Crave: Part One

  “See ya, Mom.”

  When she leaves and closes the door behind her, I turn to face Kason, and he’s smiling.

  “What?”

  He shakes his head, stands, and then pulls me into his arms. I can feel the relief in his hold.

  “She’s really sweet,” I tell him, hugging him back.

  He then takes my hand and walks me across the small space. With a quick look around, I note the bareness of the apartment. The walls are free of photos and artwork, and there’s hardly any furniture.

  When I step into Kason’s room, there’s only a dresser and a full-size mattress that lays on the floor in the corner of the room; no bed frame at all.

  I let go of his hand and take a step into his personal space. He has a number of skimboards leaning against the wall, and when I walk over to his bed, he turns on the lamp that sits on the dresser.

  “What are you doing?” he asks as I kick off my shoes and crawl to the center of his mattress.

  My hand runs over his sheets, and I smile. “I like it here.”

  He cocks his head and smirks as he kicks his own shoes off and joins me on the bed. I lie in his arms and close my eyes.

  “I didn’t think it would feel this good to have you here.”

  I cuddle in closer. “I wish you wouldn’t have worried so much.”

  He scoots down on the bed, and we turn onto our sides so we’re facing each other. When he cradles my cheeks, his brows furrow a bit as he asks, “Are you sure this doesn’t bother you?”

  I reach up, run my hand along his jaw, and whisper, “I’m sure.”

  He holds me firmly, and I wish he could feel what I feel on the inside, because if he could, he’d have no reason to doubt himself. And when he rests his head against mine, he closes his eyes and breathes, “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  Sparks flare from deep within my chest, his words caressing me from the inside out, and I feel like I could burst apart at any moment.

  “There’s no thinking for me,” I tell him. He draws back and looks at me. “I know I’m falling in love with you.”

  With our walls down, I kiss him and completely lose myself as time slips away from us. As his lips drag down my neck, I gather his shirt with my fingers and slip it off him. I hold him close, soaking in his warmth, begging for more.

  Being here, in his world, in his bed, I feel like I could stay forever and be content. That’s how amazing he makes me feel—loved and wanted and cared for. Because in the end, that’s all that really matters between two people, and we have that. He gives it freely to me, and I give it right back to him.

  His hand slips under the hem of my top, and when he takes my breast in his hand, I melt a little more.

  “Is this okay?”

  I nod my head against his shoulder, and he squeezes me before he lifts my shirt and kisses me over my bra. My hands get lost in his hair as he moves above me, closer than what we’ve ever been before, but it’s when his hand drops down my stomach and beneath the waistband of my shorts that my breath catches and I coil back.

  He stops, and I heat with embarrassment, muttering, “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Do you want to stop?”

  Tucked beneath him, I know this is exactly where I want to be. I’ve never been touched the way he’s touching me now, and the way he’s wanting to, but I know it’s his hands that are meant to be the first to do this, so I bashfully shake my head.

  He’s slow when he continues to move again, and my pulse loses its tempo when he unbuttons my shorts and slips his hand down and over my panties. Self-consciousness takes over, so I hide my face when I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him close to me.

  Every one of his touches ignites bundles of burning embers all over my body. My grip on him is strong. He then pushes his hand inside the fabric, touching my bare flesh, and I swear those embers fracture into wild scorching flames.

  The tips of my fingers press into his shoulders as his glide along me in the most intimate way.

  “God, you’re so soft,” he murmurs into my ear, and I loosen my hold around him when he kisses my temple.

  Never have I been as close to anyone as I am with Kason right now, but it still doesn’t feel like enough.

  “Kason?”

  My voice is so feeble, I doubt he hears me as he keeps going, but a second later, he finally responds. “What is it, baby?”

  I take a hard swallow and will myself to fight past my uncertainty. “I want to touch you.”

  With my words, he reaches down with his one hand and unfastens his shorts.

