Library
Home / Stuck With You / Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Starlet

I woke up to find my head resting against Milo’s chest. Pushing myself up, I almost yelled at him for breaking through the pillow border, but then I noticed his position. He was right where he was supposed to be. I had shifted toward him.

I lowered myself back and let my hands lay against his chest as I listened to his heartbeat. The warmth of his hold sent comforting chills down my spine. I stayed against him longer than I should’ve, but I couldn’t pull myself away. I breathed in his oak trees and lemonade scent, wishing I could’ve remained there all day.

I stayed for five more minutes.

Then ten.

Maybe twenty.

I wished it didn’t feel so right having him beneath me. His arm was slightly wrapped around me, and I fell against him as if I were always meant to be there.

Move, Starlet.

I gently sighed before slowly inching myself back to my side of the bed. I placed the pillow border back in place. I tried to fall back asleep, but I missed his touch too much. I’d keep that fact to myself, though.

***

“Heated gloves and heated socks?” Milo asked me as I handed him a backpack filled with essentials. I hadn’t been hiking in the winter in a long time, so perhaps I’d gone over and above with precautions, but I always said better safe than sorry.

“You never know what could happen out there,” I warned, zipping up my coat as we parked the car in a secluded area to head out for the hike. A few hikers were already on the trail toward the ice caves, and I was packed with a heavy level of anxiety intermixed with excitement. It was the first hike I’d taken since Mom passed away. A part of me thought I wouldn’t find myself on a trail again if I were honest. I wasn’t used to not having her by my side.

“And granola bars?” he mentioned.

“My mom always packed granola bars. If you unzip that top zipper on the backpack, you’ll find Fruit Roll-Ups and trail mix in little baggies.”

He did as I said and raised an eyebrow, amused. “I’m impressed, Teach.”

I smiled. “What can I say? I’m pretty impressive.”

“Yes, you are.”

I felt my cheeks flush from his commentary. I didn’t think he meant it in a flirtatious way, but that man was a master at making my stomach swirl with butterflies without even trying. Sometimes he’d just be standing still, and my body would react to his mere existence.

I hated how my mind couldn’t control my body. If it could, all the attraction I felt toward Milo would’ve dissipated.

We gathered our gear and camera equipment and set off walking toward the trail. Before we set foot on it, Milo stopped me by placing a hand on my shoulder. “Star, wait.”

“What?”

“Are you okay?”

I arched my eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I know you haven’t been hiking since your mom, and I just wanted to check in to make sure you’re really okay to do this.”

There he was.

Sweet Milo.

The gentle one who didn’t come out to play that often.

My stupid heart and how it chose to beat for him.

“I’m okay,” I told him with a smile. He tilted his head, studying me as if he were trying to figure out if I was being honest with him or not. “I’m okay,” I repeated.

He nodded. “If there’s any moment that you’re not, let me know, all right?”

“Will do.”

We started the hike, and the cold breeze of winter brushed against my slightly exposed face. It was, indeed, one of the coldest winters I’d experienced in some time. Yet the world around us was beautiful. Snow covered the grass and the bare branches of the trees. The sun rays cut through the trees, adding just a touch of warmth every now and again. When we approached a small lake, we stopped to have Milo take a few photographs. I took in a few deep inhales as I stared at the iced-over water. Something was so beautiful about the idea that something so frozen in time would soon flow freely once spring touched it.

I studied Milo as he took his photographs. I could tell by how he set up his camera and how he posed the backgrounds that he wasn’t simply a good photographer. He was great. I’d learned that about him over the past few weeks—Milo Corti was great.

He was pretty much good at everything when he put in the effort. I knew the main issue for his struggles had everything to do with grief, which was understandable. Grief had that effect on individuals. It could make extraordinary people seem nothing more than uninspired, weak, and frozen over in sadness.

The most stunning thing to me, though, was the aftermath of grief when the frozen hearts began to thaw.

“Look at this one,” Milo said, hurrying over with his camera in hand. He had a tiny smile on his mouth, showing pride in the photograph, and the moment I saw it, I understood why.

