If You Don’t Believe It
Maybe I waited too long
Maybe I played my cards wrong
Oh, just a little bit wrong
Baby I apologize for it
I could fall, or I could fly
Here in your aeroplane
And I could live, I could die
Hanging on the words you say
And I’ve been known to give my all
And jumping in harder than
Ten thousand rocks on the lake
The next time Carolina woke, her throat was so dry that it burned. She was uncomfortably warm, but that was likely due to Taylor’s body so close to hers. It was the first time that day that she hadn’t felt nauseous, at least. That was good enough for her.
She could feel Taylor’s eyes on her before she opened hers, but that still didn’t prepare her for the intensity of his stare when she finally blinked her tired eyes open. He gave her a sleepy smile and she felt herself blush. Glancing down didn’t make her feel any better; at some point in her sleep, her shirt had become twisted around and half a breast was exposed. She was sure her face must be the same shade as the neon pink lace of her bra. Quickly, she yanked her shirt back into place, but the damage was done.
Taylor chuckled. “What, are you shy now?”
“I guess there’s no reason to be,” she replied, slowly glancing up at him. “But it’s just… you know, a lot.”
“You do really have an unfair amount of boobs,” Taylor replied. “Do you ever think about you should share with less fortunate girls?”
“No, not really,” Carolina said, grinning. It wasn’t exactly a compliment, but it was the first time Taylor had made any sort of allusion to, really, anything about her body. She was willing to pretend it was a compliment.
He ran his hand up the side of her body until it came to rest along the side of her breast. Carolina diligently tried not to look him in the eye while he ran his hand across her chest, nudging her shirt back down. Carolina let her eyes fall closed, enjoying his soft touch. When he grasped her hand in his, she wasn’t sure what he had in mind until she felt him tugging it toward his body.
She tried to resist the urge to groan when she felt him—already hard—beneath her hand. “You know, I really did just come here to nap.”
“Did you?” Taylor replied, more teasing than accusation in his tone.
Carolina just pulled her hand back and shoved her face into the pillow. “I told you I should be in the hospital. Not doing—that—right now.”
“Well, alright,” Taylor replied, pulling himself up and beginning to climb over her, “but I think I’m all napped out.”
“Come here,” Carolina said before she could stop herself, putting her hand on the back of his head and pulling him down.
His lips landed harshly against hers, his teeth grazing her bottom lip. He planted rough, sloppy kisses along her jaw and cheek, then sucked her earlobe into his mouth. Carolina didn’t understand how he could want her so much, especially in the condition she was in, but she couldn’t argue with it. Simply lying next her was apparently more than he could handle, and she was powerless to tell him no, regardless of how ill she still felt.
This was unlike he had been the first time, the way he was nipping at her flesh and pawing at her clothing now. Carolina didn’t know what she had done to bring out this side of him—maybe nothing. Maybe this was how he really was, and he just hadn’t shown this side the first time. She decided she liked this side better.
The spell was broken for a moment when Taylor yanked off the bra she had unhooked and tossed it into the floor. A confused snuffle came from the floor, followed by the sound of dog paws skittering in the floor. Carolina couldn’t resist laughing out loud.
“What’s so funny?” Taylor asked, pressing his forehead against hers as he ran a hand up her inner thigh.
“Nothing,” Carolina replied, the word ending in a whimper when his fingers found their destination between her legs.
This was different—light streamed in through the window and everything was exposed. Carolina let her head fall back against the pillow and closed her eyes, not wanting to look at Taylor while he could see all of her. She could still feel his eyes on her as he leaned over her body.
“This is so hot,” he breathed out.
Carolina’s eyes popped open of their own accord. Taylor knelt on the bed, the hand that wasn’t between Carolina’s legs wrapped around his own dick. She tried not to stare. She let out a soft chuckle in response to his words, though a voice deep inside of mind pointed out that he hadn’t said she was hot. It was what they were doing, how willing she was to lay there and let him explore—that was what turned him on.
She couldn’t resist. She watched his hand move frantically back and forth, then glanced up at his face, his mouth hanging open slightly, bottom lip looking perfectly bitable. “I feel like you’re trying to tell me something here.”
“And what do you think that is?” Taylor replied.
Carolina chuckled and rolled her eyes. She supposed, after everything he had done to and for her, he had earned a little something in return. She nudged his hand away and crawled toward him. Her hands planted on his thighs, she darted her tongue out to touch the tip of his dick. She hadn’t done this for a while, but like anything else, it was like riding a bicycle; she quickly found her rhythm and bobbed back and forth easily, in spite of his generous length.
