Strawberry Wine (15 page)

Jason gave her a half grin, and raised his arms to rest his forearms against an overhead beam for support as he pressed his boot heel against the toe of the opposite foot in order to loosen his boot. Kicking off the boot, he repeated the process with the other foot. Once his boots were off, he hooked a finger into the top of his socks and slipped them off as well.

Jason had never stripped like this for a woman before, and he was finding the whole thing very erotic. Alli’s eyes were glued to him, trying to view all of him at once. He pulled out his already unbuckled belt, then folded it over on itself and snapped it loudly for dramatic effect. The sharp noise made Alli blink, and they both laughed at his showmanship. Then his hands reached for the buttons on his jeans, and the two of them sobered.

He unfastened each button slowly, drawing out the process as long as possible. Alli was tense with anticipation.

When all of the buttons were undone, he slid his jeans off the slight flair of his hips, down his legs, and stepped out of them. He slowly straightened, and stood before Alli.

Alli gasped at his beauty. He could feel her eyes wandering over him like a caress. He was fully erect, and his sex was rigid against his abdomen.

Alli stood up slowly and put her hand lightly on his chest. His pectoral muscles twitched at her touch, but otherwise he remained still.

Unhurried, she started to circle him, trailing her hand across his chest, over his arm, and on to his back. He could feel her breath on the back of his neck and he shivered involuntarily. Raising up on her tip toes, she softly kissed the nape of his neck, then came back around to the front of him, completing the circuit.

They stood like that a moment, eyes locked, neither of them moving. It was the single most intimate experience of Jason’s life to date.

Alli kissed him. It started out as a question, and grew to a demand. Jason held her tightly against him, careful not to let his hands wander. He was finding it impossible to get enough oxygen, and the hay loft was starting to move beneath his feet. They lowered themselves to their knees.

Alli made as if to pull her camisole over her head, but Jason stopped her. “You stay dressed, remember?” She huffed in frustration. She could feel his grin against her kiss, so she nipped at him playfully, but hard enough to get his attention. The bite seemed to incite him. He threaded his fingers through her hair and held her in a vice like grip to meet his kiss.

Alli pulled him down on top of her again, liking the solid weight of him. He settled his hips between her legs, and she could feel his hardness pressing against her through the flimsy fabric of her skirt. All of her blood seemed to rush to their point of contact, and her pulse thrummed powerfully.

“Jason,” She sighed, “touch me.” She grabbed his hand and placed it atop her breast. He could feel her nipple raise against his palm.

“Alli...”

“Just touch me.”

“Alli, you don’t know what you’re asking of me.”

She held his hand against her and continued to kiss him until she felt his resistance fade. He slowly started kneading her breast. Then he sighed in resignation and slipped his hand under her camisole, hiking it up just enough to free her breast for his mouth.

Alli’s moans were whipping Jason into a frenzy. He paused a moment to test his control. He could do this. He could bring Alli to climax while keeping himself in check.

Alli was panting and writhing against him. Shifting his weight to the side, he ran his hand up her inner thigh and cupped her. Her panties were damp as he pushed them aside. They proved a hinderance to his objective, so he slid them off. Alli was alternately clinging to his shoulders and raking her fingers down his back. When his finger pressed into her soft fold, she jerked in surprise and wanting. She thrust herself against him, wanting more than he could give her.

“Jason, I want you.” She pleaded, taking a hold of his rigid length.

“Shh, shh,” He cooed. “Just enjoy this Alli.” He quickly put his hand over hers to stop her insistent tugging.

“Please,” She begged in a husky whisper. “You said you’d wait until I was ready. I’m ready.
Please
.” She rained kisses along his jaw while trying to pull him closer with her grip on his manhood.

“Alli! Alli, go easy.” He extracted himself from her grasp, and took a moment to calm down. “Alli, sweetheart, I wasn’t expecting this tonight.”

“But I want you.”

“Alli, I want you too, love, but I didn’t bring anything with me...”

Oh, was that all?
Alli stretched up to kiss him again, languidly, thoroughly. “That’s okay,” She assured him, “I’m on the pill.”

