by Hope Ford
Carrie
He’s mad. That much is clear, but I can’t put a finger on why he’s so upset.
He opened the car door for me and helped me in, but he hasn’t said a word. He keeps starting to say something and then doesn’t finish and tries again.
I’m trying to figure out when I first noticed he was mad so I know what’s bothering him, but I’m really not sure. Finally, I just ask him, “Did I do something to make you mad?”
He takes a deep breath which seems pretty loud in the quiet car. “Carrie, I’m not mad at you. I’m angry with myself. It’s just… I’m too old for this. I like you a lot, and I’m not here for games.”
I notice he’s not driving toward my house, and I’m happy about that. Even with him seeming mad, I still don’t want the night to end. “I like you too, but I already knew we were friends. Why did you think I didn’t?”
Scott pulls off the road into the driveway of a small white house. He turns off the engine and turns in the seat so he’s facing me. “I don’t mean that I like you just as a friend. When you came to me and said I didn’t have to go to the charity ball with you, I should have told you right then that I wanted to go with you. I didn’t say you were coming with me to save you from the blind date. I wanted you to go with me. Saving you from the blind date was just a bonus.”
I lick my lips and swallow hard. I’m nervous. I’ve never been in this situation before. “You don’t have to say this to spare my feelings,” I tell him, letting my fear of rejection steer my words.
Scott gets out of the car and walks around to the passenger side. I can’t take my eyes off him he’s so handsome. He opens the door and turns my legs so I’m sliding out of the seat. He pulls me into an embrace, his arms around me, and he stares at me just for a second before dipping his head and capturing my lips with his.
He leans me so that my back is pressed against the car, and with his hand wrapped around the nape of my neck, he deepens the kiss. My head is spinning and my stomach fluttering like I have a swarm of butterflies flapping around in there.
“I wanted to ask you out. I wanted to dance with you at the bar the other night, and I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first time I saw you in the bakery,” he says when he pulls back.
My heart is thumping in my chest, and I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back, this time holding nothing back.
Breathless, I pull away. “I like you too, Scott.” I let my head fall down to rest my forehead on his chest. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up with you, but this last week was horrible trying to find a woman for you to date. I was so torn up, knowing I would give anything if it was me you wanted.”
“It is you. You’re the only woman I want,” he whispers against the top of my head. He holds on to my hand and takes me into the house, where we continue to kiss.
I’m panting for breath, an excitement roaring through me, and I know I want this with him. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. He makes me want more.
He’s holding me so tight, I know he feels the same way too. But he still pulls back. “We can slow this down, Carrie,” he offers, all the while his hands going up and down my arms.
But I shake my head. “No. I want this. I want it with you.”
He takes my hand and leads me to the bedroom.
Nerves fill my stomach, but I’m not going to back out now. Just kissing Scott causes a low burn deep in my belly.
He kicks off his shoes, and I do the same.
His eyes are glued to mine, and I watch as he undoes the buttons of his shirt and pulls it from his pants and down his hard, muscled arms. The white shirt underneath is next, and I have to remind myself to take a breath as he pulls it over his head.
My mouth falls open, and I couldn’t look away if I tried. I knew he would be handsome. I knew he would be built and that he works out, but I had no idea what seeing him like this would do to me. He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.
“Wow!” It escapes my lips before I can even think about keeping it in.
He laughs, a hearty laugh as he reaches for me, pulling me in close. “I thought the same thing the first time I saw you behind the counter at the bakery.”
Instantly, I’m shaking my head, and I push my hand against his chest, embarrassed. “Scott.”
He covers mine with his. “I’m serious. I never dreamed you would go out with me, let alone have you at my house. I don’t want to screw this up, honey.”
He looks worried, and that fact boosts my confidence a little. “You’re not going to screw this up. I want to be here. I want to be here like this, with you.”
I give life to the words when I turn my back to him and gesture for him to help me with the zipper on the back of my dress.
His hands are hot on my back, but I can’t stop the goosebumps from forming on my arms. He brushes my hair across my shoulder and works the zipper down my back.
His hot breath caresses me, and when the zipper is down, I hold the dress to me and turn in his arms. “I, uh, feel like I need to tell you that I don’t look anything like that.” I point at his chest.
He smiles softly. “I hope not.”
I love that he can make me laugh even when I’m a nervous wreck. I close my eyes, not wanting to see the reaction on his face when he sees me for the first time.
I let go of the dress and feel it pool around my feet on the ground.
There’s not a sound in the room, and I fight not to open my eyes and look at him.
“Open your eyes,” he tells me.
Stubbornly, I shake my head.
“Honey, please open your eyes,” he asks nicely with emotion thick in his voice.
I open one and then the other. I’m shivering in front of him, wearing only my blue panties and matching bra.
His hand goes to my shoulder first and then snakes around my neck, pulling me to him so that his chin rests against my head. “You’re perfection,” he whispers.
