Breathless (160 page)

I sat up and scooted back, so I could pull his shorts down slowly, inch by inch. When they were far enough down, I took a deep breath and grabbed his shaft. This was my first up-close-and-personal with a guy, but he seemed kind of big. I had no idea how
that
was supposed to fit inside me. I ran my hand along it carefully, afraid to hurt him. I knew guys were sensitive there, and I didn’t want to cause him any pain.

“You sure about this?” he asked.

“I am. Just tell me what to do. I have no idea what I’m doing.” He smiled. “You don’t have to be that gentle. I’m not going to break.” I did as he said and tightened my grip on his shaft as he groaned again.

“Squeeze as you go.”

I squeezed lightly, and he made a sound that instantly turned me on again. I continued running my hand up and down his shaft, squeezing occasionally just so he’d make that sound again. From the way he was responding, I seemed to be doing it right. Feeling braver, I leaned down and ran my tongue across the head.

His body arched off the bed. “Holy fuck!”

I smiled as I repeated the action, and he balled his hands into fists.

“Emma, you need to move. Now.”

“Why?” I asked, immediately thinking that I’d gone too far.

“Because I’m about to come, and I don’t want it to go all over you.” I laughed as I sat up. “What a gentleman.”

“I try. You might want to move your hand.”

“It’s fine,” I said as I started stroking him faster.

His body twitched as he came all over my hand. I wasn’t grossed out, like I’d thought I would be. Instead, I was turned-on again at the sight of him coming like that. I felt a sense of pride from being the one who had made him do it.

“There’s a bathroom right across the hall,” he said.

I stood up and walked to the bathroom. After washing my hands, I soaked a washcloth with water and walked back to the bedroom. I sat down on the bed, and I was careful as I started wiping him since I knew he had to still be sensitive.

“I’ve never seen another girl quite like you.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see him watching me walk back into the bathroom to throw the washcloth into the hamper.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’re just…you. Come over here.”

I walked to the bed, and he pulled me down beside him. I snuggled into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me.

“This is nice.”

He kissed the top of my head. “It is.”

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this safe or this content. I’d just given him a piece of myself that I’d never shared with anyone else, and I felt closer to him because of it.
I could get used to this.

***

Sometime later, I woke up to Jesse calling my name. I groaned as I tried to find the covers to pull over my head.

“Emma, wake up.” “No,” I grumbled.

He laughed as he started tickling my ribs. “You have to. My mom will be home soon, and if she walks in on us like this…”

“Oh crap.” I definitely needed to get up. I didn’t want to meet his mom for the first time while I was half-naked in her son’s bed.

“Yeah, crap. You need to get dressed. Here are your clothes.”

He shoved my tank top and bra into my hands as I sat up. I slipped on my clothes and followed him out into the rest of his house. He held my hand to lead me through the dark surrounding us. It was a lot later than I’d realized.

He continued to hold my hand until we were standing beside my car. I suddenly felt awkward and unsure of myself again. The contentment I’d felt while he held me in his arms was now gone.

“So…I guess I’ll see you later?” It came out as a question, showing just how unsure I felt about our situation now.

He laughed as he leaned down, and then he kissed my forehead. “You will, just not in school.”

“I’ll stop by tomorrow with your assignments.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Maybe I want to.”

“You’re just using that as an excuse to come over again.”

“And if I am? Does that bother you?”

“Nope. I’ll see you tomorrow night. I have to work tomorrow though, so

I won’t be home until around nine thirty.”

“That’s fine. My mom leaves tomorrow morning for San Francisco. She’ll be gone most of the week. Thank God. I don’t think I can handle any more of her right now.”

“What did you two fight about earlier? You said you were upset.”

I wasn’t about to tell him that it was over him and Todd. He didn’t need to feel guilty. “Just stupid stuff. She was on one of her usual rants.”

“At least you’re rid of her for a few days.”

“Yeah. I should probably go before she starts calling my friends to see if I’m with them.”

“Night, Emma.”

He leaned down and kissed me. It held none of the passion from earlier, but it was sweet and innocent. I loved it.

