Elly & Kent - The Complete Story: Includes Books 1-3 (50 page)

"I'm gonna stay here..." I ran my fingers through his hair slowly, "And you are too."

"Whatever you want, babe."
 

He was being so nice. Too nice. He was trying to protect me from something...or something. I crawled over him none too gently and made my way into his bathroom.

"I'll be right back." I closed the door behind me and after I did my business I started his shower. I looked at the toiletries or should I say toiletry. Just like a man. An all-in-one body and hair wash. That was it. I stripped off my clothes slowly. Should I tempt him? Yeah...

I opened the door and threw my clothes at him. He looked up in time to catch them. "Your phone is chirping a lot in there... think everything is okay?"

"Dunno!" I slammed the door. "Maybe you should look?!" I pulled the shower curtain back and got in.

After I was squeaky clean, I toweled off my hair with the hand towel and then went back into the bedroom to check on Bryan. He was sitting on the bed and I closed the distance between us. He had my phone in his hand and I smiled at him as I straddled his lap. "Who was it?" I pressed my lips to his neck, which tasted salty.

"Kent."
 

I tried to keep Kent's face from my mind, I didn't want him to kill my sexual buzz with Bryan.

"Oh?" I licked my way up to his ear and suckled on it softly.

"He said he's sorry for kissing you the other night."
 

I froze and pulled back to look at his face. His calm voice was deceiving how he truly felt. I could see in his eyes that was in pain.
 

"It was a mistake and he's sorry. Said he wants lunch or dinner this week because he needs some Elly-time."
 

"Oh..." I stared at my phone for a moment, shaking my head. "Bryan I...I was going to tell you."

"Mmmhmm..." he said softly as he twirled the phone in his hand. "Maybe you should text him back and give him your answer." He held the phone out to me.
 

"No. He can wait. I'm here with you. I want to be here with you." I looked up to make sure he could see the sincerity in my eyes. "He kissed me and I pulled away."
 

He set the phone on the bed next to his thigh. The flesh of his cheek pulsed as he clenched his teeth. "I believe you."
 

I ran my fingers over his tense jaw, his neck and back into his hair. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you..."

"I'm glad it came out now. I'm not sure how I would've reacted if it had come out later."
 

I pressed my lips to his hard, trying to distract him from my error in judgement. He didn't pull away which was a good sign. I laced my fingers into his hair and then pulled tight while kissing him. I moaned, my body already excited at the thought of a mild dose of makeup sex.

I felt his hands at my hips and I wiggled on top of him in response. I felt the cool air on my breasts as the towel came loose and fell around my hips. He pressed into the kiss as one of his hands came up and seized my breast. I arched my back, pressing it further into his hand and rolled my hips against his jeans. His other hand grabbed the towel and threw it onto the floor. If I'd been without my lips against his I would've said something about throwing in the towel. As it was his hand was on my bare ass, squeezing it with every lift of my hips, the feel of his rough, warm hand made me wet.

I was getting impatient so I pulled away and grabbed his shirt, pulling it up and over his head. "I want to feel your skin against mine. All of it," he murmured as his hands reached between us as he unbuttoned his jeans. I left his lap and moved behind him.
 

I pressed myself against his rounded back and ran my hands over his bare chest. "You're so warm...so sexy..." I whispered, softly.
 

He pushed his clothes off onto the floor and then sat back up. I nibbled on his ear as my arms snaked around his chest. I released him and laid back onto the bed and he followed me. He placed himself between my legs on his knees and grabbed my ankle. From there he kissed up to my knee and then his tongue left a wet little trail the rest of the way up to my hot, wet center.

I gasped, "Bryan..." I grabbed his hair when he got close enough and tugged, it didn't stop his tongue from licking my slit. I groaned as he lapped at my clit and lifted my hips in response. He started further up my body, his lips left soft kisses along the skin of my stomach until his nose nuzzled against one of my breasts. "Oh god... feels so good... you're making me so wet..."

As he took one of my nipples in his mouth he pressed his erection against my inner thigh. "I hope you're off work tomorrow..." he whispered softly. The cool air rushed over the wet nipple that slipped from his mouth and I moaned, my fingers still tight in his hair.

"I want..." my voice was drowned out by the chirping on my phone. My breath hitched as he moved to my other nipple, taking it into his hot mouth. "Bryan...wait..." I pulled him back as I sat up, my breath coming in short pants because I was so turned on.
 

He looked me over, his eyes smoking with lust. "Why? What's wrong?" I bit my lower lip and shook my head.

"I'm not ready." I knew that if I gave into him, if I let him have me the mystery would be gone. He'd bolt, or cheat or start to distance himself. It happened every time. Sex complicated things.

He was staring at me, searching my face for a better reason than that. He exhaled deeply and nodded as he climbed off the bed and went into the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and I heard the shower turn on.

"Shit..." I muttered to myself. I grabbed my phone and turned it over. Kent again...

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Before I could even get a word out after answering my phone, I heard Kent's voice. "Don't hang up, I'm sorry I'm interrupting you...just...just listen. Okay?" Again he didn't seem to wait on me to acknowledge it. "MaryAnn and I kissed. We touched each other and we fooled around, but I couldn't have sex with her. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you. It didn't feel right...I closed my eyes and imagined you and it felt wrong to pretend she was you... so I didn't. I don't want a rebound because it's not going to change the way things are."

I sighed and spoke softly, "Kent. You don't know that. You
can't
know that."

"Of course I know that. I don't want to have sex with someone else. I don't want someone else. I'm sorry. I appreciate you trying to be a true friend, but," he sighed on the other end of the phone.

