A/N: Early on in Katie and Ned's relationship. Like before the end of her first year of college early. Enjoy xx Mariah
Katie stood in front of her closet only in her underwear, hands on her waist and concentrated eyes to find something to wear. She had just tossed her third change of clothes on her bed and now she honestly thought that they all decided to rebel against her, because nothing seemed to fit her the way she wanted it too.
"Still fighting with your wardrobe, Katie?" Hannah asked, showing up in the doorway with one knock to alert her. "It's just Ned. You've been dating him for almost four months now."
"Shut up, Han," she replied, sending her a death glare. "Just because he's my boyfriend doesn't mean I'm not nervous."
Her best friend laughed at her, entering her bedroom. "Can't find something cute to wear or what? It's not like it'll be on for very long… you two are screwing right?"
"It's not always about getting laid, Hannah. We've only done it like three different times." She said for what seemed to be the millionth time tonight.
"Then why are you so worried about your clothes, anyway? Any other occasion and you'd be in something sexy and comfortable at the same time." Hannah sighed, looking frustrated. "Okay. Look, that boyfriend Ned of yours? He's crazy for you, Katie. I mean, you could show up dressed in a crocodile costume and he'd still want to get dirty with you."
She laughed, shaking her head as she looked through a drawer to find her favorite flirty skirt. It wasn't like they were going outside tonight. Ned was bringing pizza with him to the apartment.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" She was annoyed enough to snip back at her, biting her lip as she looked for an appropriate top.
"Why are you so damn nervous?" Hannah asked.
"I'm not!" She exclaimed, finding the short, ruffled black skirt and slipped her legs inside. "See? I'm already putting on clothes." She said, her tone sassy.
Hannah bit the corner of her lip before replying. "I know you don't want any suggestions, but If I may… I think you should wear that blue top there."
She turned to look at the blue top hanging on the back of her closet. It was a new tight party-type tank top, and the tag was still on it. She cocked her head to the side. "What? Why?"
"Well, for one, it hugs your torso perfectly. And, also, your cleavage is great." Hannah said, smirking.
"Maybe, but I don't know. Isn't it a bit much?" She asked and Hannah started to crack up in laughter. "Oh, get out, will you?"
"God, you can be such a prude!" Her best friend chortled, falling back on her bed. She turned and glared at her. "I'm just saying you can be…"
She grabbed the blue top Hannah had suggested and held it up to her. It would look good with the skirt, she wasn't that naive, but she had never worn anything like this for Ned before. If they were going to have sex she usually just got naked, and she didn't even know if he wanted to have sex.
She pulled the top on and turned to look at herself in the mirror. With her hair combed and hanging wet over her shoulders and her breasts were practically spilling out of the top she was wearing which was tight against her thin figure.
Huh. Standing here, like this, lower lip pouting...she looked kind of sexy. Scratch that. She felt completely confident in herself, eye makeup still perfect from when she'd put it on after her shower.
Hannah came to stand behind her, eyeing her reflection as she talked, "You look hot. My job is done." She ran her hand through her hair, giving it a little more volume, even for being wet.
She felt her cheeks burning because she knew it was true. She couldn't wait for Ned to get here. "I don't know what you are talking about," she deflected, laughing. "You better get going before he gets here. You promised we'd have a few hours alone."
She walked over to her dresser, standing near and opening her jewelry box.
"I know. I'm going and staying at Brandon's dorm tonight, so don't worry about having anyone here until after my morning class," Hannah said when she put on her white gold bracelet (the one that her mother gave her for her golden birthday).
She shrugged, walking to the foot of her bed to put her flats on in case she needed to go down to the lobby to meet Ned. "Sweet. I don't have classes tomorrow, so Ned will probably be here until he heads back to Grandview tomorrow. Not sure when yet."
"Alrighty then," Hannah turned to leave, walking down toward the front door and pulling her jacket on. She grabbed her purse and keys before pulling the door open, just in time for Ned to walk up to the doorway, holding a pizza box.
"Hey," he said with the same attitude as always and a big smile plastered on his face.
