6: In Which She Deflowers a Reed (Although Reeds Arenst Flowering Plants) (1/2)
6: In Which She Deflowers a Reed (Although Reeds Aren’t Flowering Plants)
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“You’re an idiot,” Dawn enlightened me.
“I didn’t call you to get insulted,” I mumbled into my phone, nearly tripping over a stone in my haste to get to the wall I’d been shooting at the previous day.
I had no idea why I called my best friend. Maybe, just maybe, I was hoping she’d dish out the sensible advice and tell me to back off from Reed and just let him be. However, Dawn and sensible didn’t go in the same sentence unless there was a negation in between them.
“Well, what do you expect me to do when you tell me you turned down the guy that inspires your wet dreams?”
“Like I said, he wasn’t himself. Call me crazy, but who wants their first time to happen when they’re high?”
“Back in the day, you weren’t so opposed to drunk or stoned sex, Len.”
“But it’s different with Reed. He’s…innocent,” I finished lamely.
“Not anymore, thanks to you.”
“Gee, thanks, Dee. Way to make me feel better.”
“Listen, Len, you’ve reached the point of no return with this guy. You’ve seen each other naked,” she rattled off in my ear. “For goodness’ sake, the man has rubbed his semen into you! Sleep with him.”
I lifted my ass onto the wall and sat down. “A small percentage of me doesn’t want to.”
“My advice? Get your gun and shoot that little killjoy.”
I laughed. “And they say I’m bad.”
“What are you wearing?”
“You haven’t even bought me dinner yet, Reynolds.”
“Humour me,” she scolded.
“You know, the usual. T-shirt, cargo pants – where’re you going with this?”
“Jesus, who are you, Johnny Test? How do you plan on seducing a guy dressed like a guy?”
“This isn’t Fashion Week, Dee. I’m on the job,” I said a little defensively. “Cut me some slack.”
“At least tell me you have some sexy lingerie. I swear, if you’re wearing boxers under there, I’ll cut you and mail you to your mom.”
“Well, since you asked, the lace thong I’m currently wearing is digging up my ass something fierce.”
A loud hacking sound – much like a cat choking on a fur ball – came from behind me, startling me into cutting the call and unceremoniously falling forward, Humpty Dumpty-like.
“Shit, I’m so sorry,” Reed sputtered, effortlessly leaping over the wall to help me up from the grass.
“This creeping thing you’re doing… Is it gonna become a habit?” I allowed him to lift me to my feet.
“Yeah. I m-mean, no. No. I was…you know, about yesterday.” He exhaled. “What I said? I feel terrible about it.”
And in that instant, I knew exactly why I’d turned him down yesterday. It was this Reed that turned me on; the one that frequently stammered, the one that couldn’t really make eye contact with me. The unsure Reed. The introverted Reed who turned into an animal when he was too turned on to control himself. This was all evidenced by the flood of moisture in my pants the second his voice faltered.
I was a sick, sick human being.
“It’s OK,” I reassured him. “I’ve been there myself.”
His hands were deep in the pockets of his surprisingly white board shorts. “I apologise for my behaviour. I do stupid things when I’m stoned.”
“Do you actually remember what you did?”
He flushed. “Some. Again, I’m sorry.”
I sighed heavily, because I was, too. I was sorry I had a conscience that kept making cameo appearances in the sitcom that was my life. “That’s OK. Wanna take a walk?”
He gave me a small smile that seemed brighter than the sun in the sky. “Sure. I’d like that.”
I didn’t hesitate when he held his hand out for mine.
***
It was strange, having dinner with Reed. I was willing to bet no bodyguard at Anosov Security ate with their charges but I hadn’t had the heart to tell this to Reed when he’d done the equivalent of asking me out.
Dawn’s foolish words echoed in my head, making me consider – only for a nanosecond – actually dressing up. The only concession I’d make was to wear a sweater that didn’t look like a hand-me-down from one of my brothers but by the time I made my way to the dining room, even that felt stupid. It was one thing to lust after a guy and have his dick in my mouth, and another thing to sit at a table with him like we were on a date.
But perhaps he just needed to be with someone.
For Reed, an entire conversation with me was close to miraculous but actually telling me about his accident? No one but his family knew the details of his mother’s battle with depression, how she’d put her youngest kid in the front seat of her Benz with her, intent on killing them both. She’d only managed to end her own life, leaving her son blinded upon being thrown out the windshield. Nathan’s saving grace had been a sleepover at a friend’s house. Reed just hadn't been that lucky and my heart bled for him.
“Hey,” I said, entering the dining room in a few long strides.
Brenda had set the oblong table before she left for the night and I could only imagine the I’ve-just-eaten-a-lemon-whole look on her face as she put out two plates of roast beef and potatoes. Then again, I couldn’t have given two shíts about that woman or her food because when I saw Reed, the only thing I wanted to eat was him.
