Authors: Erika Ashby,A. E. Woodward
Bottom of the 4
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Quinn
I wake up to the movement of my arm bouncing up and down. I lay quietly as I feel Greg’s flexing of his chesticles beneath my slumped arm. One moves, then the other. Back and forth as if he’s playing a song with them.
Holy hell.
He is.
Keeping my eyes closed, I let out a giggle. “Are you playing Eye of the Tiger with your man boobs, Greg?”
“Why, yes. Yes I am.”
“Is that how you work them out?” I giggle some more.
“It’s pretty perfect, if you think about it. Equally beneficial. One isn’t working more than the other.”
“I’m glad to see you’re an equal opportunist.”
He rolls on his side, facing me. “I am very much so an opportunist, but last night I pushed my opportunity lurking ways to the side.”
“Oh yeah?” I prop my head up on my hand, getting eye level with Greg.
“Ohhhhhh yeah.” He laughs, adjusting his crotch, and making me blush, which causes him to laugh more and shake his head. “If you had been any other girl I wouldn’t have just been able to sleep next to you all innocent-like.”
“Mmmhmm, I felt that innocence of yours poking me in the back throughout the night.” I push at his broad shoulder, not budging the boy at all.
“Hey now.” He holds his hand up like he is all innocent. “I can’t control the beast. I can only control what I do with him.” His face goes serious and his hand falls to my face. “It took every ounce I could muster not to put the moves on you last night.”
“But what if I wanted you to?” I push. I’m not sure why, but for some reason, some unknown, beyond my control, or rational thinking reason, I want him to push his lips against mine. I want him to wrap his muscly arm around me and pull me into him. I want him to take over my mind and body and wash away the one person I want but can’t have. I want that. Dammit, I just want to feel.
“Well, wanted is past tense… so I guess it wouldn’t matter now.” He frowns a bit.
“Then, what if I still want you to?” I push my body against has, throwing my leg over him as I push him onto his back and straddle him. If I let myself think about this and what I want, I will talk myself out of it. And I don’t want to. I want to know what it’s like to be with someone else. I know Greg; I know he’ll treat me right. He might not be some super Casanova with all his Tinder conquests, but I know he will be with me. I know he actually cares about me. And that’s why I want this.
I crash my lips down onto his, not allowing him to answer. Feeling his hardness between my legs tells me everything I need to know.
He wants this too.
And knowing that he wants me makes me want him even more. I have no control over my body as I begin grinding against him.
It feels so good.
His hands grip my ass as he works me against him faster and presses me down against him harder. The sensation is ah-mazing. My body shakes and begins to feel weak. His tongue is strong, much like I’ve imagined, but isn’t overpowering. Everything about Greg is strong, but he doesn’t force it.
He moans.
I moan.
He’s holding back. I can feel it. He’s enjoying this, but this isn’t about him, or even for him. That turns me on even more so. I bury my head in the crook of his neck, feeling overwhelmed by the need and desire coursing through me.
“Do it, Q,” he whispers against my skin, causing shivers down my spine. “Let go.”
And as if my body was waiting for permission, I let go.
And go.
And go.
And go.
My breathing is staggered and my body trembles, but Greg’s hold remains, steadying me. His hands keep my ass still, as they slowly begin to loosen their grip. I don’t want him to loosen them. I’m not finished. I want more.
Once my breathing returns to normal I begin kissing his neck from his collarbone up to his ear, where I lick the tip of his lobe before pulling it with my teeth.
He moans and presses up into me.
I moan and push myself firmly down onto him.
He’s so hard, and I want to feel him skin to skin. I begin to kiss my way down his bare chest, unsure of what I’m really doing, but just going with it.
“Wait,” he mutters.
“Hmm.” I continue kissing my way down.
“Wait, Q.” His hands weave through my hair, and it only makes me want to move my lips quicker down his firm chest.
“No. Stop.” He grips both sides of my head, keeping me from moving. I look up, feeling confused and all of a sudden self-conscious.
“Did…” I look away. “Did I do something wrong?” I look back and watch as he closes and opens his eyes and lets out a few deep breaths.
“No. Everything you’re doing is right. So fucking right.” A finger trails against my bottom lip, and I just watch him, wondering why he would stop me if he wanted me. He looks lost—about as lost as I’ve been feeling lately.
Then it clicks, and I look down, unable to make eye contact.
“As much as I want to…” He lifts my chin, forcing me to look at him. “No words can describe how bad I want to…or how hard I’m going to be kicking myself for doing this. I just can’t be that guy, Q.”
