Just One Kiss (14 page)

He continues pushing against me, making my brain foggy and
my stomach clench each time I feel him. My breathing actually becomes shaky,
with a tightening in the pit of my stomach, and Brayden starts moving more
deliberately, touching me more firmly with each thrust. Together, we work to
remove the rest of our clothes and I begin lifting my hips to meet his,
unconscious of my actions until something wonderful happens, leaving me
whimpering in his arms. Brayden grabs something from his bedside stand then
looks deeply into my eyes. “Anna, are you sure you want this?” he asks.

At the moment, there are no negative thoughts in my mind. No
questions about tomorrow or the definition of our relationship, or even if I’m
prepared. All I know is that I’ve never felt this way in my life and I refuse
to let it end because I’m too much of a coward to step forward. So I nod my
head. “I’m positive,” I answer, circling my arms around his neck. He takes me
to places I’ve never been before.

***

The sun is shining brightly on me when I wake up the next
morning. Deeply confused, since I don’t have a window above my bed, I look
around and remember that I spent the night at Brayden’s. The thought makes me
gasp and sit up. I feel a soreness between my legs that I’ve never felt in my
life. Tears fill my eyes as I recall the events of last night. “Oh no,” I
whimper slightly, covering my face in my hands.

“What?” Brayden asks groggily, turning to pull me back down
to him.

“Stop it,” I say, moving his arm from my waist.

“Anna, what’s wrong?” he asks. Concerned, he sits up
slightly and rests his weight on his elbow.

“We had sex,” I murmur, still shocked.

“Yeah . . .” he trails off, clearly not
seeing my point.

“Brayden, I wasn’t even ready to date you. Do you really
think I was ready for sex?” I snap.

“You agreed. I asked before I did anything and you said yes,”
he says defensively.

“I was half-asleep!” I protest.

His voice is softer now. “Anna, you can’t just blame me
whenever you’re scared.”

I sigh and turn to look at him. “I know. That’s the worst
part. It’s my own fault.”

He sits up fully and runs a hand through his hair. “Okay,
forgive me because I’m still waking up, but what exactly is wrong with us
sleeping together, anyway?”

“It was my first time! And we’re not even in a relationship,”
I exclaim, shaking my head.

“Well, we could fix that last part,” he suggests softly, his
voice sounding hopeful.

“But we agreed to be friends for now,” I whisper. It sounds
stupid out loud.

With a frustrated sigh, he pulls lightly on the tips of his
tousled hair. “I hate just being your friend,” he growls, wiping a hand over
his face and surprising me. “I want a relationship with you, Anna. Ro was right
about something that day at your work. I’d much rather be screaming about us
from the rooftops instead of just lying about it for our families’ benefit. I
want to pull you into my arms all the time without worrying about how receptive
you’ll be that day. I want to be the first person you want to see when you’ve
had a bad dream. I want you to run to me like you did to Molly this afternoon.
I want to see you after I’ve had a bad day and not feel like I’m bothering you.
I’m falling in love with you every time I’m with you. I don’t know if I can
just be a friend,” he finishes quietly, a sad note in his voice.

I can only stare at him with wide eyes. He feels that
strongly for me? “Why did you agree to be just friends if that’s how you feel?”

“Because it’s what you needed. And I didn’t want to push you,
but last night you were sleeping so close to me and you looked so perfect. Then
you woke up and looked at me like I was the only person you wanted to see and
everything that unfolded after that just made it clear. I’m desperate for you.”
He looks so miserable that it breaks my heart.

“Brayden, I . . .” I don’t know what to tell
him so I’m quiet for a long time. “Okay,” I say finally.

“Okay what?” he asks nervously, tilting his head in my
direction.

“I’ll try. We can try being in a relationship,” I relinquish
carefully.

“What?” He blinks. Clearly he was expecting me to push him
away again. I feel guilty about that.

“You were my friend because that’s what I needed. Now you
need something more and I’m willing to try for you,” I tell him.

“Anna, you can’t be my girlfriend out of pity,” he says,
sighing in disappointment.

“It’s not pity,” I assure him firmly. “I feel the same way
about you, but I let my fears overrule it all until I’m afraid to do anything.
You make me feel like such a different person, and after standing up to my
family yesterday, I feel more ready than I did before,” I tell him, smiling a
bit at the end. Despite my fears, the thought that Brayden and I will be
together makes me happy.