"Hi," she said shyly, stepping out of the doorway of her bedroom and toward where Hannah was.
"Good thing I'm going," Hannah laughed, winking at them both. "Don't forget to wear a condom, Ned, we don't need any accidents."
"Hannah!" She groaned and had to bite her tongue to restrain herself from punching her best friend right in the side. "On that note, come in."
She closed the door after he came in the door, then he walked over to set the pizza on the coffee table and plopped down on his sofa. He looked normal in worn down blue jeans and a red flannel that he probably got from Old Navy, it was normal enough that it eased down her nerves a bit.
"I'm sorry for being late." He said, rubbing his hands over his thighs.
She dismissed his apology with a wave of her hand and smiled while grabbing the TV remote with the other and shuffling through the options on Netflix. "Nah, you got here just in time. Hannah was only just leaving babe."
"Great," he said, and she was still trying to manage her nervousness as she sat down next to him. He pulled her closer immediately, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I've missed you so much. You smell good."
"I just showered," she smiled, turning her face to look at him. She was suddenly extremely self-conscious about how close they were to each other. Their lips touched and caressed each other's as they kissed. "Mmm, hi." She said they parted, smiling and running her hands through his hair. "I missed you too."
After more than a few moments spent kissing on the couch and enjoying each other's company, Ned pulled away to point toward the pizza box that sat on the coffee table.
"Okay," he said. "I got half cheese and half pepperoni."
"You remembered," she half-squealed half-moaned, aiming for the pizza box and grabbing a delicious greasy slice of cheesy pizza. "I could seriously kiss you right now."
"Of course I remembered. I knew even before we were dating," he said, and she waited for him to say something else flirtatious or teasing, but he just shrugged it off with a chuckle and took a pepperoni slice for himself. "What you want to watch?" He asked, pulling the TV remote from her hand.
She looked at him and took another bite of her pizza before replying, "I'm fine with anything you want to watch."
"Hm, I actually wanted to catch up with House of Cards. Would you mind watching it again?" He asked.
"Please!" She exclaimed. " I have to talk to someone about what happened last season."
He laughed at her and flicked to find the show under the "keep watching" tab on the screen. "So, you really don't mind re-watching? I was just on episode nine."
"Not at all!" She said, smiling at him. "I love me some Claire Underwood and cuddling with you on the couch."
"Someone has a girl crush, huh?" He whispered as he hit play and settled on his seat, and his knee pushed against hers playfully.
"Something like that," she said, teasing back, and saw his eyes sparkle with curiosity before focusing her gaze on the TV.
They fell silent as the episode started, and her eyes opened wide when she heard the sound of moans mixed with the soundtrack coming from the TV. A few seconds later, Kate Baldwin showed up riding Thomas Yates, her head going back as she came, one last moan leaving her mouth. She licked her lips, tasting the grease of the pizza before finishing the last of her slice because of course, the episode they were watching would start with a sex scene.
Of course. She was lucky that way.
She averted her eyes from the screen and reached forward to grab another slice of pizza to distract her from what just happened. Ned seemed unfazed by it, but one look in her direction and he would see the flush on her cheeks and notice that there's something wrong.
So she continued to eat, intending to be an almost imperceptible company when the scene changed to Frank Underwood talking about the American Dream and AmWorks. Good. Much safer territory.
Her boyfriend kept his eyes on the screen throughout the episode, even as he reached out to the pizza box, bringing it to his lap and grabbing a third slice for him and for her. Their hands brushed on the exchange and she felt the electricity running from her fingers through her whole body, hitting all of her limbs, and the blush peeked up on her face again.
God, she wanted him. So bad.
But Ned kept his gaze glued to the screen and she didn't want to initiate anything to quickly, so she took a bite on her new slice, relaxing again.
Throughout the episode, things like that happened. Their hands met again when they both went for another slice of pizza. He dropped his head closer to her ear to whisper something about the scene happening, scaring the crap out of her because she'd been so attuned to the episode. He rearranged himself on the couch after the pizza was gone, making their arms brush. She propped her feet up on the coffee table and his hand accidentally touched the skin behind her knee as he reached to grab his phone. Even when he was just trying to clean the pizza crumbles from his lap, he'd ended up grazing her bare thigh with his right hand for more than just a passing moment.
