The Other Earth (12 page)

I pushed my plate away from me, no longer hungry. "Randi, why don't we play a game of poker? It'll help take your mind off of everything" he said.

I nodded and sat with my hands crossed as he cleared the table and got out our poker cards. I watched as Brandon shuffled the cards and dealt us both our cards. I finally felt my body start to relax as I got into the game, and even managed to beat Brandon on our first hand.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked, dealing another hand to
us.

I nodded, "Yes thanks. Poker helped."

He looked at me and licked his lips, "So how about we make it interesting?" he asked.

"You want to play with money?" I asked, remembering that he had made the suggestion once.

"Well, sort of. I was thinking that we play a little game of strip poker" he said.

My heart started to pound, "I don't know about that Brandon" I said.

"Oh, come on. We are pretty evenly matched now, so I wouldn't have any kind of advantage over you, and if it gets to be too much at any time you can stop things" he said.

I looked at him for a few seconds as I realized that he was trying to take my mind as far away from what was making me upset as he possibly could. I never realized until that moment just how great of a friend he could be.

"Okay fine. But don't cry when you end up naked" I said.

He laughed, "Okay, that's my Randi. Let's play" he said.

It didn't take long for us make it to the point where we were sitting there, both wearing only our underwear. I had already lost my panties, but thanks to the table and Brandon being a gentleman, he hadn't actually seen anything yet.

I sat there looking at my hand, trying to keep a straight face as I realized that either way this went, one of us would be completely naked. I was starting to think th
at this would not be a very good idea for either us to be naked as it would make things happen that I wasn't sure I was ready for.

"I fold" I said, laying down my cards and grabbing my clothes, putting them back on quickly.

"What's the matter?" Brandon asked getting up and walking over to me.

"I just want to pull out of this. I don't think it's a good idea" I said.

I watched as he bent down onto one knee until we were eye to eye. "Do you think this is a bad idea?" he asked as he pulled me in and lightly touched his lips to mine.

I felt an electric current run through my body as he kissed me very softly. I put my hand onto his chest and pushed him slightly, just enough to make him stop kissing me.

"No, it's not a good idea. I don't want things to get awkward" I said with a squeak.

Brandon stood up, "Awkward. I am so damn tired of hearing that shit!" he said.

"Brandon" I started.

"No, I don't' want to hear it. Time and time again, I have listened to you talk about how damn awkward it would be. What is your damn hang-up about it being awkward? I have shown you twice,
that things wouldn't be awkward, but still you push me away." He said, throwing his hands into the air.

"It's just that
.." I said.

"No! I don't care anymore. I'm done Randi. I'm tired of you looking at me the way you do and then trying to make me think that you don't want me too. I know you better than you know yourself
and I know you want to be with me as much as I want to be with you and I don't care how much you deny it" he yelled.

I sat in my chair scared to say anything that would make him angrier.

"At this moment I wish I wasn't stuck with you on this damn ship, because I would really love to leave and go have a beer right now. I'm going to bed!" he said, storming off and slamming the door to his room.

I sat in my chair, too stunned to move for a few seconds. Never in the twenty years
I had known Brandon had I seen him get so upset over anything. He was usually one of the calmest people I knew. I shook my head and walked to my bedroom, closing the door behind me, still confused as to what exactly had happened.

Chapter Twelve

I had only been sitting in my room for a few minutes when I heard Brandon leave his room and walk into the kitchen. I listened quietly as I heard him quickly come back and go back into his room. I sat there for a few seconds, thinking about what he had said and decided that I needed to talk to him. I couldn't stand the thought of him staying mad at me.

I walked out of my room, leaving my door open and taking a deep breath knocked on Brandon's door. "Come in" I heard him say.

I let out the breath I had been holding and slowly opened his door. "Brandon, can I talk to you?" I asked him, trying to make out where he was in the darkness.

"Sure" he
said, the anger in his voice from before gone.

I walked over to his bed and saw him lying there on this back, with his
hands behind his head.

"Listen, I'm really sorry. I know I haven't been fair to you lately" I said.

I saw his head turn toward me in the dark, "No, I'm sorry. It's not your fault that you don't want me to touch you, and I should respect that more" he said.

"There's the problem though" I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I sighed, "You were right before. I do want you. I've wanted to be with you for a very long time" I said.

"Then answer something for me" he said.

"What?" I asked, sitting on the bed next
to him.