“Oh, fuck,” Taylor moaned out. His moans were like music to Carolina’s ears, and that was only partially because he sounded like one of his songs. She’d never really believed in her skills in this area, had never felt like any guy she’d gone down on had been all that thrilled about it. Taylor’s moans and gasps were exactly the sort of feedback she needed; she only regretted that she was doing this when she barely had the energy to hold herself upright and give him everything he deserved.
When Carolina came up for a breath, Taylor shoved her down against the mattress. She gasped, but couldn’t resist smiling up at him as he positioned himself and thrust into her. Again, no condom. She liked being able to feel that close to him, to have nothing in between them to dull the sensation.
She closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the feeling, finally feeling like herself for the first time that day. There was definitely a strange irony to the fact that this, of all things, seemed to heal her hangover, but she was in no condition to question it. When Taylor finally pulled back to slip on a condom, she felt herself falling, her head spinning. When he thrust back into her, she was anchored again.
The whole thing was over far too quickly, but Carolina supposed that was for the best. Maybe it was the trace of alcohol still in her system, but she couldn’t remember why she’d thought Taylor wasn’t the best she’d ever had. Those sort of things, that sort of bliss, was best in small doses, she thought.
She fell back against the mattress and watched in a haze as he stood, tossed the condom in a trash can, and walked out of the room humming a familiar melody under his breath. One of his own songs? She was too far gone to be sure.
He hadn’t even bothered to put his underwear back on.
A few minutes later, just as Carolina had managed to pull herself out of bed, gather up her underwear and put it back on, Taylor walked into the room, fully dressed in a different outfit. She recognized the leather jacket slung over his shoulder. She climbed back onto the bed and pulled the covers over her legs and stomach.
Taylor sat down next to her, a strange look on his face. “So, what’s your plan now?”
He wanted her to leave, she realized, or at least expected it. Gently, he was trying to see if she would figure this out for herself. She shrugged and offered him a weak smile. “Well, I don’t think I’m really in any condition to drive home… and it’ll be crazy late by the time I get there if I do. At least I don’t work tomorrow.”
“Well, the thing is—I have plans tonight. Meeting up with a friend. I need to head out soon; he said he’d be there around nine. So, I mean… you’re welcome to stay, but I don’t know what time I’ll be back.”
“I’m just going to go back to sleep,” Carolina said. She had backed Taylor into a corner, she knew. Forcing him to either kick her out or trust that it was safe to let her stay at his house by herself… they weren’t good choices, and she hated herself for getting into a situation where she saw no other good options.
Taylor let out a soft laugh. “You really are pretty bad off, huh? I’ll text you on my way back.”
“Okay,” Carolina replied. “I told you I felt like shit.”
Taylor just chuckled again and patted her knee before he stood up and walked out of the room.
Just as Carolina heard the front door close, her phone buzzed from somewhere in the floor. She dug her phone out of her purse and saw that it was a text from Mia.
I’m okay. Had a rough night and morning.
You didn’t drive home today, did you?
No, I ended up texting a friend from college. Crashing at her place. I’ll be alright tomorrow, I’m sure.
Carolina located Laura’s name in her recent texts, and sent her a quick one to let her know she was fine and was staying with Taylor. She probably should have texted her sooner, but she knew Laura had a long flight home. She wasn’t all that sure she wanted to know what Laura had to say about her sleeping with Taylor again, either.
Once that text was sent, she flipped her phone over and sat it face down on the nightstand. She felt awful for lying to Mia, but she didn’t see any other options. Someday she would come clean with her about things between her and Taylor, but right then wasn’t the time.
She rolled back over and within just a few minutes, she was asleep again. Her mouth was dry and her stomach had begun to rumble a bit, but she didn’t want to go snooping through Taylor’s kitchen. It took enough trust for him to leave her there alone; she wasn’t going to do anything that might possibly violate that trust.
What felt like only a few minutes later, the sound of her phone buzzing near her head awoke her again. It was Taylor.
No, just more sleep
Haha okay. I’ll be there soon.
Maybe she had misjudged and he hadn’t been so upset to let her stay after all. Then again, he wasn’t a complete and total asshole. Even if she had put him out, he wouldn’t treat her like shit. He would still manage to exhibit basic manners. That was all it was.
Whatever it was, she felt okay for the first time all day. After everything, including what she had done with Taylor, she should have felt worse. She didn’t. She just wanted to sleep.
She awoke again when she felt Taylor climbing into bed next to her. She hadn’t bothered to put on more than her bra and panties, and she was cold for a moment when he lifted the covers. His body was warm, and she curled against it happily.
“Hey,” he said softly. “And goodnight, I guess.”
“Goodnight.”
For the third time that day, she fell asleep easily, the soft sound of Taylor’s breath music to her ears.