Page 44 of The Moon Also Rises
“Kissing you again to shut you up!” I mutter before crashing my mouth down on his. Wasting no time, I keep my mouth slightly open and let my tongue roll around and find his. Much to my delight, he responds in much the same way, his tongue stroking mine, before also finding my teeth. I groan quietly and feel sufficiently self-conscious to regret it but that only lasts a few seconds because Jake then moans into my mouth loudly enough that it vibrates on my tongue. I bring my hands up to grip his head. I do not want this kiss to end right now. But of course, Jake being Jake, he’s got his own ideas.
“Oh my God, you actually taste good,” he says, pulling away again.
“You thought I would tastebad?”
“Not exactly but you know how people say someone tastes so good when they kiss, like in romance novels – don't judge me, I used to steal my sister's – but like you actually do. All clean and fresh and minty. How is that possible? You last cleaned your teeth over ten hours ago.”
“Well, I haven't been deep throating a champagne bottle for the last hour, so there's that.”
“Ha! That was nearly funny.”
I tighten my grip in his hair, pulling at the roots slightly. “Less talking, more kissing, Forester, because I've had enough of this pretty mouth insulting me and my wit.”
This time when our lips touch, Jake leans forward and places one of his hands on my face and the other comes down on my leg, just above my knee. As our tongues taste each other, our heads moving as we both push against the other, his hand slides up my thigh and it doesn’t stop.
“Jesus, you're hard!” Jake jumps back.
“Jake.” I lick my lips. I wasn’t ready for that kiss to end either.
“But how?” He looks down at my crotch.
“Really? Do you need a biology lesson?”
“You're turned on?”
“Very. Although this conversation could put a stop to it.”
“But I'm a man...” Jake points a finger at himself.
“Thank you for verifying.”
“So, you're...”
“Pansexual,” I sigh, “and more than a little exasperated with you right now.”
Jake swoops back in and nips at my neck with his teeth, hard.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“You should have told me.”
“I tried. Several times. But did you know you have a habit of ignoring people and talking over someone in a conversation?”
“How very dare you? I don't know what you're talking about. And stop stealing my thunder right now. It's my turn to be pissed off with you.”
My eyes widen. “After everything I've done for you today? I practically put my hip out doing that dance routine back there.”
“It was a bit brilliant, I suppose.” Jake’s words are stingy, but his smile is soft and dreamy.
“A bit? I swear you are the most annoying man on this planet. I'm going to kiss you again now, just to shut you up, and let this be your warning, I'm going to do it very, very angrily.”
And I do. Our teeth clash, our tongues fight, and I suck on his soft bottom lip more times than I can count.
I don’t know how long we stay like that, kissing under a full moon, but when I pull away from Jake to catch my breath, I see how his eyes stay closed and his body starts to sink to the side, so I decide for us both that it’s time for us to head up to our room. Jake is reluctant at first and starts to complain, grabbing the lapels of my jacket and pulling me back towards his mouth, but I resist and stand up. Once he’s upright too, I see him sway and decide that will not do.
“Stand up on the bench,” I tell him as I throw my laptop bag over my shoulder.
“What?”
