Page 3 of Honey Pot

His flowery blue eyes scanned his surroundings and, for a second, I forgot that this was the first time he had ever been here. My daddy was strict about boys being in my room. Even having known Cael from diapers didn’t give him special privileges.

“I’m already sad Clem; I have to leave you.”

If my heart wasn’t already cracking in two, Keith Urban started to play over the radio in the kitchen below, and the lyrics toMaking Memories of Uscascaded up into the loft.

His soft voice made me want to cry. “Don’t do that.”

“What?” he asked. He set the plate of food on the dresser as he explored further into my room. “Tell you the truth?” he shrugged, his jaw flexing as he looked around and avoided my stare. “Come into your room?” He asked with a soft smile. “It smells like lavender in here.”

“Cael!” I said, my emotions bursting, “Don’t force me to tell you.”

“We don’t keep secrets from each other.” He played with the threaded friendship bracelet on his wrist that I gave him... It was sun-bleached and frayed, but he never took it off.

“This isn’t a secret,” I replied, walking back until my heels pressed tightly against my side table.

“Then tell me,” he begged now, a sound I had heard from him so often that I thought myself immune. But his eyes seemed bluer, his voice pleading, and all resolve in my body cracked under the weight of the sound. “Is this about him? Did something happen?” He asked.

“I want you,” I whispered just to get him to stop talking, cheeks red and tears rolling down my face. Everything had been ruined by that day, all my worst fears, but it made it clear that all I had ever wanted was Cael.

“My first kiss, my first time,” I swallowed the cotton ball in my throat. “I wanted you—”

When I looked up, the tension snapped like a rubber band. Cael closed the space between us, and his hands were tangled into my damp hair without hesitation. His fingers pressed into the back of my neck as he collided with my mouth, his lips tracing my own shape. Breathlessly, he pushed into me, begging silently to come closer, but I was paralyzed, my hands gripping the table, my toes curling into the carpet.

MATTHEWS

Istared in surprise for a long moment at the freckles on his nose before finally closing my eyes and sinking weightlessly into the soft feeling of his mouth. My hands came up around his waist and gripped tightly into his shirt, my fingers tugging at the fabric. He pulled back, and a slow whimper dripped from my lips, following his path as he peppered more delicate kisses along the corners of my mouth and up my jaw to my ear.

“Your daddy’s definitely gonna shoot me now,” he chuckled, nibbling at my ear lobe.

“Wait,” I said, pushing him back. My head was dizzy from his kiss, and my heart was beating faster than I had ever felt it move, “are you only doing this because I’m sad, Cael, because—”

“Clem, for once in your life,please be quiet.” He hushed me with another long kiss that felt like flying.

He gripped the back of my neck as his hand raked down my side and cupped my thigh, lifting my leg until it was wrapped around his waist, and he rolled his hips against mine. I could feel every inch of him through my pajama shorts, and suddenly, everything felt too natural and too warm.

“Hey,” Cael tugged back without me even opening my mouth and moving his hands to cup my face as he looked at me. “What’s wrong? Was the kiss that bad?”

He laughed, and I felt the shift in my anxiety from the sound.

“No, no,” I shook my head in his hands. “Of course not.”

“It’s too fast,” he said, rolling his tongue over his bottom lip. I could see him jumping to conclusions, cursing himself quietly that he was no better than…

“I’m sorry.” He severed through my thoughts.

He took a whole step back, and before I could even think about what I was doing, I followed him, linking our fingers together in the soft light that peered from my bedroom lamp. “I’m not…” I stopped, looking away from him, trying to collect myself when he hooked a finger around my chin and pulled me back. “Experienced like the other girls.”

Cael’s pouty lips curled at the corners, “Clem,” he laughed, his nose scrunching up and his eyes catching the moonlight, “do you think I slept with all those girls?”

“Well, you—” I started and then realized how horrible I sounded, “I just thought—”

“I’m never opposed to a little heavy petting, but Plum, I’ve never slept with any of them.” His finger slipped absentmindedly between the strap of my tank top and skin as he talked, his eyes drifting down to my shoulders and collarbones.

“That seems like a secret, Cael,” I said, not trying to start a fight, just wanting to shift the embarrassment away from my jealousy.

“You never asked.”

I gave him a sharp look that only made him laugh, but he roped his fingers through my hair again, moving slower. This time, he kissed my bottom lip, tugging it into his mouth. My hand tangled into the collar of his shirt, brushing against the buttons and pulling him closer as he took his time kissing me.

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