“Night.”

Eleven-Jesse

I waited until Emma’s taillights disappeared before I walked back inside. As soon as I made it back to my room, I crashed down onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Tonight had been unexpected to say the least. I’d never planned on bringing Emma to my house, but she hadn’t seemed to mind the fact that I lived in a trailer park. I should have known she would be okay with it, but I had obviously underestimated her again. I sounded like a lovesick sap, but the girl could do no wrong in my eyes.

Her innocence had thrown me at first. I had assumed that she was pretty naive when it came to sex, but I hadn’t expected her to be so inexperienced with
everything
. She was a very pretty girl, and I’d assumed that she’d at least experimented a little before she met me.

The fact that she had trusted me with some of her firsts told me just how much trust she had in me. That meant a hell of a lot to me. I had no idea what I’d done to end up with someone like her, but I wasn’t complaining.

Holding her in my arms as she slept had been a completely life-changing experience. She had looked so peaceful as she snuggled tightly into my arms. While she slept, she’d mumbled something about being safe, but I didn’t want to tell her that. The fact that she considered me a safe haven was…mindblowing to me.

When she’d thought I had another girl in my house, the moment I’d seen the tears in her eyes caused me to throw my reservations about having a relationship with her right out the window. I knew she wouldn’t leave me. She’d been truly hurt when she thought I had betrayed her. Surely, if she’d been bothered that much by it, then she wouldn’t just randomly walk away from me. I realized we still had a lot to deal with that would keep us apart, but I knew we would figure it out. It was official. I was in a relationship that I actually cared about for the first time in my life.

I sat up as I heard my mom’s car pulling into the space where Emma’s car had occupied just a few minutes ago. I knew she would be mad when I told her that I’d been suspended, but I was too high from my night with Emma to care. My mom knew that I didn’t usually get into trouble. Hopefully, that would be enough to keep her from grounding me. I still needed to ask her about the trip with Emma, but I wasn’t sure how. I just knew that tonight wouldn’t be a good night to do it.

My mom came through the door just as I entered the living room.

“Hi, honey. How was school?”

“Yeah, about that—”

“Jesse, what did you do?” she asked when she saw my expression.

“I didn’t do anything. A couple of the rich kids attacked me. I actually won, but a teacher walked in at the end. I’m suspended for a week.”

“Jesse, what on earth am I going to do with you? You’re lucky that they didn’t kick you out permanently.”

“Trust me, I know, but I swear I didn’t start it. I was just defending myself.”

“Did you at least hurt them enough, so they won’t bother you again?”

“I did. I broke the one guy’s nose, and then I knocked out his friend.”

“Dear Lord!”

I grinned. “Sorry, but they were asking for it. Don’t worry though. Emma is going to bring my work to me, so I don’t fall behind.”

Her head snapped up, and I cursed as I realized what I’d just said.

“Who’s Emma?”

“Uh…she’s my, uh…” I started, unsure of what to call Emma.
Friend?

Girlfriend? The girl I’d given her first orgasm to?

“Jesse, are you keeping something from me? Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No…well, maybe. I don’t know what to classify her as.”

“I want to hear all about her! I’m so excited that you finally found someone who caught your attention.”

“What do you want to know?” I asked. I knew I might as well get this over with, or she’d never leave me alone.

“Anything you want to tell me. What does she like to do? How did you meet?”

“She’s a cheerleader, and I met her in class. Actually, that’s a lie. Do you remember taking me to the rich people’s park when I was little? There was a little girl who told me I didn’t belong there?”

“Vaguely. I think you were really upset, but that was a long time ago.

Why do you ask?”

“Because she’s that little girl. I thought she’d be a horrible, spoiled brat, but she’s not. She’s so kind and innocent.”

“Oh my. Did you ask her if she remembered that day?”

“No. I doubt if she’d even remember it.”

“That’s true. I’m glad you’ve finally found someone. I have to admit that I’m surprised you like her when all you do is complain about school and the students there.”

