Mind the Gap (In Too Deep) (11 page)

Christ.

"It sta
nds for Mixed Martial Arts," I said. "I do striking and Jiu Jitsu at a gym here in town, and I use the bag to work out at home."

"What, like
fighting
?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it's no big deal. It's not l
ike I walk around bashing guys' heads in. It's fun, and it keeps me in good shape."

"I thought you were a swimmer."

"I was a swimmer. Still am, I guess. I do that too, although not as much as I used to."

"You must be in great shape then."

"I'm trying to show you what good shape I'm in, but you keep wanting to talk about things you don't like about me."

"I never said I don't like fighting."

"Oh, so you
like
fighting?"

"I never said that either, you're just acting like I'm
gonna be shocked that you like to hit things. I have a brother and a dad you know."

"
Do either of them wear skinny jeans?"

Brit cracked up laughing.
"Oh my God,
no
! They're both loggers," she hesitated, "I mean not that loggers can't wear skinny jeans, I'm not saying that, I just imagined my dad and brother wearing those and…" she started laughing again, and I found myself wishing I'd met them so I could understand how ridiculous the notion was.

"Sounds like my kind of guys," I said.

"Oh you'd love them," she said.

"What I'd love," I said, trying to get to the point before we spent all night talking about her family, "is to remember why we came here in the first place."

Brit looked at me with a cautious expression and I groaned inwardly. 

"What if we just watch some T.V. or hang out?" she asked. 

Oh, here we go.

"I'm fi
ne with hanging out," I said, lying. "We can just hang out if you want, or I could bring you back to Joel's." I had been hiding my feelings pretty well, but at that point I slipped and let out a sigh.

"I don't want to leave," she said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tested you like that. I was just feeling a little nervous about what your expectations were for tonight."

"I don't have any expectations," I assured her. "Like I said, we can just hang out." Liar, liar pants on fire. If the old saying were true, my pants would have been flaming right then. I had
plenty
of expectations, starting with getting her out of that little, white top.

She smiled at me, a knowing smile that said she knew I wanted her
and she was open to the idea. "I have to ask a favor, though," she said.

I nodded. "Ask away."

"That costume has been worn by about three actors, and hasn't been dry cleaned and who knows how long. I'd feel so much better if I could take a shower."

"Of course you can take a shower," I said. "You want to right now?"

She nodded.

"
Just let me go make sure nothing's gonna jump out at you in there."

Chapter 13

Brit

Josh's apartment was possibly the cleanest place I'd ever been in. The place was verging on sterile
, which was odd considering he had a collection of antique furniture. It was inviting and sterile at the same time, giving me a strange sense of comfort. He had a big punching bag and some other work out equipment right out in the open in his living room and we talked for a minute about him being a typical guy who likes to hit things. I told him I wanted to take a shower, partly because I wanted to get clean after an evening of bumping into costumes, and partly because I liked having an excuse to sing a little.

He checked his bathroom for anything embarrassing before letting me in to take a shower. I was flabbergasted at the cleanliness of the place. I was a pretty clean person, but still felt like a pig next to this guy. It was so clean I asked him if he hired a service. He laughed at that and shrugged it off saying it wasn't that hard to pick up after yourself.

I turned the handle of the shower and let the hot water run. I knew he'd more than likely leave me alone to take my shower in peace, but I still felt a luscious anxiousness at the thought of singing in the shower and him liking it so much he'd come in and join me. In a flash, I imagined the whole scene, and the vision of it made my stomach do a flip.

I opened the shower door, and steam bellowed into the room around me. I quickly adjusted the temperature so it wouldn't burn me. I stepped into the warm water, and let it run all
over my neck and shoulders. I wasn't about to start singing right away, so I used some of his shower gel to wash off the grime of the day. I had a road trip, a party, a bus ride, a block party, and a cafe. It felt so good to let the suds and hot water work their magic. I started humming, hoping it sounded absent-minded even though there was nothing absent-minded about it. I hummed for a few more seconds before lightly singing out a word or two, all the while being careful to make it sound as if I was just spacing out. I went back and forth between humming and singing… all very quietly. This went on for a few long seconds before I heard Josh's voice through the door.

"Hey Bri
tney?"

The sound of my
full name made me feel wonderfully achy and weak.

"Yeah?" I asked innocently.

"Hey, I can hear you out here." His voice was so deep it was almost a little intimidating.

"Will it bother the neighbors?"

