Some Things Never Change [SHAWN MENDES]

December 28, 2013

I got up and went to the refrigerator in the bar area that my dad had installed last summer, which was where we stored all the chilled alcohol. I grabbed a bottle of champagne and held it up. "Want some?"

"Why not," she replied.

I popped the cork, hoping our parents didn't hear the distinct sound, and took a long swig. I then sat back down on the couch and handed it to Ceci who did the same.

She picked our conversation up again. "I have nothing to base this off of, but I feel like kissing, making out, and sex are things that you can learn how to do well pretty quickly as long as you are attuned to what your partner likes."

"But how can you tell what someone likes? It's not like I can stop every few seconds to ask for a rating on a scale of one to ten!"

We each took another drink from the bottle.

"If they seem into it, they probably like it," she said matter-of-factly as she turned her whole body so that she was facing me. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the alcohol.

"Easy for you to say. Guys like anything as long as a girl is involved. You have no idea how many times I've heard Matt say that a bad blow job is still a blow job."

Ceci wrinkled her nose and took a long drink. "He's said that? Yuck."

"But you get my point, right? Even if the girl is terrible, the guy will still love it."

"It's sexist for you to imply women are more critical or somehow harder to please."

"I didn't mean it like that," I said after we both took two more big sips of champagne. "Don't be mad at me."

"When you pout like that, your lips look pretty kissable. I think you'll be just fine," she said with a wink.

"You totally want to kiss me, don't you?" This was totally out of character for me but for some reason I was saying whatever came into my head.

"Ew. Gross! Never!" she said, punctuating the statement with gagging noises.

"But you just said I was kissable."

Her expression turned serious. "We're drinking this champagne really fast. We should probably stop before we do or say something stupid."

My heart did a weird little flip flop as I thought about what she was saying. Again, my brain seemed unable to stop my mouth. "Ya know, Ceci...it wouldn't be the worst thing if we kissed. Not romantically, of course, but just as two friends who need the practice."

She started to giggle. "You think we should kiss? Right here, right now?"

"You'd be doing me a favor," I said earnestly.

She grabbed the bottle and took one more drink from it. "Okay, but...(hiccup)...if we do this, we never talk about it again. Is that understood?"

"It'll be forgotten as soon as it's done."

We just stared at each other for several seconds.

"You aren't super drunk, are you?" I asked. "I don't want to do this if you are."

"No. I might be slightly inebriated, but I know what I'm doing. You're definitely not taking advantage of me, if that's what you're worried about."

"Good. So, um, I'm going to kiss you, okay?"

She answered by closing her eyes and leaning towards me.

I scooted closer to her and lowered my head so that it was level with hers. Then I moved closer until my lips touched hers.

Ceci fell back on the couch and started to laugh. "Sorry! This is just so surreal. Give me a second and I'll be ready to try again."

She took a couple deep breaths, sat upright, and gave me a thumbs up. This time I put my hands on her elbows before leaning in, and when our lips made contact, she stayed where she was. We were still for a second, but then we started to really kiss.

I felt her pull away so I opened my eyes.

"I feel like we're positioned awkwardly," she said. "You're very stiff and the way you're holding my arms isn't very natural."

"See? This is exactly why I need help with this!" I said.

"I'm going to sit on your lap and you should hold on to me like you can't get enough of me. No fondling, though! There are limits to this exercise."

She got up and sat sideways across my thighs, hooking her arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer.

"Is this better?" I asked.

"It's definitely more comfortable."

We started to kiss again. When she started to suck on my bottom lip, I felt a surge of excitement. Things were definitely starting to get a little heated. Our tongues found their way into each other's mouths, and I was really enjoying the sensual experience. Ceci's fingers ran up my neck and into my hair, and as she grasped at my curls, I let out an involuntary moan.

I pulled her tightly against me as one of my hands held onto her hip and the other stroked her back. I decided to try something different, so I broke away from her mouth and peppered kisses along her jaw, down to her neck. I pulled her hair aside and sucked on the tender flesh below her ear. This time, she was the one moaning.

"Don't leave a mark," she said breathlessly.

"Shit, sorry," I whispered in her ear. "I got carried away."

"Hmmm. Me, too."

I needed more. Kissing her again, I let one hand caress the soft skin of her back under her sweater. I brought my other hand to cup her face as I deepened the kiss. She shifted on my lap so that she wasn't as close to me, and I was mortified when I realized why. I was very aroused and she'd obviously felt it pressing on the back of her upper thigh.

Fuck. Was she mad? It didn't seem like it since there was no indication that she wanted to stop. We continued to make out for the next half hour.

"Dessert in ten minutes!" my dad called down the stairs.

Ceci flew off my lap and I grabbed a pillow to hold over the bulge in my jeans.

"That's was, uh, great," I said. "Right?"

"I can safely promise you that you're not going to embarrass yourself with any young ladies you fool around with," she said as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Really? I was okay?"

"Yes, Shawn. You were more than okay."

"Thanks, Ceci. Not for saying that but for helping me out."

"You're welcome, but if you ever bring this up again, I'm going to punch you. Do not tell anyone we did this, either!"

It's not like I could tell my friends anyway. Brian claimed to be in love with Ceci, so it was breaking the bro code for me to mess around with her.

"Don't worry. It'll be our little secret," I assured her.