Those words took the last bit of his resolve. Jason gave himself over to his animal brain. It took every ounce of restraint he possessed to enter her slowly. He was tense, prepared to stop if she should stiffen or cry out.

Alli couldn’t believe this was happening. She was elated and excited, but more overpowering than all of her emotions was the primal yearning she was feeling in her core. He was slow and gentle. She could feel herself stretching to accommodate his girth. The slight pinch of pain she felt was quickly eclipsed by the satisfying fullness of him within her.

He lay quietly atop her, fighting his urge to thrust. He held her gaze, looking for any sign of discomfort. “Is that okay?”

In answer to his question, Alli pulled his lips back to her own and thrust against him, drawing him deeper. She gasped and he froze. “Alli? Did I hurt you?” She clamped onto his hips to keep him from pulling away. “No, keep going.” She urged.

Very slowly Jason started to move within her. His gentle thrusts were tentative at first, asking permission, but as she rose up to meet each one, they became more insistent, more demanding.

Alli could feel a delicious pressure building, like a threatening sneeze, or the promise of a yawn. Her climax overtook her quite suddenly, and she let out what could only be described as a squeak. Jason continued his rhythmic motion for two more thrusts before groaning with release and spilling himself inside her.

They lie still for a moment, their heartbeats pounding in unison. He was reluctant to leave the warmth of her body. Jason kissed her softly over each eye, the tip of her nose, and finally, her lips. He watched her, waiting for her eyes to meet his.

“Alli?” He kissed her again, ever so softly.

“Hmm?” Her face was a mask of dreamy contentment.

“Thank you.” Another soft kiss. “No one has ever given me such a precious gift.”

She regarded him sweetly. “Thank you for returning it.” His confusion shown on his face. “That was amazing. It couldn’t have been more perfect.”

“Which reminds me, I have something for you, remember?”

He slid smoothly out from inside of her and she caught her breath at the emptiness he left behind. Rustling in his jeans, he pulled out a folded linen handkerchief.

Alli sat up. She could feel the rush of his seed and clenched her muscles, in part not wanting to soil the blanket, and in part not wanting to let even this small part of him go. She was surprised to realize she was still technically clothed for the most part, minus her underpants. She hadn’t realized sex would be quite so messy, and she looked around vainly for something with which to clean up.

“Alli?” Jason was noticing her distress. “Is something the matter?”

She smiled sheepishly at him. “I’m about two seconds away from ruining this blanket.”

Her meaning dawned on him and he quickly produced the cloth napkins from the picnic basket. “Sorry, I’m used to it being more... contained.” It was his turn to smile sheepishly. “I’ve never done that before.” He said softly. “Uh, skin to skin, so to speak.”

After setting herself to rights as best she could, Alli accepted Jason’s proffered handkerchief. She unfolded it to reveal a delicate silver chain necklace with two tiny charms. Holding it up to the lantern light, Alli could see that the charms were two identical little goats. “Frick and Frack!” She was delighted. She beamed at Jason. “Thank you. I love it.”

Jason insisted on walking her to the back gate. Alli was relieved to note the house was dark. Her grandparent’s must already be asleep. It would be a simple thing to slip upstairs unseen. She kissed him one last, blissful time. “Will you come by tomorrow before you leave?” He asked.

“Try to stop me.” She answered, and with an impish grin, she turned and sprinted for the house.

* * * * *

Alli woke to bright sunlight streaming through her windows. It was late morning. She indulged in a full body stretch, enjoying the feel of tight muscles beginning to loosen.

She could hear the busy sounds of a large breakfast being made downstairs, and female voices chattering quietly. Her mom must have arrived early to pick her up.

Alli made her way to the bathroom. She relieved herself, noting a slight tenderness when she wiped. Starting the water running for a shower, she turned and evaluated herself in the mirror. Did she look any different? Aside from her slightly kiss-swollen lips, she couldn’t see any noticeable change in her appearance.
Well of course not. Why would you look any different, you stupid girl?

