Waking Kaylee

I watched as Kaylee slowly stirred. A single kiss hadn’t been able to do it, taking three separate kisses to get her to wake. Eyes opening, she sleepily blinked a few times before focusing on me.

“Morning.”

She murmured something back in response before stretching. The early light leaking through the blinds lit up her blond hair, giving her almost a halo-like effect. “What time is it?”

I glanced over at the clock. Before I answered, a streak of mischievousness hit me. “Almost two.”

It took a few seconds before my response hit her. She jolted upright, eyes wide. “What? Two?” I snorted, unable to hold the serious expression on my face as she frantically checked the time. Seeing that it was only nine, she furrowed her brow and slapped my arm. “Jerk.”

“Got you up though.” She made a groaning sound before falling back onto the bed. “Not usually one to sleep in. Feeling okay?”

She suppressed a yawn and did her best to stretch in the limited space she had. “Feeling great.”

Leaning over, I went in for a kiss when her hand stopped me. “I already brushed.” She eyed me suspiciously. “What? Want a smell?” I asked as I opened my mouth.

She quickly turned her head. “Ew. No.” When I tried to kiss her again, she didn’t stop me. The moment our lips touched, she wrapped her arms around my neck and held me in place. What meant to be a simple peck quickly turned into something much more intimate. We spent several minutes like this before my back started to hurt and I remorsefully brought it to an end.

“Sorry about last night,” she whispered as I tried to get the kink out of my back with a stretch.

“For what?”

“It was your birthday and it felt like I was the one who got pampered.” She frowned. “It all went so differently in my head.”

“Last night meant a lot to me. Thank you,” I said with a quick peck to her forehead.

She let out a small breath of relief. “I’m glad.”

“What about you?” Her head tilted slightly. “How…uh… enjoyable was last night?”

Kaylee took a moment to think. “Not going to lie, I don’t think I’m a fan.” My eyebrows lifted. “Nothing to do with you of course. It’s just… I don’t know how to really explain it. I’m glad we did it, but…”

“Never again?”

“Not never.” She shrugged. “I’m not saying I disliked it. It’s just not something I’d do on a regular basis. Special occasions only! Unless…” Shifting to a more comfortable position, she stared up at me. “What about you?”

“Eh…” I said, tossing in a nonchalant shrug in the process.

Her smile turned mischievous as she tugged the covers down to reveal her bare chest. My eyes immediately went down to admire the sight. “How about some light morning exercise to get the blood pumping?”

Not having any release the night before, it didn’t take me long to get erect. Or naked for that matter.

Some light foreplay followed, but we were both eager to get on to the main event. Condom on, I took my place between her legs, and for the next several minutes, everything else fell away. My moderate pace got a nice reaction from Kaylee as she worked hard to express how much she was enjoying herself.

For me, I found myself unable to stop kissing her. Her lips. Her neck. Everything I was able to. Neither of us were being quiet, and I found that I didn’t much care who heard. For now, my entire focus was on Kaylee and sharing this moment of mutual pleasure.

It was a good run and by the end, we were both panting, backs to the bed as we stared at the ceiling. She scooted closer and used my outstretched arm as a pillow. As we both rested and caught our breath, it seemed like we weren’t the only ones with the idea. I could hear the steady thumps, grunting, and moaning coming from Paige’s room. Neither of us said anything as we listened to the two next door. I was still riding a blissful high and didn’t care much what was going on elsewhere.

“You miss it?” I asked, blurting my thoughts out into the world.

“Hmm?”

“You and Caleb.” I forced myself to relax, keeping the tension from my body as I braced for an answer I might not like. Seconds ticked by without an answer as I continued to look at the ceiling, and the longer the silence stretched, the greater my uncertainty.

She shifted against me and I knew she was looking at me. “Where did this come from?”

“You did mention he set the bar. Seemed like he was interested in you last night.”

And you were interested in him. I left that part out, not confident in where that statement would lead.

Her snort took me by surprise as I finally broke my staring contest with the ceiling to look at her. “Lots of guys are interested. He wishes he had what he can’t get. What?” she asked at my confused look.

“I just figured…”

“Figured… what?” she pressed, raising an eyebrow.

Finding myself floundering, I glanced away. “You…uh…would want…”

“To fuck him?” I nodded. She rolled onto her side, facing me. “Can I?”

