PENELOPE PACKED HER suitcase in a fog while Bishop paced, his face as dark as the sky before a violent thunderstorm. Neither of them spoke in the cab they took to the airport, but they held hands so desperately she thought their palms and fingers might fuse together.

They said goodbye on the sidewalk, outside the cab, to avoid running into Bryce, who would be there to meet Pen for the flight.

She looked up into his eyes, and maybe it was just the morning sunshine, but somehow Bishop’s irises seemed less ashy. They were more of a gunmetal now, with flecks of silver giving them a youthful glint.

It was true, she realized. Bishop did look younger. More alive, than she’d ever remember seeing him.

She cupped his cheek, scruffy from not shaving. “I look good on you,” she whispered.

He smiled his beautiful smile that seemed like the only thing that ever touched her, soul-deep.

“Are you still sure about this?” she asked. “Say the word, Bishop, and I’ll go home in the cab with you. We’ll go straight back to bed and I will love you forever.” She searched his eyes in vain, knowing the answer.

He was trying to be stoic, but she could see right through him. His pain was nearly palpable. Dipping his head, Bishop nodded once, his lips pressed firmly shut, as if he couldn’t make his mouth say the words, that this was truly what he wanted.

She dipped her chin in the barest nod. “Tell me you love me one more time and I’ll go.”

He swept his arms around her, pulling her close. Pressing his forehead to hers, he told her enough to give her the strength to do what he asked.

“I don’t just love you, Penelope. I love you so much I’d rather die than deny you the life you should have.”

He spread his large hands on her lower back, and shifted his hips into her, reminding her of what it felt like with Bishop’s weight on top of her, moving inside her. Her insides went to liquid as he continued trying to explain the depth of his love.

“Sweet Penelope.” He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “You came in and changed everything for me. The minutes of my day have been reduced to breathing near you, or breathing without you. And it’s so hard to do either—you affect me so much.”

His voice had grown hoarse with emotion, and Pen’s vision swam as Bishop’s words simultaneously lifted her up and broke her heart.

He closed his eyes. “Even the smallest, most autonomous things feel connected to you and affected by you.”

He gave her his gaze again and her breath hitched.

He dropped his voice to a whisper. “The filling of my lungs. The beating of my heart. Now these things, they happen because of you or in spite of you, and I don’t know which.”

“Bishop,” she choked, around a sob, but he shushed her.

“You’re either killing me or you’re the reason I live, and I don’t even care which it is, as long as I get to see you again. If I can sit in the library and read with you sometimes. If I can see that you’re happy.” He touched her cheek. “That might be enough. It will have to be.”

Her tears were spilling over. She didn’t have a hope of stopping them. “I love you,” she told him, and pulled out of his embrace. Grabbing her bag, she fled before the damage to her heart became irreparable.

 

*****

 

Penelope woke in a panic, blinking in the bright light and wincing at the pain in her neck.

“Hey, hey.” Bryce touched her arm. “You’re okay, Penelope. We’re still on the plane. The pilot says we’re landing soon.”

She swiveled her head, the world coming into focus and the fog in her head clearing. Slowly, her jackhammering heart returned to normal.

“Sorry,” she said quietly. “I had a bad dream.”

“Yeah, that was obvious. I was wondering if I should wake you up.” He chuckled, but the look on his face said there was more to the story.

“What?” she asked, embarrassed. “Was I loud?”

“No.” Bryce shifted in his seat to face her, but kept his gaze down, not meeting her eyes. He opened his mouth, but hesitated, as if he was reticent to say what was on his mind.

“Then what?” she asked again, her tone verging on annoyed.

He looked resigned. “You were saying Professor Cole’s name, but the way you were saying it…you sounded devastated.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” she said, sighing. She put a hand to her forehead and stared out the window, but her companion seemed intent on conversation.

“So, how cool is this, huh? A surprise, all-expenses-paid trip to Jamaica?”

“Mmm,” Pen replied noncommittally, wondering how she was going to fake her way through the next three days.

Bryce continued, as if his fucking sunshine just couldn’t be dimmed. “Damn, when we got on the plane, you were asleep in a nanosecond.” He chuckled. “What’d you do, stay up all night or something?”

