Trust Game (20 page)

Everett

“Wrap it up, buttercup. I’
m stealing you from that seat and holding you hostage this weekend.”

Reese drops the papers she is holding to her desk and proceeds to throw her pen across the room.

“Yeah, it’s definitely time to get you out of here. We need to rid you of some of that tension.”

She finally looks to me. “I want to soak in my tub.”

“You go home and soak, and I’ll bring dinner.”

***

Reese texted saying she left the door unlocked for me, so I let myself in, making a mental note to remind her how unsafe that is.

After grabbing a beer, I sit on the couch to wait for her. There’s a magazine about fitness on the coffee table, so I pick it up. Underneath are the slips of paper from the game we played the first night I was over.

I smile, remembering how much fun we had and how timid she was with me. When I think of all we’ve done in a short amount of ti
me, I realize Reese trusts me.

Flipping throu
gh them, I determine what we still haven’t tried. Images of us acting them out drive my cock to full salute.

Taking a drink of my beer, I readjust myself in my jeans and lay the strips of paper back on the table. I have to get sex off the brain. She’s tired, and I should at least feed her fi
rst before seducing her.

There’s a sma
ll basket on the table, holding various items. Her remote is in it, but it’s the 4 x 6 photo on top that I’m interested in.

Right away
, I recognize the girl in the picture as Reese. She looks to be maybe sixteen or seventeen. I could spot those green eyes and that sweet smile anywhere.

It’s ridiculous since it’s obvious the photo is old, but I’m jealous of the guy she’s hanging on. Her arms are snug around his neck, and his are around her waist.

They are both looking sideways at the camera, cheeks against each other’s and smiles wide. I can’t help but wonder why she has the photo out.

“That is Preston.”

I jerk my head around to Reese. Her eyes are on the picture. She’s wearing a short pink robe that I’d love to remove, but I’m curious about this damn Preston guy, and I have to feed her first.

“Sorry,
I couldn’t help but notice it.” Putting it back in the basket, I stand and approach her. She’s biting on her lip and fidgeting with her hands.

Her hair is
up in the back and messy, and damn, even with a canopy of worry over her face, Reese is beautiful. Holding the sides of her arms, I kiss her forehead and breathe in her enticing scent.

“Do you want to talk about it?”
I ask.

“I smell food. Let’s eat.”

“I brought pasta. I know I’m a dude, but I’ve learned when it’s a carbs kind a day for a chick.” She chuckles and hugs me. “There’s my girl. I even brought chocolate cake, and if you give me a kiss, I will let you have the butter.”

Reese can’t help but snicker as she hits me in the chest. “Making fun of me will not earn you a kiss but bringing
me carbs will.”

She throws her arms around my neck and
smacks her lips to mine. My hands wander under the back of her robe and over the silky panties she’s wearing.

Asshole
, feed her first!

After filling our plates, Re
ese tucks her legs under her butt on the couch and digs in to her noodles. Once she’s had a few bites, she stares at me, gnawing on the corner of her lip.

“I’ll tell you about Preston if you tell me how Krystal died.”

I should’ve seen that coming. As much as I don’t want to discuss it, maybe it will help put the past even further behind us. Taking a glimpse at the table, I notice our slips of paper.

“If you tell me about him and agree to play a game with me after, I will share about Krystal.”

“I think game show host was more of a calling for you, but everything you want to play would have to be shown on pay-per-view.” She gnaws a little harder, wearing out her lip. “OK.”

Reese eats a few more bites of her food a
nd sets her plate on the table. “Preston was my first serious boyfriend. I was sixteen when we got together. He was all male and reckless, and I was drawn to him because of his fearless personality.

“
That free spirited part of me has always been there. I guess you like to call it the devilish side. But boy did we ever fight. Our strong-willed personalities clashed. He took my virginity, and I thought it was the forever kind of love.”

It’s irrelevant how old she was. I’m already hating this conversation.

“Anyway, he and his buddies liked to drink, and the longer we were together, the worse their behavior became. We had been dating over a year when one of our friends had a party at this abandoned house.

“I was sick of him being trashed
every weekend, so I asked him to refrain from drinking that night, hoping it would help our relationship. Preston didn’t want anyone telling him what to do, and he saw my request as just that.

“He ended up
the most wasted I had ever seen him, so I stayed like always, trying to care for him. Everyone had left the party except for me and five of his friends.

