Two Outta Three (Two Outta Three #1) Read online

  I was no princess.

  I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him in closer. His chest crashed against my own, causing me to stumble back into the side of the couch. What started off gently became intense as years’ worth of pent up emotion came to the surface. Jesse pulled away slightly, causing me to whimper in protest, however he quickly returned, bringing forth his teeth and taking my bottom lip in between both rows. He nibbled the sensitive skin lightly, running his tongue against it simultaneously. I felt as if I was ready to combust. If his kiss was this good, I didn’t know how much more…

  Before I could finish my incoherent thoughts, Jesse pulled away from me, panting heavily. His face glistened with a sheen of sweat and his face was flushed.

  “What’s wrong?” I panted as if I had just ran a marathon.

  “That…was great.”

  Yeah it was.

  He looked down guiltily. “But I promised myself I’d never drag you down with me.”

  “Huh?” Totally not what I thought he’d say.

  “I wanted to do this for a long time. A very long time.”

  “So why…”

  “Because I always thought I wasn’t good enough for you.” He chuckled, trying to mask the pain in his eyes. “You deserve a good guy like Ethan. I mean, I hated him from the moment I saw him because he was who I wanted to be in more ways than one.”

  “If this is about being privileged—”

  “It’s not. You deserve somebody your parents want for you. A person who’s stable—”

  “You’re stable! Isn’t that the reason why you brought me here? To show me that?”

  He looked pained. “Can you clarify something for me?”

  “Uh, yeah, I guess so.” My chest still heaved up and down, my mind in a jumble.

  “Everything you did with me in high school…you did it because you wanted to, right? Not because you felt sorry for me? Not because in some way you were trying to get back at your parents for smothering you?”

  That’s when it dawned on me. I finally figured out why he tried so hard to get me to admit I was a “bad girl.” He wanted to know if all my actions were sincere.

  Including now.

  “Of course I did it because I wanted to. I told you that from the start.”

  “But you said it was to protect me. That means you felt sorry for me,” he pointed out.

  “No, it doesn’t,” I argued. Though I’d much rather have forgotten the turmoil I experienced during our NYE kiss, I knew I had to bring it up. “What about New Year’s Eve? I kissed you then, didn’t I? That wasn’t me feeling sorry for you.”

  He blushed. “I know I gave you a hard time about that, but I guess I was desperate to hide how much it meant to me…especially if you only did so because you were trying to find an excuse to dump Ethan.”

  “Would you stop mentioning him?” I snapped in annoyance.

  He shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time I was used to make a boyfriend jealous, but it would be the first time I felt hurt about it.”

  It stung to hear him speak like that. To insinuate that I was using him and to hear that other girls actually used him like some object.

  I winced. “You know I wouldn’t do that. I kissed you that night because—”

  “Because you were caught up in the moment,” he offered half-heartedly.

  “No.” It was finally time to fess up. “I mean, I was, but only in the way that it gave me the courage to do something I’ve always wanted to do.”

  The look of hope on his face was unmistakable.

  “Just like I’ve always wanted to do this.” I threw my body on top of his, causing him to fall back onto the couch. My mouth was pressed tightly against his in an exclamation of “I want this” and “I love you.”

  Jesse’s initial shock turned into surrender as he melted against my lips. His hands gripped my back, sliding down to my hips so he could position me so I was straddling him.

  In between gasps and groans he ground out, “Rocky…groan….you don’t know how…moan…much I wanted this.”

  “Me too,” I panted, running my hands through his hair.

  Just when I was really revving myself up, he gently pushed me away, taking me by surprise. Looking like a scared little puppy, he kept his head down but peered up at me through hooded eyes. “Rocky…you know that…I mean, you could tell that…”

  I straightened myself and stared down at his face. “Jesse, you’re making me nervous right now. What’s wrong?”

  He licked his lips. “You know this isn’t just messing around to me, right?”

  “Huh?”

  “I know I was giving you a hard time about using me, but you know I didn’t mean it.”

  “Uh, yeah. Of course not.”

  His eyelids finally widened, causing his deep eyes to penetrate mine. “You know I…I always loved you, right?”

  There was no way I could have heard him correctly. I leaned back, staring at him in wonder.

  His voice came out firmly. “I have always loved you. From the moment your dorky self said, ‘Hi, welcome to our bio group,’ to the day we sat on those bleachers and said goodbye. I have never stopped thinking about you.”

  “Then why did you ignore me for all those years?” I asked quietly.

  “I was scared,” he answered simply. “Scared of screwing up like my mom and driving the one person I loved away. Scared that you’d finally realize I wasn’t good enough for you. Scared that I’d find myself back in Bethel Falls.”

  A moment of silence flew by. All those years I wanted to hear him say those words and he finally did.

  It was surreal.

  “Rocky?”

  “I’ve always loved you too.” My voice was barely a whisper. “I think you’ve always known that, though.”

  He smiled softly. “I wasn’t sure if I was imagining things. Making things up and believing them.”

  I shook my head. “No. It’s always been the truth.”

