Love, Lust, and Other Mistakes (13 page)

Hunter’s free hand travels the rest of the way down our
bodies. I expected her hand’s next destination to be down my shorts, but I’m surprised when her hand goes down
her own
shorts instead.  Her beautiful face is tense, a look of hardened determination on her features.  Her pink lips part and her breath falls more rapidly.  

I crane my neck as much as I can
with her still pinning me down. I can just make out the rapid movements of her hand beneath her loose-fitting shorts.  The sight alone is almost enough to push me over the edge.  But it’s not enough.  Not nearly enough.

“You’re so beautiful,” I
whisper reverently.  

Her
cheeks flush, but her right hand doesn’t falter.

I lick my lips and watch
the hidden movements.  “God, Hunter,” I sigh. “That’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”  It’s the truth. “Tell me,” I plead. “Tell me what you’re doing.”

Her breath hitches
in her throat. “I-I’m touching myself,” she stutters.

“I know, hun,” I coax, the words naturally falling from my lips
. “And what exactly are you touching?”

Her
long, blonde eyelashes flutter. “My-my...pussy,” she says, groaning on the final word.

“What
else?” I gently demand.

“I’m...I’m rubbing my clit,”
she pants.  Her head slightly falls forward, her chin falling against her breast plate.

“Are you wet?”

“Uh huh,” comes the strained reply.

I flare my nostrils.
 I want to taste this gorgeous girl.  I want to smell her.  I want every sense to be drowning in her.  “Why don’t you let me do that for you?” I quietly propose.

“Oh God,”
she moans.  She bites down hard on her lower lip.

“Hunter,” I murmur,
“I want to see you.  I want to see all of your beautiful body.  I want it wrapped around me,” I continue. “I want to feel you wet on my fingers and clenching me tight.”             

Another strangled whimper f
alls from her parted lips.

“Slide a finger in y
our pussy for me?” I ask when it’s clear she’s not going to let me touch her.

I watch her cheeks hollow as she chews on her inner cheek and then giv
es me a barely perceptible nod. She groans loudly and her eyes shut tight.

“Does tha
t feel good?” I press. “Do you like the way you feel?”

“God, Elle,”
she sighs. “I’m so wet.  It’s so tight,” she moans.

I have to force
myself not to do anything. This isn’t about me. This is about Hunter.  “Keep going,” I urge. “I want you to cum.”

Her breathing becomes more erratic and I can
hear the telltale clicking as she continues to thrust a single finger in and out of her tight sex.  She suddenly releases her tightened grip on my wrists and sits up straight in the tent with me still straddled between her thighs. She throws back her head and begins to grind on her own hidden hand.               

I dare
to reach up and tweak and twist at her nipples through the thin fabric of her borrowed tank top.  Emboldened when she doesn’t chastise me or slap my hands away, I slide my hands to rest lightly on her hipbones.

“Keep going,” I
repeat. “Don’t stop.”

Hunter cries out loudly.
 She brings her free hand up to her mouth and bites down on her arm to muffle the shrieks.  The movement beneath her shorts slows and eventually comes to a halt, and she drops her arm away from her mouth to release a slow, cathartic sigh.

She fa
lls forward, her hand still buried in her shorts.  “Oh my God,” she pants heavily against my breastplate.  She releases a low moan into my bare shoulder.

I stroke my fingers through her
damp hair.  Her bun has torn itself loose. “You okay?” I ask.

“Mmhmm,” comes the muffled reply.

She remains motionless and I don’t press her.  

A few short minu
tes later when she’s still not moving, however, I become concerned.  “Hey,” I whisper, alternating between stroking her hair and rubbing small circles in the small of her back. “Are you
sure
you’re okay?”

“I’m...” She hesitates and I
feel her body go rigid. “I’m a little embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed?” I gently tilt her head up so I can look at her face.
 “What for?”

Her forehead i
s slick with sweat and a few blonde strands have escaped to stick against the damp skin.  Her cheeks are attractively flushed and her lips are slightly kiss-swollen.

“I just...” She buries her face back into my shoulder and moans.

“Are you embarrassed because you masturbated in front of me?” I ask carefully.

“Mmhmm.”

I’m quiet for a beat, still stroking my fingers up her back. “You never have to be embarrassed with me, Hunter,” I say finally. “That was honestly the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Her face slowly comes
back into view. “Are you sure? It didn’t like...it wasn’t weird, was it?”

I chuckle and sha
ke my head.  I place a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose. “It was amazing, Hunter. So,
so
amazing.”

She swallows
hard. “And you’re not upset that I...that you didn’t...”

I tighten my
hold around her thin shoulders. “Don’t worry about me, okay?” I hush. “I’m happy for the first time in a long time,” I readily admit. “Really, really happy.”             

Hunter chews on her lower lip and inspects my
face as if looking for evidence of deceit.  Finding none there, however, she nuzzles her nose against my shoulder and closes her eyes.  Satisfied, I grab the corner of the pink sleeping bag and pull the extra material tight around our bodies.

             
                                                                      +++++
When I next open my eyes, the storm from the previous night has passed and the morning sun is streaming through the translucent material of my tent. I stretch out my legs, feeling my toes curl and the backs of my calves pull. When I roll on my side, I come face to face with a delicate blonde still sleeping beside me.