“
I tried to get him to let me take him home, but he became a royal asshole, humiliating me in front of the guys. I’d had all I could take, so I told him his ass could stay there.”

Reese turns her head completely away from me and stares out the window. The sun is still shining in, but there is nothing bright and cheerful about where this story is going. I feel it.

“Our parting words were nasty. Flat out mean and ugly.” She shakes her head as if she’s shaking the terrible thoughts away, too. “Anyway, I’d been in bed about thirty minutes when I got a call to go to the hospital.

“Preston had fallen off the dilapid
ated porch of the old house, hitting is head on the concrete steps below. His friends were not in any better shape from drinking, so they thought he passed out from the alcohol. When they finally realized it was more serious, it was too late.”

I watch as the tears own
her eyes, and I can’t stand the thought of the pain she endured. I know what it feels like. Setting my plate down, I reach over and pull her into my lap before placing her head to my chest. Wiping her eyes, she regains her composure.

“There was no brain activity, so after a couple of days, the doctor’s convinced his parents to shut
off life support. It was the longest few days of my life.”

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

She straightens up and looks at me. A deep-seated anxiety floods the surface of her face as she takes my hand. “Everett, I don’t love him anymore. Actually, I rarely think of him.

“
The thoughts have been more frequent since meeting you, but I believe that’s because you bring the risk-taker out of me.

“
Except for the partying during college, which numbed me from the pain of losing Preston, I’ve played it safe, never being with anyone who pushed boundaries, but it’s been impossible to resist you.”

She takes hold of my
hand and rubs it with her thumb, the look of anxiety only worsening. “Please believe me when I say I’m not still grieving for him.

“
It was puppy love, and we didn’t have a healthy relationship. I came across the picture when I was cleaning out my parents’ basement.”

“Baby, stop
. It was a long time ago, and you were young.” I clasp her hands between mine to still her. “Look at me, Reese.”

Her eyes slowly lift to mine as if she’s afraid to see what’s inside of them. “Our stories are different yet
eerily similar. It wasn’t your fault. You know that, right?”

“I know his poor choices are the reason he died, but I was the sober one. I should’ve made sure he was safe.”

I frame her face and hold it steady to mine.

“You were seventeen. It was not your responsibility.”

“I said awful things to him. He was drunk when the ugly words came out of his mouth, but I was sober and meant every one of mine. That is hard to live with.”

“You cared about him, Reese. It sounds like you
were always trying to save him. It was his time, and it wasn’t your fault. Do you believe me?”

“Yes
, but once in a great while, the guilt creeps in.”

I press my lips to hers and hold them there for several seconds. Touching her comforts me, and I’d like to believe it does the same for her.

“But it’s not the way to live, and we’re finding that out together.”

A single tear falls and hits the corner of her smile.

“I love the way we’re participating in life.”

Placing my lips on the corner of her mouth, I kiss away her tear. “So do I, a
nd we’re not slowing down this train.”

Reese

I don’t know how Everett does it, but like Becca, he puts everything into a rational perspective.

He manages to turn my mountains back into
molehills. He also keeps giving me more reasons to love him. “How are our stories similar?”

Everett sighs and pulls me back to his chest. He doesn’t want me to see his pain, and that’s OK.

“Krystal and I had been out for drinks and dinner. We weren’t getting along, either. We hadn’t spent time alone together in months, so we were making an effort, but looking back, I see it was forced from both sides.

“That’s something I didn’t want to acknowledge until meeting you. Anyway, we both had been drinking. I’d had three and she drank two. She insisted on driving since she
’d had less.

“All the way to her car we argued over it, so I finally caved and let her drive. I shouldn’t have. I weighed double what Krystal did and tried to get her to see that I wouldn’t be any mo
re affected by the alcohol, but she wouldn’t listen, so I dropped it.”

Everett’s body tenses, and he
squeezes me tighter, as if he’s holding on for safety.

“The short story is that another vehicle crossed the center line on our way home and crashed into us. The
driver’s side took the brunt of the impact. She was ejected from the car, and I sat on the side of the road, holding her while she died.”

Holy shit. I shove my arms around his waist and push myself as close to him as possible.

“I’m so sorry, Ev.”

