Cloud Walking (A Find You in the Dark novella) (14 page)

     “Ah, so you didn't have a lunch tutorial,” I said, pinching him in the side.  Daniel squirmed.

     “Yeah, well I didn't think you'd let me go if I told you what I was planning to do.” Daniel reasoned. And, of course, he was right.  I knew that his feelings about Clay were volatile and the slightest provocation could lead to an all-out explosion.  I stilled.

     “What happened?” I asked nervously. 

     Daniel moved his hand up the back of my shirt, his fingers trailing lightly between my shoulder blades, making me shiver.  “Well, at first I really thought we were going to have a conversation with our fists.  I was pissed.  He was pissed.  He kept telling me to back the fuck off and mind my own business.  You know I don't take shit like that very well.  Particularly when it has something to do with my girls,”  Daniel said, and I could hear the anger in his voice.

     I kissed the place over his heart through his shirt.  “I know, baby,” I said soothingly.  It had the desired affect and Daniel's body relaxed. 

     “I asked him why he was putting Maggie through hell.  I asked him if he knew she wasn't talking to anyone.  That she was barely eating and sleeping.  I asked him if he felt good about hurting her the way he was.  And yeah, I was up in his face. And yeah, maybe I had grabbed his shirt.” 

     “Danny,” I chastised softly. 

     “I know, I know.  But I was so angry.  I hate seeing her like that, Rach.  It kills me,” he said in an agonized whisper.  I squeezed him.  I understood completely.  I felt the same way.  It was horrible watching someone you loved lose themselves so completely. 

     “But then, it was like a light switch.  It was freaking weird, Rach.  One minute, Clay looked like he was about to take my head off for getting into his business and the next, he had crumpled onto the ground.  Scared the shit out of me.” 

     I sat up and looked at Daniel.  His eyes were drawn and I could see how bothered he was.  “He did what?” I asked, needing to hear more.

     Daniel rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand.  “He fucking fell to the ground.  And then he just put his head down on his knees and started crying.  Rachel, the dude was full on sobbing.  I have never seen anything like it in my life.  I didn't know what the hell to do.  It was like he was falling apart right in front of me.”

     Well, damn.  “What did
you
do
?”  I asked him. 
 

     “
Well, I couldn't just leave the guy like that, now could I?  So I sat down on the ground beside him and waited for him to calm down.  It took awhile, let me tell you.  But finally, he pulled it together.  And all he said was 'she's better off.'  I asked him what the hell he was talking about but he wouldn't say.  Then he thanked me for looking after Maggie.  To keep looking after Maggie.  And I let him know in no uncertain terms that he didn't need to thank me for that.  That you and I would always be there for her.  And that seemed to do the trick, because he snapped out of whatever freak out he was having.  He didn't say anything else to me.  Just got in his car and left.  Rachel, the whole thing was really bizarre.  And it made me late for Geometry.  So I got afterschool detention, which sucks.” 

     My mind was going a million miles a minute.  “So he just left?  After having a full on melt down like that?” I asked.  I was getting a very bad feeling about all of this.  Clay's behavior was erratic and out of control and hit way too close to home for my liking.  I had seen all of this once before and it was something I had never wanted to see again.

     “Yeah.  And I haven't seen the dude since.  I tell you, I'm really glad he's away from our girl.  She doesn't need that drama.  No one does.  I do think he's a good guy underneath all of that angst.  But he's just a little too much, you know.  And obviously, he's not good for Maggie.  They self-destruct when they're together.  I told you, love shouldn't make you feel like shit.  It should make you feel like this.”  He indicated between the two of us.

     Did he just say what I thought he said?  I watched as Daniel's face turned red with the realization of what had come out of his mouth.  He suddenly pulled me to him and held me tightly against his chest.  His arms were a vice around me.  His breathing was deep and heavy and I could tell he was struggling with something.

     I leaned up and kissed the base of his throat, just below his Adam's apple.  His skin was slightly salty and warm under my lips.  Daniel ran his hand down my back before it rested on my hip, squeezing my flesh.

     “I love you, Rachel,” he whispered into my hair.  My heart sputtered and I swear it stopped.  I leaned back and looked up into his blue eyes. 

     “What?” I asked in a whisper, still not sure I heard him correctly.

     Daniel smiled softly, his fingers running down the side of my face.  His fingertips trailing across my skin, leaving prickles of awareness in their wake.  His hand cupped my cheek and I leaned into him, closing my eyes for a brief moment with the overwhelming onslaught of emotion churning inside me.

     “Rachel,” he said quietly.  I opened my eyes and he leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on my mouth.  “I love you.  So damn much.  I thank God every single day that we found our way to this place together.  There is nowhere in this world I'd rather be than right here, right now.  With you.” 

     Wow, Daniel Lowe, the poet.  I never thought I'd see the day.

     “I love you too, Danny,” I said just as quietly.  His entire face lit up and his grin was infectious.  I couldn't give one of my own because he had crushed his mouth to mine, his fingers tangling in my hair, our chests pressed together. 

     He devoured me.  From the inside out.  He had taken a hold of every tiny piece of my heart, my soul, my life.  And I never wanted him to give it back.  This is what love was supposed to feel like.  This perfect immersion of two people who were ready and willing to become a part of each other. 

     I pulled back and kissed his chin.  Standing up, I pulled him by the hand.  He looked at me questioningly.  I picked up the remote and turned off the television, then motioning with my head toward the hallway, I headed in the direction of my bedroom. 

