Caroline’s Story

Chapter 1

Caroline

“Yes,” Emma said to Brandt, covering her mouth and crying.

It was so damn sweet. My best friend, Emma, had said yes to the man of her dreams, and now she was going to get married. They had been through so much, between her getting knocked up, a bunch of drama, and her moving to New York City away from all of us in Camden, Maine. I was really happy for her. She was getting her dream life. I, on the other hand, was just happy to be in New York to see Emma’s little boy for his six-month birthday. Love was great, and it was fantastic. If you asked me about it, I would say go for it, but for me, I was satisfied enough traveling around, living my life with no attachments.

My parents had moved me to Camden right after I was born. They owned a real estate empire so big that they no longer had to run the thing. They wanted me to have a “normal” childhood, whatever that was supposed to mean. I was a wanderer, though, and when I turned eighteen and received a big hunk of my trust fund, I set off to see the world. I did it for me, but it kind of turned into a business. I had thousands of Instagram followers, paid sponsorships, and all of it came with pretty cool perks. It was my version of a dream life.

I walked over to the hors d'oeuvres and perused the table, finding the chocolate-covered strawberries. I grabbed a napkin and a glass of champagne and looked around the room. Everyone was so happy, wrapped in their little bubbles of family and warmth. Even Emma’s and my good friend, Gillian, was cuddled up to her boyfriend, dreaming about babies and marriage. I was dreaming about Hawaii and the warm surf they were having. I glanced over at the large glass windows that overlooked the city and realized there was a balcony. I scooted past the others and made my way out there. It was the end of May in New York, and it was a lot warmer there than in Maine. I smiled, shutting the door behind me and taking in the gorgeous cityscape outside of Brandt’s penthouse apartment in the middle of the city. It was the best view I had seen so far.

“Chocolate covered strawberries are my favorite,” a voice said from behind me. “I remember you.”

I turned around, not realizing there was someone else on the balcony until he’d spoken. In the chair with his feet propped up was Trevor, Brandt’s best friend, and his vice president at Cogent Technologies. I remembered him too. He had hit on me Valentine’s Day the year before. He was so handsome with his slicked-back dark hair, strong muscles, and bright green eyes. At the same time, I could clearly remember him being incredibly arrogant, which was what had made me turn him down the first time.

“It’s really beautiful out here,” he said. “It’s a good place to clear your head, you know? Think about life.”

I tilted my head at him, noticing that he seemed different this time, more real. I smiled and walked over, sitting next to him in the chair. I had nothing else going on at that moment, so I figured why not pass the time talking to an incredibly handsome man?

“I didn’t even know this was out here.” I smiled. “I would have been out here the whole time. And I remember you too. How have you been?”

“Good,” he said. “Really good. Life has been treating me well. You?”

“Now that Emma’s life is settled, I’m doing very well,” I replied with a chuckle.

“Those two definitely went through hell to get where they are,” he said. “I’m happy for them.”

“Me too,” I said, clinking my glass to his.

We sat talking about the city and Emma and Brandt for quite a while. He was nice to talk to and the champagne in my hand made him even nicer. I didn’t even realize how much time had passed until Gillian poked her head out the door.

“Hey, girl,” she said. “We’re heading out. You want us to wait for you?”

“No,” I said, looking around at the empty apartment. “I’ll be there in a bit.”

“Okay,” she said, glancing at Trevor and nodding. “Be safe.”

“Always.” I watched her go back inside and then turned back to Trevor. “It looks like it’s time to get going.”

“There’s a bar down the street. You want to have another drink?”

“Sure,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “Why not?”

We collected our things, said goodnight to Emma and Brandt, and made our way down the street to the pub. We sat at a small back table, drinking, laughing, and talking about all the places I had traveled. He was really attentive, and I was enjoying my time with him. It probably didn’t hurt that he was incredibly hot.

“That sounds amazing,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to travel like that. To really get out there and live life.”

“You should,” I said, smiling and feeling a bit tipsy. “We only have one life. I go surfing. I go hiking, climbing, camping, and whatever I else I want to do when I want to do it. I know I’m lucky, having the money I have, but I don’t let myself feel guilty about it either. When you die, are you going to want to think about the deals you made with the conglomerates that are sucking the life out of our world, or are you going to think about the sunset off of Waikiki? I’m going to think about the sunset or the way the light splashed across the monks’ faces in Indonesia during the annual mass meditation. Freedom is a beautiful thing, and I won’t waste it.”

