Fusion (Explosive #5) (29 page)

Hey, they say communication in a relationship is key. We just happened to enjoy communicating with our lips. I didn’t see anything wrong with that, but apparently, the Navarre High School faculty did.

So people assumed that Banks had been banging Sullivan. And, even though I’d tried to protest in the beginning, it had fallen on deaf ears. So I’d given up. They could think what they wanted. I knew the truth.

Our physical relationship was a slow progression. In the beginning, we had been young and inexperienced, fumbling around each other’s bodies, tentatively touching and caressing until we’d grown more comfortable. Every time Jeremy attempted to reach the next base, he always paused, looking for me to give him the go-ahead. If I even so much as hesitated, he’d pull back and return to kissing me without a single word or ounce of pressure to do more. I loved him all the more for it. So it took time, and even though it was slow going, it was still a whole lot of fun experiencing everything for the first time with him.

Tentative lips and hesitant hands turned into passionate kisses and expert caressing. With just his fingers, Jeremy made me feel more alive than I ever had. And I can proudly admit that I finished what Mandy Simpson hadn’t been able to—over and over again.

Yes, he’d told me about her. I’d laughed the nervous look off his face when he’d had to admit that I wasn’t the only girl who’d touched the family jewels. Except, instead of jealousy, I felt pity. Poor guy.

Despite our comfortability, we still hadn’t taken the next step. Don’t get me wrong. I loved Jeremy, and I knew in the very depths of my soul I was going to spend my life with him. But I wasn’t ready to go all the way. The last thing I wanted to do was graduate high school with a baby on my hip. Sure, I knew all about birth control, condoms—the whole nine yards. And so did Sarah Hayes, who’d missed prom because she had been in labor. But, as soon as we turned our tassels, it was game on.

When graduation day came, I was a giant bundle of nerves. Not only was I about to move on to the next phase of my life, but Jeremy and I were finally going take the plunge.

Hours after celebrating with our parents, we found ourselves at Ryan Harper’s beach house, partying it up with the rest of the 2002 Navarre High School graduating class as well as a few juniors who were celebrating being the new big dogs on campus. Lexi had come with us, but I had a feeling it was more for someone else’s celebration than my own.

After a while, the loud music made my head throb. I was walking towards the bathroom to splash some water on my face when I was suddenly pulled into a closet. Once the door had shut behind me, the small room was pitch black.

“Jeremy?” I asked.

Silence answered me. I knew every person at the party, and I was ninety-nine point nine percent sure the culprit was my dear boyfriend, so I wasn’t exactly worried. But, then again, we had just finished watching
Scream
, and I had that small niggle in the back of my mind of what could happen at high school parties.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that I could smell Jeremy, I’d have been freaking out. Instead, I decided to play along.

“Jeremy. Jeremy, is that you?” I whispered, attempting to feel around in the dark. My fingers finally reached a solid chest. I slid my hands up his torso, my thumbs brushing across his nipples. “Oh, wow. Sorry. You’re most certainly not
my
Jeremy,” I breathed out, awe in my voice.

One hand gripped mine, and another shot out past me. Then a flip was switched and the light flooded the room. I blinked twice to adjust to it and had to suppress a giggle when I found Jeremy’s heated gaze on me. He pulled me close with the hand that was holding mine.

“Not Jeremy?” he growled, his voice husky.

“That’s what you get for trying to scare me. Now, tell me, babe. Why did you pull me into the closet?”

“Look around you, baby. This is where it all began.”

I raised an eyebrow.

He cocked a half smile. “Okay, so it began that day on the Sound. But this is where I first kissed those sweet lips, and I figured, if we had to spend our first night as high school graduates at Ryan Harper’s house, we might as well go down memory lane while we’re here.”

“Ah. Our first kiss.” Then I bit my lip, trying not to laugh at the memory of our foreheads bumping. “You want to recreate that?”

