The Perfect Emotion (20 page)

After everyone else has gone up to bed Reed and I settle in the family room on the loveseat.  His hand brushes across my thigh and he latches on to my hand.  My nerves have calmed now that it is just the two of us. The meeting went better than I expected, especially with my dad. Of course, now I am wondering what Reed and him talked about privately.

“You okay?”  He asks with eyes trained on mine.  The blue in his eyes is dark in the low-lit room, but I’m focused on his lips.  His free hand moves up to caress my cheek and his thumb treads across my lip landing on the bottom corner that I bite at. 

“I just can’t believe you are here.” 

“I couldn’t stand the distance any longer. I needed to see you… touch you.” I move myself closer resisting the urge to climb into his lap.

“Kiss me, Reed,” I say boldly. Both of his hands move to my cheeks and run up into my hair lifting my face towards him. Eagerly, I move into him and press my lips to his. I’m greedy to move things quickly, but I strain to pace myself. His lips are soft and tender opening just enough for me to suck on his bottom lip. He grunts softly while his fingers run through my hair.

“Jesus, Katherine,” he mumbles as I kiss my way across his jaw and over to his ear.  “What are you doing to me?” 

“Kissing you,” I whisper in his ear and brush my lips against his ear lobe. 

“Mmmmm hmmmm.”  His hands move to my waist and guide me onto him.  I’m straddling his lap and his fingers dig into my hips.  I rush my hands into his hair and his head presses all the way against the couch, the leather giving in to my demands.  Our tongues clash against each other exploring as if its our first kiss, yet knowingly anticipating our next ridge or groove.  My heart races in ways I never knew possible.  My hands run down to the hem of his button down shirt and to the top of his pants.  I start to pull at his shirt to un-tuck it, but his hands come around and lock around my wrists restraining me from pulling anymore.  I whine into his mouth.

“Why?” I mumble against the softness of his lips and smile.

“This is the first time I’m in your house and I just met your parents… maybe the second time,” he jokes and then nibbles on my bottom lip. 

“Grrrrr,” I grumble in his mouth.  “You are always being too good.”  His eyes narrow at me and he let’s out a rough chuckle.

“Katherine, I think you know that’s not true and I’ll show you just how bad I am when we are back up at school.”  His hands snake up to my shoulders wrapping around the back of my neck.  Pulling me towards him and his lips find mine again.  Softly he kisses me across my jaw to my ear.  “Patience,” he whispers. 

“I don’t want to be patient,” I pout as I push my body into him.  He laughs into me and un-straddles me from his lap.  We face each other and I smile shyly at him feeling a little funny by my boldness. 

“Stop,” he says, and his hand latches onto my pinky finger gently rubbing it.  “Don’t be embarrassed.  I don’t like you having to be patient either,” he says, just before he plants a firm kiss to my forehead.  I lean myself against him and rest my head on his chests.  His arms wrap around me tightly making my insecurities fade.  As I take in his familiar pine and masculine scent he shifts us back against the arm of the couch allowing me to snuggle myself even closer. 

“What did you talk to my dad about?” 

“You,” he answers mildly.

“Uh, huh, what about?”

“Nothing for you to worry over.  I just felt I needed to address what happened last semester…” he trails off for a moment and then his jaw tightens with his lips pursed.  “And Kyle.”

“Oh.”  I pause taking in my thoughts about this before I continue.  “I don’t want Kyle to interfere anymore with us.”

“I don’t want him interfering with you.  Period.”  I shift from him unsure if he is frustrated with me or just the situation.

“I’m sorry… I swear I don’t want that either. I’m trying to handle it as best as I can,” I whisper out quietly with my head down.  I peek over at him and before I can get another word out his face softens.  I can’t even handle the pressure Kyle puts on me alone and to have it put on us as a couple saddens me.  Reed pulls me into him again and his hands entwine around me.  His fingers brush across my cheeks creating a tingly sensation throughout me. The sensation lights me up and the urge to avoid talking about anything is like a natural instinct.

“Shit, baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that at all. I know you are. I can’t help it, but when I think of Kyle and what he’s doing to you… it drives me mad. I just don’t want anything to happen to you. Promise me you’ll tell me everything, I want to know if he calls or anything else. Okay?”

I fight through the strong desire that creeps in me to distract us from addressing this and say, “Okay, I will, but I don’t want you to worry. I’m fine.”

“Listen, if anything else happens I want you to think about taking further action-,” he says, but I cut him off.

“Is this what you were talking to my dad about?  I’m fine really.  If anything else happens I can handle it,” I say with stubbornness in my tone and turn my head to the side to look away. 

“Hey, don’t look away from me, Kate.”  His hands move my face in front of him and he pulls me to him pressing our foreheads together.  “Don’t be mad, I just want you to be safe and I can’t be here to make sure you are, like I wish I could do.”  He licks his lips and I restrain myself from licking them myself.  “I care about you so damn much.  You do something to me that has never happened before.” 

“What’s that?” I whisper against his lips.

“More. It’s just more.” Our lips crash into each other with force. I squirm over him eager for the friction… eager for the distraction. Our hands roam freely and this time he allows me to feel the grooves of his muscular abdomen.  His hands grab on to my backside and I spread my legs so that I am straddling him again.  I break our kiss for a moment to remove my shirt and fear he may stop me.  My sports bra is hot pink with light pink trim and Reed’s eyes gaze in appreciation.  When his hands move around to my abdomen his fingers spread across and goose bumps form in their wake.  I push myself into his hands urging them to travel upward.  He drags his teeth across his top lip and then throws his head back in defeat.

“Kate, we have to stop. I can only have so much restraint around you.” I want to protest, but it’s a genuine plea from him and he’s right. “Please it’s important that I respect your parents.”

