Until Brielle.
One taste of her and I was willing to move mountains for her. There wasn’t anything I’d let stand in my way. She made me feel worthy. The connection we shared was undeniable. It transformed into something much larger, something I no longer wanted to control. So I tracked her down in the library, held her in my arms, and kissed her furiously. When she turned me down and refused to admit what we had was perfect, I sat on the long wooden table and watched as she packed up her stuff and stormed off to meet my brother.
Since Christmas, I couldn't focus. I couldn't sleep. The only thing on my mind was her. It was wrong in every sense of the word, but I needed to have her. I wasn't lying when I said I didn't want to hurt Julian, but I needed her in my life. She made it clear that even if I wasn't with Delaney, I couldn't be with her. And if I couldn't have her the way I wanted, I needed to have her friendship.
After I peeled back her doubts about tutoring me, I planned to spend a day with her. I unplugged her car battery, made sure Julian's roommate got wasted at a party so he wouldn’t drive home, and then I paid Stu a hundred bucks to take Terri out and make sure she couldn’t get in to work Saturday morning.
The plan was simple. Her car wouldn’t start and she would have to call me, and when we arrived at the library, Terri wouldn’t be there. I pushed the thought of Julian and Brie together out of my head as I waited for my phone to ring. Two things I didn’t expect: for her to run to the library, and the storm.
I could still taste her raspberry Chapstick as I pulled away from campus and toward the interstate. My cock pushed against my jeans and all I wanted was to bury myself between her legs.
She shifted in her seat and lowered the heat.
“Warm enough?” I glanced over at her.
“Yeah.” Her voice was low.
Cupping her hand in mine, I brought it to my lips. “Tell me what's on your mind?”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “Do you want the truth?” I looked over at her again and nodded. “I can't stop this.”
“What?”
“This. Us. It's wrong, we both know it, but never has anything felt so right.” She squeezed my hand. “I don't know what to do. She's my best friend.”
“Are you more concerned about her or him?”
“Both. Neither. I don't know. When I'm with you, I don't care about anything or anyone. It’s like we’re in a bubble and all our responsibilities don't exist. Nothing seems to matter.”
Pulling into a Dunkin Donuts drive-thru, I brought the back of her hand to my lips and kissed it once again. “Can we stay in the bubble a little longer? Even if it's just for a day?” My gaze searched deep into her brown eyes. “I really like the bubble,” she whispered and a grin grew on her face. Without any hesitation, I leaned across the center console and gently kissed half of her lips. Brielle closed her eyes and moaned.
Two hot chocolates and six donuts later, we were back on the freeway. I wanted as far from campus as possible. The rain wouldn't let up but the traffic was minimal. Brielle held my hand as we drove. Neither of us wanted to let go. When I entered Lake Norman State Park, it was empty.
I parked my car near the water and left the engine running. We sat there for a few minutes looking out into the gray foggy cold. My thumb gently ran across her soft skin.
“Did you love her?” she asked. Her gaze never pulled away from the fog.
“No.”
“Why did you stay?”
“I told you, to be closer to you,” I confessed. “Once you broke up with Julian, I left her.”
“And Julian? Don't you feel you're betraying your brother?”
“Yes. But like you said, when I'm with you nothing else matters.”
“You're a fire I can't put out. It started as something small, but now it's consuming and uncontainable. It will probably destroy every last bit of me.” She looked over at me, a small smile playing on her lips. “I can't stop playing with fire even though it's going to burn me.”
I kissed her.
In one swift motion, I had her out of her seat and on my lap; my dick throbbed with need as she bucked against me. Her hair was wild; curls draped over my face. Desperate to feel her, I slid my hands under her sweater and ran them up her back. Her soft skin under the palms of my hands drove me mad. I had her once and I needed more. She said I was her fire, but she was my drug.
I deepened our kiss. My mouth claimed her. “Do you want to stop?”
“No.” She leaned her head to the side and exposed her neck.
“Tell me you're mine.” My teeth grazed her jaw.
“I'm yours,” she whimpered. Her gaze met mine. “You're what I want. It's been you since the beginning”