by Daphne Slade
“How do you even know about this place?”
“Reid told me about it. When his dad started thinking about making a run for governor, he got to know a lot of the local towns in the state. I guess there’s some upside from being the son of the New York D.A.”
“Talk about pressure. But he seems so easy going.” I remember Reid from some of the parties with the hockey team. He is one of the more boisterous of the Devington Devils. In fact, he’s probably the most representative of the school mascot, in a fun sort of way.
“I guess people handle pressure differently. I know his dad expects him to follow in his footsteps, but for now, he seems okay with Reid being on the hockey team. Something about the competitiveness of it. I guess it translates well into law and politics. Evan is the only one I know whose parents were opposed to him joining the team. I’m pretty sure that’s one of his motivating factors for going pro, at least when it comes to his father.”
“Gee, that’s definite pressure.”
“So, change of topic. Movies, what’s your preference?” Noah asks, no doubt realizing how problematic the topic of parents might be for me.
I’m happy with the shift.
“Horror, definitely. Most of it is just so fantastically bad you can’t help but love it. Even the cerebral stuff like The Shining and Hereditary is just…” I kiss the tips of my fingertips. “Please don’t tell me you’re the type who hates scary movies.”
“Are you kidding? I grew up scaring my sisters with Jason’s hockey mask from Friday the 13th. It was a no-brainer. I live for the cheesy stuff though. The Blob. Killer Klowns from Outer Space.”
“Oh god, no…but, yes!” I moan with passion.
“Suddenly, I can’t help but wish I was in a horror movie,” Noah says, giving me a look.
“Stop it,” I laugh.
“So our next date will be a horror movie. That was easy.”
“With lots of popcorn, I suppose.”
“And Twizzlers, of course.”
“Naturally.”
We both grin.
I finish the last bite of sandwich and wash it down with the last of my drink. “So what next, Romeo? Please don’t tell me we came all this way only to eat and go back again.”
“Well, I figured we could, uh, go for a drive as well,” Noah says, reaching down to grab his soda to wash down his last bite.
“A drive, huh?” I say with a smile.
“Maybe a bit of parking.”
“Parking? Isn’t that how teenagers get attacked by the Creature from the Black Lagoon?”
Noah comes around and presses into me. “Well, it’s no fun if there isn’t at least a little danger, right?”
“Especially when it comes to my breath after that sandwich,” I say, noting what his smells like. Mine must be just as bad.
“That just makes it extra spicy.”
I smile and tilt my head. “I guess it’s worth the risk.”
“There’s the spirit,” he says, pulling away and grabbing my hand. He leads me around to the passenger side and opens the door for me once again. A girl could certainly get used to this.
The town is small, so it doesn’t take too long to get out of the city limits. It’s also not heavily populated so we run into exactly one other driver before Noah finds a quiet, secluded spot for us.
I’ve never done anything like this and I feel the excitement build.
When he parks The Beatles' “Yellow Submarine” is playing. I stare at the radio and burst out laughing.
“Not exactly the most romantic mood music is it?” Noah says, holding back a grin.
That makes me laugh even more. “I’m sorry, I just can’t help but think of a kindergarten class sing-along.”
“That’s okay, your laugh is sexy enough to turn me on.”
That silences me. I twist to face Noah, feeling that swell build in me again. It’s so…refreshing, knowing I’m not just respected but desired this way.
Noah turns the engine off. Even right smack in the middle of the Beatles repeating the title of the song over and over, I can’t hold back.
I crawl onto his lap, contorting myself so that I make it work even with the steering wheel at my back. My mouth comes down, crashing into his as my arms encircle him.
I pull away to give him an awkward smile. “Okay so, this is going to sound even more unromantic but…well, I have an IUD and I’ve only been with Matt and one other guy. At some point…well…”
“You want to know just how many partners you’ll be having sex with second-hand?” he finishes for me.
“Obviously not in detail,” I say quickly, making him laugh. I frown and poke him. “But your dating history is pretty much the stuff of legends.”
“Allow me to ruin some of the mystique for you. About seventy percent of the girls you saw me with, there was no penis to vagina interaction.”
“Penis to vagina,” I repeat with a smile. “I guess that’s a good technical explanation.”
“But, just to ease your concerns, I did also come prepared.”
“So someone fully expected to get laid tonight,” I croon with a teasing smile as I poke my fingers into his chest again.
“We’d better hurry before the monsters come and get us,” he says, sliding one of the straps of my dress down my shoulder.
“Oh, am I the designated slut who gets killed first?” I ask in a giddy voice as I slip the other one down.
“Yes, but only after you’ve thoroughly proven yourself to be worthy of it,” he says with an arched eyebrow.
“In which case,” I say, reaching around to unzip the back. The dress has a fitted top so I didn’t wear a bra. When it releases, exposing my breasts, a rush of danger and lust ripples through me as I look around through the windows wondering who could be watching us in the dark.
Noah’s mouth coming down to surround one nipple, makes me completely forget about that. I arch my back, giving him easier access, my hands coming up to sink into his hair.
