Page 178 of Fifty First Times (Sharing You 0.40)
Seven
BLAKE WRAPPED HIS arms around Summer, fixing her to him. He let his tongue slip into her mouth, all the pent-up need for Summer bubbling to the surface and flowing over him. His hands moved into her hair, and he took control, doing what he did best. Summer released a low moan inside his mouth, causing every hormone in his already hard body to spike. He walked her toward the bed and pulled away enough to ask permission, but she crushed her lips back against his as though she needed him to breathe. He let his hands glide down her waist to her jeans and he unbuttoned them and pushed them to the floor. She kicked out of them and stood there, in nothing but a bra and panties, more beautiful than he ever thought a girl could look. He let his gaze travel down long enough to take her in, his pants growing uncomfortably tight, and then he went for his jeans. He slipped off his shirt in one fluid motion and kicked out of his jeans, his dick popping out of his boxers immediately.
Summer’s eyes crept over him slowly as though she were seeing him for the first time, and then her gaze locked on his dick, huge and hard and showing every bit of his want for her. Her eyes flashed back up, a hint of fear in them.
“Summer, we don’t have to—” But before he could continue, she pressed her lips to his and pulled him close.
“I’m ready.” She slipped out of her panties and bra and lay down on his bed, staring up at him as though he had all the answers in the universe. And damn if she wasn’t perfect.
Blake nodded, willing himself to pull his gaze from her long enough to grab a condom from his nightstand. He tore open the wrapper and slid on the condom.
He climbed onto her, preparing to say something romantic or deep, or something that hinted at the seriousness of what they were doing, but passion took over. He wanted to be inside her like he’d never wanted anything in his life. He kissed her lips, her neck, her collarbone, then ran his tongue down to her breasts, where he took turns sucking one nipple, then the other. Summer moaned loudly and he ran a hand over her stomach and slipped a finger inside her, relishing in the wetness. She was so ready to go.
Their kissing intensified, and Summer rolled him over, straddling his waist. She pulled him up closer to her, allowing her tongue to sweep from his mouth to his neck to his ear. It was too much. Blake gripped her hips. He was going insane. If he didn’t get inside her soon, he was going to blow it before the party began. He lay back, stretching his arms out behind him, and in the process felt his left hand connect with something hard, but then Summer positioned herself over him. “I want you inside me.”
Her words caused the last of his fear to dissipate. He gripped her hips and turned her over, their bodies aligning. He had just reached her, readying himself for insertion, when he smelled it.
Smoke.
He ignored the smell for half a second, then Summer pulled away, her face full of shock, then her gaze swept to the left. “Is that— Fire!” she screamed, jerking up in bed. The candle, which had a moment ago been burning innocently on his nightstand, was now spewing flames across his carpet.
Blake rushed out of his room, not stopping to get dressed, and straight into a crowd of people, Jamison at their center. “What up, brother?” His gaze traveled over Blake, a smile creeping across his face. “Nice.”
“What the fuck?” Blake ran through the crowd to the kitchen, attempting to hide himself, and grabbed the fire extinguisher. He returned to his room and sprayed the fire, which had now burned a solid portion of his carpet and blackened the front of his nightstand.
He stood up straight, breathing hard, his gaze traveling to Summer, who was still at the corner of his bed, staring at him as though he were a complete stranger.
Jamison and a few girls from the crowd stood in his doorway. One snapped a picture of Blake with her phone, but before she could take a step, Jamison snatched the phone from her, deleted the photo, and told her to get the hell out. “You good? Do you need me to do anything?” he asked Blake.
“No, it’s fine.”
Jamison closed the door and Blake’s gaze fixed on Summer. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She looked down uncomfortably, then walked over to get her bra and panties and jeans. “My shirt. It’s . . .” She pointed outside.
“Right.” Blake threw on his jeans and started for the door, but turned back. “You don’t have to leave. Don’t leave.”
Summer’s gaze fell from Blake’s, and he knew what she was going to say even before she spoke the dreaded words. “Blake . . . I don’t . . . I mean, this . . .” Her eyes lifted back to his. “I can’t.”
Blake opened his mouth to argue, but he could see it in her face, the new tension in her body. It was over. “I’ll take you home.”
“No, it’s okay. I drove here. If you could just grab my shirt.” She wouldn’t look at him. Had it been that horrible?
Blake studied her for another second, wondering how one minute everything in his world could be perfect, and the next it could be shot to hell. “Okay.” He grabbed her shirt from the kitchen, handed it over to her, and then she was gone.
Eight
SUMMER CLOSED HER car door and rested her forehead against the steering wheel, tears flowing even before she could get the key into the ignition. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy being with Blake. It was that she enjoyed it too much. She knew as soon as they finished, he would want to go back to normal, to their friendship, but as soon as her lips met his, she knew everything had changed. All the emotions she had fought most of her life to ignore surged forward, refusing to be ignored any longer. She kissed him with every bit of hope and passion she had in her body.
And that was the moment she realized it was deeper than attraction. Deeper than feelings. She loved Blake. Maybe she always had. That horrifying realization was what jerked her away from him and the only reason she noticed the fire at all. She couldn’t sleep with him now or ever, because once she did she knew her heart would be his for good.
Summer was screwed. And not in the good way.
She parked outside her dorm, knowing she would likely be towed, but not caring, and went up to the second floor of her dorm building and down the hall to her room. Harper, her suitemate, had her door closed, signaling she was with someone. Summer stared at the door, wishing Blake was there with her. Already she felt the loneliness she had felt as child, and it had been only minutes since she left him. This was what she had tried to avoid.
Summer set her bag on her desk, flicked on the TV, and surfed through until she found ESPN. Sure enough, they were talking about tomorrow’s game against LSU. Blake’s face filled the screen, then it switched to him on the field, flashing stat after stat. Her eyes filled with tears as she watched. She lay back on her bed and pulled her pillow to her chest, wishing she could turn back time.
A SOFT KNOCK on the door startled Summer awake. She blinked at the TV still on in front of her. She had always been a light sleeper, waking to the smallest of sounds. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes, listening to see if the knock was from her door or someone else’s. The knock came again, and she went to the door, still rubbing her eyes. What time was it?
