“How about a good ole fashioned game of strip pool?”
Strip pool? I’ve never heard of it, but I’ve heard of strip poker and I have a feeling the premise of it is similar. “Uh, I’m not so sure about that.” I shake my head, looking back over to Jenna.
“Well, you two ladies talk it over and decide on whatever your hearts’ desire. I’m gonna go check on Carter.” He takes off, running back upstairs.
Jenna glances in my direction. “Well, Holly, what does your heart desire?” She’s looking at me with a twinkle in her eye and a goofy ass smile on her face. I know what she’s trying to do, but it isn’t going to work. On the way over, she tried to get me to talk about Carter and I deflected it each time. I’m sure as hell not going to talk about him now, especially not at his house when he’s just right upstairs.
“You’re funny,” I say. “But it’s not going to work.”
She rolls her eyes, giving up on the subject. “Okay, fine, but are you gonna leave me hanging on the strip pool or what? I think we could totally take these guys.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re decent at pool, but I totally suck,” I say, taking my jacket off and laying it across the couch. Between my nerves from the recent game proposal and knowing I’m about to see Carter, a light sweat is starting to break out across my body.
“Yeah, well, that’s why we’ll have to do a really good job at distracting them. It’s strip pool. There are a ton of fun ways we could distract them.” She looks frustrated that she actually has to explain this to me.
Josh comes back downstairs, rubbing his hands together. “So, what’s it going to be, ladies? Are we going to shed some clothes or what?”
Jenna looks over to me with a sweet smile and I nod my head. “Sure, I’m in.”
“Sweet!” he shouts. “Carter’s just about ready; he should be down in a minute.”
Flutters start in my stomach and travel all around my body, knowing I’ll see him soon. The last few times I’d been here, they weren’t the happiest of memories between us. Carter spent most of the time trying to avoid me, and eventually, I just stopped showing up all together. However, tonight I’m here purely as a friend. When the two of us get a minute alone together I want to try and talk to him. See if he will tell me what is going on with him.
Josh walks past us, towards the kitchen. “C’mon ladies, let’s get this party started.”
While Jenna and Josh fight over who gets to break, I head back in the house to grab my jacket. I’m thinking ahead, knowing that if we are going to be losing clothes, I want to layer up as much as possible. Luckily, Josh has cranked up the space heater in the garage, otherwise, having to take off clothes in that cold garage is going to be miserable... well, even more miserable.
As I turn the corner and enter the living room, I jump back a foot when I see Carter coming down the stairs, taking me by surprise.
“Oh, my gosh, you scared me.” I grab my chest and let out a large breath.
“Sorry,” he says, “I didn’t mean to.”
“How are you?” My hand is still over my chest as I take in a deep breath, trying to calm myself.
He shrugs. “Okay, I guess. How was your Christmas?”
I shrug, too. “My brother didn’t make it into town, so I got to spend a lot of time with my mom and dad. I actually wasn’t supposed to be back for a couple more days, but I was missing home.” Missing you.
“Yeah.” He swallows hard and looks towards the ground. “I heard Jenna tell Josh that you weren’t going to be here for New Year’s,” he pauses and then looks at me intently, “but I’m glad you came home early.”
“Me, too.” I smile, fighting the urge to wrap my arms around him. Jenna wasn’t kidding; Carter doesn’t look like himself at all. I haven’t seen him the past few weeks, but the broken guy standing before me isn’t the same guy I knew for the past few months.
He takes a couple steps towards me and I gulp loudly when he stops just a few inches from me. My heartbeat that was just beginning to return to a normal rate, starts to go erratic once more.
“I mean it. I’m glad you’re here. It’s really good to see you. I’m sorry that I’ve been distant over the last few weeks. You have no idea how much I wanted to—to hear your voice, your laugh. I thought about you a lot while you were gone.”
Whoa, I wasn’t expecting to hear all of this. “You missed me?”
He closes his eyes and then slowly reopens them. “Yeah, you have no idea.”
“Me, too.” I can feel myself leaning into him desperately wanting to kiss his lips.
“Hey, Holly!” I hear Josh shout my name and it breaks my focus. “Better get in here, your girl has already lost both her shoes... her shirt’s next!
We both shake our heads and laugh.
“Well, we better get in there,” he says, glancing to my lips and then back up to my eyes.
“Yeah, we better.”
❧
One hour and a few beers later, Jenna and I have lost our shoes and our shirts. I know that I will have to sink my next shot or I’m going to give Carter a chance to sink his. I don’t want that to happen because that would mean the loss of either my bra or pants if he makes it. The game has been entertaining, to say the least, and I can’t complain, seeing that both Josh and Carter are both down to their boxer shorts.
Jenna is amazingly talented when it comes to distracting Josh. He has only made one of his shots the entire game. Carter is mostly the one responsible for the loss of me and Jenna’s clothes.
“Okay, just hit it softly,” Jenna coaches me. “Hit the ball right in the middle, but a little on the left side, but not too far on the left.”
I sigh, looking up at her. My nerves are already on edge, I don’t need her adding to them.
“Sorry,” she says, smiling at me. “You’re gonna do great.”
