Sliding (The Stone Series) (5 page)

After I don’t know how long Tate and I are interrupted by Asia who says
that it’s late and we better hurry back to our room so with one last kiss on
the lips, without tongues this time, Asia and Bobby are watching, Asia and I
head back to our room where I find the phone already ringing and I know that it’s
Tate.

“My lips are swollen and red, how are yours?” is what Tate says instead
of hello when I answer the phone.

“Ah, I don’t know, I just walked in” I honestly tell him. “Let me get
into my pajamas and I’ll call your room when I get into bed.”

I hear a moan from deep in Tate’s throat, different from the way he
usually moans.

“Do you have any idea what you’re putting me through? Call me back when
you’re in bed and make sure you have the tape on I made you” Tate says in his
breathy voice before he hangs up.

I go to the bathroom, brush my teeth and get on my pajamas. Asia “the
rock of a sleeper” is already out cold and snoring again when I press play on
my boom box and climb into bed dialing Tate’s room.

“All Night Long” comes on and Tate picks up on the first ring.

“Is Asia asleep yet?” Tate asks.

“Yes and snoring so loud I can’t believe you don’t hear her from your
room” I respond.

“So are your lips red and puffy like mine?” Tate teases.

They are red and puffy and they have never looked or felt better in my
whole life!

“I believe they are, yes” I respond.

I hear Tate laugh and feel his smile through the phone.

“Good, I want to make them red and puffy again very soon, you in?” he
asks playfully.

“Oh, I’m in alright” I giggle.

The last words I hear before I drift off to sleep with Tate on the phone are,
“I love you, Brooklynn, more than you’ll ever know.”

On our last night in the city my hotel phone rings, its Bobby and Tate
saying that they thought maybe for our last night Bobby could go to our room
and hang with Asia and I could go to their room and stay with Tate. We agree
and Bobby says he’ll be to our room at midnight and then I can head to Tate’s.

When I walk into Tate’s room he’s sitting in a chair listening to his
boom box, “Hello” by Lionel Richie is playing. Tate looks so “Tate” in his gray
sweatpants pushed up at the bottom revealing the beginning of calf muscles. He
is wearing his I love New York t-shirt he bought today that matches the one I
have on.

“Come here, sit on my lap and listen to music with me. I won’t bite too
hard I swear” he smirks.

I don’t know why but it makes me weak in the knees. I walk toward him and
he reaches out for me and I fall as gracefully as I can into his lap.

“Your lips don’t look red and puffy any more. Want me to fix that?” he
asks while licking his lips.

Without answering him I look up and the look in his eyes says it all. I
want his lips on mine again so I close my eyes and softly his lips meet mine.
Once again our tongues touch and a fire is ignited between us. The sparks that
I feel surging through my body are real but I can’t put words to them. These
feelings are all new; we’re in uncharted waters together every step of the way.
I feel Tate pull back from me and I look up, Tate smiles and starts to kiss my
neck and my ear running his tongue down my throat. He gently nips my earlobe
with his teeth and sucks on my neck. I am jelly in his arms, putty in his
hands.

I am semiconscious of the song changing to “When Doves Cry”
then to “Footloose” but I am
unaware of time as it is passing, so caught up in his touch, in the feel of
being in Tate’s lap, in his arms, being kissed by him that I lose myself. It’s
like I am floating in air looking down watching.

I don’t know how long we make out on that chair but when Bobby comes in
with his curly hair all wild Tate gives me one last kiss and I try to get up to
leave but he tells me to stay for a minute. When he finally lets me get up he
walks me to the door and tells me to call him after I get into bed and turn my
radio on. I can’t be sure but I think I skip, dance or do flips down the hall
to my room. I maybe even do all three.

I call Tate with “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” playing and he answers on
the first ring.

“Hey Brook, are you mad at me?” he asks.

What’s this, I was just sucking face with this kid for hours why would he
think I am mad at him?

“What? Mad at you why?” I ask.

“Um, did you look in the mirror when you got back to your room; I think I
maybe gave you a hickie or two” he responds.

Oh my God I drop the phone and fly into the bathroom as Asia looks at me
like I’m nuts. I scream when I see the bruises on my neck. Holy crap, what am I
going to do about these? My mom is going to kill me; my dad is going to kill
Tate. What is wrong with him? Is he out of his freaking mind? There are five
not a hickie or two and they are all noticeable, spread out all over my throat.
 
How did this happen? I never even felt him
doing that.

When I get back on the phone I hear him snoring on the other end. I’m so
glad he’s not worried and able to sleep!

We
go on a class trip to New York City and Bobby and I plan
to put the
moves on the girls. This quick pecking has to stop; I want to kiss Brook for
real. I want to do so much more too but I know I can’t push it, one step at a
time, slow and steady wins the race.

We have the girls come to our room
one night. Bobby and Asia are getting it on under the covers of his bed while
Brook and I lay on mine. I push a strand of hair behind Brook’s ear and ask her
how she got so pretty. She is beautiful but I’m glad she doesn’t see it. If she
did she’d realize she could have any guy she wants. This feeling in the pit of
my stomach takes over. I start to feel my dick twitch, it’s been doing that a
lot lately and it starts to get hard. I make my move before she knows what’s
about to happen. I take my hands and grab her face like they do in the movies
and kiss her on the mouth. When she doesn’t push me away I use my tongue to
gently ease her lips open and search for hers. When her tongue meets with mine
we simultaneously moan quietly into each other’s mouths and I almost lose
it.
 
