This Girl (Slammed #3)(72)

She moves her hand to the back of my neck and I press my lips lightly against hers. They’re wet and cold and perfect, but as soon as I part her lips and taste her, perfect becomes the understatement of the year.

She responds to my kiss tentatively. We’re both slowly exploring our limits and I want to be sure I’m not taking it too fast this time. My hand remains on her cheek while we kiss, then I begin to slowly move it down her neck, trailing over her shoulder and down to her hip. Each movement I make only seems to encourage her, so I slip my hand underneath her shirt and grip her waist. I wait for any indication that she wants me to stop.

Or go further.

She presses her hands into my back, pulling me forward, indicating she wants me on the couch with her.

“Lake,” I say, pulling back several inches. “I can’t. If I get on this couch with you . . .” I release a deep breath. “Just trust me. I can’t get on this couch with you.”

She reaches down to my hand that’s still gripping her by the waist. She slides my hand up her stomach and doesn’t stop until my hand is covering the cup of her bra.

Holy shit.

“I want you on the couch with me, Will.”

I immediately pull my hand away, but only because I need her shirt off. I practically yank it over her head and immediately join her on the couch. As soon as I lower myself on top of her and feel her pressed against my chest, I kiss her again and return my hand right where she put it. She smiles and wraps her legs around me as I kiss my way down her chin, straight to her neck.

“I can feel your heartbeat right here,” I say, kissing the base of her throat. “I like it.”

She takes my hand and slips it beneath her bra this time. “You can feel it beating right here, too.”

I bury my face in the couch and groan. “Oh, my god, Lake.”

I want to touch her. I want to feel all of her. I don’t know what’s stopping me. Why the hell am I so nervous?

“Will?”

I pull my face away from the couch, very aware that my hand is still tucked safely beneath her bra. My hand has never been happier. “You want me to slow down? I will, Lake. Just tell me.”

She shakes her head and runs her hands down my back. “No. I want you to speed up.”

My hesitation immediately disappears with those words. I slide my hand around her back and unfasten her bra, then slide it down her shoulders. I drop my mouth to her skin and as soon as the softest moan escapes her lips, my hand finds its way back to where she planted it earlier. I lower my lips, then immediately freeze at the sound of a key turning in the front door.

“Shh.” About that time, the front door swings open and my living room light flicks on. I lift my head far enough to peer over the back of the couch and see Julia walking toward the hallway. I drop my head to Lake’s neck. “Shit. It’s your mom.”

“Shit,” she whispers, frantically pulling her bra back up. “Shit, shit, shit.”

I clamp my hand over her mouth. “She might not notice us. Be still.”

Our hearts are pounding now faster than they’ve ever pounded before. I know this, because my palm is still firmly planted right on top of Lake’s breast. Apparently she recognizes the awkwardness of the moment, too.

“Will, move your hand. This is weird.”

I pull my hand away. “What is she doing here?”

Lake shakes her head. “I have no idea.”

And that’s when it happens. I’ve heard people can see their lives flash before their eyes in the moments before death.

It’s true.

Julia walks back into the room and screams.

I jump off Lake.

Lake jumps off the couch and there it is. My entire life flashes before my eyes the moment Julia sees Lake standing in my living room, fastening her bra.

“It’s just us,” I blurt out. I don’t know why I chose those words to be my possible last words. Julia is standing with her hand over her mouth, staring at us wide-eyed. “It’s just us,” I say again, as if she doesn’t already know that.

“I was . . .” Julia holds up Caulder’s pillow. “Caulder wanted his pillow,” she says. She looks back and forth between us and in a split second, her expression turns from fear to anger. I immediately reach down and retrieve Lake’s shirt, then hand it to her.

“Mom,” Lake says. She doesn’t follow it up with anything else because she has no idea what to say.

“Go home,” Julia says to Lake.

“Julia,” I say to Julia.

“Will?” Julia says to me, cutting a warning shot in my direction. “I’ll deal with you later.”

As soon as the words come out of Julia’s mouth, Lake’s face turns from embarrassed to really, really angry. “Mom, we’re adults! You can’t talk to him like that!” Lake yells. “And you can’t prevent us from making out! This is ridiculous.”

I grab Lake’s elbow in an attempt to calm her down. “Don’t, babe,” I say quietly.

She looks at me defensively. “She can’t tell me what to do, Will. I’m an adult.”

I calmly place my hand on her shoulder. “Lake, you’re still in high school. You live under her roof. I shouldn’t have brought you here, I’m sorry. She’s right.” I lean in and kiss her briefly to calm her, then I take her shirt and help her pull it over her head.