(RIVALS) The Upside of Falling ✔️

Chapter 51: First

Chapter song: Firestone (acoustic) by Conrad Sewell. Listen on repeat, please. <3

Becca

There are few moments in life that we truly feel alive -- where we are aware of every inch of our body, even the parts that always seemed to go unnoticed; aware of the blood pumping through our heart, beating so quickly it feels like it's in overdrive; aware of every nerve that feels like it's standing on end, making every sensation feel stronger than it ever had before.

This was one of those moments.

My back was pressed into the hard wood of Brett's desk, his body pressed flatly into mine. My head felt like it was swimming in a pool of euphoria. His mouth moved with mine hungrily, forcefully. Kissing, biting, teasing.

When his hand slipped beneath my shirt and grazed the bare skin of my lower back, I wasn't sure if it was my skin that was on fire or if it was his touch that was so hot. But my skin was tingling everywhere his fingers roamed.

Grabbing a fistful of Brett's shirt in my hands, I pulled him even closer, tugging at the fabric impatiently, wanting it gone. Brett placed his hands on mine urgently and one by one, he unlocked my fingers from his shirt.

Brett pulled his face from mine and my mouth felt cold without his on it. One look at his face made my heart stop. His hair was messier than I had ever seen it, sticking up wildly over his head and falling over his forehead and eyebrows, lips swollen and prominent, making my urge to return my mouth to his more dominant than ever. But his eyes, his eyes that always told me exactly what he was feeling, were the colour of the night sky, still sparkling brightly from a fire within.

I watched him in awe as Brett winked at me before quickly lifting his shirt off over his head in one swift movement. My eyes immediately went to his bare chest, traveling up and down his golden skin. He was beautiful, my head tried to find the perfect word to describe him but everything fell short.

The quietness of the room settled around us and even the air felt like it was on fire. Suddenly everything felt very, very real. I lifted my eyes off of Brett's chest and stared at him. He was watching me watch him, his head cocked to the side, eyes blazing.

His hands reached out slowly and grabbed mine where they were laying limp on my lap. Gently, he guided my hands to his chest and placed my palms over his bare skin that was burning hot. I could feel how quickly his heart was beating -- it was even faster than mine. I thought that was impossible.

"Touch me," he whispered impatiently.

My hands roamed over his bare chest like he was a map and I wanted to explore every city. I could feel the hard lines hidden beneath his soft skin, the way his muscles flexed when my fingers traced over them. The way Brett moaned when my hands moved to the skin above the waistband of his jeans, or when I trailed my fingers along the faint trail of hair beginning at his belly bottom before it disappeared below his jeans.

I suddenly became aware of Brett's stillness, the rigid form of his shoulders and the tense line of his mouth. I glanced up and his eyes were closed, his mouth now slightly parted. I could hear his ragged breaths and feel his chest rising rapidly beneath my hands.

His eyes opened suddenly and I gasped. When they met mine, there was desire burning within them -- the same desire that I felt, but something else. Something cautious. His hands remained limp, resting flat on the dresser on either side of my thighs.

He was restraining himself, I realized. Part of him still expected me to tell him to stop, that I wasn't ready for this. But I was ready. I wanted Brett, every single bit of him.