“Wow!” I expressed, stunned by his artistic eye for detail.

“You like?”

“I love.”

His smile grew.

He cleared his throat.

He looked away.

He, too, got bashful.

What did that mean about us? Us? As if that could ever be a possibility.

I rubbed my hand against my chest and shook my head. “Should we keep going? We should almost be at the caves.”

“Yeah, for sure. Let’s go.”

We continued the hike, and once we made it to the ice caves, the mere amazement stole my breath away. “Oh my goodness,” I breathed out, feeling my eyes fill with emotions.

“Wow,” Milo muttered, just as stunned as I was.

Ice crystals hung from the ice caves over our heads. The walls and ceilings of the cave were polished and smooth, with an opaque tone to them. Various shades of blue, green, and white were found throughout the large caves. It was remarkable. I hadn’t even known tears were rolling down my cheeks as I studied the unique formations of the frozen tunnels. You could see where the waterfalls had frozen over, too, which created these intriguing situations that were pure artwork.

When I turned toward Milo, he already had his camera out, and I was taken aback when I saw him pointing it toward me.

I parted my lips to argue with him about taking my photo, but then I smiled and allowed it. A part of me wanted to remember this moment. I wanted to recall today for the rest of my life.

He then walked over toward me and snapped a few photos of the two of us together. We smiled, we made goofy faces, and we laughed. We let go of any worries we carried within us that afternoon. We allowed ourselves to have fun together. I danced in the caves and felt freer than I’d felt in a long time. Milo smiled more than I’d ever seen him smile.

I felt as if that was him. The real him. The version of him that’d been sleeping for so long.

It was an honor to see him awaken. I silently prayed he wouldn’t fall asleep again anytime soon.

When it was time to leave, I took a deep breath and stared at the otherworldly beauty of the frozen landscape surrounding us.

“Do you ever wish you could freeze time?” I asked Milo.

“I do today.”

I turned toward him to find his stare on me. His eyes were so sincere that I almost cried solely from his gaze.

“Are you happy today?” I asked.

His smile deepened. “I’m happy today. Are you happy today?”

“I’m happy today.”

“Good. Let’s head back and get you some hot cocoa. I’m nervous that your nose will fall off, Rudolph.”

We began the two-mile hike back to our car, stopping every now and again to take in the chilled air. When I told Milo that my mother would’ve loved the views, he told me he was proud of me for being brave enough to hike again.

Hearing him say he was proud of me did something to my soul. It was as if his pride in me meant more than anything to my spirit.

I was proud of myself, too.

I hope you are, too, Mom.

And I hoped that wherever she was, she could see the ice caves and all of their beauty. I hoped my mother ended up somewhere with hiking trails galore and could explore them all. I hoped she was able to laugh, jump, skip, and run through the wilderness the same way I’d been able to do that afternoon.

“I feel her in the wind,” I confessed to Milo when we finished the hike. “I know it sounds stupid, but I feel her in the wind.”

“Nothing about that is stupid,” he disagreed. “I feel my mom in the sun.”

Who knew two opposites could have so much in common?

When we made it to the car, we unloaded our equipment into the trunk. We were parked between trees in a somewhat isolated area. It seemed most of the travelers that day had already headed out since the sun was beginning to set.

Once finished, Milo shut the trunk, and I headed to the driver’s side of the car to slide inside.

“I thought about kissing you,” Milo confessed before I opened the door. I paused before looking up toward him, thinking perhaps I imagined the words that left his mouth. He took a few steps toward me. “I know we’re supposed to pretend that what happened between us never happened between us, but after today, after watching you be the most real version of you, I can’t bullshit my way through this.”

“Mi—”

“I thought about kissing you so much that it’s about all that consumed my thoughts the moment we reached the ice caves.”

I sighed because I thought about it, too. I thought about it so much over the past few weeks that the thoughts of him and his mouth, his lips, and his tongue haunted my dreams. Some nights, I’d close my eyes and try to remember what it felt like that night we were strangers, yet it felt like everything for a short period. Some nights, I’d pretend he was lying in my bed with me.

