Page 77 of Ordinary Secrets

She lunges at me. Her kiss is quick—too quick. When she draws back, my hands instinctively reach for her. She comes willingly, and I get to kiss her for a little longer. I could probably kiss her all night.

Sometimes, it’s hard for me to let her go. A few nights ago, when she came to my place and we were up talking past two in the morning, I almost asked her to stay the night. The only reason I didn’t was because I had a feeling she wasn’t ready for that step yet, and I didn’t want to make her feel obligated to stay.

“Thank you, Trey,” she says when I finally release her lips. “I love them both. Your hoodie more, but I love the blanket too.”

It took me a while to decide on a good gift for her. I had already bought her this blanket when I realized that the perfect gift had been in my house the whole time. My goal was to give Arella something that would be meaningful to her. Based on her reaction, I’m gonna say I nailed it.

To Victor’s knowledge, I bought Arella an expensive bracelet. He thinks I gave it to her last week and that she loved it so much, she cried. I’m glad I went with my hoodie instead, because I doubt a stupid bracelet would have elicited such a happy reaction from her.

We talk easily while we munch on our cheese and crackers. With passion, Arella tells me about her dream bakery. Everything from the paint color on the walls to what kinds of sugary treats she wants to have on display. It doesn’t take long for me to get lost in the sound of her voice. It’s so soft and sweet. She could be talking about a bloody massacre, and it would still sound like a lullaby to me.

Eventually, we finish snacking and find other things to do with our mouths. Mine starts at her lips before it maneuvers down her neck and behind her ear. She lets out breathy moans as I travel down her chest.

Panting against her cleavage, I ask, “Can I take your shirt off?”

I expect her to saynolike she has every time I ask. Instead, she surprises me by nodding and lifting her arms up. My heartthrashes against my ribs as I drag her little shirt over her head and toss it behind me.

I barely have time to admire her lacy white bra before she climbs on top of me, straddling my lap. I feel like her prisoner. She’s captured me, and I can’t escape. I don’t even want to.

My hands grip her plump ass as I jerk her body closer to me. With a grunt, I press my stiff cock against her inner thigh. She lets out a sexy moan that makes my arms go weak.

Our breaths are heavy as I pepper kisses along her collarbone. When she arches her head back, I take the hint. I nip, suck, and bite at every inch of her neck until I’m ready to go back to her lips.

When our mouths meet again, it feels like coming home. This is where my lips are supposed to be. Kissing her forehead is great, her neck is like heaven, and I love kissing her everywhere else, butthis...This right here. This is where it’s at.

With a finger, I pull the strap of her bra down her shoulder. When she doesn’t stop me, I leave home to trail kisses down her chest. I suck a little bit of her cleavage into my mouth and wait for her to tell meno. Hope sparks inside me when she doesn’t.

“Babe?” I say like a plea.

“Mm?” she moans.

“Stop me.”

She shakes her head as she whispers, “I don’t want to.”

At that, my cock hardens so much, it’s painful. Within a flash, I’ve got her breast out and her nipple in my mouth. She gasps as she arches her head back and grips my hair. While I suck on one nipple, I roll the other between my fingertips. It drives her insane. I know not because I sense it but because she writhes on top of me.

Before tonight, I thought the reason I always have great sex is because I can feel the woman’s pleasure on top of my own. It never occurred to me that someday, I’d be going to second basewith a woman I can’t sense at all. If someone had asked me if I thought it’d be as good, I would have saidno.

And I would have been wrong.

All I’ve done is touch and kiss Arella, and now I’m sucking on her breasts for the first time, and it already feels better than sex with any woman I’ve ever been with.

My fingertips graze against the button of her jeans for only a second before she grabs my wrist. I take that as a sign that I’ve reached her limit. Instead of tearing her pants off the way I want to, I fist her hair, yank her head back, and return to sucking on her neck.

It takes a lot of willpower, but eventually, I find Arella’s shirt in the grass and help her put it back on. With a hand behind my head, I lie back on the blanket and motion for her to join me. Naturally, she rests her head over my shoulder, and I pull her close until there isn’t a sliver of space between us.

For a long time, neither of us says anything. I appreciate the way we can be with each other and not have to fill the silence. Usually, quietness irks me because I hate being alone with my thoughts, but whenever I’m with Arella, my thoughts aren’t that hard to handle. They aren’t dark or depressing or what Liz calls self-degrading. When I’m with Arella, my thoughts are about her, which are light and cheerful.

I listen to the sounds of her easy breaths as I stare up at the black sky, where a few stars are shining.Would my parents have liked Arella?I bet they would have, only because there’s nothing about her not to like. She’s kind, beautiful, and she’s got a great sense of humor. Her immunity is just the cherry on top of all that.

Suddenly, it hits me how special this moment is. For the first time ever, I’m alone in my head—and someone is right here! To be truly alone, I typically have to travel to my secluded cabin in Colorado. When Elliott died, I hid there for a month.

When I finally came back, I explained to a furious Liz that I had disappeared because I’d needed to clear my head. Getting everyone else out of it is the only way to do that. Yeah, it’s lonely, but until now, I’ve never had another choice. Never did I imagine that it’d be possible to have a clear head minus the loneliness. Arella has made that possible. Here she is, cuddled in my arms, and the only emotions I feel are my own. It’s amazing!

Now I’m more in awe of her than ever. She’s so fucking special, and she doesn’t even know it. Leaning down, I plant a hard kiss against her temple, but it’s not nearly enough to fully express how much I enjoy being here with her. I wish I could tell her with words, but I don’t know how. Not that I could explain it to her anyway. I’d have to tell her that I have an ability she doesn’t know exists.

I kiss her temple again, harder this time, because I want to show her how grateful I am for her. I hope she can feel my gratitude through my lips.

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