I turned to Noah. “Is this true?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t ever been awake while I’ve snored. But I wouldn’t trust anything Bo says. He’d sleep through revelry played right in his ear.”

I turned toward Bo for confirmation.

“True. I was a bad Marine,” Bo said. He didn’t look too sorrowful about this. Amy used this opportunity to lure Bo’s attention back to her by asking when he got out.

Pulling Noah’s head down to mine, I boldly told him, “I’m ready to go home.” Instead of swiftly carrying me to his truck, he groaned a little and cuddled me closer. I snuggled into him and waited, but nothing happened.

So I pressed up against him a little and rubbed my hands down his T-shirt. When I got to the bottom, I slipped my hands underneath the cotton so I could enjoy the feel of his skin against my palms. Instead of allowing my exploration to continue, however, Noah pushed my hands out and loosely held my two wrists in one of his hands while he bent down to place my bottle on the floor.

He looked at his watch and said, “Time to go?” I nodded eagerly. Don’t hide. Be happy. Don’t worry. Be happy. He looked over at Bo and said, “You got her?” pointing to Amy. Bo lifted his chin in agreement.

“Alright, baby,” Noah said. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Instead of heading off to bed, though, Noah went over to Jack and Lana. “I’m taking Grace home, Lana, and I’d like to take you home as well. Bo will make sure that Amy gets back safely.”

“Um,” Lana looked to Jack, and Jack shrugged.

“I’ll see her home.”

Noah shook his head. “Can’t do it. I brought her, and I need to see her home.”

“I live close by, mind if I catch a ride?” Jack said.

“Fine,” Noah turned. “Ready?”

I nodded eagerly. I was ready. Very ready. I turned and gave Lana a sly wink but apparently everyone saw it because they all shook their heads at me.

Noah

Getting Grace into her apartment would’ve been easier if she’d been passed out. Then I could have just slung her over my shoulder and carried her to bed.

Instead, inebriated Grace was handsy, dipping her fingers under my shirt and underneath the waistband of my jeans. At this rate, the wood in my pants would be so hard by the second floor that I’d have to rub one out just to be able to make it up to her apartment without being crippled by my hard on.

I figured that not taking Grace tonight would be another of those Twelve Labours of Hercules. I had to be close to accomplishing them all by now.

On the third floor, I picked Grace up to avoid her wandering hands, but when she started licking a sensitive part of my neck, I began wondering at my own restraint. Would it really be so bad? After all, Grace was a virgin. Maybe having her drunk would make it hurt less the first time. I could really make it good for her the next day.

I quelled my thoughts. I wanted Grace to remember our first time together. And I would make it good for her that time and every time after.

Lana unlocked the door and stumbled in. Jack followed close behind. I was going to have to kick Jack out, given that Lana wasn’t able to walk a straight line.

First things first. I carried Grace to her bedroom. It was the first time I had been in her room, although I saw a brief glimpse of it when I had picked her up for breakfast that first morning.

It was all white, but there were flowered curtains and a huge bed with a white comforter that looked like it had lace or something around the edges. Huge. Like I think I could have fit a platoon in that bed.

“You have a big bed.” I stood her up while I pulled back the covers.

“All the better for you to sleep in it with me.” Yeah, Grace was really drunk. She wouldn’t be so forward unless she had a few too many tonight. I liked it, though. I wondered if, over time, Grace would lose her inhibitions without alcohol. I certainly wouldn’t mind her rubbing against me like a cat against a scratching pole if I could actually do something about it.

I laid her down and stroked my hands down her legs to pull her sandals off. I saw that the straps had made red marks in her feet, and I massaged them a little, trying to rub circulation back in. She moaned and said, “That feels soooo good.”

I looked at her body and contemplated what exactly I should remove. The sheer blouse was an easy choice. Her shorts? I debated that for about two seconds and said fuck it. I went to unzip her shorts.

Except there was no zip. I rolled her to her back and found only a seam. Did she just pull these on? Women’s clothes were mystifying. Grace’s hand went to her side and pulled down a tiny hidden zipper. Underneath I saw all-lace, black panties. I broke out in a sweat.

Boot camp wasn’t nearly as painful and trying as this. I pulled down Grace’s unfastened shorts and placed those on top of her shoes. I looked at her for a full minute, and, yeah, I even stroked her lightly over the lace nestled between her thighs. She liked it. Her legs fell open to grant me easier access, and she thrust up against my hands.

Jesus, the shadowed valley between her legs called to me. The musk of her arousal rose up in the air, and I wanted to fall on her and devour her. I pressed my forehead into her belly and prayed to someone for a little strength.

I took a deep breath, unbuttoned her blouse, and left her in her bra, tank, and lace panties. I deserved a goddamned medal for this.

When I covered her up, Grace leaned up on her elbows. The weight of her body pulled her tank top down so her plump breasts looked bigger and the cleavage looked deeper.

“Noah?” her tone was questioning. “Are you coming to bed?”

“I’m going to sleep on the couch tonight,” I admitted.

“What? Don’t you want me?”

“Fuck, of course, I do. Jesus Christ, it’s all I can do not to fall on you like some crazed beast, but you’re too drunk tonight.”

“I’m not,” she said truculently.

We could play this game all night. I went to the bathroom to get a washcloth and wiped her makeup off as much as I could. There wasn’t much but it must have felt good, because she made another moan.

“That feels so good,” she repeated. She reached for me, and I bent down to kiss her freshly cleaned forehead. Her head tipped. Despite her tipsy state, she was able to make contact with my mouth, her tongue tracing my lips. Involuntarily, my mouth opened slightly and her tongue darted inside, sweeping around my teeth and deeper to stroke my tongue.

