Loving Noel (Wildcat Graduates Book 1) Page 20

  “Okay, if you’re sure,” I ask, unconvinced. Noel grabs the back of my neck and rests his forehead against mine.

  “Of course I want you in my lap. Always,” he whispers before kissing my lips softly.

  “Okay,” I whisper in return. There I go again with one word responses. I should be more prepared around him by now.

  We finish watching the game of pool, and I’ve laughed so much my sides are aching. After thirty minutes, Cade lets Stacy win. She’s too excited to notice what he did, but Noel and I saw it. “Do you think she’ll realize later that he let her win,” Noel asks me.

  “I’m not really sure. She’s so excited. I really have no idea,” I reply as we make our way out to the parking lot. I pull my coat tighter against me, and Noel pulls me closer to him.

  “Me either. He never just lets anyone win. He loves that game too much.” Noel points his keys toward the Mustang and hits the remote start, “Only for her.”

  “Only for her,” I agree and snuggle closer into him. “Man the weather must have dropped another ten degrees while we were in there.” Stacy and Cade are laughing at something as they walk ahead of us. “I should have brought my gloves,” I say as I rub my hands together.

  “The car should be warm before we leave the parking lot,” Noel says as he grabs my hands with his free hand, his warm hand helps to take the chill out of mine. “Looks like we will beat whatever weather is coming in. It’s a good thing your mom called us when she did. We may not have gotten those two out of there as fast,” Noel chuckles, and places a kiss on the top of my head.

  We make our goodbyes with Cade and Stacy and Noel helps me into his car. It’s so warm already. Man, how I love that remote start feature and it smells so good in here; leather and Chrome, all Noel. Noel takes his seat in the car and looks over at me. Reaching over to me, he cups my cheek in his hand and runs his thumb over my lips.

  “Are you warm enough, Sweetness?” I always lose my breath when he does that.

  “Yeah,” I whisper. “I’m warmer now.” I smile at Noel, and he smiles back.

  “Good. Let’s get you home before your mom is calling you back. Buckle up.” Noel turns and starts pulling out of the parking lot.

  “You’re right. I’m kind of surprised she hasn’t called by now, but I’d better text her to let her know we’re on our way or she will call me,” I laugh as I pull my phone out of my purse. I send a quick text to her letting her know I’m on my way home from the bowling alley. She must be sitting on her phone because I get a reply message within a minute. I read the message and place my phone back in my bag.

  “Everything alright?” Noel asks as he glances over at me. He reaches over and takes my hand in his.

  “Yeah, she’s fine.” I squeeze his hand and look out the window. We laugh over the bowling game and how Stacy and Cade were behaving while they played pool. In no time, we are at my house and Noel is dropping me off, once again.

  “Here we are, and there’s no one on the front porch waiting for us. I was half expecting Mike to be on the porch again, since his car is in the driveway,” Noel chuckles and we unbuckle our seatbelts. I look out my window at the porch and smile before looking back at Noel.

  “Well, there’s a small miracle right there,” I giggle.

  Noel smiles, reaches over the console, and pulls my face toward his. I lean into him and close the gap between our lips. We kiss, slowly at first, and quickly become more heated. My arms move around his neck so I can run my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. I tilt my head, giving him better access to my mouth.

  Noel’s left hand moves to twine in my hair, as his right hand moves to my waist. Our tongues continue to tangle with one another causing my breathing to quicken. Sliding his hand under my shirt, it moves up my side and his thumb brushes the bottom of my breast. I find myself lightly tugging on his hair and leaning even closer into his kiss. I can feel his breathing speed up as he moves from my mouth to nibble his way down my cheek and throat.

  Leaning forward, I give him better access to my neck, and bring my face to his. Inhaling deeply, I get lost in his scent as his grip in my hair tightens. I find myself running my nose along his neck, laying kisses along the way, while he toys with my nipples until they are hard peaks. We move our mouths together again, and it becomes more intense than the last time. We kiss each other until I almost can’t breathe. I pull away to catch my breath, just barely apart from him, and Noel is as out of breath as I am.

