Carter, who was blushing a bit. He didn't forget his parents where gone. But that didn't make sense at all, because he said that he didn't want to stay because there were more important people here. And that's when my heart stopped beating because I knew the real reason why he came back for me.

  "No, I, uh, I just really missed your cooking," he told her, giving her that charming smile of his, which made mom smile happily.

  "Why don't you stay here with us. I don't feel right about you staying alone; I don't care how old you are. There is plenty of room and food here," mom insisted.

  The smile on Carter's face told me that was what he had been hoping. "Thanks, mom," he told her.

  I immediately started feeling anxious. I was prepared to hide my feelings for him around my family for a few hours, but now I had to do it for the whole weekend? I was looking forward to spending time with my family, and now I had to worry about fighting the urge to kiss him and keeping my heart rate under control. I didn't know how I could be excited about having someone around while wishing they were gone at the same time.

  "Harper! Charlotte!"

  I looked up to see Emily's smiling face come walking into the room with her boyfriend, Adam, in tow. I laughed to myself when I saw him, remembering how dad thought she was too young to date, and here they were, over a year later and still together. I felt my mouth drop open slightly when I saw her long, brown hair now had a streak of hot pink in it. She hugged me tightly, and I smiled down at her. Even though she was taller than Charlotte, she wasn't quite as tall as me. I ran my fingers through the pink part of her hair.

  "When did you do this?"

  "A week ago?" She said, and I could see mom give Charlotte a look that said she didn't care for it. "I was in the art class, and I got pink in my hair, and then I liked it, so I got it done. What do you think?"

  "It's nice," I told her.

  "Very bright," Charlotte added in.

  Adam smiled at her, his brown eyes shining. "I love it."

  Mom cleared her throat. "Your dad should be home shortly from work," she paused, taking in the concerned look on my face. "Don't worry, he has cut back a lot of hours," she promised.

  "Let's catch up for a bit before dinner," Emily said, wrapping her fingers around my wrist and doing the same to Charlotte. She started to drag us away before we even had a chance to respond.

  "Come on, Adam, let's play some video games; they could take a while," Carter said to him as we left the room.

  "This isn't fair," Charlotte pouted as we walked up the stairs. "Em's boyfriend is here, Harper's boyfriend is here, and mine is back at school."

  "What did you say?" My feet froze in place, and I could feel my face go pale.

  Charlotte broke into a smile. "Relax, Harper; I was only joking. Don't act so offended."

  What Charlotte didn't know is that I didn't feel offended at all. I felt relieved, panicked, and a bit sad. This weekend was going to be the death of me.

  "So Harper, have you thought any more about selecting a major?"

  And there it was. The question I had been waiting for since I walked in the front door. Surprisingly, it didn't get asked until mom was serving dessert when dad finally asked over a slice of cherry pie. He had worded the question very casually as
if it was something he just thought of, but I could tell from the glance he exchanged with mom, it was something that had been discussed.

  "A bit," I said, quickly shoving a forkful of pie into my mouth, hoping that would end the questioning.

  Dad drummed his fingers against the side of his coffee mug. "You will want to make that decision as soon as possible. Otherwise, you are just wasting time and money."

  "I know," I told him, biting my tongue so I would add in that picking something before you were sure would also be a waste of time and money.