A tear slides down my face—one that infuriates me for coming out of hiding. Greg is quick to notice, and instead of bringing up how this is making me feel, he gently wipes it away and continues to explain.
“I care about you too much. You’re not the type of girl I’d want to just fuck and leave. You’re the forever type of girl. But you’re not mine to have. And even if there was a chance that you could be one day, I’m not sure I’d want to chance fucking up this friendship we have. You have to realize how valuable you are.” He gently holds my face in his strong hands, sincerity evident in his touch as well as the way he’s watching me—a sincerity I’ve never seen. A whole side to Greg I never knew existed. Why he hides it baffles me.
I try to make light of the situation, because if I go where he is, more tears will come out of hiding, and it’s a risk I can’t take.
“Well, I’m glad you think so, G.” I give him my best smile, even though it’s fake as hell.
“I’m not the only one.” My brow cocks, and his mouth moves to answer the question I didn’t even have to verbalize, then…
Knock. Knock.
“Coming!” I yell, sliding myself down the rest of Greg’s body and silently thanking whoever is on the other side of the door for removing me from what could have been an awkward position to get out of on my own. I run my hands through my hair, trying to hide the fact that I had just dry humped the Hulk, who’s still lying in my bed with a very visible boner he’s trying to adjust.
I laugh and shake my head as I turn the knob and swing the door open.
My laugh comes to a halt, and my game face is put in place. “Chace.”
“Bingo!” I hear Greg yell from my bed, and I know exactly what he’s referring to. The name he was so close to saying only seconds ago. And here he is, eyes bugging out and all.
I smile on the inside. A full, huge, cheesy ass, all teeth smile. Is Chacey-poo jealous that another guy is in my dorm? Why, I certainly think so. Two can play this game.
So game on, bitches.
Top of the 5
th
Chace
Swallowing the nerves that are caught in my throat, I reach up and knock softly on the door. Having seen Greg in Quinn’s bed made something inside of me snap. Again. I did my best to hold my shit together and feign that nothing was wrong, but in all actuality I was going crazy with jealousy on the inside. So instead of playing it cool, I totally flipped my shit on Quinn and Greg for ditching us and being selfish.
We both got heated, and said things we shouldn’t have. Neither of us caring that Greg was there to witness the whole thing. The memory replays in my head as I wait for her to answer the door.
“What the hell is this!” The shocked look of seeing Greg in her bed immediately sent me over the edge. “Looks like you two had a grand time last night!”
“We had a fuckin’ blast,” she bites back. “What’s it to you anyway? You slept with your girlfriend; I was just looking for a little warmth of my own!”
“You drive me fuckin’ crazy.”
“I already told you, you don’t have to hang out with me!”
I took a step toward her. “Maybe I shouldn’t.”
She didn’t back down, and raised my step with two of her own. “Maybe it would take care of your raging heart on!”
Greg cleared his throat, reminding us that we weren’t alone. “I might not know much, but I do know that you and I should leave right now, buddy.” Greg wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in the direction of the hallway.
“That’s the smartest thing I’ve ever heard you say.” Quinn hollered as we pushed our way out through the door. We barely made it a step into the hallway before the door slammed behind us.
I immediately fought the urge to turn around and barge back into her room. Instead, I looked at Greg who was currently giving me sympathy eyes. “Dude…”
I held my hand up indicating for him to stop; I didn’t need to hear it and we started walking in silence. It didn’t last long and once we were outside, I took a long haul of fresh air before Greg started speaking again. “I’ve gotta say Chace, jealousy doesn’t suit you very well.”
“What the hell do I have to be jealous of?”
“Roses are red, violets aren’t green, but Greg sure is a cherry poppin’ machine.”
I looked over at him, a shit-eating grin plastered across his face. He’s trying to get a rise out of me. But little does he know that I already did that this summer. “Nice try, Greg.”
“Dude, I’m gonna be blunt for a moment.”
“Please do.”
“You’ve made a fuckin’ mess.”
I plopped down onto a bench and he followed suit without a moment’s hesitation. “Tell me about it,” I said with a sigh. “I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
“Well no one can make that decision but you. But I know what I see. And you’ve got to make things right. Start using your head and stop thinking with your dick.”
I let out a low laugh. “That’s rich coming from you.”
