Undeclared (25 page)

I wondered if I could get Lana alone and get some tips from her. What if I needed to pull a Meg Ryan and pretend like I had an orgasm?

Inside, crepe paper streamers were draped along the walls and lit up with Christmas lights. A fake disco ball was strung up in the middle and spun every time someone tall enough went by and slapped it. The place smelled like weed, spilled beer, and sweat.

Either it was too early or the entire crowd was in the back, but the front room was fairly empty except for a few people loitering around the windows.

A table set up at the end blocked the path to the rooms beyond. It was full of small shot glasses filled with amber liquid. A guy wearing a T-shirt that read“ FCK” in big letters waived us over. As I neared, I could see that the small print read“ All that’s missing is ‘U.’”

“$2 a shot for the guys. Free for the girls. Beer’s free back there.” He gestured behind him. I rolled my eyes. The Forest house was apparently a party house where the members tried to make money by charging for liquor. The freebies for the girls were to entice the guys to come and spend generously.

I wanted to wait for Noah out front, and I turned to head back out when Amy grabbed my arm. “Let’s do a shot,” she said. I nodded agreement. I hated whiskey but maybe a little liquid courage would help me in bed. I’d have fewer inhibitions. I wouldn’t be so embarrassed at being naked.

“Is that whiskey?” I asked.

He nodded, “Jack.”

“Please,” Amy pleaded. Maybe she needed some liquid courage to hit on Bo, too.

“You should wait until Noah gets here,” Bo suggested, which set off Lana.

“She needs permission from Noah to drink now?” Lana marched up to the table and laid down a ten-dollar bill. “Three shots. This can be your tip.”

Shot guy wordlessly picked up the $10, stuck it in his pocket, and pushed three shot glasses forward. I took one of the shots and drained it. As the Jack burned down my throat, I coughed and wiped at my watering eyes.

“Come on, ladies, do a shot with us.” Tim and Eric, the guys from Noah’s gym, come forward to do their own shots. Bo looked to protest again, but Lana held up her hand. He remained silent but brooding. We all did another shot while Bo looked on like a discontented father. This one went down far easier, as if the first one burned away any resistance. I felt better already.

Tim and Eric wanted us to do another shot with them, but by that time Noah and Finn had walked in. Noah looked unhappy to see us crowded around the shot table.

“Did you have to park really far away?” I asked him.

He laced his fingers through mine and pulled me close to him, placing a quick kiss against my forehead. “No, why?”

“You look unhappy.”

“I tried to stop them, brother, but no go,” Bo said, clapping a hand on Noah’s shoulder. He turned to the shot man, with sarcasm heavily weighting his words, “Did we pay a sufficient toll?”

Shot guy merely held up his arms. “Go on through.”

Noah led the way, pulling me behind him. This room had tubs of glass-bottled beer, a luxurious drinking item for college students. Noah stopped and bought drinks for everyone. I tried to remember the rhyme. Was it liquor first and then beer or reverse?

“You look perplexed,” Noah said, leaning down to speak into my ear. His breath tickled my lobe and thoughts of our activities in the bar made me squeeze my legs together slightly. Thank god I was a girl. The shots were doing their job. I wondered if there were some dark corners I could take him into.

“I’m trying to remember if I should just keep drinking shots or if it’s okay to have beer.”

“Liquor first. You’re good to go,” Noah said and then sighed.

“Do you want to go?” First the glower and then the sigh.

“No, it’s all good,” he replied, squeezing my hand.

We wandered through to the back deck that was very crowded. There were two kegs out here and dozens of plastic cups already discarded on the ground like abandoned toys.

“Walk through the crowd with me,” Lana demanded. I turned to Noah and informed him of our plans.

“I’ll be right back,” I reassured him.

He nodded and went to hold up a piece of railing with Bo while the other guys delved into the crowd. Amy looked at Lana and me and then back at Bo. “Go forth, young pilgrim,” Lana said, winking at Amy.

We began a slow circuit through the crowd, saying hello to the people we knew. Lana was more familiar with the faces than I was. At the back of the yard, someone was handing out paper cups full of Jell-O shots. We were forced to swallow two before we could get out of there. By the time we had done a full circuit, we hadn’t seen Jack anywhere. It was early yet, but I felt buzzed.

