Carly Sevens
I’d never done anything so brazen in my life before. From an early age I’d learned that if you got naked, you got noticed, and getting noticed only ever meant bad things.
I would never do that again, and would have probably wimped out if Jack hadn’t driven me to it.
I hated every minute of the exposure. I was nothing like the rest of them and when I looked to the table where he was with his date, I felt a surge of disappointment. I wanted him to see I was brave and he’d left. I was then stuck up on that stage, feeling completely out of character and looking like a fool. Only when the competition neared the end did I start to feel some relief, enough to loosen up.
I was the first back to the bathroom to cover up, and as soon as I was handed my winnings, I donated them straight back to Lila for Dooley’s chosen charity. The fact that it was one linked to at risk kids made it feel worthwhile in the end. I didn’t need or want that money, but they did.
Xav wanted me to stay and celebrate, but I’d already made a spectacle of myself and I just wanted to crawl into a ball and forget I’d put myself out there. Forget that and the awful truth that Jack was already dating someone else. Thankfully, my art buddy sensed I’d reached my confidence limit and agreed to walk me home. “I can’t believe you did that,” he laughed, still on a high.
“Me neither.”
“You constantly surprise me and I love that about you.”
Had he said this months ago I would have freaked out, but we’d reached an understanding and it worked for us. We were fast becoming lifelong friends. He was proud of me and knew how much of a big deal it was for me to expose myself like that. This, however, didn’t mean he wasn’t full of unanswered questions about why I did it. Thankfully, he didn’t ask them.
“Thanks for a memorable evening.” He laughed again before kissing me on the cheek and leaving me by my house on the sidewalk. I watched him run off to celebrate and felt exhausted. As I was slotting the key in my lock, a form stepped out of the shadows and scared me half to death.
“Fucking hell, Jack! You scared the shit out of me.”
His frame was tight, like it had been stretched to maximum capacity and was ready to snap. He was doing a good job of trying to appear casual but everything about him was slightly off kilter. “Jack?” I whispered, concern kicking in.
“I need you to come home with me. Now.” His words were deathly quiet, like he was forcing them through his lips, like he could only say what was absolutely necessary.
“What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
“Carly, for the love of fucking God, do not argue with me. For once in your fucking life, do as I ask.”
I knew it. He was on a knife-edge and if I pushed too hard, he’d slide over it, right here in front of my house. The level of ire in his eyes alone sealed it for me. I needed to go with him and figure out what the hell was going on, because like me, he was alone in this town.
His place wasn’t far, so I walked into the night and decided to keep quiet until he was ready. Jack fell in line beside me as I kept going, and I could tell he was holding something back. His arms that were supposed to be swinging casually by his side were a little too stiff and his fists kept opening and closing. A dead giveaway.
When we reached his building, I started to shake a little. For the first time, I was scared about what he was going to say or do when we got to his apartment. His continued silence was killing me, but it was so loud it was starting to beat at my ears. I was so preoccupied with what was going on that when the bell on the elevator pinged, it made me jump.
I walked in first.
Jack followed.
As the doors slid shut, sealing us from the outside world, he moved in to my body. “I never want to see another man touch you ever again.”
“Excuse me?” I replied, thinking I hadn’t heard him correctly.
“You fucking heard me. You’re mine. I don’t want or need fucking space. That shit is done.”
I couldn’t believe he was coming out with this now. The actual audacity of him was astounding. “You were on a date!”
“I’ll say it again, Carly. You are mine. If I ever see anyone else lay their fucking hands on you, I will kill them.”
The elevator slowed and pinged again as the doors opened so slowly it was like they were on a time delay. I needed out of this small box quickly. The air was stale and stagnant with anger and frustration.
And sexual need.
The closer he stepped towards his apartment door, the more I could feel his anger winning over. When he finally stopped in front of it, he placed his forehead flush against the woodwork. Whatever was going on with him was not fully settled yet. Saying his piece hadn’t sorted it out for him. “We go inside, Carly, and this is it. No more halfway house, no more fuck buddy bullshit. We do this. We give it a real go.”
Everything he said was everything I wanted to hear, but there were still obstacles I couldn’t ignore.
My parents.
His job.
Our age.
“How?”
“Let me worry about that.” Jack finally turned around and pierced me with his striking blue eyes that held a question, no a plea, for me to say yes. He stood, waiting patiently for me to decide whether he was what I wanted. Whether I felt enough for him to do this.
I don’t know how much time passed while I tried to weigh it all up, but when I saw his shoulders sag with defeat, I knew it was too long. He thought I was going to say no.
“Open the door, Jack.”
The biggest exhale ever left his lungs, and I was granted with a smile so wide, so huge, that I was blinded with happiness deep inside my being. I want to say I felt warm and fuzzy but that didn’t justify what I felt at that moment. Before I could respond to all of my feelings, the door was pushed open and I was dragged inside. I remembered what had happened the last time I was dragged in there and I couldn’t wait. My nerves spiked and the anticipation of what I knew was coming was almost too much.
