We Were Here: A New Adult Romance Prequel to Geoducks Are for Lovers (Modern Love Stories Book 1) (32 page)

“Shh.” She pressed a finger to my mouth. I kissed the tip.

“I—”

She wrapped her legs around mine. “It’s okay”

What’s okay? I loved her? Did she mean she felt the same?

Her tongue in my mouth and her hand skimming the fly of my jeans stopped my mind from thinking. She snuck a finger beneath the denim, brushing against the skin by my hip. Reacting on instinct, I thrust against her, seeking more. A low moan reverberated in her chest. I did it again and the sound grew louder. Shifting to lie beside her, I drew a wide spiral down her stomach with my finger, slowly watching her skin react, leaving goosebumps in my wake.

The top of her purple underwear peeked out above the faded denim of her shorts. I followed the line with my finger from one hip to the other. Under my teasing touch, she twisted and squirmed.

Unwilling to torture myself any longer, I undid her shorts’ button fly. She bridged her hips, and I shimmied them off of her.

A small white bow centered her underwear. The tan line from her bathing suit left a pale shadow around the cotton. Freckles dotted her arms and legs, but not her stomach.

I committed every detail to memory first with my eyes, followed by my fingers, and mouth.

Hovering above her, I breathed warm air over the tops of her thighs.

“Gil,” she whispered like a plea.

I answered her by kissing the bow. My fingers splayed over her hips and pushed her thighs apart. My nose skimmed down the center, inhaling her. I’d wondered and dreamed about her for forever. Every sense memory needed to be recorded.

With a sharp inhale, she tried to close her thighs. I braced my hands, preventing her from hiding herself from me. “Every part of you is beautiful, Maggie. Let me show you.”

Her hands clenched the sheet beside her hips when I dipped my fingers under the edge of her underwear and pulled it down. I had to shift again to slip them off her legs completely. I dropped them to the side of the bed. Part of me hoped she’d leave them behind.

Kneeling again on the floor, I dragged her body closer to me. Her lids flew open.

“It’s okay. Let me show you.”

I waited for her to relax before doing anything more. Her hand swept down my arm and found my fingers, holding on to our point of contact.

Given the approval I’d wanted, I squeezed her hand before returning my focus to her pleasure.

“Tell me what feels good.” I kissed her inner thigh and made eye contact. “I want to make you feel amazing.”

She nodded and squeezed my hand again.

I followed her body’s responses as I explored her with my tongue and fingers. She liked long sweeps and light pressure at first, before building up the intensity with the tip of my tongue and gentle sucking. I slipped a finger inside and matched my rhythm until she told me with the tightening of her legs I found the spot and the right pace.

I could have stayed there forever. I wanted to be nowhere else in the world.

With a soft inhale and a clenching of her fingers around mine, her body fluttered around my fingers. I rode out each wave of pleasure with her, slowing my pace and releasing the pressure.

She went limp on the bed, stretching out her legs, curling and uncurling her toes. I smiled in satisfaction and kissed her hipbone.

To relieve some pressure, I undid the top few buttons of my fly. My erection popped free and I sighed.

I felt her hands on my hips, reaching around my arms to shove at the denim.

“These need to come off.” Her voice sounded determined.

I stood, never breaking eye contact, and undid the final buttons, letting the jeans fall to the floor. Hooking my thumbs into the waist, I lost my boxers next.

Standing naked in front of Maggie could have been awkward, but not tonight. Seeing her satisfied smile and the pink flush of pleasure on her chest from my actions, turned me on like nothing ever had before.

Against the red of her hair, her pale skin glowed. A blush spread on her cheeks, down her neck, ending slightly above the deep rose of her nipples.

Nothing would ever be more beautiful to me than Maggie in this moment.

She crooked her finger at me. “Come back.”

I obliged, and crawled over her as she scooted farther up the bed. When her hair spread across my pillows, she enveloped me in her arms.

Our bodies aligned and for a brief moment, I thought about going without a condom. It would be easy, natural, to slide inside of her without breaking this connection. I stilled and exhaled as I brought myself back from the edge.

Shifting, I reached into the drawer of the table next to my bed and found a condom.

Maggie quirked an eyebrow at me. I shrugged. Too many after school specials about teen pregnancies and news hysteria about AIDS had sunk in over the years. I didn’t think either of us had ever been exposed. We knew we were clean when we’d all gone to get tested after Selah and Maggie’s sexuality class. Never did I want to put Maggie’s future at risk for my own, short-lived pleasure. She was too important.

