Hearing him say my name instead of Lorelei’s shreds my last fiber of resistance, and I cling to him as we sway to the music. It feels good to be able to properly use both feet again. It feels even better having him rub his hands up my back and down my sides, finally landing on my ass and giving it a good squeeze.
I find my hands working their way under his shirt. I’m never like this, but I have to feel his skin against my palms. It feels like life or death at this point. I’m a shaking, panting mess of desire and every brush of his lips against my throat and glide of his fingers down my back makes it worse. Or better. I can’t decide. I only know I want more.
I realize we’ve danced our way to the end of the hall where there’s stairwell. He pulls me close and nods toward it.
“Come upstairs with me,” he says, his voice a low rumble that sends waves of excitement through me.
He’s got me up the first couple of steps, but I don’t think I can keep going. Despite being the more extroverted between my sister and me, there’s no way I’ll have sex for the first time in a beer-soaked frat house surrounded by other grunting couples.
“I don’t want to stop,” I say, as I pull back starting to give him some resistance. “But I’m a virgin and—"
The look that comes over Hudson’s face scares all of my earlier excitement away. He drops my hand like he’s disgusted and takes a step back, dragging both of his hands through his hair. My shoulders sink, and I walk back down the steps, moving to collect my crutches. I can feel tears forming, and I’ll be damned if I let Hudson see me cry. I guess Danica was right, he’s just another player after all.
Before I make it back to the end of the hallway where my crutches lie on the floor, Hudson reaches out and grabs my hand. “Wait.”
Chapter 6
Hudson
Disappointment hits like a puck to the balls. I don’t mess with virgins, too much responsibility. I should go back to the party and try to find some eager, experienced woman to finish what Cara and I started, but I can’t seem to make my feet move away from her. The look on her face when I stepped away felt like a stab to the chest. My thoughts are wrapped up in Cara. I know I’ll never get her out of my head until I bury my cock deep inside her and watch her eyes roll back as I take her over the edge. Fuck, she looked so devastated by my reaction. She’s probably been with some real assholes. I want to change everything for her, make her see I’m not one of them. I know I’ve got one chance to make things right, I can’t fail now that I’ve had a taste of her.
I’ve grabbed her hand to keep her from leaving the hallway. She stops and turns around to look at me. Now that I’ve stopped her retreat, I’m nervous and unsure what to say. I opt for helping her gather her crutches and saying, “I’ll drive you back to your place?”
She gives me a small smile and shrugs her shoulders. “Okay, I can’t fake limp anymore, anyway. It’s more exhausting than you’d think.”
I laugh at her honesty. “Yeah, especially when you randomly change legs all the time.”
She groans. “My sister’s going to kill me if her coach finds out.”
“I’m sure her coach was much more focused on your answers for the interview than what leg you were walking on.”
The ride back to her place is quiet, and I’m racking my brain, trying to come up with something to say. What I’m feeling for Cara is totally new to me, and I’m more than a little freaked out. I’ve never been in a relationship before. Hell, I’ve never had more than a one-night stand, but I know Cara is so much more than that. She deserves more than that.
After parking in front of her sister’s building, Cara says an awkward, shy goodbye before getting out of my car. I can’t stand it. Cara is so full of life, brighter than the sun, and I hate that I’m the one who’s dulled her shine. Losing all reason, I race after her and catch up to her as she reaches the door. I swing her around, sending the crutches flying for the second time that night. Cara squeaks in surprise as I pull her body against mine. We kiss in the moonlight, and I really only mean for it to be a quick one, but with her breasts rubbing against my chest, I nudge my tongue between her lips until she parts them for me. My hands slide to her ass to cup those sweet, firm cheeks, and the next thing I know, I have her backed against the door. Only her gasp of pleasure when I grind against her makes me stop.
Because I can’t keep going. She’s a virgin for God’s sake. She’s already pulled away from me once tonight, I can’t risk her doing it again. I step back and take her hands in mine, deciding then in there to put it all on the line.
“I’ve never done anything like this before, but I want you so badly, Cara. I know you’re not ready for more, and we can take it slow, but I’m not ready to say goodbye to you, yet.Please.”
Cara looks at me for a long moment, then she says, “Come inside, I’m not ready to say goodbye yet either.”
She takes my hand and leads me inside and upstairs to Lorelei’s apartment. Once inside, we remove our shoes, then stand awkwardly for a moment, staring at each other. After a beat, Cara laughs and shakes her head. “Come in and sit down. I’ll get us some water.”
We settle on the couch with glasses of water, facing one another with a leg propped up on the couch, our knees touching. I take Cara’s hand as we begin to talk. It’s slow at first, but I’m determined to get to know her. She fills me in on why Lorelei changed places with her, and then gets animated as she talks about an internship she wants.
“I really hope I get it, but even if I don’t, I’m glad I got nominated. It means I have hope. While I’ve been here, I’ve hardly done anything except eat ice cream and sketch.”
“I like drawing, too,” I say. No one except my family knows this about me. It’s always been full focus on sports, but sketching the things I see around me calms me down. “I’m sure I’m not as good as you,” I say quickly.
She shakes her head, just as quick to offer reassurance. “I just do fashion sketches. I’m sure you’re really good.”
I laugh, because she can’t possibly know that, but she’s just that sweet. “Hey, if it’s not too personal, how come you’re still a virgin? I’m sincerely curious.” I hold my breath, waiting for her answer. I’ve never been with a virgin before, I’ve always assumed they are stuck-up prudes, but that couldn’t be further from the truth with Cara.
Her face turns red as she shrugs. “I’ve just never really wanted to yet,” she says. “Simple as that.”
Wrapping my hands around her waist, I pull Cara into my lap so she’s straddling me. I’ve been hard all night, and I know she can feel my erection pressing into her. “That’s all?” I ask. “You’d just have to really want to?”
She shivers as I grind her body against my hard shaft. “I’d have to really, really want to,” she says with a tremor in her voice.