"Noooo," he said.

Even though I couldn't see him, I could hear in his voice that he was struggling for patience. That made me smile. "
But I should give you fair warning that if you continue that shit, you're gonna have your privacy invaded."

Holy cannoli, that was
exactly
the best thing he could have possibly said right then. The song I chose to absentmindedly hum and sing was the same song I performed in Portland at the coffee shop, and I was overjoyed that he was reduced to yelling at me through the door.

"I mean, as long as it's not bothering the neighbors," I said, innocently. "Can't you just ignore it?
"

There were several long seconds of silence before he said, "No Britney, I can't. So go ahead and sing if you want, but be warned—if you do, I'm coming in there."

Oh my God, I wanted to instantly start belting the first song that came to my mind, but where was the fun in rushing things along, right? I stayed completely silent for at least two whole minutes. I wasn't sure who I was torturing more, him or me. Finally, when I could take it no longer, I started singing. I chose to go with
I Put a Spell on You
again. Why mess with something that works?

I expected him to come busting through the door the very instant I started singing the song,
but I made it nearly to the end of it, and still no sign of the door opening. So much for my plan. I was embarrassed which made me feel hot. I decided getting out of the hot shower was the only logical move. I turned the water off and opened the shower door, letting the steam rush out into the bathroom.

As the steam cleared, I could see the silhouette of a man standing by the door. He was leaning casually against the wall, and the sight of even his blurry form took my breath away. He still had on the dark grey jeans he'd worn to the party, but he was barefoot and his shirt was compl
etely off. His body was so good that I couldn't help the surge of self-consciousness that washed over me. I started fumbling for a towel as a result of it.

"I don't know why you
're even bothering," he said. "It's coming off anyway."

"Oh you think so?" I said, defiantly. I was pissed that he'd left me hanging in the shower. "You said you had a problem with me singing, and I'm not singing anymore, so we shouldn't have an issue here." 

"Oh, we
definitely
have an issue here," he said. "I told you that if you sang in the shower, you'd have your privacy invaded, and not only did you sing, but you picked a song that you
knew
would earn you consequences."

"Well, I made it through the song with no apparent consequences, so I assumed I was free and clear."

Josh laughed as if he felt sorry for me for being so naïve. "The only reason you haven't been subject to these consequences
already
is because I wanted to enjoy the rest of the song. I thought we both deserved to see it through to the end, even if it meant having to wait a little while on the punishment."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh at that. "Oh so I've earned
a punishment
now?"

"No, but you've got to learn that I mean what I say when I tell you if
you continue to do something then you'll have a specific outcome."

"I expected that outc
ome to happen already," I said, hurt that he hadn't come into the shower with me.

"I was listening to the fucking song. I'm not apologizing for that. In fact, I'm glad I did it
, and would do it again in a heartbeat."

For the love of God this boy was stubborn. I stood there with the towel wrapped under my arms, concealing my body from him.

"So what's going to happen now?" I asked. I was hoping he'd take some sort of control, because at that point I was ready to relinquish it to him.

"After I scoop you up, I'm
gonna carry you to my bed where I'll be kissing you until you beg me to do more than that."

The sound of his deep voice echoed off the bathroom walls. The whole
no shirt
thing was killing me. I smiled at the prospect of being scooped up. I was nervous and giddy all of a sudden. He crossed the bathroom in a few strides and, just like he said, he scooped me off my feet and held me in his huge arms. I gasped when my feet left the ground, but it didn't slow him down any. He carted me into the bedroom where he tossed me onto his bed.

He knelt next to me and cupped the back of my head with hi
s hand, pulling me in for a not-so-gentle kiss. One after another, he planted kisses on my mouth. A time or two, he leaned back to inspect my face, but then went right on kissing me. I was already growing impatient, and we'd only just gotten started.

The towel that had been wrapped around me started to slip, and Josh looked down to find one side of my chest exposed.
I started to grab the towel and cover up, but he stopped me. He even went a step further and pulled back the towel on the other side. A protest started to escape my lips and he cut me off, "What? Did you think you were gonna leave that wet towel on the whole time?" He looked at me, waiting for my response.

I shook my head. "No, I guess not," I said shyly.
He pulled the towel out from underneath me in one strong tug and threw it to the floor. He looked down at my body, making me wish I had something covering me again. I reached out and tugged at the front of his pants. "It's only fair," I said.

