“I’m pretty sure that is the billboard definition of a ‘personal problem.’”
“You don’t hate it, though. Do you?”
“Now hold on a second there, buddy. I never said anything about not enjoying it. You’re just not going to blame that horny teenage mind of yours on me.”
He chuckled. “You’re a bit to blame. But in all the best ways.”
I smiled. “Just know you aren’t the only one that feels that way.”
He growled playfully as he pulled me closer into his body. I worked my hand into his back pocket, feeling his strength rolling around against my palm. I leaned my head against his chest as we turned down my street, and the dirty, dingy smell of the place almost passed me by. I sighed with contentment as we made our way for the house. I saw it looming in the distance, like a darkly-smeared stain on a light blue canvas. Thunder rumbled in the distance, despite the sun hanging high in the sky. And as we walked all the way up to my porch, my mind began churning with all sorts of thoughts.
All sorts of nasty, wanton thoughts.
“Do you have to work tonight?”
Clint’s voice caused me to focus. “Uh, no. I’m not on the schedule for a couple of days.”
“I’ve noticed you haven’t been working much lately.”
I shrugged. “I think the manager is hesitant to schedule me. You know, since I was his main closer.”
He paused. “Ah.”
“It’s fine, though. Really. Just means I get to spend more time with you.”
“But I know you want the hours.”
I reached for my keys. “I mean, I do. Yes. I need the money. But I’ve been saving money for a couple years now. I just have to shift around a few things and not spend so much of my money at once, and I’ll be okay. You know, still on track for things.”
“What kind of things?”
I slid the key into the lock. “You know, plans for after school.”
“We’ve never really talked about those, you know.”
I paused. “We haven’t, actually.”
“Want to talk about them now?”
I shrugged as I opened the door. “I mean, they aren’t much. I want to move out and get a place with Allison. That’ll probably put me near UCLA, since that’s where she’s headed for her architecture degree. I’ll live off my savings for, hopefully, five months while I find a job. Then I can start saving money to go to a community college or something like that.”
“What do you want to study?”
We walked inside. “Graphic design of some sort. You know, do something with all this doodling I do on a regular basis.”
“Doodling?”
I nodded. “Yep. I enjoy drawing. Have we not talked about this?”
“Not enough for it to ingrain itself into my memory.”
Huh. Odd. “Well, we can talk about it now, if you’d like.”
I closed the door behind us and went to turn the lock. And as I did, I felt Clint’s hands fall to my hips. His lips pressed against the shell of my ear, causing me to press back against him. Our bags dropped to the floor. My head fell back against his chest. I sighed as his hands traveled my body, massaging my excess and caressing my clothed breasts.
“How long have you been drawing?”
His voice was low. Rumbling. Sensuous. I moaned softly as he nibbled my ear, making my knees quake underneath me. He slowly walked me forward, pinning the front of my body to the door. He kissed down my neck, making me gasp as he pulled the collar of my T-shirt off to the side.