15. Celina

FIFTEEN

CELINA

"What did he say? After the kiss, I mean," Felicity said.

She'd been hounding me for details the entire time we'd been hanging out. As soon as we were in the apartment, the questions had started. I thought she was going to die when I told her we kissed. From there, it had been one excited query after another––over an hour of her prying for details. It was all normal girl talk, I knew. The things women all talked about after situations like this. The problem was, I had never had an experience like this. I, sort of, wanted to keep it all to myself. The magic of the day was something I wanted to save for only me and Miles.

"I don't know," I said. "We talked, that's all. Had a picnic and talked."

"But about what?" Felicity's eyes were bright with excitement.

I sighed. Miles had put a lot of work into the date. It had been special. Something that I would remember. If nothing else happened and I moved back home in a week, I would be on my deathbed and ninety years old, and I'd still look back on today with fond memories. It wasn't something I was willing to share so easily. Maybe that was silly, but it was mine, and I wanted it to remain mine.

"Felicity, I'd really rather not go into details. It was great, that's all."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay. I guess."

She didn't push me, but I could tell she was a little irritated. I didn't want to make her mad. She was the closest thing I had to a friend. Would it really be that bad to tell her everything that happened? Maybe I should give her the details. I was torn. On one hand, I was overjoyed to have a friend. On the other hand, I wanted to keep what Miles and I had a special secret. Was that silly? Was I being childish?

"Felicity, I'm sorry."

She waved the apology off. "No, it's fine. Seriously. I shouldn't have been so pushy. I'm only wondering if you really know what you're doing with this guy."

I frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious that this guy is experienced in ways that you aren't, right?"

I nodded slowly, not sure where she was going with this.

"All I'm trying to say is my lessons haven't really stuck yet. I'm worried you're getting in over your head. I don't want you to get hurt. That's all. I'm starting to get a bad feeling that things won't work out with you guys."

This was a strange thing for her to say. Hadn't she been the one who encouraged this from the beginning? My God, she'd been giving me pointers on how to have sex with him. Why was she suddenly worried things wouldn't work out? Especially after I'd told her how well the date had gone?

"You weren't worried the other day. You seemed excited for me. Why have you changed your tune now?"

Felicity sighed. "I've seen this happen before. A guy like this sweeps someone off their feet, then things get hot and heavy, and after a little while, he gets bored and moves on. I don't want that to happen to you. Maybe baby steps are better. I might have pushed you too far too fast. It might be better to go for the little fish first before going after the big fish. Miles is like Moby Dick. I'm not saying go for a goldfish, but a dude who's a little less…I don't know…less of a walking sex machine?"

I crossed my arms and leaned away from her. I didn't want her to know she'd hurt my feelings, but it was difficult. It felt a bit like someone had pushed me down, then kicked me while I was trying to get up. I frowned and chewed at my lip, doing my best not to let any tears well up in my eyes. She'd said exactly what I'd been afraid of—that there was no way a guy like Miles would want someone like me; that I was pathetic and unable to get someone like him.

Felicity seemed to sense I was upset. Tension filled the room. My anger and sadness radiated off me in waves. I was terrible at hiding my emotions, so there was no way she didn't notice what her words did to me.

She put her hands on her cheeks and winced. "Oh shit. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I'm such an ass."

I waved it off, thankful that she'd apologized. It made me feel better that I wasn't in the wrong. "It's fine. I know you're only trying to help."

"Okay, good. Why don't we have brunch or something later this week?"

"That would be nice. Let's do it." My nerves had calmed. I did not do well in uncomfortable situations, and having the conversation switch to something more banal was a huge relief.

"Speaking of nice, what are your plans for Thanksgiving?" Felicity asked.

I'd totally forgotten the holidays were about to start. Growing up the way I did, holidays like that weren't really a big deal. I shook my head. "I don't have any."

"Seriously? Neither do I. We usually get together at my parents' house in the city, but Mom and Dad decided to take a month-long trip to Europe as an early Christmas gift to each other. We can have dinner at their place. How about that? That way, you can check out the city over the long weekend."

It actually sounded appealing. I'd realized on the excursion with Miles that I hadn't really explored the area as much as I probably should have. Who knew what I was missing out on? If the state park was any indication, I could really use more time out and about.

"Sure. Let's do it. We'll talk about what we want to eat later."

"Cool. I need to get going, though. Talk to you soon?"

