Teagan hummed excitedly to herself as she ran up the stairs to Brian's room, unable to pause for even a moment to wish Alex a neither short hello nor goodbye on the stairs. Oriana had just left with Howie, giving Teagan the opportunity to cuddle with Brian for awhile before she returned with details. Though, she was more excited to tell Brian about the birth control. For so many nights she had dreamed of making love with him. The insanity of her lustful desires seemed to take control with every waking moment. She felt like a crazed teenager driving on the initial rushes of changing hormones. But she convinced herself that it was because of love. So, supplied with birth control, Teagan could finally give into the romantic impulse. She grinned with a dreamy smile as she slipped into Brian's room, watching him read over a sport's magazine at his desk. She sneaked behind him, threw her arms around his neck, and started to place erotic kisses along the length of his throat.
"Mmm... Teags?" Brian murmured with delight, leaning back in the chair to give her full access to his body.
"That's me," Teagan whispered against his throat, nipping softly at the soft skin. The delectable scent of Brian's Nautica cologne filled her senses and sent tingles throughout her body. She loved everything about him.
"How are you?" he moaned softly.
"Fan-freaking-tastic. Ma and Mom told me some news you might like to know," she replied, running her fingers through his sandy locks as she continued to kiss his neck and throat.
"And what would that be?" he breathed with delight, swiveling his chair. Teagan yelped in surprise as he firmly grabbed her by the hips, hoisting her to straddle his lap. He eagerly brought his hands up the sides of her bare skin, pressing a gentle kiss into the exposed flesh of her chest.
"Mmmm..." she moaned, losing her thoughts as she pulled his body close to hers. She found herself falling into the utmost delight, but then remembered what she was going to say. "Oh! I'm going on birth control starting Wednesday."
"Huh?" he laughed against her skin, withdrawing ever so slightly. His light eyebrows arched in confusion at her quickly blurted confession.
"Mom, Ma and I were downstairs looking at wedding stuff. I was talking about how perfect you are and how happy you make me feel... all of a sudden, Mom is signing me up to get birth control from the clinic on Wednesday," she explained with a sheepish smile.
"Oh? Really?"
"Mm-hmm."
"And what does that mean, exactly, Miss Eavans?"
"Well, Mr. Richardson..." she leaned down and began kissing his jaw line. “It means that we'll be able to make love and not have to worry about... you know."
"Mmmm, does that mean I can start planning our special romantic night?" Brian breathed, allowing her to take control of the situation. Most men desired to have the entire situation resting neatly in their dominatingly aggressive hands, but Brian was different. He loved releasing the power to Teagan, allowing her to manipulate his body with delight.
"That's definitely what it means," Teagan agreed, nibbling on his earlobe. "You and me, all alone with no interruptions. That's what I call Heaven."
"You're telling me," he grunted with pleasure.
"So, do I get any hint as to when this special night is happening?" she asked, smiling at his response.
"No, I'm going..." Brian gasped in surprise as she nipped at his throat with a sharper bite. "I'm... I'm going to let it be a surprise."
"No hints at all?" Teagan whined softly, ever so carefully grinding her hips against his.
"Not when you're doing this to torture me!" Brian yelped, almost falling backward off the chair.
"Tell me! Please?" Teagan begged, laughing as she held onto him tightly so they didn’t both fall and alert the parents in the household.
"That's the whole idea of a surprise! You don't know where or when it's coming, you just know that it's coming!" he answered, bucking his hips so she stood up. He then quickly tackled her onto his bed, covering her with his body as he pushed himself between her legs. He lifted the hem of her form-fitting tank top, offering gentle kisses to the bare skin.
"Not fair, you know my weaknesses!" Teagan whined, which turned into a moan as she gently arched her back against Brian's kisses.
"And you think you don't know mine?" he chuckled against her skin, trailing his tongue around her belly button before starting his kisses.
"No," she whimpered.
