When October Starts Page 5

  “Wanna come in? Or do you wanna keep staring at me?”

  “I don’t mind either,” I told him, making him chuckle. He reached for my waist and pulled me inside, and after closing the door behind me, he leaned in to kiss my cheek.

  “You’ve done a lot of that last week in school.”

  “A lot of what?” I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck to keep him close.

  “Staring. I thought I told you about keeping your eyes off me or else people will notice.”

  “I haven’t been staring. I’ve been listening to what you were saying. Your last English lesson was very interesting, you know?”

  Ezra gave me a skeptical look. “Don’t mess with me, Juno,” he muttered, but he didn’t sound as serious as he would’ve liked to.

  “I’m not. I loved how you tried to make poetry fun. Takes a lot of balls to do that.”

  He rolled his eyes and gave my ass a small slap. “I need to stuff that naughty mouth of yours with some food. Come on,” he grabbed my arms and pulled them off his shoulders, then he nodded to the kitchen where the table was already set.

  I scrunched up my nose. “What?” he asked, looking at the table and then back at me. “Is this too much? I thought you wanted to have a nice date.”

  “I did. But…I’m seventeen. I usually eat my dinner on the couch watching tv.”

  Ezra puckered his lips, then quickly walked to the kitchen to grab both plates. “You should’ve told me. All this fancy date shit reminds me too much of Olivia.” He grinned and started to fill the plates with the food he prepared.

  I walked over to him to see that he had cooked some chicken breasts with grilled potatoes and bell peppers as a side. “Looks and smells delicious,” I told him, then grabbed one of the plates while he filled the other.

  “I’m a master-chef.”

  I chuckled at his statement and grabbed the two glasses on the table to bring them over to the couch. “Let me be the judge of that.”

  We got comfortable on the couch with our plates in our laps. Ezra turned on the tv and switched to his favorite show, which even I started to watch when I was home.

  “I missed you last week,” I said, turning my head to look at him.

  “We’ve seen each other all week at school, Juno,” he pointed out.

  “I know. But we couldn’t really talk to each other. I missed us being close.”

  “Who knew Miss Juniper could be such a romantic,” he teased, then leaned in to kiss my temple.

  “You have no idea.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ezra

  “Where do your moms think you are tonight?” I asked. I was standing by the dishwasher while Juno got comfortable on the couch.

  “I told them I’ll be staying at Pixie’s,” she called out.

  “Staying? Juno, we haven’t talked about you staying here overnight.” I turned to look at her. She was pulling the blanket over her legs. The big, cozy sweater she was wearing looked like she had bought it at a garage sale of two elderly people. That sweater had seen better days, but she looked adorable in it.

  “We can talk about it right now,” she shrugged.

  “Juno.” I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “You’ve pretty much decided to stay here on your own without asking me for permission.”

  Her brows raised, and she gave me a look that said “are you fucking kidding me?”

  But quickly after realizing I wasn’t joking; her face fell and a heavy sigh escaped her. “I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you first. I just…thought you wanted me to stay.”

  I walked over to the couch and sat down next to her. “Of course, I want you to stay. But you know our situation is a little complicated. What if your parents find out that you didn’t spend the night at Pixie’s?”

  She studied my face and tried to come up with an excuse, but she was struggling to do so. Her gaze fell to her hands which were tugging at the blanket covering her lap.

  I let her think a little while longer, then reached for her hands and squeezed them. “Maybe it’s best if you go home later. I’m not saying you have to leave in the next hour, but maybe it’s best if you’re home before midnight.”

  “And what do I tell them when they asked why I changed my mind about sleeping over at Pixie’s?” She sounded upset, but as much as I wanted her to stay here with me for the night, we couldn’t take that step just yet.

  “Tell them you changed your mind and wanted to come home. You don’t have to make up a whole lie about why you didn’t feel like sleeping at Pixie’s. You do understand what I’m saying, don’t you?” I asked carefully.

