“Something wrong?” he asked, his face incredibly close to mine.
“I thought we should maybe talk about what happened at the store today. With Nicole.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “I should’ve known that wasn’t going to go away easily.”
“I’m not trying to be a nag here,” I told him, still bracing myself on his shoulders because he was pulling me to him so tightly that I needed it to steady myself. “But are we totally sure that’s not a problem?”
“Nicole?” he asked and I nodded. “Yeah, she’s clearly a problem, but not your problem. And she won’t be my problem anymore.” Then he sighed.
I ran my hand across his cheek. “You know you’re more than what she said, right?”
“I know.”
I thought we would’ve talked a little longer, but no. He held my hand against his cheek and leaned back into me.
The feel of his soft lips against mine warmed me far more than the actual fire just a few feet away. It wasn’t just the kisses. It was the way he leaned his body into mine. The way his hands gripped my hips then slip up under my shirt. They were strong hands against my soft skin and the last thing I wanted to do was stop whatever his plan was.
We were outside and anyone could see from one of the neighbors’ houses, but I couldn’t care less in that moment. His hands were rough, calloused from work and things like building a fire pit, and the way they scraped against my much softer skin just worked for me.
He stopped right beneath my breasts, having pushed my shirt up with his hands, then leaned down to drop kisses over my exposed abdomen. He sucked gently in some places and I had no idea that touches against my stomach could ignite me in such a way. Then he moved his hands up farther until my shirt was above my breasts.
He leaned back to look. I couldn’t imagine what he saw, but at this point, if he kept going, I wouldn’t have stopped him. He scraped his thumbs across my nipples. They hardened, which made him grin.
Of course they did. Even while I still had my bra on, because every single touch was meant to light me on fire and I wanted more of them. Porter leaned down and kissed one of the swells of my breast, nipping at the skin, making me gasp. All to his satisfaction, I was sure.
But then he did the last thing I imagined he would’ve wanted to do. The last thing I wanted him to do.
He pulled back and lowered my shirt.
“What? What?” I asked, my voice coming more breathless than I thought it would’ve been.
“I have to stop.”
I pushed my bottom lip out in a pout.
He shook his head. “Don’t give me that look. If I don’t stop now, I won’t be able to.”
“And that’s bad?”
He nodded. “We’re in Laney’s backyard. I want to fuck you in so many creative ways, Rhian.” He kissed my lips softly. “Want to taste you.” He kissed me again. This time, I held him there for as long as he let me. “But I don’t want to do it here.” Finally, he pushed away from me because he had to have known that I was going to tempt him some more.
“I have a bed right in there.” I pointed behind us to the house.
“Zac and Laney are in there.”
“Doing exactly this probably,” I pointed out. Still, he didn’t budge. “I didn’t think you had this many rules,” I told him, meaning it to be funny, but his jaw tightened and I didn’t think that was how he took it. “I’m kidding.”
“I know.” He nodded. “But I kind of hate that you know so much about me.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Not everything. Like you name.” My face softened and I ran my fingers into his hair. “I don’t care about any of that. Clearly. I just let you feel me up in my best friend’s backyard.”
“Nah. I’ve barely felt anything so far.” His lips met mine again briefly. “I should go.”
“Right.”
We both stood and he walked me up to the back door, saying he wanted me safely inside before he left and he reminded me that he’d take care of the last remnants of the fire. His dark blond hair looked like someone had been running their hands through it—and I supposed had. I never wanted him to fix it.
Porter’s eyes fell on me and the muscle in his jaw tightened then released. He ran a tongue over his bottom lip several times then said, “You know when I said before that I wouldn’t be able to stop?”
I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. “Yeah.”
“I would stop if you told me to.”
Ah. Now I got it. “Yeah, Porter. I know. I’ve always assumed that consent was a must for you.”
“Good.”
With one more lingering kiss, he let me go in the house. I shut and locked the door as he’d wanted me to, but I stood there, just running my fingers over my lips where I could still feel his presence.
Porter was obviously so much more than most people thought.
Chapter Eleven
The next afternoon, Porter sent me a text telling me he’d taken a bunch of extra shifts to cover someone’s vacation the next week. Which meant we wouldn’t see each other until the following weekend. That sucked. But I did have work to do.
I got my computer out to begin the job search and got distracted. I had my home page set to news and the first thing listed was an article on a scientific advancement in stem cell research and couldn’t stop reading. The science part of my brain lit on fire and I imagined how something exciting like this could’ve been done in a lab for students. Not stem cell research itself, of course but something equally exciting.
Damn it. I needed to get my head on straight and begin the job search. Since most of that was done online now, that meant I got to sit on the front porch and enjoy the summer warmth while doing it. I applied to a few office positions in the city that I didn’t find all that interesting but came with a decent pay. Then I applied for things that I wasn’t qualified for in the least. Still mostly in the city but a twenty-minute drive was totally doable. Lastly, I applied to the position I never thought I would just so I’d have options.
Now it was a waiting game.
