Baby Steps

Cupid's Bow

Jo's POV:

His warm lips met mine, and immediately we were in sync. His lower lip pressed up, his top lip coming down slightly as he sucked on mine. Then he was back in motion, moving as a guiding force against me.

His warm hands wrapped tight around my back, and I snaked my arms up around him. One of my hands found their way to his hair, and I grabbed a fistful. I could feel his breath hitch as I did.

My stomach was churning with need. His hands slowly started to run up and down my back, snaking their way around my waist. He lightly pushed me back onto the bed while placing himself above me, pressing his hips into mine as he snuck in between my legs. I felt my legs instinctively wrap around him. Given how thin my costume was, I could practically feel him against my core as his lips worked their magic. Good Heavens. 

He kept kissing me, gradually getting more rough and passionate. I was trying my best to keep up, wanting to show him the want and need he was showing me. 

His hands moved all around my torso, inching their way up to the top of my corset. He slowly skimmed his finger across the top, just grazing the tops of my breasts. I clenched my legs tighter around him at the touch.

My body started responding to the kiss, and began slowly grinding against Colton without my knowledge or permission.

He snaked a hand down my back until he reached my bum, cheekily grabbing a handful of flesh and squeezing it gently. My lower back arched to press into his hand, his lower body thrusting into mine in response. 

My hands got curious, and slowly started tracing up and down his back. Even through his shirt he was hard as a rock, and I took my time admiring the outline of each and every muscle.

We continued attacking each other like animals, and I could feel my need for him grow. 

But then he pulled away. I looked up into his eyes, confused as to why he ended the kiss. Was I not good at kissing? I knew it had been awhile since I kissed someone, but damn, I thought I was better than that. 

We took a moment catching our breaths, both heaving. He finally broke the silence.

"Sorry, I, uhh," he mumbled. "I didn't want to get ahead of myself there."

I shook my head slowly, slightly disappointed. Of course he doesn't, he wants nothing to do with me. Why would he want  things to go further?

"Right," I agreed. I felt like such a fool, I wanted to run out of the room.

"Sorry, I'm not explaining myself well," he chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "I, uh, I guess it's just that I didn't bring you up here and apologize just to get with you. I didn't want you to think that I did. Because I meant the apology." 

I felt my heart swell. He looked down at me with wide eyes, slightly chewing on his lower lip. Ugh, he looked so damn adorable right now, I could kill him for breaking that kiss.

"No, I get it," I nodded. "But for the record, I wasn't thinking that."

His eyes trailed back down to my lips, now plump and sore. I saw him peak down at my costume, eyeing the cleavage it gave me. The sight of him checking me out made me want to have his babies. 

"Good," he whispered before pushing himself back up. He stood above me, and I sat up to admire his gorgeous body under the wife beater. He turned to grab a water bottle from his desk, and I used the opportunity to fix myself up the best I could. I stood up and adjusted my costume, picking my phone up to check the time. 

4 missed calls from Emma. Shit, not again. 

I quickly texted her "wya," to which she replied that her and Sam were waiting downstairs for me to be done so we can all leave. Shit.

"I think I have to go," I said.

"You think?" Colton smirked, turning back around from his desk to face me.

"Yup," I said as strongly as I could. "But, uh, thanks for apologizing." I started to head toward the door, and I was almost out until a hand grabbed my elbow, spinning me back around.

"For the record," he said, grinning, "I could've done crazy things with this." He held up his arrow heart up that was in his hand. I felt my cheeks burn, and I quickly turned to run down the hall and back to my friends. 

And I said I would never speak to him again.

***

I pulled my books out of bag and onto the table, settling in for my all-day study sesh. I managed to get by last night only answering minimal questions from Emma and Sam, and I snuck out early this morning so I wouldn't have to face there interrogation.

So here I was, at 7am in the morning, at the library. I hadn't gone to bed until 3am, but I had trouble sleeping with alcohol in my system, so I was running on 3.5 hours of sleep and an extra large coffee.

I pulled out some schoolwork I had neglected, deciding to work on my LSAT studying later in the afternoon. 

I remembered the paper I had for Advanced Writing that was due at the end of the semester that I hadn't started. I pulled out my laptop and notebook, looking for the assignment. 

"I'd like you all to think about how you handle your own fears, and how Aristotle would likely respond to your approach" I had scribbled down. "2,000 words."

I started brainstorming in my notebook. What fears do I have?

I jotted down a few I could think of, some mundane but some, not so much. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had more fears than I thought. Fear of spiders, fear of the ocean, fear of betrayal, fear of loss, fear of being in a coma again...

I made a chart and wrote all these down, making another column to brainstorm how I handle these fears. I noticed I was coming up short in this department. 

After about an hour, I had a solid outline of the paper, and it was time to get to work. I started typing up a first draft, detailing my most significant fear and how I try to manage it. I figured I could save the Aristotle piece of it for another day. Besides, I was behind on the reading - wouldn't do me much good to start it now.

I pulled out an assignment from my Medieval Literature class, and continued from there. By noon, I had finished almost all my class assignments for the week. 

I decided to leave for lunch and come back after for my LSAT prep. I walked down the road to the campus Starbucks, thinking a coffee would serve me well.

I grabbed my usual coffee and a breakfast sandwich, then sat down to eat. I scrolled through my phone casually, until a photo on Instagram made my heart stop.

It was a photo an old high school classmate of mine, Cassidy, had posted. Of her and my ex-boyfriend, Nate.

I could feel my blood run cold. I didn't know this girl well, but I wanted to help her. Everything inside me told me to DM her and tell her to run. To call the police to have them do a well-being check. Anything.

But I took a deep breath. I couldn't do any of that - people would think I'm crazier than they already do.

I quickly packed up what was left of my sandwich and shoved it into my bag, running out of the store. I figured the LSAT studying can wait until later. I sprinted home, immediately drew a bath, cried, then finally tucked myself in bed with ocean noises playing to help me sleep. 

This was the effect Nate had on me. Even after nearly four years, he still had this terrifying grip on me. I think my deepest fear is that I will never escape him. 

***

A/N: OOOOO MAJOR THINGS HAPPENINGGGG!!!!

Our first hints of smut;) I don't know if I'm any good at writing it, so sorry about that lol. But there will be PLENTY more to come, and probably much MUCH better than this, so do not fear!

Also, we're getting our first look into Jo's past. OOOOO!!

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