Humming softly, I start off with the notes of Dionne Warwick’s This Girl’s in Love with you. I learned to play this by ear after my grandma Phoebe sent an old record of Dionne Warwick’s to me for my birthday three years ago.
I let the last notes of the song trail off, singing the last of the lyrics softly. I’m quite relieved because Cole can’t see my face. He can’t read what I’m feeling and neither can he read my lips. I let my breathing slow down before turning to face him.
“So?” I let a smile cover the state of havoc I’m feeling inside. “Did you like it?”
His throat moves as he swallows hard, still staring at me as if I’m something. . .special.
“What?” I ask, squirming on his lap.
He brushes a finger along my throat. “I could feel you. What was the song about?”
I snag the corner of my lip and close the lid of the piano.
“It’s about a girl confessing to a man that she loves him.” I speak aloud the first few lyrics then stop when I get to the chorus. He gestures for me to continue. And I do, speaking the words of the chorus then pause.
He wraps his fingers around my wrists and peppers my skin with open mouth kisses on the scars.
Oh, God.
I’m not just falling for him. I’ve already fallen and I’m just waiting for him to catch up. I hope he feels the same way as I do.
His hands drop from my wrists and wrap around my bottom, pulling me to him. He presses a kiss on my stomach. Heat shoots between my legs at that simple, tender gesture. He looks up at me, a slow smile stretching across his face. His fingers shake as they move down my dress, under it and on to my thighs, skipping my underwear and circle my waist.
I need more. I need his mouth on more of my skin. I grab one of his hands and my dress drops back in place. I dart a look at the clock. We have over three hours before Dad comes home. If he comes home at all. “If you’re going to attempt hitting third base, we need some privacy.” And he follows me, his hand trembling in mine but the grin on his face. . .Jesus. It’s beautiful and confident with a trace of shyness. You’d think I promised him the moon and exceeded his expectations by delivering the galaxy on a silver platter.
Once we stumble inside my room, I flip the lock and pull Cole toward my bed. The sound of our quick breathing fills the room, mingling with the hurried sound of our muffled footsteps on the wood. My knees hit the edge of the bed and I turn around to face him, tug the beanie from his head and toss it on the bed.
“I love touching your hair. So soft,” I say making sure he can see my lips.
He grabs my chin between his thumb and index finger and looks into my eyes. “I have been dying to see you today. God. Snowflake. I just need to kiss you. Let me kiss you.”
His mouth is on mine, kissing me hard. Desperately. My fingers grip his hair while looking for something to hold onto. His hands grip my waist and flip me around. He lowers himself on the bed and pulls me to him without losing the connection between us. I love the way he desires me. I don’t care that he hasn’t said those three little words, but I feel like I belong with him. To him. My hands leave his hair, exploring the hard muscles on his back, his chest, his abs. I feel his muscles tense beneath my fingers when I move them further down, skimming the edge of his shorts. He sits upright without warning and rolls me over so that I’m lying on my back and he’s straddling me. His shaking fingers travel down, take the edge of my dress, and slowly pulls it up. He pauses and looks at me. We’ve never gone this far before and I’m nervous, but I want him to touch me so bad. Biting my lip, I raise my chin and nod. The dress is up and over my head before I can blink, which makes me giggle.
I grab the edge of his shirt and tug it up. He hooks his fingers around the edge and slides it over his head.
I. Can’t. Breathe.
I meet his gaze. “You’re beautiful.”
He laughs. “Thanks, I guess.” His eyes drop to my chest.
I touch his arm and his eyes swing back up to mine, dark, hungry. But the urge to cross my arms on my chest is getting stronger. “Say something.”
He licks his lips and swallows, returning his gaze back to my chest. “Jesus. Beautiful.”
I’ll take that.
His hand moves to his pants and I glance down to see him adjust the bulge they barely contain. My cheeks heat when he catches me watching.
“Um. . .have you ever done this before? Been intimate with a girl?”
He shakes his head. “You?”
“With a girl?” I can’t resist teasing him. “No. Not with a guy either.”
His mouth spreads into a wide grin as he bends down.
“Um. Cole.” I sink my fingers in his hair and tug his head up from my shoulder. He stares down at me with hooded eyes. “I’m nervous.”
He sits up immediately, but he doesn’t put any distance between our bodies. “I’m nervous too.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “But you look so sure of what you are doing.”
“Your body is like my guide. I know where to touch you or kiss you by watching how you react to me and listening to what my hands tell me. I touch you the way I want to be touched.”