  I don’t move, and when his eyes flick to mine, I swallow another mouthful of fear and ask, “Will you show me how?”

  He takes his hand from between my legs, cups my cheek, and kisses me. I blush when I smell myself on his fingers. I’m spiraled too tightly with insecurity while he’s so calm and in control. Kason shifts to his side and shoves down his shorts before taking my hand in his and lowering it between our bodies.

  My heart races when I touch him for the first time. I hold him in my palm while he keeps his hand wrapped around mine. His breath grows heavy as he begins to guide my hand up and down the length of him. He’s insanely hot to the touch, and feeling how hard he is, I bashfully drop my head into the crook of his neck.

  Every noise he emits turns me on, and when his grip strengthens around mine, I draw back and look at him. His eyes, heavy lidded and pinned to mine, transfix me.

  “Keep doing it just like that,” he says on a staggering breath before taking his hand off mine and slipping it back between my legs and beneath my panties.

  Touching each other the way we are, I feel it happening—I feel the tug of my heart as it tethers with his. It’s an overwhelming weight that takes control of me, but I don’t fear it. In fact, there is nowhere else I’d rather be, so I freely hand myself over to its force field.

  School is out, and I’m officially a senior. I was hoping to spend most of my summer with Kason, but he’s working more hours than what he did during the school year. He doesn’t need to explain why, I already know, so I refuse to guilt him with the fact that I’ve been missing him.

  To fill in the boring gaps of hanging out at my house alone, I spend time with Micah and even sometimes Trent. My mom is busier than ever now. She does what she can to try to get home to see me before I go to bed, but those nights are starting to dwindle as the trial draws closer.

  Needless to say, today couldn’t have come soon enough. Molly just texted me to let me know she landed, and by the time I make it from the waiting lot and circle around the airport to arrivals, she’s already standing outside.

  Her familiar smile reminds me how much I’ve missed her, and I can’t undo my seatbelt fast enough.

  “You’re here!”

  There’s no doubt everyone can hear our high-pitched excitement as we hug. She’s one of the few people from back home that I truly love and miss. I can’t ever remember a time when she hasn’t had my back, and with everything falling apart with my dad for the last few years, she’s been the only person I’ve felt comfortable confiding in. That is, until now. I find myself turning to Kason more and more. Not that I intentionally turn to Molly less and less, but it’s hard when she lives so far away and Kason is right here. Though, I can’t deny how good it feels to have a piece of my old life with me in my new life here in Florida.

  We hop into my car, and when I start driving, she pegs the air conditioner, whining, “My God, it’s so humid.”

  “You’re telling me? It’s awful.”

  There’s really no point in slathering on makeup when the second you walk outside, it just melts off in the thick, stagnant air. It hangs heavily and plasters to your skin like a sticky dew, and it only gets worse after the hour-long sun showers that come nearly every afternoon. I thought summers in Florida would feel like paradise—I was wrong.

  “I can’t believe this is your life,” she says as we cruise along Bayshore with water on one side a
nd palm trees in front of luxury homes on the other. “I wonder if I could convince my mom to let me transfer here for senior year.”

  “I wish. I haven’t made a single girlfriend since I’ve been here.”

  “Are you serious? Why?”

  With a shrug, I respond, “I don’t really know. I mean, I don’t want to come across as a snot, but my best guess would be that they’re jealous.”

  “Of what?”

  I turn into the front drive of my house. “I somehow wound up making friends with a group of guys that are all pretty popular. But popular here is different from popular back home. They kind of do their own thing, but they’ve always included me, and we’ve become close.”

  “I take it Kason is one of those guys.”

  “Yeah.” I park the car but leave the AC running. “You’ll meet him later when we go over to Micah’s. They’re all down at the beach right now,” I tell her. “But the thing is, he’s a pretty quiet guy, so I don’t want you to think he isn’t being friendly. He barely even talks to anyone at school.”

  “Oooh, the quiet type,” she teases, wagging her brows.

