tangled up in blue

29

thumbs- lucy dacus 

Sitting in the back of a taxi with Jace, I felt like we were runaways. The adrenaline hadn't given into dread yet, and I told myself to worry about the consequences of our collective outburst later. For now, his hand on my inner thigh was all I could focus on.

"We should check into a hotel and fuck," Jace said casually from beside me.

I coughed, choking on my saliva. "W-what? Right now?"

"I'm kidding, you idiot. It's you first time," he laughed, and I exhaled slowly. "By the way, how do you wanna lose it? Your virginity?"

I rolled my eyes. "You say that like it's a business proposition."

"But... do you wanna lose it to me?" He asked, suddenly sounding sheepish.

I blushed and shuffled closer to his warm body. "I originally wanted to lose it to my first boyfriend, but seeing as that isn't gonna happen anytime soon... yeah. I guess... I guess I do."

He raised an unimpressed eyebrow at me. "But I'm the best your horny ass has? Your least favourite person ever?"

I tilted my face up towards his and studied every inch of his beautiful features. "You're not my least favourite person. Not anymore."

He blinked at me, as if he wasn't expecting that. It should have been obvious with the way things had changed between us within a few weeks, but I knew Jace didn't find it easy to let people in. Still, he put his thumb under my chin and lifted it upwards to kiss me. My lips instantly reacted to his, letting him take control of the slow and sensual way our tongues melted together. I pulled away slightly to breathe. "We really forgot the no casual kissing rule, huh?"

"Fuck the rules," he mouthed into my neck. "Kissing is part of my... experimenting, anyway."

I nodded vigorously and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Then don't let me stop you." He didn't wait for me to change my mind. We smiled against each other's lips as it started to get more heated, our needy hands roaming over the other's suited bodies. As much as I loved what Jace could do with his tongue, I wanted more. He was right; I wasn't ready for sex yet, but every day I spent with him was making the craving worse.

An hour later, we were back in the green hills, stumbling out of the taxi, hand in hand. "You sure the hotel idea was so bad? I kinda want us to have a whole night together before my parents come back and murder us."

"If you keep kissing me like that, I think you'll be the one to murder me," I whispered, our noses brushing together.

I could have sworn I saw Jace's cheeks heat up before he rolled his eyes. "Fucking hell, John Green," he retorted, imitating what I'd said to him weeks ago. Laughing, it only took minutes for us to enter the front door and pile into Jace's room. Okay, we might have spent a few of those minutes fumbling on the couch because we were too impatient, but the thought of the Jackson's arriving earlier than expected and seeing me straddling their son and brother spurred us into action.

Once I'd been roughly pushed onto the bed and pounced on by Jace, I forgot everything about the night's drama. His frenzied kisses were almost too much to bear. "Shit," I panted as he nibbled my neck. "Are you still hungry?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I didn't get to finish my meal because someone decided to start a social justice revolution in the middle of dinner. I won't be surprised if there's riots in the streets tomorrow."

I blushed and felt him chuckle against my skin. "I'm never being nice to you again."

"Noah," he said softly, leaning up to give me an amused but sincere look. "I loved it. I'm serious." All the humour vanished from his eyes, and he tenderly brushed a wavy strand of hair from my forehead. "No one's ever defended me like that before. I just never thought it would be you. But... even though I don't know how to thank you, I wanna say it anyway, because you're you. You're not my least favourite person, either."