Watercolor (26 page)

I turned back to the book, carefully flipping the pages to a few sketches that looked familiar. “Is this me?” I asked, pointing in the book.

He leaned over and smiled. “Yeah. I’d get bored and start thinking about you.”

His words made me feel fizzy, and I took a big gulp, setting an empty glass on the side table.

He laughed. “Don’t chug it. I’d like you to be conscious.”

Then he pulled me to him, kissing me gently on the mouth. Heat radiated through my stomach, and I wished I’d taken another drink. I still felt nervous.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly.

I nodded and burped, and we both laughed a little.

Julian slipped off his shirt, and I lightly ran my finger down his chest to the round tattoo, where I spread my palm flat against his warm skin. At that, he pulled me to him and gave me a kiss before lifting my shirt over my head. I quickly removed my bra and reached around his waist to pull our bodies together, and his hands slid down my bare back, causing me to shiver.

“Cold?” he whispered kissing my shoulder.

“A little,” I whispered back.

He led me to his bed and lifted the covers for me to climb in. I slid under them as he unfastened his pants and slipped them off, and for a second I admired the lines on his chest leading down past the ink on his side, down the center of his stomach, all the way to…

He quickly slipped in next to me and pulled me under him, covering my mouth with his. Every part of my body was hot, and my nervousness melted into something else as he kissed a trail from my neck down to my chest, pausing to run his tongue around my most sensitive parts. A little sound came from my throat. I was acutely aware of all his touches. His hands unfastened my jeans, and I quickly helped him take them off along with my panties. I’d never been completely naked with him before, and it was thrilling.

He leaned away for a second, reaching inside his drawer. I saw the square packet and understood what he was doing when I heard the rip. Then he was back. His lips closed on mine again, and my body pulsed inside and out.

“I’m going to try and make it not hurt so much,” he whispered.

I didn’t know what he meant, but he was gone again. And the next thing I felt were light kisses on the inside of my thigh. He pushed my legs apart and my heart leaped as his lips moved higher. When his tongue lightly touched me, a burst of pleasure shot through my entire body. An irresistible building sensation tightened below my waist. A few seconds more, and I was gripping the sheets.

Everything changed in an instant. Pleasure rocketed through me, shuddering my limbs, and as soon as it happened Julian was back, pushing inside me. It did hurt, like ripping a scab off before it’s ready, but my body was still trembling from the intense high I’d just reached. It wasn’t as bad as I’d expected, and he slowly began pushing harder. The pain grew a more intense, and I bit my lip to keep from making a sound. I had to get through this. He kept moving, and I could tell he was doing his best to be gentle. A shudder passed through him as he struggled with restraint.

I tried to adjust my position, rotate my hips, find a way to help him, but he gasped a noise in my ear each time I moved. His pace increased, and my eyes closed. A groan came from his throat, and for several moments he held me tightly, then he relaxed. I wrapped my arms around him, and our hearts beat together, our breath swirling quickly in and out.

His body was less tense as he moved to lie beside me. “Are you okay?” he whispered.

I nodded.

“Hurt too much?”

I looked down. I didn’t want him to feel bad. He quickly rose on his side and looked into my eyes, and I rolled on my side away from him. I didn’t want him to see me cry.

“Anna?” He put his hand on my shoulder.

I couldn’t stop the tears then, but I didn’t really know why I was crying. It hadn’t hurt that bad. Not bad enough to cry. Julian pulled me onto my back, and I rolled my face into his chest.

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly.

“I don’t know,” I sniffed. “I just… it hurt, and I don’t know. I thought… maybe it wouldn’t.”

“What?”

“I just… I love you, and it was you and me, and I just thought…”

“That I’d be freakishly small or something?”

“No…” I started to giggle through my tears. “You are
not
small.”

“Thanks.”

My hand shot forward into his stomach. He grunted a laugh, and then we both started laughing. “You set me up for that.”

He laughed again and rubbed my back. I slid my arm around his waist, tears forgotten.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said, kissing my shoulder. “I was hoping it might be less painful if you… you know. Went first.”

“That was amazing,” I lifted my chin to look at him.

He smiled. “It gets better. I promise.” He kissed the tear off my cheek.

“Really? Because up to the end, it was really great.”

Just then I felt a trickle between my legs.

“Oh! Let me out!”

He stood up quickly, and I raced to the bathroom. I jumped on the toilet, but I was afraid I’d waited too long. It only took a few wipes for the bleeding to stop, but then I realized I was stuck in the bathroom with no clothes. I looked around, on the shower door, under the cabinet, but all I could find was a hand towel on the sink.
What was this? Laundry day?

I grabbed it and held it in front of me as I walked back to Julian’s room. The small towel only covered my lower half, and when he saw me, he grinned.

“Um… you missed a spot.” The approval in his voice made my stomach tighten.

“Close your eyes,” I whispered.

“No way,” he said, propping on his elbow. “You’re beautiful.”

My arms readjusted so I could cover my breasts. “You’re embarrassing me.”

“Why? It’s the truth.” He sat all the way up and pulled me to him, moving my arm. “Maybe I could sketch you like this.” He kissed my ribs, working his way higher, as my breath caught.

“Right,” I gasped, sliding my fingers into his soft hair. “And someone would find it, and I’d die.”

“I wouldn’t let anyone find it.” He pulled me back into the bed, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, our chests pressing together in that luscious way.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I think I might’ve messed up your sheets.”

“Don’t worry about it.” His lips pressed to mine briefly. “I’ll take care of it.”

He was kissing me slowly, as if he were taking little tastes. I couldn’t believe I was warming up again, but I was.

