Shifting Gears: The Complete Series (Sports Bad Boy Romance) (40 page)

She
laughed, “Debonair, really? I don’t think I’ve ever used that word in a
sentence.”

I have no
idea where I heard it, probably an old movie. It sounded good though. She
turned serious then and I forgot all the words as I listened to her say, “But
handsome, you most definitely are. And your song to me….it gave me chills. And
thank you for sticking up for me with Zack.” Now she looked like she wanted to
kiss me. I thought about going in for it, but I remembered my promise to her.
She would let me know when she was ready. My lips were aching.
 

“That guy
doesn’t deserve a woman like you,” I told her. Then I remembered something and
said, “I have a present for you.”

“A
present? It’s not my birthday or anything.”

“It’s not
a big deal. Just something I saw and thought of you,” I told her. “It’s in my
bag on Suzie. But first…don’t you owe me a dance?”

“I
believe I do,” she said. I led her out to the dance floor, timing it again when
a slow song was playing. Go me! When we found an open spot, I turned to face
her and pulled her into my chest. This time was different though, instead of
holding onto my hands and leaning back somewhat, she had her head against my
chest, one hand in mine, and the other on my shoulder. She felt so good against
me like this, and without thinking I stooped over just a bit and I rested the
side of my face against her head. I loved the way her silky hair felt against
the side of my face, and of course I loved the way it smelled. The only problem
with any of it was that the stupid song ended way too soon. It was so damned
hard to let go.

“Thank
you,” I told her with a smile.

“Thank
you,” she told me. “I had such a great time listening to you play and sing
tonight. You really are very good.”

I don’t
admit this out loud, but I’m kind of a conceited guy. It’s not that I think I’m
better than anyone else, or that I deserve more because I’m kind of
good-looking and I can sing. But I know what my assets are, and because of
being sick, and the deficits that brought with it, I’ve learned to use my
assets to my advantage. Long story short, I wasn’t usually fazed by praise. I
usually already knew what they were telling me about myself. With Molly though,
like everything else I guess, it was different. Her praise went straight to a
place of honor in my head and in my heart.

“Thank
you,” I told her. “I’m really glad you came. Let’s go get your present.”

When we
got to the bike I took the present out and handed it to her. It was wrapped in
tissue paper.

“Can I
open it?” she said. She was cute, like a little kid at Christmas time.

I nodded
and smiled and she ripped off the paper. I felt bad at first, because as she
saw it, tears sprung to her pretty brown eyes.

“Oh,
Brock!” she said, and then she surprised us both I think by throwing her arms
around me and giving me a hug. It was our first official hug…I think.

“It’s the
most thoughtful present anyone has ever gotten for me.”

There’s a
scene in
Benny and Joon
, where he
puts an old Jack-in-the-Box on her front doorstep and knocks so when she opens
it there’s nothing there but the box. It’s a really cute scene, and one of her
favorites. The box was exactly the same and it looked about fifty years old.

“I saw it
in the window of the antique store by the university and I thought of you
instantly,” I told her, honestly, with a grin. I was glad she liked it so much.

“I love
it, thank you.”

I handed
her the helmet she wore when we rode Suzie and we climbed on the bike. Feeling
her hold on to me as we rode has always been a great feeling, but tonight
seemed different somehow. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was, but
it felt…safe, and warm and comfortable. I liked it…a lot.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

MOLLY

While we
were riding back to Brock’s apartment I had all kinds of things racing through
my brain. First of all, I had been appalled at Zack’s nerve, to think I would
have any interest in getting back together with him at all. I was really proud
of Brock, and he even phrased what he said to make it look like I wasn’t some
helpless little female that needed him to come to my rescue. He had wanted to
do it. Go Brock!

Between
him sticking up for me, and buying me a present, something inside of me
shifted. It wasn’t the fact that he bought me any present, I’m not that easily
bought, trust me. It was just that particular present. That told me that he
wasn’t just trying to buy me or impress me the way another guy might with
flowers or jewelry. What it said was that he really had to just be thinking
about me when he walked past that store. I wasn’t just saying so when I told
him either, this was the absolute most thoughtful gift I had ever gotten. I
will cherish it forever, my forever, however long that might be.

When we got to the apartment he offered me
something to drink. I jokingly said…

“Coffee?”

He gave me a look, and I wondered if my
grandmother had taught him that. I quickly laughed so that he knew I was joking
and told him water would be fine. I sat on the couch while he fixed it and I
did some soul searching. I wanted him to kiss me tonight…No, that’s not right.
I did want him to kiss me, but I didn’t want him to stop there. I wanted him to
make love to me. I wanted to feel myself in his arms and I wanted it to last
all night. I don’t know why, but all of a sudden tonight it dawned on me that I
was ready. I think it was seeing Zack again, kind of. It made me remember that
Brock was kind and patient with me before he knew I was sick, and now that he
knows, he’s still treating me like me. I’m sure it has something to do with the
fact he’s been through it all before himself, but whatever it is…I know now
that I’m falling for him. Even if it doesn’t last forever…my forever, I know
now that I’m blessed just for having known him for a little while. I guess I
also have to admit that after talking to Dr. Harris, I was also thinking about
my own mortality. If I have to leave sometime soon, I at least want it to be
with the memories of being in Brock’s warm, loving arms at least once.

He came back with the water and asked if I
wanted to watch a movie. I considered just blurting out what was on my mind,
but thank you God for filters, I thought better of it. I wanted him, but I
didn’t want to sound as desperate and in need as I suddenly felt. He put on a
movie and I honestly don’t even know what it was. It was like Brock and I were
abruptly transported into a vacuum and nothing or no one else was around, or
even mattered.