  I grab her suitcase from the trunk as she steps out of the car, and when I take her inside, her voice echoes through the open space when she says, “This is amazing.”

  “Oh stop. My house back in Texas was nice, too.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t have this view,” she exclaims, holding out her arm toward the back of the house, which is covered in floor-to-ceiling windows that offer a perfect view of the veranda and pool.

  I roll her suitcase over to the foot of the stairs and give her a quick tour before we head to my room.

  “So,” she says, dragging out the word as she walks over to the large window, “this is where you stalked Pool Boy?”

  I roll my eyes.

  “You still watch him?”

  I throw a pillow from my bed at her.

  “You do, don’t you?” she teases. I do, but I’m not about to admit that to her. She embarrasses me enough as it is and doesn’t need more ammo.

  We spend the afternoon lying around and catching up. She fills me in on all the latest gossip at my old school, and I gush about Kason while I paint her toenails. When I get the text that the guys are heading back from the beach, Molly freshens up, and we drive over to Harbour Island.

  “Guppy’s here!” Micah calls out when I let myself in.

  “Guppy?”

  “It’s a size thing,” I tell her as we walk into the kitchen and find the guys devouring a huge bowl of chopped fruit.

  They’re all shirtless, sun kissed, and in their board shorts.

  Kason walks straight to me and lifts me in his arms, giving me a strong hug. “Hey, babe.”

  I plant a kiss on his neck and then lick the salt from my lips when he sets me back down on my feet.

  “Kason, this is Molly.”

  “Hey, Molly,” he greets, and then I introduce her to Micah and Trent.

  Everyone exchanges hellos and then we all head out back so I can show Molly an even more impressive view than the one at my place.

  “I would never leave my house if I lived here,” she says as she rounds the pool and walks down closer to the water. “Is that your boat?”

  “Yeah,” Micah tells her. “If you want, we can take it out while you’re here.”

  “I’d love to.”

  Trent then jumps into the pool and finds himself a raft to lie out on to deepen his already dark tan while the four of us hang out under the shade.

  “So, what do you two have planned tonight?”

  Sitting on Kason’s lap, I tell him, “No plans. I thought we’d take it easy for today.”

  “Dude, your best friend, I mean, second best, comes out to see you, and you’re going to bum it at home?”

  Molly eyes Micah. “Second best?”

  “Tell her, Guppy.”

  “I’ll let you two battle that one out,” I say.

  “Until you’re able to make this girl laugh so hard she pees her pants, there’s no way you’re trumping me.”

  “Oh my god! Molly!” I shriek as I swat my hand at her, but all she can do is laugh at me.

  “You peed your pants?” Kason chuckles.

  Molly gives an exaggerated nod. “Luckily my car has leather seats.”

  Kason’s face is slathered in amusement, and I throw him under the bus right along with me when I say, “And what about the time you pulled down your pants and used Micah’s pool as your own personal toilet?”

  “Dude!” he shouts at Micah. “Is nothing sacred?”

  “Besties share everything,” he teases in response and then shoots an antagonizing air kiss to Molly.

  But Molly likes retaliation, and as quick as lightning, reaches over and pinches his nipple.

  “Holy fuck!” Micah jumps in his seat and covers his chest as she and I burst out in a barrel of giggles.

  “What the hell’s going on?” Trent questions when he walks over to us as he’s toweling off.

  “Girl just attacked my nipple, man.”

  “Nice. She’s feisty.”

  Trent drags a chair over to where we are and sits next to Molly, and I already see it in his eyes—he thinks she’s cute. But I have nothing to worry about as I slack into Kason’s arms a little more. Molly isn’t attracted to boys with foul mouths, and especially ones who drink and smoke pot. So, I sit back and watch him as he proceeds to flirt, enjoying the entertainment as the evening plays on.

  “This humidity is killing my hair, literally,” Molly fusses as she gives up on the flatiron.

  “Tell me about it.”