  “Yes, Ezra, I understand,” she muttered.

  I smiled at her, grabbing her head in both hands and kissing the spot between her eyebrows. “You’re frowning again,” I whispered against her skin.

  “Ever thought about you being the reason why I do that so often?”

  I chuckled, then looked back into her eyes. “Crossed my mind a few times, yes,” I admitted.

  “Come here.” I pulled her into my arms, and she leaned into me with her head on my chest and her arms wrapped around my waist. I planted another kiss to the top of her head, then looked at the tv.

  “You’ll be graduating next June, right?”

  Juno nodded and turned her head to look up at me. “Why are you asking?”

  “Any plans for college yet?”

  “I’d wanna go to Lakewood College. It’s just twenty minutes away by bus. If I get in, I can keep living at home. Mom and Aggie don’t want me to leave anyway, and Lakewood has great programs.”

  “I know Lakewood. It’s a great college. I think I’ve heard Pixie also talk about it before.” I brushed her hair back and studied her face while she talked again.

  “She wants to go there, too. But her parents want her to venture out. Go to a bigger city and have greater experiences than staying here. I think they want her to attend some Ivy League college,” she said.

  “I might have to talk to her and her parents. I don’t like when parents tell their kids what college to go to.”

  I took a mental note to remind myself to plan a little get-together with Pixie and her parents. College was an important step, especially after attending a progressive school like Memphis. The kids in there never really learned what it’s like to have a schedule. College would be a whole new world for them, and us teachers needed to prepare them for that. But wanting them to attend a damn Ivy League college was not really what any of these students had in mind.

  “So you’ll be staying around town,” I said, keeping my eyes on hers. “That means…if this between us works out, and we can keep it secret until you turn eighteen at the end of September,” I stopped, my smile growing just like Juno’s. “Then we can finally stop hiding.”

  “You think we will last that long?” She was skeptical, but I quickly eased her mind. “I want us to last. I know our situation is difficult…but I don’t think I can stay away from you, no matter what the laws of dating are.”

  Her gaze shifted to my lips, then they moved down to my chest. “Let’s live in the moment. I don’t wanna think about the future.”

  There it was again; her way of making me forget about everything bad in the world. I pulled her close to me and placed my lips on hers, and she was quick to straddle my lap.

  I had to be careful. Although I wanted more, I didn’t wanna ruin anything between us. I didn’t want her to have a negative experience with me, or feel like I was pressuring her to do things she wasn’t comfortable with, but the way she pushed her body against mine told me that she wasn’t as inexperienced as I thought she was.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Juno

  His hands moved from my back down to my bottom, cupping it and pulling me against his chest. My hands were buried in his thick, wavy hair, and our tongues danced slowly with each other.

  He was being gentle, but I wanted more. I pulled at his hair and pushed my tongue deeper into his mouth. For a second, I was
in charge, but he quickly took over by pushing my hips against his, making me feel his hardness grow in his sweatpants. I could feel every part of him, and for the first time ever, I moved one hand under his sweatshirt, feeling the muscles I didn’t know he had under my touch.

  His body wasn’t built like a bodybuilder, but he had broad shoulders and insanely defined muscles on his stomach. I smiled, wondering how I got so lucky.

  I started to move my hips back and forth on my own while I traced every line and crease on his body.

  Low groans escaped him, making his chest vibrate every time.

  “Juno,” he whispered into the kiss, but I ignored him and kept on kissing him with as much passion possible. I tugged at his hair again, moving my tongue against his and tasting every inch of his mouth. My hand on his stomach pushed his sweatshirt up, so that I had full access to his upper body.

  “Juno,” he said again, but this time he broke the kiss to look me in the eyes. We were both out of breath, and he moved his hands up to my back again. “Clothes stay on,” he told me with a serious undertone.

  “Why?”

  “Because I said so.”