Bringing the pool stick back slowly, I push it forward, trying to keep it steady. The ball starts to roll towards the top right pocket and, before it’s even sunk, Jenna is squealing and jumping up and down.
“Take ‘em off, boys!” Jenna laughs, glancing back and forth between Josh and Carter.
Josh has no problem with it and pulls off his boxers in one swift movement. Oh, my God! I tear my eyes away before I see anything, not wanting to see him naked for a second time. I’m not sure what’s worse, them stripping or me. This isn’t nearly as enjoyable as I thought it would be, but I guess it’s so much better than me losing another piece of clothing. Jenna is laughing, clearly enjoying this, while I keep my face down. Just when I think things can’t get more uncomfortable, I see another pair of boxers come to a rest at my feet.
❧
“So, just like old times, huh?” Carter asks me as he throws a blanket and pillow on the couch.
“Hey, I offered to sleep down here and let you have your bed. You said no,” I remind him, smiling.
“You know I don’t mind. I actually started to like it down here and I’ve missed it,” he says, looking away and falling on the couch. The last few hours have felt like old times and, from the smile on Carter’s face, it looks like he’s enjoyed himself, too.
“Well, I’ll see you in the morning,” I say, heading upstairs.
“Yeah, goodnight, Holly,” he calls and I’m reminded of how much I miss him saying those words.
“Night, Carter.”
As I slip under the covers and close my eyes, I try not to think about how badly I want to go downstairs to see Carter. We have so many things to talk about. There is so much unfinished business between us that I don’t want to let everything that has happened the last few weeks—like how he tried to ignore my existence—go without notice. I toss and turn for close to an hour before finally giving up. Making my way down the stairs, I try to push the fear and nerves out of my head.
“Carter,” I whisper, staring into darkness. “Are you awake?”
“Yeah, I’m up.” His voice is soft and deep.
“Can I talk to you for a minute
?”
“Yeah, sure.” I see a large shadow rise and scoot back into a sitting position on the couch.
I take a seat beside him and—without even touching him—I can feel the heat from him, sending a path of warmth through me.
You can do this, Holly, I silently give myself a pep talk.
“I lied to you, again,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “When I said that I just wanted to be friends...” my voice trails off. My heart is beating so hard and fast that I can feel it lodged in my throat, blocking any air trying to get to my lungs. Swallowing hard and trying not to pay attention to what my body wants, I try to find the words, try to fill the silence, but my mind is overcome by his closeness to me. My eyes are adjusting to the darkness and, from the little light that is cast from the moon, I can see his chest is bare. I can’t help it as my eyes trail up the length of it and then back down.
“Yeah, I lied to you, too,” he says finally, his voice dry and rough. The last word barely makes it out of his mouth before his arms are around me and his lips are on mine, giving me what I really want and need from him. Without any effort, he picks me up, sits back farther on the couch, and sets me on top of him... all in one swift move and all without breaking our connection. My legs are straddled on either side of him and I bury my hands in his hair, pulling him closer to me, pressing his lips harder to mine.
Days, weeks, and months of lying to myself, lying to him, and denying what I want—what my body wants—is trying to catch up from the lost time. Clamping down on my thighs he jerks me forward, bringing me tighter against him, giving me even more of a hunger for him. Our lips slide over each other’s in quick, ravenous, surges; both of us taking short gasps of air before diving back into each other.
Breaking from our kiss he hungrily trails kisses down my neck, taking in mouthfuls of my skin, sucking on it, causing moans and whimpers to escape me. His lips come back to meet mine and I work mine against his, urgently. His hands glide over the tops of my thighs, up to my hips, and then slowing his movements, they gently drift under my shirt to rub across my stomach and along my ribs. His soft and sweet movements cause me to slow down my pace as well, wanting to enjoy every piece of him I can.
“Holly,” he gasps, breaking our connection, slowly drawing away from me.
“Yeah,” I breathe, pulling him back to me.
He removes his hand from under my shirt and gently releases the grip I have around his neck, joining our hands and resting them on his chest in between us.
“I think we should slow down before things go too far.”
Feeling the rush of his kiss and his touch evaporate out of me, I exhale loudly and lean back, knowing he’s right, yet still wishing he hadn’t stopped.
“You’re right,” I agree, trying to catch my breath.
Chapter Nineteen
For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
CARTER
The next morning, I wake up on the couch alone. The images from last night run through my head and I would swear that it was just a dream, but the soreness that lingers on my lips from our rough kiss tells me that it was all real. Sucking on my bottom lip, I can still taste her and remember how soft her skin felt against mine and how sweet she tasted. It’s making me crazy and I’m beginning to regret stopping it from going further.
I’m not sure where the control to pull away from her came from last night because God knows I want her. I want her so badly, but there are still a lot of things that need to be said between us. I’ve already let too much time go by without telling her the truth.
I hear a door open from one of the upstairs bedrooms, and a few seconds later I hear another one shut. The toilet flushes, the faucet runs, and then footsteps start down the stairs. I’m hoping it’s Holly and I’m hoping that her face doesn’t hold a look of regret. I don’t regret a second of what happened last night and I’m not sure what it would do to me if I know she does.
