"Well shit." I breathed out in surprise. I could feel Coen smirking although my eyes were closed. I opened them to indeed see a proud smile on his face. He began biting his lip and bouncing his leg impatiently, watching me intently as I finished.
"So..." His eyes widened, waiting for my response.
"I demand dinner nights every weekend next year in New York. You are a great cook." I scarfed down the rest of the alfredo, glancing at the pot to see how much was left.
He clapped his hands together, triumphantly throwing a fist in the air before putting the plates into the sink. "Do you wanna watch a movie? We need something to do." He grabbed a towel to dry off his hands. I admired the way his back muscles were presenting through the thin fabric of his black tank. "I'm supposed to be here to help you study, not Netflix and chill."
His whole body whipped around as his eyes found mine, a grin crept across his face.
"I mean we can study and chill?" He wiggled his brows.
"Coen! Only study, but we can wait for that, I actually have a late birthday gift for you. It was supposed to be here on time, but things got pushed back a little." I stood up, slipping my shoes back on.
"Another one? You don't have too Ren."
I shushed him and hurried off outside to my car. Pulling the wrapped canvas out of the backseat, and the smaller sheet of paper along with it, I speedily walked back inside. The sleeveless turtleneck not a well choice for the relentless winter weather.
I left the actual gift by the kitchen out of sight and came walking into the living room with the sheet of paper.
He sat down on the chair looking up at me with one of his brows cocked. "What are you giving me." He questioned. I could tell he was trying to mask his excitement.
"I made this with some of my old art supplies. I may or may not have a hidden talent." He leaned forward ready to receive the gift.
"You're an artist too?! Gosh. You make me feel really unproductive with my life?" He chuckled. I began laughing. Hard. Really hard, thinking about how he was going to react to the fake gift.
I turned around the sheet of paper, pushing it toward him. "Happy birthday!" His whole face dropped as he bit his lip harshly to keep from laughing. His ears reddened rapidly as he let out a cough. He grabbed the page and examined it slowly. The page was littered in rainbow-colored hearts with his name written in the middle very poorly in crayon.
"Wow it's...uhm it's unique. But it's cute. Thank you." He smiled genuinely. I burst into a wheezing laugh of uncontrolled humor. I could hear his confused mumbles in the background, asking why I was laughing.
I even fell down, kneeling on the floor trying to catch my breath from laughing so hard.
"Woo!" I took a deep breath wiping the tears from my eyes. "I'm just playing with you. This—" I rushed toward the kitchen, grabbing the much bigger canvas. "Is your actual gift."
He chuckled, wiping fake sweat from his brow.
"You left your charger in my car one day so I had come over to give it back to you and ended up giving it to Rosa and talking her instead"
He held his heart and dropped his head in fake hurt. "When she likes the German chef more than she likes you."
I giggled. "Back to being serious. Rosa was telling me all about when you were a child you were you were really photogenic and loved having your photo taken but as time passed, you kind of stopped."
He smiled to himself. "That's when family life was good you know? Now whenever I'm having my photo taken, its usually family photos and there's nothing fun about it"
"Yeah, and so when I went home, I looked through the photo collection link from the anniversary party and I found a perfect candid of you... and me too kinda. I make an appearance. So, I contacted the photographer, and he printed the photo." He eyes became big and bright as a child like smile danced onto his face.
"Close your eyes so I can set it up against the wall," he held his hands over his eyes and shuffled on his feet like a little kid waiting for ice cream.
Once I peeled away his eyes, he stared at the canvas, deep breaths entering the silent room. He stepped forward, examining the photo closer. "Do you like it?" I asked hesitantly.
The photograph was taken after I had performed the song I composed, and we were dancing wildly on the dance floor. The chandelier lights blurred in the background while Coen was perfectly in focus. We were standing back-to-back, his head against mine, leaning to the left, his mask pushed up onto his forehead, his hands in the pockets of his dress pants, and a gigantic smile on his face. His eyes captured so well in the camera that every detail could be viewed from a mile away. It wasn't forced and it wasn't planned. It was raw. It was real. And it was beautiful.
Following from the photo to my face, his eyes bore into me. "No joke, this is my favorite photograph ever. Wow. You are such a beautiful person." Coen smilled and rushed over, pulling me into a tight embrace. "I have never had someone do something like this for me. Seriously. You are fucking incredible." His warmth radiated off his body giving me much needed comfort. His soft hands cupped my face bringing my attention upward. "Thank you. Thank you for constantly showing me that good does exist."
