My smile grew and the butterflies in my stomach erupted. He wanted to see me. I’d been here all week, but I didn’t ruin the moment by pointing that out.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked.

  “Not really,” I replied.

  “Too late for the movies,” he said.

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  “Nash went to Tallulah’s. We could watch a movie at the apartment,” he suggested.

  “Okay,” I agreed. I liked that idea a lot. Being alone with him sounded wonderful.

  He chuckled then and shook his head.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” he replied.

  I didn’t believe him, but I didn’t push it. I was in his truck. If I got caught, my parents would lose their minds. But this was all worth it.

  You Like Horror? CHAPTER 25

  ASA

  Was she wearing a bra? I was trying not to study her too closely on our way up to Nash’s apartment. The truck had been too dark for me to tell. I didn’t think she could wear a bra with that top, but I wasn’t sure.

  I unlocked the door to Nash’s apartment and stepped back so she could go inside. “You hungry? There’s ice cream in the freezer unless Nash ate it all. Good chance there are cookies or some baked stuff Tallulah’s mom sent over.”

  “Ice cream and cookies sound good,” Ezmita responded.

  Hopefully there was still ice cream. I headed for the kitchen and sure enough, more cookies were on the table on a covered platter. Those arrived several times a week. Tallulah’s mom was a saint. “There’s the cookies,” I told her, pointing at the table. “Check those out. I’m sure there are several different kinds. I’ll see if the ice cream survived Nash.”

  Opening the freezer, I chanced a peek at her again and I was almost positive there was no bra. The shirt was black, so it was hard to tell even in the light.

  “Oh! These are chocolate with vanilla drizzle!” Ezmita exclaimed happily.

  “And there is half a gallon of chocolate cookie dough ice cream. We got lucky,” I said, pulling the container from the fridge. When I turned back to Ezmita, she was taking a bite of cookie. She saw me looking and grinned. Damn, she was cute.

  I grabbed two spoons and a paper plate. “Here, fill it up. I’ll eat whichever ones you choose,” I told her. She took the plate and carefully chose two of each kind. There were three different cookies.

  “Is this enough?” she asked.

  “Depends on how many you’re eating,” I said, then smirked.

  She grabbed one more of the chocolate ones. “Okay, there. We should be good.”

  I headed toward the sofa and grabbed the remote control before sitting down. Ezmita put the cookies on the coffee table in front of us, then sat down beside me. Not as close as I wanted her but close enough for now. I’d adjust that after we ate.

  “You like horror?” I asked her, knowing she’d seen a horror film with Brett last night.

  She scrunched her nose. “Not really.”

  That was interesting. I wondered why she’d seen one last night.

  “Comedy?” I asked.

  She nodded then. “Yeah, comedy is good.”

  I handed her a spoon, then placed the container of ice cream on my knee. She stared at the spoon and then at me before she laughed. “We are going to eat it out of the carton?”

  “Sure,” I said, not mentioning the bowls were all dirty. Besides, this made her move closer to me so she could get her ice cream.

  I found an Adam Sandler movie and clicked it. I really didn’t care what we watched. I wasn’t here for the movie. I reached for a cookie and leaned back on the sofa to eat it as the movie started.

  Ezmita was finishing her bite of ice cream as she studied the screen. I glanced down.… Nope, she wasn’t wearing a bra. Thank you, ice cream.

  “Why did you watch Carrie last night if you aren’t into horror films?” I asked her bluntly.

  She didn’t look surprised that I knew about her date with Brett. She lifted her left shoulder in a small shrug. “The only other option this weekend was Christmas movies. They do that Christmas in July every year on one of the screens. It’s annoying.”

  She didn’t mention Brett. “Did you get scared?” I asked her, not liking the idea of her snuggled up to Brett. I had no right to care, but fuck it, I did.

  “I didn’t sleep great,” she admitted with a scrunch of her nose. She placed her spoon on the plate beside the cookies. “I can’t eat anymore.”