When she finally appears, she meets my stare and an adorable smile spreads across her face, causing my breath to catch.
“Morning.” I smile. The smile she’s wearing grows wider, allowing me to relax a little.
“Good morning.” She continues making her way to the couch and takes a seat beside me, almost in the exact spot she started in last night.
“You marked me,” she says.
“I what?”
She moves her long brown hair over to one shoulder, exposing her neck and I finally see what she means. A large hickey rests on the base of her throat, glowing like a beacon in the night.
“Oh, man. I’m so sorry. I got a little carried away.”
“Don’t be sorry,” she says, stealing the line I’ve used on her a couple times. “I’m not.”
When another door from upstairs opens, our connection is broken and Jenna joins us in the living room.
“Breakfast is on us this morning. Josh feels like sleeping the day away,” Jenna says, annoyed, making her way into the kitchen.
“I’ll help.” Holly stands, smiling back at me.
After joining them in the kitchen, I’m aware of every move Holly makes and I don’t miss the small gestures she gives me every time she passes by me. The way her fingers linger a little longer than they have to when she hands the butter to me or the way her whole body brushes against mine when she squeezes in between me and the counter in order to get to the refrigerator.
We’re about to sit down to eat when Jenna gasps. “Holly! What is that on your neck? Is that a—”
“What’s on whose neck?” Josh asks, walking in, finally gracing us with his presence.
“Uh, nothing. Josh, would you grab the OJ out of the fridge, please?” Jenna asks, clearly trying to distract Josh from seeing anything. Holly is biting her lip, trying to hide a smile as she moves her hair around to cover the mark I left on her neck.
When I glance up, Jenna’s looking between me and Holly, smiling wide and shaking her head.
HOLLY
I’m convinced that my best friend is the most relentless person on the planet. We aren’t even two steps outside of Josh and Carter’s before she stops me and pulls my hair away from my neck.
“Holly Ann. It’s about damn time, girl.”
I lean back, pulling my hair back and continuing down the flagstone path.
“You’re not even going to tell me about it?” She follows close behind me.
“Do you really want details?”
“Uh, yeah,” she responds as if it’s a no brainer.
I laugh, shaking my head and pulling open my car door. “Well, I don’t think I’m comfortable giving you the details.”
“Oh, my God! It’s been hell watching the two of you the last few months. I’ve seen you go through hell, Carter’s been a miserable SOB, and now you’re not even gonna let me reap the benefits with you?”
“I’m still not even sure what it means. We didn’t get a lot of talking done last night if you know what I mean,” I say, glancing over at her and she squeals loudly.
“Oh, this is so great,” she says, smiling. “It became so unbearable watching the two of you. Josh and I were actually planning an intervention soon.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, snapping my seatbelt in place and starting the car.
“Oh, come on.” She looks over at me, rolling her eyes. “The two of you have been torturing one another for months. I can’t believe that the two of you didn’t take down the house last night with how much sexual tension has been bottled up over the last few months.”
Yeah, me either, I think to myself. I was ready to release all of that last night, it was Carter who pulled away and wasn’t so sure.
❧
That night, the four of us go out to the dance club I’ve been hearing about all semester. Jenna and I are in the mood for dancing and, after a lot of coaxing, I’m even able to get Carter out on the dance floor with me. Towards the end of the night, I’m not sure what
is going on with him, but he seems upset or distracted. The two of us really haven’t gotten a chance to talk privately about what happened between us last night and, by the cold shoulder he has been giving me the last hour or so, I fear that maybe he’s starting to regret it.
By the time we are on our way back to his house, it’s almost like he’s going out of his way to avoid touching me or looking me in the eyes. He’s driving and Jenna and Josh are in the backseat keeping each other busy. When I reach out and try to grab his hand, he casually moves it away, causing my insides to feel like they’re being twisted.
When we arrive back at their house, Jenna and Josh head upstairs to finish what they started in the car while Carter and I are left downstairs alone.
“Hey, is everything alright with you? With us?” I ask.
“I need to talk to you about some stuff,” he says, looking down at the floor. “Let’s go out to the garage.”
My breath catches from hearing his tone. I swallow hard a few times, feeling the fear build all the way up in my throat. “Okay.”
He turns and I follow him down the hall and into the garage. My whole body is shaking and I’m not sure if it’s from the temperature in the garage or if it’s from fear of what he’s about to say.
My stomach squeezes when he turns to face me and I feel like I’m going to be sick. There’s something in his eyes that I don’t like. Please, please don’t tell me that you don’t want me, I think to myself. I don’t think my heart could handle hearing that right now.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” he begins, taking a deep breathe. “About what happened the night of the accident with Adam.”
Whoa, I wasn’t expecting to hear those words come out of his mouth.
“Carter, I can’t talk about that. I don’t want to talk about that night.”
With his head down, he takes my hands into his. “I have to talk about it. When I started to have feelings for you, I told myself that you would know the truth before we went any further. I’ve let things get too far without telling you, but I’m ready now.”
Fall From Love Page 21
