Page 89 of Bending Under Pressure

Keelan’s tongue starts to move with more force, purpose, and need. His mouth leaves mine to place open kisses on my jaw. How can something feel as good as this does? My knees squeeze his hips when he gets to that spot on my neck that threatens to undo all my self-control. Suddenly, I become aware of everything. It’s like he is setting off all my senses.

His mouth is on my neck, one hand is next to my right breast while the other is grasping my left breast, and I can very much feel Keelan underneath me. How did he manage to get me so lost that he was about to slip a hand underneath my sports bra? I pull away, his hands falling away as I sit upright. We are both panting harshly. Even though I can hear the TV, it sounds like we’re breathing too loud.

“I...” the words die. I swallow and try again. “I’m not...” God, it felt unbelievably good, but the moment I realized it, it also felt uncomfortable. How can I feel two extremes at once? Instinct seems to be the only reason I pulled away.

“I’m sorry, Hales. I shouldn’t have.”

“I’m not ready for that yet,” I whisper.

Keelan nods. “Okay. How about we lie here for a while before I need to take you home?”

“I’m sorry,” I say as I move to lie next to him.

He chuckles. “You shouldn’t be. I’d rather you tell me than for me to do something you don’t really want to do.”

He has a point. We lie quietly for a few minutes. “Can I stay here and you take me home early in the morning?”

“Yeah.” He sets an alarm on his phone and soon, we’ve fallen asleep.

My body jolts awake, my upper body popping up like a springboard, at the loud, piercing sound of an air horn. Haley has a similar reaction and we freeze when we see not only my parents, but her mom too, all standing in my room. My first thought is how did they get in? I locked my door, or at least I thought I did.

Before I can form any words, Haley blurts out, “It’s all my fault!”

“Hales!” I snap at her. She shouldn’t have to take the blame.

“Well, it is. I couldn’t sleep and begged him to come get me. It’s all my fault.”

“I don’t care,” Mrs. Rita says with a measured tone. “Get your things and let’s go. I’m already going to be late for work.”

Haley scrambles over my legs to slip on her shoes. She gives me an apologetic smile before following her mom out of the room. We are in so much trouble. I’ve never truly gotten in trouble with my parents, so I’m not sure what kind of discipline to expect.

“I suggest you get ready for school before you’re late. We’ll discuss this when you get home.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Mom and Dad leave and I fall back onto my bed. There will be more of them talking than us discussing anything. I feel a soft buzzing and groan. My alarm was set to vibrate only and I didn’t feel it. No wonder I didn’t wake up. I turn it off and get out of bed before I give my parents another reason to be upset with me. I pass Cameron on the way to the shower. He shakes his head and laughs.

“Y’all need to learn to be responsibly sneaky.”

“Shut up,” I snap.

All that does is make him laugh.

Mom and Dad have left for work by the time I come downstairs. I grab a bagel and face Cam.

“How did they get into my room?”

“They have a key to all the doors apparently. Haley’s mom called, freaked out because her door was locked, and when they peeked into the window, she wasn’t in there. When Mom saw that your door was locked, she told her that Haley might be here. Her mom wanted to come over. She’s the one who brought the air horn.”

“How mad are they?” I ask as we begin to get our keys and book bags.

“Pissed. They barely talked to me before they left and I didn’t do anything.”

On the way to school, I debate with myself whether or not the punishment coming will be worth it. On one hand, of course, I was able to spend more time with Haley, even if the majority of it was while we were asleep. On the other hand, I’ve undoubtedly disappointed my parents. Even though I want to make them so proud of me and to be the best kid for them, I’ve been doing a shitty job lately. Then again, if they hadn’t been crazy with not wanting me to see Haley unless an adult was present, maybe she wouldn’t have wanted to sneak over.

Haley and Jess are standing near the entrance, talking. She seems nervous, which isn’t a good sign. She says goodbye to Jess once I approach them. I take her hand and we walk inside.

“What happened?” I ask as we head toward her class first.

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