Sound of Heartache ("Sound of" Book 2) (4 page)

“
Want to head back to my apartment? It’s too crowded in here!” He nearly had to shout to be heard over the noise. Aimee nodded at him, smiling briefly. When their names were called Brent had to elbow his way to the counter to grab the drinks, making him glad he’d suggested leaving. He grabbed their order and carefully wound through the crowd until he and Aimee were once again standing outside in the chilly air.

“
That was intense,” Aimee commented before taking a sip of her coffee. She exhaled slowly and held the cup with both hands as they walked toward Brent’s apartment. Brent made a sound of agreement and sipped on his own drink, a chocolate mocha, while contemplating what he should do with his feelings for Aimee. They’d gotten to the point where he couldn’t ignore them anymore and he wasn’t sure how receptive Aimee would be toward him. She’d never done anything overt to show Brent she was into him and he didn’t want to lose his friendship with her. It was too important, even more important to him than passing the class was.

“
Did you date much in high school?” He asked her curiously. He had no idea how much experience she had and it was probably important for him to know since his thoughts wouldn’t leave Aimee alone.

“
Some. Not a whole lot. I went to a couple of dances, did the movies a few times. Had a summer romance. Nothing serious.” She sounded wistful.

“
Did you wish it was different?”

“
Yeah. My parents were pretty strict on keeping me focused for college so there weren’t a lot of times they’d say yes. The friends that I did have were always out with guys or had boyfriends. It would’ve been nice to do the same thing.” Aimee glanced up at him before looking quickly away. “What about you?”

“
High school?” He asked. Aimee nodded. “I slept my way through probably half of the girls at my school. It wasn’t pretty,” he admitted. Aimee’s eyes flew to his and she frowned.

“
Why would you do that?”

“
I don’t know, I guess because I could. It’s a stupid reason I know. But I loved girls and they seemed to love me. I was always honest and never treated them badly so I wasn’t
that guy
.” Brent knew he’d let more than one girl down with his attitude, but at least he’d always been honest.

“
What about now?” Aimee asked timidly. Brent took a deep breath and blew it out. He should’ve expected this question, but he didn’t, so he wasn’t ready to answer it. He shook his head.

“
Oh.” The word was said quietly, her voice almost a sigh. Brent could tell Aimee assumed the worst from his response. He knew she thought he was still sleeping around but the truth was he hadn’t been with anyone since he’d met her. He hadn’t wanted anyone else.

“
I haven’t had sex since August,” he blurted out. Although Aimee’s face was in profile to his, but he could see a blush spread across her cheeks.

“
Is that some kind of record for you?” She retorted. He nodded, again going with honesty over tact, and she snorted derisively. Brent’s shoulders slumped because he was pretty sure he’d just blown any chance he’d ever have with Aimee. Honesty fucking sucked.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Brent had been pretty quiet for the rest of their walk. After their embarrassing discussion about past relationships, Aimee was at a loss for words herself. She looked at him surreptitiously as he keyed open his apartment door. He looked like he had a lot on his mind. Aimee had noticed that Brent pretty much wore his emotions on his sleeve so there was never any secret about where you stood with him. She followed him into the apartment and sank into the sofa while he flipped on lights. Since Eric didn’t immediately make an appearance, Aimee assumed he was out. She was a little disappointed Seeing Eric was the second best thing going on in Aimee’s life and she was always bummed when he wasn’t around.

When Brent finished moving around and stood in the kitchen at the bar, Aimee knew something was up. Not one to hide from conflict, she stood up and moved over to him, sitting down across the bar from him. She tilted her chin up and tried to look him in the eye, but his gaze was aimed down at the counter. She folded her hands together to stop them from trembling.

“
Is everything okay?” She asked, point blank. Brent’s eyes lifted to hers, and Aimee felt lost in their green depths. Her trembling increased and she realized she was incredibly nervous. Everything suddenly felt so different. She and Brent had never talked about relationships and past experiences before. It made her wonder if Brent was starting to see her as more than a friend.

