And yet I don’t feel like I can stop speculating.
Maybe he already knows about me and Lorena somehow.
What if someone recognized us at dinner and they’ve let Jamie know, and now he’s awkwardly skirting around the elephant in the room?
“It’s fine,” Lorena says quickly.
“I thought you’d be too busy with college.”
“You were right. I am. You don’t have to apologize. Anyway, you don’t want me cramping your style. What if you and Ethan decide to bring some girls home?”
Lorena’s words come out quickly, as though she’s not really thinking about what she’s saying. I sense she’s speaking for the sake of it because the silence is too uncomfortable.
“No,” Jamie says. “It’s not that sort of trip. We’re just… We’re just going to hang out, maybe go for some walks. Have a few drinks. And the best part is, I’m twenty-one now so dad can’t give me any crap.”
I chuckle, ignoring the instinct that tells me I’m missing something here.
“That sounds like a great trip, son.”
“I hope so. So, Lori, how’s the book going?”
As we drink our coffees, Lorena talks about her book.
I try to keep my face composed as her passion practically radiates out of her. It’s like she can’t hold it back. She gushes enthusiastically about the direction her book is taking, and then Jamie hops down from his stool and grabs the suitcase.
“Anyway, I really should get going. I’ll see you both in a couple of days. Love you, dad. Love you, Lori.”
Lorena and I tell him we love him. Because it’s the truth.
He’s the best son a man could ask for, independent, strong, patient, kind, and clever. Lorena loves him too… as a friend, her closest friend growing up. There’s so much for us to doubt, but never that, never how we feel about Jamie.
Once Jamie has left, I turn to find Lorena frowning at me. Even now, the way her lips pout drives me crazy. It makes me think a hundred steamy thoughts, my mind brimming with all the things she could do with those pouty lips of hers.
“That didn’t feel good,” she says, redirecting my attention away from the tightness in my manhood.
“I know.” I sigh. “I didn’t want to lie to him.”
“But I made you. Right?”
I stride over to her and spread my arms wide, pulling her into an embrace. Inhaling the scent of her hair, I kiss the top of her head and smooth my hands down her back.
“You want to wait. I agreed. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Sorry.” She cuddles closer. “It just felt so horrible. We should’ve told him.”
“When he gets back, we can tell him right away.”
She stiffens for a moment, her hands gripping my side. Then she relaxes. “You’re right. We have to. We will. And until then, until he gets back…”
“We can’t have sex.”
I don’t want to phrase it so bluntly, but I have to make it clear. When it comes to my woman, I can’t avoid the issue, not when it comes to her young curvy virgin body.
“I think it’s for the best, don’t you?”
“You’re right,” I growl. “We have to try. We’ve done so much already without telling him.”
“Should I go?” she asks.
“No,” I say gruffly. “We said we were going to watch a movie. So let’s watch a movie. Come on, Lori. It’s not like we’re animals.”
She looks up at him with those wide innocent eyes, the eyes that make me think how she’ll look when I plunge deep inside her and she takes all the pleasure I have to give.
Maybe she’s thinking that we are animals. I can’t say I disagree with her.
“Okay, then we’ve got a plan. Hang out for a couple of days. Then tell Jamie.” She swallows. “And then…”
“And then, my perfect virgin.” I lean down and kiss her cheek. “We live happily ever after.”
“I hope so,” she whispers. “I really, really hope so.”
Chapter Nineteen
Lorena
We cuddle up on his couch as his massive TV plays the action movie. But it’s difficult to focus on the plot and the characters and… anything, really.
Usually, when I watch a movie – even a trashy one – I try to engage my analytical skills so I can take techniques from the narrative and use it in my own work. Even if it’s a genre I’d never normally watch, I know that there’s something I’ll be able to extract and add to my toolbox.
But after twenty minutes of the movie, it’s a struggle to remember the main character’s name. All I can think about is how hard Lukas’s body feels against mine.
He’s sitting behind me, with me basically in his lap, sprawled against him. I can feel his heartbeat thundering through my body, his arm wrapped around my waist and his other hand casually resting on my thigh. His hand is so, so freaking close to my sex, wedged between my legs, making me tingle as I imagine him sliding it closer.