Finally Home

I woke up to a lick on my nose. Whoever it was, they were straddling me. I opened my eyes. It was Brian. I smiled and closed them again, hoping he'd decide to lick something else.

"Come on, Kate, let's go." He dismounted my hips (much to my disappointment) and whipped me on the thigh with his towel.

"OUCH! What was that for?"

"Because you're lazy. Now get up."

I reluctantly left my warm patch of grass and sunshine and followed him down to the lake. Once at the edge, he threw off his baseball cap, then turned to look at me. Peeling his white t-shirt over his head, he smiled mischievously and let himself fall backwards - twenty feet, right into the water.

I ran to the edge of the rock he fell from. Watching the water, I began to panic as I saw no sign of movement. Suddenly, a wet pair of arms pulled me close to an equally wet stomach. Man, he was being awfully touchy-feely today. He gently tugged at my long curls before running out from behind me and, more gracefully this time, leaped into the water. Recognizing my best friend's cry for a challenge, I pulled off my shirt and took a flying dive into the water in my bikini top and cutoffs.

He applauded me. "Very nice," he said. Disappearing beneath the surface, I felt his hands grab hold of my calves. I really was enjoying it, until he slid his fingers down to my ankles and yanked me under with him. We continued on like this, playing with each other in true best-friend fashion until we were exhausted. I did my best to control myself every time he brushed past me, but it was so hard. I could feel my heart growing fuller every second we were in the water together. He was teasing me, and he knew it.

Back on the bank, we sat next to each other beside the numerous towels I had brought to lay out on. I had my bikini bottoms on, so I took off my sopping shorts and hung them in a tree not too far off. I could feel Brian's eyes on my backside as I walked over there. When I returned, he repaid me by taking off his shorts as well, leaving him only in his boxers. He walked to the tree, hung them up, and returned, smiling. He was obviously enjoying this as much as I was. He grabbed a towel, dried his hair, then sat behind me and proceeded to dry mine. This, I thought, was too much. He knew. I had to tell him. But I remained uncontrollably silent, trying to figure out what to say. He broke in on my thoughts.

"You know, your parents invited mine to go on that cruise with them."

"Un - uh. Really?"

"Yep. They saw how fed up my dad was getting with me, so they took him and my mom before he could kill me." I could hear him grinning. Automatically I felt hotter than grilled cheese in July.

"Misbehaving again?" I asked coyly, hoping he'd get the hint.

"I'd like to." He turned me around and looked me dead in the eyes. Shit. He knew. At this point, we were facing each other, our noses no more than six inches apart. He had a serious look on his face. He reminded me of a Roman god, with his wavy golden brown hair, green eyes and chiseled jaw... he was so beautiful. My heart was completely audible now, I was sure of it.

Brian took my fingers in his and entwined them together, playing with the pads of my fingertips. "Dammit, Kate, why did you have to go away to college? So far away?" He sighed.

I wanted to cry. "I don't know..." I whispered, letting the sentence trail off. He ran his fingers through my hair and pulled back on the ends, raising my chin just above parallel. He dipped his head below, and I could feel his heavy breath on my throat. My body lit up. I closed my eyes and felt every brush of his delicious lips on my skin.

"I couldn't stand it. I didn't know I'd miss you so much." He raised his head as he spoke and let go of my hair. I brought my eyes down to his face and saw tears. Instinctively I held his head with one hand and dried his eyes with the other. Despite the apparent pain he had suffered, it relieved me to know that he felt the same way.

"You don't think I missed you too, Bri? You are the first thing I think of when I wake up, and the last thing I see before I fall asleep. I need you so much it hurts." By this time, I had tears too. But it felt good to finally say it. He rested his head on my shoulder, and I played with his locks. We laid like this for several minutes, just soaking in the fact that we both felt the same way. I was too happy for words. But leave it to him to take me a little higher. He reached up and wrapped his fingers around the back of my neck. Lifting his head, he closed my eyes with his fingertips. After tracing my entire face, he ran his thumb slowly over my lips. I had to lick them, and I touched him with the very tip of my tongue. I needed more than fingers. I parted my lips and moaned softly, hoping he'd understand. He did. Closer and closer he came, our lips just millimeters apart. He paused for a second, and as I ran my hand over his chest to his shoulder, he kissed me.