"Mmm-hmm, right," he laughed, trailing the kisses up the length of her stomach, stopping just beneath the start of her ribcage. He then pulled down her shirt, moving up to capture her lips in a heated kiss.
"Brian," she moaned softly into his mouth, entangling her fingers through his sandy locks.
"I love you, too," he enticed, feeling her shiver beneath his hands. He smiled as he gently pulled away, causing her to immediately sit up to chase his mouth. He grinned with a devilish smile, bringing his lips back to her own for a searing kiss, stroking her tongue with his own.
"I love you so, so, so much," she sighed as they finally broke apart, panting slightly.
"Yeah, I know," he replied wit a mock of an arrogant smile, causing her to laugh. He leaned over her again, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'll always love you."
"Good, because I wouldn't be able to live without you."
"Me either."
"Here," Teagan unhooked her Trinity knot necklace and placed it around Brian's neck. "Now I'll always be with you, no matter what."
"Hey, you don't have to give me this," he breathed in awe.
"I want to give it to you."
"But it's your trinity..." he answered, fingering the silver charm around his neck. He felt truly honored that she had given it to him, knowing it was such a prized treasure in the family of Eavan's and Riley's.
"The women in my family give that necklace to our soul-mate so that our love is always with them. My great-great-great-grandma started the tradition, and it's passed through my family and Oriana's. Mom gave it to me on my 13th birthday and told me to give it to the man I see myself marrying," she explained, tracing his face with her soft fingertip.
"Oh, yeah?"
"Mm-hmm. And I know that the man I see myself marrying is you..."
"Well... Thank you," he answered, leaning down to offer her a soft kiss. As much as he wanted to tell her he longed to marry her, he didn't want to jinx the relationship. Everything was still new and exciting. He wanted it to remain that way for awhile longer. Marriage terrified him in some sense, because his real mother was so quick to dash away.
"You're welcome," she whispered, looking into his light blue eyes. "I didn't scare you with the marriage talk, did I? If I did, I'm sorry--"
"No, I just said thank you because I mean it," he laughed, kissing her again. "I love you."
"I love you, too. Always."
"And forever," he finished, enveloping her into more sweet kisses as the sun set from his window, covering them with the cooling rays of dusk.
"Howie... I know the world is spinning, but why exactly are you carrying me?" Oriana yelped in surprise as Howie scooped her up from the car. She hadn't expected such a gallant move and tried to open her eyes to gather her bearings. But Howie shushed her, making sure she kept her eyes covered with the icy pack. She understood that he wanted to keep the location a secret till the perfect moment, but carrying her? She immediately laced her arms around his neck as she felt him walk onto a shifting ground, causing her to slightly dip. Though, she wasn’t fearful in his arms. She just wanted to balance them evenly on the unsteady ground. But, her thoughts soon jumbled with her head injury. Grimacing, she buried her face against his neck to stop the aching throb of her forehead and to assure herself she wouldn't fall. "You really don't have to carry me... People with concussions can walk."
"I know, but this is part of my surprise," Howie replied, kissing her cheek. "Just hold on, we're almost there."
"You're killing me," she moaned pathetically.
"No, I'm not," he moaned back, reaching their spot. "I'm going to set you down now."
"Okay..." she replied, laughing as Howie gently eased her down onto the ground. She shivered as she felt his hands run up the length of her body, but made sure to keep her mind focused on her whereabouts. So, she concentrated. Her feet immediately sunk into the cooling sand. She could hear the distant rumble of the ocean waves toiling in their nightly games as the salty breeze licked at her skin. She felt goose-bumps prickle against the length of her skin as Howie kept his hands fixed on her eyes. "Can I look now?"
"Look right... now."