I start to shake my head, but he stops me with his voice. “Feel me, Carrie. Feel your body next to mine. We are a perfect fit. It’s like you were made to be next to me. You can never doubt your body again, honey. Feel what looking at you, feeling you in my arms does to me.”
He pulls me so tightly against him I can almost feel his heart thundering under my ear. The bulge in his pants is thick and hard, pressed tightly into my belly. Moisture pools in my panties, and I can’t hold back from him another second.
I undo the button on his pants and slowly lower his zipper. Instead of pushing his pants down, I reach inside, wanting to feel his girth in my hands.
His hips pull back as I circle him, and a groan leaves his lips. He tries to pull away from me, but I don’t let him. His head is thrown back, and his body is trembling against me. Something ignites inside me, not understanding until now the power that I have over him. He really does want me. It’s not for a game or something else. He wants me and only me. I work my hand up and down his shaft, enjoying the noises he’s making in the back of his throat.
When I can’t resist any longer, I lean in and press my lips to his chest, swirling my tongue around his manly nipple.
He puts his arms around me and holds me tightly against him before walking me backwards to the bed and softly pushing me down.
He finishes undressing, and his cock stands at salute, straight out and pointing right at me. Licking my lips, I watch a bead of precum form at his tip, and I’m practically salivating wanting to taste him.
I reach up, but instead of me touching him, he’s unsnapping the back of my bra and pulling it down my arms, letting it fall to the floor. Instinctively, I cover my breasts with my arms.
He climbs up the bed beside me. “Please don’t hide from me, Carrie.”
He nuzzles my neck, and because I can’t resist his husky timbre against my skin, I let my arms fall away, exposing myself to him.
He cups one breast and then the other, lifting them to his mouth. He suckles me, and I collapse on the bed with hi
m over top of me. He moves from one to the other, and every sense inside me is heightened. His manly scent is filling my nostrils, and I take deep breaths, wanting to commit it to memory. His touch is new, but already I can feel myself being addicted to it. And the look of pure desire on his face tells me exactly what I need to know from him. He wants me. Just like I want him.
I hold my arms up to him, holding him to me as he suckles my breast. My legs open, and I wrap them low on his waist, allowing him to rest his lower body against mine, and when his cock grazes my panty-clad pussy, my hips raise to meet his.
“Scott,” I moan as he rocks his hips against mine.
He lifts his head to look at me. “Fuck, angel. It’s too much.”
His body is trembling over me, and I put my thumbs at the hips of each side of my underwear and start to slide them down my hips. It’s a feat to do with him on top of me, but he lifts himself to make it happen.
Once I get them down far enough, I’m kicking them off my feet, spreading my legs so that he settles between them. There’s nothing between us, and his hard rod is stroking along my swollen, wet slit.
We both reach between us at the same time, but he gets there first. Fisting his manhood, he lines himself up and enters me slowly, inch by inch.
I forget to breathe. I can feel myself stretching, accommodating his large shaft.
He leans down and nips my lips with his before pulling back in a smile. “Breathe, baby.”
And I let it out. A big breath that I’d been holding for who knows how long. He pushes deeper inside me, and there’s sweat on his brow from trying to control himself.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispers to me.
Filled with pride at the fact that he’s worried about me, putting himself through torture, holding back when I know he’s suffering, I lift my hips, forcing him deeper inside me. He moans a guttural sound that fills the room and vibrates off the walls.
He doesn’t stop until he’s fully seated inside me, and the pinch of pain I felt is now gone and in its place is pure wanting. I want him to move. I want to feel the friction of him pushing and pulling inside me. I want him to fill me up.
“Scott,” I beg him.
When I don’t say anything else, he asks me, “What’s wrong?” and starts to pull out of me.
“No!” My legs go around his waist, holding him where he’s at. “I need you. I need you to move and make me feel good.”
With a growl, his pelvis starts to thrust. In and out of me, slow and then fast. His thrusts are hard, then soft.
He puts his hand on my mound, stroking his fingers through my slit until he caresses my clit. And all at once, my whole body responds in an instant. I grab on to his hand and call out his name, but he doesn’t stop. If anything, he grinds into me harder, his thrusts more persistent. He doesn’t stop until I’m coming, moaning his name as my whole body is pulled taut. But I can’t stop it. He completely sends me over the edge, and we’re like wild animals, bucking against each other. He’s trying to hold out; I can tell by the way his face is drawn and the way every muscle of his body is pulled tight. “Come, Scott. Fill me up,” I tell him.
He loses it then, pistoning his hips against mine until he’s depleted and falls down on the bed on top of me.
Our breaths are shaky even minutes later. But he still hasn’t let me go. He’s holding me like he can’t stand the thought of being away from me. Or maybe that’s wishful thinking on my part, because that’s exactly how I feel about him.
I’m sweaty and exhausted and need to clean up, but I don’t even attempt to move. I could lie right like this and be perfectly content for the rest of my life.
Scott
Hours later, I don’t want to let her go. I pull into her parents’ driveway, but all I want to do is take her back to my house, where she belongs.