“The last thing she said while gurgling blood was I’m sorry. She was dying, yet she apologized for driving. It seemed so ridiculous at the time.

“The hospital ran a toxicology test, and she wasn’t over the legal limit, but I believe her reaction time was slower. I might’ve been able to dodge the other vehicle.

“I should’ve made her let me drive.” He kisses the top of my forehead. “Like you were saying, there are times the guilt creeps in.”

I sit up, needing him to absorb the same words he said to me. “It wasn’t your fault. Preston would’ve argued with me until the end of time. It sounds like she would’ve done the same. You were trying to keep the peace.”

“I know that. Your story helped me see it even more. You shouldn’t carry guilt and neither should I. However, it doesn’t seem to make the memory less vivid. My hope is that it continues to appear less frequently.”

“We’re taking its power away by talking about it,” I say. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

He covers my mouth with his. It’
s a passionate kiss, more urgent than any other as he feeds me his appreciation for what we have. Laying me over on the couch, he blankets me with his warm body, giving me a sense of safety and comfort.

His
skilled mouth prowls to my neck, each brush and graze a sip for my unquenchable thirst, leaving me ravenous, longing for more of him.

“Everett.”

“No, baby, I’ll make you feel better than butter or cake,” he says muffled against my skin.

I giggle
loudly beneath him as he attempts to thwart the serious moment. The grin I feel against my neck warms my heart further, and I can’t wait any longer.

“
Everett, I’m serious,” I try to say without laughter.

“OK, I’ll let you finish eating first.” He mutters something under his breath as he lifts his head.

“I’m finished with dinner, and I want you for dessert, but I have to tell you this first.”

H
e’s struggling to be patient as his erection pushes against me. His fingers slip into the sides of my hair, and he massages my scalp. Oh, I’m nervous.

“I love you
.”

His hands stop moving, eyes grow rounder, and I feel his heart thundering against my chest. He smiles and gently kisses my cheek.

“God, I love you, too, Reese.” His fingers roam through my thick strands again, and lips skim across mine, easily persuading my mouth to open.

A slip of his tongue has my legs falling open to feel more of his bulging shaft. He’s leisurely exploring and stroking, sampling all of my mouth in a deliberate slow dance.

“I’m carrying you to bed and making love to you,” he whispers against my lips, but I don’t want this
song to end. His flavor is delicious and addicting, and his calculating kiss has my devilish side commanding attention.

“We can do that later. I want to play your game.”

Using the couch, he does a push up and holds it. His mouth shows humor, but his eyes exhibit his blazing desire. “My naughty girl; I love her.”

“She’s growing on me, too.”

Everett is off of me speedily. He picks up the strips of paper we used for our first game and begins putting them into two stacks. Neatly, he sets them side by side on the table.

“You’re going to dr
aw one of the strips that tells something we haven’t done together, and then we’re going to fulfill it.”

My mind begins racing, reliving our game and remembering each act.
“Um, we ruled out the threesome, I seriously doubt you want to leave to have sex in a public bathroom, and I already told you the one I’m not doing, not
yet
anyway.”

Everett
’s eyes are instantly blistered with heat, his focus now overshadowed by my statement.

“Shit, Reese, I’m never going to get anything done now. The image of fucking your ass is all I’m going to be able to focus on.”

“Shameless,” I say.

“It’s your fault. You created this animal.”
I can’t help but snicker as he blows out a frustrated breath.

I stare at the strips.
“OK, um, that only leaves a few things. We will have to think up more. I like this game.”

Ev’s elbows are resting on his knees as he reaches up with both hands
and lightly pulls on his hair.

“You’re killing me, Reese. Pick one already.”

“I will, but I’m not reading it off. I’ll surprise you.”

“Hell yes. I’m down with that.
Left stack–now.”

After reading the slip of paper, I lay it back down
and think of the brave stripper at the club. If she can dance naked in front of total strangers, I can do this in private with Ev.

Embarrassed but excited,
I lead him to my bedroom by the hand, and never taking my eyes off of his, I reach for his shirt.

He lets me pull it over his head, and now his hair is messy the way I like it. Unbuttoning his jeans, I reach in and stroke his erection outside of his boxers, but he
has run out of patience, so my hand is nudged out of the way, so he can strip down, revealing his exquisite nakedness.

“Lie on the bed,” I order before exhaling loudly
and reaching for the ties on my robe.