Best Friends Forever (8 page)

Getting off the elevator on our floor, I escorted Cynthia and Meri to
my apartment.
 
Stepping inside, I told
Meri, “Let me pack a bag and grab my laptop.
 
Why don’t you show Cynthia around?”
 
She smiled sweetly and my heart skipped a beat.
 
Taking Cynthia’s hand, Meri began showing her
around the small apartment.
 
I headed
into the bedroom and, grabbing my duffle bag from the closet, tossed a couple
of changes of clothing in it before heading into the bathroom.
 
Grabbing my shaving kit, I tossed it into the
duffle along with my other toiletries.
 
Heading to my office to grab my laptop, I nearly ran down Meri and
Cynthia coming down the hallway.
 
“Grant!
 
I was just going to get
Cynthia settled in the bedroom.
 
You
almost ready to go, baby?”
 
Baby.
 
I love the way she says that.

“Oh no,” Cynthia looked
concerned. 
 
“I just realized that I don’t
have a change of clothes or even anything to sleep in.” 
 
Meri hugged her. “Don’t
worry. 
 
I’ll bring you something of
mine.” 
 
She stepped into my
bedroom. 
 
“Grant, when’s the last time you
changed your sheets?” 
 
I stepped out of the office with
my bags. 
 
“Uh…last Saturday?” 
 
Meri rolled her eyes at me. 
 
“
Men.
” 
 
She walked to my bed and started
stripping the bedding. 
 
“Hey, what’s
 
that
 
supposed to mean?” She looked
at Cynthia and the two of them giggled before remaking the bed with clean
sheets.
 
When they were done, the two
ladies joined me in the living room.
 
“Cynthia, the fridge is stocked.
 
Feel free to help yourself.
 
Oh,
and before I forget,” I reached in the drawer of the small stand next to the
door and handed her my spare key.

“Here’s the key to the
apartment.”
 
“Are you sure you should
trust me, Professor Thomas?”
 
“Of course
we trust you, silly.”
 
Meri grinned and
hugged the young girl.
 
Cynthia looked at
me in askance.
 
“Meri is a very good
judge of character.
 
If she trusts you, I
trust you.”
 
I could see the kid was
getting ready to tear up again so I ushered Meri out the door.
 
“We’re in Apartment 4-C two doors down if you
need anything.
 
Don’t forget to lock up
before you go to bed.”
 
Meri stopped at
the door.
 
“I’ll be right back with
something for you to sleep in.”
 
“Thanks
so much, Ms. Mac.”
 
“Please, call me
Meri.”
 
Cynthia smiled.
 
“Okay, Meri.”
 
“I’ll be right back.”

I followed Meri down the hall to
her apartment and, once inside, dropped my bags on the sofa while she headed down
the hall toward her bedroom.
 
Why am I so nervous?
 
It’s not like we haven’t slept in each other’s
apartments before.
 
But…this time is
different.
 
This time, we both know what
we want...what we need.
 
Still, I don’t
want to pressure my love into moving faster than she’s ready.
 
I’ll take it as slow as she needs, even if it
kills me.
 
My musings were interrupted
by Meri’s return to the living room, her arms full of clothing.
 
“I’ll be right back.
 
I’m just going to run these down to
Cynthia.”
 
“Give her our cell phone
numbers in case she needs anything, ‘kay?”
 
She grinned and my heart smiled.

Nervous, I waited for my sweet
lady’s return.
 
Killing time, I
rush
edinto
her bathroom and quickly changed into a pair of shorts to sleep in.
 
If I
need them.
 
I couldn’t help but grin
at that thought.
 
Ten minutes later and
Meri was still not back.
 
She’s such a kind heart, she’s probably
sitting up with Cynthia until she goes to sleep.
 
Thinking I might as well work on grading essays,
I settled on the sofa with my laptop on my lap.
 
I was engrossed in reading a student’s essay when Meri walked in a few
minutes later.
 
Looking up, my smile faded
when I saw the tear tracks on her beautiful face.

Leaping up from the sofa, I
nearly dumped my laptop.
 
“Are you okay,
sweetheart?
 
Did something happen?”
 
She gave me a small smile and wrapped her
arms around my waist.
 
“Nothing’s wrong,
baby.
 
Cynthia is so sweet.
 
She’s so worried that she’s imposing by
kicking you out of your apartment.
 
We
both got a little teary eyed is all.”
 
I
hugged her close and nuzzled her neck.
 
“Did you tell her that I’m much happier here than in my apartment?”
 
She drew back, her beautiful eyes wide.
 
“Really?”
 
I smiled down at her.
 
“Yeah...really.
 
