“You’re making friends here?” Reed puts his fork down. He’s cleared his plate too.
“Not really.” I shrug. “I’m shy so it’s been a little hard. It’s Carly blowing up my phone.”
“It’s probably for the best. When you return home it might be hard to leave new friends behind.” I stare at him. Is he waiting for me to leave? The thought that he’s counting down the days until I move out slices through me. Have I overstayed my welcome? Is that why he’s been acting so weird lately?
“I don’t know if I will return home. Carly is making plans to move out here, in fact.”
“You’re thinking of staying?” My phone buzzes again. Reed clenches his jaw. I grab it, putting it in my lap under the table. I switch it to silent.
“Am I supposed to go back home to my parents? I know it’s hard for you to realize it but I’m not a little girl anymore. I have to go out on my own at some point.”
“You don’t have to do anything.”
I laugh. “So I could just live here forever?”
“If you wish.” I don't need his pity as a reason for me to stay. I want him to want me to stay, but I’m not so sure he’ll ever see me as more than a young girl.
“Carly and I might get a place together.” I don’t want to leave him. The thought of not seeing him in some way every day is too sad to think about right now. But maybe I’ll have to if I want to keep my heart from breaking anymore. It’s clear that he doesn’t see me in the same way that I see him. He may not notice, but his cock sure did based on its reaction to me earlier.
“You think you’re ready for that?”
“I don’t know, to be honest. Some days I feel normal and other days—” I shrug, not sure how to put it. I got scared today in a busy department store. How would it be if Carly had to go out of town and I needed to stay alone? Would I even be able to handle it?
“You were attacked, Tinsley. You need time. There is no rush.”
“How am I supposed to get better if I do everything to avoid men? How will I ever be able to date? I need to get over my fear.” I toss out the dating thing to see if he has any sort of reaction.
“You don’t avoid me.” A small smile forms on his lips. No, I don’t avoid him. I am always seeking him out. I lick my lips.
“What if—” I shake my head. “Never mind.” I stand, taking my plate with me.
“What if what?” He follows me into the kitchen, putting his plate in the sink with mine.
“You were turned on. I felt it.”
“I’m sorry,” he apologizes. “You’re a beautiful girl. I didn't mean to scare you.”
I shake my head. “You didn't scare me,” I admit. Far from it. “That’s the thing. I’m not scared when I’m with you.”
“Good. I never want you to fear me.” His eyes drop to my mouth when I lick my lips again.
“Maybe I could practice with you.” I take a step toward him.
“Practice?”
“Yeah. You know. We could do stuff so that I can get more comfortable with things. I think it would help me out immensely.” He doesn’t say a word. He continues to stare at me as though I’ve lost my mind. “I mean, if you want to. Or have the time. Never mind. Forget I even mentioned it.” I swear I would shove my own foot in my mouth if I could so that I stop talking. I’m flustered so I turn to leave. Before I can move, he steps into my path. I almost run right into him.
He grabs me so I don’t fall on my ass. His hands wrap around my wrist. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” His voice is deeper than normal. The sudden shift in his tone causes me to become wet. My entire body heats at the thought of him using that voice with me in bed.
“Never mind.” I try to pull my hands free, but he doesn't let go.
“I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”
I bite my lip. His eyes drop to my mouth. Something flashes in his eyes that I don’t understand. “Why would it make me uncomfortable? I’m the one that suggested it.”
“You might change your mind or something.” Oh my. Is he thinking about it? I feel my heart start to race.
“I’m not going to change my mind.” No way in hell would that happen. I want this more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my life. My body is begging for him to say yes and give it what it needs.
“You might, though.”
“If you don’t want to do it, just say so.” I don’t want to go back and forth on this. I can feel my face already turning five shades of pink as we talk. He lets go of my wrist and steps back, letting me know his answer. I’d be lying if I don’t admit that his rejection hurts.
“I’ll leave it with you then, Tinsley.”
“Leave it with me?” What does that even mean?
“If you want a kiss then you can kiss me. If you want something all you have to do is ask and I’ll give it to you.”
I shift on my feet. Okay, that’s not what I thought he was going to say. This man is so confusing.
“I don’t want to kiss you if you don’t want to kiss me.” The pulse between my thighs grows stronger when I think about his gorgeous mouth on mine.
“There isn't a man alive who wouldn't want to kiss you, Tinsley.” I feel myself blush more at the comment. I should ask for a kiss now.
“Can we watch a movie?” I ask instead. This might not be as easy as I thought it would be.
“Yes,” he agrees.
“I’m going to change.” I step back toward him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I pull him down. He comes. I give him a quick peck before I turn, running off toward my room. My lips tingle feeling him there. I can’t believe I just did that. I smile. This might actually work.
7
Reed
I don’t stop her when she lies down, resting her head on my thigh as she watches the movie. I don’t even know what she picked. I can’t concentrate on anything but her. I can still taste her innocence and strawberry lip gloss on my lips. My cock has been rock hard for hours just from the tiny peck she had given me.
I continue to watch her as she takes small breaths in and out. She’s been asleep for over an hour. The movie starts playing again but I still don't move. I don’t care that my back is stiff from not moving. Every second I get to spend with her is worth it. No matter what.
I lift my hand, running it through her long blonde locks. I still can’t believe what she’s asked me to do. My mind keeps drifting back to her kissing me. It was over before it began. I wanted to grab her and pull her more into me. Deepen the kiss until she was breathless and begged for me to do more. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to claim her as mine in that moment.
This is going to be one of the hardest things I’ll ever have to do. She’s going to test every ounce of control I have. It will be worth it. I wonder how far she will let this go. For all I know she could change her mind tomorrow. When she walked back into the room in her pajamas you would have thought nothing had happened. She plopped down on the sofa. Not even next to me. I was disappointed. That was until she crawled over to me, putting her head into my lap.