I pounce on her, my lips are
swallowing her, my right hand is on her face and my left hand is around her
back pulling her close to me.

On the last day in New York we walk
around the city holding hands. I cannot believe the amount of guys that turn to
look at her. She doesn’t seem to notice any of them but that could be because
she’s with me. I wonder what she does when this hit happens and she’s alone or
with her friends. I remember the conversation I had with Bobby’s older brother,
Eric. Eric told me about some college guy that saw Brook cheering at a game and
asked who she was. He told Eric she was hot and asked if she had a boyfriend. I
decide to do something to mark my territory, show these other guys what’s mine
and mine only
.
 

She comes to my room our last night
on the trip and we spend time alone. She sits on my lap and we start making
out. Softly her lips meet mine and once again our tongues touch and a fire is
ignited in my pants. I can feel my pants getting tight in the crotch and I
wonder if she feels it too, she must but she doesn’t say anything. I kiss her
neck and her ear running my tongue down her throat. I want to bite her earlobe
hard with my teeth but instead I just give it a little nibble then I suck her
neck. She is going to be pissed when she sees the hickies I’m going to leave on
her neck but she’ll get over it and it’ll send the message to every guy that
looks at her that she’s taken. She’s all mine.

************

I am startled awake by the flight attendant telling me we will be landing
in a few minutes so could I please adjust my seat and prepare for the landing. I
grab my neck to hide it like the hickies are still there, I laugh at myself with
a small chuckle. When the plane is sitting on the runway waiting for our turn
to disembark I power up my iPhone again to see what I have missed during my
flight.

I have an email from Tate:

From:
Tate Taylor

Subject:
I know
everything about you…

Date:
March 16, 2011 2:19pm

To:
Brooklynn Taylor

I always
have and I always will! I have people watching over you, yes but that’s so I
know you r safe & sound. I promised to protect u always, remember?

Dominick
will be waiting 4 u @ baggage claim

We will resolve
both r issues of pain when u arrive

Sliding
& Waiting 2 c u

Your Tater Tot and
CEO, Taylor Studios, Inc.

From:
Brooklynn Taylor

Subject:
I know
everything about you 2…

Date:
March 16, 2011 2:35pm

To: Tate Taylor

U can try 2
act like its all 4 me but we both know better, Tate. I was just thinking about
the time you marked up my neck…remember?

C u shortly

Sliding out…

Brooklynn
Taylor

Taylor
Studios, Inc.

From:
Tate Taylor

Subject:
Yes I do

Date:
March 16, 2011 2:39pm

To:
Brooklynn Taylor

And if i
remember right i had fun doing it 2!

Tate
Taylor

CEO,
Taylor Studios, Inc.

Dominick is waiting for me in baggage claim just like Tate said he would
be. He already has my bags ready to go by the time I see him. We smile politely
and say hello but I have never really warmed up to him the way I have to Mac. He
is young and strong and a very intimidating presence. He is so good looking it
hurts to look at him and he knows it, seems like the kind of guy that uses it
to get any girl he wants into any position he wants. I tell him I need to stop
in the ladies room and freshen up. There is music being piped into the ladies
room, “Let the Music Play”. I check and fix my makeup and hair. I check over my
shoulder to be sure I am alone then I do a few of the dance moves from the old
days to the song. I check the mirror once again and I’m pleased with what I
see. I have learned to control and love my curls. I have kept my hair dark but
now I have a red glaze over it, hiding the beginnings of gray at the roots. It
took me until college to make the discovery that I am attractive and can use my
looks to my advantage. I have been confident every since when approaching a
mirror to check my reflection and today is no different. I know I will be
facing expertly applied makeup, salon looking hair, manicured nails and a body
to die for. I work hard enough for it. All this and wearing expensive designer
clothes…what more can a girl ask for? Well…lots. The comfort of money is
reassuring but it’s not enough to ease my mind when it comes to my marriage. I
turn and leave the bathroom knowing I will soon need to face the problems of my
marriage and face Tate.

I find Dominick leaning against the wall and he quickly jumps to
attention when he sees me. He’s not a bad guy but I sometimes get the feeling
that he’s hiding things from me.

“Mrs. Taylor, time to go. The car is right out front” he announces in his
deep voice that I’m sure has made more than one pair of panties drop.
 

I walk out of Los Angeles National Airport and I get into the back of the
car, Dominick reminds me to put on my iPod for the ride to the hotel.

 
“Somebody’s Watching Me” assaults
my ears and reminds me of Tate’s spy on the plane, who turned out to be the
flight attendant. She told me that she had let “Mr. Taylor” know that we landed
safely…bitch!

“Against All Odds” is next up on the playlist and I am transported to the
end of freshman year and the tears that fell. When you’re a teenager the
friends you have are the best ones you will ever know. You will try to
replicate that relationship for the rest of your life. You might get lucky and
come close but it’ll never be the same. The friends you grow up with know you
better than you know yourself. You think those times will never come to an end
but they do. People change; people grow up, people move on.