His hands come up, grabbing the skirt to bunch up and give him easier access to my ass. Once there, he grips hard and I rock against his crotch, eager for more.
That’s when it starts to get difficult.
Noah releases me to pull out the condom from his back pocket. I have to rise up to allow him to do it and instead fall back against the steering wheel. As he twists his hips to give himself easier access I nearly fall over. I’m saved by his quick and sturdy arm lashing out at the last minute to curl around me.
We erupt into laughter as he finally gets hold of the condom.
I try to settle back into position, feeling ridiculous since I’m still half-naked. All the same, I’m giggling as he tears open the wrapper.
“This is so crazy.”
“If you’re even thinking about stopping now, you can forget it. You’ve already got me hard,” he warns.
I lift up, taking care to brace myself against the door and ceiling this time, so he can unzip his fly.
“Ohh…now that is definitely worth getting attacked by a werewolf,” I say, eyeing his hard dick.
“We’d better get to it before the moon rises any higher.”
I grin and reach down to adjust my underwear to the side, then sink onto him. I close my eyes and sigh as he slowly enters me. When I start rocking my hips, I open my eyes again to find Noah staring intently at me but still with a hint of a smile on his lips.
I like this, that we can have fun and laugh at the circumstances while still…
“Oh,” I breathe out as he shifts his hips. “Noah!”
“Shh,” he teases. “They’ll hear us.”
I bite my lip and smile, enjoying the way he feels inside of me.
His head comes back down to my breasts, his mouth surrounding the now rock-hard nipple. This time when my hands come up to his scalp I grip a little more fiercely.
Monsters be dammed, I moan once again as I feel each deep thrust, combined with my rocking hips begin to work their magic on me.
> One quick, deep hard buck of the hips from Noah is enough to send me over the edge. I go taut, clinging to him as my body succumbs to wave after wave of intense pleasure.
He comes right on the cusp, gripping me just as hard as he releases into me.
We stay like that for a moment until the feeling subsides and our heavy breathing returns to normal.
Even after, I hold him, loving the way he feels against me, in my arms.
“I’m pretty sure this is where Freddy Krueger is supposed to make his entrance,” Noah says against my neck.
I laugh and pull back.
“I think the bigger concern here is how the hell I’m going to get dressed again without dislocating a joint.”
Noah laughs with me.
“As far as I’m concerned, you can stay like this.”
“Hmm, might make it hard to drive.”
“I’ll risk it.”
I laugh again. “Also might get us arrested.”
“I’ll risk it.”
“Stop!” I say, still laughing as I try and lift off him.
Noah pulls me back down.
I stare at him, waiting to see what he wants.
“This was nice,” is all he says, but his eyes, his face, even that wicked mouth tell me so much more.
“Yeah, it was,” I say, transmitting the same feelings with my smile.
Chapter Thirty
Noah
“I’m impressed. You definitely know the way to a guy's heart,” I say over the phone to Grace. I’m staring down at the box of goodies she had sent to me. It’s filled with too many salty snacks to count, including some of my favorites.
“Consider it good luck for your first game.”
“Well, now I feel like a complete ass having not bought you anything yet.”
“Hey,” she scolds. “It’s not a tit for tat thing, Noah. Heaven help us if we’re already keeping score in this relationship. I just wanted to do something nice for you because you make me feel so nice.”
“Aww, that sounds like something straight from Sesame Street.”
Grace laughs on the other end. “I think a lot of grown-ups could learn a thing or two from Sesame Street. Do nice things because you care, not to earn points.”
I feel my smile widen. Grace gets it. My parents are the same way. They don’t keep a running tally of who does what for whom, they just do nice things for each other purely out of love.
Sometimes one carries the heavier burden, like this summer while my mom had cancer. Watching Dad—who is probably as familiar with the washing machine as my mother is with a four-post car lift—wait on mom hand and foot, cooking all her meals and keeping the house in some kind of order, that just reinforced the idea of what a real relationship is supposed to look like.
I look at the time on the microwave in my kitchen. “I’ve got to head off to class.”
“Modern Art? The one where you are oh so horrifically the filling in a Heidi and Jenny sandwich?”
“Ohh, someone’s green eyes are showing,” I tease. I came clean about the fact that I had a class with both of them, including the unfortunate seating arrangement.
“I’m just telling you right now, if your final project is some performative art piece where the three of you somehow end up naked together, it better have a damn good interpretation. From a bona fide expert!”
We both laugh then say our goodbyes.
Today in class we discuss cubism, which teaches me there’s more than I thought to all those paintings of lines and boxes.
When class is finally over, I look at the time before packing up my things to leave. I know Grace is finishing up her lab assignment in the science building. It’s on the way to hockey practice, and if I rush, that’ll give me a good twenty minutes to spare and still make it early.
I quickly stuff everything into my bag and head out.
“Noah!”