  I frowned, proving my point of him being the main reason why I did that a lot. “I’ve seen a man naked before, Ezra,” I told him.

  “I’m sure you have,” he chuckled, brushing his thumbs along my back. “But I don’t think I can hold back if we go any further.”

  “Don’t you wanna touch me?”

  “I do. Jesus, Juno. Of course I wanna touch you. But I think we should take this part slow. We’ve got time. I wanna enjoy every second I have with you, and fucking you right here on our second date is not what I had in mind.”

  I raised a brow. “Who said anything about fucking?”

  “No one said it out loud, but we’re both thinking it.” He was right. The truth was; I was still a virgin, and deep down, I was scared to have sex for the first time.

  I looked down at his chiseled stomach, then ran my finger through the deep crease in the middle of it. “Okay,” I said quietly. “Clothing stays on. But we can still kiss, right?”

  He let out a laugh and squeezed both my thighs before his hands cupped my face, pulling me close until our lips met again.

  *

  “Told you it was the uncle. It’s always the one who helps with the search. I could tell he was lying from the start.” It was late, almost midnight, and I was lying on top of Ezra with my head on his chest and his arms around my body.

  “It was fairly obvious. I would’ve arrested him the first time questioning him,” he agreed.

  I turned my head to look into his eyes, with my chin propped on my hand. “Are you sure you want me to go home? It’s late and dark out. What if a serial killer abducts me?”

  “Hm, you’re right. They always go for the pretty ones,” he muttered, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.

  He sighed. “Fine, you can stay. But you have to follow that one rule, all right? Clothing stays on.”

  I grinned and rolled my eyes. “Okay, okay. But I can sleep with you. In your bed,” I said.

  He slowly nodded, and I placed a soft kiss to his lips to show him how excited I was to sleep in his arms tonight. “I’ll be good,” I whispered into the kiss, knowing that I probably wasn’t going to be.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ezra

  That one simple rule was broken not ten minutes after getting into bed with Juno. I had one arm hooked under her neck, with her face close to mine, and my other hand was stopping her from pushing my shirt up any further.

  “Juno,” I warned, looking into her lust-filled eyes. The streetlights outside shone on her face, and I could read her face like a damn book. “Not sure what you didn’t understand when I said clothing stays on.”

  She rolled her eyes and kept her hand flat on my stomach. “Don’t tell me you haven’t been fantasizing about me naked all evening long, Ezra. Isn’t it more comfortable to sleep without a shirt on anyway?”

  I chuckled. “You’re a little devil,” I muttered, holding her wrist tight before she moved her hand further up, or down.

  “We’ve kissed already. We’re attracted to each other. What does it matter if we go a step further?”

  Right, what did it matter? I could go to jail for not only hanging out with one of my students, but also for assaulting an underage girl. Although she consented to it, they would still put a big fat “rapist” on my forehead if this comes out.

  A small sigh escaped her, and she lifted her other hand to my cheek, cupping it gently. “We’re safe here. No one knows what’s going on between us. I don’t think I can wait until next year,” she whispered.

  I studied her face. I was the one who needed to be reassured, although I was twice her age. But she wasn’t in the situation I was in. She’d have it easier if this comes out. But maybe I shouldn’t be thinking about this too much. I liked Juno, and I wanted her close. So, maybe it was time to just risk it all.

  The way she made me feel by just looking at me with those big, pretty eyes was worth it all. Sure, my whole life was on the line, but would I put my career in danger just to be with the girl that finally made me feel alive again?

  Turned out I would do just that. I leaned in and kissed her lips, gripping her jaw with my left hand. I pushed her onto her back, then moved over her to deepen the kiss.

  She had a mischievous grin on her lips, and I growled, knowing that from now on I had to be a little rougher with her. “Don’t think you’ll get everything you want from now on,” I muttered into the kiss.

  My tongue pushed into her mouth, and I let hers dance around mine before I dove deeper, tasting every inch of her.