Obviously, he’d just taken a shower and his hair was still damp, slicked back with moisture. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his black button-down shirt and the dark blonde tips of his hair only just went past the collar. And what was it about denim hanging low on a man’s hips? I could practically see that sexy indented V of his pelvis, X-ray vision be damned.
It was so going to be difficult to remember that this man wouldn’t be able to handle a minx like me.
“Is everything…OK?” he wanted to know, making me realise that I’d been ogling him much like a construction worker eyeballing a passing female.
“Yeah. Yes. Um, I’m just famished.”
“Yeah, I bet you’re hungry,” he remarked with a smile. Oblivious to how suggestive that sounded, he pulled out a chair for me, staring at me expectantly.
“You don’t have to do that,” I mumbled, embarrassment setting in as I took the proffered seat. “I’m no lady.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong.” His breath kissed the shell of my ear and heat instantly warmed my cheeks. “Wine?”
I found myself nodding, watching the easy way he moved as he poured me a glass of red.
“You’re not joining me?” I croaked, when I noticed he hadn’t poured any for himself.
“I don’t drink.”
He was still standing beside my chair and, if he kissed me, made any move on me, I wasn’t going to be responsible for my actions. Dawn was right – I needed to sleep with him. Maybe it would be so awful it’d put me off him for life and I could pretend it never happened. Maybe he’d be one of those premature ejaculators. Maybe he’d accidentally stick his díck in the wrong –
“…and so I was really hoping you’re not a vegetarian. Lena?”
I only managed to catch the end of Reed’s sentence as he settled in the chair opposite mine. Tumbling back to reality, I assured him that I loved meat as much as the next person before my mouth snapped shut. I was unsure of what to say, what to do, and it was highly upsetting because it wasn’t like me. Any minute now, I’d start stammering and blushing.
“This is awkward for you,” Reed stated, his eyes glued to his steaming plate. “I’m sorry for making you eat with me.”
I felt like the worst kind of shit. “No, I want to. I’m just… I don’t know how to act.”
“With me,” he said bitterly.
“No, with men in general.” I sucked in air, unable to meet his emerald gaze. “I’m either one of the guys or somebody’s one-night stand. You’re so sweet for inviting me to have dinner with you and I haven’t even said a thank-you.”
When I did look at Reed, most of his face was flushed with embarrassment. Maybe he didn’t like being called “sweet”. I tried to come up with a more masculine adjective but his voice stopped me.
“You’re always so comfortable in your own skin,” he said in a low voice he couldn’t possibly have known was sexy. “I don’t enjoy making you uncomfortable. Maybe this was a stupid idea.”
“Reed, shut up.” Ignoring the look of surprise on his face, I rose from my seat, rounded the table and came to his side. “This doesn’t make me uncomfortable.” And I grabbed him by the hair, made him tilt his head, and mashed my lips against his.
His lips parted slightly in surprise and my tongue slid inside the recesses of his mouth, slow and gentle, coaxing his tongue to life.I pulled back to look into his searing eyes. There was a hunger there, and it wasn’t for Brenda’s dinner.
He sighed, his eyes locked with mine. “Do you want to skip dinner and go upstairs?”
“That depends,” I replied, already backing away from him. The staircase seemed so far and I needed a head start.
“On what?”
“Whose room is closest, of course. I vote mine. Come and get me, Lancaster.”
*~*~*
The lampshade on my nightstand was our only light. The instant we stumbled through the door, mouths fastened to each other, I knew all bets were off. Reed carried me as if I weighed nothing and, with my legs encircling his waist, I began to pull at his shirt until the buttons popped, skittering to the carpet. Hot, hard skin met my fingertips and I sighed, dragging my nails up his long back.
“Christ,” he murmured, laying me on the bed. Goosebumps were appearing where I touched him.
Ego, fed.
“Undress me,” I whispered, but he already was. With his eyes, and then, almost hesitantly, with his hands. “If you don’t hurry…”
My sweater was tugged over my head, revealing my completely naked chest. The instant Reed’s eyes raked over my nipples, they hardened, and I pulled at them, fixing the man hovering above me a challenging stare.
He gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “You are so…stunning,” he breathed, popping the button of my jeans. He hooked his fingers in the waistband and pulled, taking my underwear with it.
“Now, yours,” I said, bringing myself up into a seated position, eye-level to the straining erection in his jeans. He allowed me to unzip him, tug his pants down, and simply gape at what was hiding in his Calvin Klein briefs. I ran my fingertips along the outline of his c0ck and his hips jerked, a reflex. “You have no idea, do you?” I whispered.
“W-what?”
“How badly I want you.” I couldn’t help myself – I placed a hot, open-mouthed kiss against his cotton-encased erection. The low moan that left Reed’s lips made my pússy ache for him to fill it.
Slow just wasn’t going to cut it.
“Reed,” I began feverishly, “I need –”