Page 49 of The Summer of ’98

He went south but his lips managed to stay on my skin as he went. He pushed the shirt up and let his tongue swirl circles around my hardened nipples. I had to control the urge to moan as loud as I wanted to. The pleasure was driving me wild, but I needed to keep quiet. His kisses continued down my stomach, going lower and lower until he gripped the band of my underwear and started sliding them down.

My chest rose and fell with my erratic breathing as he threw the underwear to the floor and wrapped his arms around my thighs, pulling them apart with an aggressive tug. I had to slap a hand across my mouth as he was suddenly devouring me with so much skill I was seeing stars within seconds.

Ellie

Leroy must have snuck back to his bedroom after I fell asleep last night. I woke up with a smile in place and I didn’t suffer from insomnia again after his late-night snack. I did, however, feel a bit sticky between my legs so I got prepared for a shower and crept down the corridor.

A delectable scent was coming from downstairs and I could hear the radio, which meant that Leroy must have been preparing breakfast. My stomach rumbled as I pushed the bathroom door open.

“Shit,” Noah hissed when I walked in on him in a towel. A squeal escaped me, and I tried to pull the door shut but he grabbed it before I could. “I’m done. It’s all yours.”

He brushed past me while I stood at the threshold clutching my clothes to my chest. The bathroom was still misted, and it smelled of fresh vanilla wash and cologne. Noah paused in the corridor, his back was to me and he twisted, glancing at me over his shoulder.

The atmosphere was tense and I realized that I was holding my breath, waiting for him to verbally lash out. But after a long pause, his mouth twitched into the ghost of a smile, barely there, aside from the faintest lift at the corner of his lips, and then he walked down the hall and shut his bedroom door. It was such a strange moment. Leroy might have been more clued in on the wordless exchanges. But I wasn’t sure what had just happened.

Leroy smiled from where he stood at the countertop when I came downstairs in a cropped T-shirt and some floral shorts. He was dishing bacon onto three plates that had eggs and toast on them. Heat flooded to more than one region when I remembered our night together. The vivid images were on repeat and I moved toward him, remembering his mouth between my legs, remembering his fingertips digging into my thighs, remembering the taste of him. My hand went into my hair, the lingering sensation of the strands in his fist, tugging and moaning my name.

He set the pan down, the noise startling me out of tantalizing thoughts, and he leaned against the lip of the bench with his hands. The muscles in his arms flexed against the action and I pictured how they’d been wrapped around my thighs last night. “Hungry?” I met his knowing gaze. He gestured at the food as if he needed to clarify what he meant and I nodded, attempting to chill out.

“How did you sleep?” he asked as we took our plates to the table. Noah sauntered into the room and thanked Leroy for the food before he sat at the other end, far away from both of us.

“I slept well.”

“I was thinking about heading out for the morning.” Noah spoke up with his head cast down as he cut up his food. “Give you guys the house for a bit.”

Leroy narrowed his eyes in a puzzled glance, his elbows leaning on the table. “Thanks,” he said with a little hesitation. I guess he wasn’t the only one surprised by the odd behavior.

It looked as though he was about to say more when the doorbell started ringing, continuously, repeatedly. In perfect sync, the brothers sighed and murmured, “Cass.”

And as if she was summoned from that word alone, she came barreling into the kitchen, her exquisite ringlets bouncing, her simple pink sundress flowing around her legs.

“Who’s up for a road trip?” She clapped her hands together and slipped her shades onto the top of her head. “Don’t all look so shocked! I was listening to the after-dark radio station last night while I contemplated the meaning of life, and it happened to be an optimal time. There was a contest for Aerosmith tickets. All I had to do was call in and fill in the blanks to their new song. I just bought their CD like two days ago and all the lyrics are on the sleeve,” she took a deep breath and threw her arms in the air with a wide smile. “Easy as.”

“Aerosmith?!” I stood up, adrenaline coursing through me. I was on the edge of passing out at the mere thought of going to an Aerosmith concert. “You have Aerosmith tickets?! Shut up! Is that true?”

Cass laughed, watching me from where she sat. “The show’s tonight in Colorado Springs.”

“Tonight?” I hummed with excitement. “This is the greatest day of my life.”

“It was all just total luck,” she said.

“And cheating,” Leroy added.

“Bite me, Lee,” she said. “Who’s up for it? I have four tickets. So, even you can come,” she gave Noah a brief glance. “I guess.”

“I would love to go to a concert with you, Cass,” Noah leaned back in his seat and gave her a sweet smile. She recoiled and I didn’t miss how her expression flittered with a hopeful excitement as I sat down again. “I’ll pay for the hotel if Leroy wants to drive?”

It was clear that I wasn’t the only person that was dumbfounded at Noah’s new and improved attitude. But we all kept tight lipped just in case we spooked the pleasantness right out of him. Leroy nodded. “I can drive. No worries. I’ll let Eric know that I won’t be at practice tomorrow morning. We’ll also need to let Mom know what we’re doing. And she’ll want you to clear it with your mom first.”

It took me a second to realize that he was speaking to me and I looked at him, plummeting with disappointment. “She’ll never go for it.”

“Don’t call her,” Noah suggested. “We can just tell Mom that she was—” he gave us a thumbs-up. “I doubt she’ll call to confirm it.”

“She might,” Leroy argued as he grazed his bottom lip with his thumb and adopted a thoughtful expression.

“Just risk it,” Noah said. “Better to ask for forgiveness instead of permission.”

“I mean, she probably won’t call your mom,” Cass said, but her tone wasn’t confident. “But if she does, we’ll already be in Colorado Springs.”

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