  “Sometimes I don’t want to stop with just kissing you, Xan. I know we’re not ready yet for anything more, but sometimes it’s so hard to stop before we go too far.” Noel’s hands remain where they were, his hold tightening slightly.

  “I know. Sometimes I don’t want you to stop, either, Noe. But it’s just not right for us now, even though I can’t think straight when you kiss me like that,” I confess on a whisper. He pulls me into another kiss with just as much intensity as before. I hear a small groan come from my throat as his grip tightens in my hair. His other hand slides to my waist and pulls my body as close as the console between us will allow. Noel is the first to pull away and place his forehead against mine, his hand still holding the back of my neck. We take a moment to slow our breathing before we move further away from each other.

  “Let’s get you to the door,” he tells me as he moves to get out of the car. At the front door, Noel pulls me into his chest and cups my face with his hands. “I had a really good time tonight, Xan.” I look up into his eyes and smile.

  “Me too, Noe, I had a lot of fun.” I reach over and place my hands around his waist. We both lean forward and kiss each other again, briefly.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll do something after school, if the weather isn’t too bad. Is that okay? I’ll be leaving right after school is out next week for Colorado and it will be awhile before we get back.” Noel looks at me and waits for my response.

  “I’d like that very much. I don’t have anything planned that I know of,” I tell him as I step backward. “I’ll wait for you to call,” I tell him and turn to open the door. Noel grabs my hand and stops me before I can turn the doorknob. I turn my head to face him, and am caught by how close he is. Noel leans down and kisses my forehead.

  “Goodnight, Sweetness. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Noel tells me and walks back to his car and leaves. He turns to look my way as he opens his car door. He smiles widely, and with the light from the street lamp by the driveway, I can see him wink at me before he gets in the Mustang and leaves. Again, he leaves me standing here, speechless. Every time he does that, and every time I love it more.

  I’m about to get into bed after showering the bowling alley smell off of me when I get a text from Noel.

  HANDSOME: Goodnight, Sweetness. Sleep well.

  ME: I will. You, too. :)

  HANDSOME: Always.

  Placing my phone on the charger, I can’t contain my smile as I climb into bed. The music playing and my thoughts of Noel lull me into a deep sleep where those thoughts carry on. I fall asleep quickly, lost in my dreams of Noel. I dream of kissing Noel and doing something more. The feelings that being with Noel brings out in me are stronger than I would like to admit. I’m so connected to him that I forget myself when we’re together. We just are and don’t ever have to worry about how to be. It’s so natural with him.

  My parents are out of town this weekend visiting my mom’s parents in Texarkana. They left after lunch today and won’t be back until sometime Sunday evening. The harsh February weather hasn’t been good to her and my parents want to go down and make sure she getting things taken care of around her house. I have a practice game tomorrow afternoon so I couldn’t go with them.

  Since it’s Friday night and several new movies were released today, I knew the theatres would be extremely crowded with people, so Xana and I are just going to rent a movie or two and hang out at my house. Cade and Stacy are coming over to hang out with us. With our exhibition game being tomorrow, neither of us
really wants to do much more than hang out and relax.

  I’m almost grateful that they’ll be here with us. It’s getting harder to be alone with her and not take things further. I can tell she feels the same way. Once her lips are on mine, I lose all control of my thoughts and my hands take over. Her mouth is always so minty from that damn Orbitz gum she’s constantly chewing, and that coconut Chapstick she always puts on under her lip gloss makes her mouth taste even better. How is that even possible?

  I know most guys wouldn’t even think twice about going all the way by now, but Xana’s not just a girlfriend to me. The connection we have goes deeper than that for both of us. We’ve had numerous conversations about these things. Talking is something we’re good at, unlike Cade and Stacy. Sometimes I’m amazed at how well they do get along without talking.

  Cade and Stacy are supposed to pick up the pizza on their way over, and Xana and I, well, mostly Xana, picked out a few movies on our way back to my house. I really didn’t have much say in what movies were chosen. Xana took control and I just went along with whatever she wanted. Fortunately for me and Cade, she doesn’t care too much for the usual chick flicks and chose Skyfall and Pacific Rim. Cade should be happy with those choices.

