Page 12 of Strictly Curious
I nodded against him, chasing his lips for one last kiss. He indulged me briefly, attempting to keep the kiss chaste. We failed miserably as we tumbled to my bed. I fell into his lap, tangling my fingers in his curls as I bit at his lips. He groaned as I ground down into the bulge in his shorts.
Garrett’s hands stilled my hips before he ripped his mouth away from mine. His cheeks flushed and his lips were swollen. “I’m serious Tyler, we need to get going.”
I was out of breath, so again I just nodded. Reluctantly I climbed off of him and grabbed my shirt that had amazingly made it onto the bed. I slipped it over my head and walked into the bathroom with Garrett right behind me.
Meeting his gaze in the mirror, I turned on the sink, and splashed some cold water on my face to calm down. He stood behind me, watching. It was a little unnerving how unaffected he seemed to be right now after what had just transpired. Maybe he was a lot more used to this than I was.
I’d made out with a few girls. Sure, Maisy had been my only serious girlfriend, but that hadn’t meant that I didn’t want to keep trying. It always ended with both of us feeling less than satisfied, with a persistent feeling that something was wrong with me. Maybe I just had shitty partners. I never had that mind-blowing sexual experience that you always hear about, not that I’d had many. The one bad hand job was the only time I’d ever gotten off. It was like I was terrified of another repeat of that awful experience since then.
But Garrett woke me right up. My mind was filled with the possibilities of what we could explore together. Things that I never would have considered in the past. My cheeks warmed when I thought about his hand on me and how it had felt so different. It was strong, firm, and so much bigger. Sure, I still thought girls were attractive, but there was definitely something about my stepbrother that I hadn’t considered.
“You just going to stare at your reflection, or are we going to head out?” he asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity.
I snapped out of my thoughts and met his eyes in the mirror again, nodding. “Yeah, sorry. Just thinking.”
Garrett pursed his lips and chuckled softly. “Must have been good. You’re beet red again.”
Turning to face him, I glared daggers. He laughed harder, clutching at his stomach. Had he known what I was thinking about?
“Oh man, had I known it was going to be this easy to rile you up…”
“This isn’t fair,” I huffed, pushing past him to leave the house. I marched down the stairs and shoved my feet into a pair of Chucks, bending down to tie them. I could feel him come up behind me and grab a pair of flip-flops, which he easily slid his feet into. It probably was the smarter choice.
Once we were out the door and walking to the car, Garrett stopped me, caging me to the side. My breath caught as I looked around in a moment of panic. What would people think if they saw us out in the open like this? Then again, this behavior wasn’t totally unusual for us.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.” He let out a deep sigh before he leaned in close, causing me to gasp again. Garrett nosed the space behind my ear and a shiver raced through my body. He was going to be the death of me.
Shoving against his chest, I pushed him away from me. “Dammit, Garrett. Stop. You’re the one who wanted to go to this party.” I clicked the button on the key fob and the doors on the little Honda we shared unlocked. He backed away as I opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat.
The car had been a joint sixteenth birthday present. We mostly shared it, but I tended to use it more than Garrett did. Mom and Dad still called it our car, but it was really more mine than his. It was a weird unspoken agreement we had.
Garrett walked around the car and got into the passenger seat. We both shut our doors with a resounding slam, then were surrounded by silence. Why the hell was this so weird now? I’d wanted this to change. Hadn’t I? What was this going to be like at the party?
I started the car and backed down the driveway. The drive was awkward, and I hated it. We’d always been able to find something to talk about, but since I’d forced his hand a few days ago,literally, things were different.
What had prompted that kiss in my room? My head was swimming with so many thoughts about why he’d suddenly changed his mind that I almost drove right past Cassie’s house. It wasn’t until Garrett patted my thigh that I snapped out of my thoughts long enough to notice.
Stomping on the breaks, we both jolted forward in the car. Garrett braced one hand against the dash and the other against my chest. His eyes were wide as he looked around the car.
“Jesus, Ty. What the hell was that for?”
“Sorry. I got distracted,” I explained, shrugging my shoulders.
He worked a hand through his curls, taking a shaky breath, turning to look at me again. “Maybe try not to get us killed while you’re getting distracted?”
I had to snort back a laugh, trying to find a place to park the car. Maybe we should have found an alternative way to get here. The street was packed with cars as teenagers made their way to a singular house. I wasn’t much for parties, but Garrett got invited often and he dragged me along for the ride more often than not. Most of his friends didn’t mind as he made it clear that we were a package deal.
We ended up having to park a few blocks down the road. Once I cut the engine, I sat back in my seat and wiped my suddenly sweaty palms against my legs. Without hesitation, Garrett was up and out of the car leaving me scrambling after him.
“Where’s the fire?” I called after him as he walked much too fast down the sidewalk toward the house. It was like he was trying to get away from me, but I didn’t like it. We were here together. Not like, ‘together’ together. When had my thought process on that become such a mess?
Just as suddenly as he’d taken off, he stopped. I nearly crashed into his back, a startled yelp making its way out of my throat.
“Hey, Ty?”
He sounded unsure now as he turned to look at me. I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. That wasn’t something I’d watched before, but damn did I suddenly want to lick his. Was that such a weird thought?
“Yeah?” My voice squeaked when I spoke and I felt my cheeks heat. What the hell was wrong with me? Maybe this was why he was stopping me before we got too close.