I agreed and walked her to the door. As soon as I opened it, I saw Miles standing between my apartment and his. I jerked in surprise. Felicity seemed unconcerned to see him there. Miles visibly stiffened when he saw Felicity. He practically glared at her as she walked past him to the stairs. At least I was confident there wasn't any kind of sexual connection between them. If Miles had looked at me the way he looked at Felicity, I'd have curled into the fetal position and wept. The way he acted around her was weird. It was also a little disheartening that the only man who'd ever shown any desire to be with me seemed to hate the only woman who'd ever befriended me.

Once Felicity was gone, I waved shyly at Miles. "Hey again."

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." I stood aside and let him inside, closing the door behind him.

Miles walked into the living room and looked at me. "What do you know about Felicity?"

I didn't understand the question. "What do you mean?"

His jaw clenched. I'd never seen him look so on edge. He wiped a hand across his face. "There's something about her. I can't explain it, but I have a bad feeling. Like she might not be the best person, that's all."

I crossed my arms. I wasn't sure what had brought this on, but I wasn't really excited to be having two intense conversations on the same day––in the same freaking hour no less.

"Felicity said something similar about you."

Miles shook his head. "What? Me? What did she say?"

"That you might end up hurting me because"—I glanced away from him, unable to look him in the eyes—"I'm not very experienced. You might take advantage or something."

Miles clenched his jaw. "Do you believe her?"

I considered the question for a minute, and deep down, I knew I didn't. Since the moment I met him, Miles had been nothing but a complete gentleman. He'd been sweet, patient, and calm. I shook my head.

He visibly relaxed. It was almost like he'd been dreading the answer. As if whatever I said actually mattered to him. It was a strange thing to see. I couldn't remember ever feeling as though something I did could make or break someone.

He waved me over toward my couch. "Sit down. Are your legs still sore from the hike?"

The ache in my legs was getting worse by the hour. I nodded as I walked over to the couch. He knelt on the floor and took my left thigh in his hands as I sat down. "Can I try and work some of the stiffness out of your legs?"

"That would be great, actually. I don't really get a ton of exercise. I'm gonna be really sore tomorrow."

"Let me see what I can do."

He rubbed at my legs through my jeans for a few seconds. It felt great, but he stopped and stood after only a few seconds.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He was walking toward my bathroom. "I'm going to see if I can find what I need. Take your pants off."

My jaw almost dropped. "Wha…huh? My pants?"

He glanced back over his shoulder and shrugged. "So I can actually massage your legs? Go on. Take them off."

Without another word, he disappeared into the bathroom. I chewed at my lip for a second. Did he really only want to massage my legs? Is that all he wanted? Was he planning on doing something else while my pants were off? Was this when he'd make a move? I didn't give a shit. I tore at my belt buckle so hard, I nearly ripped the belt loop off my pants. I took a steadying breath and tried not to act like a horny teenager. I calmed my fingers and got my pants down and off right before Miles came back out. He was holding the bottle of the body oil I usually use after showering.

"This should work as massage oil," he said.

Glancing at me, his eyes lingered on my bare legs. I could almost feel the sizzling heat of his gaze as it slid up my legs across my torso, past my breasts, and to my face. A blush spread across my face and chest, and I had to almost physically restrain myself from crossing my arms over my chest. I was nervous, but I didn't want to dissuade him from whatever he was going to do. It was a terrifying thing to experience, but strangely liberating.

He knelt in front of me again, put a small puddle of oil in his palm, rubbed his hands together, and then smeared it on my legs. His fingers slid across the muscles of my thighs. I groaned and laid my head back. His hands faltered for a moment as I made the sound, then went back to rubbing. He kneaded the muscles and dug his fingers into my legs. It was never too hard, but still deep enough to loosen the stiffness. Every stroke brought either a moan or sigh from me. I knew my sounds could have been misconstrued as sexual, but it felt so good I couldn't keep quiet.

I raised my head to look at him, and the look on his face was something I'd never seen on a man before. At least not a man who was looking at me. His eyes locked on mine as soon as I looked at him. He looked ready to devour me. My breath came in quick little gasps. The tension in the room was almost physical, like a cloud surrounding us. Any other time I'd have backed off, pulled away, and tried to make things go back to something that resembled normal. But I didn't want things to go back to normal. I wanted more. As scary and terrifying as it was, I wanted to see how far this might go. I'd never felt so brave in my life.

