“Missed you,” he breathes into my ear.
“Want you,” I whisper back and pull at his belt for emphasis.
“You’re killing me, baby,” he groans and presses into me harder. “I’m about two seconds from going all caveman and dragging you off to the backseat of the frigging car.”
I glance at the vehicle sitting by itself at the curb in the darkness. “Speaking of your mother’s car, what’s she doing tonight?”
He exhales and rakes a hand through his hair. “You sure as hell picked an odd moment to start talking about my mother.”
“Sorry.” I giggle and slide my arms around his waist, glad that his jacket is open so I can get closer.
“My mom went out. Big date or whatever. She bought a new dress. At least she’s not seeing Dirtbag. It’s some other guy.”
I’m not sure how to respond. Ben and his mother have something of an uneven relationship. I’ve met her a few times by now and she’s always very sweet but there’s also an anxious quality about her. She obviously loves her son, is always delighted to see the two of us together and encourages me to call her Michele. When she teases Ben to behave like a gentleman he gets annoyed. I wonder if she still would have chosen to go out if Ben had no plans tonight.
I change the subject. “I wish you could come with us to Pennington tomorrow. My grandma would love to meet you and we’ll be home before dark.”
“I already promised Dee that I’d work. We’re only open for six hours though. I can come over after.”
“Good.” I kiss his lips. “Let’s go inside. It’s cold out here.”
“Wait.” Ben pulls me back and produces a silver wrapped box from his pocket. “I want you to open your present first.”
At heart I’m still a kid who loves receiving a gift, any gift, and I unwrap the box with eagerness. Then I just stare at the object within.
Ben mistakes my silence for confusion. “It’s a fountain pen.”
“I know. I’ve always wanted one.”
“Your initials are engraved on the side. You always seem to prefer the old school way of jotting thoughts down in your notebook so I thought you should have something special to use.”
This boy. He gets me.
“Thank you, Ben. I love it.”
And I’m also feeling a little inadequate now because his gift doesn’t seem nearly as thoughtful. I bought him a couple of warm hooded sweatshirts because that’s his wardrobe of choice when he’s not in school clothes.
I throw my arms around him and we spend a long moment just holding each other.
He keeps his arms around my waist but lifts his head so he can peer down at me. “For years I couldn’t stand the holidays.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s not the case this year. You know why?”
“Tell me.”
“Because of you.” He kisses my forehead. “You make me remember how to be happy, Camden.”
It’s a very sweet and very sad thing to say. My heart leaps at the same time that it breaks. Terrible things have happened to Ben, things that are so awful he can’t even talk about them. And I can’t really help him with that. All I can do is hold him tightly and give him all the love in my heart.
I take his hand and hold it to my chest so he can feel the rapid beat within.
“Merry Christmas, Ben.”
Then I open the door and lead him inside, where my family is waiting to celebrate the holiday with us.
Ben
We are all over each other from the second I turn the key in the lock to the side door.
After taking my girl out for a New Year’s Eve dinner both of us were in a hurry to get back to my place, guaranteed to be empty until after midnight because my mom took off for some party in Black Mountain with some of her waitress pals.
Camden is sucking on my neck and my hand is up her shirt as I wrestle the door open and perform some mental math to calculate how many condoms I have left.
Six. I have at least six. That should be enough. Probably.
We spill into the kitchen and my fingers locate her bra clasp at the same instant her hand lands on my dick.
“Fuck,” I groan as I get her bra open.
“Soon,” she promises as she works my zipper down.
I back her into the fridge and get aggressive, shedding my jacket and my shirt while keeping her pinned there with my knee between her legs. “So you want to get fucked tonight, huh?”
Her eyes dance. “I do want to get fucked. I’ve been looking forward to it all day so you better be ready.”
My hips grind into her. “Doesn’t it feel like I’m ready?”
She rocks with me, her knees hooked on my hips, and lets out the kind of breathy little moan that I love so much. “Feels like it’s a mutual emergency.”
“That it is. First I’m going to shred your panties with my fucking teeth.”
She nips my ear. “Joke’s on you, Ben. I’m not wearing panties.”
That’s it. I lift her and carry her on my shoulder with one hand, making a beeline for my bedroom where I strip her down, discover that she was telling the truth about her panty-free status, and then position her on all fours on the bed.
Camden tosses her hair, looks back over one bare shoulder and surveys me with a raised eyebrow. “I’m warning you, I’m in the mood to be fucked until I scream. So don’t be gentle this time.”
“Jesus,” I mutter.
This girl is a constant shock to me in the best freaking way. She’s sweet and she’s beautiful and she’s wickedly horny. The more we’re together the more creative she gets. For years I thought I was immune to getting knocked on my ass by a girl but Camden Galway has my number. I’d move heaven and earth for her.
Right now I’m happy to meet her demand. I take her hard and rough the first time. Then I hold her close and stroke her skin until I’m ready again and we make love with tender leisure, our mouths fastened together most of the time.
“Ready for a brand new year?” I ask as she snuggles close.
She kisses my chest and gives me a brilliant smile that pulls my heart apart.
My angel.
“I’m ready for a new year with you.”
I play with a section of her hair. “Glad to hear it because I’d be tough to get rid of at this point.”
She bites her lip. “We’re going to shock everyone when school resumes.”
“You mean at Black Mountain? To hell with them.”
“To hell with them,” she agrees and lays her cheek to my heart. “I’m so lucky. I can’t believe I get to celebrate with you like this.”
I kiss the top of her head and feel around on the floor for my jeans. “Stay right here.”
“Where are you going?”
“To get something to help us celebrate.”
I pull my jeans on for the walk out to the kitchen. For weeks there’s been a cheap bottle of wine on the bottom shelf of the fridge. I’m not sure my mother will even realize it’s gone but I know that even if she does she won’t care enough to mention it to me.
We have none of those fancy goblet style glasses and I decide it makes more sense to just drink from the bottle. We won’t be driving. Neither of us has the use of a car tonight. I’m capable of walking Camden home even with a thick buzz on. Usually I’m not an alcohol fan but fuck it. It’s New Year’s Eve. And I’m going to ring in a brand new beginning with my beautiful girlfriend.