Laney and I went shopping and to the movies. Turned out Zac was just as busy at work as Porter, and he had Dylan on top of it. With it being summer, Zac and Maddie were apparently trying to split custody a little more evenly now that Dylan’s behavior had leveled out. He could understand changing back and forth more now than before, she’d told me. Which also meant that Zac was spending a lot of nights at his house.
She’d run over to see him sometimes after Dylan went to sleep and sometimes, she and I just watched movies at her place. I ignored any calls or texts from my mother. My father wouldn’t have even tried.
Friday afternoon, Laney burst into my room as I was folding some laundry.
“Put on a bikini,” she said.
“Uh… I’m not into girls, Laney, but I’m pretty sure you can get what you need on the internet.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. We’re going to spend the afternoon at the pond. In the sun, in the water.”
“That sounds amazing. Should we take food and drink?”
“No. It’s taken care of. Just change and let’s go.”
I tossed my unfolded laundry aside and dug out my favorite bikini. It was this beautiful pink that looked amazing against my skin. Then I pulled on shorts and a T-shirt, grabbed my beach bag, and tossed in a towel and sunscreen.
We didn’t need much, though I didn’t know what she meant about food and drink being taken care of.
Then we were in my car headed to the pond. This was what I loved about summer. The carefree time of spontaneity. Maybe there was something to be said for being a teacher. Lots of time off in the summer.
We didn’t have too hard of a time finding a spot in the sand at the pond. Yes, it was busy. There were a ton of people, but a lot of them claimed picnic tables or hung out in the shade watching their kids splash in the water.
First thing I did was shuck off my outer clothes to get myself covered in sunscreen. Lane
y did the same. We were both far too pale to go without.
“Hey, can you get my back?” I asked her once I’d covered everywhere else.
“I can get that.” Porter’s voice came from behind me.
I twisted to get a look at him. He and Zac stood behind us with coolers in their hands. Both were wearing board shorts and T-shirts. I assumed they’d be losing the latter quick enough. Everything about Porter made my stomach clench in anticipation. Laney hadn’t mentioned that we were meeting them there.
“Hey,” I said, meaning it for the both of them.
They dropped their items and Zac kissed Laney then took the sunscreen from her hand. Porter dropped to his knees behind me.
“I didn’t know you guys were coming,” I said, happier to see him than I should’ve been, but a week and a half was a long time. We’d shared some text messages, but not about anything deep or meaningful.
“Laney told us you two were going to be here, so we came. The rest of the guys will be here shortly. Maddie too. Hopefully not Ian, but Dylan is spending the weekend at his grandparents’.”
“Maddie’s parents?” I asked.
“Yeah. They like to have all their grandkids for an overnight every once in a while.”
“That sounds fun.”
He smiled but cocked his head to the side. “Are you going to give me the sunscreen or let your back burn?”
“Oh, right.” I handed it over then leaned forward so he’d be able to get my entire back.
First, he gently swept the hair off my back and over my shoulder, his fingertips barely making contact with my skin. Then I heard the telltale sound of him squeezing sunscreen out of the bottle. My eyes fluttered shut once he began spreading the sunscreen across my back with exactly the right amount of pressure.
Far too soon, it came to end.
“You’re all set,” he told me.
“Thank you.” I forced my eyes to open to the bright sun.
Porter stood up and yanked his shirt over his head, those strong muscles on display, and I decided then and there that this was going to be difficult. I wasn’t ready to tell Laney about anything happening between us because I wasn’t sure myself how deep it went. A hookup was inevitable, but he didn’t seem in a rush to do it. It was all confusing and I didn’t want to deal with her questions.
He looked over his shoulder at me and said, “Let’s go get wet.”
“Too late,” I muttered under my breath, not meaning for him to hear me, yet he chuckled silently. “Laney, want to go in the water?” I asked to cover anything else up.
“Absolutely.” She came over, grabbing my hand to help pull me to my feet, then she and I ran into the water.
The cool, refreshing pond water was exactly what the summer day called for. Zac and Porter were still getting out of their pants and we were already having fun.
They joined us and we spent some of the time just splashing around and laughing. I didn’t go all the way under yet, so only the ends of my hair were getting wet. Same for Laney. Then we decided to get out for a bit. I was getting hungry and needed a drink.
“What’s up with you two?” Laney asked before the guys came over to us.
“Nothing. What do you mean?”
“You and Porter, dummy. You know this. Something’s going on between you two.”
I shrugged her off. “We’re friends. I’d say we’re friends anyway. We talk. He put sunscreen on my back.”
She looked at me as if examining a puzzle. Probably wanting to figure out if I was being totally honest with her or not. I didn’t like the attention.
When the guys came up to us, I was worried she’d say something to Porter. But no. Laney wouldn’t do that just yet. She didn’t know anything and I didn’t think she’d call Porter out in public. Not yet anyway.
The four of us sat down to dive into some sandwiches. We’d been here a while already. It had to be past dinner time. We talked and laughed as we ate. Maddie, Ian, Andy, Jay, and Brad also showed up. There were a few extra people that I didn’t know yet but was sure I’d meet.