Being with you
makes me
very
happy, babe.”
 
Her smile lit up her whole face.
 
“
You
make me
very
happy, Grant.”
 
Hugging her close, I pressed a kiss to the
top of her head.

Looking at the clock on her wall,
I suddenly realized how late...
or early
...it
was.
 
I tilted her chin up and met her
eyes.
 
“Right now, I think you need to
get some sleep.
 
Especially if we’re
going to get your library put back together as quickly as possible.”
 
She nodded, trying to cover a yawn.
 
“Oh, excuse me.
 
I didn’t realize what time it is.
 
I am exhausted.
 
What about you?”
 
“I’m going to sack out here on the
sofa.”
 
She frowned at me.
 
“Grant, I happen to know from personal
experience just how uncomfortable that thing is.
 
Come on.”
 
She grabbed my hand and headed down the hall, turning out lights as we went.
 
Stepping into her bedroom, my heart rate was
through the roof and my mouth was so dry I could barely speak.

“Grant…”
 
Meri sounded nervous
and licked her lower lip.
 
“It’s really
late and…we’re both exhausted…”
 
I pressed
a finger to her luscious lips to stop her.
 
“Sweetheart, nothing will happen unless
you
want it to.
 
I’ve waited for you for a very long
time.
 
I can wait a bit longer.”
 
She nibbled the corner of her mouth and I
wanted to kiss her so badly.
 
No.
 
This has to be Meri’s decision.
 
I’m in this for forever, not a one-night
stand.
 
“Aww…you’re so sweet,
baby.”
 
She gave me a sexy little
grin.
 
“Does this mean you don’t want to
share the bed with me?”
 
I grinned down
at her.
 
“Are you
kidding
me?
 
That sofa’s damned
uncomfortable
.”
 
She giggle, “Okay, if you’re sure.
 
I’m going to go get ready for bed.”
 

She turned and walked to the bathroom but stopped and winked over her
shoulder at me.
 
“After all, it’s not
like we’ve never shared a bed before.”
 
Yeah,
when we were kids on a family camping trip.
 
“Oh…ah…babe.”
 
She turned and looked
at me.
 
“Please don’t wear that little
number you slept in Friday night.
 
I
don’t know if my heart could take it.”
 
I
could hear her laughter as she closed the bathroom door.
 
Walking to the bed, I pulled back the covers
and crawled in, hands behind my head.
 
This
is going to be one long, difficult night.
 
This close to my sweet Meri and unable to take her…to make her
mine.
 
But I can do this.
 
Just keep thinking of the big picture,
Grant…a lifetime with my woman, a lifetime of love.
 

When Meri stepped out of the bathroom, I held my breath.
 
Dressed in boxers and a baggy t-shirt, she
looked as sexy as she would wearing the slinkiest evening gown.
 
My heart swelled with love for my little
spit-fire.
 
Climbing in on the other side
of the bed, she switched off the light and leaned over me.
 
“Goodnight, baby.”
 
She gave me a quick kiss before turning on
her side, her back to me.
 
I quickly rolled
over and wrapped my arm around her waist, spooning her.
 
“Good night, babe.”
 
Meri in my arms, I slowly drifted off to a
sleep filled with deliciously erotic dreams starring a curvy little redheaded
sexpot.

Grant

The next morning, I awoke
from an absolutely wonderful dream where I was making beautiful love to my
sweet Meri and reached for her only to find the other side of the bed
empty. 
 
Sitting up, I looked
around, bleary-eyed. 
 
“Meri? 
 
Babe?” 
 
Grabbing my glasses from the
nightstand, I stumbled into the bathroom to take care of business and quickly
brush my teeth before wandering down the hall in search of Meri. 
 
As I neared the kitchen, I could smell
the delicious aroma of cooking bacon. 
 
Stepping
in the kitchen, I spied my sweet little Meri at the stove, dancing along to the
rock music playing on the radio. 
 
At
the sight of her sweet, heart-shaped ass, I suddenly had a tent in my shorts as
my erection took on a mind of its own.

Unable to resist
watching that sweet little shimmy of hers, I leaned against the doorway and
crossed my arms, grinning. 
 
As
she shook and shimmied her way across the kitchen to grab something out of the
fridge, she saw me out of the corner of her eye and jumped. 
 
“Grant!” she squealed. 
 
“Don’t let me stop you, babe.  I’m
kind of enjoying the show.” 
 
She
made the sexy little pout I love so much before grinning. 
 
“I made breakfast. 
 
Are you hungry, baby?” 
 
I pushed off from the doorway and
slowly stalked her across the kitchen as she backed into the front of the
fridge. 
 
