Beautiful Together (32 page)

"Two and a half hours. We ended up having to do a Skype conference call with some of the guys from London. I should have come up and told you, but I got so into business mode that I completely forgot."

"It's okay," I said. "I caught up on sleep."

He sat down next to me on the bed and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I cuddled up to him, cuddled up to that familiar warm and safe place.

"So what have you been doing?" he asked enthusiastically. "Well, other than sleeping."

I laughed. "Well, I tried to get online, but I didn't have the Wi-Fi password. So I tried to use your computer, but it also had a password."

"You snoop," he said firmly. "You were digging around my computer?"

"No!" I contested. "I couldn't even log on. I just closed the lid and left it." Was he
really
upset?

Maybe the mysterious stuff under the sink meant something after all...

Jesse started laughing, breaking the facade. I quickly relaxed. "I'm just kidding. I don't keep anything serious on there anyway. It's all stored in the cloud. Maybe a little bit of porn hidden away somewhere."

"Classy," I said, laughing. "Hidden away in a folder on the desktop called 'Porn' probably."

"Exactly. That's my style." He rubbed my back and massaged my shoulders.

I felt my muscles loosening, and with that feeling of relief, I decided to go for it. "I
was
snooping around in your bathroom for cotton swabs." I looked him right in the eyes and kept a half smile on my face. "What's with all the girly stuff you're hoarding under the sink? You'll sleep with me but you won't share your cucumber-melon shampoo?"

I studied his response carefully, but it was still vague. "Oh,
that stuff
," he said, breaking eye contact and looking down at his lap. "That was Stacy's. She never came back for it. I completely forgot I put it there."

My voice of reason scolded me without restraint.
Yep, just stuff he forgot about. You spent all that time freaking out when it didn't matter at all.

I felt relieved. "Is she... one of your exes?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She left like... like five months ago." His tone wavered as he spoke. "I've been single ever since."

"So what happened? I mean, with her leaving?"

Jesse glanced around somewhat nervously. "Uh..." He trailed off and cleared his throat. "It's kind of a long story. I mean, typical reasons. We grew apart and started fighting a lot and doing very different things in our lives." He took a long drink from his mug. "But I don't want to talk about it right now though, Naomi. I'm having a really great time and I don't want to spoil it with stupid drama from the past."

I rubbed his shoulders just as he had rubbed mine. "That's fine. I'm sorry, Jesse," I said. "It just made me... nervous."

He kissed my cheek. "Naomi, I would
never
cheat on you. I love you. I don't have a secret girlfriend, I swear. And we can talk about Stacy some other time, okay?"

A sigh of relief escaped me. He had read my mind perfectly. "Yeah, sure."

Jesse visibly reset his expression into a smile and stood up and grabbed his computer. "Let's figure out a good place to eat," he said as he sat back down next to me and tilted the screen so I could see it.

"Yeah, okay."

He turned on his laptop and brought up Yelp.

"I'm already starving," he said. "Are you okay with eating soon? I was thinking about going to a club tonight. I know the DJ at this one place, and he plays really cool electronic music and the crowd is really good."

I yawned and straightened up my posture. "Well, I just got done with my nap. So I think I'm up for a late night."

"Great," he said. "So let's figure out what the hell we're gonna eat."

***

After a fair amount of deliberation—and a considerable amount of making out—we ended up at a gourmet burger joint in North End, stuffing ourselves with burgers, fries, onion rings, and beer.

We were both in the mood for something greasy and simple, so it was perfect.

Following dinner, we took the Red line to Cambridge, and then wandered around the Harvard and MIT campuses and surrounding regions on foot. The area was beautiful, and I was thrilled to have a tour guide as hot as Jesse Evans.

The whole evening was perfect, so idyllic and simple. We held hands and strolled through the chilly night, staying close to share warmth. It was great.

Right as we were about to end our college campus journey, Jesse got a text. After he read it, he looked up at me. "Do you want to stop at a party real quick? Say hello, take some free booze, and then head back into the city?"

I nodded. "That sounds fine."

"Okay."

Jesse took me to meet several friends of his at MIT, guys who were still living on campus in a frat house. He warned me beforehand that it might be a little crazy—while I didn't go to college myself, I had been to plenty of college parties and genuinely knew how out of control they could be—but I was kind of shocked when I got there.

There was a guest list and people acting as ushers at the door. Jesse was on the list, so we got in without any trouble. It was a really controlled, calm environment. People were dancing in the huge living room, not causing problems, not fighting, not smashing beer bottles, not puking in the sink.

The floor was a bit messy, but that was to be expected at parties.

Jesse introduced me to some of his friends; unfortunately, I couldn't hear much of the conversation over the loud music. One of the hosts, Trevor, red-haired, skinny, and tall, kind of vaguely resembled Conan O'Brien. That's the only reason why I remembered his name.

