Page 39 of Summer's Echo
“You’re really beautiful,” he said, his voice barely audible but powerful enough to send a shiver through me.
Feeling the intensity of the moment, I nervously tugged at my earlobe. Echo noticed, and with a loving affection, he cupped my chin with one hand while his other moved to rub the earlobe I was fidgeting with, calming my anxiety. His gaze locked on to mine, searching for something I wasn’t sure I was ready to give, yet couldn’t seem to withhold.
“Can I kiss you?” he asked, his voice thick with anticipation.
“You always kiss me, E,” I said, trying to lighten the weight of the moment.
And it was true. Echo never left my company without a forehead kiss, a peck on the cheek, or a playful press of his lips to my hair. They were gestures of comfort, of friendship. But this…this was different. This was intimate.
Echo’s expression remained serious. “Nah, Sun. Not that kinda kiss.”
Before I could ask what kind of kiss he wanted, he silenced my words with the softest, gentlest kiss I’d ever experienced. His lips molded to mine, tentative at first, testing the boundaries of what we’d always been. Air escaped my lungs as I grabbed his forearms instinctively, my fingers clinging to him with a silent plea to continue. And he did.
Echo deepened the kiss, parting my lips with his tongue as he pulled me closer. His hands were everywhere—one cupping the back of my head, his fingers massaging my scalp; the other sliding down my neck, over the swell of my breast, and grazing my navel. The sensations were overwhelming, each touch sending a wave of heat coursing through me. I gasped, my body reacting in ways I didn’t fully understand.
A sound escaped me, startling me as much as it seemed to embolden him.
“Mmm,”I murmured, the deep, guttural noise surprising me with its intensity.
I didn’t even know I was capable of making a sound like that. Was this really happening?My thoughts raced as his touch continued, gentle but assured, each movement unraveling parts of me I hadn’t even realized were tightly wound.
Echo kissed me with a hunger that felt desperate, as if he was afraid this would be the first and last time he’d have the chance. My thoughts warred with my emotions.This is my best friend. My boy. This willchange everything.This must stop.But I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop. Every fiber of my being screamed for more, forhim.
Somehow, I found myself in his lap, my legs draped over his thighs as his hands continued to roam. One slid down my leg, his palm grazing my thigh before creeping higher. I trembled, my body betraying every ounce of caution my mind tried to hold on to.
“Open your eyes, Sunshine,” he commanded, his voice rough, and I obeyed, my lashes fluttering open to meet his gaze.
His eyes searched mine, looking for something—understanding, permission, maybe both. My breath hitched as he trailed kisses along my neck, his lips soft but searing. I felt exposed under his gaze, yet completely safe in his arms, caught in a moment that was both terrifying and exhilarating. Fondling the seam of my shorts, he fingered the fabric of my panties.
“Your treasure is yourmost valuable, precious gem from God, Summer. The Bible says, ‘for where your treasure is, there your heart will bealso.’ He must be special and worthy—someone who willrespect you completely and cherish that sacred moment and yourheart, baby girl.”My mother’s words echoed in my mind, soft and discerning:Your body is your treasure.
Was Echo deserving of my treasure? As his hands explored me with a tenderness that left me breathless, it sure felt like he was. My breathing was ragged, the haze of the moment pulling me under. But even as I surrendered to the intensity of his touch, a small, clear voice inside begged me to pause. I needed to ground myself, to find clarity in the only place I knew I could—his eyes.
“Echo,” I whispered, my voice trembling as I tried to guide his face toward mine.
My fingers lightly cupped his jaw, coaxing him to look at me. I needed to see him, to know that this was more than just the heat of the moment. I needed my Echo, my friend, the boy who had always been my safe space. When his eyes finally met mine, they held a storm of emotions—desire, affection, and things I couldn’t quite name. But within that storm, I saw the boy who had always been there for me, who had been my anchor when I felt unmoored. In that moment, I realized that if I searched his eyes long enough, I’d find my answer. Echo would help me make the right decision, because that’s what he’d always done.
Still snuggled in my neck, he pulled my thighs forward, his erection piercing my center. My breath hitched—hell, I almost choked from the sensation. Echo was teasing me, slowly grinding his body against mine. The air between us was electric, charged with something I felt deep in my core. The rise and fall of my chest came in uneven waves as I clung to him, burrowed against the solid warmth of his body. My heart raced, and every nerve ending sparked as he slowly trailed his finger against my essence, a touch that was both tender and deliberate. I gasped softly, the sensation wet, sticky, and utterly consuming. My body trembled under his care, a mix of vulnerability and trust swirling in the space we shared.
“Look at me,” he requested, his voice steady yet gentle, locking me in the now. His lips brushed against mine in a delicate kiss, pulling me from my haze.
When our eyes connected, the potency of his gaze unraveled me. It was more than just desire; it was adoration, favor, and an unspoken promise. His finger moved in slow, purposeful circles, massaging the crown of my jewel with an expertise that left me spent. I knew that Echo wasn’t a virgin, but I had no dream he would be a skilled puppeteer, commanding my mind, body, and soul. I was lost in a moment I never wanted to end.
“Oh my God!” I moaned while he continued to drive me insane. “Where… Why do you know how to do this?”
Echo snickered, gliding one finger in then out and in then out of my wetness.
“Mmm,”I hummed, my body moving to the rhythm he controlled.
Echo plunged deeper, harder, and I was losing all sense of taste, smell, and control. My body was behaving in a way that I didn’t recognize. With a broken whisper, I said, “Oh, shit, E. What are you doing…Wh–What arewedoing?”
Not breaking the rhythmic stride of his fingers, his only response was, “Please, Sunshine. Please.” I didn’t know what he needed. But I knew, without hesitation, I was willing to give it.
Goosebumps surfaced as I started to shake and tremble, ears popping and eyes cloudy, with tears streaming down my face. What the hell was happening? My first orgasm, that’s what was happening, and it scared the shit out of me. I was trembling, every part of me quaking from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet. It was as though an icy winter breeze had swept through me, leaving a shiver in its wake, though the air around us was anything but cold.
In that instant, our entire friendship flashed before me—every laugh, every tear, every moment that had cemented our bond. It all came rushing back like lightning splitting the sky on a stormy night. Echo’s gaze held a quiet plea, begging me not to stop, not to pull away. But those same eyes—protective, supportive, full of the warmth that had carried me through so much—also told me this was safe, this was us. This felt right. This feltreal.
I reached up, cradling his face,my fingertips tracing the sharp, familiar lines of his jaw. His skin waswarm, velvet-soft beneath my touch, and yet under that smoothness wasstrength, a quiet power that had always made me feel safe. He didn’t move—barely breathed, as if he was afraid this moment might slip through his fingers if he so much as blinked. I let my thumbs glide over his cheekbones,memorizing him, anchoring myself to this reality as my pulsepounded in my throat. This was real. He was real. And I wanted this…wantedhim. My breathshudderedas I exhaled, but my voice remained composed, despite the tremble in my body.