I looked
up at him, and he was looking at me. I could see the desire there, and I didn’t
want to fight it anymore. I put my hand on the side of his face, and I felt him
shudder. It was almost a powerful kind of feeling that my hand could elicit
such a strong reaction. I slipped my hand around to the back of his neck and as
I pulled him down towards me, I saw the look of surprise in his blue eyes. After
that, I closed mine and reveled in the feeling of his soft lips as his mouth
crushed down over mine. We kissed with an intensity like nothing I had ever
felt, and I knew now what romance novels were talking about when they said
things like, “It took my breath away.” I literally couldn’t breathe, and the
funny thing was that I didn’t care. I would gladly give it all up for the
chance to stay in his arms with our lips pressed together like this forever.

When at
last he had to take a breath, he pulled his head up, and in a winded voice he
said, “Are you okay? I shouldn’t have…I mean I should have asked you…”

I smiled
and told him, “It may have been hard to ask my permission when I was attacking
you.”

He
laughed, “Okay, good. For a minute there I wasn’t sure how that happened. I
thought, kiss now, and think later.”

“Me too,”
I told him. “But now that we’ve stopped kissing and I’ve had time to think…I
don’t want to think, I want to kiss some more.”

 
I didn’t have to tell him twice. His lips were
against mine again, and this time I felt him using his tongue to part mine. My
hands were now clutching tightly around his head, my fingers wrapped up in his
hair, and I was pulling him into me, afraid that he was going to stop. We
explored each other’s mouths with our tongues, every once in a while Brock
would stop to allow us to breathe and he’d use his tongue to softly trace my
lips. That sent goosebumps like tiny little beacons of pleasure scurrying down
my spine and out to every part of my body.

He had
one hand on my waist, and the other on the back of my neck, pulling me into him
as well. My skin was hot wherever he touched me, even through my clothes. I
could feel the hand on my waist, inching my blouse up a little, just enough so
that he could have contact with my bare skin. When he did, I felt him shudder
again, and it was like touching a torch to a stick of dynamite. I used the hand
that still held onto his head for leverage and I pulled myself up into his lap.
That was when he stopped again. He pressed his forehead to mine so we were eye
to eye as we panted and tried to catch our breath. When he had control of his
once more he said, “Molly, we need to stop. If we go any further…”

Emboldened
by the fact that I was now sitting on his lap with his strong arms around me, I
said, “I don’t want to stop.” I never noticed before, how his eyes changed
color, or maybe I had just never been this close to them before. But right now
they were shifting from their normal beautiful light blue to a dark, intense
one.

“You
don’t have to do this Molly. I want to be with you…so bad. But it doesn’t have
to be now. I’ll wait for you, as long as you need me to.”

“I don’t
want to wait any longer,” I told him. “I want you now, Brock. I’m sure. No
worries, okay?”

He still
looked a little worried, but I could tell that the hormones were driving him
even harder. He kissed me again, and as we kissed I felt his hand begin to
fondle the buttons on my blouse. He wasn’t undoing them; he was just…touching
each one of them as if he were still trying to figure out whether or not we
should do this. He was worried about me, and that was sweet and for a guy his
age, downright amazing. But I was on fire, and I didn’t want him changing his mind
because he was afraid that I would have regrets. As his lips slid from my lips
down to my neck, I made the decision for him. With one hand I continued to
caress his soft hair as he kissed me, and with the other I undid the buttons on
my blouse. When I was finished and it was open to where, when he opened his
eyes, he was looking right down into my lacy pink bra, I felt the muscles in
his arms go taut and he sucked in a breath that reverberated through him.

He put
his hot lips on my shoulder then, and kissed each one as he pushed the blouse
the rest of the way off down my arms. He stopped again for like half a second
and this time I only nodded. He slipped his hand around my back and unfastened
my bra. He made a low growling kind of sound deep in his throat as my breasts
spilled out and then he said, “Let’s go in the bedroom.” I was glad he had
thought of it. Jake and I were already too close, seeing each other in a
compromising position might take it further than either of us wanted. I stood
up, feeling slightly embarrassed by the fact that I was completely exposed. But
the look in his eyes was enough to convince me that I wanted him to see me, and
touch me.

He led me
to the bedroom by my hand and shut and locked the door behind us. He tossed my
blouse and bra that he had kindly picked up and brought with us aside, and then
he took me in his arms again, crushing my naked breasts against his chest this
time as we kissed. I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and tugged on it. When it
got up over his abdomen, he stopped kissing me long enough to pull it over his
head and allow it to join my clothes on the floor. He just looked at me then,
the light wasn’t on, but there was enough moonlight coming through the blinds
that I could see how beautiful he was. He touched me, softly just above one of
my breasts and then traced his finger across and around them as he said in a
husky voice, “Molly, you’re the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen.”

I
shuddered at that, or at what he was now doing to my breasts with his fingers,
or both. He kissed me again on my lips, this time leading me backwards towards
the bed. Before he laid me down, he unhooked my skirt and let it fall to my
ankles. I kicked it the rest of the way off as I lay down and I watched as he
unfastened his jeans and let them fall to the floor. He lay down next to me
then, kissed my lips and then my neck and then my breast. Then he used his lips
to brush over the nipple softly, sending another electric shock coursing
through me. I lay there in ecstasy for the next fifteen or twenty minutes while
he explored my body, moaning and shuddering sometimes as if he were the one
being pleasured. I was doing some moaning of my own though, and when I finally
couldn’t stand it any longer I took both sides of his face in my hands and
guided him back up to my lips. While we were kissing I felt his hand drifting
down again across my collarbone and then my stomach, down to the line where my
panties began. He traced them, softly, erotically, driving me mad once again.
Then he moved his hand down to my thigh and he ran his fingers up one and down
the other, each time coming closer to touching the spot in the middle that
would drive me over the edge.