Hold the Forevers

“Tease,” I groaned, lifting my hips to try to get him inside of me.

“Oh, did you want something?” He pressed a kiss to my nose and then sat up, angling my hips up to meet him. Then with exaggerated slowness, he slid into me.

“Oh fuck,” I murmured.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he said when he bottomed out. “You’re so tight.”

“Cole.” I wiggled my hips to try to get him moving. But it was a sight to see him on his knees with his dick buried in me. His head tipped back and eyes closed as he enjoyed the feel of me. “Please.”

He leaned down on one elbow, brushed a kiss to my lips, and began to move. Slow and steady at first to bring me back to the brink, but then neither of us could hold out any longer. I dragged my red acrylic nails across his back, leaving my own marks. His fingers dug into my hips, using them as an anchor as he plunged into me over and over again on the creaky bed.

“Close,” I told him. “So fucking close.”

He lifted me up into his arms so that we were both sitting up and I was on top of him. I leveraged myself against his hips, slamming back on him. Wanting the sweet release that was within reach.

He took over the rhythm and used my body, bouncing it up and down on him until I cried out as my orgasm hit at the same time as his. He grunted, shooting up into me one last time. I threw my arms around him as everything went hazy and I saw stars.

I flopped backward on the bed, my hands over my head, and I smiled up at him.

“Wow,” I whispered.

“Yeah. Fuck, Lila.”

“That was some apology.”

He fell onto the bed next to me, kissing my forehead. I padded out of bed to clean up, and then he followed. When we both got back in bed, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and tucked me in tight.

“One day, we’re going to have to not use sex to solve our problems.”

He kissed me again. “You’re right.”

We lay in silence. Both of us knew that we needed to have a real conversation, but neither of us wanted to go there yet while still trapped in the afterglow of our sex.

Then the downstairs door slammed shut, loud enough to practically rattle the hinges.

I winced at the sound. Ash must have left. He’d probably heard everything. Fuck.

“I’m sorry about Jess,” Cole said in the bubble of silence that fell after Ash departed.

“I’m sorry about Ash.”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t understand how you could still be friends with her after what she did to you.”

Cole sat up on an elbow. “We’ve never talked about this before. What did you hear that she did to me?”

I flushed again, unable to say the words.

He nodded his head. “You heard about the train.”

“Uh, yeah …”

“I’d hoped you’d never hear about that. I hate that it’s still circulating. It’s a vicious rumor.” He tipped his head back in frustration.

“Well, what really happened?”

“Look, I didn’t tell you what happened with Jess because it isn’t my story to tell.”

“Your breakup isn’t your story to tell?” I asked skeptically.

“Jess was raped.”

I sat up in horror. “Oh my God.”

“Yeah.” He ran a hand back through his hair. “She was at a party, and a guy slipped something in her drink. Then, he took her out back and …” He gestured to off to indicate what had happened. “One of her friends found it happening and swore she was going to call the cops, but she brought her to me first. By the morning, Jess didn’t want anyone to know. She was humiliated and ashamed, and … she still can’t talk about it. She wouldn’t go to the police. She said they wouldn’t do anything.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “I hate that she’s right.”

“Well, her friend told me who did it. I found the guy, and a few other players and I beat the shit out of him. Decided it was as much justice as he deserved. He tried to get us kicked off the football team.” Cole shrugged. “Didn’t work.”

“Wow,” I breathed.

“Yeah. And well, it didn’t work out with us after that. She broke it off and asked to remain friends. That it wasn’t me, just that she couldn’t be with anyone right now. She’s in therapy in Atlanta and doing a lot better. But it will never be that way with us again.”

“God, Cole, I’m so sorry. That’s … that’s terrible. I can’t believe that happened … and yet …”

“Yeah, and yet I can. It’s so utterly fucked.” Cole shook his head, the anger of the incident still with him. “And Jess said it was okay for me to tell you. I wanted you to know the truth.”

I put my hand on his. “Thank you for trusting me.”