Crushes Over Papercuts- A Mid 90s Tale

Chapter 28

"I'm going to make the popcorn. Make yourself comfortable." Ben left me in his parent's den and headed to the kitchen. Fifteen minutes earlier we were standing arm in arm starting at the blue and white wall full of VHS movie covers.

My heart pounded in my chest. I tried taking deep breaths to calm my body and nerves but my mind wouldn't let me rest.

What was going to happen tonight? What did I want to happen? How should I sit?

I scooted from one side of the old leather couch to the other side and back again.

"Is everything okay?"

I hadn't heard him enter the room.

"Merely getting comfortable," I replied knowing he must have seen me try out every corner of the couch. "The smell of popcorn always makes me want to watch a movie so I'm just excited."

"Me too." He put the tape into the VCR, laid the popcorn and two cokes on the coffee table, and plopped down into the right corner of the couch. My last move had left me sitting in the center of the couch.

He grabbed a handful of popcorn as the previews started and offered me the bowl. "Want some?"

"Not right this minute." My stomach was so knotted that I didn't think I could hold any food down.

He popped open the coke, sprawled his arms across the back and side arm of the couch then kicked his sneakers off. I stared at the white socks with the yellow line sewn at the toe like he had taken off his pants in bed. I had been close to him with less clothes before. He was far more clothed now than when he held me against his body in the ocean where the only thing between our skin was the salt water, but for some reason tonight, on this couch, it felt different.

"You can put your feet on the couch or the coffee table if you want. The furniture in here is old."

I realized that I was sitting straight up with both feet on the floor and my arms stiff at my side- completely rigid. I took a sip of my coke, anything to loosen my position, and sat back against the couch. I slipped my sneakers off and wrapped my legs underneath me on the couch. I glanced over at him but he was busy fast forwarding through the previews with the remote.

"I swear there's almost twenty minutes of previews on every movie now," he mumbled.

The lion logo popped up and he hit play. Ben reached for another handful of popcorn and I watched his back and shoulder muscles twist under his thin, gray tee-shirt as he leaned forward. Everything he did was sexy to me. When he got comfortable on the couch again, I scooted over and crawled into his nook. He kissed me on my head that leaned against his chest. My heart pulsed with nervousness from my toes to my fingers.

Twenty minutes later I wanted more, how much more I still wasn't sure, but I knew at a minimum I wanted his lips on mine. I reached for a sip of my now-tepid coke and instead of crawling back into his nook I wrapped my arms around his neck and placed my lips against his. The kiss started off slow but soon my knees were on the couch and I was, for the first time, towering over him. I ran my hands through his hair as he wrapped his hands around my waist and up the sides of me. With one quick motion he tucked me underneath him and I felt the warmth and pressure of his body against mine. The feelings and the sensation of him on me made my breath quicken. Our kisses were soon interrupted with breathy moans. My knees had willingly parted to let him press closer without a conscious thought from me. I'd never desired anything more in my life.

I gathered his shirt up to his chest and his lips left mine only long enough to pull the shirt over his head and toss to the floor. Our kissing intensified and I could feel him throbbing through my jeans. His hand went under my shirt and traced up against my side until it reached my breast. I pressed him closer to me and he let out a moan. A new sensation coursed through me.