"You had a Royal flush. You would have won, why did you fold and stop the game?" he asked.

I fidgeted my hands, "It's very hard to admit this to you, but I didn't trust myself. I was scared that if I played that hand and you got naked, that I wouldn't be able to stop myself from straddling you right then and there" I said.

He lifted up onto his elbows, "I still don't get it though. If we have a mutual attraction to each other, why are you so scared things will be awkward? I still don't get why you a
re so worried about that" he said.

"You are the oldest friend I have. I am scared that if we had sex, there would come a time when it would get weird and I would never see you again" I said.

"Why the hell do you think it would get weird? And why do you think you would never see me again?" he asked.

I laughed, "That parts inevitable. Have you ever been in a relationship that worked? Are you still friends with your exes?" I asked.

Now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness of his room I could see him shake his head, "Your parents really fucked your head up do you know that?" he asked.

I sighed, "Yes I am aware of that fact" I said.

"Listen Randi. I get it okay. I value our friendship too, but it wouldn't be like that for us" he said.

I shook my head, "How c
an you know that though? Eventually I would just be another notch on your totem pole" I said.

Brandon threw his head back down onto the pillow and covered his eyes with his hands, "You are the most irrational person I have ever met. I know that because we
are Brandon and Randi, the friendship has been there for twenty years, and that will never change. Now, I don't know what kind of man you take me for, but I don't have a totem pole, and you would never just be a notch on anything to me."

I stared at him fo
r a few seconds, "Wow, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me" I said.

He laughed, "You know some pretty awful people then" he said.

"Well, I'm glad we could have this talk" I said, standing up. I looked down at him there and realized that I did want to be with him, and I was tired of fighting it. Actually being intimate with him couldn't be half as awkward as silently wanting him had all of these years.

"Yeah good night" he said, turning away from me on the bed.

I smiled and quietly undressed, getting completely naked before he could realize that I hadn't left yet. I wrung my hands together, getting my nerve up and finally pulling back his covers and sliding my body in next to his.

"What are you doing?" he asked me.

"Shh" I said, wanting to take my time getting used to being next to him naked before words could change my mind.

As I slid my body down his, I realized for the first time tha
t he was also naked. I hadn't known that he slept naked, but it did make things easier for me.

I laid there for a few seconds not moving when Brandon finally turned his body toward me. I leaned forward as soon as he was facing me and touched my lips to his
hungrily. I grabbed his hand and pulled it towards me, placing it on my chest.

He quickly pulled back as he realized for the first time that I was naked. He looked down at my body in the dark and then back up to my eyes.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded
and started to pull him back to me when he lifted up off of the bed and slid me down beneath him. He reached down and kissed me once on the lips before moving to kiss my cheek and continued on until he reached my left ear and blew hot air onto it, making my body tingle in ways I had never felt before.

For the first time, I didn't regret admitting to someone that I even had a spot as I felt the warmth between my legs that I had so desperately missed without even knowing it.

I moaned as his lips traveled down my neck slowly kissing a line all the way to my small chest. I sucked in air as he took my left breast into his mouth, working it in a way I had certainly never felt before.

I moaned as hot flashes pulsed through my body, making beads of sweat form on m
y eyebrows. My heart was pounding against his lips, showing its appreciation to him as well.

"It's hot" I managed to gasp as more heat waves ran from my head down to my toes, which were already starting to curl.

Brandon sat up on his knees and threw the blanket off of us before leaning back down and taking my previously ignored breast and giving it the same attention its twin had received.

I felt the rush of cold air hit my body, giving me goose bumps that managed to only heighten the sensations my body was
experiencing.

After a few blissful moments, Brandon started to kiss down my stomach, making my body ache in anticipation. I felt as though I wouldn't be able to take another second without him inside of me.

"I need you" I said, running my fingers through his hair, as he was busy kissing my belly button.

He lifted his head slightly, "And you will have me. I have been waiting a long time for this and I plan to take my time" he said.

I held my breath as he slowly pulled my legs apart, exposing my most intimate areas to his eyes. I closed my eyes, determined not to look at him as he saw all of me.

I sat in silence trying not to breathe as he inspected me, but only a few seconds later, he let go of my hands and I felt his finger slide slowly inside of me. I grip
ped the mattress as I kept myself from moaning, though my breathing became heavier.

"You are so beautiful" I heard him say.

I could feel my hips start to slightly sway to the motion of his fingers gliding in and out, needing more from him.

