Ignite (16 page)

Zeke

After grabbing some food, we decide to take a drive to the lake for some privacy. We eat mostly in silence as we stare out over the water, her occasionally breaking the silence with a random question.

“What time do your classes start?” she asks, taking a bite of her fries.

“Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I have to be in class at nine,” I start. “Tuesday and Thursday, I don’t go in until ten-thirty. Last semester, I worked part-time on the weekends at this café bussing tables, but I gave up my job to come home for summer, so I don’t know about work yet. Do you know yours?”

“I think so,” she nods. “I think I’ve got an eight o’clock class every day except for Wednesday. Saturday, I have class at nine-thirty.”

After more silence, she leans her head on my shoulder and sips from her drink.

“What about practice?”

“This week’s gonna be rough. It’s Hell Week and the name is very fitting,” I admit with a sigh. “After that, though, I’ll have practice every day starting at two, then we break for dinner and Coach’ll usually have us come back after to go over practice and do a meeting,” I continue, taking a sip from my drink. “Saturday’s usually game day and then Sunday we just go over everything from the day before and get ready for the next week.”

“So you’ll have stuff going on every day?” she asks, her voice falling.

“Yeah,” I nod, looking down to find her staring ahead silently. “What’s wrong?

“Nothing…” she starts, her voice falling. “It just sounds like it’s going to be really hard for you to leave.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I tell her, wiping the ketchup from her lip and sucking my thumb clean. “Some of the other guys have girlfriends at other schools, too and they make it work. They don’t even like them very much,” I chuckle. “So I’m sure since that isn’t the case with us, we’ll find a way to make it work.”

After giving me a little nod, she relaxes in the seat beside me and hums along quietly to the radio, lost in thought. Taking another bite from her food, we stare ahead in silence for a few more minutes before she speaks again.

“There are a lot of girls at the games, huh?” she asks quietly. “Like a crazy amount I bet.”

“None that matter,” I tell her, positioning her chin to face me. “Don’t turn into a jealous girlfriend.”

“I’m not,” she huffs, rolling her eyes. “I was just asking.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” she says immediately. “But I’m still a girl. I’m still gonna think about it sometimes.”

“You’re wasting energy on those kinds of thoughts, babe,” I tell her, tossing the paper from my sandwich into the bag and resting my arm over her shoulders. “I’ll never even notice them.”

“You’re so full of crap,” she snickers. “Thanks for making me feel better, though.”

“You’re welcome,” I grin as I watch her toss her trash into the bag and lean against me. “Do you have any more non-jealous girlfriend questions for me?”

“Nope,” she says. “Not for now anyway.”

“Okay good,” I reply, kissing her forehead before letting my eyes travel down to her skirt. “Are you wearing a thong under this?”

“Maybe,” she blushes, her lips turning up against mine.

“Maybe?” I answer her, grinning. “Are you trying to play hard to get or something?”

“Maybe,” she teases. “I figured I should try it at least once with you.”

“Well, I am not a fan,” I say making both of us laugh before pushing my seat back as far as I can and pulling her onto my lap. “Come here.”

Looking around to see if anyone’s coming, she turns and faces me in surprise.

“Are you serious?” she asks, her voice a whisper.

“Yeah,” I answer in a teasing whisper, letting out a laugh when she smacks me playfully. “Come on, baby. We won’t get another chance before I leave. Nobody’s out here.”

“I don’t know,” she smiles shyly, scraping at her nail polish.

“It’ll be really hot,” I tell her, running my lips over her neck. “Please Addie? I really want another quickie before I have to go, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” she says, letting out a sigh before studying my face. “Do you have a condom?”

“Yes,” I tell her, pulling her onto my lap.

“You won’t when you leave,” she says as she watches me slide it over my cock. “I’m checking your wallet.”

“Fine,” I smirk, sliding her panties out of the way and lifting her. “You can
have
my wallet, just please shut up, baby.”

She’s about to reply when I lower her onto my lap, sliding into her as we both let out a sigh of pleasure. Gripping her hips, I help guide her movements as she glides over me.

“Hang on to the headrest, Addie,” I whisper as I lift her arms behind my head, burying my face in her neck.

Twisting my hips below her, I begin driving into her faster with more force as I hold her heavy eyes. As I watch the worry of getting caught leave her, she begins to let out louder moans, her breath leaving her in a pant. Reaching for the bottom of her shirt, I pull it up so I can see her chest. Running my hands over her skin, I pull down the cup of her bra and begin sucking her nipple into my mouth.

“Zeke,” she gasps, the sound of my name on her lips making me drive into her harder. “I want more.”

“Oh my God, Addie,” I groan as I watch her tits bounce as I thrust into her deeper, her pussy starting to clench around my shaft. “Fuck, I’m getting close, baby.”

“Me, too,” she admits, her voice coming out in a breathy rasp.

