Page 49 of The Road Sometimes Taken

He licks my clit one more time, before sliding his fingers out, and standing up. He looks me dead in the eyes, when he brings his fingers up, my arousal all over them. He brings one of them to his mouth and licks it clean.

“Damn, Cara, you taste like heaven. I want to take my time savoring every last drop of your cum.” He brings the other finger to his mouth and proceeds to do the same. Licking them both clean, right in front of me, turning me on again.

There’s something so hot about everything that just happened that I say, “Bummer… you’re going to have to do it again later and let me get a taste. I’ve never been told I taste like heaven before and you just had it all.”

His eyes widen with mischief, bringing his hand to my chin, and kissing me hard. I can taste myself on his lips. Before he tasted like whiskey and spice, but now he tastes a little tangy and sweet. He breaks the kiss and says, “There, a little taste. Now let’s go, I’m not done with you tonight. And for what I have in mind, we need some privacy.”

He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the road, never letting go. We weave our way through the most alive road I’ve ever seen—people dancing in sync with the city’s heartbeat, strolling without a care in the world, laughing with a joy that’s coming from their bones. A kaleidoscope of rhythm, color, and noise. A living tapestry of feel-good and good times. Maybe it’s not the happy city, and it’s just me, with my pores craving input. Craving emotion, because whatever that was back there with Manny, has just woken parts of me I didn’t know existed.

We make it to the van, I reach to open the door but he twirls me around and pins me against the sliding door. His hand smooths up to my neck, his fingers caressing my nape. He holds my head, pulling lightly on my hair, he tilts my chin up as he lowers and takes my lips in his.

He kisses me tenderly, not like the kiss shared in the alley. That was rushed and passionate as if he was going to lose me any second if he didn’t claim every single part of my lips. But this one is not feverish. This kiss is soft and sweet like I’m delicate, and he might break me if he kisses me any harder. It’s slow, as if we have all the time in the world and he wants to save every single second that his soft lips are on mine.

“Manny,” I whisper but he doesn’t let go. He kisses me again.

I bite his lower lip gently, and he smiles against my mouth, the kiss breaking but our connection remaining. His nose brushes against mine, sending a shiver of excitement through me. He whispers softly against my lips, “We have time. I’ve dreamed of the moment you’d let me get lost in you and I want to take my time. Let me commit every kiss, every taste of your lips to memory, Carita. Let me savor this moment.”

The sweet, intoxicating scent of his breath mingles with the faint trace of cologne he’s wearing. The reality of kissing him, something he says he’s dreamed about for years, is even more thrilling than I had ever imagined. Nothing in my wildest dreams could have prepared me for how incredible this feels.

“Let’s go back to the house,” I suggest, my voice trembling. Manny responds with a tender kiss to my forehead. He carefully opens the front door for me and then slides into the driver’s seat. The van hums to life, and as we pull away, he reaches for my hand, holding it tightly for a brief moment before letting it fall back to his side and start heading back.

25

BITABLE SIZE

I’M GONNA BE (500 MILES), SLEEPING AT LAST & EARNED IT, THE WEEKEND

Cara

“I can hear your thoughts, Cara,”he says before glancing at me, his eyes soft with concern. “Stop overthinking it, okay? We can talk about it later, or even now if it will make you feel better.”

I can’t help but let my thoughts swirl, grappling with the intensity of everything that happened today. “I want to talk about this,” I say, my voice shaking.

Manny’s eyes flash with a quick, reassuring smile before he focuses back on the road. “Oh, yeah? Let’s figure it out then. Talk to me, Carita,” he says.

“I need to understand what’s happening. You mentioned you’ve been dying to kiss me for years. If that’s true, why didn’t you say anything before now?”

“When would have been a good time to say I had a crush on my sister’s best friend? When you were twelve and started looking older, but I was just a ten-year-old boy? Or when youwere sixteen and all of your inner beauty was bursting out and started changing you into the woman you are today? I was just the annoying little fourteen-year-old brother, right?”

“You were annoying. You were always nagging and taking shit from us and getting us to buy things for you or take you places, even when we didn’t live in the same city.”

“Yeah, because I was trying to spend as much time with you as possible. I got to see you two or three times a year. I wanted to be around you, but I was a damn kid and that’s the only way I knew how.”

“But at some point, Manny, you weren’t a kid anymore,” I add softly, my eyes searching his.

“Yeah, and you were seriously dating the same guy that you’d been with for years. Plus you know just because I think Jessica Alba is hot and kind and cute, doesn’t mean I’m gonna ask her out if I ever meet her,” he says smirking. When I roll my eyes, he adds, “You know what I mean. I didn’t know how to tell you then, and I didn’t know how to deal with my feelings. I sure as hell didn’t knowwhento tell you as you turned into this smoke-show of a woman. And you were with the stupid ass for years. I know my place, and it was as your friend’s brother, not as a guy you could see yourself with.”

“I am not Jessica Alba. Her, you’ve had a crush on forever for what I can remember.”

“No, you’re right you’re more. She’s a person I’ve seen on screen, and I may have had a platonic crush on her all my life, but you, Cara, you Iknow. The person you are doesn’t compare to her or anyone. My feelings for you are tangible… You’re also hot as hell, don’t get me wrong, but I need more than a pretty face.” He smirks and winks at me, eliciting another eye roll.

“If the hundreds of gorgeous women you date are also decent humans, then how does the rest of the population have a chance?” I ask as he pulls into the parking spot of our B&B. Helooks at me eerily, silently, before stepping out of the van and walking around to my side.What in the world?

He opens the door, offering me his hand to help me step out, his eyes searing into mine, he says, “I don’t date. Not really. Those women? They’re a good time. Fun for a night and that’s all I wanted. None of them are you. None of themlooklike you, did you notice that too? I couldn’t be with someone who had any resemblance to you because nobody could measure up. I don’t like spending a lot of time with many people in general, but with you? With you, I could spend a lifetime.”

How is a girl supposed to recover from this? I swallow hard and look at him, leaning on the van, with my arms crossed over my chest. My heart’s racing, and the steady beat drums loudly in my chest as time ceases to exist. Manny stands in front of me, giving me his full attention.

“Any other questions? If you’re done asking, I’d like to kiss you now,” he asks, bringing his hand to my face and with a feather-light touch caresses my cheek.

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