The words make me shiver because I can't imagine that person for her being anyone but me. She stands up and walks over to the counter, pouring two shots of Patron. She sits one down in front of me and passes me a lime, raising her glass.
"To finding the best kind of love."
She throws the shot back and sucks on a lime, smiling at me with it still in her mouth. I suck the juice out of mine and toss it at her, causing her to jump. "You dork."
"Dork?" She sasses, "Says the guy who organizes his underwear by color."
"You went through my stuff?" I ask, completely horrified. So what if I am a little OCD about my clothes.
"I might've snooped a little," she shrugs, her smile filling her entire face.
I take another lime off the cutting board and toss it at her. She starts to run away. Heading straight for the sliding glass door. Bad move.
She slips outside, and I can't help but smile when I notice she's holding my pants on as she runs. I catch up to her quickly, and we both land in the pool.
"Oh my god!" She yells, "Eric!"
"What's wrong, Jolene? Forget there was a pool out here?"
Her hair is matted to her head, soaked, and her legs are wrapped effortlessly around my waist like that's exactly where they belong. She nods, unable to speak, and I can't stop myself. Not anymore.
I take her lips as if they belong to me and only me. Claiming them, claiming her. She grips me tighter, and I can't help but notice how my t-shirt is wet against her chest, and she isn't wearing a bra. My hands explore her body as she continues to kiss me back, and I slip them under my shirt that she's wearing, and she whimpers as my fingertips find her nipples. I know that she can feel me growing hard against her.
She moves her lips from mine to my neck, and I lift the hem of my shirt over her head, separating us for a split second before we fall back together. Her legs wrap tighter around my waist, and we just fit. Kinda like that long-lost puzzle piece you find under the couch after getting the entire fucking thing put together. It's just that easy.
I walk through the shallow end and up the stairs, and we don't stop. I don't think we are physically able. We make it to my bedroom, still completely hot and heavy. I begin to strip out of my wet clothes until I'm in nothing but boxer briefs. I'm not sure how long we stand here kissing, half-naked, but when we hit the bed, everything is turned into high gear. I pull our lips apart, her eyes flutter open, and I wait a split second for verification. Any sign that she wants to stop this, that we're making a mistake, but there's nothing. Zero hesitation from either of us.
Her fingers slide under the waistband of my boxers, and she starts to slide them down. The way she gasps when she sees me naked turns me on even more. I slip my soaked sweatpants off of her body and take a second to admire how beautiful she looks. Embarrassed about how many times I'd imagined her this way.
I kiss the skin below her navel, trailing the kissing down her leg and to the inside of her thigh, she moans the closer I get to that spot that I'm dying to taste. I slip my fingers inside her and then make her come with my tongue.
"You are so beautiful," I acknowledge, causing her cheeks to turn a little pink. She rolls over until she's on top of me, slowly settling down until I am buried deep inside of her. She's still for a minute, and I'm basically dying to move, but finally, she starts to roll her hips against me. Slow, steady strokes that make me feel like I'm dreaming. It's fucking mind-blowing. I raise my hands to her hair, pulling her down to kiss me, her perfect rhythm causing me to make noises I didn't even know I could.
Our breathing is heavy as she collapses against me, and I kiss her shoulder.
"Stay with me tonight?" I beg, "Please."
"Okay," She nods, rolling off of me, and I can't stop looking at her. We lay there for about an hour in complete silence. Neither of us knew what to say. Finally, we get up to clean up and take a shower, both of us completely obsessed with each other's bodies. I can't look away. We make out and end up having sex again, and then round three after we've slept for a few hours.
I don't know if it's the tequila or the cold hard truth that has finally caught up to us, but we are lost in each other, and I don't ever want to be found.
CHAPTER 9
KARLY
I roll over and check my phone at 5:43 AM. Gently, I put it back down on the nightstand and realize I’m staring at a picture of Eric, Hanna, and Ellie. Suddenly, I feel sick.
What have I done?
I slip out of bed, careful not to wake him up, and stand in the doorway for a second too long to admire how he looks. Quickly, I pull my clothes out of the dryer and slip them back on. There’s one of Eric’s hoodies in there, and I pull that down over my clothes, seeing as it’s probably a little cold outside.
Once I’m standing on the other side of the front door, the guilt hits me like a wave. I can’t help but tear up. I’ve never done anything like this. It all just felt so normal. I sit on the front steps until my Uber pulls up. I give her a half smile when I slide in because the last thing I want to do is talk to a stranger.
I stare out the window as we drive by all the neighborhood houses. They all look the same. Manicured lawns, fences, and homes that belonged to families. Swing sets are probably filled with kids during the day, and I never had one of those.
I exhale the breath I’ve been holding, and I’m relieved to see that the parking lot is free of Ashton’s car. Which means he didn’t wait for me. Fucking douchebag. A shiver runs down my spine as I take the stairs two at a time. I don’t even like to think about him being here. Not after I had the best night of my life with one of the most incredible guys I’ve ever met.
Everything in my apartment looks the same as it left it, a mess. Just how I like it, and I take comfort in that for some reason. I crawl into my bed and let the tears I’ve been holding fall. I’ve never felt so low in my life. I betrayed my best friend and didn’t even mean to do it.