Secrets (19 page)

C
hapte
r
10

AJ

Westwood was finally in my rearview mirror.  After unpacking the few things that I actually bothered to b
ring with me, I decided to spend my first night on Charleston’s campus with Sam.  I hadn’t been this content since I don’t know when – falling asleep beside her, waking up beside her, and knowing that we could do this
every
night if we wanted.  Finally, our college experience was about to be like we’d both imagined it.

Just before passing out, I mentioned
to her that I’d probably be gone when she woke up because I was going for a run.  I think the excitement of us being here on campus together got the best of her, because next thing I know, she’s volunteering to join me.  Of course I welcomed the idea, but I knew, come morning, she’d have a change of heart. 

The second the alarm sounded off, she
groaned.  I, on the other hand, was up and dressed already.  “You have
got
to be kidding me,” she whispered.  “Just give me like ten more minutes.”

“
Once you get up, you’ll feel better,” I promised

“But we didn’t go to sleep until like two.
  Can’t we go later?”  She pleaded.

“Nope
.  It’s now or never.” 

Whining was her only response.

I picked her up under her arms, bringing a sleepy smile to her face. She stood there with her eyes closed as I walked to her dresser and grabbed a pair of sweat pants and socks.  She sat back on the bed and I slid the clothes on for her, shaking my head and laughing at her unbelievable laziness. 

“Ok, now the rest is up to you.  Get your coat and scarf and everything
, ‘cause it’s pretty cold out.”

“Aww man!
  I forgot about that part!  What if we just go to the gym later?”  She bargained. 

“Why don’t you just go back to bed while I go?  You don’t even need this,” I replied
, eying the perfection of her figure that was even visible through the sweats.  Part of me expected her to bail out anyway.

She frowned
.  “What kind of workout partner gives up that easily?  I’m glad I’m not paying you ‘cause you’d be fired already.”  She stood on her own this time and went to her closet to finish getting ready.  “I’m gonna get sick running in this weather,” she pouted.

“You’ll only notice the cold for a litt
le while.  I promise.”  She frowned as she slid her hands into her gloves and covered her ears with her earmuffs.  As soon as the cold air hit her face, she turned and looked back at the door longingly, rethinking the whole endeavor. 

“Ready?”  I asked.

“No, but let’s go.”

We started down the sidewalk at a slow pace.  I was used to the less than ideal conditions because I’d been running for so long, rain or shine.
  Sam, on the other hand, wasn’t doing so well.  Her eyes were tearing up from the wind blowing in her face, or at least that’s what she
said
it was from.  She did alright for the first few blocks, but I noticed that she was starting to struggle by the fourth. 

“N
eed to take a break?”  I asked.  Sam turned to face me and it looked like she was embarrassed that I had to ask.  She shook her head ‘no’ and continued.  A particularly cold gust of wind swept past us and I thought she was about to cry.  She moaned and hid her face in her gloves until it calmed down again.  I did my best not laugh, but then she slipped and almost went down. 

“
Are you ok?”  I asked, fighting back a smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”  She shrugged it o
ff and picked her pace back up, showing me that she was tougher than I thought.

We reached the neighborhood near campus and Sam was just getting comfortable with the temperature.  She hadn’t stopped and taken a break other than when she’d almost fallen. 
About twenty minutes in, the sun was starting to rise and a faint orange glow was on the horizon.  The scenery was part of the reason I preferred to run so early.  I hoped that Sam would have the same appreciation for it that I did, but when I glanced back over, she seemed to be struggling again.

She stopped moving her feet and stood there bent over with both hands planted on her knees while she stared at the ground. 
“Ok, can we go back now?”  She asked.

“Yeah, I’ll take you back to your room and then
I’ll finish,” I replied.

“Well,
how much further did you have to go?”

“We only did
a mile and I usually do five.  I was gonna cut it down to two since you were just starting out though.”

She looked at
me and breathed into her hands, trying to warm them up.  I watched her deliberate for a few seconds.

“If you
wanna go back it’s no big deal,” I assured her.

She thought about it again
and swayed back and forth while trying to decide.  “Let’s keep going, I’m fine.”  Before I could say anything else, she took off running ahead of me. 

We
ran the second mile as planned and got back to her building at around eight.  I almost offered to carry her up the stairs, but she insisted on finishing on her own.  She took her keys from her pocket and handed them to me as she leaned against the wall outside her room, panting while she waited for me to unlock the door.

“Oh, God.
  I think I’m gonna die,” Sam said as she collapsed face-first on her bed.  “Who would’ve thought someone could sweat so much while it’s so cold outside?” 

After I took my coat off, I removed her shoes and tossed them to th
e floor.  She reached back and pulled me onto the bed beside her.

“I don’t know how you d
o that every morning.”

“You get used to it after a while.  It was hard for me
, too, at first.  You’ll get the hang of it.”

“
Uh…no I won’t; I’m done.  Never again,” she asserted

I smiled.

She rolled onto her back, moving as little as possible, and unzipped her coat.  A few strands of her hair were matted to her forehead, so she pulled her shirt up, revealing the dampened skin of her body to me for a moment while she wiped the sweat from her face.

While I stared, s
he sat up.  “I need to get in the shower.  Like…..now.” 

I stretched my back and then stood. 
“Yeah, me too,” I replied, already preparing to leave.  “I’ll come back in about an hour.  Maybe we’ll get breakfast,”

The pleading look on her face was most likely not meant to be so obvious when she asked,
“Why don’t you just use mine?”  Apparently she didn’t want me to go, so I nodded, letting her know that I’d still be here when she got done.

