Page 62 of Styx & Stones

“Nope. Still a virgin.”

“I find that so hard to believe.”

“Why?”

“Because if I hadn’t been a self-absorbed idiot, if I knew the real you—if I’d spoken to you before—I would have jumped your bones.”

“You hated me.”

“No.” She shakes her head with a coy smile. I want to taste that smile, kiss it from her lips, and steal it for my own. “I didn’t hate you. I wanted you to think I did, because you were a total dick at our second chemo session. Besides, what’s the point in falling in love with someone who’s dying?”

I don’t know if she means herself or me. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. “I think there’s a point. Why wouldn’t you want to live the time we have left?”

“I’m scared, Styx.” Her eyes widen, as if she can’t believe she just admitted that out loud. She’s quiet for a beat, and then she licks her lips and whispers, “I’m so scared of dying. I’m scared of the nothing that comes after.”

I crawl up the bed toward her. My knees straddle her thighs as I cup her cheeks in my hands. “Me too.”

I kiss her lips, her eyelids, and the tears on her skin. She wraps her arms around me so tight that it hurts my ribs, but I don’t dare move. I tuck her hair behind her ear with trembling fingers. She tilts her face up, and I press another gentle kiss into her lips. Stones opens for me, and I tentatively dart my tongue inside. She moans against my mouth and pushes in deeper. I lean into the kiss. Placing my hands on the mattress, I shift my weight, settling between her legs. Alaska fumbles beneath the pillow and I hear the crinkle of a packet. I break away to look at the object in her hand. I laugh. The long string of condoms dangles from her fingers and I take them from her. She had them all this time, and like an idiot I searched that truck for twenty minutes.

“Let’s ... let’s not use my dad’s condoms. It’s fucking weird to think of my old man sticking it to a woman other than my mom.”

“But it’s not weird to think about him sticking it to your mom?”

“Gah! Jeez, stop.” I drag a hand across my scalp. “Do you want my dick to go soft?”

She laughs and then bites her lip, looking up at me. “Is it ... is it hard right now?”

“Yeah, Stones. It’s always hard around you.”

Her breath catches as she seems to consider this. Her mouth opens and quickly closes again, as if she was going to speak but thought better of it.

“What? Tell me.”

The air leaves her lungs in a rush. “Will you show me?”

“Only if you show me yours.”

“I asked you first,” she counters.

“What are you? Five?”

“Yes. Never doubt my ability to perfectly emulate a pissed off toddler. Now show me. Please?” She whines, and I come up on my knees before her. I unbutton my jeans and unzip the fly, but her tiny foot reaches out and she pokes my chest with her big toe. I have to fight the urge to tilt my head for a better look because I know she’s naked under that towel. “Shirt first.”

My lips curl in a half smile. And I grab the fabric and pull it over my head. I look down at her as her eyes rake over every inch of me before lowering to my erection. She sits up, reaches out, and runs her hand over the denim straining against my cock. I inhale sharply. She strokes me again, and then glances up at my face.

Stones unwraps her towel and lets the ends fall on the bed. She leans back and lets me study her. My eyes drink her in, from her smooth tan stomach to her perky upturned tits, the rosy nipples that form hard peaks as I watch. And then finally to the trimmed hair between her legs.

I run my hands over her thighs and spread her wider so I can see everything. She’s beautiful, pink, wet, and waiting. I explore her soft flesh, grinning when her body jerks as I touch her opening, and her clit. She likes that last one a lot, so I concentrate my efforts there, and within a few seconds, she’s panting, her legs are trembling, and sweat is beading on her brow and between her breasts.

I want to taste her. I have no fucking idea what I’m doing, but I’ve watched enough porn to get the gist of it, so I slide down on the mattress and lower my head between her legs.

Her hands dart out to cover herself. “What are you doing?”

“Tasting you.” I dart my tongue out and force my way between her fingers.

“I don’t ... are you sure?”

“Stones, it’s all I’ve wanted to do since we met.”