I realize that I’m doing the same thing to him that I did at the party, and I never explained. “My best friend, Kara,” I say. “We made this pact when we were little. That we would stay virgins until the right person came along. She always took it way more seriously than I did. I think for her, the right person means the person she’s marrying. I don’t have a clue how I’m going to tell her about this, let alone that I did it with the coach. But if I’m back in the dorm before she wakes up she won’t be suspicious and I can avoid what I have to tell her for at least a little while.”
I realize as I finish speaking that I was going at full speed and I take in a breath.
“Wow. Come here for a sec,” Carter pulls me back onto the bed, back into his arms. “So you guys agreed not to sleep with anyone. Why?”
“Because it was right after sex ed and boys were still gross.”
He nods. “So at the party—”
“I heard Kara’s voice outside the room. She was looking for me. I didn’t want her to find you and me…in the middle of it.”
Carter looks thoughtful. I know I just threw about ten years of baggage on him, so I’m not surprised. He frowns. “You think she’ll be that upset that we slept together?”
“When I told her I was going on a date, she said to be careful because of the pact. When I told her it was with you, she was fine because she assumed you’d never sleep with a student.”
The laugh that rumbles from him is genuine. His real laugh is quickly becoming one of my favorite sounds. “Well, she was wrong there.”
“Yeah.”
“You two seem really close.”
“We are,” I say. “That’s why it makes me sick inside when I think about telling her.” Putting a hand on my chest, I sit up and smile. “I don’t regret this. I wanted this. I want more of this. It’s just, I don’t want to lose her either.”
Carter runs a finger down my side, absently following the line of my ribs. I feel amazing to be already so comfortable like this—both of us naked and not at all shy. “I get it. But I don’t think you’re going to help things by hiding them from her. Then it’s just going to bug you that you’re not telling her something when it seems like you guys tell each other pretty much everything.”
“Yeah, we do.” I hate that he’s right, but he is. “I still have no idea how I’m going to tell her though.”
“Maybe when you guys do something fun, I don’t know what you guys do together.”
I flop back onto the pillows. “She wanted to do TV and pizza tonight.”
He grins. “So do that tomorrow night and tell her then.”
“That means that I still have to be back before she wakes up today,” I say, suddenly reluctant to leave the warmth of his bed and the temptation of his skin.
“That’s true,” he says. “But after you tell her you can spend as many nights here as you like. Preferably with as little sleep as possible.”
“Mmm.” I want more of him, and I wonder if there’s something about having sex for the first time that makes you crave it. Like now that I know just how good it can be, there’s always going to be something missing when I’m without it. “I guess I should get dressed then.”
“I suppose, though I think it’s more fun watching you take your clothes off.”
I hop off the bed, a little unsteady on my feet, and search for my dress. “If you hurry, I’ll even let you walk me back to campus.”
He’s off the bed faster than I even thought possible, pulling on his pants. “How could I resist that?”
The night has cooled and the sky is that clear navy that’s so gorgeous on summer nights. There are still people out and about, but it’s easy not to take notice, like we’re in our own world. We’re not walking fast, and yet it seems like we’re at my dorm in no time at all. Carter pulls me up onto my toes, teasing my lips with his, and kissing me until I feel drunk with it. I sway after him as he pulls away, my body not ready to let him go.
He chuckles, steadying me. “Goodnight, April.”
“Goodnight.”
13
Just like I thought, Kara is already asleep. Thankfully. And now that I’m away from Carter, I’m so tired that I barely manage to change my clothes before falling into my bed. Good thing I don’t have any classes tomorrow. Somehow I managed to get a free day on Wednesday, other than cheer practice.
It feels like I just closed my eyes when I wake up and it’s almost two. Holy crap.
The sun is streaming in through the windows, and I feel like I’m waking up from a coma. It’s been awhile since I’ve slept that hard. I guess that’s what sex will do to you. Maybe. I’ll have to see how I feel next time. I force myself out of bed, stifling a groan. There’s a not entirely unpleasant soreness between my legs and the rest of my body feels like I had a really hard workout. Though I’m not sure how much of that is just from being in regular practices again.