“Hey.” Porter pulled me aside after we finished eating. “Go for a walk with me?”
“Sure.” I nodded. “Let me put on my coverup and sandals.”
“You don’t need your coverup.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not walking around in just a bikini.”
He sighed, but I didn’t think I was supposed to hear that.
Once I was ready, we headed off in a direction that would take us away from all the people. Fine by me. Though when he took a tiny left down a trail, I was surprised. Even though I’d been here several times with Laney over the last year, I’d never noticed it being there.
We only walked for a couple of minutes when he stopped in a tiny clearing.
“Remember when we were talking at Laney’s about the spot that everyone went to sneak away from their parents to be alone?” he asked.
“You mean to have sex.”
“Well, yeah. This is it.”
I glanced around. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Zac and I cleared out the space. Basically made us heroes of the town.”
I slapped a hand over my mouth to hide the outraged laugh that was about to come out of it. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” He sat on the ground, leaning back on his hands and stretching his legs out in front of him. “Zac could get away with anything even at home. His parents either didn’t know or didn’t care. Though sometimes the girl didn’t want to do it with his parents in the house.”
“How dare they.” My faked outrage wasn’t lost on him. “So he used it when they weren’t down with his parents being home?”
“Right.”
“And why did you use it?” I asked him.
“Well, my parents cared a little too much.”
“You mean… like parents.”
He scratched the back of his head. “Yeah. Well, they’re… super religious and if they’d ever caught me with a girl, it would’ve meant hours of prayer for me and forcing me to pray too. As well as non-stop lectures about how disappointed Jesus was in me. Fifteen-year-old me did not want to deal with any of that.”
I snickered at the image in my head. “Does twenty… two-year-old you want to deal with that?”
“Absolutely not. And yes. Twenty-two. You guessed right.”
It wasn’t exactly a leap. Laney said they’d all grown up together, so that had to mean they were roughly the same age. Except me. I’d started school early, so I was still twenty-one.
“So.” I took a couple of slow steps toward him. “Did you bring me here for a specific reason?”
This great smile spread across his face. “Only to show you this place. The other night you were asking for stories and it seemed like you were maybe feeling left out.”
“I was,” I admitted quietly.
“Now you’re not.”
Still, I walked over to him and slid into his lap, one leg on each side of him. Instinctively, one of his hands came to hold onto my hip. And let’s just say that his board shorts didn’t leave a lot to the imagination as I could plainly feel him harden beneath me.
He brought that hand up to the back of my neck and pulled me to him. Kissing Porter was now my favorite pastime. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew when to be rough and when to slow down as if he not only knew the choreography of the dance, but he was also the choreographer. The feel of his hot skin beneath my hands brought an entirely new sense of heat to me.
“No,” he said as he pulled back. “I didn’t bring you here to have sex with you.”
“But we could… right?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No.” He moved me off him—and he wasn’t all that gentle about it if I was being honest—then he stood up. “Come on.”
I scowled but took the hand he offered to help me up.
“You know, it seems like you’ll have sex with anyone but me,” I said as a joke, but the way his jaw tightened and h
is entire face hardened meant that he didn’t take it that way.
“Let’s go.”
Porter used a hand on my lower back to lead me out of the tiny alcove as if I wouldn’t have made it out myself.
“Are you mad?” I asked him as we stepped out onto the path. We didn’t turn toward the group, though, and headed in the other direction. Technically, we could’ve walked all the way around the pond if we wanted to.
“Nope.”
“Porter.” I grabbed his arm and he let me stop him. “I was joking.”
He wet his bottom lip and sighed. “I know you were. But, Rhian, I’m not ashamed of anything I’ve done, but I don’t go around boasting about it, either. I really don’t like to hear it coming from you.” He shook me off and began to walk away. I had to jog to catch up to him.
“Why? Why don’t you like hearing it from me? I’ve heard all of them joke about it with you. You don’t seem to care.”
“You’re different. I don’t want you thinking about any of that.”
“I won’t then,” I told him but still secretly wondered why I was the one he didn’t want to think about his past or joke about it with him. I thought I was his next hookup.
“Good.” Finally, his muscles relaxed. “How are you liking East Branch?”
I shrugged. “I love it here because it’s better than my parents’ house. Pittsburgh has more to do, but this place has you guys and I love hanging out with you all.”
“There’s stuff to do. Especially if you go into Detroit. There has to be something you want to go see.”
I thought about it for a minute before we made the last turn around the pond. “There’s a photography exhibit at this little studio. I thought it’d be interesting. It’s by a former resident of East Branch who made it pretty big. A lot of his photos have been featured in national magazines and won tons of awards. Actually, I was thinking of asking Laney to go with me but I’ll go alone if I have to. Not a big deal. So you’re right. There is stuff to do.”
“You’re into photography?” he asked.
“Not especially, but his photos are beautiful. And I saw it online.”
“Let’s go to the exhibit then,” he said, taking me completely by surprise. “Tomorrow. Where is it?”
A Little More Touch Me (The Fallout Series Book 2) Page 10