She didn't know what's happening. She didn't know because sex was still kind of new to her and Ned, and if all this contact was flirting, if it meant something, or if it's just because Hannah implicated sex would be on his mind tonight.
Katie didn't even know if all of his actions were unconscious or if he was doing this to increase the proximity between them and initiate something. But all of those touches made her alive with electricity and combined with the last few weeks in between the last time they'd been intimate going through her mind resulted in a lust crawling through her.
So when the episode ended and Ned got up to throw away the pizza box, she asked him to get her a glass of wine. She needed something to help her calm her nerves. She offered for him to grab a beer from the fridge for himself, and he more than eagerly accepted it.
He made his way around the couch to go to the kitchen, pizza box in hand. When he came back and gave her the wine, he chose to jump over her stretched out legs instead of rounding the sofa, and she had to bite her bottom lip because the brief connection between his knee and the side of her thigh almost made her moan.
He sat in his seat and she took a good sip of her wine, and the cool liquid effectively relaxed her dry throat and softened her bloom a little. "You want to watch another one?" he asked, already clicking on the next episode.
She nodded, leaning over to lay her head on his arm because she didn't think she was able to form words right now and take another sip of wine. And she really didn't mind watching another episode or two with Ned, but the truth was that she couldn't concentrate on anything plot-wise or even on Jackie and Remy's sexual tension because she was too focused on her own sexual tension with Ned.
He's bouncing his leg rhythmically, and every time it went up it touched her thigh, and she was starting to think he's doing it on purpose. Especially when he stretched and she was now laying closer to him, his arm draped over her ad his fingers touching the nape of her neck. That's got to be the oldest trick on the book. Without even noticing what she was doing, Katie removed her feet from the coffee table and sat up straight, finishing off her wine and setting it on the table before turning herself in Ned's direction and grabbing the remote from his stomach. He looked at her surprised as she paused the show and glared at him.
But nothing beat his wide-eyed expression when he heard her question, "Ned, did you only come to see me so we could have sex?"
He froze, his eyes practically sticking out of his face, looking at her like she was the most bizarre creature in this world. Then, he spoke, "I would never just come to see you… I mean, how did you know… I didn't- What?"
The stammering and expression on his face were enough to let her know she was at least a little bit right and she sighed, burying her face in her hand. "Oh my god. You did!"
"No!" He was quick to protest, lowering her hands with his until they rested on her lap. "I mean- kind of."
"Ned!" She groaned in horror and he squeezed her hands like he wanted to stop her before she even had the idea to leave the room.
"Okay, just- Just let me explain, alright?" He asked with pleading eyes, tightening his grip on her hands once more. Before she had the chance to agree, he starts to ramble, his hands moving around him while he talked, "Look, I haven't seen you forever, okay? And by forever I mean literally maybe three weeks, and I'm just a little pent up, you know?" He chuckled uneasily and smiled at her, reaching out to hold her hands together again. "I didn't come here expecting anything, but every thought in my head went blank when I saw you. You look too sexy for me to think-"
She smiled at him and leaned up to peck his lips lightly, effectively cutting him off. "Okay, stop and breathe. I'm not mad or upset that you had it on your mind," she laughed. "I was just trying to enjoy my time with you. You know, sitting here and eating pizza while watching House of Cards."
"You did seem pretty into the episode," he joked, his smile bright and boyish, and all the worry that was his eyes a second before disappeared. "Then that brings us to my question."
"What question?" She asked.
"Well, for starters, why are you all flustered and nervous?" He began and she opened her mouth to object, but he kept talking beside her complaints. "And don't even try to act like you didn't initiate some of those touches!"
She was rendered speechless for a moment, just looking at Ned and assimilating his words.
Because she had initiated some of those touches.
