Just Between Friends (Prequel to the Forbidden Series)

5

It should have been her dream date, and as enjoyable as it was Chase couldn’t help but wonder how Mike’s date with that harlot Jenifer was going. She hadn’t spotted him at the fair at all. She wasn’t sure if that meant the date had gone poorly and he had taken her home, or if it had gone well and he had taken her someplace more private. A concept that annoyed her.

As well as her date was going Chase found she was unable to give Geoff the attention he deserved. So, after a few hours of pleasantries, she asked for a ride home. The sun was setting when they pulled up in front of her house, and he kissed her goodnight. It was odd but when his lips met hers she felt nothing. It was almost awkward, unsure, nothing like she had expected it would be. Geoff was popular she had expected something special, the preverbal fireworks, but nothing, not even a firecracker.

They said goodnight, and she watched as Geoff drove off. She looked at the door and could hear her parents fighting again. She groaned and decided she would rather find out how Mike’s day had been, so she started walking. It wasn’t far maybe a twenty-minute walk, and since everyone was still at the fair, the roads were pretty much dead.

She made good time and made it to Mike’s in fifteen minutes. She could see the light in the basement window and knew he was home. So, his date had ended early, that was strangely satisfying. She crouched low and stayed to the shadows so his grandmother wouldn’t spot her from the window. She reached the basement window and rapped lightly until she saw Mike put down his guitar and get off his bed. He walked over to the window and propped it open for her. Chase slipped down through the tiny window onto the metal desktop.

Mike reached up and took hold of her waist to help her down off the desk. He reached up and shut the window then turned to look at her. God, he was handsome with his tanned skin, his ebony hair, and those incredible dark eyes. He was nearly six feet at the age of eighteen, and he already had a light fuzz of facial hair starting to shadow his jaw. He was a little skinny still, but she was sure in time he would fill out. He was attractive now and had the potential to be a sinfully gorgeous man when the time came.

When he came into his own it wouldn’t matter that he was poor, there wouldn’t be a woman alive that would deny him. His dreams of trading in women at a whim would very likely be possible for him even without wealth and fame. She wasn’t sure if she could sit back and smile while she watched all those women come and go in his life. Sure, she had his affections but would that be enough for her in the future? Was it enough for her now?

They had a wonderful friendship, and she wouldn’t want to lose it for anything, but lately, she couldn’t help wondering if there could ever be more between them. If there was would it be at the cost of what they had now?

“Did your date go well?” Mike asked walking back to his bed. He dropped down and pulled his guitar into his lap to continue composing the piece he had been working on when she arrived.

“Well enough I suppose.” She said climbing onto the bed beside him. She shuffled up close until their arms touched. Chase listened to the bridge he was attempting and her hand wrapped around the neck of the guitar, her fingers finding their positions and he continued to strum the guitar strings. She alternated between chords as he played and she rested her head on his shoulder. “Sounds better like this.” She said tilting her head up to look him in the face with a satisfied grin that she had improved his work.

“What would I do without you?” He teased looking down at her with a smile. His face only inches from hers. Suddenly the air between them seemed thick and charged. Their eyes met and held each other. An overwhelming urge to kiss him and be kissed in return consumed Chase. She couldn’t move, could barely breathe. Would he kiss her? Should she let him?

Suddenly he looked away, and Chase felt oddly disappointed. “So how did the date go?” He asked clearing his throat.

“Ok, we went on a few rides and played a few games then I had him take me home.”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, and then without looking at her, he casually asked. “Did you kiss him?”

What an odd question. “Yes.” She answered honestly. She thought she almost saw a spark of something in his face before it disappeared as quickly as it had come. Was he upset again?

“So, it went well are you two gonna see each other again?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“No, I don’t think so,” Chase said leaning back against the cold wall. His hand stilled, and the strumming stopped.

Mike looked up at her his expression more pleasant now. “Why not, you just said it went well?”

“There were no sparks when he kissed me. Nothing exciting. I can’t imagine it’s worth my time to pursue it.”

“I’m sorry Chase; if it makes you fill better I struck out myself tonight.” He assured her and repositioned his finger on the chords he was working on. He strummed the strings, and not likening the sound he instantly changed the chords he had previously chosen.

“Try C minor.” She suggested. “So, Jenifer shot you down?”

“Nope, for once it was the other way around.” He smiled at her. She liked his smile. His dark raven hair rested on his collarbone, and his dark eyes shown brightly against his tanned skin. Chase inhaled deeply as she always did when he was so close. His scent was intoxicating, and she had not been the only female to notice. She had caught the looks of the other girls in the cafeteria as he walked by. His scent was like catnip for women.

She could not say she was too heartbroken to hear of his rejection of Jenifer. If anything, she was impressed he had done so. She wouldn’t ask why she felt it was a question best left unexamined in case he started having second thoughts. She had been interested in him for weeks now. Since that first night, he had held her in their sleep. The morning after had only made it worse when he changed in front of her. The sight of him half-naked had sparked strange arousal in her, and she found that the thought heated her blood even now. Backing up against the cement wall his bed was up against, she felt the sudden need for distance.

