Page 72 of Trustfall

Gram used to tell me that if I was ever lost, to look up. Bees will stay in a mason jar with the lid off because they don’t know to look up. They buzz around, flying into the glass walls, frustrated, thinking they have no way out. But if they just looked up, they would be free. It’s all about perspective.

So, I do. The sky darkens as silver-gray clouds gather overhead. A solitary raindrop falls, then another. Soon, a steady patter surrounds me. Moisture seeps into my clothes, and the downpour intensifies. I glance at Luke, still rooted in place, his chest heaving. Rainwater trickles from his hair, tracing paths down his face, but he remains motionless.

One second. Two. And then he’s right in front of me. He closes the last of the distance between us, his hand cradling the back of my neck as he pulls me into him. His lips ghost over mine for only a moment before he presses them down firmly. He coaxes my mouth open, and his tongue glides along my lower lip before he bites it gently. I flinch at the slight sting, but soon I’m kissing him back, our tongues swirling and circling together. The rain beats down on us, washing away the pain and fear and anger like watercolors dripping down a canvas.

Luke moves his hand to my back and slides it further down, cupping and kneading my ass. The kiss turns urgent. He brings his free hand down, grabbing my thighs and hiking me up higher. I wrap my legs around his waist. And suddenly, I don’t care. I don’t care if my brother walks out of the bar. I don’t care if Jaxon keeps threatening me. All I know is that I want the man in front of me for however long I can have him.

Luke breaks our kiss and looks over at the bar, still loud and glowing. Then he starts walking us toward it.

“W-what are you doing?” I breathe.

“Shhhh.” He gently nudges my head forward so that it falls onto his chest.

I close my eyes and let him carry me. He stops walking and a cool surface collides with my back as my feet fall to the ground. My eyes snap open, locking onto his. We’re in the alley next to the bar. Luke reaches for the edge of my skirt, but hesitates for a moment, questioning. I nod my head, and he shoves my skirt up and moves my panties to the side, plunging two fingers in at once. I lean forward, burying my face in his shoulder to stifle my gasp. I hear the distinct sound of a belt unbuckling and fabric brushing past skin.

“I need you, Emory,” he rasps against my damp hair.

“Then take me.”

He pulls his fingers out, and I whimper at the loss of them, but then he slides into me. I curse as he lifts me up again, pressing my back against the cold brick of the wall, slowly sinking in further.

He fucks me slow and gentle at first, then fast and hard. I keep my eyes glued to his the whole time. Until heat spreads up my body, and I bury my head in his chest, tears and mascara smearing onto his white shirt. He holds me tight as I ride out my orgasm. It isn’t until he starts to thrust again that it dawns on me. We’re having sex without a condom—again.

“Don’t come inside me,” I whisper. “Please.”

He nods and slams into me once more before he pulls out, spilling all over the concrete. We’re both still panting as he pulls up his jeans and buckles his belt. He rights my skirt and panties, fixing my shirt before caressing my face with the back of his hand.

“Let’s go home, Em.”

I nod, threading my fingers in his and letting him lead me to my car. I don’t know where this is going or what it’s going to look like if it ends—when it ends—but I’m tired of fighting it. I’m tired of overthinking. I’m tired of being scared. He’ll never have all of me, but if he’s willing to take the little pieces I can offer, then who am I to deny him? Who am I to deny myself?

24

LUKE

I wakeup to Emory’s wavy hair all over my face. It’s on my cheek, my eyes, against my mouth. I look down and realize that she is lying directly on top of me. Like, planking me. She’s fast asleep, breathing softly, and her arms are thrown around my neck.

Have we been sleeping like this all night?

Last night comes back to me like a silent film reel in my head. Seeing her with that guy again. The fight. The rain. Fucking her against the side of a building while her brother was inside of it. Yeah, that might not have been the best idea. But we both needed it. In that moment, it was all I needed. I felt like I would have died if I didn’t get inside her right then and there.

We showered when we got back to my place, and I found myself pushing inside her again. I couldn’t help it. I also couldn’t help it when I saw her lying on my bed in my shirt, her damp hair clinging to her wet skin. I wasn’t going to fuck her again. I really wasn’t. But when I sat on the bed, it dipped, her shirt rode up, and I saw she wasn’t wearing any panties. She had it coming that time.

I still recall the panic in her voice when she warned me not to come inside last night. But I also know she's not stupid. As a nurse, she's aware that pulling out is, at best, seventy percent effective. I know this too, but I can't bring myself to care. Having sex without a condom is like getting glasses after a lifetime of seeing the world blurry.

That bullshit with Nate’s friend also plays over in my head. Turns out he’s my friend too.I texted Nate last night to apologize for bailing so early, making up a lame excuse about not feeling well. I also let him know that someone told me one of the guys was harassing Emory. He said he already took care of it. I guess that jackass, Ashton or whatever, did tell him. Nate said it was Mason, one of my good friends from high school. I heard he recently broke up with his girlfriend of five years because he caught her cheating. Nate said he's been self-medicating to cope with it, but that's no excuse to corner a woman alone and make her uncomfortable. Especially my fucking woman. Hopefully the black eye Nate gave him will help him understand that.

Part of me wishes I had given him the black eye. I was so ready to storm into that bar and rip it apart until I found out who messed with her. But it was better that I didn’t. We actually talked. Not about everything. She still won’t tell me the specifics of her past and her shitty ex, but what happened last night was progress, and I won’t turn my nose up at progress.

Emory starts to stir and lifts her head up, taking all the hair that’s spread out on me with her.

“Morning, baby,” I say as she starts to come to. I see the moment she realizes that she has been nearly suffocating me all night.

“Shit, I’m sorry. Did I crush you?” She slides off me, and I wince at the loss of her warmth.

“Would have been the best way to die,” I say with a smirk. “But no, it’s gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of me.”

A smile plays across her lips, and she turns her hips to move off the bed, but I grab her arm at the last second.

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