He spoke barely above a whisper. His saturated earth-like eyes searching mine desperately as mine did the same. Gravity was pushing us together and whatever anxious thoughts I had melted away the moment he looked down toward my lips.
Boom!
"What the fuck was that?" The sound of a crash from the house cut us off. "I thought we were here alone."
"Yeah, I thought so too. It might be my dad. He likes to go in the wine cellar a lot to relax as he calls it."
We snuck down a different pair of stairs than the one used for the regular basement. There was sleek dark wood and rich deep purple painted walls.
"Why haven't you taken me down here before?"
"Note to self." Coen chuckled. "My dad always comes down here to get his bougie little wine bottles-" a soft squeal from a women cut off his speech. We had still be standing there on the bottom of the steps, where the people were safely out of view.
We walked down a hallway, taking a peek around the corner to see Mr. McAllister and a women backed against a wall making out. He lowered his lips to her neck, allowing her to move her head and glance around. She made eye contact with us before gasping and pushing his dad off of her.
Before I had a chance to react Coen grabbed my hand, running back up the steps.
My feet could barely move fast enough to keep up with him as he ran and kept running until we made it to the edge of the cold hard driveway.
"Wait." I huffed out bending over with my sweating palms holding my weight against my knees. "Are you okay? I-I mean you just saw your dad making out with some random woman. Like a-are you fine?"
He placed his hands on my shoulders a smirk on his face. "You think this is the first time he's cheated? I had a feeling that this was going to happen again at some point. Nothing is ever a surprise with this dickhead."
"So why did we have to sprint?!"
"To avoid this." He pointed towards his father as he rushed outside, the women far behind, cowering in the doorway.
"Don't tell your mother. She will surely leave me this time." He pleaded, reaching out to grab Coen's wrist but Coen yanked his arm back in disgust.
"Don't touch me you vile vermin. Cheating, in our house, at eleven a.m.? I hope your dick falls off." Coen really must've been used to disappointment in his father because the only reaction he had was genuine laughter. He hopped into my passenger seat, blowing a kiss to his father as I drove off.
"let's hope don't catch anything weird happening here either because wow, I've never heard your house this quiet." Coen flopped down onto my floor, grabbing a bag of chips from my small snack cart. I finished lighting a candle, playing my piano playlist through my speakers for background noise.
"It's because no one is home. Joey, Wesley, and Tyrone went to play basketball. And Mom and Dad took Macy grocery shopping with them so we have the house to ourselves for at least another three hours until I have to rush you out the house, drive around for ten minutes, and ask my mom if you can come over, just for us to come back to the house." I shrugged joining him on the floor as he chuckled.
"This feels scandalous. I've never been in a house when I wasn't supposed to be." He smirked, grabbing another back of chips, letting his head fall into my lap. "I got caught one time at Malik's house. It was literally like twenty minutes after I lost my virginity oh my gosh. I was so embarrassed." I rubbed my eyes.
"What?! Story time now!" Coen pulled my hand away, a devilish smile on his face urging me to continue. "Nope." I shook my head. He sat up and pouted throwing the chip bag at me. His eyes sparkled with mischievousness as he spoke up. "Let's play twenty-one questions."
I already knew where this was going, and I had no choice but to let him have his way. "How about five questions and we both have to answer." He laid his head back in my lap. "Deal. Tell me the story of how you lost your virginity."
"Oh gosh. It wasn't anything crazy. We were in his room, and we started kissing, and then clothes began coming off and before I knew it he was naked. And then it kinda happened and God, it was so bad. It was his first time too so after he finally managed to slip it in, four thrust and a minute later he was finished."
Coen's eyes widened in disbelief as a deep guttural laugh bellowed from, he. "No! I feel so bad for you." He could barely get out in between the laughing. "Ill give him credit, he definitely got better over time but still, that first time was a major yikes." I joined in the laugher, mushing his head down.
"How about you mister my first time lasted an hour." He mushed my head back, letting his laughter finally die down. "Mine was to Jessica Manchietto. Before she starter smoking cigarettes." My eyes widened in surprise. "You're lying!" He shook his head. "We had a very awkward reunion at the music therapy. That's why I came into the main section where you were playing piano.
