Jayded (24 page)

I get on the bed next to him.
“
Okay, your turn
—”

He looks at me with a smirk and then gets up to unbutton his jeans, slides them down, and swings them around in his hand while standing in his boxers. I roll on my side, laughing uncontrollably. He is just so damn cute and sexy, and he doesn
’
t even have to try. I adore that. There
’
s just something so carefree about him. It must be the age. Of course, I don
’
t remember being like that when I was his age. Maybe that
’
s why I sort of envy him.

He now crawls on the bed, pulls down the covers, and directs me to get under with him. I don
’
t even protest or complain. He grabs my hips to pull me to him. My back against his chest, he wraps his arms around me tight, keeping me warm.

“
Are you comfortable?
”
he asks.

“
Uh-huh.
”

He flips through the channels until he finds a movie we both like:
Superbad
. I
’
m waiting for him to make his move, but he doesn
’
t. It feels so nice to just lie here, our breathing in sync, and feel the warmth of each other
’
s bodies wrapping us in a cocoon of comforting bliss.

Every time I watch this movie, my stomach cramps up from laughing so hard. Cody never liked it. He thought it was childish and didn
’
t see what was so funny about a bunch of teens trying to get alcohol. I remembering telling him you didn
’
t have to be a teen to find the humor in it. He didn
’
t buy it. Movie choice was just something we agreed to disagree on. He was a documentary type of man, and I was a whatever-makes-me-laugh kind of girl. After working the hours I do and the seriousness of this business, I need a good laugh once in a while.

A commercial comes on. I lean my face toward Kyle.
“
When was your first kiss?
”

“
Oh wow! Diving right into the big-gun questions, are we?
”
he says, chuckling.
“
I was fourteen. Her name was Amanda, and it was a horrible first kiss.
”

I laugh.
“
Aww, I
’
m sorry. No one should ever have a horrible first kiss!
”

“
What about you?
”

I roll around so I am now on my back.
“
I was nineteen. It was my first year of college, and his name was Joey. My first kiss and my first heartbreak all in one.
”

He furrows his brows, trying to figure out if I
’
m just busting his balls or if I
’
m really telling the truth.
“
For real?
”

“‘
For real
’
what?
”

“
You really didn
’
t have your first kiss until college? You
’
ve got to be joking,
”
he says, still trying to figure me out.

“
You wouldn
’
t think so if you saw me as a teen. I was raised by my older brother, basically, so that gives you an idea of the resources I had to work with as a girl. Kinsey was my roommate in college. You should have seen her face the first time she saw me. It wasn
’
t a welcoming face, and I was definitely a project,
”
I disclose to him.

“
Wow, do you have any pictures?
”
he wonders, laughing. I smack his chest.

“
You
’
re an ass. Of course I do, but you won
’
t be seeing them.
”

The movie comes back on, but he
’
s not interested in watching it at the moment.
“
So who was this lucky guy that got your first kiss?
”

“
He was a bad boy, not really a part of the in crowd, per se. He was a senior. He had tattoo sleeves on both of his arms
—
a real wild boy but extremely smart. We dated my whole freshman year. He took everything I had to give, and then when he graduated, I never spoke with him again,
”
I confess.

The emotion in his face switches to disbelief.
“
What a dick. I
’
m not saying I haven
’
t done stupid shit like that before, but I sure wouldn
’
t invest a year into someone and then end it like that,
”
he says, looking disgusted.

“
So tell me, what was your most dick-headed move when you were involved with a girl?
”

He rolls his eyes and puts his hand over his face.
“
Aww, really? You really want to go there?
”
he whines.

“
Yup.
”

He takes a deep breath.
“
My brother was good friends with this girl Mary for years. He liked her, but she only thought of him as a friend. She wanted me for years, but she was older, so she waited to make a move until it was my senior year in high school. I slept with her a bunch of times but never was interested in a relationship. I let her know right up front, but she had a different agenda. Needless to say, it didn
’
t end too well once Junior found out,
”
he admits, looking regretful.

Now it all makes some sense why Junior is so protective of his brother
’
s interests. The girl he cared for got burned by Kyle. It
’
s obvious that Junior hasn
’
t forgotten about this incident and most definitely hasn
’
t forgiven him either.

