Ni Ai (That Love)

First part of a promising series.

I let out a breath as I stepped out of the classroom. Finally, class was over. Not that I didn’t appreciate the Renaissance Age in Europe, in fact I found that sculpture of David fanciful—in an artistic way of course. But anxiety filled me sitting all through that 3-hour lecture.

I reached for my phone on my bag’s outer pocket.

‘1 message received’, it read.

I could hear my heart pounding as I opened my inbox. I knew who it was, but it made no difference.

‘Just got in the campus grounds. I’ll see you in 10 minutes. It’s such a nice day for a walk, isn’t it? =)’ Bryce.

A smile passed by my lips as I looked out into the open corridor. From the fifth floor of my college building, I could clearly see the dark, heavy clouds that were gathering in that huge portion of the sky, covering almost the entirety of it in fact.

With a wave to my friends from the end of the hall, I signaled for them that I have to go. Pressing my books onto my breasts, I jogged down the stairs, as though holding my heart in anticipation.

I reached the last step just in time to see him walking towards me from the main entrance, a boyish smile plastered on his face. I could feel my heart still pounding, ready to burst out of my ribcage.

His hair was slightly damp, a little rumpled but he was adorable nonetheless. He wore that gray Polo shirt which I liked so much. It hung on his body perfectly and gave me enough previews of his sculptured biceps and shoulders. Pretty much like David, but a lot leaner version. He clutched the strap of his backpack with one hand and held a Pepsi bottle on the other. Nearing towards me, I felt another pounding deep in me… but it was from somewhere down lower.

I shook the feeling away as he stood in front of me, with that goofy, boyish smile across his (now I noticed) wet, pert lips.

“Hi.” He was obviously happy to see me.

I only managed a small smile, looking deep into his brown eyes. Right then and there I knew I could have melted. But as usual, I kept myself on guard, always at a distance. I never wanted for him to see right through me, I’m always afraid I guess.

“Hey.” Was my nonchalant reply as he took my books and placed it inside his backpack. His gaze never left me. And with just that simple gesture, I saw his arms and shoulders flex. I felt another throbbing between my thighs.

Oh hell yeah I missed him. Right then and there I want to take him in my arms, in my mouth, and lavish every inch of him. Of course, if I were possessed, Bryce would have already been on the floor with me on top straddling him…

“Ready to go?” a note of apprehension in his voice as he broke my fantasies. I wondered if he caught that creeping blush on my cheeks…?

“Let’s go for a walk, shall we?” I was already in a defensive mode. I walked past him and made my way to the door, obviously embarrassed.

I heard an amused chuckle from him behind me before I felt him brush his arm up against mine and took my hand. He squeezed them tightly then raised them to his lips to give the back of my palm a quick, sweet kiss.

I bit my lip.

Smiling down on me again, I realized his apprehension was gone. My anxiety had faded away too, replaced only by a feeling that is so utterly familiar whenever he was around.

Bryce led me outside the building, just as small droplets of rain water began falling from the skies. We didn’t have an umbrella. We didn’t mind.

And we walked together under the soft drizzle, in that late afternoon of that perfect day.

~~ The once tranquil waters suddenly turn turbulent… By which its volatile state merely ephemeral… Such a rare occasion that the serenity of the lake be shattered And the current flows in different directions… Hidden depths craving to be unleashed incessantly… Time ebbs and woves the desires of the flesh… ~~ It wasn’t long before the rain poured. Neither of us have an umbrella so Bryce was using his backpack to shield us both while we walked to find shelter. Pulling me close to him, his arms draped protectively around my shoulders, he tried his best to not get me drenched. But being that close to him, of actually feeling his chest pressed against my shoulder, his hips rubbing onto my behind, of actually getting a whiff of his scent that lingered in my nostrils, where his lips was a mere three inches away from mine—it was more than enough to get me wet in my bikini underwear.

Cursing myself for such dirty thoughts, I kept wishing that we find shelter soon or I’m never going to forgive myself had I’ve been given several more minutes with him.

“Here we go!” His comment broke into my thoughts again, and I couldn’t thank the heavens more.

Bryce led me into the covered rear entrance of the University Veterinary Department building. I didn’t even realize how far we had been from my college until I recognized the off the road access to the school adjacent to the building. The place was deserted, which was not surprising at all since it was the weekly University day-off.

Bryce took off the backpack he was holding above our heads and smiled down at me. I noticed he hasn’t yet let go of my shoulder although we were somewhat half an arm’s length from each other.

“Are you okay?” he asked, eyes full of concern. He’d been getting worried that I might get sick and that he wouldn’t forgive himself since he was the one who insisted on seeing me today. He kept blabbing about how he wasn’t careful enough to check on the weather.

I touched his arm lightly and felt him quiver slightly at my touch. Assuring him that I’ll be fine, I inched a little father. I couldn’t take that closeness to him any longer.