Stepping into the shower, Alli sighed and let the hot water pulse over her body. Her inner thigh was sticky. Alli ran her hand over the area and felt the slickness wash away in the warm stream of water. She could feel the echo of Jason’s touch as she lathered her body. She remembered his fingers, tightly tangled in her hair as she massaged shampoo into her scalp. How was she going to endure the next eleven months without Jason’s touch, now that she knew what she was missing?

Satisfied that she looked like the same old Alli, despite her knew found knowledge of how amazing making love could be - specifically making love to
Jason
, she amended - she threw on some clothes and went to greet her mother.

Alli found her mother, Linda, sitting at the table with her hands wrapped around a mug of tea. The smell of blueberry pancakes filled the house. Her grandfather’s sticky plate sat empty at his place setting, waiting to be cleared. Gran could be heard clinking dishes in the kitchen.

“Hi mom.” Alli pecked her mom on the cheek and sat down. She heaped a small pile of pancakes onto her plate and doused them in syrup. “You’re early. I was hoping we wouldn’t leave until this afternoon. I still have a few things to do before I go.” Alli’s speech slowed as she noticed her mother’s pained expression. “What’s the matter?”

“Li-li, sweetheart, we need to talk.”

Alli was immediately alarmed. How could her mother
possibly
know?! “Mom, it’s not a big deal-”

Linda frowned in confusion at her daughter’s reaction. She held up a hand to silence her. “Li-li, don’t interrupt. This is hard for me to say, and I really need to just lay it all out for you.” Alli gulped audibly, a large bite of pancake seemingly stuck in her throat.

“Your father and I have separated. He’s going to remain at the house in the city, and you and I are going to be staying here with Papa and Gran for a while. Just until we get things sorted out.” Linda paused to take in her daughter’s reaction to this news before continuing on. “Now, I don’t know how long that will be exactly, so I’m going to enroll you here at Roosevelt for your senior year.”

Alli was floored. This was all too much information to take in. She knew things had been strained between her parents lately, but she hadn’t realized just how serious the situation had become.

“Oh my God, mom. Separated? Does this mean you guys are getting a divorce?”

Linda reached over and put her hand on top of Alli’s. “I don’t know, dear. Your father and I have a lot of issues to work through. We just need a little time apart right now.”

Alli nodded, not quite sure what to say.

“Are you terribly upset? About changing schools, I mean?”

Alli frowned. She hadn’t really dwelled on that part of the news. She wasn’t particularly attached to her school, and she had only moved into the district three years before, so it wasn’t like she had a long history with any of the students there. Sure, she would miss a few select people, but Margot was her closest girlfriend, and that wouldn’t change regardless of where Alli attended school. Alli’s heart broke a little at her mom’s distressed expression.

“School’s not a big deal, Mom. Roosevelt’s cool. I know a lot of the kids that go there from riding camp and stuff.”

Linda gave Alli a watery smile, then hugged her tightly. “Oh Li-li. Thank you for being so mature and understanding about this. And don’t think we forgot your birthday. Your father and I are trying to see if we can maybe work out a way to get you a car.”

Alli did her best to look excited and surprised by the prospect of getting her own car. In truth, she was a bit numb. Her parent’s might be splitting up. She was staying at her grandparent’s house indefinitely. She was going to go to Roosevelt High. It was a lot of change to absorb.

Alli felt like she was forgetting something important. Her brain was buzzing with all of this new information. She wanted to run and go tell Jason.

Jason!

Staying meant not having to say goodbye to Jason! Alli jumped up in excitement - this time for real. She couldn’t wait to tell him the good news. Her elation came to an abrupt halt a moment later when she realized her new dilemma. How was she going to justify staying in town with her mom when she was supposed to be living away from her parents anyway? In Jason’s mind Alli was heading off to a dorm room in the city. She slumped back down into her chair. This was going to take some figuring out.

* * * * *

“Community college?” Jason looked utterly confused. “Isn’t registration already closed? What about your scholarship?” Jason was overwhelmed with all of the new information Alli was springing on him. He had been looking forward to seeing her today, and dreading having to say goodbye, but he had been completely unprepared for her to tell him she was staying. His first reaction had been elation, followed quickly by sympathy for Alli over her parent’s troubles, and finally confusion.