I hated myself for wanting his touch so badly. Why did I crave something so wrong for me? I’d always done the right thing. I’d never misbehaved. I was a straitlaced individual who always walked down the right path. I never faltered. Yet when it came to Milo Corti, all I wanted was more. More of his looks, more of his smiles, more, more, more…

“You don’t have to explain to me why I can’t kiss you, Star. I get it. I’m not a dumbass, and I’d never want to put you or your job at risk. But after seeing you today, seeing you free, I just wanted you to realize you are everything I’d ever want in a person, and if I could, I would kiss you for the rest of my life without a second of hesitation or doubt.”

He stepped closer to me. With each step, my heart skipped a few beats. Whatever. A fully beating heart wasn’t a life requirement.

His eyes locked with mine, and I couldn’t look away, even if I wanted to. He did that to me. He hooked me in and made me stay.

“I was thinking…maybe I’m not able to kiss you…but maybe, just maybe...” He swallowed hard and seemed so nervous, so timid. “Maybe we can be friends?”

“Friends?” I choked out, my mind spinning to thoughts of only his lips.

“Yes, friends.”

My back was against my car, yet he kept approaching me. So close that his tall, broad frame hovered over mine. I felt small yet safe. I was boxed in by the boy who should’ve never grown that close. It didn’t feel like a friendship. It felt the opposite of friendship. It felt…wild. Exciting. Exhilarating.

I shut my eyes. “Milo…I-I don’t think I’m supposed to be friends with students.”

“But you want to be.”

I want to be.

Oh, how I want to be.

“We…I, we can’t...” I stuttered, opening my eyes to find his brownish greens on mine. Why did his eyes have to do that? Make me feel everything all at once?

“Secret friends?” he offered.

I laughed but felt the tears behind my eyes.

No part of me wanted to be his friend.

Every inch craved so much more.

“Okay,” I agreed. “Secret friends.”

He moved in closer. His mouth lingered by my ear, his hot breaths melting against me. “I always wanted a friend like you.”

I tilted my head up, and a small smile crept across my lips. “Do friends always stand this close to one another?”

“Secret friends do. It’s what secret friends do the best.”

“What else do secret friends do?”

His stare dropped, and his hands somehow became entangled with mine. “Secret friends hold hands.”

“Milo.”

“I don’t make the rules, Star.”

“It sure sounds like you do.”

I stared at him as his tongue slightly grazed across his bottom lip as he stared at my mouth. I should’ve pushed him away. I should’ve told him how irresponsible we were acting. I should’ve used my brain. Yet my heart took the lead, completely shutting my brain off.

I pulled him closer.

And closer.

And closer…

My chest lay against his, our bodies so close that I struggled to know where he began and where I ended. So close that his touch felt like my own.

“What else?” I whispered. “What else do secret friends do?”

He placed one hand on the top of my car and inched his face closer. His lips swept against mine as my heart rate intensified. His eyes were dilated, and I was certain his thoughts were as absurd as my own. Packed with wants, needs, and desires. And sins…

So many quiet sins were begging to be unleashed.

“Secret friends do whatever they want, and the world would never know.”

“Like this?” I asked, gently sliding my tongue against his bottom lip.

No, Star…

His tongue parted my mouth before he nibbled on my bottom lip. “Like that.”

It’s wrong…

His eyes closed as he pressed his forehead against mine. “Star, if you don’t want this, I’ll pull away. If you don’t want me, I’ll let you go. But if any part of you does, then say yes, and the moment after that yes, I’m going to take all of you inside the back of your Jeep.”

I knew what I should’ve said.

I knew the words that should’ve left my mouth, but they didn’t come. The saint in me was silent as my bad side was released.

“Take all of me,” I whimpered.

Within seconds, Milo’s mouth crashed against mine. He kissed me as if he’d been waiting decades to do so. His lips on mine were all I wanted, all I craved for the longest time. He opened the back door of my car and pulled me inside. We scrambled, tossing off layer after layer of clothing but leaving our shirts on.