"But nothing. What are you saying? You're going to be celibate for the rest of your life because you can't fuck me?" My voice raised slightly as my anger increased. He was being ridiculous.

"Elly, it's not about the sex. I screwed up. I know this is probably going to fuck up our friendship, but, I love you. I always have, I always will, and when you finally see it, I hope that one day we can be together."

"Oh God, Kent. You're just," it was my turn to sigh again. "We can't be together that way," I spoke gently trying to break it to him easily.

"I wanted to tell you how I felt. I wanted to let you know that I didn't fuck Mary Ann, which I'm sure she'll tell you all about, and I wanted to say to you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made the wrong choice so many years ago when it was always staring me in the face and drinking Mountain Dew with me."

I soaked in his words and yet a part of me was still not convinced he meant it. "That was a long time ago. You didn't want me then, why now? Why...Now?"

The phone on his side was silent for a moment. "Jen wanted me, and I had no idea how to handle it. I'm sorry I pulled you along on all those dates as a third wheel. I'm sorry I didn't just tell Jen to fuck off. I'm sorry that you weren't my only choice for Prom. I was a teenager who didn't want to hurt anyone, but I hurt my best friend because I was stupid."

"I..." I stuttered and then sighed. "And I was pining and drooling over you. I ...I let that go. You'll have to learn how to do the same. What can I do to help? Block your calls? Be a total bitch to you?"

"You do whatever you feel is right, Elly. I couldn't live with myself anymore without you knowing how I felt."

The shower turned off and I got up wrapping a blanket around myself, tucking it in at my chest as I made my way to the living room. "Isn't that convenient for you to lay this all on me. I held it all in for all those years. But this isn't about me. It's about you."

"No, Elly. It's about us."

"Kent there is no 'us' outside of our friendship." I started pacing the living room.

"Meet me and look me in the eye and tell me that. Then maybe I'll believe you and leave you alone."

I scoffed. "That's such bullshit." When he didn't say anything for a few long seconds I sighed and caved in. I'd do almost anything to get him to shut up about the fantasy he'd created for us. "Fine. When?"

"One hour, the park."

"What?! Kent, it's after midnight. How about tomorrow morning at the park? Like nine-ish."

"How about one hour and this'll all be over, one way or another." He sounded like he wasn't going to back down. The door to the bathroom opened and Bryan came out with a towel wrapped around his waist as his hands shook through his damp hair.

"I'm a little...busy."

"So am I. I'm busy leaving to go to the park." Kent hung up the phone on his side.

"Goddammit." I stared at the
Call Ended
on my phone and then went back into the bedroom to collect my clothes, get dressed, and confront Bryan. I looked him over and admired his bare chest. "Hey...So I have some bad news..."

Bryan was running a brush through his hair when I came back into the bedroom. He watched me for a few moments as I dressed and smiled when I approached him. "Bad news? What's goin' on?"

"Kent needs to talk."

Bryan chewed on the inside of his lip. "I'm guessing right now, huh?"

"Apparently. I'm really sorry," I hugged him.

I could feel the apprehension on his end of the hug. "You want me to give you a ride?"

"No I'll be okay."

"Well, call me if you need me. Send me a text when you figure out what's up and if you're heading home or coming back this way." He leaned his head in and gave me a soft kiss on the lips.

I moaned and whined against his lips. "I don't wanna go. I wanna stay here with you."

"Hey, I'll still be here if you want to come back, minus a towel."

"Mmm. Don't tempt me." I smiled and all but ran away before my willpower to do so failed me.
 

As I approached the park I searched for Kent. After a moment of searching, I found him sitting on the hood of his SUV, his hands pushed into the front pockets of his pants.

I inched forward slowly, wrapping my arms around myself. I looked up into his eyes. "Kent..."

Kent turned his gaze towards me. I'd looked into those dark eyes so many times before. What was different about them now? He sat there and stared back at me, waiting for me to speak the words he'd dared me speak to him. "There is no us outside of our friendship." I shrugged my shoulders and looked down. "Satisfied?"

I watched the muscles of his jaw tighten. "Fair enough. Thanks, Elly. I needed that." The words came from him softly as he slid from the hood of the car and moved towards the car door.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know."

"Kent..."

He opened the door to the car and then paused and looked at me. I followed him and grabbed the door so he couldn't speed away without hurting me. "You need to get out of the rut that is your high school life..."

"Actually, you put me right back where I was, because now I know how you felt. I'm sorry I made you feel this way, Elly."

"I'm over it."

"I'm still not, so you'll have to forgive me if I don't handle the rejection so well."

"I'm not... I'm not rejecting you. I am with someone."

"You rejected me when you came out here to meet me and tell me we'd never be anything but friends." He turned away from the car, shoved his hands back into his pockets and started walking away.
 

"Kent! Come on! Quit being such a baby..." I called to his retreating back.

Kent just shook his head and waved his hand in the air as he continued to walk.

"Kenny!" I frowned at his back and slammed the door of his car. It had no effect. His feet were carrying him a little ways into the park, where he sat down on a bench. I blew out a hot breath and looked around. My eyes caught on the flowers laying hopeful in the front seat and I wish they hadn't. What was he doing with the flowers if he thought I was going to come out here and tell him there was nothing between us? My gut twisted as I walked towards the bench he'd perched on. "What do you want me to do? Break things off with Bryan and date you?"

"Because I'm selfish, yes. I know it isn't fair, Elly. I'm sorry I even tried to call you tonight. I probably interrupted a good night for you guys."

"That
is
selfish. If I had told you to dump Jen and date me instead, would you have?"

Kent shook his head slowly, his eyes on his hands in his lap. "I would love to say yes, but I'm not that kind of guy, and I know you're not that kind of girl."