I'm telling you, I felt like I was going to explode. It was the single most passionate thing I've ever felt in my life. As I let his tongue touch mine, he rolled me over onto my back and laid with his left leg between my thighs. I could feel him through his boxers, hard as a rock and throbbing. As his hand ran the length of my hip, I lowered mine over his rear and pulled him on top of me, so I could feel him on my belly. When I did this, he brought his hand up and stroked the crease between the side of my now aching breast and my ribcage. I automatically gasped and arched my hips, and he brought himself tighter against me. That was it. My hand was in his shorts faster than I could even imagine. As I gently, slowly rolled my fingers around, he moaned and smiled against my cheek.

"I love you so much, Bri... so, so much."

He raised his head and looked me in the eyes. "You have no idea.", he said, smiled again, and began his long descent down my body, gently removing bathing suit pieces here and there. My hands found the back of his head. As I played with his hair, he rocked me higher than I'd ever felt before. I think I even screamed. I knew I loved this man. I just hoped he felt the same way.

Shortly thereafter, as we made love in the grass, he confirmed my highest wishes.

"Don't EVER... leave... me again...", he whispered heavily in my ear.

I kissed him. Hard.

***

After the joyous assault I had so happily received, I was completely unable to move. Which seemed fine with Brian. He covered us with one of the towels and laid with his chest against my back. The feeling of finally lying like that with him was indescribable. I felt satisfied, but I still wanted more. Going away, even for just as school year, was too much. I couldn't leave him again. That I knew. He moved away from me and I started, alarmed that he would leave me. He laid his hand on my shoulder and lightly caressed my backside with his knuckles. If only he knew what he was doing.

"Relax, Kate. I'm not going anywhere." He placed a tiny kiss on my earlobe, which just added fuel to the fire. He continued rubbing my back for a few minutes, and then he rolled me over to face him. "Let's head up," he said. "It's starting to look like rain."

I glanced up. The sky had indeed turned overcast, and we quickly dressed and packed up all my things. I began to wonder how we were ever going to make it back in time when I noticed Brian unhitching his horse. Duck was a beautiful stallion, light tan with dark spots sprinkled over his neck and shoulders. His name made me smile, remembering Brian's whacked-up sense of humor and the day he named the horse. Today, though, it just so happened, he was sans saddle.

"Bareback, eh?" I smiled at Bri.

"Yeah. I was feeling adventurous." He winked at me. I began to wonder just how adventurous he was feeling as he hoisted me up, handed up the towels and, using a tree stump, mounted behind me. "Hold on, girl. You're in for a ride." His voice gave me goose bumps.

"You know I'm ready."

With that, the grabbed the reins and we took off. Duck is an incredibly fast horse, and Brian's skill at riding him made the journey that much more enjoyable. Our bodies bucked together several times as we flew through the woods, and as it started to rain I felt an arm slip around my waist, pulling me closer to him. The feeling was extremely erotic, and I leaned back into him, giving him full control. We rode hard like this for several minutes before finally coming into the clearing in front of the huge barn and Brian's house. By this time, we were thoroughly soaked and continued as quickly as possible for Duck's sake.

Eventually, we made it to the house. It was warm inside from the sunshine earlier, and it felt good. We rung ourselves out the best we could in the mudroom, and then proceeded into the kitchen. Brian took the towels and our shirts, and threw them into the dryer in the laundry room. With that out of the way, he returned to me, now sitting on the table, and pulled me close to him. He brushed my matted hair out of my face and kissed my forehead.

"I love you, Kate. How did you do this to me?" His lips began to wander towards mine, making stops along the way to send shivers up my back. His fingers began to trace my spine. I sighed in pure delight.

"I don't know, Bri. You did it to me, too." I began to nibble on whatever part of him was most accessible. At the moment, it was his jaw and as I lightly closed my teeth over the curves, I managed to pull a soft groan from him. Right at that moment, lightening flashed across the sky and immediately thunder followed. I had to admit to myself that I was feeling rather the same way. The howling weather kept up outside as we slid to the floor and teased each other to the point of no return. As soon as his fingers began working the string of my top, the lights flashed out.

"Man", he groaned. "Figures." He continued kissing me, but abandoned the strings at my neck.

"Let's go upstairs", I said. "We can find some candles and light them."

I felt him smile against my lips. "Stay with me tonight."

The offer was not hard to refuse. First of all, he had me through the roof already. Secondly, there was no way I'd make it home anyways. I turned to him. "Let's go get cleaned up."

As he led me up the stairs, one thought crossed my mind continuously.

How in the hell did I get so lucky?