“So beautiful, so tight, so fucking perfect.” He sucked my neck, moving even faster. “Are you close?”

Soon he wouldn’t have to ask me that. He would know by the hitch of my breath, by the gasp that escaped my lips, by the shivering of my body, and by the tightening of my hold of him, when I was close.

When I reached my peak, I cried out in pleasure, and he swallowed the sounds with his mouth over mine and followed with his own orgasm, gripping me so tightly around the thighs, I knew I’d bruise there by morning.

He didn’t move out of me straight away. He waited until our breathing returned to normal, and then he moved to my side and brought my back into his chest, spooning me with a tight hold on my waist. I was hazy and exhausted, but my senses were all too aware of everything around us: the sounds of crickets outside, the gentle feeling of wind pushing through the window screen, the sweaty slippery feel of our bodies entwined, and the smell of our session so palpable in the air it was inescapable.

“How was that for you?” he asked me sometime later.

“Perfect,” I sleepily answered.

“I love you, Sara. I want you. Have wanted you for a long time.”

I turned over so that I could see him. He was looking right at me, seriousness engrained in the features of his beautifully masculine face. “I love you, Jaxon. I think I always have.”

He kissed me on the forehead and nestled his chin on the roof of my head. “Yeah, I think I have too. This was inevitable.”

“But Jaxon,” I paused as uncertainty gripped me.

“Yeah?”

“How much do you want to make this work?”

“More than anything in this world.”

“Enough to stop you breaking the law?”

“Yes,” he replied hastily.

I pulled away and looked up at his all too serious gaze, and raised my eyebrows sceptically. “You answered that way too quickly, Jaxon. At least think it through.”

“Nothing to think through, Sara. I’ll do anything to have you. Besides, I knew that’s what you’d want, and I’m completely okay with it. I’ve made enough money to tide us over for a good while, find us a good place to live in Winthrop, close to your school; don’t worry about it, I’m going to take care of you and I don’t care if I have to scrub toilets in the process.” He kissed me and brought my head to his chest as he settled his back to the mattress. “I promise, Sara. Everything will be fine.”

How could I not believe it when I felt like my life was flawless nestled into him like this? He was amazing, and this beautiful man was willing to change for me. I knew there would be problems because what relationship doesn’t have them? I knew he would be difficult, but I didn’t take into consideration just how hard I might be on him. And I was completely oblivious of the darkness that loomed inside of me; a darkness that would follow me and wait for the perfect moment to strike and destroy everything I held dear.

Seven

Jaxon kept to his promise. He found us a small one bedroom apartment within walking distance to my university. He also found a job as an Apprentice Mechanic at a car garage, and although I knew it wasn’t something he had ever intended on doing, he was happy.

We enjoyed our last summer at Gosnells with smiles on our faces, kicking back and relaxing in each other’s arms, enjoying every second of what was developing between us. What we had was intense, and we quickly realized that after our first night together. We were inseparable, and wanted as much physical contact as possible. “Honeymoon period” they called it, only it never died down.

I didn’t have to tell Lucinda about us. I vaguely remembered the door opening that morning after Prom. She would have seen us embraced in each other’s arms, naked and covered in many questionable marks. I didn’t have the energy to open my eyes, and was still in a state of bliss, half asleep and cocooned in Jaxon’s arms. She must have stood there for ten long seconds before turning back and closing the door as quietly as she had come in.

I knew it wouldn’t bother her, that she took me as the only person that could ground Jaxon and put him on the straight and narrow. She loved me, and although she was ecstatic at our coming together, I felt her eyes on us on several occasions. Always deep in thought with dead eyes and a still mouth, it was like she could see into the future at an impending doom bound our way. We’d lock eyes every so often, and she’d give me a sad smile. I would have done anything to know what she was thinking.

We finished our summer quietly, in each other’s arms, eating good food and listening to Lucinda’s constant pleading to not forget her. We promised her we’d come down every holiday, and that we weren’t far away. It was a three hour drive, after all.

Then we packed our things into Jaxon’s latest car: a more reliable white Toyota four wheel drive that he said would easily see us to and from Winthrop and Gosnells. It was an older model with huge wheels and a roof rack for strorage.

After our heart felt good bye with Lucinda, we excitedly climbed into the car and made our three hour trek eating chocolate bars and listening to music. We had giddy smiles on our faces. This was the start of a new chapter, a life of our own. This was independency and we were going to do it together, as a couple.

The city was huge and the population of two million were bustling outdoors in the heat. I couldn’t wrap my mind around all this activity. It was so unlike the quiet life in our redneck town. Jaxon knew his way around. He’d done the arrangements online, but his navigation skills were exceptional working off a map he’d only just bought.

Our apartment building was in a nice area, but the building itself was a lot older than the others on the busy street. Still, coming from the projects, this was fan-fucking-tastic. Our unit was small, and easy to work with. We had our living room that was a decent size, a tiny kitchen, and a pretty accommodating bedroom with a nicely renovated bathroom that had a separate shower stall and tub.

“Do you like it?” Jaxon asked me as I made my way out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.

“I love it,” I answered before eyeing a queen sized bed. “What’s with the bed?”

“I ordered it last week and asked the landlord if he could be around for the delivery. I paid them extra to put it together.” He dropped the duffel bag of his stuff on the ground and jumped onto the bare mattress, spreading his arms and legs out.