10 Years Later Read online

  Thinking back to the comment about closure that Kristy had made the other day, it occurred to me that being around Dalton only reinforced that it wasn’t closure I wanted. Even if we cleared up the misunderstandings of our past and put them to rest, I still wanted the possibility of a future with him.

  I was definitely following my heart when it came to Dalton Thomas. Different year, same Cammie.

  He took a long sip of his water, and then glanced at me. “Can I ask you something?”

  I nodded. “Of course.”

  “Why did you stop talking to me back then?”

  “You’re joking, right?” I was completely shocked. There was no way he didn’t know the reason, or hadn’t figured it out by now.

  He leaned back against the couch after placing his water glass on the coffee table. “I swear. I had no idea then and I have no idea now.”

  “You asked Carla Benten to prom! That was the final straw for me when it came to you. I was devastated when I heard that, and I felt like you didn’t care about me at all. All the time we’d spent together, and I meant nothing to you,” I admitted, those hurt feelings from all those years ago coming rushing back.

  Dalton gave me an incredulous look. “I only asked Carla because I heard that you were going with Mark Davies!”

  “Mark asked me, but I said no.”

  I recalled the day that Mark came up to me at school to ask me to prom. He was so sweet about it, and even though it damn near killed me to tell him no, I had to. I was waiting for someone else to ask, someone who never would. Someone named Dalton.

  “Jesus,” Dalton said on a long breath. “When I heard people talking in the halls about you and Mark going to prom together, I fucking lost it. I was so damn jealous and so pissed off, that I decided I’d ask the next girl who flirted with me. I turned around and there was Carla Benton, grabbing my arm, laughing at something I said that wasn’t even funny. And that was it.”

  • • •

  Kristy had approached me that day, nervously looking around as she said, “I have something to tell you.”

  “Just say it,” I’d snapped, feeling suddenly insecure and nervous. Mark Davies had asked me to prom earlier and I’d told him no. I hoped what Kristy had to say didn’t have anything to do with that.

  “Dalton asked Carla Benten to prom.” Kristy eyed me as she waited for my reaction, knowing me well enough to know it wasn’t going to be a good one.

  He did what? How could he? I knew that Dalton wasn’t technically my boyfriend, but I never thought he would do something so disrespectful and thoughtless.

  Kristy’s head tilted to one side, as if she half expected me to crumple to the floor at any second with her stupid, horrible news. And I wanted to—oh, how I wanted to—but I refused to give Dalton the satisfaction.

  Fighting back the tears that immediately filled my eyes, I glared at her, my jaw tense. “You’re sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  A buzzing sound began inside my head as I struggled to keep some semblance of self-control and composure. I wanted to cause a scene—to find Dalton and smack him across his traitorous face—something that would make him feel as broken as I did.

  “Did someone tell you?” I asked Kristy as she continued to watch me.

  She shook her head. “I was walking past them when he asked her. I’m so sorry, Cammie. I don’t know what the hell is going on between you two, but”—she paused, placing her hand on my shoulder and squeezing—“I almost punched him in the face as I passed by.”

  I let out an angry huff. “You should have.”

  “Well, next time I see him, I might.” She shrugged one shoulder, and I silently wished that she would.

  • • •

  “We were idiots. I mean it. Seriously, idiots,” I said with a slight laugh and a yawn. I couldn’t believe that after all this time, Dalton had only asked Carla to prom because he thought I was going with Mark. I had been so hurt for all these years over something that could have been fixed with a single conversation.

  “We were just kids. We didn’t know any better.” He leaned toward me, closing the space between us. “I know better now,” he said as he placed a soft kiss on my lips.

  “I should hope so,” I said, then kissed him back.

  “But I will say this. When I got to prom, I didn’t see you or Mark there. I looked for you all night. And when you never showed up, my mind went crazy with scenarios as to where you and him were. I tried to talk to you after that, but you wouldn’t speak to me. Hell, you wouldn’t even look at me.”