He grinned down at me. “Oh, no, sweetheart. We aren’t going to recreate it. We’re going to stay in here and make out until I wipe the memory of that fumbling kiss out of your mind.”

“Jeremy, I don’t want to erase that memory.”

“But it was complete shit,” he said, frowning down at me.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just call our first kiss complete shit, Jeremy Banks,” I admonished even though I wasn’t actually mad. I knew what he meant. “My whole life, I had this dream of what my first kiss was going to be like. There we’d be, standing only centimeters apart. The world around us would fade away. His head would dip, my breath would hitch, and my eyes would flutter closed. The moment our lips touched, fireworks would explode, little doves would fly, and violins would play. That wasn’t what our first kiss was like. It was so much better.”

“And it’s gotten better ever since?” he asked, though his cocky grin let me know that he knew it had.

“It’s gotten better ever since.”

“Well, even if you still have fond memories of this closet, how about we make another one?” he asked, his gaze lowering to my lips.

“I’d be okay with that,” I told him.

I’d barely gotten the words out when Jeremy slipped an arm around my waist, pulled me into his chest, and reached behind me to switch the light off. A soon as the darkness descended, his lips crashed down on mine.

His tongue parted my lips, and he took his fill as if he were thirsty and I was his only source of hydration. My hands gripped his shoulders, holding on for dear life, as he took and I gave. His free hand slipped underneath my T-shirt and onto my bare skin. It roamed across my belly as his fingertips caressed. We stood there in the closet, kissing, caressing, panting, and I have no idea how much time we spent in there. I just knew that I needed more. So I rocked against him.

“Wanna get out of here?” he asked, breathless. When he pressed against me, he was achingly hard.

Did I? Was I ready for this? I wasn’t sure, but I wanted to be alone with him so I could find out. I nodded.

“Sierra?”

“Yes, Jeremy. Let’s go.”

He dipped his head lower to give me a final kiss in our special closet. We spent the next ten minutes trying to find Lexi, but it was no use. I assumed she was with Jace, and he’d make sure she got home just fine.

I placed my hand in Jeremy’s, took one last look at all our classmates, and then beamed up at him as butterflies swirled around in my stomach.

“I’m all yours.”

We’d just revisited the scene of our first kiss, so we must have been going to where it had really all begun. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised when he parked at the gazebo.

Jeremy rounded the hood and opened my door, making me giggle when he bowed and swept his arm out. Once I’d stepped out of the car, he gave me a peck on the lips.

“One second,” he said. Then he ran to the back of the car, where he dug around the trunk for something.

When he returned to me, he had a picnic basket and a blanket. I raised my brow at him.

“Were you planning this?” I teased.

“Maaaaybe,” he said before taking my hand with his free one. He led me down the walkway to the gazebo. “As much as I enjoy hanging out with our classmates, this is a special night for us. You’re the only person I want to celebrate with.”

“A special night?”

He dropped my hand, set the basket down, and spread the blanket out. Then he lifted his head and gazed at me. All amusement had drained from his face and been replaced with a serious expression. His jaw was tight, but his eyes were captivating. They were shining in the moonlight, and all I could see was love reflecting back at me. He closed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him.

“Of course it’s a special night, Sierra. We did it. We graduated and we’re finally starting out our lives as adults. We have the whole world in front of us, and I can’t imagine you not being by my side. So, yes, it’s special, and I want to spend it only with you.”

I glanced around at the stillness. Waves peacefully hit the shore. A slight breeze brought goose bumps to my skin. The moon was full, the sky was clear, and the stars were shining bright.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing we’re here. We’re all alone, at our special place, on our special night. Maybe you should take advantage of that,” I whispered. My heart was hammering as I wondered if I was ready for this.

But Jeremy didn’t let me think long. His head dipped and his lips met mine. “I will never take advantage of you, Sierra, but you know what I will do?”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Love you.”

I smiled. “Promise?”