“Do you think it’ll hurt again?” I asked.

The edge in his voice only fanned my growing flames. “Want to find out?”

I nodded and he kissed me long and deep as his hands slowly moved down my body. Somehow I got the feeling this would never feel anything but fantastic, ever again.

Light was streaming through the window when I opened my eyes. Julian was asleep beside me with his arm across my waist. I didn’t know what time we’d fallen asleep, but the biggest problem was it was morning and I wasn’t at home. I sat up fast.

“Julian! Wake up!” He stirred groggily and pulled me back down to him. I struggled to get out of his arms. “Wake up, Julian. My mom’s going to freak out if I’m not home.”

His voice was a sleepy complaint. “Didn’t you leave a note?”

“Yes, but it said I was with you and I’d be back soon. What do you think she’ll think if I’m not back and it’s morning?”

“We’ll make something up. Stop squirming!” He kissed my neck as his arms tightened around my waist.

“Julian! I’ve got to get home.” I tried pushing him off me but he was too heavy, and I couldn’t help laughing.

“See?” he said, continuing his trail of kisses. “You don’t want to leave me.”

I held his neck and kissed him back. “I don’t, but I have to get home. They might still be sleeping.” His lips were weakening my resolve, but I had to be strong. “If they think we’re up to something, they’ll make it harder for us to see each other.”

“In that case…” He let me go instantly and sat up, grabbing his jeans from the floor and jerking them on. I reached under the covers to find my panties. My jeans were on the floor, too. I pulled them on and my shirt.

“Maybe we could say I had to spend the night because your mom was sick,” I said, thinking.

“No good. Why was she sick? And what if your mom offered to bring her food or something?”

I nodded, poking my lips out. “You’re right. Why did I leave the house with you?”

He stopped moving and stood straight, seeming to consider this. “Well, I’d just found out Mr. Kyser was really my dad, and I freaked. You left to comfort me, and I ended up deflowering you. Several times.”

A charge raced to my toes. “Julian! Get serious.”

He laughed. “C’mon. Let’s see if they’re even awake. Then we’ll figure something out. Your mom likes me, remember?”

“I wouldn’t press my luck if I were you,” I breathed, dashing through the house.

It was before nine when we reached my house, and shockingly no one seemed to be awake.

At the door, I turned back to him. “You’d better go. I’ll call you later.”

He pulled me in for another long kiss. I slipped my fingers into his hair, thinking how fantastic and wonderful and
special
we were together. He straightened up and looked into my eyes. “I love you.”

My stomach flooded with butterflies. “I love you.”

He smiled and slipped out the door as I turned back to face… an unbelievably quiet house. I couldn’t believe I’d managed to get in and out without notice, but just then I heard my dad coming down the stairs and panicked.

“Anna?” Dad’s brow furrowed. “You up already? And dressed? What’s going on, honey?”

“Uh… Dad?” My voice was too high. I cleared it. The only story in my head was Julian’s deflowering one, and I couldn’t tell him that. “Well, I was here and then… I uh…”

He kept walking into the kitchen and stopped at the counter. “We’re out of coffee?”

God in heaven.
“Yes! And I thought it would be a good idea if I went and got some, but I forgot my purse.”

“What’s this? A note for Mom?”

“Oh, yeah,” I quickly grabbed it off the bar and crumpled it into a ball. “I thought she might get up and wonder where I was. So I’ll be back in five, and we can all have some coffee. Want me to get a go-cup for you?”

“That’s okay, I can wait.” Then he grinned. “I’ll just crawl back in bed with Mom.”

“Right. Well, nobody wants to hear about that!”

“Ah, grow up, Anna.”

“Bye, now!”

I ducked out the front door and leaned against the wall of the carport for a half second, exhaling as my heart rate slowed back to normal. Last night had been too crazy even for me, and that was just beyond close.

Chapter 26

It seemed all of Fairview was in the drive-through waiting for coffee, but I didn’t want to go inside. Sitting in my car, the realization washed over me: I was free. The Secret was out. The letter was back with Mr. Kyser, Julian had confronted both his parents, and best of all, he wasn’t mad at me. Far from it.

With a happy flush, I remembered his hands on my body, his lips. Then I remembered
my
hands on his body and his reaction. Leaning forward, I placed my forehead on the steering wheel and closed my eyes. At one point in the night he’d held my face in both his hands, looked deep into my eyes, and told me he loved me. My stomach did a little flip again.

Grabbing my phone, I had to call one person immediately.

“An-nAH!” Gabi’s voice sang out.

I held the phone away from my ear and winced. “Did you just sing my name?”

“Sidney and I are working on a video in which I am the diva Lady G.”

“I don’t even know which question to ask first,” I laughed. “Is this for school or funniest home videos?”

“Neither, and you can hold your applause to the end.”

“That might be a long hold,” I snorted. “Gabi. You don’t sing.”

“Off the record,” her voice was overly dramatic, “I’m lip-syncing, but it’s my scandalous secret. Don’t tell. It would ruin my career if it came out.”

“It’s in the vault.” I leaned out the window and ordered a pound of coffee to go as my best friend continued.

“Seriously, what’s up?” she asked. “I haven’t heard from you in a month.”

I took a deep breath and told her. “I did it.”

“Did what?”

“It.”

“Holy shit!” she screamed. “Was it Julian?”

“Of course.”

“Was it great?”

I giggled. “Of course.”

“Oh my god! Details, details!”

“Well, first, the whole thing about his parents came out.” I quickly gave her the rehash. “We left Hammond Island, and it’s still not clear how that’ll play out. He is really mad at his mom—”

“And then he was all, ‘Let’s get it ooon’?” she interrupted.