Miles put his thumbs into my right calf and slid them up toward my knee. I moaned again, this time trying to make it sound as overtly sexual as I could. Was this what women did in these situations? I didn't really know, but it felt right.

Miles looked into my eyes again, and released a long, low sigh. "I can't take much more of this."

I gasped in a breath. "What are you going to do?"

Without another word, Miles released my leg, leaned in and kissed me. This wasn't the sweet and gentle kiss from this morning. This kiss was deep, filled with hunger and desire. His tongue flicked between my lips, and I greedily accepted it. Feeling his tongue inside my mouth felt like a minor form of sex. The slippery thrusting, the way it caressed my own, the warmth and closeness. I was wet beyond belief.

My panties were soaked by the time he moved his lips down to my neck. I sighed and rubbed his back, gasping when his hand found my breast. I'd never been touched this way before. An urgent need built inside my chest and stomach. I could actually feel my clit throbbing and swelling. He flicked his thumb across my nipple through my shirt and, groaning, I dug my nails into his back. God, I wanted him. I never knew I could want anything so much. It was primal, and savage, and fucking amazing. I was on the verge of begging him to do whatever he wanted.

He moved his lips up to my ear, tickling my neck. "Can I make you come now?"

I almost shuddered at his words. More than anything, it was what I wanted. I wasn't even sure I knew what was about to happen, but, God, I wanted it. I couldn't even speak. All I could do was look into his eyes and nod.

At my consent, his eyes grew darkly gleeful and intense. It was like a hungry wolf was looking at me. He slipped my shirt up, exposing my breasts, then flicked his tongue around my nipple.

"Holy fuck." I groaned, arching my back to push my breast closer to his mouth. Jesus, nothing had ever felt so good.

Miles chuckled as he swirled his tongue around my areola and sucked at my nipple. My God, could anything ever feel better than this? I slid my hands into his hair and watched him play with me, my mouth slightly ajar, breath gasping in and out of my lips. With hands so deft and confident, Miles slipped my panties off and pulled them down my legs. He peppered my chest and stomach with kisses as he moved farther down, nearing my pussy with every kiss. My body hummed with electricity, each second seeming to last both an instant and lifetime.

I was shivering, almost like I was on the verge of a seizure. Then he slid his tongue across my clit. My eyes rolled back in my head, and I dug my fingers into the couch, trying to keep myself from rolling onto the floor. Blood rushed to my face. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't even pull in a breath. My brain was short-circuiting. I loved it. I absolutely fucking loved it.

Finally sucking in a breath, I murmured nonsensical words and watched as Miles worked his tongue and lips across my clit and pussy. I'd never been so wet in my life, and when he slid the full length of his tongue into me, a new sensation started to build. A trembling warmth somehow came from deep inside my pussy, burning through my entire body. Unconsciously, my hips started thrusting against his mouth, grinding against his lips and face. I grabbed my own breasts and massaged them as the feeling of release built ever stronger inside me. I pinched and rubbed my nipples. Nothing had ever felt so perfect, so goddamned amazing.

Suddenly, every inch of my body tingled, and something felt inevitable. It was going to happen. "Oh God, oh fuck, oh God, oh fuck, oh God…" The mantra spilled from my lips as I tried to prepare myself.

It was like I crested a hill and came crashing down off the top of a mountain. I screamed, unable to stop myself. Wave after wave of pleasure exploded outward across my body, stars flashed across my vision, and every part of my being gave way to the feeling of euphoria. My legs wrapped around Miles's head and pulled him closer, desperate for him to continue even though I was already exhausted. He slid his tongue across my pussy and clit one last time before pulling away. That sent me into another tailspin of ecstasy. I collapsed onto the couch, body twitching and jerking like I'd just been electrocuted.

I could feel Miles running his hands gently across my body, and it was like a million feathers caressing me. My body still hadn't recovered, and all I could do was lie there like a pile of mush. Miles lifted me into his arms and carried me to the bedroom. He laid me down and covered me with the sheets and blankets. Still unable to form words, I couldn't do more than murmur when he kissed me on the forehead.

"Sleep. I'll see you later."

He exited my room and left me there. I couldn't remember a time when I'd felt more happy or satisfied. So, this is what all the fuss was about? My God, it was amazing. The only thing I regretted, as I slipped into contented sleep, was that it had taken me this long to experience it.