“I’m being serious. I don’t want to, you know, here, in my van, in a car park. Okay? I’m not saying stop completely. But I am saying I don’t want that. Not here.” But he did move his hand and let me finish unzipping him, releasing him from his jeans. I smiled in victory.
“Okay.” I straddled him and pulled his head down to mine. The soft romance of the earlier kissing was replaced by a heated battle for dominance as our mouths met once more. My hips involuntarily moved back and forth, coaxing the hard fullness I could feel between my legs. God, it felt good.
Too good, apparently. His hands gripped my waist, forcing me to sit still before moving higher to lower the cups of my bra. As he took the tip of one of my breasts in his mouth, my back arched and I felt the burning pins and needles start to weave through my veins. One of his hands gripped my waist tightly, giving me no choice but to stay still and surrender as its mate made its way into my knickers.
This was the Jake I longed for, not the softly-apologising version. I was completely at the mercy of his mouth and hands and I loved it.
His hold loosened enough for me to start rocking in time with his hand, pressing myself closer and closer onto him, feeling all of him though the cotton of my knickers, willing the barrier to disappear.
“Remember what I said. Not here, not now,” Jake whispered against my skin, his fingers moving lower, deeper. As I felt the familiar tidal wave creeping up on me, I was determined to take him with me and moved my own hand between us, playing with him for our mutual benefit.
The wave subsumed us both, drowning us in breathless cries of each other’s names. As it abandoned us to its aftermath, I felt Jake’s heartbeat gradually slow beneath my fingertips, the pulse echoing my own.
We were alive again.
That night, we went out for a drink with Cass and Flynn and I was amazed at how easy it was to rekindle much of the way we had been before. It was obvious that both of them believed Jake and I should be together and were happy that their respective help—some might say meddling—had brought about the desired result.
“So, things are going okay, then?” Cass asked when the lads were up at the bar. Her voice was tinged with the irony of someone who had seen we were struggling to keep our hands off each other, audience or no audience.
“Yeah, we’re good. I can’t believe it was all sorted so quickly.”
“Is it sorted, though? Or is any of it left unresolved? You’ve got to make sure he knows he can’t do that to you again.”
“I know that. And so does he. I think we’re going to need a serious conversation at some point about how we’re going to make this work in the longer term but, for now, it’s all okay. Honestly.” I smiled at the sight of Jake making his way back through the pub, a drink in each hand. He was beautiful. He was mine.
We laughed and touched our way through the next couple of hours, until it was time to go home. Flynn pulled up outside Jake’s house and I climbed out of the backseat to wish him a more private goodbye. Unfortunately, the lights on in pretty much every window signalled that privacy wasn’t an option, so I hugged him close and kissed his chest. Jake wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.
“You’ve given me more than I deserve today, Myrtle. I promise you I will spend every day of my life repaying your trust in me. You are my world. Don’t forget that.” Tipping my face up to his, he sealed his promise with a tender kiss before pulling back. “Can I see you tomorrow?”
“If you pop round in the morning. We’re setting out at lunchtime as Mum wants to get back before it’s too late.”
“Okay. I’ll be at yours by ten.” His closing kiss was a little less tender but a whole lot more satisfying. “’Night, Myrtle.”
“’Night, Jake.”
Josh is lying on his bed when I get to our room, eyes closed and headphones on in a vain attempt to block out the chaos from downstairs. Chaos that I had somehow managed to hide myself from as I stealthily made my way through the house. After ditching most of my clothes, I lean over and tap him on the chest. He still jumps. I guess that’s what living in this house does to you.
“You’re back early. I thought you’d be at Neve’s until the early hours, you know, talking and shit,” he adds with a grin.
“And what would you know about talking and shit with girls then, little brother? They’re not a real girlfriend if they’re only online, you know.” Josh blushes.
“What? Have you been going through my phone?” He immediately realises that I have him. “Shit. I fell right into that one, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but that’s okay. You can’t help being beaten by your cleverer big brother!” I fake-punch his leg and sit on the edge of his bed. “How’s it been here?”
“The usual. Grace had a rehearsal then went babysitting for Noah again and hasn’t got back yet. I’ve stayed up here. It sounded like a couple of them were having a fight earlier but, after Mum screamed at them like they were kids, they shut up.” Josh isn’t old enough to appreciate the irony of his words.