“You are very free-spirited.” He laughed. “It makes you incredibly beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I said, blushing. “I think it would look pretty good on you, too, if you loosened that tie a bit and messed up that perfect hair.”

“Maybe I will one day.” He chuckled. “You can teach me how.”

“That, sir, is my specialty.” I laughed, finishing my drink. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go to the lady’s room.”

“I’ll grab us another round,” he said.

“You know the way to a girl’s heart.” I laughed, walking off to the bathroom.

I stood in the bathroom in front of the sink, tousling my long, wavy blond hair and thinking about the man I was out with. It was definitely a surprise, but most of my life was made of surprises. He was so uptight, but I could see the whisper of free-spirit trying to push through. I pulled that out in people. It was one of my best gifts. I smiled at myself and walked back out, seeing him waiting for me at the table.

“No drinks?” I said with a pouty face.

“They already did last call,” he said. “But my place is three blocks up. You want to come with me there and pop open the champagne that’s in my fridge?”

“That sounds fun,” I said. “Lead the way.”

He gave me his arm, and we walked out of the bar and out onto the sidewalks. As we strolled toward his place, I leaned my head back and took in a deep breath, closing my eyes. I tripped and caught myself, laughing loudly.

“You are so different.” He chuckled. “It’s a good thing, of course.”

I smiled and took his arm, and we walked back to his place. I looked up at the soaring ceilings of the lobby of his apartment complex, saying hello to the security at the front. They smiled and nodded their heads, not used to someone like me. I guess no one was used to someone like me in New York. We took a private elevator up to his place, and when the doors opened, we were inside his apartment. It was huge, on the top floor, and with its own spectacular view of the city. It was obvious a decorator had put the finishing touches on the place, and everything was so clean and perfect. I looked up at the side wall in his living room, my mouth falling open. There was a wall of records from floor to ceiling.

“Wow,” I gasped. “You collect records?”

“I do,” he said proudly. “My father did too. Most of the ones on the bottom three shelves were gifts from him over the years, but the top shelves are ones I picked up on the way.”

“May I?”

“Of course,” he said. “Pick something out, and we can play it.”

“All right,” I said excitedly running over to the wall and scanning through them. “Wow, you even put them in alphabetical order.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled in the kitchen, pulling out the bottle of champagne. “Keeps me busy and out of trouble.”

I smiled, running my finger along the spines of the albums. I moved along until I spotted Fleetwood Mac. I pulled one of the albums from the shelf and smiled.

“This is my favorite,” I said. “I don’t even have to look any further.”

“Nice choice,” he said, pouring us both a glass of bubbly.

I put the record on the player and set the bar down, closing my eyes and swaying back and forth as the music started. I put my arms up in the air and started to dance, swirling the skirt of my dress around. He smiled, watching me as I moved around his living room, dancing to the music freely. He handed me a glass of champagne, and I took a sip, still dancing around him. He laughed, watching me as I circled around him. I put my glass of champagne down and took his out of his hand, setting it next to mine. I grabbed his hands and moved him, smiling as he undid his tie and took off his jacket.

He started to dance to the music with me, his enthusiasm growing as the music intensified. We laughed loudly as we spun around his apartment, and I was sure he had never done anything like that before. As the song ended, we whirled into each other’s arms, laughing loudly. He leaned me back for a dramatic finish and then pulled me up. His arms were around me tightly as we chuckled, looking into each other’s eyes. Maybe it was my free-spirit, maybe it was the champagne or the music, but I couldn’t hold back. I leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips with force. He smiled with my mouth pressed against his as “Edge of Seventeen” came on. He slid his hand down mine and started dancing with me slowly.

I kicked my shoes off and danced across the living room with him barefoot. We laughed and giggled the whole way around, looking deeply into each other’s eyes. He brushed his hand across my face, pulling my wild hair from my cheeks. One of his arms held me tightly to him and his other cupped the back of my neck as he pulled me closer, kissing me passionately. I could feel the electricity move through my chest, the passion building. His tongue smoothed over my lips, and I opened up, tasting the champagne on his lips. The smell of his cologne was intoxicating, and there was no holding back for me anymore. I leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his neck, still swaying my hips to the sound coming from the record player.

