Don't Read in the Closet volume one (66 page)

“This okay?”

“Uh, yeah. If you don’t mind me looking.”

He took my hand and put it on his chest, covering it with his own
then kissing me lightly. “I definitely don’t mind.” I was nervous all of a
sudden.

“Uh, Brook?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna try anything.”

I was relieved and achingly disappointed. “It’s just that I’ve
never really done much with anyone before, closet door screwed shut and all.”

“Me neither. The girls at our school really didn’t do anything
for me and the guys... well, you know that story. What exactly do you mean by
not much?” I just looked at him. I was sure my pathetic inexperience shone
bright and clear. “Was that your first kiss?”

“Yeah.”

His forehead wrinkled up. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I would’ve made it better, more special or something.”

I smiled and boldly reached up to touch his caramely curls. “It
was perfect.” A quick tug and my shirt
was
off too and
I cuddled my bare chest against Brooklyn’s, sighing at how damn good it felt.

Perfect was exactly the right word.

****

My dad was gone like he always was. I couldn’t even say when I
had seen him last. This time, he was on a trip to California for some food
expo. He’d left the night before and was supposedly going to be gone for a week.
It was a relief to tell you the truth. We’d never really gotten along and I
guessed that once I left for college there wasn’t going to be much contact
between the two of us. I talked to my mom most days on the phone. She’d urged
me to come spend my last weeks of summer in Houston at my grandparents’ house,
and even told me I could bring Brooklyn if I wanted.

I’d finally told my mom—in an awkward stilted phone conversation
with a lot of crying (her), and a lot of trying to spit out what I needed to
say (me). At the end, she told me that she’d love me no matter what, and she’d
work on my somewhat conservative grandparents. She also cautioned me not to
tell my father. I hadn’t been planning on it. I had the same instinct about how
he’d take it.

Brooklyn and I were driving home from work in the usual dark of
predawn. I was sitting close to him on the bench seat. It was safe to be close
when there was no one out on the roads. He had his hand on my thigh and I was
laying my head on his shoulder. He’d cut his hair a few days before, caramel
curls snipped close to his head. I missed his halo, but he said he’d grow it
back when we got to school. His dad had told him he looked like a homo and
rather than stir up any trouble he’d just cut it off. Brooklyn lifted his hand
from my thigh and draped his arm across the back of my shoulders. I scooted
even closer and scrubbed my face against his neck tiredly. He trailed his
fingers along my arm and up into hair that had turned kinda bleached out and
surfer cool after half a summer of me not bothering to deal with it.

“You wanna just come to my house and crash? My dad’s gone till
the weekend.” I should’ve been nervous just asking that out of nowhere. It
wasn’t a small thing. It felt easy though, like the way it should be.

“Yeah?” Brooklyn sounded a little surprised, buy pleasantly so. I
nodded against his shoulder. “Well, sure then. Why not? My dad’s already left
for work anyway. He starts the ovens up first thing.”

We pulled up to my house and Brooklyn parked. I didn’t want to
even move, but I managed to drag my bike to the shed then walked with Brooklyn,
hands loosely linked, to the front door. We had a few moments of staring
awkwardly at each other before I gestured him towards the stairs down to my
room. He’d been in the TV area a few times by then but never all the way back
to the end of the hall where I slept. I took his hand again and pulled him
behind me until I could close the door of my bedroom and lock it... just in
case.

I closed my blinds and curtains so we wouldn’t get woken up when
the sun rose right outside my window in less than an hour, then kicked off my
shoes tiredly.

We stripped to boxers and climbed into bed, instinctively
spooning together under my light coverlet. I was sleepy but I hadn’t slept in Brooklyn’s
arms since that night in the tent, so my tired body was immediately on alert. I
could feel every velvety inch of his chest against me, the lightly furred
expanse of his shins against the back of my legs. My breathing quickened.
Brooklyn dragged me up against his chest even closer and kissed the back of my
neck. I covered the hand he had on my stomach with mine, curling my fingers
around his. I lay there quietly for a while, but my mind was racing.

“Are you asleep,
Brook
?”

He dropped another kiss on my neck. “No. Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Us. This.”