Not only that, but she had contemplated jumping Ned's bones the second she saw him. But instead she created opportunities to get closer to him – and him to her– and never backed away when their bodies touched. Damn, she practically moaned one time their skins brushed. And then she blatantly asked him if he wanted to have sex with her.
So, instead of replying to her boyfriend with words, she leaned in and kissed him full on the mouth.
But he stopped short after a few timid kisses, breathing as he held her face with both of his hands. "Katie, I just want to make sure-"
"Yes, Ned I really want this, yadda yadda yadda," she said, cutting him off. "Ned, we've already been over this. I kissed you, remember?"
He started to caress her arm lightly as he leaned in to kiss her again, "I know. But, I don't want you to feel pressured to do anything just because I came to see you. I love you, but we don't have to have sex."
"And I know that," she told him. "Frankly, Ned, I thought you of all people would know that I don't do anything just because I feel obligated to."
"Yes, I know, but still… you really want to do this?" He asked her again.
"Yes, I do," she declared, so there wasn't any doubt left. "I one hundred percent want to do you, baby, alright?"
He looked suspicious for just another moment before letting himself loose and grinning, putting his hands on her waist and pulling her closer. "Alright. I believe you."
"Good," she smiled at him and wound her hands around his neck.
He smiled at her and slid one hand up to tangle in her hair, pressing his lips back on hers. It was a slow and sweet kiss, at first, and his lips molded into hers like they were made just for that. The skin of his neck was soft where she touched and the cinnamon scent he smelled of invaded her nostrils, making her feel slightly dizzy and when Ned sucked on her tongue, she groaned in pleasure.
That's when things began to speed up. He held her against his body tightly, his hands pressing on the slope of her ass, and her fingers begin to undo the buttons of his flannel shirt. Her lips slip from his in the action, so she pressed them on the base of his throat and he grunted, his hips pressing up against hers.
"Bedroom," she whispered on his skin, pulling him by his hand to the hallway to find her room, but it's not an easy walk.
Not with Ned's lips attached to the side of her neck, his hands roaming up her body to knead her breasts, and his erection firmly pressed up on her ass through her skirt. His touch made her skin light on fire and the way he sucked on her earlobe elicited a giggle out of her.
"C'mon," she purred as they reached her bedroom.
Finally, once they're inside she turned the lock on the door, just to be sure they wouldn't be interrupted in case Hannah did decide to come home but didn't bother turning on the lights. She turned on her heels, then, and kissed Ned again, her hands dipping between them to finish their work undoing his shirt.
Once there's no button left, she reached for the collar of his shirt and pushed it off until his arms were free from the fabric, which fell on the floor. She slid her hands down his body when he began to kiss her neck again, feeling everything she could – his rock-hard biceps, the veins in his forearms, the lines of his chest, the abs on his stomach – before moving them to his back, bellow his white undershirt to feel his heated skin with her fingertips.
Then, she tugged on it and Ned helped her slide it off him with ease. His hands were back on her a second after that, slipping up her skirt hemline up to grab her ass and pressed her hips against his hard-on.
"Ned," she groaned, pushing him slightly to take them closer to the bed, and he moved his mouth to hers to taste his name on her lips, nibbling on her lower lip.
"God, this was all I thought about this week," he whispered on her clavicle, his warm breath hitting her skin. She tugged on his hair, both hot and irritated by his words. "I was working late… just watching nearby a new stop sign for anyone who runs it. It's boring, but picturing you isn't…"
"You were the one who made us wait," she giggled, pushing him onto the bed when they reached it. "You could've just texted me... I want to fuck you, you know?"
He landed on his back, elbows pressed against the mattress, and his eyes roamed up her body, his eyes full of lust. "I had to be sure," he said. "I'll do that next time."
She fought against the instinct to roll her eyes at him and slid off her flats, kneeling down on the bed, moving up his body to straddle him. When she rubbed herself down on him, the button of his jeans rubbed against her just right, and they both moaned, her head going back in pleasure. She rested her hands on his chest and rocked forward again, locking her eyes in his.