Noticing this, he immediately dropped his arms to his side and gave me a sheepish grin. Turning away abruptly, I heard him mumble a ‘sorry’ as he leaned in on one of the posts.

The realization that we were alone in that building wasn’t helping. I could feel the heat rushing up between my thighs as I smiled back at Bryce, who was now almost drenched with rain. His hair was wet and little more rumpled; his shirt had few patches of water with one that fell flat on his shoulder, clutching onto his skin that I could almost feel the beautiful contours of his shoulder and collar bone.

He didn’t seem to notice me gawking at him because he took out a small towel from his bag and handed it to me. Distractedly I dried myself with it, although that was really not necessary since I was relatively drier compared to him.

I could feel my heart pounding loudly again as I neared him and reached up with towel in hand to dry his neck and the wet patch on his shoulder. I couldn’t help thinking how lustfully sexy Bryce now was…

Chuckling softly at realizing how he forgot himself, he took the towel from me, slightly grazing his fingers on mine. “Thanks. I’ll be fine,” And then placed the towel back into his pack. He then reached for my hand again, intertwining it with his fingers and squeezing them tight. We stood beside each other like that for a while, not even talking, just watching the rain, holding hands.

Suddenly, Bryce turned to face me, a serious look on his face.

“Erika…” he started.

I caught my breath at his mention of my name, relishing the way he said it.

“Yes?”

The next thing I knew I was inside his embrace. Bryce held onto to me as if for dear life, wrapping his arms around my waist tight.

“Erika,” he whispered again. This time I felt a tinge run down my spine as he breathed out my name in my ear. Bryce took a deep breath and buried his face on my shoulders.

At that instance, I knew what he needed. So I held him, stroking his back with one hand and running my fingers through his wet, rumpled hair with the other.

“I’ve missed you so much Erika,” came a muffled speech.

That nearness of him made my knees weak, but then again with Bryce acting like this… he has never showed me that side of him before, vulnerable like a child. I felt him shiver under my embrace.

Shushing him as I rocked him gently had been my only reply. It has been a while since we’ve been together and the last time we talked didn’t really go well. He never gave me any reason why he suddenly had to go away without telling. I had been worried out of my wits for weeks without a call from him. He called finally a few days before and asked if he could see me, I was ready to whack him hard with my shoe. When he asked if he could pick me up today at the University and take me out to dinner, I had still been beside myself with resentment and the pain of being left out of his life. But I had wanted to see him too. Missing him bad was more than a reason enough, plus I wanted to know what changed.

So I held Bryce there, in that frozen moment, at the empty building under the pouring rain. I pulled away gently to have a good look at him. He looked into my eyes with longing, his brown eyes reaching out to me in a silent call.

What happened next was totally out of character for me. I guess words didn’t seem enough. I smiled warmly at Bryce and brought my lips to his to kiss him. I pulled away instantly when I felt that electric volt pass us. All those hidden feelings, everything that I had been repressing and wanting to say was in that two-second kiss.

When I looked at him again, blushing from head to toe, he gazed back at me intensely, eyes glazed. Then leaning in, Bryce pressed his lips onto mine. His arms on my waist still, he pulled me closer to his chest. One hand traveled down slowly to my hips while his other hand held the back of my neck as he deepened the kiss. Closing my eyes, I responded submissively, matching his passion while I rubbed my hands on his chest down to his torso. Slowly he parted my lips with his tongue and eased out my own to meet his in a naughty play. His grip tightened on my hips as the intensity of our kiss grew. I elicited a moan from his throat the second my fingers was able to graze the skin beneath his shirt.

I felt the pressure between my thighs build up as Bryce sucked gently on my lower lip and instinctively buckled his hips against mine.

When he jerked back all of a sudden ending our passionate interplay, my eyes snapped open. I can still feel his fiery passion under that gaze that shifted into guilt alternatively.

“Bryce…” I reached out my hand to touch his cheek. He sunk into my caress as I wondered what has just happened.

My heart was still pounding and I could only look back at him in surprise and disappointment. I felt him struggle with his emotions as he looked back apologetically at me. He knew what he was feeling, and knew how strong those feelings were… but apparently, his control over them had been stronger.

Pushing away my hurt, I smiled at him and whispered, “It’s okay.” I felt him relax afterwards as he let his arms fall back to his side.

The rain shushed down a bit too. The grey clouds were rolling back and the orange, sunset-bathed skies were gradually peeping in from behind.

‘I don’t want to be the perverted jerk around you anymore, Erika.’

I took Bryce’s hand and spun around. I didn’t want to push the issue farther, but it’s really scaring me like hell why he’s suddenly so changed.

“Let’s go get dinner ok?” I tried my best to sound as cheerfully as I can. Bryce didn’t say a word, but only squeezed my hand again and let himself be dragged out by me into that soft drizzle.

END PART ONE.