“Lana,” I tugged at her hand, “how do you know when you should fake an orgasm?”

“I don’t think you’re going to have that problem with Noah,” she said, scanning the crowd.

“How do you know?” Had she slept with him!?

“No, I didn’t sleep with him.” She rolled her eyes, sounding disgusted. I must have said that out loud.

“Sorry. It just came out,” I apologized.

“Noah can barely allow your feet to touch the ground. He opens your doors. He carries your backpack for you. He makes sure you have food and that you’re entertained. Trust me when I say you aren’t going to have to fake anything.”

Rubbing the side of my face, I tried to add together all the facts. Impatiently, Lana grabbed my hand and said, “He will make sure you are satisfied. Don’t hide your reactions. He’ll learn from them.”

Lana’s explicit instructions penetrated a little better. Don’t hide. Be happy. Or was the song“ ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy?’” Confused again, I asked Lana, “Is this the point to stop drinking or keep drinking?”

Jack appeared out of nowhere to hand me a bottle and say hello to Lana. “Keep drinking,” he offered.

“Are you a genie?” I asked him stupidly. He laughed and tipped his head back to swallow his beer.

“No, why?” he asked, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.

“We were just talking about you and, poof, here you are,” I said, looking at Lana. I didn’t want her to bring up my orgasm question in front of Jack.

“Like magic,” she nodded in agreement.

“I’ve got something magical, but I can’t show it to you here,” Jack replied. Lana rolled her eyes, but I was gone enough that I actually giggled despite his lack of originality.

I felt a warm hand at the nape of my neck and turned to find Noah behind me with a curious look on his face. Like he wanted to take Jack’s magic and crush it beneath his size 13s.

But when he noticed me looking up at him, he smiled that tender sweet half smile that I could tell was just for me. I swung myself around and threw my arms up to his neck.

“Whoa there,” he said, taking the beer bottle out of my hand. Apparently my actions had sprayed a little beer out of the newly acquired bottle. He said nothing about his bath and, instead, scooped me up to half walk, half carry me back to the railing, leaving Lana and Jack to discuss his David Blaine tricks.

Amy was still there with Bo, but there were others as well, guys and girls.

“Do all these people want to take Bo home?” I asked Noah. He choked a little on his drink and threw a look of glee toward Bo.

“I don’t know, but Bo’s pretty open minded, aren’t you Peep?”

Bo lifted a finger, but shifted closer to us so I could hear him. “You do know why we call Noah Jep right?”

“Sure, because he knows all the answers on Jeopardy,” I recited.

“That and because the only one who’d blow him was a toy he built himself.”

“Better the puppeteer, Geppetto, than the puppet. At least I can get it up without the assistance of pharmaceuticals,” Noah said.

“You know, when you brought Bo to the movies, Mike thought you were a couple,” I confided. This made both Noah and Bo laugh.

Bo leaned toward me. “I have slept with Noah before, Grace. He snores, just an FYI.”

I turned to Noah. “Is this true?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t ever been awake while I’ve snored. But I wouldn’t trust anything Bo says. He’d sleep through revelry played right in his ear.”

I turned toward Bo for confirmation.

“True. I was a bad Marine,” Bo said. He didn’t look too sorrowful about this. Amy used this opportunity to lure Bo’s attention back to her by asking when he got out.

Pulling Noah’s head down to mine, I boldly told him, “I’m ready to go home.” Instead of swiftly carrying me to his truck, he groaned a little and cuddled me closer. I snuggled into him and waited, but nothing happened.

So I pressed up against him a little and rubbed my hands down his T-shirt. When I got to the bottom, I slipped my hands underneath the cotton so I could enjoy the feel of his skin against my palms. Instead of allowing my exploration to continue, however, Noah pushed my hands out and loosely held my two wrists in one of his hands while he bent down to place my bottle on the floor.

He looked at his watch and said, “Time to go?” I nodded eagerly. Don’t hide. Be happy. Don’t worry. Be happy. He looked over at Bo and said, “You got her?” pointing to Amy. Bo lifted his chin in agreement.

“Alright, baby,” Noah said. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Instead of heading off to bed, though, Noah went over to Jack and Lana. “I’m taking Grace home, Lana, and I’d like to take you home as well. Bo will make sure that Amy gets back safely.”

“Um,” Lana looked to Jack, and Jack shrugged.