I’m already out the door as soon as Heidi’s voice rings out. I continue, pretending I didn’t hear if only to avoid another awkward encounter. During class, she still pays more attention to me than I’d prefer, but nothing that crosses the line so far.
Either way, I’ve forgotten about her as I make a quick stop then rush into Seeley Hall. I take the stairs two at a time to get to the second floor where the lab is and find Grace exiting amid a trickle of students.
I hang back to lean against the wall and wait for her to notice me. As a Devington hockey player, I stand out on campus. Already a few eyes have taken note of my presence and lingered a bit with curiosity. No need to announce to the world who it is I’m here for.
Instead, I casually tilt my head back and to the side indicating that Grace should follow me at a distance. Then I turn and go.
I head up to the third floor, which is thankfully empty since there are no classes until this evening. I hear Grace behind me and I slow down for her to catch up. As soon as she does, I grab her hand and whisk her into one of the empty classrooms.
“What are you doing?” She laughs.
“Taking a break to see my girlfriend,” I reply, shutting the door behind me.
“Girlfriend?” she repeats with a smile. Her arms come up around my neck and her fingers make lazy circles in the nape just where the hair meets it. “So we’re official-official?”
“It’s been over three weeks, practically an ice age.”
“Okay, boyfriend.”
“Also I wanted to give you something. A thank you.” I pull out the pack of Twizzlers, her favorite. “Think of me while you’re sticking these in your mouth tonight in the library. Just imagine something bigger.”
She laughs as she takes it, then gives me a mocking look of scorn. “I believe you were under strict instructions to avoid tit for tat.”
“Well, if I’m getting tit for tat, I expect an actual tit,” I say, bringing my hand from around her back and up to cup one of her breasts.
Grace giggles and comes in closer, pressing her lips to mine. “You know, for being a secret couple, we certainly seem to be doing this a lot in public.”
“Mmm,” I say, then groan. “Shame I only have a few minutes.”
Grace moans in protest.
“I just came to drop off the candy. The real sugar comes tonight after your studying,” I say, giving her one last kiss. “I should go first before I’m late.”
“Yeah, I’ll hang back a bit and keep up the ruse. I’ve got to turn in a paper for Immunology anyway.”
Once again, I hate that we have to do this, but I’m glad Grace seems to be happy to go along with it. Hockey season doesn’t end until April, which is a long way away.
But we’ll still be together, of that I’m sure.
In the hallway, I’m stunned to see Heidi lingering by the stairs.
“For Pete’s sake,” I mutter under my breath. This is reaching stalker level.
“Noah!” She says brightening up when she sees me. She holds out a paper toward me. “You dropped this in class. I tried calling out to you as you were leaving but I guess you didn’t hear me.”
Now, I feel like a complete asshole.
“Thanks,” I say, taking the paper. It’s one of the pages from an outline the professor gave us for our first class project. Pretty important, but something I could have easily found a replacement for online. Still, I appreciate the effort.
“I’ve got to head off to practice.”
“Practice?” She perks up at the sound of that. Her eyes dart briefly past me to the door of the room I exited, filled with curiosity. “Cool. The Ice Breaker is in a week, right? You excited?”
“I sure am,” I say enthusiastically, quickly hurrying on and hoping she follows before catching Grace's exit.
“Well, good luck,” she says, thankfully following me to the second floor.
“Thanks,” I say as I rush down to the first floor. “Gotta run before I’m late.”
“Okay, good luck again, Noah!” She calls out after me, thankfully giving up the chase at the second floor.
>
Chapter Thirty-One
Grace
I stuff the Twizzlers into my bag and grab the paper I have to turn in for Immunology. Professor Kardos is one of those old school types who wants papers sent electronically, while still forcing us to print it out and hand in a paper copy to his office by a certain deadline. This one is due by five o’clock today. It’s annoying, but at least his office is in the same building as my lab.
After waiting a few minutes, I exit the classroom and quickly skip down the stairs to the second floor. At the bottom of the stairway, I see a face I recognize. The same look of recognition comes to her face as I approach. Even without the two braids, she’s impossible to miss.
“Heidi, right?” I say with a hesitant smile.
“Yeah, and you’re Grace?” she asks with that same winning smile from the bar. It’s appealing, I’ll give her that. Frankly, I’m surprised she remembers my name. I think Noah only mentioned it once while we were there.
Her face wrinkles with confusion as I slow down to greet her. “So…are you and Noah…um…?”
Oh boy.
Thank goodness there aren’t too many students lingering around to have heard that.
“I actually have to turn in this paper,” I say, continuing and hoping she drops the subject.
Instead, I hear her following right on my heels.
“It’s just that I feel kind of bad now for what happened a few weeks ago in the bar.”
“What?” I stop in surprise right outside of Professor Kardos’s office. His door is open but the only person I see is a student who must be his work-study assistant. She’s preoccupied with some paperwork on his desk.
“If I’d known you and Noah were dating I never would have flirted so hard with him.”
“It’s not a big deal,” I say with a smile of reassurance. “You were just being friendly.”