Oriana felt Howie's hands slide from her blurry eyes, allowing her to catch a glimpse of his romantic evening. She gasped softly as she stepped back into him, immediately bringing a hand to her painful forehead as to not ruin the moment. She felt awed as she brought her other hand to her mouth to keep from grasping too loudly. Howie had created the perfect little outing to compliment Oriana's loves in life. It was obvious that he had a long conversation with not only Teagan, but Ella and Dee as well. The first key to her delight was actually placing the date upon the beach. Oriana had instantly fallen in love with the ocean ever since she was a child. Not a day went by that she wasn’t frolicking by the sea. And, complimenting the ocean view, Howie had placed out a soft wool blanket lined with soft flickering candles. There were cans of Pepsi chilled in a bucket of ice with two jars of cherries for her to snack upon. "Howie!"
"You like the surprise?" Howie chuckled, kissing her cheek.
"Well, yeah, of course. But you didn't have to do this. We could have just gone to a movie or something to celebrate your award-thing. You didn't have to throw all this together for me. We were supposed to be celebrating you..." she fumbled, still completely awed by the sight in front of her. No man had gone to that kind of trouble to make her smile.
"I did this because I wanted to. Going to a movie is so... boring. I'd rather do something creative and romantic for you."
"But we were supposed to be doing this for you," she countered softly, sticking her hands into the kangaroo pocket of her sweatshirt.
"This is for me, because I get to spend time with you."
"You're way too sweet, you know that?" she laughed, immediately bringing a hand up to her throbbing forehead. She pressed on the bulge forming on her temple from the hit, wincing immediately. "But, can I sit down before I fall down?"
"Well, that's what I brought the blanket for..." Howie chuckled, offering his hand so she could slip off her flip flops. She wobbled just a bit before stepping onto the blanket. He watched her instantly wilt down to the large blanket, curling into a ball. He frowned gently, noticing her instantly start to rub her temples. He almost thought about sitting down, but waited. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Once the world stops spinning," she joked while reaching to press a cold can of Pepsi to the goose-egg. She briefly glanced upward to see Howie staring awkwardly at her. She smiled softly, motioning for him to at least join her. "It doesn't mean I can't enjoy the romance. C'mon, I need a pillow."
"Alright," he replied, sitting down next to her. She gently scooted over and rested her head in his lap. She sighed, closing her eyes as he began rubbing her temples for her.
"I think this is better than Tylenol," she murmured, her lips curving into a tired smile. She braced her arms against Howie's knees, lounging comfortably against his body. She found herself affectionately tracing shapes along his kneecap, just listening to the soft crashing of the ocean's waves. "But, I'm really proud of you for that award. Did you tell your family?"
"Thanks. Yeah, I told them, and there was this big celebration planning for tomorrow night with Mama's famous dinner," he replied, smiling as well. Just the simple affections they were giving to one another were more than satisfying for him.
"Two of those less than a week apart, you're a very lucky boy," she laughed softly.
"And I'll be a very fat boy," he added.
"Nothing wrong with a little pudge," she replied sweetly, poking at his firm stomach.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, actually giggling a little. He was quite ticklish.
"What?" she cooed with surprise, falling forward as he jerked in surprise. Her lips curved into a devilish smile, noticing Howie immediately grab his well-defined stomach. She moved into a sitting position, finding the headache slowly dimming as she concentrating on Howie's sleek form. "
"N-Nothing."
"You're ticklish!"
"Am not!"
"Oh, really?" she tempted, gently easing him backward on the wool blanket. She decided to let her impish side peak through her usually shy exterior around Howie. Her personality seemed to change almost as frequently as the shifting currents beneath the ocean’s peaking waves. So, she made sure he was comfortable with his back to the ground and straddled his legs. She lifted the hem of his t-shirt to expose the length of his rippling abdominal muscles. She casually bit down on her bottom lip, gently easing her hands along the sides of his stomach, causing him to squirm. She arched her light brows with interest, "Going to retract that statement or do I have to experiment?"
"I'm not ticklish," he determined, slightly arching his back to relieve the pressure for a moment. The bruises weren't hurting, but the heated tingles drawing throughout his body from Oriana's body sent him into a delirium of excitement. He struggled not to grasp her body and throw her to the sand, letting his lustful thoughts explode into splendor. So many nights had he dreamt of her. Even when he was with Christina; he always envisioned Oriana.