  Dalton was right. After he’d asked Carla to prom, I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. I loved the way I felt when I was in Dalton’s arms, or being kissed by him, but his actions proved that I meant little more to him than a hookup. And my heart couldn’t take it because by that point, he had meant everything to me.

  “I was heartbroken,” I said softly, having trouble meeting his eyes. “You were the only light in my life. And then you became part of the gray like everything else. I didn’t know how to see you as light anymore after that.”

  His hand flew to his chest as if my words had wounded him. “Jesus, Cammie. Hearing that shit kills me. Even now.”

  “I was so sad. I don’t know any other way to put it.” I yawned again, then nuzzled my cheek against his chest.

  “You wouldn’t even look at me after prom. I can’t believe I never put two and two together.”

  I lifted one shoulder in a small shrug and spoke into his shirt. “I refused to let you hurt me again after that. But I also knew that my willpower was weak when it came to you, and I didn’t want to hear the reason why you asked Carla Benten to prom and not me. If it was a good reason, I didn’t want to hear it.”

  “So you stayed away from me completely.” He sighed. “As much as I fucking hated that, I get it.” Dalton ran his fingers through my hair, causing my eyes to close as I lay snuggled against his side. “Hey, I’m going to go,” he said as his lips pressed against my head.

  Leaning back, I looked up at him through groggy eyes. “I’m sorry I can’t stay awake. What time is it?”

  “Don’t apologize. And it’s after ten.”

  “Crap.” I knew I’d pay tomorrow for staying up this late.

  “I’m sorry I kept you up so late, but tonight was perfect. Thank you.” He leaned forward, pressing his lips against mine again, and I was half-tempted to tell him to stay.

  “It was perfect. Thank you for coming over. Talk to you later?” I grinned at him sleepily. Or maybe it was dopily; I was so out of it I couldn’t be sure.

  “Talk? Hell, I can’t wait to see you again,” he said with a smile before rising off the couch and extending his hand.

  I linked my fingers with his as he pulled me up and gave me a tight hug. “Do you want some cookies for the road?” I asked, and reached for the plate.

  “Yes,” he answered a little too enthusiastically, and I laughed.

  Grabbing several cookies and placing them into a zipper bag, I handed it to Dalton as I led him toward the front door. I turned the knob and pulled the door open, shivering as a blast of chilled night air hit me.

  Dalton slid his arms around me and turned me around to face him. I snuggled against his chest before glancing up at his eyes. His lips pressed against mine, and I moaned involuntarily as I opened my mouth to him. Our kiss deepened as my world spun. Hands splayed over the small of my back, his fingers dug into my skin as he pulled me tighter against him. We grasped for each other, pressing together as if we couldn’t get close enough. If any space existed between us, it was too much. I longed for the night when nothing would be—no jeans, no cotton, not even air.

  We both pulled back at the same time, our lips slowly drifting apart as if it was the last thing on earth either one of us wanted to do. “I’ll see you later,” he whispered before kissing the top of my head.

  “I’m tempted to ask you to stay.” I bit at my bottom lip.

  “So ask then.”
>
  “Would you like to stay?” I asked, part of me wondering if this was moving way too fast, and the other part acknowledging just how right it all felt being here again with him.

  “I thought you’d never ask.” He smiled before leaning over and picking me up. My feet no longer touched the ground as Dalton held me in his arms. He lifted a foot and nudged the front door shut, then he spun me around to face it so I could double lock it. With a huge grin on his face, he walked us into my bedroom before putting me down gently on top of my bed.

  “Are you sure this is okay?” He crawled onto the bed and propped himself over me, his shoulders flexing as they supported his weight.

  “It’s not like we haven’t been here before.” I looked up into his eyes as I memorized the way his looked in this moment, counting the brown flecks in each one before moving to the scruff that lined his jaw.

  “You were my first.” He said it like it was new information, but we had confessed that to each other already. It was part of the reason why I’d decided to go all the way with Dalton back in high school.

