The Slam (17 page)

Chapter Nineteen

ENDER

Damp hair clung to her face, her neck, her tits. A thin sheen of sweat made her skin glow. She was panting, and those perfect tits rose up and down with each labored breath. And those rosy nipples, already hard, tightened further under my gaze.

God. She was fucking perfect.

Perfect tits, perfect ass that fit perfectly in the cradle of my hips.

She was so goddamn sexy and I stared at her, forgetting what I was saying for a moment.

Penetration
. Right. “Penetration.” My voice was hoarse. “You want penetration?”

“Correct.” Her eyes gleamed with a mixture of lust and innocence.

A very, very sexy combination.

“The condoms.” I continued staring. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “They’re in the nightstand. Top drawer.”

She nodded once and reached over to slide open the drawer, her tits swaying just inches from my face.

Unable to resist, I lazily mouthed her breast as she grabbed the box of condoms.

“Ender.” A soft laugh escaped her as I pulled her forward so she was straddling my lap once more.

Lowering my head, I brought my mouth to her tits but she placed a hand on my chest, nudging me against the mattress. “Lie back,” she instructed.

Then she reached for a condom and ripped the foil package open.

Stretching an arm behind my head, I watched with interest as she placed the condom on the blunted crest of my cock and pinched the tip of the latex.

With expert hands, she rolled the thin latex down in short, repetitive strokes, encasing my straining cock in tiny, erotic increments.

“You’ve done this before.” A statement, not a question.

“I told you, I like to plan ahead and come prepared.” A hint of pride tinged her voice. “I’ve been watching YouTube videos and practicing on cucumbers.”

I said nothing, simply stared at her.

“So…” Her voice trailed off. “Where do you want me now?”

“Right where you are.” I cupped her tits, circling my thumbs over her distended nipples. “Ride me, Adelaide.”

Straightening her spine, she stared into my eyes as she eased herself down the length of my shaft, her tight, sopping wet pussy stretching to accommodate me.

I kept my gaze fixed on her, kneading her heavy breasts, squeezing her nipples between my thumb and forefinger as she clenched her inner muscles around my cock, sliding down until she was fully seated.

Soft, desperate mewls of pleasure escaped her as she began moving above me. It didn’t sound fake or over the top like the chicks in porn videos.

Hers were sweet. Sexy. Erotic.

Damn, she felt good. Tight and hot and dripping wet.

I moved my hands to her hips, smoothing my palms over her ass in soft, circular motions, lifting and spreading her ass cheeks.

She responded with a breathless moan, rolling her hips to match my circular strokes.

The way her body moved, it was so responsive, so in tune with mine.

Capturing both her wrists, I moved her hands up to her swaying tits.

Adelaide lifted her chin and met my gaze full on as she cupped her bouncing breasts.

A fierce growl rumbled deep in my chest and I grabbed her ass, squeezing her cheeks to make sure she kept riding my cock.

Staring into my eyes, she rode me wild and without apology.

That look she gave me… it was raw. Earthy. Sensual.

Full of longing. Lust.

Not once did she break her stare.

She held it even as her inner muscles seized around my cock.

Ah, fuck
. The sight of Adelaide playing with her tits, lifting and massaging the creamy flesh, catching her nipples between her fingers, pinching and plucking the swollen nubs and staring straight into my eyes as she came, it fucking destroyed me.

Grabbing her ass, shaping the perfect globes with my hands, I urged her on and she rode me harder, faster until my own climax roared up from my spine. It hit me with such force that I crushed my lips to hers in a starved, bruising kiss.

Reluctantly, I drew back with a hoarse groan.

Her lips were swollen, her eyes dazed, a little glassed over.

There was a thickening pause as I stared at her.

Then she blushed, her cheeks flaming red and my cock stirred, knowing I could make her blush with just a look.

The silence stretched. Some kind of emotion flickered in her eyes, but the moment quickly passed. It wasn’t long before she became animated and was happily chatting away. “Bloody Oath!” She laughed, the sound thin and a little breathless. “It felt like the universe aligned with itself, bending around nothing but the two of us.”

“So it was good?”

“Correct,” she said. “It was terrific. You did very nicely, Ender. Thanks.”

Meanwhile, she was still straddling my lap and my hard cock was wedged between her thighs.

It felt damp, warm. Adelaide had creamed all over my cock.

I caught her waist, picked her up with little effort, and set her down on the bed.

