Starting From Somewhere (Starting From 4)

“I can’t believe how good this is. How right you feel,” I whispered.

He smiled. “Yes. So good.”

And it only got better when we began to move. Short, smooth strokes and soft kisses gave way to a moderate, steady motion. Cody wrapped his legs around me and met me thrust for thrust, scratching my back, biting my shoulder, and begging for more…harder, faster. I would have given him anything he asked for. Anything.

I rolled my hips as I rose above him, pumping at maximum speed. I braced one hand on the headboard for purchase and wrapped the other around his rock-hard cock, jacking him in time with the squeak of bedsprings. He looked so perfect lying under me…pale skin, flushed cheeks, and swollen lips. So perfect. So mine.

Mine.

Fuck, I almost didn’t have a chance to warn him. My orgasm bore down on me like a tidal wave on a crowded beach. I wasn’t gonna outrun this one, but I tried. He clung to me as I fucked him faster, harder. And when I finally fell apart, he came along with me, shooting cum between our sweat-slicked bodies.

I didn’t want to let go of him. Lying here with him felt too good. Although I had to be crushing the hell out of him. I sucked in a breath…and slowly disengaged, flopping gracelessly onto my pillow. I stared at the boring white ceiling for a long moment, then glanced his way.

“You okay?”

Cody’s smile was as sex-mussed as his hair and brighter than the sun. “Yes. I’m very, very good.”

I chuckled. “Me too, baby. Me too.”

“For research purposes alone, I may need to do that a few more times.”

“Tonight?” I popped my eyes wide to make him laugh.

“Of course. You didn’t have somewhere else to be, did you?”

I shook my head and kissed him.

No. I wasn’t going anywhere. There was no place I wanted to be and no one I’d rather be with. Just him.

It occurred to me that my fear of failure might be tied to my ongoing awkwardness with Johnny. I pulled away from him the way I did when anything I sabotaged went tits up. I could talk about feelings all day long when they didn’t matter, but thanks to Cody, I was getting better at communicating. His analytical brain demanded straight talk with no prevarication. His family allowed him to sidetrack emotional combat with knowledge, but he went out of his way to find common ground with his friends…and with me.

And yeah, he inspired me to try a little harder.

I slipped my guitar behind my back, humming bits of the sexy ditty Dec and I had composed as I headed for the kitchen. I was on a quest for a candy bar or chips…something sweet or salty to celebrate a musical breakthrough. I would have preferred rubbing up against my boyfriend, but he didn’t work at Scratch Records on Wednesdays, so…

Oh. Great. A Zero meeting.

“Bobby J! How’s it goin’?” Justin and Ky whooped. Tegan bumped my fist. And Johnny just smiled. The noncommittal kind of smile, though. A take it or leave it, uncertain sort of gesture.

“Good. We’re churning out hits in the studio next door,” I bragged with a shit-eating grin.

Justin and Ky rolled their eyes.

Tegan snorted. “We were just about to go do the same. Want to meet for drinks after practice?”

“Sure thing. Zebra Den?”

“Yeah. See you later, man.”

I pulled my guitar in front of me and made it scream, blending notes in a fiery fusion that was part awful, part genius. They slapped their hands over their ears and picked up their pace as they moved toward the door. Except for Johnny. He laughed. Like I hoped he would. Making our guitars screech or sing at exaggerated heights was our evil genius. We practiced ridiculous maneuvers that required dexterity and a dash of courage to perform onstage. Even though we played for different bands, practicing with a pro like him made me better. I liked to think he’d say the same thing about me.

“Hey, Johnny,” I called. “Got a second?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

I pursed my lips and furrowed my brow as I tried to find a way to verbalize my muddy thoughts.

“Look, I won’t apologize again. But I’ve been thinking about my tendency to want to control shit and how I don’t react well when things don’t go according to plan and—I was embarrassed about the three-way debacle. It could have really fucked with the momentum of both our bands. There might have been a scandal, and it would have been my fault and—”

“But it didn’t happen,” he interrupted. “You saved the day. You saw what that prick was about to do, and you stopped it. I don’t know about you, but I learned a lesson that night. Don’t fuck with friends, and keep an eye out for creeps who want to fuck a guy in a band…or two at a time.”