The Hidden (The Hidden Trilogy) (22 page)

I craned my neck to look up at him, eyes wide as my breaths escaped in little puffs, my heart trying to jumpstart itself. My body was pressed against him, and at some point he’d threaded his fingers through mine. Maybe he’d done it when he first grabbed my hand, I didn’t know. It all happened so fast.

He cradled my neck with his free hand, just under my ear, his eyes wide as he stared down at me. “Are you okay?” he breathed.

I closed my mouth and nodded, watching as his gaze dropped to my lips. His face was inches from mine. He blinked several times, his eyelids growing heavy as he traced his thumb over my bottom lip. His skin was oddly smooth and cool to the touch.

My heart raced as my stomach fluttered, but I turned my head, breaking whatever this was. 

Gabriel straightened and released me, backing up a respectable distance. He smoothed out his shirt, looking down as he softly said, “I’ll concede to your rules. Just let me know when and where.”

I pulled my jacket tighter. “Okay.”

He nodded in acknowledgment before I watched him get in his car and leave.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Friday, October 9
th

EMILY

Autumn was in full swing. Leaves littered the ground and roads, and a few trees on campus were completely orange and yellow. In the light of the setting sun, it appeared like they were on fire. It was beautiful, but looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie about an alien planet.

Beth shifted her bag as we walked to our sociology class. “How’re things with Thomas?”

A smile spread across my face. “Things are…” Awesome. Amazing. Incredible. “Good.”

“Have you slept with him yet?”

Not in the way she meant. “No, not yet.”

She rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. “Oh my god, you’re
killing
me. You need to hurry up and do it already. I need
details
, Em.”

I laughed. “Why do you need details?”

She smirked. “Because he’s gorgeous and since
I
can’t have him, I need to live vicariously through you.”

“Sorry, but you’ll just have to wait. We haven’t even been going out that long.”

Her brows creased. “How long have you been going out?”

“It’s only been a month.”

“And how many dates have you been on?”

I shrugged. “It’s hard to tell what constitutes a date. We see each other every day and we hang out almost every night, so…”

“
So
, what’s the holdup?”

My face flushed. “I don’t know…it’s just never gone further than kissing. He hasn’t tried to take it further.” And thanks to my limited experience with this kind of stuff, I didn’t know how to make the move for him.

“You mean he hasn’t copped a feel or anything?”

I shook my head. “Just above my clothes.”

She frowned. “Do you think he might be gay?”

I shook my head again, the blush on my face burning as it intensified. “I don’t think that’s it. When we make out, I can feel his…excitement. Pressed up against my leg.”

Beth laughed. “That’s good, I guess. A hard-on is one sure-fire sign that he’s into it. So are you gonna make the next move or wait for him to do it?”

I bit my nail as I thought about it. “I don’t know. I don’t even know what he’s waiting for. Am I supposed to give him some kind of signal? Is it like Monopoly where I have to tell him to pass go and collect two-hundred dollars?”

She threw her head back and laughed. “I don’t know. Usually it’s the other way around. The guy will try to pass go unless you tell him to stop.”

A gust of wind sent the leaves by our feet up in the air, twirling and dancing around us. It knocked my hair into my face and I brushed it away. “So how do I make the next move? Telling him to ‘do me’ doesn’t sound very romantic.”

“Next time you’re making out, try taking off his shirt. He should get the message and reciprocate.”

I nodded absently. That actually wasn’t a bad idea.

The K building came into view and I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “So how’re things with Josh?”

Beth scowled. “They
aren’t
.” At my insistent look for her to continue, she sighed and said, “He thinks having a relationship could potentially ruin the friendship.” She stopped and faced me. “You know what the funny part is? The friendship’s already ruined. Things have gotten so awkward that we can barely be in the same room with each other now.”

I reached out and rubbed her arm, giving her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, sweetie.”

Her eyes grew shiny, and for a brief second, I thought she might cry. Instead, she steeled herself, jerking her head towards the building. “C’mon, we’re gonna be late.”

Dawdling by the bookcase next to my bedroom door, I pretended to look for something as I watched Beth do her homework. I wanted to ask her something–something
very
particular–but I wasn’t sure how.

“Why are you hovering?” she asked without looking up.

I was only slightly embarrassed she’d caught on to me and mumbled, “Sorry,” as I straightened and walked around the couch. “Can I ask you something…personal?”

Beth laughed and stopped writing, setting her pen and notebook on the coffee table. “Em, you walked in on me having sex. I think we’re way past the point of personal.”

I grimaced and sat down next to her. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know you were…busy.”

She shrugged. “I think Josh was more embarrassed about it than I was.”

I
still
wasn’t quite able to look him in the face, and it was only because Beth and I were so close that I was able to meet her eyes after that clusterfuck of a morning. Although it did take me a couple days to be able to do so.

“So what’s up?” Beth asked.

“I have a question about…” I squirmed as I tried to think of how to phrase it. “Landscaping. You know…down…
there
.” I winced as soon as the words left my mouth, beyond mortified.

She grinned. “Ah. You’re talking about mowing the grass, huh?”

“Yes.” God, I couldn’t even look at her.

“Well, what do you wanna know?”

“It’s common, right?” The only reason I was asking Beth this horribly embarrassing question was because I knew from personal–albeit accidental–knowledge that she
did
 “mow the grass.” If you could even call it that, since Beth was as smooth as the day she was born.

She shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve seen a lot of vaginas up close and personal, but yeah, I guess. At least according to every piece of porn I’ve seen. Why? Don’t you do it?”

“I’ve never…done it.” At her cocked eyebrow, I rushed to say, “Nobody’s ever been down there before, so I haven’t really thought about it until now.”