With a lazy sigh, she reclined into the pillows and her long, silky hair fanned around her face, her delicate shoulders, and perfectly round tits. “Mmm.” Her voice was drowsy as she stretched, moaning low and sexy like she’d just woken from a nap.

Her thighs glistened with her hot cum and she began moving her legs together, rubbing the wet slipperiness between her thighs.

For a frozen moment, I became acutely aware of how beautiful she was.

Adelaide looked directly at me as she rubbed her thighs together, her sweet expression striking the air from my lungs.

Intoxicated by the sight, I shook my head as if I could somehow shake off that image and stalked to the bathroom to dispose of the condom.

When I returned with a warm washcloth, I found her studying a drop of semen.

She lifted her gaze as I approached. “Fascinating,” she said, rubbing my semen between her fingertips. “Did you know that seminal fluid contains chemicals that elevate mood, increase affection, induce sleep, and it contains three anti-depressants?”

“No,” I said absently. The mattress dipped as I sat down beside her.

Her body stilled as I ran the washcloth up her thighs and between her legs, gently wiping her down.

Silently she watched me as I stroked her with the washcloth. “Thank you, Ender,” she said when I was done. Then she pushed herself off the bed, reached for her towel, and wrapped it around her tits. “I’d love to stay longer, but I have to do laundry.” She smiled. “It’s laundry night tonight.”

Speechless, I found myself staring after her as she crossed the room, eased the door open, and closed it softly behind her.

Exhaling hard, I shoved a hand through my hair. I thought sex might change the dynamics of our friendship, that she’d want intimacy… to spoon in bed or some shit like that.

On the flip side, I thought she’d become distant and act different around me.

But I was wrong.

Nothing had changed. Nothing had changed at all.

Chapter Twenty

ADELAIDE

Sex with Ender was unparalleled.

He set my synapses on fire; he made my dopamine levels go insane.

But I didn’t emerge from the experience a new and transformed person.

After leaving his room, I did a load of laundry. And then it was time for my bedtime routine, which involved Neutrogena, witch hazel, and frantic journaling.

Since new skins cells grow faster when you sleep, I used a facial scrub to exfoliate every night. Not just any facial scrub but an ultra-gentle, hypoallergenic Neutrogena cleanser without added parabens, sulfates, dyes, and fragrances.

Next, I splashed on some witch hazel as an astringent, charged my iPhone, flopped down on my bed and flipped open my journal.

Every night I wrote down my 4 G’s (gratitude, good, glitches, and goals), which I learned from Dr. Sara Gottfried.

1. What I was grateful for.

2. What I did ‘good’ that day.

3. What my glitches were and how I wanted to improve on them.

4. What my goals were for the next day.

Journaling helped me unwind my mind before bed. So that’s what I did.

Nothing had really changed.

I thought when I’d finally lost my virginity, I would’ve ‘arrived,’ so to speak.

Pssh! That has got to be one of the biggest misconceptions of all time.

No one really ‘arrives’ in life.

You have an experience, it adds to your store of experiences, and then you’re in the next moment and you have to deal with that.

As I snuggled under the covers, I found myself smiling as I thought about this.

My ‘next moment’ was only a day away… my first real date!

In time, my eyelids began to flutter and my thoughts drifted to Cade.

To be honest, I felt a bit like a smitten kitten and I was bursting with anticipation.

What does he have planned for our date tomorrow?

What are we going to do?

Oh, the myriad of possibilities!

Maybe we’d go to the Exploratorium, or the Natural History Museum. Gunther Von Hagen’s Body Worlds traveling exhibit was in town, so maybe we’d go see that. Or maybe we’d go skydiving, or take a helicopter ride around the city, or do something low-key like have a picnic in Tilden Park. Or maybe we’d go see an improv show or catch a new rom-com in the theaters.

A whole lot of
maybes
raced through my mind.

Letting out a huge yawn, I tossed and turned restlessly with windmill arms, thrashing about and kicking the sheets until I finally lost consciousness and slept the sleep of a thousand martyrs.

Chapter Twenty-One

ADELAIDE

“Your anxiety is giving
me
anxiety.” Edric was slouched on the couch watching TV. “Sit down, Adelaide. Relax.”

“Yeah.” Ender grabbed the remote and switched the channel. “Relax. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

Cade was already half an hour late. I took a deep breath and exhaled until my lungs were empty. “I think my anxiety
has
anxiety.”

