Dream Catcher (Woodland Creek)

Hands curled around my face, tangled in my hair, pulling me in closer for another scorching hot kiss. His tongue filled my mouth, stroking and pulling me deeper into his embrace. The bookshelves behind me bit into my back, making me whimper when he suddenly released me, stepping back quickly to put distance between us that didn’t feel safe at all. Chest heaving, he left me just as quickly as he’d come, striding out of the library. Alone and in a state of awakened arousal so bad it cramped, I picked up the pages of the wrecked book, my fingers shaking.

Chapter Ten

*

WARREN

Racing from the library, my brain buzzed with excitement. She said yes and a juvenile part of me stopped to jump up in the air with fist pumps. I passed a fellow classmate I barely knew and grabbed him by the shoulders, shouting on an almost howl. “Dude, she said yes!”

He looked confused, separating himself from me. “Uh, congratulations, man?” He brushed me off, laughing and joined his group of friends several feet away. Jogging back to the truck and turning it on, I replayed the last ten minutes with her in my head which led to the last several weeks. Musing, I let the vehicle warm up. In the short time I knew Kerri, from her accident at the end of August to now, she had occupied my thoughts heavily. I had tried to ignore her those first few weeks in the beginning of September, only seeing her when I tagged along with Jase and Reagan. It hadn’t been nearly enough.

Now October was upon us, and a super moon would be visible in the sky tonight. I wondered how she would look in the moonlight, long pale hair picked up by the wind, and my arousal intensified, anticipating tonight. Leaves dusted up around me in a swirl as I backed the truck out of my parking spot. The radio flicked on automatically, playing an Ed Sheeran song. He sang about how people fell in love in mysterious ways…I knew he couldn’t be more right about that. Kerri was a surprise that blew me away from the moment I pulled her out of her car and into my arms.

Thinking about the kiss, her lips on mine, she tasted nothing like chicken. Heck, no woman tasted like chicken, it was a ridiculous statement, but I was eager to tell Jase, just to shut him up and rub it in. I hadn’t planned to kiss her like that in the library, openly and wanting so much more. Adjusting my painfully erect dick in my jeans was difficult while driving, moving my hips around in my seat to get comfortable. Admittedly, I felt the dare to kiss her pink lips when her phone buzzed in her jean pocket, seeing it was her dickhole ex-boyfriend still calling her. Why did he keep calling her? Unusual anger and protective instincts rose up just thinking about how he’d treated her in the past. Vowing she would never feel that way with me if she trusted her heart to my keeping, my hand punched against my steering wheel.

From what Reagan had told me, Dillon Sexton was a real loser. What guy with a kid and responsibilities treated women that way? Saying cruel things to Kerri and disrupting her life in Woodland Creek for no good reason other than his selfishness. I despised people like that. Part of me wanted to ask her if her parents were okay with it, but I figured that was another Pandora’s Box for another day. Dillon douche-canoe milked the free babysitting for all it was worth with some false promises. He was a real fucking charmer.

Kerri’s face when she’d realized it was him had gone from her shy smile to hurt and sadness. Part of me knew she still had some kind of feelings toward him even if she said they were not together anymore. A breakup didn’t always mean your feelings followed suit at the same time. I guessed the idiot didn’t get the memo, but I could wait for her heart to open up for me if she wasn’t ready. Though nothing about her kiss in kind told me she wasn’t ready for something…I had no problem reminding the idiot if he ever decided to show his ugly mug there in town.

* * * * * *

Getting back to my house, I walked inside with more spring in my step, dumping my car keys into a decorative dish Reagan made in a pottery class for Jase. The keys clanged against the brown and gold glazed ceramic leaf, yet the house was still quiet.

“Dude, Jase, where are you?” Making loud noises so he would hear me, I called for my jackass cousin and walked into his bedroom without knocking on his door. Jackass did it to me all the time, so I didn’t think anything of it, caught up in my own happiness.

Kerri is coming out with me tonight.

I smiled.

Kerri said yes.

Warmth punched my chest.

It’s like an actual date.

I loved how her lips tasted.

“DUDE! Get the fuck out!” My musing over Kerri came to a screeching halt with the next scene before me.

“Warren!” With her tail feathers in bunch, Reagan yelled back, almost falling to the floor.

“Ah, God, I don’t need to see this!” Cringing, I shielded my eyes after walking in on Jase and Reagan on the floor perfecting some weird ass yoga move. On his flat screen TV an older man bended in a pretzel like position with a woman balancing on his outstretched legs, something I guessed they’d been attempting to do.

I said that was disturbing because Jase was wearing some ‘man spanks’ with his dick all contorted in an unnatural way. I didn’t need to see that, think about it, or know it. We were family and roommates, for crying out loud.

“So don’t look, dipshit,” Jase grumbled and gently lowered Reagan to the ground in a tangle of limbs. She reached for a towel to throw over her shoulders, huffing with exaggerated breaths.

“Kind of hard not to with your damn junk hanging out all over.” I waved my hand at the two of them, backing out of his room. Reagan didn’t look any better, her thin body wearing a practically painted on bodysuit and her nipples, which I shouldn’t have noticed, were pressed out into hard little points.

“I don’t understand what your issue is with yoga. You totally ruined the meditative mood.” Reagan stepped around me, smacking my arm.

“Uh, sorry. It’s kind of hard when neither of you sees fit to wear actual clothes when you do it.” With an irritated snort, I headed into the kitchen where Jase grabbed bottled water, tossing one to Reagan and keeping one for himself. “Do I get one?”

“Dude, get it yourself,” Jase ground out, walking away from the fridge, bumping against me.

“So what the heck had you barging in here all crazy happy you neglected the good old sock on the doorknob clue?” Reagan hopped up on the counter in her X-rated yoga clothes and a sweatshirt Jase handed her.

“There was a sock on the door?” I asked, grabbing my drink and leaning against the counter on the opposite side of them.