"So you're saying you want me to take these off?" I don't know why he made me spell everything out for
him; it was like he enjoyed making me squirm.

"Yes, I want them off. I want you naked just like me.
Is that clear enough for you?" He was smiling at me, so I continued my tirade. "And while we're at it, I'd like to tell you how things are going to go after that. First the pants come off, then—"

"I don’t think so," he said, giving me a disapproving shake of the head.
"I'll give you the pants, but after that, it's my turn."

"I'm okay with that as long as it's my turn after you and so on and so on," I said.

"You are aware that after a few of these turns, we won't be able to tell one person's move from the next," he said.

"I'm hoping that's the case."

He took his pants off, letting them fall into a pile on the floor. He had on navy and orange striped boxer briefs. He pointed down at them. "You want these off, or are we saving that for later?" I motioned for them to come down with a swipe of my pointer finger. He stepped out of them, and I was confronted with the generous piece of equipment he was packing.

I must have made a face, because he said, "
You're
the one who told me to lose the shorts."

My eyes jumped from his piece to his face. "I'm glad you lost the shorts, I was just, nothing's wrong, I'm just, I was just looking at—"

"I don't mind you looking, you just looked scared for a second."

"I'm not scared," I whispered.
I was being uncharacteristically shy for some reason, but I wanted him too badly to let him think I was scared. He was on top of me in what seemed like a split second. I ended up completely on my back with Josh hovering over me.

"You cut your hair," he said, taking me in. That was the last thing I expected him to say, but I'd unpinned my hair in the shower and he was just now getting a look at the haircut I'd gotten a few months ago. My hair had been pretty tame when it hung down by back, but now that it was shoulder length, it nearly stood on end with curly/wavy texture. It had been pulled straight back into a twist all night to go with my Cinderella costume, but I shook it out when I fell back on the bed, and it was fanned out around me
in rebellious curls—not very different from Josh's, only a little lighter and a little longer.

"I cut mine, and you grew yours," I said.

"I like it," he said.

"Me too," I said.
"Yours I mean."

He went back to kissing me, only this time with a greediness that made me want to curl into him and never come out.
His tongue invaded my mouth in a delicious, slippery dance that mimicked the motion I wanted to feel other places. After he kissed me senseless, he licked his way from my neck, down my chest and across the sensitive flesh of my stomach. He went lower, making me squirm. "Hold still," he said.

"Are you about to—
"

"Kiss you right here? Yes."

"Are you sure you want to—"

"Yes."

He gently put his lips to my inner thigh before making his way back to my center. The room wasn't completely dark, and I realized I loved how out-of –control of the situation I was. I rested my head on the pillow, closed my eyes, and enjoyed the amazing sensation created when his tongue licked and stroked me. I ran my fingers through his hair, and had to resist the urge to pull him into me and make him kiss me harder. He brought me to the brink of orgasm before he broke contact, and crawled on top of me. We had an extremely short conversation about birth control, and the next second he was completely inside me, stretching and filling me.

"Oh, my God, Josh," I whispered.

He stayed completely still. "Am I hurting you?"

I took a breath. "I just didn't expect you to go all at once like that."

"I didn't," he said, slightly confused. I looked down at the space between our legs, and realized that there were indeed a few inches of him on the outside. With no warning whatsoever, he pushed inside me the rest of the way and I let out a moan of pain mixed with pleasure. He lowered onto me, letting me feel his weight in addition to the utter intrusion of his length. "Now I'm in," he whispered in my ear. He was so big. Not just his equipment, but everything about him was big. His shoulders were big, his legs were big, everything. He was a massive, solid block of unrelenting pressure, and I loved how heavily he bore down on top of me.

He began grinding and pumping into me, and before long, our bodies found the rhythm that would take me to the edge of orgasm, and drop me
into a free-fall the likes of which I'd never experienced. With absolutely no inhibition whatsoever, I writhed around him, enjoying every last second of the amazing orgasm.

When I opened my e
yes, he was staring down at me. The pressure of his weight was as constant as ever, and I loved the feel of his hard presence inside me. Once he was satisfied that I'd returned to the land of the living, he bent and placed a sweet kiss on my lips. Once again, he picked up a slow rhythm. This time he was gentle for a long while before finally driving into me with a fair amount of force and finding his release. Josh Rand knew how to make love, and I wasn't sure if that should make me happy or sad or scared. At that moment, I settled for enjoying the sensation of being totally fulfilled.