  “I’ll go put it away. I’m done too,” I told her, then stood and went to put the rest of the ice cream back in the freezer. She wasn’t bringing up Brett, so I wouldn’t ask. I didn’t need to know how close they got at the drive-in. Probably best I didn’t know.

  She was leaning back on the sofa, her feet bare, legs bent and tucked beside her. She was leaning slightly toward where I was sitting. Good. She wanted to get close too.

  I turned off the light and grabbed a throw from the beanbag. Sinking back down onto the sofa, I threw it over both of us. It was warm outside, but the air conditioner had things nice and cool inside. Ezmita laughed then, and I looked at her face to see she was watching the television.

  She caught me watching her and grinned. “I haven’t seen this in forever,” she said. “I forgot how funny he is.”

  Sandler’s earlier stuff was hilarious, but that wasn’t the mood I was going for. Damn, I should have put on a horror film and not asked. My interest in her date with Brett had messed that up. I put my arm on the back of the sofa behind her, and she leaned into me without missing a beat. That was easy enough.

  Her scent was right there under my nose, making me crazy.

  “What time do I need to have you home?” I asked her.

  “Um, well, I don’t know. Since I snuck out, I guess there isn’t an actual curfew.”

  I didn’t want her in trouble, but the idea of getting to keep her as long as I wanted was tempting. “Do your parents check on you at night?”

  She shook her head. “No. They sleep hard. Get up early.”

  Good.

  I tangled my fingers in her hair and played with the silky locks while pretending to give a shit about the movie in front of me. The more I played with her hair, the more she settled in closer to me. I was content like this. Sure, laying her back on the sofa and kissing her sounded pretty damn good too.

  She laid her head on my shoulder, and her hand rested on my thigh. I tried not to think about the location of her hand while I mentally calmed myself. My hand, however, had a mind of its own. I moved my hand from her hair and slid it down to trace my fingers along her collarbone and exposed neck. Her soft skin felt like silk. She shivered then and goose bumps covered her arms. I pretended not to notice and let my caress slowly move down a little more each time until I was dangerously close to the top of her breast. I stopped there and so did her breathing. The rise and fall of her chest became more erratic.

  Enjoying the way her body reacted to my touch, I shifted my attention to her bare arm, letting the back of my hand brush past the side of her boob. Each time I went by slower until both of us were breathing quick and heavy.

  Kissing Ezmita was becoming more and more of a need, not just a desire. She shifted slightly, but it was enough so that my hand brushed more than the side of her breast. It had been a purposeful move on her part. I stilled for a brief moment, then began to give the attention to her left breast instead of her arm.

  “Oh,” she breathed out in a whisper, and I took that as a sign that it was okay for me to continue. I didn’t need to think about this. I knew what I wanted to do. Ezmita wasn’t just another girl. Doing more with her would change things and I might regret it later, but right now I couldn’t think of one reason why.

  “Come here.” My voice was husky. She looked up at me as I reached for her waist and directed her to my lap.

  She followed my lead and straddled my lap. “Like this?” she asked, sounding unsure.

  I reached up and took her face in my hands, then brought her mouth to mine. She sank down onto me and put her hands on my shoulders. Her mouth moved over mine and opened immediately. My pulse felt like a hot rush coursing through my body. This was the only girl who could make me crazy with just a kiss.

  You Don’t Know Me That Well CHAPTER 26

  EZMITA

  His hands left my face and I felt them on my thighs. They slid up the backs of my legs until his fingertips were just inside the bottom of my shorts. I was going to hyperventilate. His right hand left my thigh to slide up the back of my shirt, and then he pressed me closer to him.

  All he needed to do was ask. I’d gladly get as close to him as possible. He smelled wonderful, and his body was so warm and hard. I was relaxing my hold on his shoulder when his hand began to slowly move from my back to my side to… oh no, I wasn’t going to be able to breathe. Here was where I would embarrass myself by passing out from lack of oxygen.

