Best Friends Forever (4 page)

“Well, when I got tenure a few months ago, I
started to think about the fact that I’ll probably be teaching at the college
for the rest of my career.
 
I can’t see
myself renting an apartment that long.
 
So, I thought I’d like to buy a house, something with a backyard
maybe.
 
And I know how you hate living in
this tiny apartment.
 
So…”
 
She took a sip of her beer.
 
Her tongue flicked out, licking a drop of
beer from her upper lip and all my blood went south.
 
“So?”
 
She asked, a small smile on her lips.
 
“So I thought maybe you’d like to go in with me on a house.
 
Between the two of us we could come up with a
decent down payment to keep the mortgage payments down.
 
And we practically live together now.”
 
She didn’t say anything and I realized how
nervous I was.
 
This was all part of my
plan to win her heart so I prayed she didn’t shoot me down before she gave it
some serious thought.

“So, what do you think,
babe?” 
 
Her head tilted to one side and I
saw a small smile on her lips. 
 
“I think it
sounds…interesting…but I’d like to give it some serious thought.” 
 
I gave a sigh of relief. 
 
She didn’t say no right away.
 
 
“That’s all I’m asking.” 
 
I grinned and teased, “You know
you want to.” 
 
She laughed and smacked me
playfully on the arm. 
 
“We’ll see.” 
 
We made small talk while we
finished the pizza and then I cleaned up and grabbed two more beers from the
fridge while Meri set up the DVD. 
 
Turning off all but a small light
in the corner of the living room, we settled down next to one another on the
sofa as the opening credits began. 
 
By the halfway point in the
movie, Meri was cuddled up against my side with my arm around her. 
 
Every time something scary happened
on the screen, she gave a small squeal of fright and buried her face in my
shoulder.
 
I’m loving this.
 
By the time
the final credits rolled, I had to admit
this
is one
scary
movie
.
 
Meri was sitting on my lap and our arms were
tightly wrapped around one another.
 
When
the evil bad guy grabbed the heroine after brutally slashing the hero, we
both
buried our faces in one another’s
necks.
 
As the movie ended, Meri raised
her head and grinned at me.
 
“Good movie,
huh?”
 
I chuckled.
 
“That’s the last time I let you pick a
movie.
 
I think I’m terrified of the
dark, now.”

Her laughter reminded me of wind
chimes tinkling in a warm, soft breeze and made my desire for her physically
obvious.
 
She slid off my lap before my
painfully hard erection made itself known to her.
 
I patted her on the knee.
 
“You want some ice cream?” I asked as I stood
and headed into her kitchen.
 
She moaned.
 
“Ooh, I’d
love
some but you’re not going to find any.
 
That’s the one thing we forgot to pick up.”
 
I gave her a wink before opening her
freezer.
 
“Nope.
 
Not even close, babe.”
 
Pulling out a carton of ice cream, I dug in a
drawer for her scoop.
 
“You bought ice
cream?”
 
She joined me in the
kitchen.
 
“Rocky Road!”
 
She squealed in delight.
 
Wrapping her arms around my neck, she pulled
me down and planted a noisy kiss on my cheek.
 
“Ooh, baby, I
love
you.”
 
Before I could respond, she released me to
grab bowls and spoons.

Taking our ice cream into the
living room, we settled next to one another on the sofa.
 
I was nervous, thinking about the
conversation we’re about to have.
 
What if she says it was a joke?
 
What if she isn’t the least bit curious about
BDSM?
 
What if, after I spill my guts and
tell her the only secret I’ve ever kept from her, she’s repulsed and wants
nothing to do with me ever again?
 
What
if I lose my Meri forever?
 
I lost
all interest in eating and just sat there, stirring my ice cream into a melted
mush.
 
Meri seemed to notice my distress
because she asked, “What’s wrong, hon?”
 
I shrugged.
 
“Nothing really.
 
Just thinking.”
 
She placed her half eaten bowl of ice cream
on the coffee table.
 
Taking my bowl of
mush from me, she placed it next to hers.
 
Scooting closer to me, she took my hands in hers.
 
“Grant Thomas, I know you well enough to know
when something’s bothering you.
 
Now, out
with it.”
 
I sighed deeply.
 
The next few minutes could start the ball
rolling to make me the happiest man in the world.
 
Or, the next few minutes could destroy our
relationship.
 
Here we go.

“Okay.
 
Last night...did you mean it?
 
Or was it a joke?”
 
I spoke really fast in an effort to get it
out.
 
Meri looked confused.
 
“What?
 
I don’t know...” I could tell the split second she realized what I was
asking.
 
“Oh.
 
Oh...um...you...did I really mean...” I took
a deep breath.
 
Meeting her eyes, I asked
again, “Did you mean it when you said you wondered what it would be like to be
tied up and...and spanked.
 
Were you
serious or was it all a joke?”
 
She bit her
lower lip, drawing my gaze to her luscious mouth.
 
She closed her eyes and my heart sunk.
 
Opening her eyes, her gaze was full of
confusion, curiosity, and...desire?
 
“Yes.”
 
She raised her chin
defiantly.
 
“Yes, I meant it.
 
I mean...I saw a book one of the students
accidentally left in the library.
 
It was
on BDSM...do you know what that stands for?”
 
I smiled slowly.
 
“Yeah, I
do.
 
Tell me about this book.”