“Adelaide.” Edric sighed loudly as I began pacing back and forth. “I think we need to discuss the elephant in the room.”

“Not now, okay?” My chest tightened. “It feels like the elephant in the room just sat on me.”

“He’s right. I think we should,” Ender said, stone-faced. “It’s not too late to change your mind. You can still cancel on him. The guy’s a loser.”

“LOSER!” Edric echoed boisterously. “With a capital L. And a capital O, and well… you get the point. And I say ditch the loser!”

“But,” I said earnestly. “Cade is the first guy who’s shown an interest in me, and I’d like to get to know him on my own terms. I’ve had people dismiss me my whole life, but Cade is willing to give me a chance. And I’d like to think that says something about his character.” I paused. “He’s open-minded, he’s nonjudgmental, he’s kind, he’s—”

“He’s kind of an ass,” Ender deadpanned.

As if on cue, a sharp rap sounded on the door and relief sighed through my body.

“He’s here!” I skipped happily to the front door and swung it wide open.

“Hey, bae!” Cade stood grinning at me, looking every bit the tall, dark, and dashing man I remembered.

“Hi!” I murmured airily. “Correct. It is I, erm…errr… Baewoman.”

What on God’s green earth is Bae?

“Sorry I’m late,” he said nonchalantly. “The line was too long at Starbucks.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” I said, waving him through the door. “Come inside for a moment. I just need to get a drink of water. I’m feeling parched.”

Cade sauntered in and I closed the door behind him. “Can I get you something to drink, too?”

“Nah, I’m fine,” he said, twirling his car keys around his index finger. “Because Starbucks.”

“Right.” I managed a weak smile and crossed the living room. “You
did
say the line was too long at Starbucks.”

“Cade.” Ender’s deep voice echoed through the room “You went to Starbucks and you didn’t get Adelaide anything?”

“Yeah,” Edric chimed in. “Why didn’t you get her something?
Rude
.”

Ignoring their barbs, he jerked his chin at them. “Sup’ guys! You watchin’ the Open?”

Edric merely grunted in response while Ender said nothing.

Okay! So that’s happening right now.

Everything’s going mighty swell. Terrific!

Turning on the faucet, I filled up a glass and drank the water in one continuous gulp. Feeling much better after quenching my raging thirst, I grabbed my bag and hoisted it over my shoulder. “You ready?” I asked Cade.

“Hang on a sec.” His eyes were glued to the TV. “This set is about to end. Let me watch Murray make this shot.”

“Okay,” I said, and waited patiently until the set was over before asking, “By the way, where are we going?”

“Biaggi’s for dinner and then a movie.”

“Oh!” I smiled brightly. “Sounds lovely. What movie?”

“
The Babadook
.” Cade smiled back. “These guys told me you
love
horror movies. Said it’s your favorite thing in the world, next to pizza.”

My smile faltered. And my cloud of euphoria burst with a loud PHUT. “Ender and Edric told you that?”

“Yeah.” Cade pursed his lips and nodded. “At practice today.”

“Did they now?” I cut my gaze to the sofa. Both Ender and Edric appeared enormously interested in the commercial playing on TV.

It was an ad for Tampax Pearl Tampons! And they were using that ridiculous blue liquid to demonstrate absorbency. So asinine! As if my body ever gently exuded an inoffensive blue liquid when I was on my period!

My blood was boiling an
d
I was already seeing red—pun intended, and that stupid tampon commercial just sent me over the edge. “Cade.” I gritted my teeth. “Do you mind waiting outside? I’ll be with you in just a minute.”

“Okay,” he said simply.

“Yo, Cade!” Edric said suddenly. Oh, so now he was talking. “Take off your jacket,” he said in a mocking tone. “Stay for a while.”

I raised my eyebrows in silent reprimand. Then I turned to Cade and said briskly, “Please wait outside. I just need to talk to these guys in private. It won’t take very long. I promise.”

“Sure,” he said coolly, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’ll see you outside, bae.” And to Ender and Edric, he said, “See ya later, guys.”

“See ya never!” Edric shouted back. “Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya! Hah! RIGHT UP YO ASS!” Then in a lower voice, he mumbled, “Hell, who am I kidding? I hope he falls down the fucking stairs, too.”

After Cade had wandered off
,
I found myself whipped into a righteous fury.