“You’re serious, then?” he asks, shocked.

I nod my head. “I’ll still need to take it slow, and you’ll
probably still need to help me for a while, but I think I’m ready for that.”

Instead of responding again, he practically jumps on me in
his rush to kiss. I laugh and kiss him back, fully awake this time and
completely happy about it. “You’re incredible,” he murmurs against my lips.

I giggle and push him back a little, grinning up at him.
“Let’s go eat.”

He falls back on the bed, laughing. “Come on, Cutie,” he
says affectionately as he stands so he can reach my hand. “Come back to bed!” he
taunts. I blush bright red at the sight of his bare bottom.

“Uh, Brayden . . .” He turns his head to see
me staring openly at his backside.

“Anna, you’re such a pervert!” he admonishes, laughing
again.

I smile and shrug. He’s got a very nice butt. Brayden moves
to his dresser and puts on a pair of boxers while I stand, making sure to keep
his sheet around me. “I think I’ll take the first shower,” I tell him.

He grins and wraps his arms around me. “Do you need help
washing your hair?”

I laugh and shake my head, “I’ve actually been doing that on
my own for the past fifteen years and it’s going pretty well so far. But you
could go make me some pancakes.”

He bends closer until there’s only a sliver of space between
our lips. “Oh could I?” he smirks.

I nod and move up slightly to capture my lips with his. We
stay like that for a while before my stomach growls, reminding both of us that
I’m hungry. “Right, I guess I could,” he says huskily, pulling away.

“I’ll be quick,” I promise as he pulls a pair of jeans over
his boxers and heads for the door. I take the quickest shower of my life,
thankful to see that Brayden has conditioner. Pulling on my clothes from
yesterday makes me feel a bit grimy, but I ignore it and head to the kitchen.

Brayden’s never looked sexier than when he’s standing over
the stove, without his shirt, making me breakfast. He looks over at me and
smiles, “Hey there.”

“Hey,” I reply softly, moving under the arm he’s lifted for
me to rest on his side. He’s also making bacon and eggs. “You’re quite the cook,”
I tell him.

I look up to see the largest smile on his face. “I am the
master of all things done in the kitchen,” he tells me.

I roll my eyes in sarcastic doubt. “Oh really? All things?”
I ask.

“Yes! All things,” he tells me adamantly.

“So, if I were to kiss you right now, it’d be better than
ever before since we’re in the kitchen?” I wonder.

Brayden’s eyes sparkle when he realizes what I’m doing.
“Maybe we should find out,” he suggests, leaning down and pushing his lips
against mine before I can respond.

I can’t describe what he did, but whatever it was left me
very weak in the knees. “How was that?” he asks cockily.

I can only blink up at him, surprised that he actually
proved to be better at kissing in the kitchen. “You win,” I concede, making him
laugh.

He pushes me toward the kitchen table before grabbing plates
and piling them with food for us. We’re sitting silently as we stuff our faces
until Adrienne walks into the kitchen and says “Morning guys, how’d you sleep?”

An uncontrollably deep blush graces my cheeks and I stare at
my food, praying that she won’t see. “Best night of my life,” Brayden says in
the most relaxed voice I’ve ever heard. I jerk my elbow into his ribs, making
him cough.

“Ouch,” he says, turning to glare at me.

Instead of looking back at him, I move my hand to the side
of my face, trying for innocent but failing miserably.

Adrienne is chuckling as she pours her coffee and sits with
us. “It’s okay, Annie. I was young once too,” she says sweetly before winking
at me.

“Oh god,” I squeak before placing my forehead against the
table. Both of them burst out laughing at me.

“Hon, it’s not like my mom thinks I’m a virgin or anything.”

“Brayden!” I screech, smacking his arm.

“Ow,” he says laughingly, holding it for effect.

“Shut up, now.” I glare, daring him to tell his mom anything
else.

“Fine, fine. You didn’t need to be so violent,” he pouts,
getting no sympathy from me. My second glare shuts him up. For a moment.

“Mom, can you believe she hits me?” he asks in a tattletale
voice.