The sun that leaks
through the light orange walls of the tent baths everything inside with a warm, amber tone, including Hunter. I brush my fingertips at a few errant strands of honey-blonde hair, banishing it from her unlined forehead. Her eyes are closed and her generous lips slightly parted, filling my ears with the sound of light breathing.

My fingers seem
to have a mind of their own as I softly stroke her bare shoulder, down to her elbow. I watch the gentle rise and fall of her chest, nearly lulled back to sleep by its uniformity and calm. I pull the worn sleeping bag more firmly over her shoulder.

Hunter's eyes flutter
open and a small, lazy smile spreads on her lips. "Morning," she quietly greets.

I feel my chest swell at the sight of her waking up next to me
, free of regret or remorse. "Morning," I warmly return.

She rolls
onto her back and stretches her long limbs like a cat.

“
Sleep okay?" I ask, continuing to observe her movements. I know firsthand how hard and unforgiving ground is.

She turns
back on her side to once again face me.  “Mmhmm,” she confirms.

I’m suddenly a little nervous.
 I play with a small frayed corner of the sleeping bag until I feel Hunter’s fingertips brush against my knuckles. I look up into her face, searching for answers. “So,” I say, sucking in a deep breath. “What is this?”

Hunter worries
her bottom lip. “I don’t know,” she answers honestly.

I drop my
gaze. “Well, I know what
I
want it to be,” I say softly. I flick my eyes back to her beautiful, innocent face. “I just don’t know if you want it, too.”

Her hand snakes
out from beneath the covers to lightly hold my wrist. She runs her thumb along the light purple bruises that she unknowingly gave me the previous night. “Tell me,” she quietly implores.

I swallow
hard. “I know that you’re just getting out of...” My features pinch. “That
thing
with Sarah...”

Hunter chuckles
. “I believe it’s called a
relationship
.”

I scoff
. “Whatever. I still don’t like her at all.”

She mak
es a humming noise. “Don’t get sidetracked.”

“Right,” I confirm
. “I know you’re on the rebound,” I continue, “and I don’t want to be your rebound girl.”

“Aren’t
you
just getting out of a
thing
, too?” she points out.

My
eyes slightly widened. “You knew about that?”

Her normally pale features flush
and her eyes cast downwards. “I might have been keeping tabs,” she mumbles.

She looks back up when my
fingers are against her chin, tilting her face back up to meet mine.  I lean in and tentatively brush my lips against her full mouth.  Her grey-blue eyes flutter shut and she sighs, contentedly.

“So if I’m in
terpreting this correctly,” I state, reluctantly pulling away from her addictive mouth, “we both agree we don’t want to be each other’s rebound.”

She nods
. “We should...take things slow,” she carefully suggests.

“Slow,” I echo.

“I mean, I know what happened last night wasn’t exactly, uh, ‘taking things slow,’” she admits. “But it got us back on track.  I can’t jump back into another relationship so soon,” she continues, “but I also don’t want you to think that I don’t want you, either.  I-I
more
than want you, Elle,” she admits with a slight stutter.  “And that’s what I’m afraid of.” 

A small smile twitches
at the corner of my mouth. I reach for Hunter’s closest hand and intertwine our fingers. “I can do slow.”

The pleased smile on
her face fades. “What do we do about Troian and Nikole?”

I shift so I can prop myself up on my elbow. “What do you mean?”

“Do we just go out there and pretend like nothing happened? Do we tell them about last night? What do we do?”

“That’s a good
question,” I admit. “I don’t want you to think I’m embarrassed or ashamed or sorry that last night happened.” I bring Hunter’s hand up to my mouth and kiss her knuckles. “
But
, those two have a habit of putting the horse before the cart. Especially Troian.”

Hunter nods
. “They’ll be planning our wedding before the weekend is over.”

She’s right. I
can practically picture the excitement on Troian’s face if and when I tell her what happened the previous night.  Well, I’d have to keep most of the details to myself because otherwise Troian would be traumatized.

“So we agree then?” Hunter says
, breaking me out of my thoughts. “This stays between us until we figure out if there’s actually an
us
?”

I nod
. “If that’s what you want,” I say carefully.

“I think it’s for the best,” she
confirms.

I can’
t blame her for being so careful, especially after how things had ended between us the first time. “We should get up,” I say thickly.

She grabs
onto my arm before I can rocket out of the tent. She tugs me back down to her. “We’re on the same page, right?” Her eyes dance with worry. I know she doesn’t want me to be upset or to pull away.

I stroke
her cheek. “Same page,” I softly reassure. I cup her face and bring her in for one, final, private kiss.

             
                                                                                    +++++
“Morning, you two,” Troian greets as we crawl out of my tent.  She sits by herself near a crackling fire.  Various kitchen supplies are scattered around her on the still soggy ground.

I nearly trip on my
way out of the front of the tent, surprised to see my friend. I nervously rake my fingers through my hair. It had been so quiet all morning, I hadn’t expected to see either of her friends as soon as she left her tent.  
I can do this
, I think to myself “Morning, Troi,” I say in a voice still thick with sleep. “You guys sleep okay?”

“Yup,”
Troian nods. “Like a baby.”

“Do I sme
ll coffee?” Hunter croaks out.

Troian beams
proudly. “My girl got a fire going this morning, and I’m making her some awesome campfire coffee.”