Between the Sheets (8 page)

“
You know she irritates me
sometimes. Did you see what she was wearing? And she had the nerve
to tell me I’m crass. Give me a break.”

My friend doesn’t let me off the hook.
“But you started it with the ‘what’s so fucking good about it’
comment? You seemed fine this morning before she got there. What
gives?”

I let out a sigh, and a cold piece of
shrimp flies on the floor. I bend over to pick it up, stalling for
more time. I’ve never had a hard time talking to my best friend
before. But it’s different now. I can’t just say everything that’s
whirling around in my head. Not when that everything is her big
brother.

“
So, maybe when I saw her
and Chase come in, I got a little jealous or something.”

“
Jealous of them?” she says
with a cringe.

Yeah, I know. The idea makes me want
to choke too. “Not them, exactly. You and Matt as well. Couples in
general. You and Summer get to see your men every day. At home and
at work. I’m lucky if your brother and I catch each other for a
Skype call once a week. Text messaging, however hot that may be
sometimes, just doesn’t cut it. I want to see him. I want his face
right here.” I put my palm right up to my nose.

She tilts her head, pouty lips framing
her mouth. “I’m sorry, Melly Belly. You’ll see him
soon.”

Oh. That’s like a kick in the gut.
“You make me miss him so much more.”

“
Why? I don’t look like
him.” She crumples her face at me.

“
Yes, you do,” I tell her,
because she does. “But that’s not it. It’s the Melly Belly thing.
It’s really the dumbest nickname I could have ever been pinned
with, but he gave it to me. He’s been calling me that since … I
can’t remember a time he didn’t call me that.”

“
Eww. My brother doesn’t
call you Melly Belly during sex, does he?” She shudders.

“
Eww is right. You just
asked about your brother’s sex life. That’s just all sorts of
wrong, Shel.”

“
Okay,” she holds up a
hand, “you’re right. I will try hard not to call you that anymore.
But don’t be sad. And don’t go picking fights because you miss the
big dork. Just think about your vacation. You get to spend a few
weeks with him. That might be enough to change your mind. You
remember what his room looked like at my parents’ house. I can’t
imagine he’s turned into Mr. Clean overnight. I bet he has socks in
his seat cushions and sticky counter tops. And good luck with food
in that place. You better go grocery shopping on your way there or
you’re gonna be eating Fruit Loops, PB & Js, and Top Ramen for
all your meals. Scrambled eggs and bacon, or Belgian waffles are
bound to get old.”

I hadn’t even thought of that. Please
tell me Tyler has grown up enough to, at the very least, run a
sponge over spilled jelly and buy Cup-o-Noodles.

Melissa

It’s Facetime, baby. The call comes
through and I’m more than thrilled to accept.

“
Hey,” Ty’s face fills the
screen on my phone. “Are you starting the countdown yet? In less
than seven days, you get to see this mug in real life. Not on a two
inch screen.”

The curve of my mouth strains with
excitement. “As a matter of fact, I have. Only six days, three
hours, twenty five minutes,” I glance at my watch, “and thirty six
seconds.”

His eyes widen and he backs away from
the screen. “You’re kidding, right?”

“
Hell yes. I’m dying to see
you, but that’s a little much. Even for me.”

“
Whew.” He pretends to wipe
the sweat from his brow. “I was about to run. Stalker!”

We both laugh. “Keep joking and you
might end up with a bunny on your stove,” I tell him with a
wink.

His silly grin shines through, making
me want to jump through the phone and kiss every inch of his hard
lean body. The tiny mole just below his left eye is calling out to
me. When I was younger, I always wanted to touch it. Just a soft
brush of my fingertip like it would be something special. I have no
idea why, but I was always fascinated by it. It’s his trademark.
Something that stands out on his face and makes him even sexier
than he already is.

A few weeks ago, I had a lone zit on
my cheek and wondered why a dark mole on Eva Mendez’s face could
make her look hot as hell, but a little red bump on my skin made me
look like a geeky teenager again.

Thankfully, that little blemish
cleared up and I will be seeing my man in less than a week without
feeling like I have oily fries smeared all over my face.

“
So what’s happening?” he
asks.

“
Not much. I just finished
grading so the pressure is off. I don’t want anything to keep me
from leaving on time, so I’ve been busting my ass to
finish.”

“
I know the feeling. I’ve
been cleaning up the place here. I know how you are and I don’t
want you to check into a hotel because I left a pair of socks under
my bed.”

He knows me too well. “I’m not that
bad. Under your bed is fine. But if I found them under your pillow,
and they were crusty, I’d bolt.”

“
Crusty? Oh, Mel. I’m not
in junior high anymore. I have a stash of soft hand towels for
that.” He chuckles and so do I.

“
Well, you can put your
supply away when I get there. You won’t be needing
them.”

He flutters his brows. “I’m looking
forward to it. I have to warn you, the first time will probably
last all of two seconds. I’ve been going to bed stiff every night
since you left me at the airport. My balls are about to burst. They
miss you.”

“
Oh, I’m flattered.” I fan
myself and bat my lashes at him. “Your nuts miss me. That’s like
the nicest thing any man has ever said to me.”

“
Not just my balls, my dick
misses you too.”

“
Really? Just what I’ve
always wanted to hear.”

He laughs. “All right. Fine. I miss
you too. I miss everything about you. Your smile, your laugh. Your
foul mouth and your soft lips. How about you ditch finals and come
now?”

The butterflies are going wild in my
stomach again. “I wish I could. You should have come back here.
You’re done with school already.”

“
I was tempted. I almost
flew down and surprised you for the weekend but changed my
mind.”

“
Why?”

“
Because I’m on
detox-apartment duty. I haven’t cleaned like this since …
ever.”