Stomping purposely across the room, I stood in front of the TV. “I can’t believe you guys did that.” I crossed my arms. “A horror movie? Seriously? I mean, at least tell him I’m into rom-coms.”

Edric coughed lightly. “At least we got the pizza part right.”

“Ugh!” I cried. “I’m so upset with you guys that I’m going to leave right now and I’m
not
going to say bye to you. That’s how upset I am!” I said hotly.

They simply stared at me, amusement glimmering in their eyes which riled me further! “I’m leaving now.” Whirling around, I stormed toward the front door. “See!” I shouted over my shoulder. “Leaving now and not saying bye!” I yanked the door open and sent a cursory glance over my shoulder. “Still not saying bye!” I yelled and slammed the door behind me with a loud bang.

I tried to relax and enjoy the movie. Really, I did. But Cade kept flinching and fidgeting in the seat next to me. At one point he was even chewing on his fingernails.

He wasn’t just terrified. He was hands-in-front-of-his-eyes
terrified
and this movie was literally giving him the shakes.

Each time the monster appeared on screen, Cade practically jumped out of his seat, spilling popcorn and soda all over himself.

And this ‘monster,’ so to speak, was just an evil creature wearing a top hat and a long black coat with bony fingers extending out from its sleeves.

I couldn’t understand why Cade was so terrified, but he was, for lack of a better term,
freaked the fuck out
.

I knew this for a fact because when the movie ended, Cade turned to me and said, “That was some crazy ass shit.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I’m still
freaked the fuck out!
”

Then Cade made the sign of the cross and began chanting Latin under his breath. “
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti
.” He made the sign of the cross again and joined his hands. “Amen.”

To which I added, “
Veni, Sacte Spiritus
.”

He stared at me blankly and I said, “It’s the golden sequence in the Mass for Pentecost.”

“Oh,” he said absently and started for the exit, looking shiftily over his shoulder.

I spoke into the silence. “What was so scary about the movie?”

Cade’s entire body tensed up. “When strange shit started happening and I had no idea what it was.”

“That’s normal,” I said lightly. “When you don’t see anything, what you create in your mind will always be more powerful. That’s why the dark can be so scary for some people.”

Cade said nothing. He looked so unsettled that I felt I ought to comfort him. Taking his hand, I squeezed it gently. “Remember, it’s not real. It’s only a movie and that entity is just an imaginary monster.”

“You’re right,” he said unconvincingly.

“Think of it this way,” I said. “If the monster is imaginary, it means that you can just imagine you’re a larger monster and beat up the monster trying to hurt you.”

Cade held the door open, gestured for me to exit first, then joined me as I stepped out into the balmy night. “I don’t know…” His voice trailed off. “I don’t think I’ll be getting any sleep tonight.”

“Why not?” I was genuinely flummoxed.

“Just.” Cade started to speak, then shook his head. “Never mind.”

“Look,” I said gently. “Your house isn’t suddenly haunted just because you’ve watched a horror flick. Nor is there a killer lurking in the closets just because you’ve watched a slasher movie. If entities like that existed, it would’ve made an appearance long before you watched the movie. And if it never appeared in the past, why would it now?”

“You’re not scared at all, are you?”

“Not really,” I answered truthfully. “Why be scared of the dead when the living are far more scary?”

“The mom in that movie was scary,” he said after a pause. “Especially when she echoed the Babadook’s creepy rhyme…
baba-dook-dook-dook
and then she threatened her son, telling him she was sick of his
talk-talk-talking.
”

As Cade was talking, the moon slipped behind a cloud and a night breeze shifted in, bringing with it a cold gust of air. Suddenly, there was a whisper of movement in the shadows.

“The fuck was that?” Cade shouted, nearly leaping out of his skin.

I did my best to comfort him. “It’s okay,” I said softly. “It was just the wind.”

Cade took a moment to gather his wits, but he didn’t look at all convinced that it was the wind. Even as he drove me home his shoulders were visibly tensed and twitchy.

Immediately, my nurturing instincts took over. “Do you want to come inside?” I asked as he pulled his Jeep into the driveway.

Cade switched off the ignition and exhaled a clipped sigh. “Sure,” he said at last. “Care if I spend the night?”

Poor guy. He must be so afraid that the Babadook boogeyman was coming for him.

“Of course you may.” I patted his arm and gave him a reassuring smile.