"Lips make the best lie detector, did you know that?" she purred, running her hands up his muscular chest, along the length of his arms, and then encircled his wrists for a tight pin. She bowed her head, ever so gently press kisses along the length of his firm stomach. Thousands of nerve impulses fired from her lips, sending a lapsing beauty throughout her body, making her yearn for more.
"Da-amn," he hissed with pleasure, arching his back even more. Her lips on his fiery skin spun him into a world of passion and love. It drove him wild, but he wanted more.
"What was that?" she laughed, her dark blue-green eyes rising to meet his gaze.
"N-Nothing," he stammered, his face instantly started to flush.
"You look like you're about to pass out..."
"No, I'm fine."
"So," she drawled with an impish grin. She decided not to read too much into the flustered state, just enjoying the sweetness of his skin against her lips. She had never been given control over a sexual-stimulating experience. Giving her the choice was almost like the sweetest Christmas present she could ever ask for. "Are you ticklish or do I have to continue the experiment?"
"I still say I'm not ticklish," he replied, trying to keep his composure.
"And I seem to think that you're lying behind that Puerto Rican Machismo," Oriana continued to torment between kisses, allowing her soft breath to blow over the heating areas of his skin. She glanced up casually to see Howie arch his dark brows in confusion. She laughed as she continued to trail her kisses up to his sternum. "Learned that in Sociology. Seems the Latino-American Men demonstrate Machismo, having to be strong and controlling over their women..."
"Now, if I had that Macho-whatever, do you think I would be letting you do this to me?" Howie asked with a soft chuckle, his eyebrows still raised in obvious question.
"Machismo," she repeated, raising her gaze again. "And you do have some type of it, because you won't admit that I have an affect over you."
"But I–"
"Just admit that I have an affect. I can see by the way your body's reacting to everything, and the dilation in your eyes," Oriana interrupted, being blunt for a moment.
"Dilation of my eyes?" he laughed, finding it quite amusing that she could be so scientific even in the romantic lighting of their conversation.
"Yes," she groaned, gently pushing on his shoulder. "Science always holds the truth. Common sense of Anatomy and Physiology. Makes it impossible to trick me."
"You're scientific in the heat of the moment... so cute," he laughed again.
"Say huh?" she deadpanned, not really understanding the humor of the situation. The facts of Anatomy and Physiology had always appealed to her on so many levels, actually offering chances of survival most of the time. Though, her air of silliness was just enough for Howie to seize the upper hand. Deciding to act with her term of 'machismo,' he quickly took her by the waist and threw her to the ground. He then straddled her hips and tightly pinned her arms above her head.
"Now, what?" he challenged with a growl of dominance.
Usually it would be considered amusing, but Oriana's demeanor quickly changed with the tone of Howie’s voice. The dominating growl triggered previous haunting experiences, causing her fight-or-flight response to activate for survival. Her mood changed dramatically from one of flirtatious fancy to that of cold horror. She instantly tightened and struggled beneath him, only able to recall past terrifying experiences. She could only remember the horrifying nights pinned beneath various men her mother termed ‘good’ that wreaked of alcohol and lust, taking advantage of her innocence. She cringed openly at the painful thoughts, feeling as if her body had been layered in several thick coats of greasy grime.
"We're done," she quickly announced with the hopes of escape, not realizing that Howie considered it to be just a game.
"What?" he asked in utter confusion. He had never seen someone go from flirty and sexual to cold and almost scared. "I thought that we were playing–"
"I'm not playing. Get off," she retorted, struggling further beneath his strong pin. She wasn't going to give Howie the benefit of the doubt, even if she had initiated the trouble. He may have proven to be sweet on several occasions, but men always had a way of turning poisonous once she was alone with them. She wouldn't even let Howie have that opportunity to break her already shattered trust. And if her legs hadn't been pinned, she probably would have struck him in the groin.
