Original publication date July 12, 2015
I spend the first day back in high school getting stared at. People whisper things behind my back as I walk by. I can’t decide if it’s because of the clothes my sister bought me, complete with coordinating makeup, or if it’s that I’ve lived in a tent for about a month. When Alex sees me, he stops in his tracks with his mouth open like a gaping fish. He doesn’t get to say anything because at about that moment, Sade tackles me in a bear hug, squealing how glad she is that I’m back.
Grayson asks me out at lunch. He merely grins at me as I take my turn staring at someone like a gaping fish. I tell him not right now, that I’m still adjusting to living with my sister. I don’t know how to tell him that I already have a boyfriend.
After school, I notice Graham has left me a message to call him. I call him back with plans to ask him for a favor. With a sigh, I admit that I need to pack up my things at the campsite, and I want him to take me there and help me. He comes and gets me as soon as he gets off work.
I feel like a million years have passed since I was last here. I’d last left my tent with plans to tell Graham everything. Now, I’m here packing it all up…with him.
“Everything okay?” he asks as he walks over to me and takes my hand.
“I… I… I didn’t want to do this. I never wanted to live with my sister, and now I am. I wanted this tent to be my home until I could afford a place of my own.”
“I think you made the right choice,” he says quietly, and his thumb runs across my knuckles. “You’re right in that this is a nice campsite, but you weren’t safe. As for finding your own place, I got them to pencil in an interview in a couple of days for a receptionist job.”
My eyes fly open. “I told you I didn’t think I was ready for that.”
He winces at my accusatory expression. “I know. I went and asked around, and the student center had an opening immediately. That’s why I said pencil in. You don’t have to go if you don’t want.”
I shake my head no. I can’t. I have to go to high school.
He lets out a huffing sigh. “Okay, but I have to warn you that these positions don’t always come available… Students love to fill them.”
“I think, actually, I’ll go to school. I had no idea how rich my sister has become, and I get the feeling she wouldn’t mind if I lived at her house while I went to school.”
He beams with happiness, and it makes my heart ache. I am lying to this man. Yes, okay, I want to go to college, but I can’t right now.
“That’s wonderful, Brielle!” He looks like he can’t possibly grin wide enough. “Where? What do you want to do?”
I bite my lip and look down. “I don’t know. Chemistry something, probably. Maybe medical like my sister. Um, geology? I’m a closet science nerd, I guess.”
He laughs heartily, kisses me quickly, and says, “Good. Go to Tech.” He chuckles. “Not SCU.”
I giggle and smile. “If my grades are good enough. I might have to do the community college thing for a few years.”
“That’s fine. It’s only really important when it comes time to hand out the diploma.” He kisses me again, this time a little longer, before pulling back and smiling at me.
This is so perfect. He’s so happy for me and my getting my life back in order. I wish I really could be making college plans right now.
‘This farce can’t last much longer, Brielle, and you know it!’ my inner voice screams.
I can’t stop my lower lip from trembling for a second, and Graham catches it. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” I say quickly, look away, and take a step back. It’s going to hurt so BAD!
He, thankfully, decides not to keep asking me what’s wrong, and I let him guess on his own what made me have that expression. Maybe he attributes it to the two of us packing up what I once considered my home. After we finish that, we go to his house again since it’s closer than my sister’s.
Our plan was to watch a movie, but we wind up kissing anyway.
How many more perfect moments like this am I going to have? I don’t really want the answer.
Unlike last night, I don’t sense that begging feeling from Graham while he kisses me. He must enjoy the simplicity too.
We stop for a little while, taking a breather, and he looks at me with an adorable expression. “I have to tell you before I explode. You are so beautiful. I liked the natural, ponytail look, but I also like what your sister’s done with you. You’re stunning.”
“What my sister’s done with me?” I ask with a smile.
“Well, I assumed since you said she bought the clothes and all.”
“I haven’t seen her since I was talking on the phone with you this morning. I did this. She gave me the stuff, yes, but…”
“I’m… Um… Well… Okay. I wasn’t implying that-” He stumbles around, trying to fix what he thinks might be a problem.
I laugh. He is so cute when he thinks he’s messed up. “It’s fine. I didn’t wear makeup and really fix my hair because of the camping situation.” I shrug. “It all depends on my mood.”
“Well, I like it,” he says quietly. Then, another look of panic hits him. “Not saying I didn’t before!” He blinks slowly. “I’m going to stop talking now.”
I laugh harder, and he smiles at me.
“You think it’s funny when I get tongue-tied,” he says, mildly teasing.
I nod, smiling. “Because you usually have so much to say. I don’t mind. I love your voice. But when you get like that…” I grin.
“You love the sound of my voice, huh?” he asks with a suggestive gleam in his eyes.
I play along and nod. “I told you that.” He’s. So. Hot! Why does he have to look at me like that?!
“Hm…” His eyes look like they’re sizing me up. I have no idea why.