“
I was so excited when I was done with the exam, you know? I knew I’d passed it and it was all because of you. I couldn’t wait to tell you.” Brent’s voice was deep and warm. Aimee relaxed a fraction. He didn’t sound angry with her.

“
I’m so glad you felt good about it. But it’s not me. It’s you, really. You’re incredibly smart.” She didn’t want him to feel like he couldn’t succeed in the class without her because she knew he was plenty smart enough on his own. She loved studying with him but knew he’d be okay if she couldn’t. From things he’d told her, he felt like his ability to pass the class rested on her shoulders and she knew he hated depending on her for that.

“
I’ve never cared much one way or the other what girls think about me. They’ve always been easy enough to get and uninteresting enough to let go.” Brent sounded thoughtful, like he was doing some serious introspection. Aimee hated the thought of him with other girls and had been more than a little surprised when he confessed he hadn’t had sex in months. She had assumed from the start that he went out nearly every weekend because he seemed like the kind of guy who did.

“
What’s your point here, Brent?” Aimee asked, striving for calm. She was afraid of revealing too much to him if they continued on with this conversation. He came around the bar toward her, and she swiveled her stool to face him. His eyes searched her face and she was afraid at what he might find there. She wasn’t very good at hiding her feelings in general and found it even harder to hide from Brent how much she cared about him. She dropped her eyes and watched her feet dangle from the stool.

“
My point is I’ve never had a female friend before. You’re a first for me.” Aimee’s heart squeezed painfully in her chest and she was fiercely glad she wasn’t looking at him. She would hate for him to know how much his words pained her. She nodded, still looking down, and struggled not to cry. “I find myself worried I’ll do something wrong that will end our friendship,” he confessed gruffly.

Aimee wanted to tell him there was a big fat chance that would never happen. “What…what could you possibly ever do to end our friendship?” She stumbled over the words. “We’re solid. You know that,” she said in a rush. She knew she needed to leave his apartment quickly. It was taking every ounce of her control to sit here with him and not cry.

When she felt Brent step into the space between her legs, her eyes flew up to his. Her heart pounded as Brent’s large hands came up to cradle her face. His thumbs wiped along the bottom of her eyes where tears were hovering. “Something stupid.” His voice was impossibly low and tender. “Something like this.”

Brent bent and pressed his lips to hers, their warm weight shockingly arousing. Aimee gasped against and Brent took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth, gently tangling it with hers. Aimee pressed closer to him as she responded by tentatively stroking his tongue back. Her hands landed on his hip bones and she tugged him even closer as they continued to kiss, their tongues dancing.

Aimee felt like she couldn’t breathe. Kissing Brent was everything she hoped it would be and more. She could kiss Brent forever, but Aimee needed to reassure him this wasn’t a mistake. That
they
weren’t a mistake. She groaned and pulled back. Wariness flared in Brent’s eyes as he looked at her silently, waiting for her reaction. His lips swollen and wet from their kisses and his eyes glowed brightly. He had never looked more beautiful.

“
This is the last thing from stupid,” she told him breathlessly and watched his eyes darken before she pressed her mouth up against his again. She was afraid Brent would come to his senses and end this before it ever really got started. Aimee was determined to push him as far as she could. His arm came around her waist and he pressed her up against him, lifting her just the tiniest bit. She could feel his denim-covered erection pressing into her belly and her body flooded with heat. She was doing this to Brent. She was making him hard. It seemed unbelievable.

“
I want to keep spending time with you,” Brent told her as he leaned over and ran his tongue down her neck, nipping gently. Aimee felt shivers race down her arms and her hands tightened on his waist. She turned to press her lips against his neck in return.

“
Okay,” she agreed easily. He wasn’t going to get a protest from her. She wanted to keep spending time with him too. A lot of time.