“
Have you ever considered that
’
s why your brother acts the way he does toward you?
”

The movie is just a distant noise in the background.
“
Of course I have. I
’
ve apologized to him many times for it. But damn, I was freaking eighteen for God
’
s sake. She was hot, and she was persistent as hell. I did what most guys would. I gave her what she wanted,
”
he explains.

I can
’
t really blame him for it, because he
’
s right. Most guys that age will take anything thrown their way
—
especially if the girl is hot. She should have known better, being the older one. But Kyle does have that heartthrob, make-you-want-to-fall-in-love appeal to him.

“
I guess that
’
s all you can do. He
’
s obviously just a hardhead. He clearly needs to find someone that can get his mind off the negative things in life. He needs some wild, hot, passionate sex in his life. That might fix his stale asshole-ness.
”

We both laugh.
“
Yeah, I totally agree with you on that. I really don
’
t think he
’
s had any sort of relationship.
”

There
’
s a brief moment of silence, and I decide to go for it.

I bite my bottom lip and furrow my brow.
“
So, just so
we
’
re
clear
—
what is it we
’
re exactly doing here?
”
I question. I did it. I bit the bullet and put it out there. I don
’
t want any miscommunication with him whatsoever.

He doesn
’
t take his eyes off of mine.
“
I
’
m not too sure. I really wasn
’
t expecting anything walking into this. I don
’
t really have a plan. What about you?
”

I put a tiny distance between us.
“
Honestly, I thought we were going to have sex and that would be it. We have nine years between us. What can possibly come of that?
”

“
You think I care about your age? Your age means nothing to me. I was actually hoping once we got this sexual tension out of the way, we could move on. But it didn
’
t happen that way. The more I
’
m around you, the more I want. I can tell you one thing, though
—
I don
’
t want to share you. So, if you
’
re thinking about seeing other people, I can
’
t stop you, but just let me know so I can remove myself from the equation.
”
He
’
s dead serious.

“
So, you want to be exclusive then?
”

“
Are you going to be sleeping with other people?
”
he asks, getting directly to the point.

“
I wasn
’
t planning on it. And you?
”

He leans in to kiss me softly on the lips.
“
I wasn
’
t planning on it either.
”

We both gaze at each other, satisfied. Nothing more needs to be said. We both plan on being sexually exclusive; as for the rest, I
’
m really not ready to put a title or name to it. We
’
re enjoying each other
’
s company, and I
’
m okay with just that.

After that
’
s all said and done, we cuddle up once more and finish watching the movie.

M
y alarm goes off in the hazy distance of sleep. I can
’
t tell if I
’
m dreaming or if this is for real. A wall of heat is suddenly removed from my backside and replaced with a cold chill. I crack my eyes open. The alarm has been turned off and the heat has returned.

“
Good morning,
”
Kyle whispers, kissing my neck. A chill sweeps over me from his touch.

“
What time is it?
”
I ask.

“
Seven.
”

I sit up quickly to look for myself. He
’
s right. It is seven. How the hell did that happen? I
’
ve never slept so soundly through the night. Especially with someone by my side. I feel confused and a little out of it. What the hell? Why the change now? I was with Cody for three years, and I still never got used to the idea of sleeping with him, nor did I even attempt to do so. So, why the rule-breaker now?

I slip out of the bed.
“
Okay, this is getting a little crazy. No more sleepovers. We
’
re
not
a couple; we
’
re just friends. Colleagues that are having exclusive sex,
”
I inform on a completely unemotional level.

He looks at me like I
’
m out of my mind.
“
Um, I
’
m not so sure if you remember, but I
’
ve already slept here with you,
”
he states.

“
Yes, we fell asleep after a complete cosmic orgasm that sucked the life out of us, bringing on sleep. We did not spoon like star-crossed lovers, nor did we exchange love dedications,
”
I explain.

Kyle
’
s face looks half taken aback and half amused. I can
’
t tell which he is exactly. Maybe he
’
s just both, but I am not trying to be amusing.

“
Okay, so we have a new rule now?
”

I begin stripping my clothes off and head toward the bathroom.
“
Sure, if that
’
s how you want to define it: no sleepovers,
”
I proclaim.

I turn on the hot water in the shower, letting the steam cloud the air. I finish undressing and hop in. The scalding water on my skin feels blistering hot; I immediately turn the water down to a comfortable temperature. I stay still, allowing the water to glide over my skin and warm my body. It awakens all my senses. I hear the shower curtain hooks clink. There
’
s no need to turn around, because I can already feel Kyle
’
s hands on my breasts.