“That sounds better. What are you working on?” Chase asked, hoping the tone in her voice did not give her away.

“I can’t get the bridge to flow right. I’ve been working on it all night.” He complained.

“Let me see.” She pulled herself up on her knees and reached for his instrument.

Her pulse quickened when her fingers brushed his. His eyes lifted to meet hers for an awkward moment they stared at each other. She had felt irritable when they were apart and strangely warm when he was so close. She resisted the urge to kiss him as she so often did. They had been best friends for almost a year now, and she was afraid that her attraction to him would destroy their relationship. Besides, he had never indicated that he felt the same. Sliding the instrument from his hands, Chase smiled at him. The same flirtatious smile she had given Geoff when he had hit on her.

She felt the blood rush through her body and a familiar throbbing awakened between her legs. Dear God did he notice her flushed cheeks? She looked Mike in the eye and was met by a heated gaze. He had noticed, she realized, and the look in his dark eyes told her he was feeling the same urges she was.

Dismissing it as no more than teenage hormones, she would assume that his sudden interest in her to be nothing more than that, but she could have never predicted what happened next. Boldly, Mike took the guitar from her and leaned it against his nightstand. Kneeling on the bed beside her Mike leaned into her and grinned when she shuddered. “You know,” he swallowed hard probably praying she would not slap him, “I don’t know about you, but I would love to try something new.”

“Really?” Her voice was hushed. She was finding it hard to speak with him so intimately close.

“Yeah, maybe it is just having an incredibly sexy girl in my bed, but my libido is in overdrive.” He whispered, his lips hovered above hers sending shudders of excitement through her.

“Yeah?” Was all she could get out.

“Oh yeah,” He whispered against her lips, she could almost taste him, “and you?”

“Yeah.” Chase smiled wicked wanton images flashing in her mind.

“So why don’t we…?” He paused a moment, perhaps losing his nerve, after all, neither of them had ever done anything like this, but he quickly recovered. “I mean the first time, after all, may as well be with someone you trust. So why don’t we... just… um?” He paused feeling unsure of himself.

“Do each other a favour?” She finished his thought, not wanting to discourage his unexpected advance. He nodded looking relieved that she had said it and not him. “And it’s not like it would change anything between us.” She added not wanting him to change his mind at the thought of things getting weird after the fact.

“Not a thing,” Mike promised with a sly smile. “After all it’s just…”

“Sex.”

“Exactly.” He said, and then his lips claimed hers in a soft, timid kiss. His lips were surprisingly soft, and she felt hunger she had never known. Chase kissed him back, a more demanding, heated kiss that sparked a fire inside them. Chase threw her arms around his neck and felt Mike wrap his arms around her waist pulling her hard against him. She could feel the whole length of his long, lean frame contoured to hers.

His hands slid up her back and into her hair pulling it loose from its braid until it flowed freely over her shoulders. His mouth ate at hers with unbridled need and then worked its way down her throat. Her head fell back, and she sighed with satisfaction. He felt like heaven blazing a hot path down her neck and over her shoulder. He hooked his finger in the shoulder strap of her dress and pulled it down his lips planting butterfly kisses along the way.

***

Mike took his time undressing her. Chase was like a long-awaited gift, and he wanted to unwrap her carefully. Making sure his lips did not miss one blessed inch of her perfect body. He could not believe she was allowing him to touch her in such a way. The whole experience was maddening and intoxicating. He would lose his mind if he didn’t have her soon.

Mike stripped away the white cotton dress she wore and dropped it on the floor. He laid her back against the bed and let his gaze rake over her taking in the enchanting sight. She was flushed with excitement and self-conscious as she nervously moved her arms to cover her exposed body as she turned her eyes away. “No.” He purred taking her hands and moving them above her head. “You’re beautiful.” He found himself saying.

He reached up over his shoulders and pulled his t-shirt off over his head. He dropped it to the floor with Chase’s dress and grinned when he heard her suck in her breath as she watched him undress. He’d never done this before, but he was positive she was ready for the taking. His pants quickly followed his shirt, and so did his boxers.

He would have felt awkward had he not seen the desire in her bright eyes. It didn’t take him long to get the rest of her clothes off, and he crawled between her legs. Her arms wrapped around him encouraging him. He needed little of it he was incredibly hard and felt like he would die without relief. Pressing the crest against the warm, welcoming opening, he pushed inside. It was hard at first, tight and resisting his intrusion at one point she may have even whimpered in pain, but it had passed so quickly, and she had felt so incredible he moved on.

Slow and steady they rocked against each other, deeper and with passionate kisses. They were lost in the moment. It felt as if it would go on forever, and he would have until he felt her shudder and tighten around him. The feeling pushed him over the edge, and soon uncontrolled shudders of his own consumed him and shook his body.

They held each other in the aftermath panting and sweaty. He didn’t move off her. He wanted to stay close while the glorious feeling washed over him. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and looked down at the girl looking up at him. There were tears in her eyes, she was trying to hide it, but he could see it. A sudden sense of dread filled him as he realized that they had been wrong, it wasn’t just s*x, and it had changed everything.

Dear God, what had he done?