“Oh, I’m hungry,
sweetheart. 
 
And I think
you’ve got
 
exactly
 
what I need.”

Her gorgeous eyes grew
wide as she watched me approach.
 
“Grant?”
 
Her back pressed up
against the fridge.
 
Placing my hands on
the fridge on either side of her head, I brushed my body against hers and heard
her whimper.
 
Bending my head, I pressed
a tiny kiss to the corner of her eye, then one to her cheek, continuing to the
corner of her mouth where my tongue licked lightly at her bottom lip.
 
I could feel Meri’s breathing change and her
heart begin to race.
 
My heart began to
beat in time with hers.
 
I pulled her
plump lower lip into my mouth and bit it gently.

When Meri gasped, my
tongue slipped inside her mouth to explore every dark, sensuous nook and
cranny.
 
Heaven!
 
Gasping for air, we broke
the kiss as I stared down at her.
 
“Grant?”
 
Her soft whispering of
my name brought me to my senses.
 
I wanted
everything to be perfect the first time I made love to her and there I was,
practically mauling her in the middle of her kitchen.
 
I gently kissed her on the forehead and backed
away.
 
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.
 
I...um...I kind of got carried away.”
 
I saw hurt in her eyes and my heart broke.

“I...understand,” she
whispered as she tried to step around me.
 
Desperate to make her truly understand, I gently grasped her shoulders
and stared down at her.
 
“No, babe...I
don’t think you understand.
 
I...I want
everything to be
perfect
for our
first time.
 
You’re worth so much more
than a quick fuck in the kitchen.”
 
She
gasped at my language but I
needed
to
make her understand that what we had meant so much more to me than just
sex.
 
“Honey...I want nothing more than
to throw you on the floor and bury myself in your hot, wet sweetness but our
first time together will be in a bed where I can show you just how much you
mean to me, how perfect we are for one another.”

Her eyes widened and
her mouth dropped open.
 
“Oh.”
 
I couldn’t help but grin.
 
“Yeah...oh.”
 
Glancing down, I could see her nipples were hard pebbles beneath her
t-shirt.
 
Oh, yeah.
 
She wants it, too.
 
I had a nearly uncontrollable urge to crush
her in my arms and take her on the kitchen table but held back.
 
“When the time is right, babe.”
 
This
waiting is going to
kill
me.
 
I gently wrapped my arms around her and pressed
a kiss to the top of her head.
 
Her arms
wrapped around my waist and she pressed her face to my bare chest.
 
We stood motionless like that for several
exquisitely painful moments.
 
Clearing my
throat, I finally had control enough to ask, “So…you really made breakfast,
babe?”

She giggled and
pressed a tiny kiss to my chest, making me shiver.
 
“Yes I did.
 
But, it’s only scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.
 
That’s just about the only thing I know how
to make.
 
You’d think, with my mother,
I’d have learned to cook growing up.”
 
I
grinned down at her.
 
“That’s okay.
 
You
cook
in other ways.”
 
She flushed a bright
pink and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
 
Stepping out of my embrace, she turned and opened the fridge.
 
Pulling out a jug of orange juice, she pointed
toward the stove.
 
“The plates are in the
oven, baby.”
 
Grabbing hot mitts, I pulled
the warm plates from the oven and carried them to the table where Meri was busy
pouring the juice.

“You want coffee,
baby?”
 
I’ll never get tired of
hearing her call me that.
 
 
“Let
me get it. 
 
You
cooked.” 
 
I held her chair
out for her to sit and she grinned cheekily at me.
 
 “You are such a gentleman,
Grant. 
 
Your mom should be
proud.” 
 
“She better
be. 
 
Do you know how many
times she smacked me for not remembering to hold a lady’s chair or open a
door?” 
 
Her laughter was
like musical wind chimes to my ears. 
 
Damn,
I love that sound!
 
 
I
quickly poured our coffee and took my seat.
 
 We
spent the rest of breakfast talking about the damage to the library and what we
needed to get done today. 
 
I
told her about the essays I needed to finish grading but promised that I’d help
with the library. 
 At that, s
he
smiled and lit up my soul.

Finishing breakfast,
Meri stood.
 
“I cooked so you clean up,”
she grinned at my groan.
 
“Ha.
 
You know that’s the way it’s always worked so
stop grumbling.”
 
Grinning, I picked up
our plates and headed for the sink.
 
“Okay, I’ll take care of clean up while you go grab your shower.”
 
Standing on tiptoe, she gave me a tiny kiss
on the cheek.
 
“Deal.”
 
As she walked away, I heard her soft mutter,
“Better make it a
cold
shower.”
 
