I felt like I was on display and had to fight the urge to snatch the comforter from his bed to hide behind. “You don’t have to flatter me, Trent. I’m not going anywhere.” My voice cracked slightly. I knew my body wasn’t perfect. Jackson had reminded me countless times while we dated.
“Tressa, come on. You’re smarter than that.”
I cut him off. “Are you calling me stupid?”
“If you think there’s anything wrong with your body, then yes, I am,” he said, circling his hands around my arms. His eyes scanned my body from head to toe. “Because from where I’m standing, everything looks damn perfect.”
He unexpectedly swept me off my feet and carried me to the bed. We tumbled down together, laughing until he began to trace the curves of my body with his fingers. I closed my eyes and allowed my body to completely relax while he switched to using his mouth. He started at my shoulders, kissing his way across my neck. I raised my hands to his chest, but he pushed them back down. “Just relax and let me play,” he said.
He continued to kiss his way down to my breasts while his free hand moved between my thighs. I couldn’t stop my body from reacting to his touch. Just lying there without being able to use my hands on him was torture.
“I want you now,” I insisted. He climbed on top of me, using his knee to spread my legs apart. By the time he leveled his body over mine, I felt like I would die if he didn’t ease the throbbing inside me. My hands looped around his neck, pulling his mouth to mine as he entered me. Our bodies moved in a synchronized rhythm as we both sought release. I felt my orgasm approaching, but I fought to hold it off, not wanting the moment to end. I could tell Trent was close as his movements became faster and more forceful.
“Together,” I whispered, looking into his eyes. Neither of us was able to hold back any longer.
He answered by plunging deep inside me one last time, sending us both over the edge. He kissed me tenderly before collapsing on top of me. Deep shudders rippled through him. I stroked a hand down his back, marveling at how good he felt against me. I f
elt completely sated and could have purred like a pleased feline. Sure, it’d been a long time for me, but I couldn’t remember it ever being like this.
It took several minutes for both of us to catch our breath. Trent headed to the bathroom while I snuggled under the blankets, too lethargic to move. I was more asleep than awake when he left the bathroom. He climbed into bed and slid his arms around me before we both drifted off in each other’s arms. Another first for me. Wait until Brittni found out. There was no way she would believe it.
21.
The weeks following the Halloween festival passed so quickly I barely had time to catch my breath. My academic probation ended without any hoopla. I barely noticed. Trent continued to tutor me since the majority of my days were spent with him anyway. After our first night together, I pretty much spent every night at his apartment. Being with him was a new experience. He was attentive in and out of the bedroom and had a way of making me feel treasured. I was pleased that the passion that had consumed us so completely the first night didn’t fade like it had in some of my previous relationships.
During the day, we fell into an easy routine. Trent did a lot of freelance work from home, but most of the time he saved it until I went to work. If something important did come up that he had to finish, it gave me an excuse to stay caught up on my own classwork.
Every few days I would return to my apartment to grab new clothes and other necessities. Derek seemed cool with my absence, but Cameo had returned to ignoring me like she had after David’s accident. Ever since her breakup with Chad, it was like she didn’t care about anything. I knew from texts and chats with Derek that she was partying hard. I’d tried to get her to come over and hang out with Trent and me, but she blew me off, saying my “married-couple social life” wasn’t for her. Her words rubbed me like salt in an open wound. I thought we were the kind of friends that could be happy for each other. Regardless of whatever Cameo’s problem was, I wasn’t about to let it burst my happy bubble.
Before I knew it, Thanksgiving had snuck up on us, and Trent and I were heading back to Woodfalls. We both had mixed emotions about the trip home since we obviously wouldn’t be sleeping together while we were there. We’d grown so accustomed to being together at this point that neither of us was looking forward to four nights in separate beds. I teased him that he was going to have to sneak through my window every night.
As it turned out, we only spent two days in Woodfalls. Larry called from Javalotta, asking if I could cover two double shifts over the weekend since two of the girls had come down with the flu. At least I’d gotten to eat Thanksgiving dinner at home. It would have sucked to miss my mom’s famous stuffing. She was also nice enough to load me up with a bag of leftovers to take with me. Since Trent and I had driven to Woodfalls together, he ended up returning to MSC also. I felt bad about pulling him away from his family during the holiday, but he assured me that he’d much rather be with me. I couldn’t have agreed with him more.
• • •
December started with a blizzard that closed the campus for two days. Several dorms lost power, but the utility trucks seemed to be working around the clock to remedy the situation. Derek and Cameo showed up at Trent’s apartment the first night of the blizzard when our apartment became a casualty of the power loss.
Cameo’s attitude thawed out long enough for us to have a mini snowed-in party. We stayed up late eating junk food and watching comedies from the eighties. It almost felt like old times—minus the frat house and coolers full of booze. We ended up sleeping in late while the storm continued to rage outside.
By midday, the storm lost steam, and Cameo and Derek found out from a neighbor that power had been restored to our apartment. They decided to head out, thanking Trent for letting them crash.
Life after the storm returned to normal, or at least what was our new normal lately. Trent was working longer hours in the lab, and I stayed busy working at Javalotta and studying for finals, which were coming up before the Christmas holiday. Statistics was still a thorn in my side, and Trent tried to help me study as best as he could, but he was having his own issues in the lab. I was sort of living back and forth between Trent’s apartment and my own place with Derek and Cameo.
By the second week of December, all the studying and working with no playing was beginning to make me a dull girl. It didn’t help that everyone seemed to be talking about some holiday party every time I turned around. My resentment over missing all the fun started making me edgy, and I found myself snapping at everyone.
Trent was a trouper through my mood swings. He kept assuring me that once my finals were over, I’d feel less pressure. I hoped he was right. Of course, if I failed my statistics final, I would probably go postal after what a pain in the ass that class had been.
In the end, I felt like all my finals went off without a hitch. I’d done everything I could, and the only thing left to do now was wait for my grades. Well, that and celebrate a little, which Trent and I did by going to Shirley’s Secret Club.
“Still not sick of this Boy Scout?” Peewee asked, letting us in. “I could show you a good time,” he added, winking outrageously.
“Hmm, let me mull that over,” I answered.
“Get your own girl,” Trent intervened, pulling me tightly against him.
Peewee and I laughed. “I guess that’s a no,” I said, blowing him a kiss as Trent propelled me to the main room.
His jealousy was funny. It was nice to matter so much to someone. The feeling was mutual, and I found myself struggling with my own jealousy when the waitress who dropped off our food started flirting with him. I handled the situation in my own mature way by accidentally knocking into her hand while she held a pitcher of water. The clear liquid drenched the front of her shirt, making her shriek in surprise. It took all my self-control to not laugh out loud.