His hands ran softly down my sides, and I dropped my shawl to the ground around my feet. Trevor’s lips moved from my lips and down my neck until he reached my shoulder. I breathed heavily, feeling the erection in his pants. He leaned down and scooped me into his arms, cradling me in his arms. We walked toward his bedroom, letting the music continue to pump melodically through the apartment.

Chapter 2

Trevor

This woman had definitely taken me by surprise and was not the woman I thought she would be. As I stood in the barely-lit bedroom, looking down at the slender beauty in front of me, with her long, wavy blond hair, decorative choker, and Bohemian knit dress that was held up by two small straps, slid tightly across her chest, and fell into a flowy skirt to her knees, I could feel my passion getting hotter. Her bright blue eyes were covered in mischief, and the wild in her was no act. She was living every moment of life. It was intoxicating, even beyond the copious amounts of alcohol that we had drunk that night.

I pulled my hand up to her and slid her straps down her shoulders, watching her dress fall down her perfect body into a pile at her bare feet. Her small, perky breasts heaved with her breath, and her small, lace panties sat perfectly on her slightly curved hips. She was incredible, and sparks flew through my belly as she slowly undressed me, running her hands over my skin. When I was down to my boxers, she took my hand and led me toward the bed, crawling up to the pillow and lying down in front of me. I smiled, crawling up onto the bed and pulling her panties from her body, tossing them to the side.

The mood between us went from playful and excited to passionate, and her bright blue eyes darkened quickly. I lay down on my stomach and kissed down her thigh, moving over her perfect pink pussy to her other thigh, listening to her moan lightly. I moved back, this time, pushing her folds apart with my hand and sinking my tongue down across her sweet juices. I groaned, tasting her, licking my lips to the hint of sweetness between her legs. She moaned, her body arching as I moved my mouth up to her clit and sucked it in, rubbing my tongue across it. The sounds of her wails aroused me even more, and I lapped at her faster, pushing two of my fingers into her pussy. Her hips came up off of the bed as I rubbed her clit and fingered her fast and deep.

She lifted her arms above her head and swayed her hips against my mouth, getting closer to climax. She screamed as I twisted my fingers inside of her with one hand and rubbed her clit with the other, lifting my head and watching her body move in waves. She gripped tightly to the headboard and groaned as her head fell back and her chest arched. I could feel her shaking in my hands as she exploded in orgasm, her juices flowing out and down my hand. I chuckled as a smile washed over her face, and she fell back onto the bed, breathing heavily.

I sat up and pulled my boxers off, watching as she turned over on her stomach and looked over her shoulder at me, biting her bottom lip. I shook my head and climbed toward her, lifting her ass in the air by her waist and spreading her legs apart. She laid her face on the pillow and grasped the sheets as I moved forward, guiding my cock through her juices and inside of her. She moaned, gripping tighter to the bed as I filled her tight little pussy. I held myself deep inside of her for a moment, taking in the sensations of her warm mound wrapped around my raging erection. My hands gripped tightly to her waist as I pulled out and thrust forward, pushing a high-pitched gasp from her lips. I slowly pulled back out again and thrust hard inside, watching her face twist in pleasure.

“More,” she moaned out. “Faster.”

I smiled and gripped tighter to her, starting to push in and out over and over again. She sighed and bit her lip, feeling my big cock slide through her juices. I watched as she reached between her legs and rubbed her clit, closing her eyes and writhing in my hands. I moved faster and faster until I was slamming into her, our skin colliding with each other, echoing through the room. She rubbed faster and faster on her clit, her body tightening and releasing as she moved toward another climax.

I pulled out of her and playfully slapped her ass. She giggled and turned over on her back, her eyes latching onto mine as she pulled her legs up, hooking her ankles around her neck with incredible flexibility. She smiled and lifted her eyebrows as my mouth dropped open. I pulled myself up, putting my hands down on either side of her and pushed my cock back into her, groaning as it dipped down deep inside of her. She felt so amazing, and I had never seen someone look so fucking hot with her ankles resting around her own neck. I slapped my hips up and down, feeling her getting wetter and wetter with every movement. She groaned loudly, watching my cock move in and out of her pussy, gleaming with her juices.

“Yes,” she screamed out. “Don’t stop.”

“Yeah,” I growled.

I moved faster and faster, rubbing her clit with my stomach at every thrust. She moaned in rhythm with my body’s motion, and I could feel the heat rising in my belly. As I thrust again, contacting her hard nub, she screamed out, digging her fingers into her ankles and closing her eyes. Her body quivered beneath me, but I didn’t stop, feeling her pussy tightening around my shaft. Her warm juices filled her, surrounding my cock as I continued to bury myself deep inside of her. She relaxed, feeling the waves of pleasure move through her body like waves on the shore of one of her exotic travels.