This makes me crack up until I’m
snorting.

“
I miss that goofy snort
too,” he says.

With a dreamy sigh, I tell him, “I
miss you too. More than you’ll ever know.”

The scent of Pine Sol hits me as soon
as Tyler opens his door. But before I can even crack a joke, his
arms are tightening around my waist, my feet are dangling in the
air, and his mouth is covering mine.

This is my kind of welcome party. My
purse drops to the floor with a thud.

Ty’s eager kiss presses hard against
my lips, parting them enough for him to slide into my mouth. Our
tongues tangle together dueling it out with a hunger I’ve never
felt before. When this kiss is over, we’ll both be winners because
it’s absolutely amazing.

Just when I think he’s finished
because his lips start to soften, he traces the curve of my face
with his warm breath and nips at the base of my neck and
collarbone. My hands thread through his hair, holding him in place
and urging him on.

“
I have groceries in the
car,” I manage to mumble.

“
Later,” he murmurs. “Just
give me a few minutes.”

With a kick, I hear my bag slide
across the threshold and he closes the door. My back smashes firmly
against the wall, with Ty’s pulsing body holding me in place. My
legs circle his waist, and I can feel his hard length against my
damp core.

“
I wish I needed minutes,
I’ll be lucky if I last a few more seconds.” He loosens his grip on
me, and frees himself from the tether of my legs. As soon as my
feet hit the floor, he unbuckles my belt, my buttons, and yanks
down my pants, pulling my chonies right along with them.

Within moments, he’s buried deep
inside me and I can barely stifle a scream. My breath catches and I
don’t exhale until our bodies are trembling against each other as
we race to the finish line.

Tyler’s breath is heavy and fast-paced
against my neck and my legs and arms are wrapped around him holding
on for dear life.

“
In the words of my amazing
best friend, holy son of a Sex God, that was fucking awesome,” I
say between gasps for air.

He lifts his head and plants a quick
peck on my lips. “That would be funny if your best friend wasn’t my
little sister.”

“
Right. Probably not a good
idea to talk about her while our bodies are connected in the most
intimate of ways.”

He chuckles into my neck. “Yeah.
Probably not.” He pats my ass and releases his hold on me. Once
again, I slide down the wall until my feet are flat on the floor.
“Why don’t you get comfortable while I grab your stuff from your
car?”

His jeans are buckled in a blink of an
eye, and all I’ve managed to do is pull up my panties. After
digging around in my purse, I toss him my keys.

He opens the door, but before he
leaves he turns back and pulls me toward him in a tight embrace.
“I’m so happy you’re here, Mel. I’ve missed you so much. I’m gonna
kiss you silly for the next two weeks so you better have brought
your lip gloss.” He backs away and taps my nose with his index
finger.

“
Oh, Ty. I’m gonna do more
than just kiss you silly. Now, go get my stuff because I plan on
getting started by spending a good portion of today naked with
you.”

Hours later, we’re sitting in front of
the TV, with video game controllers in our hands.

“
I really have a love-hate
relationship with technology,” I say, as I try to remember which
buttons do what.

“
Really? I have a love-hate
relationship with my PS3.”

“
How so?”

I glance over. The tip of his tongue
peeks out the side of his mouth. “Well, I really love my Play
Station. And I really hate it when people interrupt me when I play
it.” He chuckles with a waggle of his brows.

“
Well, excuse me,” I tell
him, pretending to be offended.

“
Except for you, of
course.”

“
Good answer.”

“
So why the love-hate for
you?” he asks, as he sacks my quarterback.

“
Well, I love my cell
phone, the internet, and animated movies. But I really hate these
effing controllers. What the hell happened to the one with the
joystick and the big red button?” I toss the controller on the
table. “This one is way too complicated. Let’s go to an arcade so I
can kick your ass on Centipede. You could never beat
me.”

Ty sets his controller next to mine
and leans back on the sofa with his head resting on my shoulder.
“Oh my god. You were like a pool shark when it came to that game.
You had magic hands with that roller ball. I don’t think anyone
took your name off the top score for months.”

He’s right. My hand would glide across
that ball with such finesse and precision. It was like an art form
with a perfect combination of roll and slap of the button. I loved
Centipede. And even more, I loved it when Ty would invite me and
Shel to tag along with his friends. His girlfriends didn’t like it,
but I didn’t care. And I don’t think he did either.

“
Remember Jen? She hated it
when you and my sis would come to the arcade with us. She said I
paid more attention to you than I did to her.” He shifts his head
upward, lining up his eyes with mine. “She was probably right. Even
when you were in junior high and I was already in high school, I
had feelings for you. I don’t think I knew exactly what they meant
yet, but there was definitely something there.”

“
Well I knew I had a crush
on you. But if anyone told me that twenty years later you’d be
nailing me against your front door, I would’ve never believed it.”
I waggle my brows at him. “Wait, at that age, if someone told me
that, I may have thrown up.”

He chuckles. “Thanks, Melly Belly.
Just what every man wants to hear.”

“
Just keeping it real,
dog.”

“
Okay, Randy Jackson.” He
reaches for my hand and links our fingers together. I watch as he
studies are joined hands, tracing the connection with the
fingertips of his free hand. “This would make a beautiful sketch.
Your tiny little feminine fingers contrasting against my big man
hands.”

“
You’re right. You should
sketch it for me.”

“
Maybe I will.” He glances
up at me. “What do you want to do today, Mel? Go out to dinner?
Stay in? Do some sightseeing?”

I let my head fall back against the
soft seat cushion. “Actually, I’d love to stay in and rest. It was
a long drive. I’m going to be here for a couple weeks so I’m in no
rush to hit the town. You got any cereal?”