Authors: Shane Morgan
Micah: Don’t have to. Besides, it’s
gonna rain. U should head home.
Great.
He’s
obviously mad at me. There’s no way I’ll just drive home now.
“Thought you left?” Mom says, coming around the
corner with her shoulder bag and a folder of paperwork.
I glance up from my phone. “Um…actually, I
wanted to tell you I’m gonna hang out with Claudia for a while.”
She crosses her arms at her waist and purses her
lips. “You mean go to some party then spend the night at her house?”
“Yes…” I lie, hoping she’ll realize that I’m
eighteen and shouldn’t bar me from enjoying my youth. But if she says okay,
does it mean I’m going to sleep over at Micah’s? Am I truly ready for that
after just ending one relationship?
There’s a hesitant look on her already stressed
face. Her forehead crinkles and her eyes narrow. “I don’t know about that,
Reign.”
“Mom—” I start to explain.
She cuts me off, “I don’t like the sound of you
partying. You’ll be starting college soon and I don’t want you falling into
some bad habit.”
“But Mom, it’s not like that.”
“Whatever the case,” Her razor-sharp voice
conquers mine. “I think you should just drive home behind me and go to bed.
Claudia doesn’t have work tomorrow. You do.”
Not hearing another word, she steps past me and
pushes the door open. Mom stands and waits for me to walk outside so that she
can lock up. I guess I’m not going to see Micah tonight then.
Stepping out of the shower, I haul on a long
t-shirt, turn the light off, and slide under the covers. It started to rain
shortly after we arrived home and now it’s really pouring outside.
I can’t close my eyes without seeing Micah’s
face or remembering his text. He said he’s over it, and all I want to do right
now is go see him and tell him why I left with Nate.
Rolling over on my side, I reach for my phone
and send him a text.
Sleeping?
A minute passes without him answering and I
figure he’s fast asleep. As I place the phone back on the side table, it buzzes.
When I glance at the screen and see his message, my heart starts to race.
No.
I’m waiting on u.
I get out of bed fast, putting on a pair of
jeans, a peach top and my hoodie, and then I grab my keys and sneakers. It’s
the second time this guy has me sneaking out of my house in the middle of the
night but gosh, he’s so worth it. There’s a desire in my heart for him that I
just can’t deny. The feeling is intense. It only grows deeper by the day.
So there I am, tiptoeing downstairs in the dark.
I bite on my lower lip and peek over my shoulder, hoping Mom and Dad don’t hear
me as I slip out the side door.
Huge droplets of rain hit my head and face the
second I step outside my house. I don’t care. My mind’s made up. I’m going over
to Micah’s apartment and I’m prepared for whatever happens next.
TWENTY
-
FIVE
Micah
THE SOUND of heavy rainfall beating against my
window reminds me of the night Reign was here. And like an idiot, I touch the
spot on the couch where she sat, pretending as if I’m touching her instead. I
lean over and sniff the cushion. Surprisingly, her fragrance still lingers
there.
“Shit!” I fume and run my hands through my hair.
This is absurd. She obviously made her choice and is reconsidering leaving
Nate. No wonder she took off with him tonight.
It was stupid of me to believe she’d drop her
boyfriend for me. Who am I kidding? He shows up and without a second thought,
she jumps in the car with him. I don’t know why I even told her I was up
waiting on her either; she’s not coming, not in this downpour, anyways.
I snatch up the remote from the coffee table and
flip through the channels, trying to preoccupy my mind with something else
besides Reign. But when I’m not thinking about her, it’s Lewis Harrison that
haunts my mind, and the fear of going back to Haxtun.
Finally, I give up searching and keep it on MTV,
where an episode of
Ridiculousness
is on. Not too long ago I was
addicted to this show. Then my interest withered as someone just as risky
popped into my life.
Jason wasn’t like me. We were complete
opposites. I was the good kid who never got in trouble. He was the definition
of it. Yet I wanted to be his friend. I wanted to give him a chance because no
one else would. Like me, Jason was neglected by his parents. I should’ve seen
there was no helping him. What the hell was I thinking?
A loud, urgent knock at the door pulls me out of
my thoughts. My heart begins to pound behind my ribcage. She really came.
Reign’s here.
I hurry over to the door. Yank it open.
“Hey,” she waves at me, worry cutting through
her voice.
I lean on one leg and rest my hand on the door
jamb, taking in her appearance. Her hair is soaking wet. Water streams down the
side of her face. The thin blouse inside her drenched hoodie sticks to her body
so much her bra prints through.
Damn, she’s sexy! A part of me wonders if she
wittingly went dancing in the rain to come over here and taunt me.
