“You’re such a horny asshole,” she teases with a whimsical giggle.
“No, I’m not. I just needed to be close to you. If I’m about to tell you all my deepest, darkest secrets, then I want to get lost in your eyes while doing it,” I confess, blurting out my first hidden truth.
“I like your eyes, too,” she cajoles, her fingers playing with my hair as she looks deep into my crystal blue eyes.
“I more than like yours, Stone.”
I fucking live for seeing my reflection in them as if it were meant to always be there.
A faint, red flush colors Stone’s cheeks, and when things start getting intense, she picks up the bottle of tequila and swings it in between us.
“You ready for it, pretty boy?”
“Hit me.”
Stone picks up a lime wedge, sticking it between her teeth while sprinkling her knuckle with a line of salt. She lets me lick the line off before pressing the ring of the bottle to my lips, spilling a bit of the sour liquid over my tongue. When she pulls the bottle away, she leans forward to push the lime wedge inside my mouth for me to suck on. I grasp the back of her head and kiss her, thinking that, as long as I keep her lips gently pressed against my own, the bitter taste of the citrus feels like heaven.
“Do you like this game so far?” she taunts, feeling my shaft bulging up against her.
“What do you think?”
She looks down at my crotch, the pull of her upper lip teasing me, and replies, “I think you like playing with me just fine.”
“I think you’re right,” I taunt back, lifting my hips so her swollen clit can feel just how much I enjoy her little games.
I go to grab the tequila bottle from her, ready to make her suffer in the same way, when she hides the bottle behind her back.
“Not yet. I haven’t heard a secret yet,” she explains mischievously.
“So it’s like that, huh? Fine. What do you want to know?”
“Tell me something no one knows about you. Not even your closest friends. And geeking out over astronomy doesn’t count. I already know that one.”
I grunt as I slap her behind, eliciting a little, excited ‘humph’ to fall from her lips.
“Always the brat.”
“Come on now, quarterback. Don’t get shy on me.”
Secrets.
She wants my secrets.
Shit. Which one do I pick? There are so many of those fuckers, sometimes even I lose track.
“Tick-tock,” she goads, shifting up and down my crotch, increasing my misery.
“Okay. Here it goes. Last summer, I lied to everyone. My family. My friends. Everyone,” I admit, to which she pauses her dry humping, sensing the seriousness of my tone.
I let out a long exaggerated breath, and lean my head forward against the small swell of her breasts.
“What did you lie about, Finn?” she asks, combing my hair lovingly, her voice calm and tranquil, not one bit judgmental.
“They all think I spent the summer with scouts from the Miami Dolphins, training with the team and whatnot, preparing me to go Pro next year. But it’s bullshit. Instead, I went to Florida Tech and did their summer Astronomy program. It’s one of the best schools for it on the East Coast, and since it’s just a few miles away from NASA and the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, I jumped at the chance to go. No one knows. They don’t even suspect it. I’ve never told a single soul about it. Not even East.”
“Oh, baby,” she whispers under her breath, saddened for me, kissing the top of my head repeatedly, the endearment wrapping itself around my heart, making the fucker bleed out for her.
I lean my head back, keeping it still so that we are just a breath apart from each other.
“Your turn. Be real with me, Stone. Tell me your secret.”
Her eyes become hooded, staring down at my lips.
“I’m leaving Ashville at the end of the year.”
“What?!” I blurt out in a panic, pulling back a little bit to face her as she breaks my heart.
But Stone just continues to play with the ends of my hair, locking her legs tightly around me, as if she didn’t just punch me in the gut.
“It’s not a done deal yet, but it looks promising. I applied to Columbia to get my law degree, and they are willing to give me a scholarship as long as I keep my grades exactly as they are. Now, their scholarship won’t cover all my expenses, but I already have a plan. I’m currently in the running to become a legal aid at Watkins & Ellis, one of the most prestigious law firms in Manhattan. At the moment I’m tied with three other candidates, but the feedback that I’ve gotten from them is encouraging. So, if I get the job, I’ll be able to accept the scholarship at Columbia, too.”
“I thought you were going to stay in Richfield for your law degree,” I stutter, feeling like someone is carving my insides out.
“I mean, I can. Richfield offered me a full ride, so it would make sense for me to stay, especially because of Momma. I know that leaving for New York will be tricky, and I’ll have to work extra hard so that she is properly taken care of. But, Finn… it’s New York City! I’m not like you. I’ve never left Asheville in all my twenty-one years of life. This is my chance. Not only to leave Southside but also to be in a better position to help my momma in the future. You understand that, don’t you?”
Her eyes search mine, and I try my best to hide how her good news has just shattered me—utterly and completely.
“Of course, I understand. I only wish I could be there when you make New York City your bitch,” I joke half-heartedly, gaining a shy smile out of her.
“You want to tell me another secret?” she asks inquisitively, completely oblivious of my inner turmoil.
“I sometimes wish I could just disappear,” I tell her, the honesty spilling from my lips without hesitation.
“Why do you feel like that?” She furrows her brows in concern.
“Because if I could, then maybe I could finally be happy,” I confess.
“And you’re not now?”
“No.”
“Why not?” she asks, her lips thinning into a frown.
“Everyone expects me to be something I’m not.”
“And what’s that?” she whispers in my ear, bringing me closer to her, wrapping her arms around me as my eardrum pulses with her beating heart.
“The obedient son. The loyal friend. The all-star football player.”
“And you don’t want to be those things?”
“I just want to be me,” I hush out, my body beginning to tremble in her arms.
“And who are you, Finn?” she continues to coax.
I lean back, grabbing her chin with my hands and telling her the one secret that is as true as the day is long.
“A guy who likes losing himself watching the stars above him, nearly as much as he likes getting lost just looking into your eyes.”
“So, I’m not one of the people you want to escape from?”