And she was leaving.

“Are you having second thoughts?” She touched my arm.

I’d paused too long, lost in my own head. “No. Never. Why?”

A thousand emotions swam in the depths of her blue irises. “I feel like we’re crossing a line and things will never be the same between us.”

I ran the back of my hand over her cheek. “The line is already behind us. Somewhere over there with our pants.” I pointed to our heap of clothes on the floor. “Nothing will ever change what’s between us. Not sex. Or not having sex. Or miles. Or time. Promise.”

She sat up and kissed me, throwing her arms over my shoulders. Leaning away, she stared at me. “Promise.”

I kissed her again and tilted her into the pillows.

This time I didn’t stop. I kissed her as I thrust forward. She sighed into my mouth and entwined herself around me.

We shifted positions, rolling to our sides and then I pulled her over me. I wanted to watch her body and face, and it allowed me to touch more of her. My hands set a rhythm on her hips as she glided above me. Her hair tumbled down her back. I took handfuls of it and gently pulled, exposing her neck to my mouth. Sitting up more, I kissed the length of her throat before finding her breasts again.

I needed time to still.
Better yet, it should stop all together.

My body warned me this moment would be over long before I could have my fill of her. I shifted us again, prolonging the inevitable climb and tipping point. My movements slowed, delaying my pleasure as I sought to give her more.

The CD stopped and the room fell into quiet, the only sounds from our bodies moving against the sheets. In the silence, our breathing and soft moans echoed louder than any screams of pleasure. My own heartbeat slammed into my ears. I placed my hand over her chest and felt the rapid flutter of her heart beneath my palm.

We existed in the bubble as long as we could.

Time didn’t stop for us.

It raced forward, sweeping us along with it.

My primal instincts took over, driving me toward orgasm. I enfolded her in my arms, wanting to consume her, seeking to crawl inside of her. I wanted to exist in this state of oneness. My nerves fired and I no longer knew where she ended and where I began.

All I knew was I felt. I existed as physical pleasure in pure form, speeding toward explosion.

Everything ceased except my blood thrumming in my ears and the euphoria expanding through my body.

I stilled, trying to stay in the moment. Beneath me, Maggie sighed and anchored me to her.

Time slammed into me.

Realization hit as I came down from the high. An unbearable heaviness crashed over me. I gave into its weight, lying on top of Maggie. Panting, I tried to catch my breath. Attempted to center myself before the moment slipped away.

I rolled to my back, bringing her with me and curling her to my side. She rested her thigh on my leg and placed her hand on my chest. Beneath her touch, my heart pounded against my ribcage, begging her to take it with her when she left.

I fought the tears forming, and I swallowed against the truth of our reality.

She would still be leaving in a few hours. I had no right to anchor her to me the first opportunity she had to spread her wings and fly. I wouldn’t hold her back.

I could do the right thing. I could let her fly away, soaring with the joy of a dream come true.

I could hope she’d understand the message of the lyrics on the tape I’d given her.

I could hope.

I could pray she would come home to me.

Our time together could begin.

The future I’d imagined a hundred times would be more than a fantasy.

For her, I could wait.

Because I loved her.

Her breathing deepened into a soft snore beside me. Unable to sleep, I stared at her, committing everything to memory. Filing away the tiniest details of her and this night, I wouldn’t forget.

I debated waking her and telling her my feelings.

If I were selfish, that’s what I’d do.

Instead, I whispered the words, practicing for our good-bye in the morning. I’d say them to her tomorrow before she left. I’d look into her eyes so she would know I meant every word.

“I love you, Maggie May. From the very beginning. Please come back to me.”

Feeling a huge weight lift off of my heart from saying the words out loud for the first time, I smiled as I spooned behind her

Tomorrow morning wouldn’t be good-bye. It would be a beginning for us.

Hope filled my chest as I drifted off to sleep.

Lizzy Jackson, 21

Art History

Senior

What experience will you remember most about college?

Oh boy.

I want to remember everything.

Only one?

Hmm . . .

Junior year in France.

All of it.

It’s when I realized the world held an infinite number of love stories.

A few with happy endings and ever afters.

Some had limited potential and heartbreaking endings.

Some could take more than a lifetime to be told.

For others, the story ended before it began.