“Good,” she said with a smile, hopping
up to get in the shower. 

The moment I heard the water start, I pictured her in there naked and glistening wet.  While driving
from Westwood, I’d made up my mind that once I got to Charleston’s campus I’d let at least an entire 48 hours pass before Sam and I would have any sexual contact; however, that vow was already being put to the test.  I didn’t want her to think that I’d be expecting sex all the time just because we were living so close and wouldn’t have her parents around to supervise. 

Maybe twenty
minutes later, she came out of the bathroom in nothing but her towel.  Her wet hair hung down just past her shoulder blade and a few drops of water streamed down her arms and the insides of legs.  She bent over to take something out of her bottom drawer and I had to turn away if I was going to behave.

“You know what we should do today?”  She asked
innocently, unaware of the thoughts I was having about her.

“What’s that?”
  I replied, still fighting the image in my head.

“We should stay in bed and watch movies all day.  I’m sure Deanna won’
t be back any time soon; if she comes back at
all
today.”

“Sounds good to me,” I replied
as I stood to walk toward the bathroom. 

“Don’t forget to lock the other door
.  I forgot to when I was in there,” Sam called out from her room.  I turned on the water, crossed the narrow bathroom to her roommates adjoining door, and turned the lock.  After stripping out of my clothes I stood under the hot water and let it run down my back.  I should’ve opted for cold….

The thought of
lying beside Sam all day in bed would have been the perfect idea if I wasn’t trying to be good.   I mean, it wasn’t like we’d discussed any rules or anything, but I also knew all too well how quickly she could decide to close up shop.  I didn’t want her to think that I’d be expecting it all the time and start feeling any particular way.  I sighed and tried to focus on something else. 
Anything
else. 

I washed
my hair and body, but decided to stay in just a little bit longer just to clear my head.  The door creaked and I opened my eyes.  I was surprised to hear footsteps entering the bathroom, and even
more
surprised when Sam slipped into the shower behind me, wrapping her arms around me from behind.  Her breasts smashed against my back and a smile crossed my face. 
Maybe I’d get to release this tension after all
. 

Not
gonna lie; I didn’t see this coming, but it was definitely a welcomed surprise.  Her hand trailed from my chest, down my stomach slowly.  If she didn’t already know I wanted her, she definitely knew once her hand wandered lower.  I was all the way ready for whatever the hell she had in mind.

When I turned
to face her, I caressed her body slowly.  Not one inch of her went untouched by my hands
or
my lips.  She leaned against the wall and gently gripped my hair in her hands as I kissed my way down to her thighs.  Holding her tight,  there were no signs of resistance when I lifted her leg onto my shoulder and took her breath away with one stroke of my tongue.  She smelled and tasted better than I could ever put to words. 

H
er fingers raked through my hair, moaning and whispering my name excitedly as her legs started to quiver in my hands.  I followed the same trail back up to her neck  as she dug her fingers into my back, drawing me in closer.  I taunted her for a while, making her wait to get what she came in here for.  When I finally eased inside, she bit down on her lip, staring into my eyes.  I stood motionlessly at first to let her catch her breath again while the hot water rolled down our bodies. 

Those beautifully dark eyes of hers bore a
hole straight through to my soul.  I don’t even think she realized how deep my love for her ran.  She could’ve asked me for the moon and I’d move heaven and earth to get it for her. 

W
e moved together rhythmically; slowly at first until slow was no longer an option.   I’m pretty sure her roommates got tired of hearing her say my name, but
I
didn’t.  Her voice was nearing a scream.  Both of her legs encircled my waist and she locked them together at the ankles. She arched her back away from the shower wall and let her emotions take over as one intense tremble rushed through her entire body.  She moaned loudly as I lost my
own
battle to keep quiet, letting obscenities fly from my mouth without filters.  No parents.  No distance.  However we wanted it.  Wherever.  Whenever.  I could get used to this. The smile on her face when we finished led me to believe that she was thinking the same thing.

I released her from
my grasp and let her feet touch the shower floor again, but didn’t back away.  I held her close while she got her balance, enjoying the view from behind when we finally walked to the bed where we slept soundlessly for the next four hours.  We probably would’ve been down longer if it hadn’t been for someone knocking at the door.  Sam didn’t bother getting up. 

“Who is it?”
She called out, sounding only halfway conscious.

“Who sleeps this late?
  Get up!” Terrell yelled back, banging again.

“Go away
!  If nobody’s hurt or dead, I don’t wanna hear about it.”  Sam turned over toward the wall and pulled a pillow over her head.

When he continued to knock, I got up and pulled
my shorts on to answer – mostly so I could keep Sam naked in that bed for as long as I could.  Terrell seemed shocked to see that I was in her room.

“Oh, my bad
, man.  Didn’t mean to wake ya’ll up,” he apologized.

“It
’s cool.  What’s up?”  I rubbed my eyes in an attempt to focus.

“Maisha wants
you guys to hang with us later.  We’re going to that indoor fair at the Arena.  There’s supposed to be a free concert too. Think you guys can make it?”  He asked hopefully.

I turned to look at Sam who still had her head under the pillow.  She didn’t protest, so I told him that we’d be there.

“Cool.  We’re going at around six, so y’all can ride with us if you want.”