When she was lying in my arms, like she is now, she was vulnerable.Only, I didn't realize just how vulnerable she was until last night. I also didn't realize how strong she was, how much fire was in her.I looked down at her. Her hair was fanned across my pillow, and her lips were parted slightly, her breath crawling over my bare chest. She looked peaceful when she was sleeping, like there weren't a thousand demons running around in her head and her heart. Like she wasn't protecting herself from anything and everything.My hand moved from its resting place on my stomach, and I smoothed hair away from her face. She sniffed and moved closer to me, causing me to pull her even closer. My lips pressed against her forehead, and she slid an arm across my stomach, her fingers brushing the bare skin above the covers.I was not sure when I started to care for her so much. It could have been the day at the beach when she told me about her Mom, or it could have been when she went crazy at that g
“I remember finding her. Her parents were out of town on business, and her Mom hadn't heard from her so she asked me to check on her. I went.” My hands shook, and my voice was flat, my body numb to the emotions as the night I discovered her played in my mind.“Abby? Abby, are you in there?” I had knocked on the door frantically. “I'll break in if I have to! C'mon, Abs, your mom is worried about you.”Nothing. She didn't reply. I banged harder. “You have five seconds to reply or I'm coming in!”I counted in my head using the Mississippi numbers. One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi... We might not have talked in a month, but she was still my best friend.“Okay, I'm coming in!” I warned one last time and stepped back, kicking the lock on the door a few times. The wood splintered, and I held it open. I stopped dead at the sight before me.Abby was lying in the bath fully clothed, the tub half full with her arm hanging over the side. Blood dripped from numerous lines and sc
Saying that being in a car with Sandra for eight hours would be a damn nightmare was the biggest fuckin' lie I've ever said.It was hell. Every motel we passed by I wanted to park in, rent a room and take her in there and not leave until tomorrow. Every. Fucking. Motel.But I didn't want to fuck her. Oh no, not Sandra. I wanted to make love to her. I wanted to kiss every inch of that soft, golden skin, run my hands over every curve, and move inside her until she screams. Because I already knew she does, and now I'd admitted to myself that I felt something for her – and I mean really feel something for her – I wanted it to be more than a quick fuck somewhere in a parking lot. I wanted it to be special. More than anything I've ever experienced.She dropped her bag at the bottom of the king bed in our room in Treasure Island and looked around. Mom offered to book me a suite, but somehow I knew this would be enough for Sandra. Judging by the look on her
The Kambaya party bar was tiki. Maybe Hawaiian. Personally, I always thought they were the same – and maybe they are.Or maybe that was the wine already clouding my vision, so perhaps the margarita Maggie just handed me wasn't a smart idea. I had drunk it anyway because these girls had successfully corrupted me from the good girl I was a few weeks ago, to the semi-bad girl I am now.I said semi-bad because I hadn't had sex yet. Glancing up at Jack next to me, I thought I might have to remedy that night. Then we will have a pretty little New York Sandra and California Sandra with a dash of Jack Sandra all rolled into one.What a delightful little package that'll be.I accepted Leila's hand when she held it out to me to dance. My thoughts were getting morbid, and I wouldn't let my past ruin this weekend for Jack. He deserved a good birthday.Servers danced between tables, swaying their hips and the flair bartenders threw cocktails shakers around. If I was ten years younger, I'd absolute
I was falling in love with Sandra. I knew it. It was her laugh, her smile, her everything. For something that started off as a game, it was damn real now. It was more real than anything I' had ever felt in my life.It was not even sex – although that was fucking amazing. A part of me knew I could live without sex if it meant I could be with her. And I wouldn't give up sex for anything.Especially not when a red dress that hugs every inch of every curve I've touched was being worn by the girl in question.But no. Sandra was more than that. She was just more. She was a little broken, a little cracked, but she was also a whole lot of something I can't even describe. She was filling a part of me I didn't even know was empty.I slinked up behind her, sliding my hands onto her hips and kissing the exposed skin of her neck. She finished brushing her hair and turned her face into me. A small smile graced her glossy pink lips.“What?” she asked.“I like this dress,” I replied.“So do I.”“I th
The urge to rip down the multicolored poster on the wall was almost stifling. It felt.... wrong.... to have it up there. Especially since it should be coming down anyway. After all....Challenge complete.I was pretty sure he was in love with me, and we definitely had sex. Very good sex. Done. I should be laughing with the girls, drinking a celebratory bottle of whatever we wanted and remembering all the times. Instead, I was remembering every touch of his skin on mine, every whispered word and how he held me so closely, how he looked at me as if I was the only girl in the world.To him, I could be.The problem.... He was pretty much the only guy in the world. And I never planned on that, so I was pretty screwed.I never planned on him being so different to Patrick. I never planned on everything I thought I knew about him, all my pre-conceived notions about how he should act being stripped away and leaving him completely bare like a blank canvas. He took that blank canvas and painted
In approximately two days, this relationship should be over.But it wouldn't be. I couldn't see myself letting her go now.Ever since we returned from Vegas, we had been together almost constantly. It was as if me realizing I was in love with her had changed everything.She had changed, too, though. She laughed more now. She smiled more. Sandra had a little light in her eyes that wasn't there before.She pressed a soft kiss to my lips, and I circled her waist with my arms, pulling her in closer to me. She squealed a little and placed her hands on my shoulders to steady herself. Her fingers dug in, and it made me pull her closer. Her knees bent, and I opened my legs so she could rest them on the chair. She did, and I slid my hands down to her hips.“Can I help you?” I pulled back slightly and smiled at her. Her eyes fluttered open, and she nodded, pulling the corner of her top lip into her mouth. “What is it, Angel?”“Let’s dance." She straightened, taking my hands from her hips and li
I relaxed back on the bed a little. For the first time in months, I felt like I could actually let go.Patrick had left California – I didn't need to be a mind-reader, but he had no reason to stay here. I made it clear that he wasn't getting any help from me anymore. I had my own life to think about now, my own growing up to do. I couldn't be the grown up for both of us anymore.And judging by the still-untitled essay on the page in front of me, I had a long way to go on the growing up scale. But life was like an essay: you just have to find the right words to put it together.Someone knocked at the door quietly. I frowned and looked at Maggie. She shrugged a shoulder and focused back on her school work. I moved my books over and slid off the bed, wondering who it could be. Leila would walk right in and Kayle... Well, it was no surprise we had no idea where she was.Jack's bright blue eyes crashed into mine when I opened the door. Shit shit shit shit!“What are you doing here?” I hiss