“I’ll see her home.”

Noah shook his head. “Can’t do it. I brought her, and I need to see her home.”

“I live close by, mind if I catch a ride?” Jack said.

“Fine,” Noah turned. “Ready?”

I nodded eagerly. I was ready. Very ready. I turned and gave Lana a sly wink but apparently everyone saw it because they all shook their heads at me.

Noah

Getting Grace into her apartment would’ve been easier if she’d been passed out. Then I could have just slung her over my shoulder and carried her to bed.

Instead, inebriated Grace was handsy, dipping her fingers under my shirt and underneath the waistband of my jeans. At this rate, the wood in my pants would be so hard by the second floor that I’d have to rub one out just to be able to make it up to her apartment without being crippled by my hard on.

I figured that not taking Grace tonight would be another of those
Twelve Labours of Hercules
. I had to be close to accomplishing them all by now.

On the third floor, I picked Grace up to avoid her wandering hands, but when she started licking a sensitive part of my neck, I began wondering at my own restraint. Would it really be so bad? After all, Grace was a virgin. Maybe having her drunk would make it hurt less the first time. I could really make it good for her the next day.

I quelled my thoughts. I wanted Grace to remember our first time together. And I would make it good for her that time and every time after.

Lana unlocked the door and stumbled in. Jack followed close behind. I was going to have to kick Jack out, given that Lana wasn’t able to walk a straight line.

First things first. I carried Grace to her bedroom. It was the first time I had been in her room, although I saw a brief glimpse of it when I had picked her up for breakfast that first morning.

It was all white, but there were flowered curtains and a huge bed with a white comforter that looked like it had lace or something around the edges. Huge. Like I think I could have fit a platoon in that bed.

“You have a big bed.” I stood her up while I pulled back the covers.

“All the better for you to sleep in it with me.” Yeah, Grace was really drunk. She wouldn’t be so forward unless she had a few too many tonight. I liked it, though. I wondered if, over time, Grace would lose her inhibitions without alcohol. I certainly wouldn’t mind her rubbing against me like a cat against a scratching pole if I could actually do something about it.

I laid her down and stroked my hands down her legs to pull her sandals off. I saw that the straps had made red marks in her feet, and I massaged them a little, trying to rub circulation back in. She moaned and said, “That feels soooo good.”

I looked at her body and contemplated what exactly I should remove. The sheer blouse was an easy choice. Her shorts? I debated that for about two seconds and said fuck it. I went to unzip her shorts.

Except there was no zip. I rolled her to her back and found only a seam. Did she just pull these on? Women’s clothes were mystifying. Grace’s hand went to her side and pulled down a tiny hidden zipper. Underneath I saw all-lace, black panties. I broke out in a sweat.

Boot camp wasn’t nearly as painful and trying as this. I pulled down Grace’s unfastened shorts and placed those on top of her shoes. I looked at her for a full minute, and, yeah, I even stroked her lightly over the lace nestled between her thighs. She liked it. Her legs fell open to grant me easier access, and she thrust up against my hands.

Jesus, the shadowed valley between her legs called to me. The musk of her arousal rose up in the air, and I wanted to fall on her and devour her. I pressed my forehead into her belly and prayed to someone for a little strength.

I took a deep breath, unbuttoned her blouse, and left her in her bra, tank, and lace panties. I deserved a goddamned medal for this.

When I covered her up, Grace leaned up on her elbows. The weight of her body pulled her tank top down so her plump breasts looked bigger and the cleavage looked deeper.

“Noah?” her tone was questioning. “Are you coming to bed?”

“I’m going to sleep on the couch tonight,” I admitted.

“What? Don’t you want me?”

“Fuck, of course, I do. Jesus Christ, it’s all I can do not to fall on you like some crazed beast, but you’re too drunk tonight.”

“I’m not,” she said truculently.

We could play this game all night. I went to the bathroom to get a washcloth and wiped her makeup off as much as I could. There wasn’t much but it must have felt good, because she made another moan.

“That feels so good,” she repeated. She reached for me, and I bent down to kiss her freshly cleaned forehead. Her head tipped. Despite her tipsy state, she was able to make contact with my mouth, her tongue tracing my lips. Involuntarily, my mouth opened slightly and her tongue darted inside, sweeping around my teeth and deeper to stroke my tongue.