  Xana and I are just walking in my front door when my phone rings. I close the door and reach for my phone while she carries the movies into the living room. I lay my keys on the entryway table and follow behind her. She points to the bathroom and I nod in understanding and answer the call.

  Xana returns from the bathroom as I am getting the movies set up in the DVD player. “Who was that on the phone?” she asks as she wraps her arms around my waist. Placing my arm around her shoulders, I kiss her forehead before pulling her to the couch.

  “That was Cade. He and Stace aren’t going to be able to come over tonight.” I grab the remotes from the coffee table beside me and start the movie. While we wait for the previews we can not fast forward through, I tell Xana about Stacy and Cade taking her grandparents to see her grandma’s sister who lives in Springdale. She apparently became severely dehydrated and was rushed to the hospital. Since she lives alone and won’t be released until at least tomorrow, Cade is going along to help drive and take care of things until she’s released.

  “I’m glad Stacy and Cade are going with them. They’re getting older and I worry about them driving so far by themselves,” Xana says as she snuggles closer into my side. We decide to go ahead and order ourselves some pizza instead of waiting until later.

  The previews are over quickly, and we settle in to watch Pacific Rim. Apparently, Charlie Hunnan is on the “must watch” list these days. The living room lights are off, except for the lamp on the end table by the recliner and the light in the entryway, and the surround sound is turned on. My dad loves his electronics, and I rather enjoy how much it makes Xana jump when there are loud noises and fighting. She’s practically sitting in my lap by the time the pizza arrives. She’s so cute when she’s startled and hiding her face in my shirt. If I hadn’t wrapped my arms around her, she would have jumped off the couch by now.

  After the movie is over and Charlie has saved the day, we pick up what’s left of the pizza and put it in the kitchen. It’s still early, so we decide to go ahead and watch the other movie. We settle back on the end of the couch, Xana’s back against the arm of the couch, and her skirt covered legs lying across mine. I have one arm around her back and the other is on top of her legs.

  As the movie begins, Xana lays her head on my shoulder. Her forehead presses against my neck, and I can feel her breathing across my throat. The scent of her coconut shampoo fills my nose, causing me to breathe deeper. Xana’s fingers begin rubbing across the knuckles of my hand on her legs. Inhaling, once again, I turn my face just enough to place a small kiss on the tip of her nose.

  Xana tilts her head upward to place the gentlest of kisses on my chin, making me look down into her eyes. The hand around her back pulls her closer to my chest as my thumb brushes the side of her breast. Xana’s breath becomes shaky as we lean into each other, our mouths connecting, and I tangle my tongue with hers. The hand across her legs slides the hem of her long skirt to her knees before slipping beneath it and grabbing her firm bottom. God, her skin feels so good. Xana lets out a soft moan as she places one hand on my chest and leans into the kiss even more.

  I move the hand around her waist up to the back of her neck, and flex my grip on her bottom, pulling her as close to me as possible. Xana slides her hands around my neck and grabs onto my hair, pulling it roughly. That seems to be her favorite thing to do to me.

  I kiss my way down her neck as I twist us around so that we are lying on the couch, facing one another, her back on the armrest. I take her mouth with mine and my hand moves under her shirt to the clasp of her bra. Xana’s hands move my shirt up and she runs her hands over my chest. Her hands feel amazing on my skin.

  “Noel,” Xana moans in my mouth as one of her hands moves to my back, her fingernails digging into my skin. My breathing is so fast; I force myself to pull away from her delicious mouth.

  Placing my forehead against hers I tell her, “You can’t know just how much I want you right now, Sweetness. You have to tell me to stop.”

  Xana looks down at my lips and raises her eyes to mine. “But I really don’t want to stop anymore,” she whispers. I close my eyes and grab her hip tightly, while I take a deep breath.

  Opening my eyes I ask, “Are you really sure you want to do this? I thought we wanted to wait longer before we took this step, baby.” As much as my body is telling me to finish what we’ve started, I don’t want to mess up our relationship by going further than we’re ready for.