She blinked. Fuck, if he only knew.

Pen suppressed a smile at the idea of telling Bryce she was exhausted from being fucked all weekend by her guardian before the professor would let her go off with another boy.

Her clit tingled at the naughty idea, in spite of her tenderness. She had no idea how sore she’d be. She could hardly walk after the number of times Bishop had used her.

She liked it though. Every ache reminded her of what they’d done.

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” she told Bryce. It wasn’t a lie. She couldn’t sleep because she’d been coming on Bishop’s cock over and over.

Bryce nodded. “Too excited?” he asked.

Now Pen did smile, nearly laughing. “Something like that.”

“Hey,” he said quietly, and the serious note in his voice attracted her full attention. “I was a little surprised to get Professor Cole’s call about this trip. Does he realize we’re just friends?”

Pen’s brows pinned together. “We’re, uh—” she stammered. Wincing, she shook her head trying to process what he’d just pronounced.

Were they just friends?

Of course they were. Her heart was taken, and Bryce wasn’t stupid.

She shut her mouth and took a deep breath, accepting Bryce’s statement. “I think Bishop is hoping you and I will become more. He’s worried I’m not giving myself a chance to live the full college experience.” She put the last part in air quotes.

“Does he know that you’re in love with him?” Bryce asked softly.

Startled, she locked eyes with her friend, and saw nothing there but understanding and concern. Relief flooded her to her toes, and if she ever wanted to kiss the boy, it wasn’t nearly as much as she did at that moment.

“Is it that obvious?” she asked, laughing. Her nerves loosened with every word.

Bryce nodded, and his eyes looked sad. “Yeah,” he admitted. “I’d sorta hoped it wasn’t true, but I knew. You’re pretty awesome, Pen, so it’s a loss for me.” He brightened. “But, hey, I got a trip to Jamaica out of it. Promise to let me see you in a bikini?”

He waggled his eyebrows, making her laugh.

“Oh, Bryce.” She grabbed his hand. “I’m so glad it’s out there. I didn’t know how I was going to fake the next three days.”

He scowled good-naturedly. “I’m so insulted.”

Pen laughed. “I just mean…I thought you were in the Bishop camp—that you and I were coming down here to take the next step in our relationship.”

Tilting his head, he considered the thought. “If it’s still on the table, I’m all about friends with benefits, Penelope.” He grinned, revealing dimples that added so much James Dean to his look that Penelope stomach actually fluttered.

After all the gratifying sex acts Bishop had introduced her to, fucking the fine-looking, young stud beside her suddenly didn’t seem like such a bad idea. She’d given her guardian her word, after all.

“Oh, I wouldn’t rule it out. Now that everything’s out in the open, I think we’re going to have a lot of fun on this vacation.”

He touched her cheek. “I do enjoy kissing you.”

She smiled, feeling lucky she had more than one good man in her life.

“Oh, there will be kissing,” she promised him. “And Bishop told me the villa he booked for us has a very private pool area.”

“Really?” Bryce asked, raising his eyebrows as if his mind was heading in the same direction as hers.

“Uh huh.” Lowering her voice to ensure she wouldn’t be overheard, she leaned in close to him. “Would you like to see my tits?” Her eyes were pinned to his.

“Yes.” He nodded with his eyes wide, as if in a stupor. “Yes, I would,” he breathed. “Very much.”

She pinched his chin, realizing she was actually enjoying the hell out of him.

“Good,” she said. “Because I don’t intend to have any tan lines when I return.”

He stared at her, unblinking, and then leaned in closer, his words hushed and slow. “I have got the most enormous erection right now.”

She laughed until she gasped, hiding her eyes as if she didn’t want to see what he was sporting in his pants.

When Bishop had dropped her at the airport, she thought she’d be miserable until she saw him again. Now, Pen decided, perhaps the trip wasn’t such a bad experiment.

She had her guardian’s permission, after all.

 

*****

 

Penelope and Bryce did have fun, and much to her surprise, she was glad to get away. Things at home had been so heavy. It was nice to relax, hang out, and laugh with an easygoing friend. No angst. No drama.

The heat of the days led to cool nights. Bryce and Pen had grown comfortable with each other. He held her all night while she slept, and she almost felt guilty about how much she enjoyed his arms around her.