"You had to be sure of what?" She panted, moving sensuously above him. "That I want you? That I can't look at another guy without thinking about you because you are on my mind all the time and I touch myself at night thinking about you?"
"Fuck, Katie," he hissed, his hands gripping her behind. "You can't say things like that to me right now."
She chuckled, and lower herself on him, peppering his jaw with kisses. "Why not, baby?"
He slid one hand up her back, securing her there while she ground down on him, and grunted when she sucked on his pulse point. "Because when I come, I want it to be inside you and not right now."
The thought of Ned between her legs, had her sitting up straight again to remove her top. When the fabric found the floor, he quickly changed their positions in one swift motion, and her back pressed against the bed. He spread one of his hands on her breastbone as he analyzed the black bra she was wearing, how the lace barely covered her breasts.
Then his gaze found hers and she gave him a smug smile. "Do you like it?" she asked teasingly.
"Very much," he whispered, lowering his chest and hooking his finger around one strap. "Too bad I won't be able to enjoy it properly," he added as he slid his hand to the clasp of the clothing, disengaging it with a flick of his thumb and forefinger.
Her smile grew into a smirk. "You can always do that next time."
His eyes flashed with lust and, carefully, he slid down the straps of her bra, his fingertips tickling her flesh as he unclasped the back. Once it's off, he lowered himself onto her, his lips finding hers again, sucking her tongue into his mouth before moving them to her chin. His hands brushed her outer thighs as he lips moved down, to her jaw where he nibbled and she keened against him, the base of her throat and her collarbone where he marked her with hickeys until they landed on her sternum.
She was already panting with expectation when his tongue finally flicked over one of her nipples, and she bucked her hips up to show him what it did to her. He sucked on it, then, one of his hands came up to play with the other one, tracing circles around it. The pressure of his lips and hand on such a sensitive part of her made her moan, and he grunted in approval, his teeth grazing on the delicate peak.
After, he moved his mouth to the other one, licking, sucking, exploring, while his hands returned to her lower half, pressing on the slope of her ass to make her grind against him. Her hands trailed down his shoulder blades, then snuck to his front, finding the coarse hairs of his abdomen. One of them slowly moved down, and when she palmed the erection bulging from his pants, he released her nipple to curse, his forehead falling between her breasts.
"Ah, Katie, could we-" He groaned.
"Yes, please," she practically begged, and he pulled himself away from her to stand up.
She moved herself to the edge of the bed and opened her side table, rummaging through the contents as she heard him unbuckle his belt and zipper down his pants. When she found the box of condoms Ned had left with her the last time and grabbed one of them, his pants were already off, along with his sneakers and socks, and he's only in his boxer-briefs.
Then he's taking those off too, and his cock sprung free from it, slapping against the skin of his navel. He was large and thick and she licked her lips because she wanted to taste him, but also wanted him inside her, so that would have to wait for later.
He kneeled down on the bed, smiling sheepishly at her, his hands separating her calves, and she left the condom beside her on the pillow to hook her fingers on her panties, lifting her hips up to pull them down. Ned helped her on the end, and when they were off her body, he sent her a look that had a whole different meaning behind it.
Before he could even ask her again, she said, "Yes, I still want you," and reached for him.
He laid on top of her, and he grazed against her thigh in the most torturous way. He kissed her then, slow and sweet, his hands brushing her hair back, tucking the loose strands behind her ear.
"I want you too, Katie," he muttered against her lips.
Afterward, they're in her bed, spooning contentedly. The warm, post-orgasmic blissful feeling was slowly overtaking her, and though her eyes are heavy with sleep, Ned's fingers tracing circles along her bare stomach keeps her tethered to consciousness. But it tickled when his hand ghosts over her ribs, and she foolishly alerted him to the fact when she squealed.
"Same old sweet spot, huh?" he asked gruffly, then repeated the move, earning a childish giggle from her she squirmed away from him.
She pushed her back against his chest, kicking her feet out to try and move away from his fingers as he continued to tickle her. But he pinned her easily, moving on top of her body and holding her hands over her head as he hovered above her. She held her breath as they faced each other. "You remember that?"