"He's like, a brilliant engineer," Jesse told me on the side. "He's gonna work at NASA next year."

"Whoa!" I shouted back.

"He was like a child prodigy and stuff."

I nodded and diligently sipped my red cup of beer.

We weren't there long, and I was actually pretty relieved when we finally left since I felt a bit alienated from Jesse due to our communication difficulties.

"Sorry about that," Jesse said, fully aware of my annoyance.

"I feel bad," I said. "I mean, I just couldn't hear anything. That was all. It was fine otherwise. It was fun."

He laughed. "I might be getting too old for this too," he admitted.

"Says the guy that's taking us to a club now."

"It's like an
adult
club, not a
college kid
club."

"So it's like a strip club?" I retorted playfully. "Are there going to be topless babes?"

"Only you in my bed tonight," he growled.

I shivered, both from arousal and a well-timed breeze that hit me at that exact moment. I was having a great time.

The club was awesome, just as he had promised, and we danced and drank the night away. It was honestly some of the coolest music I had ever heard. Jesse introduced me to the DJ, James, a heavily tattooed guy with a chipped front tooth who immediately offered us drugs.

While Arielle probably would have said yes, Jesse did not, and I was happy about that. Everything was under control, minus our increasing blood alcohol levels—and the fact that I wanted Jesse more than anything.

Despite all of the odds against us, we lasted all the way until two, and then rushed home. It quickly dawned on us how badly we reeked of booze and sweat as we sat in the back of the taxi wishing desperately that we were instead naked together in bed.

Jesse led me inside and up the stairs. Surprisingly, no one was working in the living room. After his door was locked behind us, we ripped off each other's clothes and then basically fell into the shower. The hot water was amazing, and we were basically having sex by the end, neither of us able to control our hands and fingers and lips and tongues...

And then, after quickly drying off, we tumbled into bed together. Jesse's full weight pressed against me, his perfect length as deep as it could go.

And I loved it.

32

I awoke to the sound of laughing. I rubbed my eyes and looked up—Jesse was naked and kneeling beside me, grinning. I was naked on the floor, and I felt really sore everywhere. The previous night's sex had been super intense and incredible... as usual.

"Damn, you were really drunk, weren't you? There was plenty of room in the bed."

I dug through my fuzzy, throbbing brain for a second. I vaguely remembered getting up to use the bathroom at sunrise and being unable to get back into bed because he wouldn't budge.
Yeah, that was it.

I laughed and cleared my throat. "You were hogging the whole bed! I went to the bathroom and you wouldn't let me back in. I didn't want to disturb the little sleeping
angel
."

He laughed and then frowned. "I'm sorry. I swear I didn't mean it. You can just nudge me next time." He lay down beside me, and cuddled his warm flesh against mine. "You're ice cold."

"I'm also completely naked on the floor," I mumbled. I scooted closer to him and looked up into his eyes. In those beautiful eyes was everything I had wanted and needed, and then some. I almost didn't want to keep looking at him because the vulnerability scared me.

Jesse lowered his head and kissed me deeply, running a hand through my hair, gently toying with my nipple. Goose bumps broke out along my flesh, tiny dots that tingled and spread. I kissed back intensely, raking my lips and cheeks against his fresh stubble.

I felt him hardening against my thigh, and with that knowledge, my soreness returned with a vengeance. I shifted uncomfortably and broke the kiss. "Jesse, I don't know if I can handle another round right now. I'm... sorry."

"Shh," he whispered in my ear. "This is just for you."

He crawled his hand along my body until it was right against my clit. And so perfectly it circled, the pressure exactly right. My back arched, and I let out a long, soft whimper. His words echoed in my brain, over and over again, tormenting me with their brevity.

It's just for me.

Jesse worked so gently, warming me up, heightening the sensations. He tweaked my nipple harder, the sharp growing pleasure blending with his fingers below.

"Jesse," I moaned, so softly that it was almost inaudible. But I
knew
he heard it.

I knew he heard
everything.

Slowly and delicately he worked, prolonging that sweet torture, drowning my body in a rushing sea of pleasure. I couldn't open my eyes; it was as if they had been glued shut.

"Come, Naomi," he whispered. "Come only for me."

The words haunted me. They pulsed through my veins like hot blasts of adrenaline. I was totally exposed to him, totally vulnerable to his whims.

The intensity of his fingers increased dramatically, but it wasn't overbearing. No, it was
perfect
. My heart pounded and then suddenly, I was writhing there on the floor, pressed against him like our bodies were magnetic.

I came
hard
. And I came only for him.

"You're completely perfect," he growled. He edged me toward a second peak, and once I got there, I felt my strength fading. My muscles relaxed, my body became limp. He cradled me, peppering my cheeks with desperate kisses.