Damn.
 
Is she turned on as much as I am? Step one in
my plan is going good.
 
Now all I have to
do is turn that physical desire into an emotional desire to be my wife.
 
I have
got
to get this plan in action before I explode from need.

Meredith

I rushed to take a
quick shower, a
cold shower
, my heart
still racing after that kiss.
 
And to
hear Grant tell me so bluntly what he wanted to do with me...
to
me.
 
Oh my gosh.
 
He actually said he wants to throw me down on
the kitchen floor and...and
fuck
me?
 
Grant had always been such a perfect
gentleman around me.
 
I had never heard
him use such language before and...
holy
cow
...I found myself actually liking it.
 
No...that’s not right.
 
I didn’t
just
like
it when he talked to me
that way.
 
I
needed
to hear him say such things...
do
such things to me.
 
As I
quickly showered, I daydreamed about what it would be like when he finally took
me.
 
Am
I ready to make that final step to change our relationship forever?

My whole body tingled
as I quickly threw on panties and a bra before pulling on jeans and a
t-shirt.
 
Yes.
 
I am
so
ready to give myself to him.
 
But...does he feel the same way I do?
 
Does he want this to be…forever?
 
Suddenly, my heart clenched in fear and
excitement.
 
Do I have the courage to tell him my secret?
 
Will he reject me because I’ve never been
with...
oh, hell
...how do I tell my
best friend, the man I adore with all my heart and soul that I’m a
nearly-thirty year old virgin?

Yes, I said virgin.
 
Well, technically I wasn’t a virgin.
 
I mean, thanks to my Rabbit and other...
toys
...I hadn’t been an actual virgin
since my junior year in college.
 
But,
that was just a technicality because...I had never, in all my nearly thirty
years, had a man make love to me.
 
You
may think I’m odd…a freak…but the only man I’d ever really wanted that way was
Grant and I made the conscious decision years ago that if I couldn’t have him, I’d
do without a man in my life.
 
But...the
very real possibility of a sexual relationship with Grant both thrilled and
terrified me to death.
 
I only hoped I wouldn’t
disappoint Grant and end up with a broken heart.

After giving myself a
quick pep talk, I hurried down the hallway to the living room only to stop and
stare at the vision of pure yummy goodness ensconced on my sofa.
 
Grant, his bare feet propped on the coffee
table and his laptop on his knees, was engrossed in reading something on the
screen.
 
Not wanting to interrupt but
unable to stop myself, I quietly sneaked up and, leaning over the back of the
sofa, pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
 
“Hey, babe, what are you reading? That’s if you don’t mind my asking.”
 
I added hastily.

“Of course I don’t
mind.”
 
He grabbed my hand and pulled me
around the end of the sofa to sit at his side.
 
“I was just reading one of my students’ essay.
 
He’s actually quite a good writer and seems
to have a good grasp on Impressionism.”
 
“So, you’re saying he’ll get a good grade?”
 
He thought a moment.
 
“Yeah, he’ll get a good grade.
 
In fact, if he does this well on the final,
he’ll probably have the highest GPA in the class.”
 
“Wow.
 
That’s wonderful.”
 
I leaned my
head on his shoulder.
 
“Do you think if I
took one of your classes, I could get a good grade…not because of my
relationship with you…but do you think I’d be as good as your other students?”

“Babe, are we going
to have to have another talk about how smart you are?
 
Or do I need to turn you over my knee?”
 
He waggled his eyebrows comically and I couldn’t
help but laugh.
 
“I think you’d enjoy
that too much.”
 
I felt my face flush
pink when he leaned over and whispered in my ear.
 
“I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy it, too,
sweetheart.”
 
He chuckled when I squirmed
next to him.
 
Changing the subject, I asked,
“So, how do you feel about this semester’s batch of students?”
 
He thought a moment before responding, “I
think they’ll all do good.
 
Well, with
the exception of a certain little psycho who will
not
be in my class any longer.”

“What happens if her
parents refuse to believe you?
 
Do you
think Cynthia’s word will be enough to convince them?”
 
“I hope so.
 
The girl need psychiatric counseling, she and her lunatic friend
both.
 
And if her parents don’t do
anything, I will administratively withdraw her from my class.
 
She’s too disruptive and possibly dangerous
for the other students’ well-being, especially poor Cynthia.”
 
We sat silent for a moment before he spoke
again, “I’ve got an idea I’d like to run by you, babe.”
 
I raised my head from his shoulder.
 
“What’s that?”
 
“I’m thinking about teaching a new course
next semester.
 
I’ve already spoken to
the Dean and he’s given me the go-ahead.”