Page 157 of Now and Forever

Chapter 53

It was Wednesday night, and I was drumming up the courage to call Cori. It wasn’t particularly the call that had me nervous, but the fact that Drew was home, which was unusual. I had to make this call short just in case he decided to check on me, another unusual pattern of his for the past two nights. Not one to openly question his actions, I decided to let bygones be bygones.

Dialing Cori, I chewed on my lip until I heard his familiar voice pick up on the other end of the line. “I’m sorry, but I can’t make it. I wish you all the luck. I’ll see you when you get back.” Words rushed out of my lips so he didn’t even get a chance to say hello. Color me nervous, but it couldn’t be helped.

With Drew in the apartment, dealing with other men gave me severe agitation. Deep down, I knew I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but like any sensible person, I would rather avoid a combustible argument.

Cori remained quiet for a few moments before making a sound. “You’re still unwilling to let him go, then. I respect that.”

I could tell his pride was wounded, but I knew he would recover in no time. Playboys always did. It was the rubber band effect.

“Thank you, Cori. Good luck and have a safe trip.”

“You, too, Chloe.”

Cori hadn’t called me “Red,” a true indication that he was disappointed.

“Chloe?” Drew questioned as he opened the door, gazing over to where I sat crossed-legged on the mattress.

“What’s up?” Guessing by how he was freshly showered and all dressed up, it wasn’t hard to figure out. He was going out. It had taken him two nights to want to break free from staying home with me.

He seemed casual, though a little distant, before he sent me an addled smile. “I’m going out with the usual crowd from school.”

“I can see that.” Mirroring the same unaffected smile, I braced myself once again while feeling my world crumble around me. “Have fun,” I said wryly.

Drew seemed to be taken aback by my nonchalant demeanor. He started to open his mouth then instantly shut it, probably thinking better than to voice whatever he had meant to say.

“Good night, then,” he said awkwardly before giving me one last lingering look then leaving my room.

“Well, that didn’t last long.” I let out a shaky breath then pushed myself off the bed and took a long, hot shower.

Instead of dwelling on him and what he might be up to, I focused on tomorrow’s homework and working on my lackluster résumé in case Teen Vogue should call. I wanted to be prepared. Then I went to bed, dreaming about him, the models, the debauchery, and the kind of partying they usually did together.

My mind was on a whirl of a ride when my body awoke to something more primal and primitive, causing a throaty sound to come out of my mouth.

I woke up to Drew between my legs, rolling his hips, executing hard, quick thrusts as he breathed into my neck.

The glorious feel of him gliding in and out of me, his insatiable hunger, his desperation to have me, just as I did him, made me moan out his name while opening my body more for him. He could have it all. I was his for the taking.

“Baby,” I sobbed as I dug my nails into the skin of his hard, honed buttocks, greedily wanting more of him.

“Shh, Jacks is home,” he murmured into my ear before silencing me with a mind-numbing kiss, tranquilizing me into submission.

The sex became something more, something paramount that I couldn’t explain. It was as though we needed to mate to complete ourselves, filling that dark void that could only be satisfied by each other. I felt his drive, the craving, never waning but merely escalating to new heights.

“I’m sorry I woke you.” He kissed my cheek before smiling down at me a few seconds after he came. He smelled of smoke, his cologne, and alcohol.

For a few heady moments, my heart raced as I studied his face in the dark, thinking I had never loved him more compared to this very second.

“I definitely don’t mind waking up when I’m about to orgasm.” Grinning, I held the side of his head, slowly brushing his hair aside, overwhelmed by bubbling joy while my body still recovered from the high he had just given me.

“I couldn’t wait to come home. I had to have you, or I would’ve gone out of my mind,” he said as he slowly pushed in his half-mast length that was still lodged inside of my wet channel.

His member was regaining its strength as it gradually grew inside of me. And when he took me a second time, though he was still rough, there was tenderness to his kiss and the way those eyes held me.

When I emerged from my deep slumber with an ache between my legs, there was no sign of him, but there was an indention from his head on the pillow, telling me he had slept with me until he’d had to go to school.

With his school, work, and social activities, did he even have time to study? I mean, I knew he’d had a perfect GPA in high school, but college was a whole different league.

---