I ran my fingers through his hair, getting into a comfortable position. "But anyway, we were hanging out a little during freshman year and Ella and I broke up that summer into sophomore year, so my attention went to Jessica. It was clear she was into me so one day I took her on a cringey date to McDonalds. Yes, McDonalds. But it worked because she was like head over heels feeling me and she was way more experienced than Ella was, and I was, so she was like brand new territory and I was horny all the time. She is a freak."
I laughed at his expression as he ran a hand over his brow. "But one day she sent me nudes and my wimpy ass literally stole Carson's car, drove me and her to a park, and had sex with her for like three minutes in the backseat."
It was my turn to burst into laughter. His ears reddened and he hid his face in his hands masking the embarrassment of the memory. I pulled his hands from face, getting up close to him to laugh in his ears. He squirmed in my lap, a grin on his face as he fought me off.
"New question! Have you ever been in love?" I relented from the teasing, sitting back in thought to answer. "I definitely loved Malik, but I don't think I was ever in love. Like there was never a moment where I thought that he could possibly be the man I marry. I never though of a future outside of higshchool for us. Does that make sense?" I asked.
He nodded yes. "I don't think I was ever in love with Ella either. I think I fell in love with the idea of having someone to love and it kind of manifested into her but I was never in love with her. I was in love with the version of her I had created..." he trailed off.
I ran my fingers through his hair. It was delicate to the touc. Insanely soft like how we'd imagine clouds would feel. The strands caught un your fingers and slipped away with ease. His eyes closed to my touch, his breath slightly louder when I accidentally tugged.
"Wow, things were so sexual and then it just got deep." I chuckled as he did the same. "I mean both questions just invoked the truth and lots of people don't like truth. I guess that's why people use things to distract them. Some good distractions and some bad." He shrugged.
The sexual tension was building, impossible to be oblivious to. The longing to finish the almost kiss from earlier had me starving, and with the way his head leaned into my hand, it had me longing for the same.
I kept running my fingers through his hair but took my right hand and placed it over his heart. His eyes opened. The soft brown lashes, his blush-stained cheeks, and a small smile in the corner of his mouth. He looked directly up at me at the sudden touch and my heart raced. Whatever thoughtful words I wanted to say left my brain.
"Usually I'd have some crazy Serenity wisdom to say but right now I cant think." He smirked, sliding off my lap, turning his body toward me, and propping up onto his elbow. "Why not?" He asked.
"I don't know. I mean I literally used you as a distraction when I kissed you at the party, which is messed up I admit it, but if anyone understands—"
The weight of his body moved from his elbow down to his palm. The veins on his arm became prominent as he pressed up with his hand, our faces now on the same level. It was so sudden. My fingers were still in his hair, my hands still lingering on his chest.
Before either of us could fully process his actions, he leaned in and connected our lips in a kiss.
Just like my 14th birthday, he stopped almost as quickly as he had begun. An unknown look in his eyes. I became aware of my shocked face, quickly changing my expression to one of content. There were so many thoughts and decisions I was unsure of, except for this. I wanted him to do it again.
I looked into his eyes, my fingers running through his hair again, this time purposefully tugging a little. His eyes danced with desire and his tongue ran over his lips as his next words doused me in ecstasy.
"Sometimes its fun to be used."
That phrase alone sent shudders down my spine. Whatever thoughts I had been thinking were eliminated. His hands were on either side of my hips, his right hand sliding up on my thigh, his fingers pressing into my skin involuntarily.
I liked my lips, a small smirk forming. My body language forming letting him know that it was oay. It was more than okay. I wanted it. I needed it. Kiss me again. I'm begging.
"This isn't gonna be like when we were 14..."
"What do you mean?" He questioned in a sultry whisper. Our bodies moving closer and closer together until I tightened my grip in his hair, his eyes rolling involuntarily.
"Back then we were naïve kids who were confused. I'm not confused anymore." And with that, Coen leaned in, a new hunger he was yet to unleash. Our lips smashed together, our hands instantly roaming our bodies. Euphoric sensations filling the atmosphere heated the room in a warmth that was intoxicating.
We had yet to begin and I already craved it again.
Before I knew it our clothes were in place of where our bodies were on the floor and our bodies were now straddling in the center of our bed.
A symphony of moans, the piano, and the giggles coming from the incredibly loud condom wrapper, the scent of his cologne now permanently woven into my sheets, and his gorgeous eyes piercing mine as he came to an astonishingly sexy finish.
We had sex. And I definitely wanted to do it again.