"Please" I moane
d, wanting him to hurry and take me.

I felt his body slide back up toward me and once he was back to being
eye level with me I looked into his eyes.

"Are you sure?" he asked, afraid I would push him away again.

I nodded as he reached down and kissed me, distracting me from the fact that I could feel him pushing into me. He stopped moving after he was just barely inside and continued to kiss me. I moaned into his mouth as he started to move again slowly, sliding inch by agonizing inch into me until he was finally completely inside of me.

I wrapped my legs around his waist as he slowly started to pump, causing fireworks to light in my stomach, making their way to my heart, where they exploded into a million little p
ieces.

He stopped kissing me as he started to pick up the pace. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he grunted against my hair. At the sound of his grunt, I felt tingles race up my body, making me moan softly into his ear.

Taking this as a sign, he started to move even faster, going so deeply inside of me that I could hear the sound of our skin slamming together. I could feel the pressure starting to surface from inside of me, ready to explode. I let go of Brandon's neck as I gripped the sheets around me.

"Oh Brandon, yes.
I'm so close" I said, trying to hold myself together before my body crumbled in ecstasy.

Brandon grunted again and lifted up completely on his knees and pulled me toward him without stopping until we were in a sitting position with me on
his lap. He put his hands on my hips and used them as leverage to continue his pounding. I wrapped my hands around his muscular back as I held on for what felt like my life.

"Oh God Randi, you feel so good" Brandon said into my ear.

As though the words awakened something in me that had previously been sleeping, I felt the pressure in me erupt as I started to orgasm.

"Yes Brandon Yes!" I yelled as the orgasm took over my body and I clutched to Brandon's back with my nails, hoping I didn't inflict too much da
mage.

I felt Brandon's body stiffen up and I could tell that he was close to his own orgasm, but was trying to hold out until mine was finished.

"Come for me" I said in his ear.

As though on command he grunted, and I felt his hot liquid release inside of m
e.

We both stopped moving as we finished
our owns orgasms, mine leaving me seeing nothing but stars. We sat there in silence unmoving for a few minutes more until finally Brandon slowly lowered me back onto his bed.

He lay down next to me and we laid that
way for what felt like an eternity, staring into each other's eyes as our hands slowly explored each other's bodies. After a while I felt my eyelids start to lower and struggled to stay awake.

"Let's go to sleep. We have plenty of time to explore more" Bra
ndon said.

I started to sit up and get out of the bed when Brandon grabbed my arms, "Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"To bed" I said.

"Oh no, you are sleeping here with me" he said, turning my body so that he was spooning me.

I laid my head down on the pillow as I felt his arm slide under my arm and he pulled me closer to him as he rubbed his large hands over my chest, as though he was protecting my boobs. I smiled as I felt myself relax, feeling safe for the first time since we had boarded this ship.

***

I opened my eyes slowly, scared that the night before had only been a dream. I looked around the room and saw that the furniture was backwards, which meant that I must still be in Brandon's room.

"Good Morning Sunshine" I heard.

I looked up and
saw Brandon standing at the door with a bagel in his hand, "Good Morning" I said, pulling the covers up further towards my chin.

"Did you sleep
good?" he asked.

I laughed, "Yes, I slept very good. Now can we cut the idle small talk please?" I asked.

He smiled, "With pleasure. Are you hungry?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yes starving" I said.

"Good, so am I and I didn't want to make breakfast until you were up. How about you get up and take a shower and whatnot and I'll go and start breakfast" he said.

I nodd
ed and he turned and left the room. I looked around and saw my pajamas I had been wearing before stripping naked in the middle of his room. I looked around the corner as I jumped out of his bed and grabbed the clothes, using them to cover myself as I made a beeline to the shower.

I walked in and shut the door, grateful that I had made it without being seen. I shook my head at this thought, wondering why I even cared after the night we had shared together. I knew the answer to the
question, it had been dark in his room so we never really fully saw each other naked.

I jumped in the shower and turned the water on as hot as I could, enjoying the surprisingly good water pressure and heat. I could feel my muscles start to relax as I stood under the water.

I quickly finished my shower and stepped out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around myself. I opened the door to the shower and heard Brandon whistling in the kitchen area. I smiled to myself a little when I realized I was the reason he was in such a good mood.

I walked into the kitchen to see what he was making. I walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder and saw that he was heating up a pancake meal. Those were my favorite.