He leans forward. Oh. He wants to tell me something in my ear. I tilt my head to better hear what he has to say.
His voice is quiet and low as he tells me, “Then maybe I should use this voice you like so much to tell you what seeing you in this dress does to me.” I turn and look at him for a second in surprise, but he leans towards my ear again. “From the second I saw you, I wanted to get on my knees and beg for mercy. Then, I decided that since I’d be on my knees anyway, I could very happily run my tongue up your inner thigh.” All the air leaves my lungs, but he doesn’t stop. “That need to get on my knees still hasn’t left. I could. Right now. You wouldn’t need to get up, either. Go ahead and stay comfortable on the sofa.” His hand reaches over to grasp my knee, his fingers pushing forward into my inner thigh, and his tongue runs up the side of my ear.
I jump and twist towards him in surprise.
His hand moves up my leg. “Graham!”
“Yes?” he asks casually. His fingers push forward, and I can’t breathe normally.
Would an eighteen-year-old tell him to stop?! I reach out and grab his forearm, and I feel him under the hemline of my sweater dress. He has to see the panic in my eyes.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asks calmly, his voice taking on a hypnotic timbre. A part of me screams for him to keep going, and it shocks me every bit as much as what he’s doing to me.
Something in his eyes tells me he’s not going to, and he gets off the couch and gets on his knees in front of me. He starts pushing my knees apart, and I cry out, “Stop!”
His fingers tightly grip my knees, and he takes several deep breaths. Then, he leans forward and rests his forehead on my thigh, still breathing heavily. I debate trying to escape his grip of my knees, but I have that instinctual feeling that that would only make him hold on tighter and he’d lose his fragile control.
“I really like this dress,” he whines. “What you do to me…” From where his head rests on my thigh, his tongue comes out and licks me slowly.
“Graham! Please!” I yell and risk trying to move away. He instantly lets me go, and his hair is all messed up when he looks up at me.
“I need a break,” he tells me, and I don’t understand. He gets up and swiftly goes to the restroom. After about a minute, I hear the shower turn on.
I don’t know what to do now. Graham said he needed a break. I guess he’s taking it in the shower. A break from me? And here I’d thought he was enjoying the simplicity of everything earlier. Well, maybe he was, but that was boiling underneath the surface.
‘Because he’s a grown man, Brielle, and he sees you as an adult as well.’
Graham comes out of the shower and sits down next to me. “I’m sorry. You asked me to stop, and I still did that.”
I can’t look at him right now. He looks the most hurt I’ve ever seen him. I watch the TV as I say, “I’m sorry I wore this dress. I just wanted to look nice for once.”
“No, Brielle. Don’t say that. You wear what you want. You look gorgeous, stunning, like I told you. It’s me who’s in the wrong here. I lost my head. Please forgive me,” he says solemnly.
“Okay. If it’s what you need, I forgive you,” I say simply and turn towards him to see a small smile on his lips.
“Tomorrow is Saturday. How about a lunch picnic?” he asks, his smile growing.
I smile back. “Okay.”
He drives me back to my sister’s, and this time, he doesn’t touch me when I expected him to hold my hand again.
We walk up to her door, and I turn to him and say, “You act like you’re afraid to touch me.”
He cuts his eyes over to me. “I am. I almost blew it tonight, and I don’t want to do it again.”
“Nonsense,” I scold. “That was really freaking hot; it was just more than I expected.” I wrap my arms around his shoulders. He still won’t touch me, so I press myself against him.
He closes his eyes, and his nostrils flare for a moment before he says in warning, “Brielle…”
I stand on my toes and kiss him. Just as he responds with his lips, I pull back and say, “Thank you for your help today with the campsite. That wasn’t easy for me to do, and I couldn’t have done it alone.”
He finally wraps his arms around me, holding me tightly. Then, he sighs, and he kisses me in such a tender way that it makes my heart pang in pain.
“I know it’s soon,” he says quietly once his lips leave mine, “but after what you probably heard me say last night, it shouldn’t surprise you. I love you, Brielle McKinney.”
I blink several times as I watch his wonderful smile in the light of my sister’s front porch. “I…” What do I say to that?! “I…”
He kisses me quickly. “You don’t have to say anything.” His thumb runs quickly down the side of my face. “I just wanted you to hear it.” I stay quiet, and he smiles again before lightly kissing me and turning to walk away down the sidewalk. “Sweet dreams,” he says, and I finally smile, remembering when I’d told him that the night we met…the other night.
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As for the whole college/university thing: I’m American (estadounidense), so I tend to use them interchangeably. Still, even in the States, university tends to mean a larger institution, but we still use the words to mean the same thing. Also, I realize that everything she may want to do may not be offered at a technical institute.
I don’t know why I felt I needed to include this little A/N, but it makes me feel better. I know it’s only a sims story, but this just covers some things I discussed with my husband.
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