The rush to get our clothes off became a frenzy, and as soon as I was naked, he stopped with a sad look on his face. Jack picked me up and marched off towards his bathroom. “I need this shit gone. I refuse to be reminded of Xavier-cunting-Burrows touching you while I make love to you.”
My gasp made his step falter.
“I saw it all. I couldn’t leave knowing what he was about to do.”
I wasn’t shocked because he’d seen what happened. I was still focusing on the words he’d just said. I wanted to hear them again. I didn’t want him to ignore that he’d used the words ‘make love’. I knew I wouldn’t be able to ignore them and I prayed they weren’t some error or slip up on his part.
The water in the shower tray soon became a rainbow of colors, and even though he said he couldn’t stand the sight of it, he seemed to have fun getting rid of it. It was possibly the first intense body scrub I’d ever had and if he didn’t calm down, my skin would end up the same color as my hair. By the time he reached my ass, the tone of his enjoyment had changed. He was erect and throbbing, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. The massaging of my ass cheeks was doing things to me that felt forbidden. When a groan slipped from my lips, he understood where my head was.
“You have a mighty fine ass.”
“I do?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Show me how fine,” I teased, feeling my second bout of bravery for the night. With no further urging needed, he leant in and licked my most intimate place. It was risqué, so daring that my legs almost gave out with sheer pleasure. Jack was groaning and spreading me further and further apart, and it was all I could do to stay upright.
“I need you there.” I panted and made my demand clear as I fumbled to switch the shower off.
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
I’d missed having his body drive me wild and take me to the edge of sanity. My need was as strong for him as always. I didn’t care how wet I was, when I stepped past him out of the shower and made for his bed, I knew he was scrambling to follow.
Only Jack could make this ache go away. I’d never done this with anyone before and it was nearly as forbidden as my love for him. He gave me the confidence to try it now and I trusted him not to hurt me and treasure my first anal experience as a gift. I could see in his eyes how much it meant to him. I lay on the bed and spread my legs wide open, watching him slowly stalk towards me. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Jack had his dick in his hands and was smoothing the head of it with his fist. It made my mouth water and my insides quiver. He was just as excited as me and didn’t waste time getting down to business. When he entered my body, it was slow, and as he worked in slowly and retreated, then again, slow and retreat, I thought we were both going to explode. When he was inside me fully, we both sighed in complete contentment.
“You amaze me,” he whispered, swallowing around his emotion.
I looked up at Jack, but his face blurred as my eyes filled with unshed tears. The rollercoaster of the last few days was finally catching up with me.
“I do?”
“Yeah. Now I’m going to watch you amaze me some more,” he said darkly and put his thumb to my clit. As his torso and thumb moved in sync, my body began to sing like it was trying to reach notes it had never hit before.
This was right.
What we felt for each other was so inexplicably right.
A once in a lifetime thing that would seal our futures in sadness and unanswered ‘what ifs’, if we didn’t explore it fully together.
“Come for me. Now, Carly.”
My body was powerless to refuse him, and as soon as I was in the middle of my high, he removed his hand and began to chase his own pleasure. The sensation of where he was in my body meant I felt every stroke, every shunt and finally the swell and growth of his dick as he finished inside me.
After we’d finished, I heard the faucet run and when he returned, I felt a warm, wet cloth soothe where he’d been.
I was content.
This was it for me.
I no longer cared about the obstacles. I was prepared to do whatever it took to get my family on side, but I was not prepared to lose Jack. I’d lived a lesser life up until my dad had taught me that I was worthy of happiness, and I was never going to settle for anything less than what I truly wanted ever again.
Jack lay back down beside me. “I tried to let you go, Carly. I tried to let sense prevail, but then I began to question who says what we want isn’t sensible? You calm something inside me, and letting you walk away felt like I was losing that. Tell me, baby.”
I didn’t know what he wanted to hear, so I waited for more.
“Tell me how I make you feel. Let me know I’m not in this alone.”
I thought about all the things I could say to him. I could try to hide the fact that I was in love with him, but if the few days apart hadn’t taught us we needed to be honest with each other then what was the point? Our situation demanded honesty because we already faced an uphill struggle.
When I didn’t speak, he lay on me and rested his body on mine. Jack looked me straight in the eyes. “Now. Please tell me, baby. I need to hear it.” Jack sounded so scared, like he was getting desperate for some confirmation that he feared he wasn’t going to get.
“I love you,” I murmured on a scared breath.
Those three little words put the most satisfied look on his face. The smile was as blindingly bright as the one I’d seen earlier. It had nothing to do with us wanting something we couldn’t have, or the fact that being together was forbidden. It was because when we were together like this, our souls were together and at peace. If he was anything like me, being apart was the worst time. It was like someone had wandered off with a piece from a jigsaw puzzle and it would forever remain unfinished.
“I know you do.” He smiled like a Cheshire Cat. “I feel it inside me. That’s what calms me.”
I waited for him to say it back and return the sentiment, but to my dismay, he didn’t. I watched as his lips parted open and he breathed in, preparing to say them.
“Move in with me.”
That was what came of his beautiful mouth, not I love you.
Move in with me.