As she begins to unravel on top of me, I rest my hand on her neck and pull her to my lips, kissing her deeply. In no time, she’s moaning loudly into my mouth, taking me with her. Resting her head on my shoulder, she stays put as we catch our breath and I let her. I know we’ve got to leave soon. In fact, I might already be running late, but of all the things I’m willing to rush, my time with Addie isn’t one of them.

Running my hand over the small of her back, I inhale her scent and rest my free hand on her hip. We stay like that for a moment, simply wrapped in each other, before her small voice breaks the silence.

“Zeke?”

“Hmm?”

“When you get ready to leave later,” she starts, the break in her voice barely noticeable. “Can you do something for me?”

“Sure.”

“Promise me you won’t say you’ll see me later,” she whispers.

Usually, this is the one thing people don’t mind at goodbyes, so her words catch me off guard.

“Okay,” I say, my brows furrowing in confusion. “I won’t, but will you tell me why?”

“My mom always hated saying goodbyes, so instead, she’d say, ‘I’ll see you later,’” she starts, her voice low. “The last time I saw her, she said she’d see me later, but she never came back, never called, nothing.”

In the more than eleven years I’ve known her, I can count on one hand the times she’s mentioned her mother to me. I’d known the hurt ran deep for her, but she always kept it at bay, even around me. It was the one subject she refused to talk about. The fact that she’d not only told me something so personal, but that it was so heartbreaking has me holding her closer.

“People who say they’ll see you later are liars… cowards even,” she continues, breaking my thoughts. “They say it’s because they hate goodbyes, but really it’s because they don’t have the guts to say them. If you have any intention of coming back, you can’t ever say that to me, Zeke.”

“I promise I’ll never say it, babe,” I tell her, kissing her temple. “Always remember, Addie. I’ll never let you go.”

Zeke

After taking the long way home in silence, I reluctantly pull into my driveway. Releasing a sigh, I glance over to Addie in the seat next to me to find her face holding no expression. Reaching for her hand, I squeeze it in mine and lean over to kiss her cheek.

“Come on,” I say, pushing my door open.

When we meet at the front of my car, I reach for her hand again and lead her to the house.

“Do you want me to give you and your mom some privacy?” she asks quietly.

“Nope,” I tell her as I push the door open.

Mom and I say our goodbyes pretty quickly, her having me go through the inventory of my bags to make sure I’ve got everything and me promising to stay out of trouble. After a hug and a kiss on the cheek, she pats my jaw and walks us back to the door. I know she’ll cry when I pull out of the driveway. She admitted to me at Christmas after hitting the eggnog a little harder than usual that she does every time. She’ll keep it under wraps until she’s sure I’ve left, though. I’ve never wanted a stepfather. Honestly, they sound like a real pain in the ass, but at times like these, I wish she wasn’t alone.

Coming to a stop at my door, I shake my head clear of the thoughts and focus on Addie. She’s still being crazy quiet, which is unlike her, but I get it. Sometimes there’s just too much to say and not enough ways to say it.

“I’ll be there in a couple hours and I’ll call you when I get to my building,” I tell her, stroking my thumb over her lower lip.

“Okay,” she says, trying her best to sound like she is. “Drive safe.”

“I will. I’ve got my cell on me, so I’ll call you if I need to stop for gas or anything and I’m not driving,” I promise. “Don’t be sad, Addie. Everything’s going to be just fine, babe.”

“I know,” she says, giving me a quick nod. “I’ll be fine. I’m sad, but I know I’ll see you soon, so it just gives me something to look forward to.”

“Time’s gonna fly,” I tell her. “We’ll be together again before you know it.”

“Yeah,” she says with a small smile.

“Okay, I gotta go,” I sigh, pulling her to my chest and squeezing her tightly. “I love you so much, Addie,” I whisper as I bury my lips into her neck.

“I love you, too.”

Pulling away slightly, I cradle her face in my hands and kiss her deeply, swallowing the low whimper I’ve come to crave from her. As I pull away, my head is swimming and the way she stays gripped onto my arms tells me hers is, too.

“I’m not letting you go, Addie,” I say as I press my forehead to hers.

“I know,” she replies softly, leaning on her tiptoes to give me a chaste kiss. “Love you.”

“I love you, too, babe,” I whisper, giving her another kiss. “I’ll call you soon.”

“‘Kay,” she nods, watching me slip into my car.

She stays in my driveway, watching me pull away and returning my wave as I start down the street. I glance up to see her still in place when I get to the stop sign, taking her in one last time before I turn off of the street.

She seems okay, so letting out a deep sigh, I hit the gas and take a right out of the neighborhood. In just a few minutes, I’m heading toward the highway, but I know I just left my heart standing in the driveway.

Addie

I do my best to hold it together, giving him my best smile and saying all the things I know I need to say, need to believe.

If I’m being honest, I know I’m being completely overemotional about this, but I can’t help the way my heart feels. He doesn’t need to worry about me while he’s driving, though, so I swallow it. I smile, I nod, I wave and I smile some more.

The second his car turns off our road and out of my sight, I release the breath I’ve been holding in my chest since we woke up this morning. I release it and I let it take me over right there in his driveway.