Her face scrunched up. “So you have like a full-on seventies bush?”

“
God
,” I groaned. “
Focus
, Beth.”

“Sorry.” Her mouth pressed into a hard line as she tried not to laugh. “Uh, okay so…you want to try it, is that why you’re asking?”

“Well, yeah, maybe. That’s probably what Thomas is used to, so…” Ugh, I wanted to vomit at the thought of him and someone else’s vagina. “I kinda wanted to do it before things go south of my border.”

She nodded in agreement. “You’re thinking ahead. I like your game plan. So are you gonna wax or shave?”

“I have no idea, that’s why I need your help.”

She tapped her finger on her lower lip for a few seconds, her face thoughtful. “Well, waxing hurts like a bitch but the results last way longer than shaving. You also have to go to a salon and show someone your cooter when they wax you. Shaving doesn’t hurt so long as you don’t nick yourself, but you need to do it every other day or so. And waxing is more expensive than shaving.”

I blanched at the thought of showing a total stranger my “cooter.” “Okay, then. Shaving it is.”

I stepped out of the bathtub, causing water to slosh around as the drain made loud gulping sounds. Steam rose off my wet skin as I grabbed a towel and began drying myself off. Even in these few moments since leaving the water, I was acutely aware of my now hairless nether-regions.

I wrapped the towel around me and cracked open the bathroom door, peering out into the living room. Beth was nowhere to be seen, so I quickly crossed the room, ducking into my bedroom as I shut the door with a quiet thud. I pressed my thighs together, feeling nothing but smooth, soft skin between my legs. I kind of liked the feeling.

Tossing the towel onto my bed, I opened my closet door and looked at myself in the full-length mirror. Beth was right; it
did
kind of look like a taco–

A knock on our front door and Beth’s subsequent holler told me Thomas was here.

Crap, I didn’t realize it was so late. “Just a sec!” I called out as I threw on some underwear and quickly got dressed. I unclipped my hair, letting it fall over my shoulders and down my back. I shook it out a little, looking at myself in the mirror once more before opening my bedroom door. “Hi,” I breathed, my eyes locking on Thomas.

My eyes widened a fraction when I saw Em leaning against her doorframe, looking so hot it was fucking
insane
. It amazed me how a simple outfit of cotton shorts and a tank-top could look so good.

Beth cleared her throat and said, “Have fun you two,” before grabbing her purse and keys. She grinned at us and gave Emily a look I couldn’t decipher before leaving.

I walked around the couch and Em took my hand in hers, standing up on her tiptoes to give me a quick peck. “What are we doing tonight?” she asked, leading me into her room.

She led us towards the bed and I watched her backside as it swayed with her steps. I could only think of
one
thing I’d like to do tonight: her.

She turned around to face me. “Thomas?”

My eyes snapped up to meet her stare. “Huh?” Wait, why did she look confused?

“I asked you what we were doing tonight, and all you said was ‘Mmm-hmm.’ ”

I smiled sheepishly. “Sorry… But you can’t walk around like that and expect me to carry on a conversation.”

She laughed. “What
this
?” She gestured to her very short shorts and tight top like it was nothing.

I nodded, looking her over once more. I felt my gaze turn serious–lusty, even–and I knew I was ogling her, but I couldn’t stop for the life of me.

She tilted her head and bit her lip. “You like?” she asked, her voice growing husky.

I nodded again, unable to form even a simple “yes,” and reached out to graze her thigh. Her skin was so soft and she shivered at my touch, growing goose bumps.

She slipped her hands under my shirt, tracing her fingers along the contours of my stomach. They felt cool against my heated skin, and my abdominal muscles involuntarily clenched. Her heart beat furiously as her tongue flitted out, licking her bottom lip, just as the scent of her arousal hit me like a punch to the gut. My already stiff cock hardened to a nearly painful degree as it strained against the confines of my jeans. She lifted my shirt slowly, looking up to meet my eyes, and I panicked at the thought of where this might lead.

My old job left me with almost no time for women. The experience I
did
have was very limited and my bedroom “skills” were nonexistent. Hell, I’d never even had proper foreplay with a woman. It’d all gone straight from kissing to sex, and even the sex had been basic, with me on top every time. It’d been painfully awkward and quiet, too–crickets were louder than us. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong, but there was obviously
something
, since the few women I’d bedded wanted nothing to do with me afterwards.

Up until now, I’d never really cared enough to try and get better, but I wanted this to be good for Emily. I just didn’t know how to make that happen.

She lifted my shirt and I raised my arms, letting her remove it. She tossed it on the floor, then ran her hands up my torso, over the expanse of my chest. I fought the urge to tilt my head back and squeeze my eyes shut.
Fuck
, her fingers felt like silk against me. I wanted them all over my body.

I reached under her shirt and splayed my hands over her hips, gripping them as she continued to run her fingers along my chest and arms. She stopped to tug her shirt off, discarding it on the floor next to mine.

Oh. Shit.

I froze like a deer caught in the headlights as her white bra stared back at me, her breasts straining the thin, satiny fabric. I had no idea what to do. Was I allowed to touch them? ’Cause I
really
wanted to touch them.

Placing my hand on her stomach, I moved it up slowly, to her breastbone. Her heart hammered away just beneath the surface of my hand. It beat at almost the same frantic speed as mine. Before I lost my nerve, I slipped my hand inside her bra and cupped her breast.

God. Damn. This is awesome.

I skimmed her breast with my fingertips, circling her hardened nipple. She sucked in a breath and squeezed her eyes shut. My balls tightened, threatening to spend the orgasm building in my shaft. My nostrils flared as I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself with unpleasant thoughts.