“You’re crazy,” I say, shaking my head slowly.
“You came all the way here, in the middle of the night, not to mention in the
pouring rain, just to see me?”
I keep my voice calm, pretending that her
standing in my doorway so drenched doesn’t wake up the animal in me.
Wiping water from her forehead, she replies, “I
wanted to explain.”
I wrinkle a brow as I regard her.
“I came to tell you I’m sorry, Micah, and to
explain why I left with Nate when you and I had plans. I just wanted to end
things peacefully with him. If I’d broken up with Nate outside of the
restaurant, he would have gone after you because he’d think it had something to
do with you.”
I sigh deeply then stick my hands inside the
pockets of my sweatpants. “Oh, so it doesn’t have anything to do with me then?”
She shakes her head and mutters, “It does.”
What am I doing? She’s standing in my doorway
shivering. Snapping out of my jealous mode, I quickly tow her inside and shut
the door.
Reign keeps her back turned, speaking in a
breathy voice. “It has everything to do with you.” Spinning around to face me,
she adds, “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Not even Nate. That’s
why I broke up with him, Micah.”
She moves closer to me, placing her hand against
my hammering heart. “I probably would’ve ended things even if you hadn’t walked
into my life, but I’m so glad you’re here because I feel like I haven’t really
been living until I met you. That’s why I’m standing here now. Like I said this
morning, Micah, I want to be with you. I want you.”
Her eyes are like fire, burning with lust.
Desperation to touch her consumes me.
I hurry to fill the little distance and peel off
her hoodie. I drape my arms around her soaking wet body, kissing her hard.
Reign pushes into me. I sweep my tongue across her moist lips until she parts
them and lets me slide inside.
The sweetness of her mouth fuels the heat
growing below my waist. I squeeze her body. I want more. My insides coil with
desire and I feel as if I can’t wait any longer.
I lower my hands beneath her butt, picking her
up. Reign loops her legs around my waist and hooks her hands around my neck. I
carry her over to the bed. We continue kissing as I gently place her down. Her
clothes are making my sheets wet but I don’t give a damn.
She moans and trembles when I climb over her.
This has to be what we both want. I have to make sure. “Tell me to stop,” I
breathe, stroking her beautiful face and brushing my lips against her ear.
“Tell me you don’t want me to and I’ll back off.”
Reign catches her breath before saying, “I do…I
do want you.”
Our lips collide again in a steamy kiss. It
lasts for the longest second ever before I tear away from her mouth and ease
down to her stomach, pulling up her damp blouse so I can tease her abs with my
tongue.
Her light moans intensify my hardness. Oh man, I
want her now. I have to touch her, feel her, and taste her. I need every part
of Reign.
I fathom the strength to pull away again to
scurry out of my sweats and unbutton her jeans, hauling it down to her ankles.
I look at her face for any sign of hesitation before taking them off
completely.
She braces up on her elbows and combs her
fingers through my hair, then pulls her blouse over her head, tossing it to the
floor.
When she lies back down, Reign hugs her
breasts—still concealed in her blue laced bra. I rub my hands against her
thighs and make my way up to her satin panty, taking them off.
As I crawl back over her exceptionally curvy,
sexy figure, she gasps when my hardness rubs against her. Gently, I move her
hands away from her chest and reach under her back to unclasp her bra. She
releases a shaky breath when I trail my fingers across her nipples.
“Micah…” she groans.
I stop and regard her expression; it’s of the
utmost nervousness. The kind of look you see on the face of a girl who’s never
done this before.
“I’m a virgin,” she whispers, confirming it.
Honestly, I’d assumed she’d gone all the way
with Nate already. He didn’t seem like the ‘let’s wait’ type. But now I’m
unsure if we should go through with what we obviously were going to do only a
few seconds ago.
Easing up on my elbows, I look into her eyes and
ask, “Do you want to stop?”
Reign gently places her hands on my back and
pulls me back on top of her. “No,” she murmurs, parting her thighs beneath me.
As nervous as she is, her voice is peppered with
a yearning to satisfy her desire.
“Tell me what you want,” I tease her, kissing
her neck.
She runs her fingertips down my back as she
whispers, “I want to feel you inside me.”
I reach over to the table by my bed and take a
condom out of the drawer. I ease off of her to slide it on, and then gently
position myself between her thighs. Her body quivers as I gradually enter.
Locking my fingers with hers, I move with care,
mindful of Reign’s reaction; if it hurts too much that she really wants me to stop.
But when I glimpse the pleased look on her gorgeous face and see her eyes beam
with anticipation, I know she wants this as much as I do.
Twenty
-
Six