I managed to pull back. “But why?” she cried.

“I’m going to make you feel so good the first time we make love that you’ll want to jump my bones every second afterward. If you don’t remember it, my plan will fail,” I explained, knowing she wasn’t listening to me.

“You and your damned plans,” she said and turned over on her side.

“I love that you’re drunk and horny, but we’d both feel like shit if I did anything to you tonight,” I said. This was a special kind of torture.

There was some muffled response. Possibly a curse word. I heaved to my feet. One last thing before I could crash. Ejecting Jack.

I went to knock on Lana’s door that someone had shut. “Time to go, man,” I said and pounded again. Jack opened the door a crack.

“What the hell, man? Are you cockblocking me?”

“Don’t be that guy,” I warned. My patience was thin.

“You’re being an asshole.”

“At least I’m not the one trying to get in a girl’s pants when she is drunk. Put your pants back on and come back tomorrow when you’re both not fully lit.”

“Just because you are boning her—”

I’d had enough of this dipshit. I covered his mouth with my hand and said, with all the frustration of the night in my voice, “You don’t even want to go there. Either you go put your pants on or I throw you out bare-assed. I don’t care either way.”

My words or menace must have finally penetrated, because Jack came out a moment later, fully dressed, and stomped out the door. He may have wanted to slam the door, but I wasn’t going to let him.

I shut the door and locked it. Lana was passed out in her bedroom. I made a mental note to tell her that her taste in men sucked and shut the door. Looking at the hard sofa and then at Grace’s bedroom, I muttered, “Fuck it.” I was going to sleep in that big ass cloud bed with my girl.

Grace

When I awoke the next morning, I heard the crinkle of paper as I rolled over to find the bed empty except for a note.

Grace,

You looked so beautiful and peaceful, I couldn’t wake you. There’s a glass of water and two aspirin on your nightstand. Hangovers are mostly dehydration. We’re going to have a party tonight at The Woodlands. Don’t plan on drinking much. I want you to take advantage of me. All night long.

Love, Noah

Love, Noah. I hugged the note to my chest.

Chapter Fourteen

Grace

The clanging of pans in the kitchen roused Lana. She opened the door a crack. “Anyone else here?” she asked.

“No, just us.”

With the confirmation that we were alone, she opened the door fully and exited her bedroom. Her hair was matted to one side of her head and last night’s mascara was smudged in big half circles under her eyes. She grunted a hello.

“Nice look, Sullivan,” I teased. “The smoky eye look is really taking over, huh?”

She flipped me off and sat down in the chair. “Why are you so cheery this morning? And where’s Noah?”

“Don’t know,” I handed her a water bottle and she drank it three quarters of the way before returning the bottle to the table.

“Did he kick Jack out?” she wondered. I shrugged again. I had only the note and some vague memories of trying to lure Noah into bed with me. I had a minor pang of embarrassment, but I took comfort in his note.

“Pancakes?” I offered. After drinking the tall glass of water and taking the two aspirins Noah had left for me, I started feeling human again. He had undressed me for the most part and must have even washed my face. When I went into the bathroom, there was a washcloth draped on a towel rack and my face looked surprisingly clean.

He had taken good care of me and, from the indentation in the pillow next to mine, slept next to me as well. I rolled around a bit in the cool hollow left by his body and sniffed the pillow for a good five minutes, trying to capture the faint scent he left behind.

Pancakes, I had decided, would be a great way to soak up any excess alcohol, and I had just started making them when Lana poked her head out.

“Yes, two,” she muttered. I served Lana two and myself two and set the rest aside to put in our freezer.

“Can you help me sort through my pictures this morning?” I asked Lana. Her head shot up in surprise.

“Are you finally going to submit to the art department?” she asked, barely swallowing her food before she spoke.

“I am,” I could feel my grin stretching my face. I had gone online this morning and looked at Dr. Rossum’s office hours. “I sent an email requesting a meeting.”

Lana clapped her hands and reached for me. “I’m so proud of you, Gracie.”

“In other good news, Noah left me a note that they’re having a party at The Woodlands tonight.” Everything seemed to be going perfectly.

“Yeah? That sounds like fun.” Her enthusiasm was subdued, but she still seemed happy.

“The note also mentioned that I shouldn’t drink much because he wanted me to take advantage of him.”

“Does that mean what I think it means?” Lana smirked.

I bit my lip to keep from smiling too wide. “Yes, or at least I hope so.”

This motivated Lana into action. She hopped up and came around the table. “We need to go shopping!”

“For what?”

“Clothes! Lingerie!” I laughed at Lana’s enthusiasm.

“Why not?” I was a little lightheaded with the idea of having sex with Noah. A little anxiety had driven me into overindulging last night, but today, somehow, I felt excited and empowered. Likely because I had acted a little foolish last night, and Noah wasn’t deterred at all.

***

“Where do you see this going with Noah?” Lana asked me as we rifled through bras and panties and other scraps of lace and faux satin at the lingerie store.

“Don’t know,” I lied. I had elaborate visions of where this was going with Noah, but I wanted to focus on tonight. “How about this?” I held up a pair of lacy white boy shorts. It seemed sexy and something that I wouldn’t constantly have the urge to readjust.

“Nice, but maybe you should go all out.” Lana offered a red one piece full of lace. Pushing one corner of my mouth up in a grimace, I shook my head.

“You have to unsnap it at the crotch to pee. It can’t be comfortable.”

“This isn’t for comfort,” Lana said. “It’s for sex.”

“Please, can you say it louder? Why not just put a dick on my back?”