He placed me on his lap, and I felt his hardness brush against my thigh. It was freezing outside, yet all I felt was his heat against me, warming every inch of my being. He scrambled for his wallet and pulled out a condom. I took it from him, tore it open, and smoothed it slowly down over his length while maintaining eye contact the whole time. I began pumping his length in my hands a few times before placing him at my entrance. I hovered over him, not giving him what he wanted just yet. As his lips parted, I wanted to see how much need would build within him. The desperation in his dilated eyes only turned me on more.

He lifted his large hand to the side of my neck and gripped me, pulling me closer to his face. His lip danced across mine before he swept his tongue against them. “Don’t tease, Star,” he muttered with a wicked grin. “Because I’ll tease you back,” he ordered before taking his other hand and softly rubbing my clit. A moan of desire escaped me from the act as he took my bottom lip into his mouth and nibbled it. “And I’m a fucking great tease.” He slid a finger inside me, and my hips involuntarily rocked to try to make him fall deeper. He paused his movement, tightened his hand around my neck, and pulled me even closer. “You like that?”

“Yes,” I replied breathlessly.

“You want more of that or all of me?” he hissed, his intoxicating tone making me high.

“All of you,” I whispered. I pulled his finger from inside me, brought it to my lips, and then I sucked it slowly, tasting myself against his skin. My eyes locked with his, and I saw the way the movement turned him on even more. “I want all of you.”

The passion and heat of the moment became incendiary after that. We were starving for one another as the windows fogged up from our body chemistry. I lowered myself onto him fully, and he began thrusting harder and deeper as I gripped the rear deck of the back seat. I felt filthy in the most thrilling way as my curly hair dangled in his face. He swept it out from in front of my eyes and gripped the back of my neck, forcing eye contact not to break between us. His warmth and intensity left me feeling as if I were soaring through the world with no fear of falling. The weeks of abstinence between us, the weeks of secretly longing and daydreaming, were all boiling over and now clashing against both of our bodies. Our tongues lapped against one another, starving for each other, our hands explored, and our hips rocked together as if we were one. He delivered faster thrusts, and my nails dug into his back as he ordered me to fuck him harder, wilder, deeper. More, more, more…that was all I wanted from him. More.

My mouth fell against his neck as I cried out in pleasure from the feel of him filling up every inch of me. I loved how he felt inside me. I loved how he’d press me against his body, ensuring I knew he was addicted to every part of my being.

“I love how you feel,” he whispered against my neck, licking my skin before moving his mouth to my earlobe. I moaned as my hips rocked against his. My hand fell to the window, and my handprint stayed against the chilled glass panel as I arched my back from the intense ride Milo was taking me on.

“That’s my girl,” he said, his voice coated in desire. “I love when you moan out for me,” he said, nibbling against my neck.

I came against him hard, and at the same time, he let out a tortured groan, his face contorting in ecstasy. The look of somewhat shock in his eyes as we came together showed me exactly what I’d been feeling this whole time. This was different from before. We were different. The way we’d come undone, the way we’d lost ourselves yet found each other, was a new, uncharted territory we wandered.

At that moment, surrounded by trees as nightfall settled over us, Milo and I became something special. Something more.

More, more, more…

“Fuck,” he breathed out as he slid out of me.

I was breathless as my body clung to his. He trailed kisses up and down my neck before he found my lips and kissed me slowly. Gently. There was so much care taken with his kisses. There was so much protection in his eyes.

More, more, more…

“I want this,” he told me between kisses. “I want you, Star,” he swore as he kissed me again. A split second of concern hit me as he kissed my lips. Milo tasted like promises he couldn’t keep. Like a promise of tomorrow when we only had today.

Yet I couldn’t bring myself to force us back to reality because I wanted him, too. I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything before. He felt like the missing piece to my soul’s puzzle, and I didn’t want that to slip away. Being with him was intoxicating, and I wasn’t interested in discovering my sobriety, at least not for the next twenty-four hours.

It felt as if we were in our own twisty fairy tale. Six hours away from reality and from anyone who knew who we were. We were make-believing in a time and place that was solely for us. I, for one, was not ready to wake from our enthralling fantasy. There was only one thing I craved at that time—more, more, more.

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.