  I leaned forward and planted a kiss against his forehead. He gently sat up, maneuvering me so I was on my back and he was hovering above me. Once again his tongue found its way into my mouth. Like he promised, his hands painstakingly explored every curve and every crevice of my body.

  I groaned and ran my fingers up his back, reveling in the feeling of each muscle as they flexed. Ramped up by sudden bravery and hormones, I gripped the bottom of his shirt and tried my hardest to pull it over his head. Unfortunately, the angle at which I was lying made it impossible.

  Jesse laughed into my mouth and pushed himself up so he was kneeling over me with one leg on either side of my thighs. “Having trouble?”

  I nodded. “Actually, yes.”

  A fleeting look of doubt flew across his face. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  I was at the point of no return. I wanted this. I wanted him. “Yes, I trust you.”

  He didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed the hem of his shirt, ripping it off his head. I sucked in my breath as I took in his physique with awe. My eyes traveled down the slope of his shoulders, down to his pectorals where two nickel-sized nipples sat. I ran my tongue over my lips hungrily, imagining myself licking them. I continued to scan his body, my eyes dwelling on the eight separate muscles on his abdomen. I couldn’t help myself and reached out to touch him.

  “Your turn.” He swallowed, causing his throat to bob up and down. He reached under my shirt, pushing it up as he dragged his hands across my skin. When the material bunched up at my throat, he smiled. “No bra?”

  I shrugged. “Can’t sleep with that contraption binding me.”

  Soon my shirt was off my body and hanging off the arm of the couch. Jesse took his time licking and sucking every part of me that was exposed. Each time I tried to do the same to him, he gently refused.

  “Let me do this first. I’ve always imagined how it would be to taste you.”

  “Okay.” I nodded eagerly.

  He placed a soft kiss on my forehead and then
another on my cheek. Soon he was trailing kisses down the length of my stomach before pausing at my belly button and circling a path around it with his tongue. I moaned, thrusting my pelvis forward. Jesse took it as a sign to start working the sweats off my legs.

  “No underwear?” His face fell when he spotted my baby blue undies peeking out from beneath the oversized sweats.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t go commando.”

  He pulled down the pants, planting even more kisses along the way. When he reached out to pull my panties down, I slapped him away.

  “No, no, no. Your turn first.”

  He grinned when I pushed myself into a seated position and wrapped my fingers around the drawstring to his track pants. I carefully undid them, trembling and trying my best not to graze the massive bump that had grown in the front. Yet, even this self-control couldn’t stop me from reaching out and trailing the V shape that led to his groin. All the while I couldn’t help but hear a little voice telling me that I was still in the throes of a very detailed and realistic sex dream.

  I worked his pants off slowly, releasing the massive bump. I gaped when his penis sprung forward as if saying, “Hello there!”

  He chuckled. “Well, I go commando.”

  “Yes, you do.” My voice came out hoarse. Without waiting for him to undress me, I wriggled free from under him and hastily yanked off my panties. The look on his face was a comical mix of shock and amusement.

  “I guess you’re all in?” he teased.

  Years’ worth of unrequited love and twenty-three years’ worth of pent-up sexual frustration led me to exclaim, “Oh, yeah.”

  Jesse stood from the couch, putting his penis eye-level to me. Thinking he wanted a little treat, I reached out to touch it, but he quietly took a step back. “In a bit.”

  He bent over and picked me up, wrapping both my legs around him. Carrying me to his bedroom, he placed me down on the mattress. “You deserve to be treated like a princess, remember? No couch for you.”

  For some reason his words caused an unsurmountable amount of emotion to well up inside of me. I fought back the tears, worried to scare him off.

  I sank back into the mattress, relishing the feel of his lips and the softness of his tongue as he explored every inch of me. I wanted to taste him badly, but he made it a point to treat “ladies first.”

  When his tongue found its way to my most sensitive spot, I moaned and felt my eyes roll to the back of my head. Though I had messed around with other guys before, none of those experiences were as pleasurable as this. I guess my dopamine transmitters, or whatever the hell they were called, were firing at a rapid pace.

  When he sat back up, I reached out to touch his body and was happy to find he let me this time. I wrapped my hand around him, in awe of how it throbbed against my skin.

  “I always wanted you to do that.” He swallowed. “As bad as it sounds, every time I messed around I always wished it was with you.”

  “Please don’t mention other girls right now,” I said as I continued to pump him.

  “Sorry.”

  Somehow, with my hands still around his shaft, he managed to twist his torso so he could reach into his side table drawer, pulling out a purple square packet. I watched as his chest rose and fell, his breaths quickening as he ripped the wrapper open.

  I dropped my hold on him and waited in excitement while he rolled the condom into place. As he gently guided me onto my back, he asked, “Are you sure you want this?”

  I nodded.

  “As your first?”

  I nodded, but couldn’t help but smile. “So you admit a tip doesn’t count.”

  He grinned and splayed my legs open. Placing both hands on either side of me, he pushed into me, only allowing the head of his penis to enter. “Does this count?”

  I sucked in my breath and shuddered, feeling myself widening, ready to take the rest of him in. I gulped. “No.”

  He pushed a little further, causing my sex to grow a bit wetter. “How about this?”