In the silky shorts and cami she wore to bed, it was impossible to ignore Bryce’s impressive erection pressed against her each night. The first night, neither of them acknowledged it. After fifteen minutes, where she’d imagined them both laying there in the dark, wide-eyed, wondering if the other was going to fall asleep, Bryce had finally gotten out of bed and slipped into the bathroom.

Five minutes later, he’d returned and curled against her again, his needs apparently taken care of in private.

Still, she’d fallen asleep that night thinking about Bryce’s cock, a dull throbbing pulsing between her legs. She couldn’t help it. After the evening of sex Bishop had given her, how could she be that close to an erection and not think of what it might feel like inside her?

Despite her soreness, her sex pulsed as it awakened. She imagined Bryce pushing her shoulder forward and shifting his weight on top of her, taking her from behind as Bishop had, with her bottom in the air and her cheek pressed into the mattress.

She thought about turning over and straddling him, bouncing on Bryce’s erection while he played with her tits, touching herself as she rode him to orgasm, just as she’d done with Bishop.

The second night, Bryce experimented with a gentle thrust. Canting his hips forward as he held her, he deftly fitted his thick bulge between her ass cheeks, effecting a nice squeeze for his cock as, in turn, his grinding stimulated Pen’s rear entrance.

After three long, slow thrusts from Bryce, she finally reacted, arching her back to press her bottom firmer toward him. He made a guttural noise of pleasure and rutted against her harder. Pen moaned as her clit began to throb, and he slid her hand into her pajama shorts to take care of herself.

“Ah, fuck Pen,” Bryce panted. “Your ass is so fantastic.”

She let him tug her shorts down.

“Are you touching yourself?” His words were reverent, as if he’d pulled off her shorts and revealed the greatest secret in the world.

“Yes,” she answered. “I want to come.”

Bryce groaned in a way that made her think he might have finished, just by dry-humping against her. But when she felt him spread her ass cheeks so he could better tuck his still rock-hard shaft between them, she knew he wasn’t done yet.

It made her wonder about his reaction. “The other girls you’ve been with, they don’t touch themselves?”

“No,” Bryce answered emphatically, as if he was so excited that Pen did.

She was confused. “But, how do they make sure they get off? Do you do it for them every time?”

He sighed and stopped fucking himself into the crevice of her bottom. Pulling her shoulder, he made her roll to her back.

“As much as I like to believe I’m a sex god, I’m guessing they just don’t get off every time.”

Pen frowned. “I don’t get that.”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “But they all should, because it’s so fucking hot.”

Bishop had never made her feel like it was unusual. His first concerns, always, were that Pen knew how to give herself pleasure, and that he brought her to climax her every time.

“But after this I’m making a new rule,” Bryce proclaimed. “Any girl I go to bed with has to touch herself and let me watch.”

His sexy grin was visible in the dim light from the bathroom.

His put his hand on her upper thigh, and his smile faded. His voice dropped low and husky. “Are you going to let me fuck you now?” He looked down at her hand, still tucked into the front of her lacy thong. “And please, don’t let me interrupt you.” He hooked his thumb into one side of her panties and began sliding them down. “Just spread your legs and keep doing what you’re doing. Once I get inside, we’ll both get off together.”

She almost let it happen, but thoughts of Bishop stopped her. She grabbed his corded forearm. “Not tonight,” she whispered. “I’m not ready yet.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “That’s okay.” He was sweet in the way he assured her, and a wave of affection for him hit her hard. She was curious, though, when he pulled her lacy underwear off the rest of the way before going into the bathroom. When he returned, he was wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist, and he’d left the hallway light on to dimly illuminate the room. He dropped into a corner chair, facing the bed.

“What are you doing?” She giggled.

“Remember my new rule?” Bryce asked her softly. “Get to touching.” He nodded toward her lower body. “I’m just gonna watch and enjoy.”

He lifted his hips and loosened the towel, pulling it open in the front. Her eyes widened at the site of his thick member resting against his muscular thigh.

Bryce gave her that cocky, James Dean smile and wrapped a hand around his hardening dick.

“Show me,” he whispered.