The Only Exception

CHAPTER 21

After all the excitement of the news and listening to Trey and his dad talk politics, I finally turned in for the night. Well, I tried to turn in, but I couldn’t sleep. I just ended up lying there and staring out the open window, watching the shadows cast on the wall by the light of the moon.

A soft knock came from the door. I didn’t know if it was for me or for one of the other millions of doors, so I stayed quiet. Slowly, the door creaked open and Trey’s head poked through.

I sat up, quickly, covering as much of myself as I could with the blanket. I didn’t know if he was alone or if it was a late night family meeting.

“Mon, it’s me. Can I come in?” He said in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah.” I dropped the blankets slightly.

He slipped in, closing the door behind him. Once he walked closer to the open window I finally got a good view of him. I never saw him out of button-down shirts and dress pants, but this time he was in a plain, gray cotton shirt and plaid pajama bottoms. The shirt clung to the contours of his chest, and I realized that he definitely spent some time in the gym. The hint of biceps I thought I saw under his dress shirts were defined muscle.

He sat down at the edge of the bed. “I just came in to apologize for dragging you into all of this.”

I shook my head, dropping the blankets and crawling over to him. “You don’t need to apologize. You did nothing wrong. That guy deserved to be punched in the face.” I sat in front of him so that we were facing each other.

He sighed. “I meant I’m sorry that this had to turn into such a political fiasco. I wish it were simpler.”

“I knew this when we started dating. I knew that you weren’t just some run-of-the mill guy. I didn’t expect to be on the nightly news, but if that’s what it takes to be your girlfriend, then I’m up for the challenge.

A small grin crossed his face. Not his political one, but the one he had before he pounced me in the living room. “How am I supposed to have this conversation with you when you are dressed like that?”

I glanced down at what I was wearing, even though I knew very well that it was a pink tank top and some gray cotton shorts. I then looked back at Trey and traced my fingers along his abdominal line, over his shirt. “Because you’re wearing that.”

“Oh, Monica, what you do to me,” he whispered before leaning over and crushing his lips to mine.

I pulled him on top of me, deepening the kiss and sliding my hands under the back of his shirt. His back was warm and rippling with muscles that I didn’t even know existed. His kisses trailed from my lips and down my collarbone until they were at my chest.

I pulled back, sitting up slightly. “Here, let me help you.” I pulled my tank top over my head and tossed it on the floor. Since I wasn’t wearing a bra to bed, it left me completely nude from the waist up.

Trey’s smile broadened, and he cupped my breasts with his hands, gently running his fingers over my nipples while he brought his lips back to my neck. I tugged lightly at his hair and a muffled moan escaped his lips on to my neck. His breathing tickled at the sensitive area and still turned me on at the same time. He moved back and then sat in front of me before he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. I wasn’t disappointed by what had been hidden under his crisp white shirts for so long. His tanned flesh was well-defined and chiseled, not in the body builder sort of way, but in the way that every time he flexed there was actually muscle there. I ran my fingers over the lines of his six pack, wanting them against me.

He hovered over me, but his eyes trailed down to my shorts. “What’s this?” His fingers traced the ends of my tattoo of purple flowers barely visible over my shorts.

I yanked my shorts down, making my underwear come into full view, along with the rest of the vibrant purple flowers that rested just above each side of my pelvic bone. “They’re princess flowers. They grow out of volcanic rock. If something so beautiful can grow from such destruction, I figure I can survive anything.”

Not many people saw them and that was usually how I liked it. I got the tattoos right after I left Taylor as an inspiration to pull through. I never wanted another guy to see that part of me, but with Trey it felt right.

His fingers gently rubbed over the purple markings as if they were delicate silk. I didn’t want to be delicate; I just wanted him. I pushed my hand forward and rested it on his hip before I tiptoed down to the waistband of his pajama bottoms. Slowly I slid my hand underneath them and felt his sizeable hardness in my hands. He briefly closed his eyes while I ran my hand up and down his length.

Trey then put his hand over mine, stopping my movement. “Monica, before we go any farther, I need to tell you something.”

“What’s that?” I didn’t know what to expect. At that point I was so ready he could have told me he was actually part of an evil alien colony sent to destroy the world, and I still would have given myself to him.

“I’ve never done this before...”

“Done...?”

He sighed, his eyes holding mine. “Sex. I’m a virgin.”

I blinked hard, quickly pulling my hand out of his pants. “Oh, God, sorry I didn’t know. I just figured...”

“That I wouldn’t be a nineteen-year-old virgin?” He sat up, now sitting in front of me on the bed. The mood was definitely gone, and I scrambled to cover myself with a blanket.

“I guess...I just assumed...”

He blew a big breath out of his nose and raked his hands through his hair. He usually kept it cut neatly and gelled, but it was starting to grow out and he had slight case of bedhead. “I had girlfriends in high school, but nothing like my brothers. We were always lectured about making sure not to tarnish our reputations, and you know my dad’s views on birth control with his abstinence-only education plan.” He stopped talking and scooted closer to me, taking my hands in his. “I’ve never felt like this with any other girl. You’re the first girl I’ve actually wanted to even come close to doing this with. After the couch this afternoon, and the way you worked your hands...well...it’s the closest I’ve ever came to the actual deed.”

Holy shit balls. He hadn’t actually done anything with a girl. That did explain his hesitation with moving to third base, but at that point I didn’t know what his next move would be. I didn’t think unprotected sex was an option, not another scandal we needed, and I doubt a conservative virgin carried condoms.

“So...are we just going to play chess now?” I asked, slightly raising an eyebrow.

Trey’s smile returned, and he crawled back over until I could feel his breath on my lips. “I’m sure you can teach me some other things that don’t go all the way...”

I dropped the blanket and put my hands on Trey’s back, pulling him down on top of me. His lips eagerly returned to mine; his hands back on my chest.

I didn’t even hear the door creak open, but I did hear Mindy’s voice loud and clear. “Trey?”

Trey broke the kiss and jumped off of me as if my body were on fire. I pulled the blanket over my topless self, and he quickly adjusted himself with his back to his mom and then picked up his shirt.

Mindy stood in the doorway, wearing a pink silk robe with her arms crossed over her chest. “I heard you two talking and wanted to make sure that everything was all right.”

Trey pulled his shirt over his head and moved a few strides to the door, keeping his head down. “Everything is fine, Mom.”

She nodded. “Well, I can see that, but I don’t think this is the time or the place. Your bed seems to be a better location for you to be at Trey Reagan Chapman, and I’m sure that Monica will be fine here alone.”

She turned to the door, with Trey right behind her, but she stopped, glancing back over her shoulder. “And one more thing. It would be better if the governor didn’t know about this talk. You two are very lucky it was me in here and not him.”

I nodded in agreement, watching her walk out the door. Trey turned slightly back toward me and whispered, “Sorry.”

All I could do was smile. Someday I would look back on the situation and laugh, but at that moment, I was just happy that I didn’t drop the blanket.