  Molly stands in front of the mirror in my bathroom as I sidle up next to her, dab on a little gloss, and toss my hair back into a ponytail.

  “So, what kind of party is this?”

  “Pretty much like the ones back home, except there might be pot there.”

  Her eyes bulge. “You mean, like, marijuana?”

  I nod, wondering if my reaction was as dramatic to Micah when I first saw Trent smoking. “It doesn’t seem to be a big deal around here.”

  Twisting the cap back on the gloss, she leans her hip against the sink, asking, “Have you smoked it?”

  “God no!”

  “Do your friends?”

  I shrug passively as I walk back into the bedroom. “Trent and Micah do, but they’re not obnoxious about it.” I slip on my sandals as she stares at me from the bathroom, still half-shocked. “Molly, relax. It’s fine.”

  “I can’t believe you’re being so . . . whatever about it.”

  “Trust me, I was as stunned as you, but honestly, it’s different from how it is back in Plano.”

  “I guess,” she succumbs as we head out.

  Molly and I have been keeping busy this past week. We’ve hit the beaches, explored the port, and have spent a lot of time with the guys, swimming and hanging out. Tonight, we are going over to Trent’s house. His parents are away on a week’s vacation in Montreal, so he’s throwing a party with his older brother, who’s home from college.

  When we arrive at his place, the house is already packed with people. I recognize a lot of faces from school, but there are even more I’ve never seen.

  “This is crazy,” Molly says as she holds on to my hand while I navigate my way through the crowd.

  I raise on my tiptoes to try to find Kason who texted me a little bit ago to tell me he was already here, but even on my toes, I’m still shorter than most.

  “Adaline!”

  I turn around, and see Kason weaving through everyone to get to me.

  “Did he invite the whole town?” I joke, and he takes my hand.

  “We’re all out back.”

  Molly and I follow him out to the backyard where a group is gathered around the large stoned-in fire pit. Everyone is drinking, and when Trent offers, both Molly and I decline. It doesn’t take long for him to strike up a conversation with Molly, and when Kason leans down to my ear and asks to sneak away, I
get an approving nod from her.

  “I’ve been missing you,” he says when we are far enough away from the crowd that it feels like we are alone.

  I soften into him. “I’m right here.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  And I do. With his busy work schedule and Molly being here, we haven’t spent any real time together. Since both our moms are always at work, we’re used to being alone with each other and we spend more than our fair share of time kissing and making out. Kason is an extremely affectionate person, more than what I would have guessed when I first met him, so I don’t doubt him when he tells me this.

  After a few more steps, he takes a seat next to a palm tree and pulls me down with him so I’m sitting between his legs. I scoot and angle myself toward him, and when he threads his fingers into my hair, I slip my hand around the back of his neck and kiss him.

  We kiss until our lips grow tired and then he holds me against him. A simple touch that consumes me, and I find that there’s really no place else I’d rather be than in his arms. I’ve come to know them well, and often crave them when he isn’t around.

  Somehow, he’s found the hidden path straight to my soul, a path not even I was aware of. But here he is, my body absorbing him in fractions as he continues to slowly hand himself over to me, piece by piece. He isn’t one to open up quickly, but when he does, with every small bit he hands over to me, I fall that much deeper.

  “I love you,” I whisper up into the stars, but he grabs hold of my words before they travel too far and gives them right back to me, saying, “I love you, too.”

  We stay tucked away from everyone for as long as we can until we’re dragged back into the chaos.

  “Where’s Molly?”

  “She went inside with Trent,” Micah tells me.

  When I leave Kason to go find my friend, I’m shocked when I see her dancing with Trent and a few girls. Girls that go to my school. Girls that have never spoken a word to me. They only stare and whisper, never outright rude, but it’s clear they have something against me. But here they are, dancing and laughing with Molly. I can’t help the tinge of insecurity that spills over me, wondering what it is about me that keeps them from wanting to talk to me.