Meri’s beautiful face flushed and
she bit her lower lip again.
 
My erection
was practically doing a happy dance by then.
 
“It had pictures of blindfolds, special restraints, paddles and
floggers, as well as things I’d never heard of…like nipple rings and ball
gags.
 
The book talked about these
special clubs where people go and...some people enjoy tying others up and doing
different...
things
...to them.
 
And some people like being the ones who are
tied up.”
 
She twisted her hands together
and began to fidget nervously.
 
“I...I
started wondering what it would be like to be one of the ones who gets tied up
and then I wondered what it would be like to be...”
 
Her voice was barely a whisper.
 
“You know...spanked.”
 
Just hearing her talk about blindfolds and
restrains, not to mention the other items, made my mouth go dry and my erection
painfully hard.
 
Could it be that she would let me do such things to her succulent body?
 
I licked my parched lips and finally asked,
“Would you like to find out?”
 
She looked
at me suspiciously.
 
“What do you know
about stuff like that?”

A large lump settled in the pit
of my stomach.
 
The time had come to
confess my deepest, darkest secret to my best friend, the woman I loved and
adored with all my heart.
 
I could only
say a silent prayer that she wouldn’t hate me for what I was about to
reveal.
 
“Meri...there’s something I’ve
never told anyone, not even you.
 
I’ve
kept it a secret for so long because I was afraid you’d hate me for it.
 
But, now...please hear me out before you kick
me out of your life forever.”
 
“Grant,
you’re scaring me.
 
What could possibly
be so terrible that I’d want to kick you out of my life?”
 
“When...when we were in college, particularly
our junior and senior years, do you remember how our relationship was?”
 
She nodded sadly.
 
“You distanced yourself from me and I thought
I’d lost my best friend forever.
 
Whenever I tried to talk to you, you always seemed to have a date with
some girl, a
lot
of girls.”

I could see her eyes begin to
fill with tears.
 
I threaded my fingers
through her beautiful, thick curls and grasped the back of her neck.
 
Pressing my forehead to hers, I closed my
eyes against the pain in hers and whispered, “I’m sorry.
 
I’m…
so…sorry
.”
 
She sighed softly.
 
“But, you came back to me.
 
You came back to
me
.”
 
“During the months we
were apart, I discovered a dark side that I didn’t know I had.
 
I...I was afraid that if I exposed that dark
side to my beautiful, bright, ray of sunshine, I’d lose you forever.
 
Eventually, I managed to close off that
darkness inside of me and I came back...to
you
.”
 
“But what...”
 
I met her eyes and took a deep breath.
 
“During those months, I discovered the very clubs that book you found
talks about.”
 
She pulled away, a shocked
look on her face and my heart broke.
 
She’s disgusted by me and will kick me out
of her life any minute now.
 
“I’m
sorry, Boo.”
 
I kissed her softly on the
mouth and stood, ready to walk out of her life forever.
 
“Where do you think you’re going?” My little wildcat
asked sternly and my heart began to hope.
 
Maybe...

“I...I thought that you wanted me
to leave?”
 
I looked at her, uncertain as
to what she was thinking.
 
“Sit down,
Grant.”
 
Her voice was gentle.
 
I sat next to her and she smiled at me.
 
“The only thing that would make me want you
to leave is you wanting to go.
 
Do you
want to go?”
 
Her lips quivered and my
heart melted.
 
“Never,” I whispered.
 
She closed her eyes for a short moment,
relief evident in her face.
 
Opening her
eyes, she met mine.
 
“Now, tell me how
what you did in the past has to do with my newly awakened
curiosity
.”
 
Taking her
hands, I gazed at her solemnly.
 
“Do you
trust me?”
 
“Of course I trust you,
Grant.”
 
“I know someone...if he’s still
here in the area...who may be willing to help us with your
curiosity
.
 
But first, I need
to know.
 
Do you truly want to explore
that curiosity, to find out what it’s really like?”
 
Her gaze was equally solemn but I saw
something...primal, hungry...in her beautiful eyes.
 
Her mouth tilted up in a small, seductive
smile.
 
“Yes, I would very much like to
explore my curiosity
, if you’re willing
to be my guide.”

Astonished and aroused, I managed
to choke out, “I wouldn’t have it any other way, babe.”
 
She grinned, an excited sparkle in her
eye.
 
“So what do we do first?”
 
I couldn’t help but mirror her infectious
grin.
 
“First, I make a phone call to see
if my
friend
is still around and if
he’s willing to loan us one of his
special
rooms.”
 
She tilted her head and looked
intrigued.
 
“Exactly who is this
friend?”
 
“He runs...or at least he did
seven years ago...a club just outside of town for clients who are into BDSM.
 
He’s very discrete.”
 
She raised one shapely eyebrow.
 
“And just what are his
special
rooms?”
 
I had to
chuckle.
 
“His special rooms are rooms
where couples or even small groups can go for more
privacy
.
 
Each room is
specially equipped with various
toys
like the ones you saw in that book.”
 
“Small groups?”
 
She asked
nervously.
 
I gently brushed a lock of
hair behind her ear.
 
“Don’t worry,
babe.
 
No one else is allowed in unless
you invite them.”
 
“So…you’ll be the one
who…”
 
I leaned in and brushed my lips gently
across hers.
 
“If anyone is going to
paddle your sweet little ass, it’s going to be me.”