Was that excitement I saw in her eyes or something else? There was an intensity there that made my chest tight. Opening my mouth, I froze as I choked the words back and shut my mouth. Just like that, I’d been ready to give her permission despite my feelings.

“No,” I said after finding my voice again.

To my surprise, her expression was one of approval as she gave a crisp nod. “Good.”

“Good?”

“Yep! First off, this is the first time I feel like you are thinking about yourself and how you feel and not just me and what I want. Secondly,” she paused for dramatic effect. “I have no desire to sleep with him.” My expression instantly shifted to doubt. “What? I don’t.”

“Didn’t look that way at all last night.”

She huffed. “What kind of girl wouldn’t get turned on watching a live show unfolding in front of her? If you hadn’t have pulled me out, I’d have jumped you right there in the room regardless of who was there to watch us.” That impish grin was back. “Actually, that sounds kinda hot.” I wrinkled my nose, getting a laugh out of her. “Seriously though. Caleb and I had some great times together, but I chose to move on in the end. Just like every other guy I’ve been with.”

“Wonder how long I’ll make it…”

I’d meant it as a joke. Sort of. It was in poor taste and Kaylee didn’t see it that way.

“Really?” she asked in a flat voice as her expression hardened.

“Sorry. That was a bad joke.”

“Yeah. It was.”

She turned away to look back at the ceiling, but she remained close. With silence once more upon us, the sounds of Paige and Caleb washed over us making it even more awkward.

“Can I ask you a question?” I asked softly as the sounds of thumping rapidly increased.

“Always.”

“Why are you dating me?” She turned her head and gave me a surprised look. “I mean, of all the guys you’ve been with or are interested in you, why stick with me? I’m certainly not complaining or anything, but I guess it’s been there since the very beginning. This, ‘why me’ question. It’s certainly not for the sex and I know that there are far more attractive guys—”

“Haven’t I already answered this?” She wasn’t chastising me and she continued before I could reply. “Honestly, it’s a bit hard to put into words, but I suppose I’ll give it a try. I think I’m going to have to wind back a little bit though.”

She took a deep breath and began to talk. “I suppose this all started back when we first met.” Her head twisted to look at me. “You remember that?”

“Hard to forget. You almost killed me.”

“Please,” she said with a frown. “Three stitches is nothing.”

I pointed to the spot on my arm where the reminder of that fateful encounter remained. “Look at the scar!”

“Baby,” she said with a gentle laugh. The whole thing was hard to forget—mostly because of the blunt force trauma she inflicted on me after running me over with her bike. I missed the first couple of days of middle school because of her. The wound got infected and I had to stay in the hospital for two days. Truth be told, I wouldn’t have changed that for the world. It was probably the only reason why Kaylee and I knew each other. She spent a week apologizing to me and during that time we got used to being around each other. Liam helped tremendously as well. Even with my tongue-tied self, he was always there to crack a joke or ease any awkwardness.

That had been a much simpler time, before puberty and all the wonderful hormones that came with it. Before friendships came with social costs and judgments. Kaylee had been just another friend to play with on the playground. Can’t remember how many times I begged Mom and Dad to drop me off at the park near her house so we could play together, or how her Dad was always dropping her off at the park where Liam and I rode our bikes and played games of treasure hunters in the thick woods that surrounded it.

“Anyways,” she said as she got back to the original point. “It wasn’t until high school that I began to notice you were…” She paused to think. “Different. One of the curses of being attractive is people are constantly hitting on you. I know, I know. It’s kinda arrogant to say that is a problem but bear with me a moment. Tons of guys give me attention, but it was all for one specific purpose. In the beginning, I honestly thought—” She cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable. Without thinking, I shifted my arm to take her hand. “The first guy I was ever with, I had a bit of a crush on him. Okay, a massive crush. He was older and seemed so… mature. I thought we had a real connection… until we were done. One time. That’s all I meant to him. Turns out he and his buddies were competing to see how many dumb freshmen they could deflower. I was his number six.”

“That’s horrible.”

She didn’t seem too upset over it. “Any anger I had towards him wasn’t about him getting the first entry on my Profile. It was the way he played with my very real feelings in order to do it. That and he didn’t even win.” It was weird that she seemed more pissed off at that than any of the other things. “But that’s beside the point.