I tensed. “You don’t want to do it anymore?” I felt like I needed
him. Maybe since everything was so different at home.

Brooklyn squeezed me tighter. “Why would you think that?” He
wrapped his top leg around mine and held me. I loved it.

“I guess I didn’t. This’s nice. I wish we could do it every day,”
I muttered, tired enough that my filter was off.

“I was thinking the same thing. I mean, I know that we’ve still
got like a month of summer left, but later do you think we could do this for
real?”

“You mean when we get to school?”

I could feel him nod against my neck.

“I wanna be your boyfriend, Dal. I like being yours.”

“I like being yours too.”

“So, yes?”

I turned, careful not to knock his leg off my hip. “Yes. Of
course, yes.”

I kissed him then, our first kiss since the trampoline that
didn’t have to be furtive and hurried. I relaxed into his touch, returning it
with my lips, my curious fingers. It felt really good, different somehow, knowing
that he was mine and it wasn’t all just a whim that he’d wake up from some
morning wondering what the hell he’d been thinking.

Our kisses turned sleepy and before I knew it, we were nodding
off, mumbling tired goodnights as the sun started to bake the ground outside. I
couldn’t help but to smile, as tired as I was and snuggled up against
Brooklyn’s strong chest.

How could you blame me for smiling? It would’ve been impossible
not to.

****

“Brook, you sure about this?”

I reached out and ran my finger down his chest. God, he was
beautiful. And then he smiled. My stomach flip-flopped. That smile... it killed
me. Didn’t matter how many times I saw it.

“Yeah, I think so. I mean, aren’t you?”

I nodded. “I want to. I mean, in a few weeks we’ll both have
roommates. No privacy.” I returned his smile tentatively. “I’ve never, you
know, before... I want it to be with you.”

“Me too, Dal. I want you to be the first.”

That would’ve surprised me back when we’d been in school
together. He seemed like just one of the many oversexed asshole jocks. But
after the summer, after getting to know what he was really about, the fact that
he’d waited wasn’t surprising at all.

Brooklyn leaned forward and kissed me, slow and hot, inching his
fingers up under my shirt until he could stroke my spine. The touch made me
shiver. I couldn’t help it. Brooklyn knew exactly how I liked to be touched. I
pulled my annoying shirt up and over my head. We’d kissed shirtless lots of
times. It was one of my favorite things to do and I was already craving the
contact. I needed to feel his skin on mine. He crawled over me until I was
lying back on my comforter, knees up and cradling his hips. We kissed and
kissed, touching and memorizing skin. My hands slipped under the waistband of
his shorts, finding more smooth skin and sexy muscles. Brooklyn mumbled against
my lips. I couldn’t understand him, so I broke away.

“What?” I’m sure my voice sounded as dazed and kiss-drunk as I
felt.

“Off,” He groaned. “Take them off.”

I couldn’t help grinning at him. “Yours or mine?”

I got a growly chuckle in return and a pair of desperate hands at
the zipper of my shorts. “Both,” he finally answered and moaned in approval
when I wriggled my hands between us to work on his buttons.

It was awkward and cramped but neither of us wanted to move, to
lose contact. Finally he sighed and rolled off of me after a long kiss so he
could shimmy out of his cargo shorts. My own shorts came next along with the
little black briefs I’d taken to wearing that summer. He didn’t say much but I
could see it in his eyes, in the way that he ran his fingertips along the warm
patches of sunlight that reflected on my skin from the open window.

He thought I was beautiful. I thought he was too.

I wanted to touch, needed to feel him up against me. I scrambled
awkwardly to my knees and pulled him up with me until his arms were wrapped
around my waist, mine looped over his shoulders. We were touching then, thighs,
chests, and
oh God
, his cock was
right up against mine. It felt better than I’d ever imagined it would.

“We’re really doing this, aren’t we?” I whispered. I couldn’t
help smiling, but I buried my face in his neck all the same. I couldn’t control
the flutters in my stomach.

“Only if you want to,” Brooklyn answered. His voice was low and
strained. He put his fingers under my chin and lifted it until I was looking at
him. “Dal, babe, what’s going on?”