"Oriana–"
"GET THE HELL OFF ME, DAMNIT!" she screamed, breaking an arm free. With quick reflexes, she raised her hand and smacked Howie across the face as hard as she could. She learned quickly to be as brutal as possible for just the smallest chance at fleeing the scene. It didn’t matter if they came back later; it was just surviving that initial encounter.
"Shit!" he cursed and rolled off her quickly, holding his flaming cheek. But he cursed again when he hit an unknown sore spot on his still bruised back.
"Thank you!" she breathed with relief, immediately scrambling off the blanket. Her entire body shivered with apprehension, stumbling to maintain afoot on the sinking sand. Hot tears were already starting to cross her cheeks as she struggled to locate her cell phone, realizing she hadn't brought it along. She couldn't believe she had been so foolish to leave the house without any way of returning without Howie’s presence. Her hands trembled with fear as she stumbled on the road, deciding she would have to walk home.
"ORIANA! DAMNIT, WAIT!" he stumbled to his feet and walked after her. Only, his walk turned into a heavy trot, because her pace increased dramatically. He was absolutely baffled. The girl could be in one mood and something could change her instantly. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what he did wrong. "Why the Hell did you do that?! I was just playing with that 'Machismo' stuff you were telling me and all of a sudden you're freaking out! Why?!"
"Forget it!" she hollered back, increasing the pace of her long strides. She immediately hugged her chest for comfort, feeling so cold. She didn't want him anywhere near her at the moment. The interaction had been too close for comfort, instantly reminding Oriana of why she shouldn't be initiating anything romantic with the male population. She just wanted to be friends and would damned if she was taken advantage of again.
"No, I'm not! Damnit, I did all this because I really like you and you freaking slap me across the face? Don't walk away from me!" Howie ran up to grasp her arm and stop them. "I finally get you in my life like I've wanted for so long and this is what you do to me. Why? Tell me why!"
"I'll walk away if I want to walk away! You don't fucking own me!" she instantly snapped, jerking back from his grasp. It felt like his hands were made of fire.
"What the fuck did I do wrong?! I deserve that much!"
"I want to go home," she answered instead. Her blue-green eyes were pooling with fresh tears that deserved to fall, but instead were held back. She shivered as she stepped back again, leaving Howie in a pool of dark confusion. But, she wouldn’t speak to her private affairs. Not even Teagan knew.
"Tell me what I did wrong. You're being unfair," he replied, feeling his heart break at her cold attitude towards him. Howie had grown far too attached to Oriana in their short amount of time together, because he had started loving her from affair. And if she pushed him away and he lost her, there would be no point in living anymore.
"Unfair is part of life's lessons. It'd be easier to learn that now," she retorted vaguely, realizing he wouldn't be taking her home. She turned back to walking again, praying her mother wouldn't kill her for leaving the date without any sort of protection.
"Oriana, just get into my car. I'll take you home," he sighed heavily, feeling his own eyes tear at the sight of his love walking away.
She turned back to him, actually hesitant for a moment. Could she trust him in the car? He didn’t’ seem like he would be that overbearing during the car ride home. Oriana bit down on her bottom lip. "Straight home?"
"Straight home. No where else and I won't talk to you on the way back. I swear on my life."
"I can just walk–"
"It's dangerous out there in the dark. Please, just let me drive you home. I'll sign a contract with my blood promising I will take you home if that would make you happy."
Oriana stared at Howie for a moment, wrapping her arms tighter around herself for protection. She just wanted to get home and crawl into bed. She wanted to forget this day had ever happened. Hopefully Howie would be as antsy and drive faster. "Fine..." she relented.
"Good. Come on," Howie turned around and walked towards his car, not waiting for her. The last thing he needed was a knee to the groin to go along with the slapped cheek, which was throbbing and he knew it would be bruised the next day. His perfect evening with Oriana had been shattered just like his heart, and he knew there was no way to fix either one.
