Chapter 8 - Hide Your Lovers Underneath The Covers

                                    

                                          
***BARRY***
                          
I'm actually surprised Kara asked me to sleep with her tonight. I mean, I came prepared. I usually do. But still, I didn't really expect her to make that proposal. Although I'm glad she did, because I wouldn't have wanted to make it myself. I think she's the kind of woman who wants to be in control, who wants to make as many big relationship decisions as possible.
                          
That's the kind of woman I'd always run to, not from.
                          
Tonight, I find myself using my speed to sneak into Kara's room before Conner or Alex can catch me. Yes, you read that correctly. "Sneaking." I know we're both responsible adults, but the both of us being first-timers, I can't help but feel like a teenager. Hell, it really does remind me of when I was a teenager. In senior year, my first girlfriend and I, we came very close to swiping each other's V-cards. But then her parents came home, and I spent almost an hour hiding under her bed because I was so scared of what would happen if I'd gotten caught. I ended up breaking my curfew that night, and so Joe caught me anyway.
                          
Yeah, what Lauren Williams saw in me, even for that month or so, I still have no idea. I remember after I came home to find Joe waiting for me, I told him that I was going to break up with her because I felt there was something wrong and I couldn't put my finger on it.
                          
"Let me ask you something," he'd said. "Does she look at you like you're the only guy in the world?"
                          
I shrugged. "I...I don't know. I don't even think I know what that looks like."
                          
"Then this girl's not right for you, Bar." He smiled ruefully. "Truth hurts, I know."
                          
"Not that much," I said, and it was true. I didn't feel such a powerful pang of heartbreak then. "Honestly, I think her type is more jock than nerd."
                          
"But she must've seen something in you," Joe said. "See, you're not so hopeless with the ladies after all. And hey, when a girl gives you that look I talked about...trust me, you'll know it when you see it."
                          
When Kara comes into her room and drops onto the bed next to me, she holds my face in both hands and gives me what can only be described as "that look." She gazes into my eyes, and hers are watering just a bit. Not to mention fluttering. I'm not kidding. Though to be fair, I think mine are too. Fluttering, that is. And watering for sure.
                          
This isn't the first time I've spent the night in her bed. This isn't the first time we've kissed each other to sleep. This isn't the first time we've fallen asleep in each other's arms.
                          
But this is the first time we've seen each other in fewer threads than what we'd wear on the street.
                          
I think Kara's nervous, but if so, she does a damn good job of pretending otherwise, projecting an aura of confidence I'm not so sure I can match. She gets my hoodie and shirt off and pins me down to the mattress, kissing me slowly and teasingly while she reaches for the iPod dock by her bed and turns the magic on with her favorite song, "Adventure Of A Lifetime." The tips of her hair touch my shoulders, and she runs her fingers in warm trails over my chest and sides. I'm aching to lose myself in her...and I'm literally vibrating with excitement.
                          
Oh no. Bad Barry. This is no time to speed through life, not when you're about to make sweet love to the sweetest woman you've ever known. Savor every moment, boy!
                          
(I don't know why, but I hear all that in Cisco's voice.)
                          
I clench my fists, then relax. Rinse and repeat for about half a minute, then I stop vibrating. Still, though, my entire body is taut, wound up tighter than a guitar string. When I hook my fingers under the neckline of her shirt and pull it over her head, I feel her skin and sense that same tightness in her. She's running hot, dying for me to join with her. I'm surprised she doesn't light my jeans on fire when she tugs them off my legs - hell, she barely even thinks to unbuckle my belt first.