“Well it’s like that bullshit saying, ‘do as I say, not as I do’, right.” He paused for a minute before he placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. Grabbing my attention, I looked at him, hoping that he was about to give me the answer. “Whatever you do Chace…you can’t lose her.”
Tonight we have to continue working on this God forsaken religion project. But before we start, I need to try to make amends.
“Just a sec!” I hear rustling behind the door before it flies open, revealing a totally disheveled Quinn.
“Jesus, you look like hell.” The words fly out of my mouth before I have the chance to think about it.
Her eyes narrow and I immediately want to retract my light-hearted statement. “Well,” she seethes as she steps to the side, allowing me to walk in. “An adulterer certainly would know what hell looks like.”
I wince. “Ouch.”
“Sorry,” she says quietly. Her eyes fall to the floor and I know she means it. But it doesn’t make it hurt any less. “That was a low blow,” she admits as her eyes work their way back up to mine.
Shrugging it off, I take a deep breath. “Well, I brought a peace offering,” I say as I hold up the pizza and beer I brought in hopes to lighten the mood. “I figure if we’re going to be stuck working together on this project we might as well make the best of it.”
“Stuck?” She pauses, waiting for me to answer, but I don’t because I know I said the wrong thing again. With a sigh she walks past me and plops down onto the edge of her bed. “Nice choice of words, Chacer.”
“I’m sorry, Q. I suck.” Defeated, I set down the pizza box and beer on her desk. “I just feel like everything is all kinds of fucked up. It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.”
She laughs through her nose. It’s forced and fake, but it’s a laugh. “Stop being such a girl and let’s just get this project over with.” It’s apparent to me that she’s trying to act like she’s not affected by what’s going on between us and that she’s able to continue to be casual with me by teasing me.
I want to believe her words. But I call bullshit. There’s something about the tone of her voice that lets me know that she’s faking it. I watch as she moves across the room and grabs her books and laptop before sitting down on the floor, her back pressed against her bed. Without hesitation, she reaches up and grabs a slice of pizza from the box and cracks open a beer, all while I’m still standing in the middle of her room like a complete asshole.
She stuffs her mouth full of pizza and looks up at me. “Did you come to work or to be a little bitch?” She pauses, waiting for an answer that doesn’t come. “Because I’m tired, Chace, and I don’t feel like pulling teeth tonight. So if you don’t want to do this right now, fine by me. We can do it another time. Death and religion really isn’t all that appealing to me anyways.”
Shaking my head, I grab a beer and sit down across from her. Putting it to my mouth, I take a long pull hoping that it will somehow cool me off. It takes the edge off slightly and I force a smile. If she’s going to avoid the topic, so am I. “Nah, let’s just get this shit over with.”
One large pizza and twelve beers later and we’re basically done.
“There,” I say, organizing the papers strewn about the floor. “All we have to do now is type and make the presentation board.”
“It’s probably shit because I’m pretty sure we’re both slightly intoxicated.” She giggles, and I look at her with a smile plastered on my face. Hearing her laugh, without forcing it, is a welcome sound reminding me of a simpler time. Before I went and fucked everything up. Back when we could just be Chace and Quinn, best friends. Not Chace and Quinn, friends caught somewhere between normalcy and hell. I realize I’m staring at her when she looks up and catches me. Her face flushes and she drops her gaze back to the floor. We both go to stand, but instead connect with our foreheads, causing us to fall back on our asses.
Laughter erupts, both of us louder than we should be, hoping to drown out the tension. Eventually my laughter dies out, leaving Quinn’s hearty giggles. Hearing her laugh tonight makes me realize that I’ve missed seeing her happy. Hell, I miss her.
She continues to laugh, and I can’t resist the urge to reach out and touch her. Without thinking my hand is at her cheek. I touch lightly, expecting her to flinch or even worse, pull away, but instead she pushes herself against my hand. Closing her eyes, she seems to revel in my touch.
My heart aches.
This isn’t right.
The feelings.
My mind can’t wrap around how we got here.
I should stop it.
Now.
I’m making it worse.
“Quinn. . .” I start, hoping that the sound of my voice might snap us out of this.
But it doesn’t. She acts like she doesn’t even hear me, and instead of bringing us back to reality, she places both her of hands over mine, securing me into place, her eyes still closed.
“Quinn,” I say, a little louder.
Her eyes open and a single tear falls. I wipe it away with my thumb. “You should leave,” she whispers.
Even though it’s what I wanted, I deflate a little. “Yeah. I should.” I know she’s right, but I don’t move. My hand stays on her cheek, our bodies so close we’re practically touching.