One night with Carrie, and it is all clear to me now. Carrie is who I’ve been waiting for all my life. She’s everything I want and everything I need.
I want to wake up to her beautiful face every morning and have her in my arms every night. But I don’t want to scare her and say things that could scare her off. I know she’s still trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life, and I don’t want to add on to the pressure she’s already getting.
But I’m going to do whatever I need to do to make sure I’m included in her life from this point forward.
“Are you feeling okay about everything?” I ask her awkwardly.
“Yes. Are you?”
She’s looking at me expectantly, and I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from telling her all I want to say. “Yes.” I reach across the console and grab on to her hand. “So I guess I’ll see you at dinner tonight?”
“Dinner. I guess that is tonight,” she says, looking at the clock on the dash. “You know—" she starts.
But I don’t let her finish. I pull her toward me. “Don’t even try to get out of it. I’m looking forward to spending as much time as I can with you.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her I love her, but I don’t.
She blushes prettily and leans in for a kiss. Our lips touch, and I have to force myself to let her go. Walking her to her door, I hold her in my arms and finally let her go in after a quick kiss and promise to talk to her later.
Walking away, I feel like whistling, even though I know I shouldn’t when most of the houses in the neighborhood have their lights off, and people are in bed. Tonight can’t come soon enough.
17
Scott
Later that night, I’m getting out of my car and Carrie meets me on the porch. I stand at my car door smiling at her. I had worried she would regret last night, but by the way she’s looking at me, I know that’s not the case.
I take the steps two at a time and don’t stop until I’m standing right in front of her. I give her a small kiss, and even though I want more, I don’t let myself, knowing her parents are right inside the door.
“I hope you’re ready for this,” she mumbles before opening the door and leading me in.
As I walk past her to greet her father, I can’t resist leaning down and whispering, “Don’t you know? I’ll do anything for you, Carrie.”
She gasps and looks up at me, but her dad is already upon us and is shaking my hand.
Carrie excuses herself to the kitchen to help her mother while her dad and I talk about how much money was raised at the charity ball last night.
Dinner starts off well but turns into being a bigger event than just sharing a meal.
“Hey, Scott. I’m so glad you could come to dinner,” Suzy says as she brings out the meal with Carrie following her.
Carrie sits across from me, and her mom and dad are on each end of the table. The meal is really easygoing and relaxed. We talk about everything and nothing at the same time. We almost make it through the whole meal before it starts to go off the rails. We talk about the ball from last night, the local little league team winning the playoffs, and eventually the bakery.
“I still can’t believe you quit school to work at some bakery,” her mother starts.
I clench the fork in my hand, knowing I can’t sit here and do nothing. I look toward Donald, and he seems just as mad as I am. I dare a glance at Carrie, knowing I’m going to see the hurt on her face, but I’m surprised by the confidence I find instead.
“Mother, we all know I quit school. I wasn’t happy. I’m happy now. Can you please just let it go and let me be? Your remarks about school”—she pauses and looks at me with a blush before turning back to her mother—“and my weight have got to stop. It’s hurtful, and frankly I’m tired of being hurt by my own mother.”
Suzy is shocked. She drops her fork, and it makes a loud crash as it bangs against the plate. “Carrie! Oh my goodness, honey, no. I’m so sorry. Sometimes I don’t even think before I start spewing my nonsense. I’m pushing my own regrets of not finishing my degree on you.” She shrugs and looks sheepish. “And how I’ve always felt so badl
y about my own appearance. I want you to love your body and your choices, Carrie. I’m so… sorry.” She starts to sob, and Carrie jumps out of her chair to hug her mother.
“It’s fine, Mom. I’m fine with how I look, and I do love my choices.”
They continue to hug, and her father and I take it as a cue for us to start clearing the table and give them some space.
I’m so proud of Carrie for standing up to her domineering mother in such a loving but strong way. It was better than the fierce threat to leave her alone that I’d been thinking about jumping up and screaming. I know that Carrie is something else, and she’s going to continue to amaze me left and right.
I come back into the dining room for more dishes just as Suzy tells Carrie that she’s going to do her best to respect Carrie’s decisions. “After all, I approve of your choice in men,” she says, making Carrie blush when I smirk at her.
Her father and I work side by side tackling the dishwasher. “She’s special, ya know.”
Instantly, I know he’s talking about Carrie. “I know she is, sir. Really special.”
“Don’t hurt her.”
And I tell him truthfully, “I’ll never hurt her.”
Carrie
It’s only been a handful of days since Scott and I have been officially dating, but I feel like my life is finally on track. I’m happy. Happier than I’ve been in a long time.
The day is busy at the bakery, and I continue to try out more recipes when I have time. I don’t want Scott to have to eat a burrito every morning for breakfast, and the bacon quiche I made him ended up being a big hit.
Once the bakery is closed, I pack up some leftovers with a plan to go see Scott on his break during the night shift.
I’m on my way to the car when I see a police officer talking to two other men near the parking lot entrance. I’m pretty sure it’s the same one that had asked me out but not sure since I only saw him the one time.