  We were both virgins, both seniors, and even though he wasn’t officially my boyfriend, I loved him and I trusted him. A small, misguided part of me probably believed that having sex with Dalton would change things between us for the better. That after we did it, he’d announce to the world that I was his and he was mine. Instead, he’d asked that bitch Carla Benten to prom and ruined everything.

  “I know. I was there, remember?”

  “I’m sure our first time wasn’t great for you, but I don’t even know how to ruin sex for a teenage boy.” He smirked before kissing my cheek.

  “By not having any,” I said with a small smile.

  “Was our first time horrible? I remember feeling rushed and nervous.”

  I grimaced. “I mostly remember being terrified that my mom might come home from work on her lunch break and find us alone inside the house. Every noise I heard made me want to push you off the bed. And it hurt.”

  “I’m sorry. I had no idea what I was doing back then. I’m much better now,” he said with a cocky grin before propping himself up on his elbows.

  I let out a little huff. “You should let me be the one to tell you you’re better now.”

  “You’re not going to be able to speak by the time I’m done with you.” He lowered himself onto me as his lips pressed against my neck, his prickly chin a stark contrast to the softness of his mouth. I rolled my head to the side, allowing him access as his fingers lightly brushed my hair out of his way. His tongue licked at my flesh as he moved slowly up the length of my neck toward my ear.

  “Well, that’s really too bad because, um . . .” I paused as he sucked gently at my earlobe, tugging it between his teeth and biting lightly. “I need to be able to speak for my job.” At least, that was what I intended to say; I had no idea if I actually spoke the words or not. My entire body was on fire, alive with the heat he provided, and I was certain nothing functioned properly.

  “Don’t worry, babe. It’s only temporary.”

  His lips curved into a smile against my neck as he continued to kiss my exposed skin. Every nerve ending in me came to life with his touch. I reached for the bottom of his shirt, tugging it toward his neck as he ducked out of it and tossed it to the floor.

  He sat up and leaned back against his calves before his hands grabbed my waist on either side. They worked their way up the length of my body, across my rib cage, around the slow curve of my breasts, my top bunching up with the movement as they neared my face.

  “Lift your arms,” he said softly, and I did as he asked.

  Once my shirt was gone, I pulled at my now-snarled hair and smoothed it out with my fingers as Dalton reached around my back and unclasped my bra. I wiggled my shoulders and threw the piece of fabric to the floor with our other garments. He groaned, his eyes fixed on my breasts, and I reached for his hair, winding my fingers in it. His face tilted up, his eyes meeting mine before he looked back down at my half-exposed body.

  “You’re so beautiful, Cammie,” he whispered, and my cheeks flushed with more warmth at the compliment.

  Dalton moved his head down, taking my bare breast into his mouth and sucking. His tongue flicked at my nipple, making the sensitive flesh feel even more so. I arched my back involuntarily and bucked against him, my hips pressing against his hardness as he moved to the other breast, giving each a fair amount of attention.

  I didn’t know if it was our history, or what had existed between us prior to tonight, but everything Dalton did turned me on more than I’d ever been before. I felt like a transformer, ready to explode and cause a blackout with flying sparks. Everywhere his gaze touched me, every flick of his tongue, nibble of his lips, touch from his fingers, everything he did made me feel out of control in the best possible way. I wanted every part of Dalton on me, in me, around me.

  I reached for his pants, my fingertips barely able to touch the top button on his jeans. He leaned back slightly and glanced down to where my hand was trying to reach. “You want these off?” he asked and I nodded, biting my bottom lip.

  Pushing off the bed, he stood next to me as I threaded the button through the loop and unzipped the zipper. His hands did the rest as he stepped out of his jeans, revealing a very large hard-on covered by a pair of black boxer briefs. I couldn’t look away.