He nodded and leaned down to kiss her briefly. "Of course," he said, tickling her more. "How could I forget your squirm spot?"
She remembered the time a few years ago when he started tickling her like this at the cabin, and she laughed so hard she nearly peed her pants.
She tried again to push him off of her, but it's of no use. He pinned her easily, moving on top of her body and holding her hands over her head as he hovered above her. "As if you could outrun me," he said seriously. "As if you could fight me off."
"Oh my god," she sputtered, laughing. "Now I have to break up with you."
Then she remembered another good time between them, a few years ago, when he put her Bath & Body Works shimmering lotion all over his hand and said, "This is the skin of a killer, Bella." He still never let her live down the fact that she actually saw the first Twilight movie in the theater.
"I hate you," she told him now, again trying to push him off of her, but it's still of no use.
"Did you forget that I took second-place at the state wrestling match my junior year?" he asked as she tried to wiggle out from underneath him.
She can't stop giggling as they continued to wrestle playfully, and they only stop when smiling, she said, "Sometimes I think about if I had been a freshman when you were a junior. Do you think we would've dated?"
"Maybe I would've asked you to prom," he moved away and sat up, his back against his headboard. "Why?"
She tilted her head up to look at him. "Sometimes I like to picture it... but you were a jerk back then so I don't know if we'd still be together,"
He chuckled and looked down at her. "Yeah, I was a prick in high school," he said softly. "But you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Katie, and even back then I think I would've still known that."
"What about your work? Or your friends?" She reasoned because she has definitely heard that somewhere.
"God, I hope not," he said, laughing. "I already have everything I need."
With her? The words went unspoken, but they still hung heavy in the air. She felt that, too, really. So much.
"Oh, yeah?" She asked, because that voice always in the back of her head, told her otherwise.
He nodded and relief wanted to seep in and settle down to stay, but she had to be cautious first. "You're not just saying that because you happened to be with me, right?" She sat up to look at him, the bed sheet falling away from her body and exposing her breasts. She doesn't even notice that anymore; it was almost strange how comfortable she felt with him.
"No," he promised, reaching out to run his fingers through the ends of her hair. "You are all I need."
"Even when I'm two hundred miles away?" She asked.
"Yes, even then." He whispered, leaning forward to kiss to her.
All she wanted was to believe him, but she knew he was just saying that to make her feel better. She knew that he wanted her in Grandview with him, but was settling. For now. She wanted to block out the voices of her self-conscious who said they're too naïve to talk like this or think like this or feel like this.
As he laid back down on the bed, she settled in against him with her ear against his heart, which she's sure was beating just for her. He loved with everything he had, with everything he was. He absently played with the ends of her hair, and she could tell there's something on his mind.
"Ned?" She whispered.
"Yeah, babe?" He replied.
"Is there something wrong?" She asked.
"No, of course not," he said. "I'm just already thinking about work, I guess."
"Oh, I thought it was me." She sighed.
"Never you," he said with a small laugh. "But I was thinking about being apart again too. You're coming home for spring break right?"
"Yeah. I'll get to see you and Mack's birthday falls smack in the middle." She rubbed her cheek against his ribs.
"Okay, good. I can't wait until the summertime when we'll have months together and not just here and there." He said.
She lifted her chin to look up at him and smiled. She couldn't wait either. He doesn't talk about the far-off future too often, probably because he's scared of scaring her, but it doesn't have that effect on her now. She liked it, actually. "We can do this," she vowed.
It suddenly felt a little easier again.
"See, you always have the positives," he grinned into her forehead, pressing a kiss there. "I love you, Katie. So much."
"I love you," she whispered.
It should scare her, really. But it's not the intensity of love that worried her. It's the world's cold cynicism toward it; the idea that one day his feelings will change as they all inevitably do, that falling too hard and too fast at their ages have somehow already sealed their fate.
Well, she won't have that. She won't allow it. They were going to be okay. She believed that whole-heartedly.
She closed her eyes and enjoyed what little time they had together.