Page 100 of Make It Last

Her parents were kind and loving, and I could sense the undercurrents moving quietly between them. I understood that kind of family choreography. It was clear Ava had been the family organizer, the one who made sure everything ran smoothly. It was obvious she had always tried to have it together and not be in the way.

Her parents doted on her presence, savoring it, and I knew she was flying away from them. It meant a lot for them to have this time with her. Her sister’s name drifted through conversation now and then, laced with sadness but also acceptance.

After dinner, we made our way to bed. Ava’s bedroom was small. The walls were thin enough that we could hear everything, including her mom saying, “I think you should wear your earplugs. We don’t want them to feel like they can’t… Well, you know.”

Ava whipped her head toward me, eyes wide, cheeks blazing pink as she mouthed, “Oh my God.”

I bit back a laugh. I meant what I’d said earlier. I could wait. But tonight was going to test both of us.

Her bed was not even a queen-size bed. It was a full-size, which felt tiny. We were crowded together, with Ava refusing to speak above a whisper.

“I missed you, Tanner,” she breathed, snuggling against me. “Don’t talk toward the wall,” she added urgently.

“So I’m supposed to turn my face away from you?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my God.” I had to work to keep from laughing. “We’re not going to do anything.”

“Yeah, but we just heard them.”

“I missed you,” I murmured again, my words barely audible, before I leaned in and kissed her.

She sighed softly into my mouth, her palm sliding over my abdomen and across my chest until it rested above my heart, which pounded hard and fast. My entire body sizzled.

“This is going to be harder than I thought,” I whispered.

“Is it, though?” she teased quietly, her lips curving as her hand slid lower.

“Ava,” I rasped.

“What? We could be really quiet.”

I closed my eyes and drew in a slow breath. “Okay. But you have to be quiet.”

Our foreheads rested together. The brush of her lips against mine was enough to make my restraint crumble. I slid my hand over the curve of her hip and beneath the hem of her shirt. She trembled when I touched her, and that small reaction nearly undid me.

“Tanner,” she gasped softly against my mouth.

Whispers layered over whispers as we teased each other, moving slowly and carefully. My hand found her silky, slippery wet core, and she shuddered against me.

I pressed my forehead to hers. “I just want you to come for me,” I breathed. “Not a sound.”

Her body trembled. She buried her face against my neck, and I felt the vibration of her nearly silent cry against my skin as she unraveled a few moments later. I held her through it, my control hanging by a frayed thread.

She lifted her head, eyes sparkling in the dim light. “Now you,” she whispered. “Not a sound.”

Before I could argue, she finished what she had started with her palm curling around my length. She teased me to madness. I buried my face against her shoulder to muffle myself as I lost control, shaking hard against her.

When I finally met her gaze, she was smiling with pure joy shining in her eyes. We both started laughing, all the while desperately trying not to.

“I need to clean up,” I whispered.

“I’ve got it.”

Before I could protest, she tiptoed out of the room and returned with a warm washcloth. “They don’t use that bathroom,” she whispered. “They have one in their room.”

I laughed again under my breath.