  “I know we’ve talked about it, about waiting longer, but I want this with you. I think the time is right, now. It feels right to me.” Xana’s hand caresses my face, her thumb brushing lightly over my bottom lip.

  “If you’re really sure about this,” I ask, staring into her eyes.

  “Yes. Completely, but only if you’re sure, too,” she says softly, before leaning in to kiss me.

  I release the clasp of her bra and move Xana to lie on her back as I lean over her. My hand pushes her bra cups over her breasts. I move my leg in between hers and rub her nipples with my thumbs. Xana’s hands move down to grab my ass, her hands sliding under the waistband of my pants and underwear. I moan into her mouth as I press my thigh into her center, making her press back against me.

  “Oh, Noel,” she exclaims as I kiss my way down her neck to her throat. I squeeze her breast in my palm and rub her nipple between my fingers, making them harder than they were. I pull away from her throat and take a deep breath.

  “If you still want to do this, we need to take this to my room,” I warn her.

  “Take me to your room, Handsome,” she breathes unsteadily. I rise from the couch and pull her up and into my chest. Bending slightly, I scoop her up by the waist and she wraps her arms and legs around me, as I walk us to my room.

  I stand Xana in front of my bed and turn the lamp on the nightstand on. She reaches for the hem of her shirt and pulls it over her head, taking her unfastened bra with it, and tosses them to the side. My God, she is absolutely stunning. I take a step closer and she reaches for the hem of my shirt, her eyes never leaving mine.

  “I’ve got it,” I tell her as I remove my t-shirt and toss it on top of hers. I guide her backward until her legs hit the bed and she falls backward onto my emerald green comforter. Her curly strawberry blonde hair looks amazing fanned out behind her. I climb on the bed after her, my weight resting on my hands and knees.

  Xana raises her hands to my face, pulling my mouth to hers and kisses me hard, our teeth bumping against each other. I run one of my hands along the length of her smooth legs and over her stomach to fondle her breast. I squeeze it in my hand and pull on her hardened nipple. Xana pulls my hair harder and raises her hips once again to press her center harder into my leg.

  We continue to kiss for what seems lik
e hours, each of us feeling and tasting the other with determination to leave nothing unexplored. I place kisses along her throat and between her breasts, stopping to suck each nipple into my mouth, while Xana’s hands move to unbutton my jeans. I pull away from her and stand. Running my hands up her legs to slide underneath her skirt, my fingers trace along the edge of her silky panties. I can already feel how soaked she is.

  “We can still stop this right now, Xan,” I tell her, looking for any signs of regret on her flushed face.

  Xana stares at me, for what feels like an eternity, before she shakes her head. “No. I’m not, we’re not stopping.” She moves to remove her skirt and I help her slide it off. I take off my own pants as Xana moves further up on the bed, and I lie beside her.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” I tell her shakily, and look into her bright blue eyes.

  “You’re not so bad to look at yourself,” she whispers as her hands run over my chest, tracing every contour she can find. It feels so amazing, I lean over her and suck her bottom lip into my mouth, and my boxer covered erection presses into her pink silk covered mound. I only thought I was hard all of the other times we’ve made out. I’m so hard at this moment that once I’m inside her I know I won’t be able to stop, even if I wanted to.

  Leaning back, I brush some curls away from her face. “Last chance, Sweetness. Once we start, I’m not going to be able to stop and I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Xana reaches down and removes her panties, her eyes never leaving mine. I stare in awe as she lies naked before me. Standing, I remove my boxers and take a condom from my nightstand drawer. Thank goodness Cade left them here after he played a prank on Cole last month. I didn’t think Xana and I would need them so soon.

  Xana watches me closely as I slide the condom over my girth, not embarrassed at all. I lie on my side beside her, my weight resting on my forearm. My other hand squeezes her nipples, causing her to groan loudly, and I move my hand along her stomach to cup her wet mound. Xana gasps as my fingers slide over her clit and through her folds. As one of my fingers slides into her heat, she gasps again and moans, “Oh, Noel!”