“Yeah, me, too. She drives a car that costs more than our trailer, but she doesn’t care about stuff like that. She doesn’t look down on me like a lot of them do.”

“She sounds wonderful. When do I get to meet her?”

“I have no idea. She’s bringing my school stuff over tomorrow after I get off work, but I think you have to work.”

“What time will she be here?”

“Around nine thirty. Why?”

“Because I’ll make sure to be here. I want to meet her.”

I groaned. “Is that really necessary?”

“Of course it is. I want to meet the girl who has finally snagged my son.”

“I’m going to bed now. You’re crazy.”

“Night, sweetie. I’m still mad at you for getting kicked out.” “Sure you are.” I walked into my room and closed the door.

I knew I’d sleep good tonight with Emma’s perfume covering my bed.

***

I was bored out of my mind. To kill time, I’d slept in until almost noon, and after I made myself something to eat, I’d spent the rest of my afternoon staring at the TV. I had no idea who came up with these stupid reality shows, but they needed to be tested for drugs.
Who cares about a trio of rich sisters who are famous for no reason? Definitely not me.
I turned off the TV and threw the remote down beside me on the couch. I still had an hour to kill before I had to be at work, and I had nothing to do.

I debated on cleaning the kitchen for my mom, but I wasn’t that bored yet. Instead, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted Emma.

Me: I’m bored.

I didn’t expect a reply until later, but she responded almost instantly.

Emma: What do you want me to do about it?

Me: You could always sneak out of school and come visit me. I could give you a few more lessons, like last night. ;)

Emma: I’m sure you could. And thanks by the way. Lucy just asked me why my face was so red.

Me: Ha-ha. I’ll see you tonight.

Emma: Okay! <3

I put my phone back in my pocket and grabbed my keys off the stand. I figured Rick wouldn’t care if I came in a little bit early. It wasn’t like he would pay me for it anyway.

I took my time driving to the shop as I tried to kill time. I even sat out in the parking lot with my radio blaring Devour the Day’s latest song, “Good Man.” When the song finally ended, I walked into the shop. I loved my job, but we’d been so slow lately that I dreaded going in. Time passed by so slowly when I had nothing to do.

I changed my shirt, and then I walked to the back where Rick and one of the guys, Tony, were working on a couple of clients. I liked working with all of the guys, but Tony was my favorite. He was only a few years older than me, and we had a lot in common. He was married and had a two-year-old, but he still managed to come out and party with Andy and me from time to time.

The client he was working with had her eyes closed tightly as he worked on a piece located on her foot. It was a flash piece that we had in one of the books out front, but he’d added a few extras to the standard vine and flower design. The main part of the vine spelled out the name Jane before it branched off to where the flowers grew.

I loved doing that on my designs. It was such a cool feeling to take a tattoo that had been used hundreds of times and put my own spin on it to make it something special.

The girl looked young, barely over eighteen, but she didn’t complain like a lot of clients would. Instead of yelling about the pain, she simply kept her eyes closed and gritted her teeth as he finished up the outside of the tattoo. When he used blood inking for the shading, I actually saw tears forming in her eyes. That shit hurt because he had to mix her blood with the ink. I’d watched grown men howl in pain when an artist did that to them.

“Okay, you’re done,” Tony said as he shut off his gun.

The girl opened her eyes and looked down at her foot. “Oh my god.” “Do you like it?” he asked.

“Are you kidding me? I love it! Thank you so much!”

“Anytime. Let me give you our aftercare instruction sheet. If you have any questions, just give me a call.”

“I will. Thank you!”

She watched him place a bandage over her new tattoo. As soon as he was finished, he handed her our instruction sheet and walked her to the front door of the shop.

I followed them and took a seat on my stool behind the counter. Tony pulled another one up next to me and sat down.

“Have fun at school today?” he teased.

He knew I hated going to Hamrick, and he was constantly on my case about it.

“I got kicked out for a week.”

He started laughing. “I should’ve known. What did you do?”

I shrugged. “Fought a few assholes.”

“Did you at least win?”

“I did.”