  My pulse quickened and I could feel a rush of blood travel to my groin. “N-no, it doesn’t.”

  Again he pressed just a tiny bit further. “What about—”

  “Fucking Jesse, just do it!” I exclaimed.

  With a soft chuckle, he thrust the rest of the way, pausing for just a moment. Although the sudden action caused some slight discomfort, I was surprised at how quickly my body conformed to his. With each thrust I grew more aroused, calling out for more.

  As promised, Jesse started off gentle. It was as if he was trying to tell me—show me—how much he really did care about me…how much he loved me.

  Our breaths quickened, and when he gently rested his chest on top of my own, I could have sworn our heartbeats were synchronized. I closed my eyes, listening to his sharp breaths. Each time he groaned was like music to my ears, only riling me up even more.

  “Are you okay?” he ground out. A stray bead of sweat from his forehead dropped onto my cheek.

  “Yes,” I gasped. “Yes, yes, yes.”

  Soon those whispered yes’s turned into flat out screaming as I felt my body convulse against him.

  “Oh, God.” A groan rumbled from his chest, vibrating against my skin. “I think I’m gonna come.”

  Suddenly his thrusts grew more powerful as his body shivered above mine. His arms tightened against my sides as he held himself up and continued to push into me. The power and intensity caused my insides to tighten once again and soon I found myself overcome by orgasm. Before long I felt like a pile of pudding underneath him.

  Still panting, he placed a kiss on my lips and then rolled onto his back. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Me too,” I whole-heartedly agreed.

  “I mean, that was a first for me too.”

  “What do you mean?” My hand rested on my chest, pressing down slightly to relax my lungs.

  In a tiny voice, Jesse replied, “I’ve never made love before.”

  ***

  The sunlight streamed through the slit of the curtain, blinding me and jarring me awake. I reached out beside me and found the bed empty. The sheets felt almost as icy as the anxiety working its way through me. I sat up, still naked, and brought the sheets up to my chin. I gazed around the empty room and felt myself crumble a bit.

  Jesse wouldn’t leave me again, would he?

  “You’re in his bed, dumbass,” I muttered. “He wouldn’t leave you.”

  Chapter 24

  The night began to grow colder and soon not even the combination of my flimsy shawl and Jesse’s jacket could keep me warm. The cheers coming from inside the gym told me that they had just crowned the Homecoming Court and the dance would be ending soon. But where was Jesse?

  “Raquel Rossi?”

  “Yes?” I stood straight up, nearly catapulting myself off the bleachers.

  I gulped as Mr. Elliott, our vice principal, walked over to me with two security guards in tow. Though the men didn’t look as menacing as the bouncers at one of the clubs Jesse and I had snuck into once, the looks on their faces told me they weren’t to be messed with.

  “What are you doing out here? You know you’re not allowed anywhere but the gym,” Mr. Elliott’s loud voice boomed.

  “I just needed air.” It wasn’t a lie.

  “Air? You do realize you’re still walking on thin ice for skipping last week. Like I told you before, I am keeping a close eye on you.”

  A sudden wind blew, causing my red dress to flutter around me. I noticed one of the security guards flinch. What? Did he think I was a witch or something?”

  “Um, did you really need two security guards to take a seventeen-year-old down? I’m sure the evening news would have a field day if I told them about this.”

  Mr. Elliott’s eyes widened. “We had a chaperone come in and say there were two suspicious individuals on the field. You don’t expect me to have come here without back up just in case—”

&nb
sp; “A high school girl took you out. Right.” I pursed my lips.

  The vice principal sighed. “Miss Rossi, please. If you don’t want to make this bigger than it has to be, then I advise you to return to the gym.”

  “Hey, what’s that?” one of the security guards asked. He didn’t look much older than me and seemed to be enjoying the power trip.

  Mr. Elliott followed his gaze and gasped. Within seconds his calm demeanor turned into a nasty one. He stomped over and picked up the flask I had stupidly thrown. I flinched as he waved it in my face.

  “What is this?”

  “A vintage apothecary jug,” I lied.

  The security guards mumbled and snickered in the back.

  “I’ll have you know there is zero tolerance for alcohol and its paraphernalia on campus.” He narrowed his eyes and glared at me. “If I can prove this is yours then it’s grounds for expulsion.”

  “Expulsion? If you’re looking for someone to blame, why don’t you look for the kid who spiked the punch? Unless of course you enjoyed some of that too,” I said smugly.

  He looked ready to blow a gasket. He reached out and grabbed my arm. “Come with me.”

  “Where are we going?” I wasn’t sure what lines were drawn for student/teacher contact, but I was making note of everything just in case I needed something to help my case.

  “To my office. We’re going to call your parents and the cops.”

  “The cops?” I screeched. “Why?”

  “Underage drinking,” he said simply.

  Realizing he had no case on me, I smiled self-assuredly. “Well, tell them to do a breathalyzer because I’ll blow a zero. I can guarantee that. Besides, you can’t prove this is even mine.”

  Mr. Elliott faltered a bit. “Well, we’ll leave that up to the cops. We’ll have them brush for fingerprints if we have to.”