“I want to.” I moaned and held him tighter. “I
really
want to. I’m just nervous, I
guess.”

“C’mere” He kneeled and turned me so I was sitting between his
bent legs, my back up against his warm chest. He ran his hands over my stomach,
down my thighs, back up my flanks. “Your skin feels so good.”

I cupped my hands around his knees and closed my eyes. I loved
his touch on me. When he wrapped a strong arm around my chest and pulled me
closer, I sighed happily. “You feel good too.”

And that’s when I felt it. One of his big work calloused hands
wrapping oh so gently around my already so-hard-it-nearly-hurt cock. I
shuddered, eyes opening. I had to watch.

“Is this okay?” He asked. I could hear the catch in his voice. I
loved that it was as important to him as it was to me.

“
Yes
.” It felt so good.
His hand tightened and stroked firmly. I wanted more. “Brook, can I taste you?”
I felt him shudder against my back.

“You don’t have to ask.” He
unbent
his
legs and lay back as I turned. His hair was warm and gorgeous against my white
pillows (even if I did still miss the length)
,
his
skin glowed golden from the summer sun. I wanted to touch every part of him.

Brooklyn held out a hand and I grabbed it. He pulled until I was
sprawled out on top of him, giggling. He let go of my hand to thread his
fingers in my floppy bangs and push them away from my face.

“I would’ve never believed it,” he murmured, lifting his head a
few inches to nuzzle my lips.

“Hmmm.” I wasn’t really paying attention to anything other than
getting more kisses.

“If someone had told me, even just a few months ago, that I would
fall head over heels in love this summer I’d have said they were crazy.”

I was still intent on getting more kisses. “Mmm Hmm, I kno—” It
was then that I really heard what he’d said.

“You...
love
me?” It
came out as a whisper. I was almost afraid to say it out loud.

Brooklyn nodded. His eyes looked big and wet and uncertain.

“Brook... I—”

He put his fingers over my mouth. “You don’t have to say it just
‘cause I did.”

I pulled his fingers away. “But I feel it too. I mean we
hated
each other for so long but now...
I can’t imagine a day without touching you, without hearing your voice.” I
laughed softly. “Shit, I’m cheesy.”

“No. I mean, I need to be with you too. Like all the time.” He
ran his palms down my spine until his hands were cupping my ass and pulling me
up against them. “And touching you?” He moaned. “It’s kind of addictive.”

“Brooklyn?” He looked up. I hadn’t called him that in weeks and
it must have surprised him.

“Yeah?”

“I love you. I just wanted to say it.”

“I love you, too.”

I gave him a long serious kiss, then a big grin. “Can I suck you
now?”

Brooklyn burst into laughter. “Yes, please!”

“Just tell me if I’m doing it right.” I licked and kissed my way
down his chest, trying to tease him but really torturing myself just as much. I
wanted to try it so bad, see what it tasted like, how hard it felt against my
tongue. I sucked on his hip-bone, leaving a red mark on the skin. I could smell
him, all salty from the heat. It was sexy as hell.

“Dal, babe,
please
.”

Brooklyn was right. It was time. I tried to hide the shaking in
my hand when I gripped his hard cock in my hand. I wanted to look confident and
sexy, not like a scared kid who was in over his head. My first taste was
hesitant, but as soon as I realized how good he tasted—like warm skin and sweat
and sex—I wanted more. I took him into my mouth, tasting, feeling the thick
hardness of his cock against my tongue.

“
God
, that feels so…”
He made a choking sound when I took him in deeper and sucked as hard as I
could. “
Fuck.
”

I hummed happily around his cock, not even thinking about how
that would increase the sensation. Brooklyn made a frantic choking noise and
pulled out of my mouth. I felt awful.

“What did I do wrong?” I knew I couldn’t have hurt him. I’d kept
my teeth as far from his skin as I could.

He looked like he was concentrating on breathing. “Nothing, babe.
Just didn’t want to lose it so quickly.”

“From me?” I was surprised. I had no idea what I was doing, other
than from, well, lots of research... and by research I mean the kind where you
have to erase your internet history when you’re done so your parents don’t see
it.

“Yeah. Come back up here. I wanna kiss you.”