“My second time was better, but it was clear from the beginning that he was only in it for the sex. Then the third. Fourth… Eventually, I found that it didn’t matter what feelings my partner and I had so long as I felt good. After all, they were the same way. And my mom… Every addition to my Profile seemed to delight her. Being young and dumb as I was then, it was an easy way to get her approval. Considering how much she was gone… every little bit of praise I got from her…” She was silent for a moment.

“That all quickly evolved into my dislike of cuddling or other things. Why pretend we cared about something more than the sex? I hated that and refused to playact that what we did was something special. We were there for one purpose, nothing more. It bugged me when guys played nice and pretended to want a friendship or something when all they were doing was trying to get in my pants, but I played along because that is expected and a part of the big game everyone plays. It didn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. Some guys liked to butter a girl up with sweet praise and compliments, others were blunter about what they wanted. Never mattered much to me, so long as they were good-looking and performed well.”

She paused to look at me. “But not with you. Never with you. I mean, I knew that you wanted to sleep with me. It was obvious you had a crush on me and I caught you staring numerous times.”

My face heated as I groaned. “Sorry.”

She chuckled. “It was cute and it felt different than other guys. There was a… I don’t know… a boyhood innocence there. I knew you were having lewd thoughts about me, but it felt like you were looking at me, not just my body.” Her grin widened as she pinched my cheek. “Helps that you’re so damn cute.”

I wrinkled my nose and lightly swatted her hand away. “Cute? How about handsome?”

“Nope. Cute. Definitely cute.” I sighed in surrender and she continued. “I think it was around sophomore year that I realized our relationship was different than I had with other guys. Sure, Liam is my friend too and we get along great, but it isn’t quite the same. Whenever we talked, you genuinely listened. When you showed interest in something I was doing, it was because you were actually interested and not going playing an angle to get something from me.”

Taking a deep breath, she released it slowly. “So the reason why I’m dating you? Because you’re the only guy I’ve ever felt a connection I can consider real. The only guy I can open up to and know that it will be reciprocated and appreciated. When I’m with you, I feel comfortable. Safe. Accepted. And believe it or not, sex is good in its own way. Yes, it’s not the type I’m used to, but I enjoy it for all the same reasons I enjoy being around you.” She met my gaze. “Does that make sense?”

I silently let all that sink in. “Yeah.”

She seemed relieved, smiling at me. Turning back on her side, she looked at me. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Well… why date me?”

Pausing, I thought for a moment. “You’re hot.”

She blinked, the smile fading as I left those two words alone in the world. “That’s it?” She rose off the bed, staring down at me. “Seriously?”

“You’re really hot?” I offered with a teasing grin. It was the grin that gave me away.

“Asshole,” she said before whacking me in the face with her pillow. My laughter only caused her to smack me more. It continued until I wrestled the pillow from her grasp and she grumpily slumped back on the bed.

I took a deep breath, watching as she pouted with her arms crossed. “I’ve always envied you.”

“Huh?” she said, arms falling away.

“You have always been someone I’ve idolized. You don’t take crap from anyone and you always have your gaze fixed on what you want, to hell with anything in your way. That confidence and drive… I’ve always been jealous of that because it’s everything I’m not. I’m always second-guessing myself and looking over my shoulder because I feel that being me—whoever that is—will only bring trouble for those I care about.

“Yet there are these moments I’m able to make you laugh or smile. It hits something inside me that makes me feel… alive. You are this confident, intelligent, and driven woman that seems so overwhelming and bright, and there are moments together where it feels like maybe I can be... me. Someone I’ve been terrified of for a long time.

“So I guess if I had to give a reason as to why I’m dating you… I guess it’s because you empower me. Every day, I get a little less scared of who I am and a lot of that is because you are there giving me the strength and drive to overcome it. You motivate me to push myself. To be better than I am. There is still a long way to go, but I know being with you will get me there.”

There was a long silence as we looked at each other.

“Please tell me you can go again,” she finally said, sounding almost breathless.

That… wasn’t the response that I expected. “Uh… Huh?”

She nearly smothered me in the kissing that followed as she threw herself at me.

Turns out I could go again.

The cherry on top? Kaylee proved Paige right. She was the loudest when she was with the right guy.