  When his hand covered my breast, shots of pleasure went through my body in several different areas. I had stopped kissing him, and I was frozen praying I didn’t do something stupid. His mouth moved to my ear. “Is this okay?” he asked.

  I wanted to say yes, but speaking wasn’t happening. I simply nodded my head. Then his other hand was moving up my shirt, and I closed my eyes tightly and waited. The sensation was doubled. No one had ever touched me underneath my clothing. This was new, and I now understood why girls let guys do it.

  His mouth found mine again, and his kiss was more aggressive. I returned the excitement with my own, and my hands reached up and fisted into his hair. If I could get closer, I would. I wanted all of me to touch all of him. Desire, need, all kinds of crazy things were swirling inside me. Then I wiggled my hips needing to squirm… and oh! I stopped. He inhaled sharply. His hands squeezed my breast in response but not so badly it hurt.

  “Ezmita,” he breathed.

  I didn’t say anything. I wanted to squirm again. That felt… that felt… I had no words for how that felt. I started to shift my hips again, and then his hands were gone from under my shirt and I was being moved back. He didn’t move me off his lap, just back enough.

  “Look at me, Ezmita.” His voice was so thick and hoarse that there was no question he had been as affected by this as I was. I lifted my gaze to meet his. “Have you ever had sex?”

  Not what I was expecting him to say or ask. I shook my head no.

  He sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and looking at me again. “I didn’t think so.” He sounded more let down over that than I thought he would. I was a virgin… to most things, really… but it didn’t mean I wanted to stay that way forever. For instance, this I liked very much and if sex was better than this, I was very interested.

  “We have to stop,” he said as if the idea broke his heart. I was glad because I was pretty sure it crushed mine.

  “Why?” I asked.

  He ran a finger along my jawline. “The truth?”

  I nodded. Of course—why would I want a lie?

  “I’m not sure I can stop if we keep that up,” he said.

  “You mean we would have sex?” I asked for clarification.

  He chuckled softly and gave me a crooked grin. “I can’t think of anything I want more than to get you naked right now.”

  Wow. I said nothing. I was sure my face was bright red not from embarrassment but from the heat that his description caused. The image in my head made me start to tingle again.

  His hand threaded through my hair. “I like you too much for that.”

  I wasn’t sure that made much sense. “You like me too much to have sex with me?”

  His lips spread out into a full grin. “Yeah. I do.”

  I shook my head and started to say more, but he continued.

  “We’ve barely dated. You don’t know me that well. You know my darkest moment, but that’s as deep as we’ve gotten. Me taking your virginity on Nash’s sofa isn’t right.”

  This was Asa being chivalrous. I got it now. Truth was, did I want my first time to be with a guy who just liked me but didn’t want to date exclusively? No. I didn’t. I couldn’t let how I felt about Asa cloud my judgment. He did not feel the same about me. He was a guy and I was a girl sitting in his lap with shorts on and a halter top with no bra.

  I moved off his lap then, slightly aggravated with myself. What had I been thinking? Not the making out—it was time. I enjoyed it. But the fact that if he’d tried to have sex with me, I wasn’t sure I’d have said no. That was concerning.

  Neither of us spoke and I realized the movie was over. I needed to say something and reassure him I agreed, but I didn’t have the right words. I was one hundred percent positive if he’d taken my shirt off, I’d have lifted my arms to help him out.

  “Ezmita.” His voice broke the silence.

  “Yeah,” I replied.

  “I didn’t want to stop. And I want to see you again.”

  I smiled then and turned my head to look at him. “I believe we have an afternoon date tomorrow,” I reminded him.

  “Trust me, I didn’t forget. I’m taking you swimming. If I can’t get you naked, that’s the next best thing.”

  I laughed and the heaviness in my chest lifted. I hadn’t ruined anything. I still got to see Asa again. Maybe this time it wouldn’t be weeks before he called back.

  The doorknob rattled and then the door opened. Nash came in and paused before flipping on the light. His head turned in our direction. “Can I turn on the light or are y’all naked?” he asked.