  I held myself up with my right hand next to her head, and with my knees, I pushed her legs apart to settle between them.

  As I pressed my hardening dick against her middle, I felt the heat rising.

  “You’re wet,” I pointed out, moving my hand down to her stomach and pulling her shirt up to uncover her panty-covered pussy. “Wet just for me. You like to push me to my limits,” I whispered against her lips.

  Juno nodded, and it seemed as if I made her speechless with my dirty-talk. But that wasn’t even close to what I still had in me.

  My hand gripped her hip, and I pushed her further into the mattress. “Don’t tell me this is not what you wanted.”

  She shook her head this time, and a soft smile spread on her lips. “I’m…” she reached up to cup my face, and if I wasn’t mistaken, her cheeks turned bright red.

  “I’m a virgin.” Her voice was low, and I almost didn’t hear her. “Please be gentle,” she whispered, and in that moment, I almost fell apart.

  My heart grew because of those three words, and I smiled at her, letting her know that I wasn’t going to hurt her.

  I leaned in to kiss the tip of her nose, then placed another on the corner of her mouth. “I’ll be good, I promise.”

  Seemed like I had to put my rougher and wilder part of me aside for a while. I didn’t mind. I wanted Juno to feel safe in my arms, and I didn’t want to scare sweet Juno away by showing her just how hard I wanted to fuck her. For now, gentle was okay.

  “I wanna touch you,” she said with her hand tugging at the waistband of my boxer briefs.

  I looked down between us and breathed in deeply, then I shook my head and moved her hand to her side. “Let me make you feel good first. I want you to ease into this. We have no reason to hurry,” I told her.

  Her eyes were glued on mine while I moved closer to her breasts, moving her shirt up to uncover them. She had taken off her bra before getting into bed, and I should’ve known right then and there, seeing those perky little nipples peeking through the fabric that I couldn’t contain myself. “Have you ever been kissed right here?” I asked, brushing my thumbs softly over each nipple. Her breath hitched, and a smile spread on her face.

  “No,” she answered in a shaky voice. She was nervous, which was good. If she just let me touch her, wanting t
o fuck without ever thinking about losing her virginity and how precious it was, I don’t think I would’ve gone any further than kissing.

  “Keep those pretty eyes on mine, Juno.” She obeyed, and I slowly licked one of her nipples, circling it with my tongue before doing the same with the other.

  Soft moans escaped her, and while she tried to keep her eyes open, her hands moved into my hair and tugged on it. “Ez,” she whispered, arching her back and trying to get my mouth on her tits again.

  “Slow, sweet girl. I wanna enjoy every second of this. Let me take it slow before I show you how hard I can fuck you.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Ezra

  I sucked her nipple into my mouth and squeezed her other tit while soft moans escaped her. Her eyes were closed, and her head tilted to one side.

  Both her legs were pressed against my sides, keeping me in place and making sure I wouldn’t move. I didn’t intend to, and I sucked on her nipple harder, getting another moan out of her.

  When I was done with her right nipple, I moved over to the other and pulled it in. I kept looking up to make sure she was okay with what I was doing, and her face couldn’t look any more relaxed and satisfied.

  I felt her hands in my hair push against me. She wanted me to move downward to that one place she kept rubbing against my stomach. I felt her wetness through her panties, and the smell reaching my nose made me want to rip them off of her.

  “Talk to me, Juno. What do you want?” That was a little bit of a mean question to ask a virgin, but Juno wasn’t shy. She’d speak up about her wants and needs.

  “I want you to…” She was breathing fast, and while her eyes met mine again, I trailed kisses down her stomach. “I want you to lick my clit.”

  That was one way to put it, and the way she said it sounded adorable. I chuckled, placing one more kiss right next to her belly button before pushing her legs further apart.

  “You’re so fucking sweet,” I told her, kissing the inside of her thigh, then licking that same exact spot.