I pulled out and stood over her, rubbing her pussy with one hand and stroking my cock with the other. I groaned, watching her pull her legs down and prop herself up on her elbows, pushing her chest forward and waiting for my explosion. I jerked my shaft faster, feeling it pulsing in my hand. I gripped down hard on it as my hot seed shot out, cascading across her tits and across her neck and lips. I moaned loudly, watching her lick me from her lips, grabbing onto her tits and rubbing the come around. She moaned, closing her eyes as I squeezed my dick hard, letting the last few drops trickle out and fall to her belly.

I sat back on my heels and breathed deeply as the last of my orgasm floated through my body. She opened her eyes and smiled, gently lying back on the pillow. I jumped up and grabbed a towel from my bathroom and wiped her clean, taking extra care to smooth out the red marks from where she had gripped tightly to her tits. I took the towel back to the hamper and wandered back to the bed, both of us laughing at the imbalance I had from all the alcohol I had drunk. I climbed into the bed and curled up behind her, pulling the blankets over us. I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek, watching the smile on her face. She yawned and scooted back into me, quickly falling asleep.

I lay there for several moments, feeling the after-rush of such amazing sex. Normally, I wouldn’t have a girl spend the night, but as I started falling to sleep, I couldn’t even imagine having her leave. I knew those feelings were dangerous, but I was too tired to fight it. I slept harder than I ever had that night, dreaming about traveling and beautiful blue waters.

The sun from the windows woke me that morning, but I kept my eyes closed, knowing a headache was on its way. I reached forward for Caroline, but all I found were cold, empty sheets. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked around, but Caroline was gone and so were her clothes. I turned over and pulled myself out of the bed, groaning at the feeling throbbing through my skull. I pulled on a pair of boxers and walked out into the house, hoping she was just in the kitchen or looking out over the city. However, as I made my way to the fridge for a bottle of water, I realized she was nowhere to be found. Immediately, I thought of Brandt and the first time he’d met Emma. He had told me about how amazing their night was, how they connected on so many levels, and how their sex had been out of this world. When he woke up, though, she was gone without a single word. Caroline had done that exact thing, leaving only the scent of lavender and patchouli behind.

“What is up with these girls?” I yelled out loud, frustrated at her disappearance.

I finished my bottle of water and grumpily went to the bathroom and jumped in the shower. I sat there with the water washing over me, trying to decide whether to be glad that she was gone or pissed that she had dipped out. She was the first girl in a very long time who I’d had feelings like that for. I turned off the shower and dressed for the day, figuring sweatpants and a T-shirt would suffice for a hungover Sunday. I walked back to the kitchen to start the coffee maker and laughed to myself, finding a note from Caroline. She had figured me out pretty fast, figuring coffee would be one of the first things I went for. I unfolded the letter and read it.

Trevor,

What a beautiful morning in New York! I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so peaceful. I am off to the islands for some fun in the sun and had to catch my flight. I want to thank you for such an amazing time. I really enjoyed it. I put your record back on the shelf and made sure I had all of my things before leaving. Don’t forget what I said about taking an adventure, being freer, and doing what you want to do when you want to do it. You owe it to yourself to be free and love life. Have a beautiful Sunday. I’m sure we will see each other again one day.

Xoxo

Caroline

I filled a cup of coffee, took the letter down into the living room, and propped my feet up on the ottoman. I reread the thing probably ten times, shaking my head and smiling every single time. She was such a free bird, her whole life nothing but one big adventure. I leaned my head back against the couch and thought about dancing around the room to the music. It was strange and something I had never done with anyone else in my life. It might have been the alcohol that got me started, but it was her that kept me dancing, dancing right through my dreams that night. She was the most interesting girl I had ever met.

I groaned, rubbing my face, not believing that she was already gone. There was something inside of me that was screaming to have her around me more. I wanted just a little more time with her, but that was off the table. I sighed and tossed the letter on the table, realizing that unless I wanted to become my best friend, pining away for a girl, I needed to get myself together and put that whole night out of my mind. I needed to chalk it up to an amazing night and move on, but I knew I was going to struggle to get her off my mind. What had I gotten myself into?