  “Shut up,” Asa replied.

  “I’ll take that as you’re both clothed,” he said, and then the room was flooded with light. I squinted and Asa cursed.

  “Ezmita! Damn, I’m glad it’s you.” Nash sounded genuinely happy about the fact I was there.

  Confused, I tried to look at Nash, but the light was still bothering my eyes.

  “Who else would it be?” Asa shot back at him.

  Nash raised one eyebrow. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

  “You’re a dick,” Asa said, then stood up and held out his hand to me. I slipped my hand in his and stood. “Ignore him. He likes to cause problems.”

  Nash made a sound in his throat that sounded as if he disagreed.

  “Let’s go,” Asa told me, then threaded his fingers through mine.

  “Good to see you, Ezmita,” Nash called out, and I smiled and gave him a quick wave before following Asa out the door into the night.

  We walked back down the stairs and out to Asa’s truck. His silence would’ve worried me, but he was holding my hand so firmly, it eased any concern. When we reached his truck, he stopped and pushed me gently back against the truck before cupping my face in his hands and kissing me again.

  I was pleasantly surprised, of course. I wasn’t ready for this thing to end just yet. There was a part of me that feared tomorrow he would cancel and then he’d go silent again. I didn’t want that to happen, but I couldn’t hold on to him if he didn’t want to be with me. Right now I was enjoying the moment and hoping tomorrow did come.

  JULY 12, 2020 She Was My Escape

  CHAPTER 27

  ASA

  “You going to the field house to work out with us today?” Nash asked as he stretched and ran his hand through his hair.

  “No,” I replied, not giving him any more information than he needed.

  “Why? Gonna see Ezmita again?” he asked with a smirk.

  I saw no reason to deny it. “Yeah. I am.”

  “Y’all didn’t have sex on my sofa, did you?” he asked then, not looking amused any longer.

  “No. Jesus, Nash.”

  A knock on the door interrupted whatever he was about to say. “Yeah?” he called out toward the door. It wasn’t locked. We never locked it. Neither of us saw the need.

  The door opened slowly, and then Nash’s mother stuck her head in. “Is everyone dressed?” she asked cautiously.

  “Yeah, Mom. Come on in,” he replied. I was really hoping she’d come bearing a plate full of some food. Pancakes would be great. She made some delicious pancakes.

  Unfortunately, she was empty-handed. Damn. She seemed concerned and she looked from Nash to me. “Asa, I just got off the phone with your mother. She was checking on you and… she also wanted me to pray for your dad. He tested positive for Covid. He’s not bad, though. He has just lost his sense of taste and smell. She said he has a headache, too. Otherwise he’s fine.”

  The only Covid cases in Lawton had been senior citizens in a nursing home. I wasn’t aware of any other cases of Covid among people that I knew. My parents hadn’t bothered to reach out to me once since I arrived back in Lawton. They didn’t call. They didn’t text. Yet, my mom could call Nash’s mom. I wondered what bullshit they’d told Nash’s parents as to why I was staying here. I had no doubt they would make me seem in the wrong. My dad would have weaved a believable lie that made him appear like the good guy. He was a master manipulator.

  “Too bad,” I replied, not caring that my father had Covid but needing to say something. “Is he quarantining from my mother?” I asked then. I didn’t care about my dad’s health, but my mother’s was a different story. She didn’t need to be around him.

  “She said she had him staying upstairs and she was staying downstairs. She’s leaving him food and drinks at the top of the stairs, and she’s wearing a mask in the house. He was exposed to it at work, so it wasn’t here in Lawton, thank God. Everyone in his office was tested. Three were positive. The rest are having to quarantine. Only one man is seriously ill. He’s in the hospital.”

  It would be safer if she stayed somewhere else. Figures my father would make her wait on him while he should be locked up somewhere away from people. It was always about him. How he was affected. His needs. His wants. No one else mattered. I didn’t want to be like him, yet I feared becoming like my father every day. Did he realize how selfish he was? Would I know if I started to act like him?