  Dalton stepped back toward the bed and did the same with my jeans, stopping to kiss my stomach as the skin was revealed. I shimmied my hips back and forth as he tugged my jeans lower and off my legs to reveal a blue-and-white thong. He kissed his way back up my body before pressing himself against me, our underwear the only thing separating us.

  The feel of his hot skin against mine was overwhelming, and I didn’t want to wait any longer. I wondered if I was going to have to beg him to get inside me.

  “It’s been a long time for me, Cammie,” he confessed, as if reading my mind, and it only made my want for him grow.

  “Me too.” I angled my body so that I could reach the hem of his boxer briefs and tugged, hoping to set his hard-on free.

  Dalton took control, pulling off his briefs and my thong in an instant, and before I knew it, there was nothing between us, not even air. We lay there together, skin to skin, not moving, just being. I wondered if I should tell him that I was on birth control, but didn’t want to come off as too desperate or needy, even though I felt both when it came to him in this moment.

  I kept condoms in my nightstand drawer and I reached out for it, pulling it open as Dalton moved to see what I was doing. Tilting my head so I could look inside, I fished one out and handed it to him. He tore the wrapper with his teeth before leaning away from my body, which instantly cooled at his absence. I watched as he expertly rolled the condom down the length of his hard-on before his eyes met mine.

  Pressing his warm body back on top of me, I closed my eyes as he moved to enter me. When he said softly, “Look at me, Cammie,” I opened my eyes as he stared at me, into me, through me.

  I nearly cried out in joy as he entered me, filling me completely. It almost felt too good, too perfect. I moved my hips in time with his thrusts, our movements perfectly synchronized. Each time he moved in and out of me, I felt my mouth open with the pleasure it elicited, and his tongue soon found its way inside. He felt so good, so skilled, so in tune with every move my body made against his.

  I came first as a heat wave exploded from somewhere deep within me. Shuddering, shaking, and convulsing, I opened my eyes to watch as Dalton lost himself inside me. His biceps tensed, his jaw locked, and his brows drew together as his own pleasure-filled explosion occurred. After he finished, he collapsed on top of me, his chest damp with perspiration as it heaved.

  “That was much better than our first time,” I gasped out into his hair.

  Phone Calls Are the New Intimate

  Cammie

  Three thirty in the morning arrived far too early, and I suddenly remembered that I wasn’t alone. Reaching for the alarm, I
hit the snooze button, wanting a little more time in bed with Dalton. I nuzzled back against his chest as he squeezed me closer.

  “Are you leaving,” he said softly against my head.

  “In a little bit, yeah. But you don’t have to. Stay as long as you want,” I offered as hope lurched in my chest and filled my heart.

  “It’s okay if I stay?” His voice was groggy, and I found it utterly adorable.

  “Of course. Unless you’re planning on robbing me blind. Then you should probably leave when I do,” I tried to tease, but it was early and I’d barely slept at all.

  “Don’t plan on robbing you. Unless you have something I can’t live without. Like more cookies.” He yawned and rolled me on top of him, my hair falling onto his chest and almost blocking my view of it. He reached out to sweep my hair away and tucked it behind my ears. “So this is what you look like in the morning.”

  I suddenly grew self-conscious, wondering if I looked like a complete ass. “That bad, huh?”

  “More like how can you look this pretty? Did you pull a ‘bridesmaids’ on me while I was still asleep?”

  “A ‘bridesmaids’? Like the movie?” I asked, confused again by one of his entertainment references.

  “You know, how she hopped out of bed and made herself all cute before she pretended to wake up.”

  I laughed, remembering the scene and how true to real life it had been. I had totally done that before, but not this time.

  “That was hilarious. But no, I woke up like this.” I waved a hand down my face. “Although I’m a little worried what this looks like right now, to be honest.”

  “It looks pretty. You look pretty.” He smiled, brushing his fingers along the side of my cheek.

  My alarm blared again and I pulled away to smack at it, trying to silence it. “I have to get up.”

  “And I have to go back to sleep.”