“Always.”

With that, he sat on the blanket and pulled me down with him. He reached for the basket and withdrew his old boom box. When he hit play and Avant’s “Makin’ Good Love” came on, I knew exactly what was on his mind. I was surprised when he then revealed a bottle of champagne and two glasses. As soon as he handed me one, I took a sip, enjoying the bubbles playing on my tongue.

“This is amazing, Jeremy, but how’d you pull it off?”

“Sierra Sullivan, if we’re going to spend a lifetime together, don’t you think it’s a little early for me to spill all my secrets?”

“You don’t have any secrets from me.”

“Touché,” he said then lifted his glass as if to toast.

I raised mine as well.

“To an incredible past, the perfect present, and an amazing future.”

“Jeremy…” I whispered then reached over to rest my hand on his thigh.

“Yeah, baby?” he asked, his voice a little gruff.

I downed the rest of my champagne and set my glass off to the side. He did the same as he waited for me to continue.

“You’re right,” I said, my voice a bit shaky. “We’re starting the rest of our lives, and I want…I want to start right now.”

“You’re sure?” he asked.

I nodded, and he didn’t make me wait. Jeremy’s hand grabbed my hips and he pulled me into his lap until I was straddling his waist.

His beautiful, copper eyes flashed with desire, and he wasted no time leaning in to kiss me. His initial kiss was soft and sweet, his lips caressing mine adoringly. But, moments later, when I moaned against his lips, he took it as a sign to intensify the kiss. His tongue swept into my mouth, swirling and sweeping before tangling with mine. Our tongues waged war, fighting to maintain dominance. They were dueling in a furious, frantic rhythm, both of us losing. Both of us winning. The champagne on the tip of his tongue was achingly sweet. The urge to absorb every drop of the sweetness and take it for myself was tantalizing. As he fiercely plundered and probed, it was apparent he had the same idea.

As we kissed, his strong, big hands roamed my body over my clothes. They touched frantically, as if he couldn’t get enough. When one hand slid up my back, caressed my neck, then tangled up in my hair, I found myself pressed down against his groin. Jeremy groaned and slowed his kissing as he ground his body into mine, slowly, provocatively, and in calculated rhythm.

“God, I want you so much, Sierra,” he whispered against my lips. “So fucking much. I have to touch you.”

“I’m yours, Jeremy. I always have been. I always will be. What you want? It’s yours,” I offered, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt. I’d gotten cold feet before, and I didn’t want that to happen again. I was ready. I was sure of it.

As he rolled me onto my back, my panties dampened with anticipation, but he didn’t touch me right away. Instead, he lay next to me and braced himself on one elbow while his other hand cupped my jaw. He continued kissing me, lips caressing, tongues sucking, and he set me on fire with just his mouth. How could I ever want anything more than this man?

Jeremy had always been a good kisser, but this was different. It was as if he knew that tonight he was going to truly get his fill, and he was soaking up every bit of it he could. His kisses alternated between slow and steady and fast and furious. And I couldn't get enough. I wanted all of Jeremy. I wanted to touch him, taste him, run my fingers over every single inch of his body, and in turn, I wanted him to explore mine the same way. We were so connected emotionally, and I was craving a physical connection as well.

As my hands slid underneath his T-shirt and roamed his back, I realized he was too clothed. We were both too clothed. We had to remedy that, and fast.

"Jeremy," I panted, still breathless from our passionate kissing.

His eyes gleamed down at me, dark and full of desire. "Yeah, baby?"

"We should probably get naked," I said, not really knowing of a sexy way to say it.

Fortunately, this was Jeremy, and he grinned down at me before kissing my lips.

"Yeah, we probably should."

We both sat up and frantically stripped each other bare, not stopping until our clothes were tossed in a pile at the edge of the blanket. The breeze was cool against my flesh, causing me to shiver, but that didn't last long. Jeremy's heated gaze warmed my skin.