     Daniel finally got the hint and followed me.  He hesitated before going inside, looking pointedly at my sister's closed door.  “She'd sleep through a nuclear bomb.  Stop being so paranoid,” I teased, lacing my fingers with his and giving him a tug as he followed me into my bedroom.

Chapter Twelve    

~ Daniel~

     Rachel pulled me into her room and closed the door softly behind her.  The only light was from the street lamp outside.  I could barely make her out in the darkness.  I reached down and flicked on the bedside lamp.  I needed to see her. 

     We stood there staring at each other, both too afraid to move.  I knew what was on her mind when she pulled me in here.  But I didn't want her to think that's what I expected.  I didn't want to rush Rachel into anything.  She was too special.  Hell, I would wait as long as she needed to.  It was important she understand that.

     “Rach.  We don't have to...” I started, but I wasn't able to finish.  She had crossed the room and pulled my face down until her lips were pressed against mine.  My body responded instantly.  Her perfect form fit against me as though she were made to be there.  Her breasts were crushed against my chest and the smell of her hair was like a drug.  I could get high on her scent.  I know it's weird but the way she smells does the most incredible and amazing things to me.  It's like a tranquilizer or something.  I feel an instant calm when I get a whiff of her hair. 

     Okay, that came out really creepy.  I didn't mean it to sound like I was a perv.  But it was true. 

     “I want to.  Please,” Rachel said softly.  I wanted to argue.  That maybe this was too fast.  After all, we had only been a couple for a short time.  That we had all the time in the world to be together like that.  That I wasn't going anywhere.  But then she kissed me again and it became about so much more than sex.  It was about her and me and how much we loved each other.  And that made it right.

     I ran my hands through her thick hair, loving the feel of its weight through my fingers.  She slowly pulled my T-shirt upwards, forcing me to lift my arms so she could peel it off my body.  Once my shirt was on her bedroom floor, our lips sought each other out again.  We were like two magnets pulled together.  She was so damn sexy and she didn't even know it.  It was time I show her how beautiful she was.

     I unbuttoned her shirt and she shrugged it off, showing me her white bra.  My fingers itched to touch her.  But I didn't want to rush things.  I didn't want to come across like some sex starved animal, especially when all I wanted to do was worship every inch of her fantastic body. 

     “You can touch me, you know,” she teased, as though she were reading my mind.  I was finding it really hard to breathe as I looked down at her full breasts, barely covered by the thin piece of fabric.  Her dark hair spilling around her shoulders and her eyes hooded with a heat that was meant only for me.  Christ, she was hot. 

     “I just don't want you to think that I'm a crazed maniac,” I joked, my pants feeling way too tight as my cock pressed uncomfortably against my zipper.  Rachel laughed and her hands rubbed up my chest, making me tremble.  Dear god, I was freaking trembling!  I had officially turned into a chick.     But this girl made me feel things that were indescribable. 

     “I think you're pretty darn wonderful,” she whispered before kissing me again.  My tongue swept into her mouth and my worries were completely forgotten.  This was just me and Rachel.  Me and the girl I loved, who I was ready to take that next all important step with.  There was no one before and there would be no one after who could possibly matter as much to me as this gorgeous, fantastic woman who was ready to give me that first and most important part of herself. 

     So I reached around her back and with a flick of my fingers, released the hooks of her bra.  I took a hold of the straps and carefully drew them down her arms, my hands caressing her skin until I let it drop to the floor. 

     I couldn't wait to touch her.  And touch her, I did.  My palms were filled with her.  And then I had to taste her.  So my hands were then replaced with my mouth and I thought I would lose it right there as she moaned deep and raw in the back of her throat. 

     I tore my mouth from her nipple and picked her up, carrying her to the bed.  We quickly discarded the rest of our clothing.  Touching and rubbing.  Tasting and licking.  Until there wasn't an inch of each other we weren't acquainted with. 

     We were both covered in a fine sheen of sweat, my fingers were between her legs and I could feel how ready she was for me.  “Danny.  Now.  Please,” Rachel rasped and I knew neither of us could wait a moment longer to be joined together.

     I leaned over the side of her bed and found my wallet in my jeans' pocket. Pulling out the condom, I made quick work of getting it on.  And then I was between her thighs.  I was pressed at her opening and I stopped.  Looking down at Rachel, my heart literally stopped.  Her hair was splayed across the pillow, her chest rising up and down in rapid, short breaths.  Her cheeks flushed and her eyelids heavy.  She was mesmerizing.

     I leaned down and kissed her, my lips lingering as I tasted and suckled.  “I love you, Rachel,” I murmured into her mouth.  Rachel's arms, which were around my back, tightened.  Her legs came up to wrap around my hips.

     “I love you, Daniel.  More than anything,” she whispered back.  And then, I was inside her.  I took it slow at first, waiting for her initial pain to be over.  I saw her wince and her back arched up off the bed.  I forced myself to hold perfectly still until she acclimated to me. 

     “You alright, baby?” I asked, pushing the hair back off her forehead and kissing her nose.  I hated to hurt her.  I'd rather cut off my arm than make her feel any pain ever again.  But then she smiled and began to move her hips.

     “I'm wonderful,” she said, her breath hitching as we started to find a rhythm together.  And then we were moving our bodies.  And I swear, I have never felt anything like that in my life.  I had had sex.  Lots of sex.  But nothing came close to the total completion I felt as I moved in and out of Rachel's body.