Nothing
and
everything made perfect sense. And then the need hit me like caffeine addiction.

"Jesse, just one more time. Be quick," I pleaded, opening my eyes for just a second. "I need to feel you inside of me. Please be quick."

"I will," he answered delicately.

Still reeling from my own climax, I felt him slide into me, my legs spreading wide for him. I looked up into those burning eyes, and I saw
him
—I saw the man I wanted more than anything else on earth.

My walls stretched to accommodate him, the soreness immediately pronounced. But he moved quickly, aggressively, holding me against the floor. Jesse pumped faster and faster, and I was all his.

Finally, after a couple of minutes, he groaned, and I felt him twitching and spilling into me. And it felt better than anything ever had. I watched him grimace, watched his back arch as he plunged into the deepest parts of me and gave me everything he had.

He pulled out quickly, sparing me any further discomfort. His chest heaved against mine. He hugged me tightly, our bodies slowly rocking against the floor.

"I fucking love you, Naomi."

"I fucking love you, too," I said with zero hesitation.

It was real.

It was
so
real.

***

The goodbye felt like I was re-watching a movie where the hero tragically died at the end—you knew it was coming, it couldn't be stopped, it was terribly sad, and the only way to hide from the dismal spectacle was to close your eyes and cover your ears.

After our moment on the floor, we had gone out to breakfast together, both of us drinking a lot more coffee than we ate food. It was good, but eating was tough.

I wanted to talk to Jesse as much as possible, about absolutely anything in the world. The subject didn't matter, only that it was talking. Communicating. Together.

But I couldn't do that if I was chewing and swallowing.

The toughest part was that we still didn't know what we were doing. I still didn't know if I should be applying to schools in Boston for fear that I might wind up miserable and disappointed because Jesse would be so tied up with work that we'd never get to see each other.

And if I moved all that way for him, I would
definitely
want to see him. I didn't think I'd be able to handle it otherwise.

But I didn't want to bring it up because Jesse was right—we needed to savor the good moments we actually had, not fret about the uncertain future. So there was an elephant in the room the whole morning, but not a normal sized elephant. No, this was a gargantuan elephant.

And it was crushing me.

Morning became afternoon, and not long after, we went to the bus stop. The day was sunny and chilly, a clear reminder that winter was on the way.

Jesse hugged me tightly. The bus was now in sight, but it still had several stop lights before it actually arrived, and traffic was heavy. A large group of people were standing around with random pieces of luggage, waiting just like us.

He held his mouth close to my ear. "Naomi, everything will be fine, I promise." Tiny gusts of icy wind blew his hair up and back, the individual strands moving like they were alive.

"But how do you
know
that, Jesse?" I chided, pulling away. "You can
say
that, but can you really
know
it?"

"It
will
be fine," he said firmly. "I'm going to do everything in my power to make it work."

"But what about you being super busy? And maybe never being around? You can't change that stuff. This is your...
dream
."

"I'm too realistic," he said, almost like he was scolding me. "I'm going to be busy. I'm going to be flying to events, doing presentations, selling our app. But I want you, Naomi. I want you more than anything. And I'll make it work. You're... a part of my dream. Seriously."

I felt the tears staining my cheeks like droplets of cold acid. "I just want things to be good."

Jesse kissed my cheek. "They will be. I promise."

My heart screamed
How the hell can you know that?
but I kept my lips sealed. I felt ridiculous. "Yeah," I finally said. "I don't wanna leave."

"I don't want you to leave either," he said, kissing me again. "Just hang in there," he said quietly. "I know that sounds stupid, but I mean it. Things will work out."

"Okay." I stared at him like I had become a statue, my stone eyes permanently affixed to his beauty—as long as he didn't move. The bus rushed in front of us and came to a stop, the gust of warm air blowing my hair back.

But I barely noticed.

"That's your bus," Jesse said awkwardly.

"Yeah." The tears spilled down my face like a valve had busted open. Silence roared around us.

"Don't cry, Naomi. We waited this long. Everything will be fine." He kissed me firmly, and I kissed him back. "I love you," he said.

"I love you, too." Again and again I kissed him, forgetting about the world, ignoring everything except Jesse Evans.

"If one of you has a ticket for this bus, you'd better get on here within the next minute or I'm leaving without you." The shout came from behind us. A very stocky and very bald bus driver was angrily pointing at a list on a clipboard. Everyone else had already boarded.

Necessity tugged at me. If I didn't move quickly, I might lose myself again and miss my ride home. "Okay, I guess have to go."

"Text me when you get back, okay? And call me soon."

"I will," I said, nodding obediently. "Don't work too hard."

We kissed once more, and then I pulled away, throwing my bag under the bus and hopping on board.

I didn't look back.

Because I couldn't.