Moving slowly, she pushed her hands under Brent’s shirt. Her breath caught when her palms met warm, hard skin. She caressed his back before moving around to his abs. She ran her hands over the warm ridges of his toned belly and felt him suck in a breath. Aimee hesitated briefly, terrified he was going to shut her down. Gathering every ounce of her courage, she widened the space between them and unhooked the button to his jeans. The backs of her hands brushed against a light dusting of hair. She felt him shudder.

“
Oh, fuck!” Brent exclaimed against her shoulder. His calloused hands covered hers, stopping her, and he gave a breathless laugh. “Aimee, you kill me!” Aimee hoped that was a good thing, but she wasn’t working with any first-hand knowledge on how to do this the right way.

She leaned up and captured his mouth, drawing him back into a deep kiss. His hands slackened just the tiniest bit and it was all Aimee needed. She worked his zipper down carefully, her fingers brushing against his hard length. She could feel it jump against her touch. Hoping to distract him from what her hands were doing, she nipped gently at his lower lip before sucking his tongue into her mouth. She felt his groan more than heard it and took the opportunity to slip her hand into his jeans. Hot, silky skin was there to greet her and Aimee realized he wasn’t wearing anything under his jeans.

“
Oh!” She exclaimed. She was incredibly aroused and could feel her body throbbing for relief. “Oh, God.” She held onto him and rocked against the barstool, needing friction against her aching clit.

“
Not what you expected?” Brent asked, pulling back from their kiss. He looked at her with glazed eyes, his lips wet and swollen. Aimee didn’t know how to vocalize what she wanted.

“
More than I expected,” she admitted shyly. She rocked again on the stool, the hot length of him still filling her hand. His eyes were hooded as he thrust his hips forward, driving his steely length into her grip. Aimee’s breath caught. She knew there was a vast difference in their level of experience but she didn’t want to let on how foreign this all was to her. She squeezed him tightly and his hips jerked.

“
How far do you want to take this?” He gritted out, his jaw locked down. Aimee squeezed him again and his forehead dropped to hers as he thrust against her hand again. She could feel the sticky wetness of his precum leaking onto her fingers. Pulling her hand off him, she ran her tongue along the side of her hand, tasting him. He groaned when he realized what she was doing and she didn’t care if it was right or wrong. She needed him.

“
As far as you’ll take it,” she whispered to him, her gaze locked onto his. She whimpered as his hand shot between her legs, his thumb pressing down on the seam of her jeans. It rested directly over her clit and she rocked forward at the burst of sensation. He pressed down again and Aimee’s back bowed, pressing her breasts into his chest. She moved her hips, rubbing against his finger shamelessly.

“
I can’t believe you licked me off your hand,” he told her, his voice like hot, melted butter. “It’s so fucking hot to see you do that.” He pressed against her clit hard, sending sparks through her body.

“
I want to taste you so badly,” she admitted to him. If she could get his pants off, she knew she’d have him in her mouth. Her eyes slipped shut at the thought, and she put her hands on his waist, ready to push down his jeans. She was desperate to do exactly what she was thinking. She pushed on the edges of his jeans and gave a frustrated growl when they didn’t drop down like she wanted. Brent huffed out a laugh and hauled her forward into his arms. She gave a squeak as he scooped her up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on as he carried her down the hall toward his room. She laughed a little as he dropped himself backwards onto the bed and she landed on top of him.

“
You can do what you want to me,” he told her, wrapping his long fingers around her wrist. He moved her hand to his erection and rubbed himself up against their joined hands. “When it gets to be too much, stop. You’re in control right now, okay?”

Aimee looked down at Brent below her. His normally flawless hair was falling out of its style. His green eyes were lowered as they looked steadily back at her. His lips were dark red and kiss-swollen. His shirt was riding up on rippled abs that were lightly sprinkled with dark hair. The fly to his jeans lay open and Aimee could partially see his erection. She had never seen a more potent example of male arousal and couldn’t stop herself from grinding down on him. Brent’s hips bucked instinctively up against hers and she let out a small moan.