“Brayden, you’re embarrassing the poor girl,” his mom
chuckles as she takes another sip of her coffee.

In my peripherals, I can see him looking thoughtfully my
direction. “You’re not embarrassed, are you, Annie?”

When I don’t answer and continue eating without looking at
him, he makes an “aww” sound and tries to turn my chin toward him. I start
laughing and put my hand on his face, trying to turn it away.

“No! You are not going to kiss me and get away with
everything!” There’s a tiny sting when he nibbles on my palm. “Ow!” I say
loudly, yanking my hand back with surprise.

He catches it in his and says, “Here, let me kiss that for
you” before placing his lips against the offended spot. Looking back up into my
eyes, he says “Better, Cutie?”

I pout a bit and pull it back. “It wouldn’t have hurt in the
first place if you didn’t bite it.”

He just grins and leans forward, placing a soft kiss against
the corner of my lips, making me grin too.

Cloud Nine

Getting home after a day at Brayden’s makes me feel a little
sad. I love spending time with him and his family. Plus, there’s the added
factor of everything that happened yesterday still hanging in the air as I walk
through the door.

“Anna, you’re finally home. We need to talk to you,” Mom
says as soon as I walk inside.

I’m sure I’ve still got a silly grin on my face, leftover
from Brayden. “You know what?” I ask happily. “I don’t want to talk to any of
you right now. I just want to be happy for a little while longer,” I tell her, walking
upstairs with a note of finality.

Molly’s on my bed, using my laptop. I grin and sit beside
her. “So, what’re we looking at?” I ask.

She gives me a curious look. “You, at the moment.”

I smile brightly and watch as her eyes widen. “Oh my god,
you two had sex, didn’t you?” she blabs loudly. I giggle and cover her mouth
with my hand, nodding.

“How was it?” she asks with wiggled eyebrows and a curious grin.

“Last night? Great. This morning I’m not sure about. Right
now? Amazing,” I inform her, a reminiscent smile on my lips.

“What?” she asks, confused.

“Well, we did it last night, when I was half-asleep. I
totally consented and everything and I remember how good it was, but you know
how I get when I’m tired.” She nods knowingly. I once punched her in the face
for jumping on my bed to wake me up. “Then, this morning, I woke up and started
panicking. Brayden told me all this amazing stuff and that he’s falling in love
with me. Then we decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend.” She cuts me off
before I can go on.

“Wait, you two weren’t dating?”

I shake my head. “It’s hard to explain, but we were friends
with feelings. I wasn’t ready for a relationship but we liked kissing and
stuff.”

“And stuff?”

“Okay, just kissing.”

“All right, go on,” she says, grinning.

“Well, then he made me breakfast, completely embarrassed me
in front of his mom, and we spent the day together until he had to go in to
work,” I sigh.

“Aww, Anna, I’m so happy for you,” she exclaims.

“Thanks.” I smile happily.

“I just have one question.”

“Hm?”

“Were you two safe?” she asks seriously.

The question completely halts all other thoughts. Were we? I
immediately grab my phone and call Brayden. He picks up after a few rings.
“Hello?” I can hear the smile in his voice.

“Did we use a condom last night?”

I hear a spitting sound and some coughing for a few seconds
before he comes back, his voice a little scratchy.

“Jesus, Annie, warn a guy. I could’ve choked. And yes, we
did. That’s what I was reaching for before we . . . you
know.”

I sigh, relieved. “Okay.” I smile again.

“Was that all you wanted?” he asks.

“Yeah. How’s work?”

“Good, I just got here, though. I was finishing up my soda
before you called,” he tells me.

“Ah, that’s the whole coughing thing?” I smirk at the phone.

I can hear his chuckle and I imagine the way his lips are
probably tilting up and how his shoulders might be shaking just a little. “Yes,”
he says.

“Sorry, but Molly asked me and I realized that I was so out
of it I didn’t know,” I explain.

“You told your cousin?” he asks warily.

“Yeah, but you basically told your mom. And she lost her
virginity when she was fourteen, so she can’t judge,” I babble happily.
Unfortunately, that warranted me a slap from Molly. “Ow,” I whisper. “Brayden,
she hit me!”

He laughs again. “Sounds like karma. Look, I’ve gotta go.
Tell Molly to play nice.”