“Please, Chace.” Her voice quavers. I know I’m wrecking her, but even still, I can’t find the strength to leave. If I leave I’m giving up on her, and I’m not ready to do that. Not yet, possibly not ever. I take a step closer to her, and she hisses before taking a step back.
“No matter how much distance you put between us there’s always going to be a pull, Q.”
“There shouldn’t be. There can’t.”
“But there is.” I’m feeling the warmth of the beer pooling inside of me, giving me the courage to speak my mind.
She takes another step back, trying to maintain some distance between us. Instead she hits her back against the wall. Her body tenses and her eyes scan my face, looking for some sense of what I’m feeling. Best of luck to her because I don’t even know. She bites her lip before taking a deep breath and mumbling something that I can’t quite hear.
My forehead pinches together as I try to hear the words through the fog the beer has created around my head. “What did you just say?” I ask.
“It’s always been there for me, Chace.”
My head tilts in curiosity. I place my hands on the wall next to her face, trapping her from escaping this moment. No more games. No more confusion. I need to understand. “What are you talking about?”
“I want you, Chace. I always have. In fact, I can’t remember a day where I didn’t.”
Those words are my undoing, and without another moment passing me by, my mouth is on hers. I have been blind and now I see everything despite the murky waters we’ve created.
She whimpers against my mouth, which only makes the fire burn hotter. I press up against her, my hands still firmly planted against the wall. She opens her mouth, allowing my tongue to find hers. She tastes like cherry chapstick with a hint of beer, and I can’t get enough. Her arms wrap around my waist and she grabs a fistful of my t-shirt. I push myself into her, and even though we’re separated by layers of cotton it still feels fan-fucking-tastic.
With that little bit of friction, I lose what little of my mind I have left. My hands fly to the bottom of her sweatshirt and I hastily push it up. Quinn lifts her arms, allowing the fabric to leave her body and exposing her tan skin. The sight of her causes my breath to hitch. While things up to this point have been hasty and animalistic, I have the sudden urge to slow down. To worship Quinn the way she deserves to be.
I gaze into her eyes for a moment before I run the pads of my fingertips along her collarbone. I blaze a trail down along her side, then across her stomach. “I wish I’d seen it sooner,” I say between breaths.
“Seen what?”
“You.” I lean down and kiss between her tits. Her hands snake through my hair as I continue to sensually kiss every inch of her. She gasps as I run my tongue along the waistband of her sweatpants. Standing up, I wrap my arms around her thighs, lifting her up off the ground. She giggles, and my damn heart thunders against my chest. I turn her around, kissing her neck while carrying her to the bed. Gently laying her down, I hover over her body before leaning forward and grabbing the waistband of her pants. I hesitate for a moment, and my eyes meet hers as I look for permission to continue. Her tongue flicks across her bottom lip briefly, as though she’s contemplating her next move, and nerves dance in my stomach as I realize she might make me stop. Quinn lifts her ass up off the bed and wiggles her hips to aid in my efforts. I toss the sweatpants, and my worries, to the side.
Once her tiny lace panties are revealed I have the urge to taste her. I lean my head down slowly, waiting to see her reaction. Looking up at her, her eyes are glued to me, her chest heaving as though she’s just finished running. Closing my eyes, I slide my tongue along the edge of her panties. She writhes underneath me, her hips bucking up from the mattress. I place my hand on her stomach and blow on the wet trail that I left behind. A small smile creeps across my lips as my fingers hook around the thin fabric separating us and pull it down her toned legs.
I do a double take as I notice the silver barbell between her legs. My dick throbs and I swallow the huge lump that has instantly formed in my throat. “Well, that’s new…” She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have to – the flush on her cheeks tells me everything I need to know. The sight of her makes me dizzy, but it doesn’t keep me from the task at hand. My head leans forward and I gently run my tongue along her center. We both groan. I settle down between her thighs, and she lets her legs fall to the sides. My tongue moves in quick circles as I allow myself to actually taste her this time, savoring every second.
She tastes like Quinn.
Beautiful. Fun. Spicy.
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
As the thoughts swirl through my head, my tongue works faster, making her cry out while her hips lift from the mattress again. I use my hand to press down on her stomach and secure her into place as my mouth continues its work, allowing me to slide a finger from my free hand inside of her. Her head lifts up off the pillow and she hisses before her back arches off the tangled sheets. She clenches around my hand and my tongue hungrily claims what I know is mine.