I shake my head in compliance and then reach back down to put my shirt on.  He kisses me sweetly while thanking me and telling me he will make it up to me as soon as we are back at school.  We lye down on the couch on our sides and face each other.  Even though we both know that things will not progress we can’t keep our hands off each other.

“Have you ever met any other girls parents before?”  I ask against his firm chest.

“Yes,” he breathes in a ragged breath and runs his fingers through my long hair. “But… it’s not like this. My dad and her dad have been in business for a long time. Our families have known each other since I was younger.”

“Oh,” I fidget a little against him and start to wonder more about his relationship with her even more.  My teeth grate across my bottom lip pressing tightly into the corner of my mouth.  Part of me wants to ask questions, but most of me doesn’t want to let in any other outside influence into our relationship.  Kyle’s influence is enough.  I’m broken from my wandering thoughts when Reed’s thumb pulls my lip free.

“What are you thinking?”

“Nothing,” I mumble.

“Kate, tell me. Don’t close me off, please.” Nervously, I glance up his chest to see his deepened blue eyes.

“Have you seen her this week?”  I’m tempted to ask her name, but that might get too personal for me. 

“Yes, and I told her about you.  I told her that I’ve met someone I really care about and that you mean a lot to me.” A feather-light kiss lands on the top of my head and a breath I had been holding in comes out louder than I want.  “What else do you want to ask?  You know I won’t lie to you.”

“That’s all I want to know right now.”

“Okay,” he whispers as he pulls me up closer to his face and plants a tender kiss against my lips.  His hands grasp my face and he grazes his lips across mine.  “You look beautiful.  I can’t wait until we are back at school so I can see this face everyday.”

“Me too,” I say and then throw my arms around him hugging him close.  We stay like this for a while with Reed’s hands rubbing over my back.  He tells me how he doesn’t want me to run from him again and that he wants me to come to him.  Guilt rushes through me when I think about the reason I ran from him.  I want to tell him more of how I’m feeling, but it’s a struggle even with Reed to explain my emotions.  This is what it always boils down to… pushing myself further to not avoid my feelings.  Right now though I’m doing the best I can. 

Eventually, we settle with me close to his chest and our legs and arms tangled up together.  The sound of Reed breathing and his heart beating lulls me into sleep.  It’s peaceful, protective, and comfortable.  The time slips away until Reed shifts from me and tucks a blanket over me.  He bends down and I look up at him with squinted eyes.  His fingers brush my hair from my face.

“It’s almost four… I have to go.”  The feel of his soft lips on my forehead barely wake me and as they run down over my nose to my lips I know I’m going miss this again very soon.

“Thank you for surprising me and for the roses,” I say sleepily.  When I start to get up to walk him to the door, but he stops me.

“I can let myself out the front door, you need your sleep.”  In reality he needs his sleep way more than I do.  “God, I wish I didn’t have to leave you. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay, drive carefully.”  We kiss one more time before he starts to stand.

“I’ll be thinking of you all the way back, beautiful girl.”

C
HAPTER 15

About an hour and a half later I hear my dad in the kitchen getting ready to leave for work, but I’m too tired to move myself up stairs. I pull the blanket over my head and curl into the back of the couch. The noise of dad getting his breakfast is enough to keep me from falling back asleep though. I toss over and then I hear my dad clear his throat.

“Head up to your bed, Katherine.  You had a late night.”  His tone is nonchalant, but I know that he knows what time Reed left. 

“Okay, sorry dad.  Love you,” I say as I rise from the couch.

“Love you too, sweetie. See you tonight.” I’m relieved that he doesn’t say anything about Reed staying too late or ask any questions.

I drag myself in a slumber up the stairs tracing my swollen lips from all the kissing with Reed.  My eyelids are half open, but I’m happy.  The feeling that Reed’s been here, that his lips were on mine and that our bodies were wrapped in each other contends my mind and heart.  I strip down out of my clothes and stand in my underwear.  I start to reach for my soft pink robe, but the memories of Kyle in my room a year ago after I had showered taint my mind.  We fooled around and I tried to keep that robe covering me just enough yet wanting more from him.  I close my eyes tightly trying to deal with the sadness and anger that expel from me.  Tears prick my eyes.  I reach for the robe and crumble it into a ball and scrunch it into my small trash bin.  I’ve never looked at that robe the same since that day.  Every time I wore it those memories came to me.  It’s time to move past it. Wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes I move to my closet and find exactly what I know will comfort me.  Reed’s hoodie lies in the middle of my closet.  I slip it over my head loving the smell that permeates from it.

I climb into my bed running my hands over myself loving the feeling of Reed’s hoodie touching my bare skin.  I curl to the side gripping the collar up to my nose and inhale.  My eyes become heavy and thoughts of only Reed fill my head.  Easily, I drift back into sleep with a light and content heart because of Reed.

When I wake after eleven I feel more than rested. I feel a little giddy thinking of my time with Reed and the fact that he surprised me. My eyes are closed, but I’m smiling. Really I’m almost squealing. I roll over to grab my cell phone. My heart races at the sight of a text from Reed.

Hey Beautiful, text me when you wake. Reed

I don’t hesitate to text him back.

Good morning, how tired r u? Sorry, but I’m so happy u came. Katherine

I’m fine. It was worth it. I miss u. Reed

I miss your lips. Katherine

I miss more than your lips. 
Eyes, smile, legs, chest, ass.
  The list goes on.  Reed

Oh my, heart palpitations.  I swallow past my shortened breath and decide to continue the flirting.  I love when we flirt.  I remember how badly I missed it when I got back together with Kyle.  I craved it, longed for it.  That was a piece I never had with Kyle.