Page 18 of The Lover
“Really?” I whispered.
“If you want.”
I nodded.
“You can finish dinner with your friends first…”
“No.” I turned and looked at Maryanne and Denny, who were watching us like we were a movie being played out for their entertainment. “Guys, you don’t care if I go…”
“NO!” Denny shouted. “For the love of God, put us all out of our misery and boink the hell out of him.”
I blushed and I could tell Jake wasn’t pleased as he glared at Denny, but that was just Denny being Denny.
Jake turned and I followed him out of the restaurant. I didn’t say a word in the truck. I didn’t really know what to say. This was a massive departure from anything he had ever done before.
Like kissing me first. Like telling me he didn’t want me to see anyone else. Like bringing me flowers.
When before it had always been me putting myself out there to him.
I was giddy with the pleasure of this.
We got to the hotel and I jumped out of the truck. I was wearing a jean skirt and wedges and a light sweater. I thought about what I might need for a few days, and then decided since I planned to spend those few days naked it didn’t really matter.
It was just a Courtyard Marriott, which I knew wasn’t super fancy, but it was my first time staying in a hotel and I was in awe of the cool furniture in the lobby.
A hotel. In Missoula.
“Hey, this isn’t the same place you came when you took your trip that summer?”
He glared at me. “No.”
“Just checking.”
We got to the room, which I thought was really big with a massive bed. I literally gulped. I heard the door close behind him and I waited, not really sure what was going to happen. Yes, I knewwhatwas going to happen, but I wasn’t clear on how we got there.
This was us having sex like two people who had no restrictions on doing that. It was almost surreal.
Then I felt him behind me. He put his hand in my hair and ran his fingers through it. He leaned down to inhale it. I found myself trembling. Like I was a virgin all over again. Only I wasn’t. That was Jake’s too.
“Ellie, you understand this isn’t going to be like last time,” he whispered into my ear, then bent to kiss my neck.
“It’s not? Because I have to say, Jake, last time was pretty awesome.”
“It was. But I was very… controlled. Because I had to be. After four months of thinking about this, I don’t know if I’m going to have that control at the start. Do you get that?”
I thought I did. He was a guy, he was hard up for sex. The patience I had bragged about might not be there for now. But that was okay. What mattered was that we were doing this, not how many orgasms I came away with.
I pulled away from him and turned to face him. I pulled off my sweater, undid my bra, pulled down my skirt and panties until I was naked. And because the room was fully lit, I crossed my hands over my chest… well because. It probably wasn’t the sexiest of strip shows, but I figured he wanted to cut to the chase.
Instead of pouncing, his head fell back on his shoulders and he groaned.
“You’re going to kill me.”
“Isn’t this what you wanted? To go fast?”
He looked at me. Then helookedat me. Then he was reaching out to touch me again. A finger down my arm, a hand sweeping up my stomach until he cupped my breast. A kiss pressed against my collarbone.
He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a strip of condoms he tossed on the bed. I counted six.