Wandering out to the suite’s kitchen, I can tell I’m the only one here. The doors to the other rooms are open and they’re empty. My stomach growls, and I think that a bowl of cereal sounds nice. But first, I see that Kara left me a note on the table.
Hope your date went well! Wanted to hear about it this morning but you were out like a light.
Out for a jog and then classes. I’ll see you at practice.
I want all the details!
XO Kara
I laugh out loud. She has no idea just how many details there are. Dirty details. So many I don’t think she’ll actually want to hear them. I pour myself a bowl of cereal and sit down at the little table in our kitchen. So, I’m not a virgin anymore. I thought that the transition would make me feel something, like I’m somehow more complete or more of a woman or whatever. But it feels kind of like you feel on your birthday—you’re still you. The only thing that’s different is I now know I can orgasm so hard that I almost pass out. Carter kept his word. I am never going to forget that night, and I’m never going to think that it was a mistake.
A comforting relief fills me. I think I was still nervous that I might wake up and think it was a bad idea. But I don’t. I’m not a virgin anymore, and I don’t care. I like Carter and I don’t have any doubts about sharing my first time with him. I don’t think anyone else could have made me feel the way that he did. Sexy and beautiful and treasured. And then when it came down to it, letting go of all that and just giving me everything he had.
I blush just thinking about it.
So far, nothing about Carter has made me like him less. He’s jaw-droppingly hot, kind, interesting, and a gentleman. I like him. I don’t even care that he’s the coach anymore. There’s something between us now and I don’t want to stop until I know what it is. If he’s just the right person at the right time to give me some great sex for the first time, then so be it. But…I don’t think it’s that. Sure, I want to fuck him again, but it’s more. I want to see what it’s like to spend time with him. Nights on the couch watching movies or long drives to the middle of nowhere for no reason.
Screw it. I don’t care what others might think. I’m not going to stop and Carter gave me no indication that he’s going to either.
I put away my dishes and start on some homework that I put off while I was with Carter. I feel settled, happy with my decision, and before I know it a couple of hours have flown by and it’s time to get ready for practice. I need a shower. It might be stupid to shower and then go get sweaty, but I’ll be damned if I’m showing up to practice with sex still on my skin.
I’m getting my towel and shampoo when I hear a knock at the door. That’s weird. People don’t usually knock in the dorms. But then again, people don’t usually come to the dorms uninvited. My heart skips a beat when I open the door. It’s Carter.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” His smile is breathtaking, making my stomach do flip-flops.
I gesture him inside and close the door. “What are you doing here? I’m just about to get in the shower so I can head over to the gym for prac—”
My words are cut off because Carter has dragged me into my arms and is kissing me. “I couldn’t wait,” he says. “I knew that if I showed up to practice without seeing you, I’d be hard the whole time. It’s been more than twelve hours.” His eyes darken as he says the words, and I go weak in the knees.
“We don’t have time,” I say weakly. “I can’t do this and have time to shower and not be late.”
The sexy smirk is back. “Who says you have to?”
Carter steals my towel from me and strides into the bathroom, stripping his shirt off as he goes. He leaves me behind with my jaw on the floor. I follow him into the bathroom where he’s already completely naked, starting the water running. God, just the thought of his body dripping in the shower is making me wet. “Are you serious?”
“I never joke about sex.” But he’s smiling while he says it. “Besides, I’ll even help you get clean. Think of it as two birds with one…cock.”
That same light, joyous feeling comes over me, and I wonder if it’s the sex or just him. This spontaneity, and laughter, it’s not like anything I ever had with other boyfriends. Carter jumps in the shower, and I’m mesmerized by the way the water travels down his body, catching and pooling in the lines of his muscles like it’s caressing him. He reaches down to his cock, stroking it though it’s already completely hard. There’s something about him doing that while he looks at me that sends a flood of wetness to my pussy. I’m the one that’s turning him on and he wants me to know it.
“Don’t make me drag you in here with your clothes on,” he says. I have no doubt that he’ll do it, too.
I strip out of my pajamas and step under the streaming water. It’s the perfect temperature, hot but not enough to burn. Though with how hot Carter is about to make me feel, I think we’ll see about the burning. He doesn’t waste time, pressing me up against the glass of the shower, kissing me hard. His hand is between my legs. “God, you’re so wet already.”