Chapter 12 – More Late Night Secrets

Being back at her stepmother's house was an off experience for Shannon. At Anna's, each meal presented a new array of loud music, men, and alcohol, but here, dinner was subdued, restrained, all coiffed hair and classical music wafting from the stereo and Boone's mutterings of "please" and "thank you".

After dinner one night, Sabrina excused herself with a final whisk of her silver cutlery upon her plate, and Boone awkwardly left Shannon sitting along at the table. She tapped her fingers on the mahogany table in the same rhythm over and over again. Plick click, Plick, click. Shannon despised monotony more than mostly anything, and she was very irritated with the chronically immaculate floors of 11 Rochester Way, bored of Malibu and probably of California – the whole friggin' country, basically. But where would she go? What did she want, period? Well, the answer to that was easy – Boone. Shit. But she couldn't have him and that really pissed her off. Maybe she would though, just for tonight. She longed for him to touch her and want her, and she wasn't especially keen on the idea of slipping between the cool sheets in her eerily silent bedroom again.

Shannon instinctively started up the stairs and walked into the bathroom. Crap. It was their bathroom – the one that they had had sex in on Valentine's Day. Pleasant. He was right though, when he said that their little fling was going to follow them. Hell, it obviously already was! But it was just one last time, she swore it! Shannon approached the mirror and put her blonde hair down so that it was brushing over her shoulders. People were constantly asking her where she had gotten her blonde hair. The answer was – her mother and a really good colorist. Next, she put on another coat of mascara and eyeliner. What was she doing? Was she trying to impress him? No… well, maybe… um, fuck yes. But what was wrong with wanting to look good?

Shannon went into her bedroom, which was full of boxes and suitcases. She hadn't unpacked them in the few days she had been home because then it seemed too permanent. She was so getting out of here as soon as possible. She could explore the world, and all that shit. Now where was her friggin' lingerie?

Shannon found Boone an hour later, sitting in the suede recliner in the so-called "family room" that the "family" never spent time in. It was appropriate, she thought, that they never went into said family room, because it's not like they really were a real family. She wasn't connected by blood to any of them, and not connected emotionally to… well, Sabrina anyway. The recliner was, um, reclined, and he was reading some book – she wondered what. Shannon approached him, and before he could even acknowledge her presence, she swung her knees around each side of him in a straddle, and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head on his chest. She ran her hands up and down his body, and he was trying extremely hard to ignore her and continue reading – like she was a bully and ignoring her would make her go away. Everyone knew that didn't work, and this wasn't any different. But the prospect of even attempting to ignore her proved impossible once Shannon's hands reached the seam on his jeans.

"Shannon," he whispered sharply.

"What are you reading?" She asked lazily, her lips moving against his neck as she spoke.

"I was reading," he answered, "some stupid thing for school. Poetry."

"Does that translate to 'makes no sense whatsoever'?"

"Yeah, whatever. Um… is there a reason why you're on top of me?"

She dodged his question. "I know why you came home this weekend."

"Because I –"

"You knew I would be here. You came home because you wanted to have sex with me. I know that's why."

"Shannon, we had that rule?" He stressed.

"But one last time won't make a difference!" Shannon said, as he sighed. "You look hot today," she continued. "Totally fuckable."

"Oh my god," he rolled his eyes.

"The polite response would be 'thank you', actually. And then if you wanted extra points you could comment on how friggin' hot I look, too." He didn't respond. "Well? Do I look hot, today?" She asked, hoisting herself over the cover of his book, grabbing it from his hands and tossing it aside.

"Shannon! That's the school's?"

"And?" She said, rolling her eyes.

"My mom is here! Like…"

"Sound asleep, upstairs. I just checked."

"Wow, I'm impressed. You think of everything." He replied sarcastically.

"You're an ass, Boone." Shannon noticed that for some reason, when she insulted him, he started really flirting with her.

"But I'm a 'totally fuckable' ass, right?" Point proved.

"You never told me if I look hot."

"You –" he looked at her. "You look, like… woah."

"Very descriptive," she said, and brought her lips at an angle, to his neck, lifting the edge of his polo shirt to reach it. She nibbled at his skin, which was warm to her touch.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm seducing you. But we could always skip that part." She said, pulling her lips from his neck and transferring them to his ear. She sucked at his earlobe. "But I think you enjoy being –" Her tongue escaped from between her lips, and she ran it across his ear, "…seduced."

Boone coaxed his lips towards hers, and they met for a moment, and they quickly pulled away, surprised by the heat of each other's mouths. "You have to be, um, quieter than usual," he murmured, "Because my mom's here."

"Are you suggesting that I'm loud?" She asked, and caught his lips in her own again. They each pulled at each other's lips, and she explored his mouth with her tongue. He did the same thing, and wrapped his arms around her too-thin, delicate shoulders.

A few minutes later, he brought his lips down to her shoulder, gently brushing them against her tanned skin. Grasping her warm shoulders in his hands, he kissed her softly, right at the nape of her neck, where neck tapered into shoulder and back. She smiled as his unshaven cheeks rasped against her smooth skin. "That is so sexy," she breathed, removing her already minimal top, a black camisole, and exposed her skimpy undergarments, a barely there red bra. She would have thought that taking off her shirt would have made her cooler, but he found that with each kiss, her skin seared more and more to his touch. Shannon began unbuttoning his shirt, and said, "Lacoste", shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "Gotta get rid of it, pretty boy."

Once it had been rid of (pretty boy), he moved his slightly chapped lips up to where her neck met her ear and kissed her earlobe, a long luxurious kiss, and the tip of his tongue sneaking out from between his lips. Then his lips parted and he gently teased her earlobe with his teeth. She gasped in delight, and turned up to meet his eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Then her lips were on his, and their bare stomachs were pressed together, as she looked him right into his deep blue eyes, and her tongue snaked out to slowly lick his lower lip. She leaned into him, her spine curving so that she fit against him like a puzzle. He slowly, deliberately parted his lips. Her mouth was slightly open too against his, and her tongue moved slowly against his lips and tongue. The kiss was soft, gentle and slow at first, but then their lips pressed together harder, and it became more passionate, more urgent. She could feel the beat of his heart against her own, quickening with each gasp between kisses.

Suddenly, Shannon pulled away, and Boone murmured a complaint, but then grinned as she tried to unbutton his pants, her hands faltering at his pants zipper. He let her struggle for a second (fucking pervert!) but then he helped her, and shrugged his pants off. "It's not really fair," he muttered, "That you still have pants on." Taking a hint, Shannon removed her Sevens jeans to reveal the tiniest of black satin boy shorts.

"Happy?"

"Extremely." He said. Once again, her tongue slipped into his mouth and she pressed her body against him as he slipped one of his hands between them, moving his fingers so that his thumb was under the seam of her underwear. He stroked her hipbone, and she shivered involuntarily. His other hand moved up her bellybutton to the curves of her chest. He started to unhook her bra, but had some trouble. "New bra?" He gasped.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Your other one's are easier to get off."

"Are you calling me easy, Boone?" She asked in mock-insult.

"Never," he said, and finally fixed the offending hook, and she pulled off her bra and lay it on the side of the chair. He sucked in his breath like he always did when she took off her bra, and she leaned down to kiss him again, his lips hungry and anxious against hers. He felt her up again, as she dug her toes into his crotch and felt him stiffen.

"I win," she whispered.

"Bitch." He shook his head, and took her by the shoulders, pulling her into him, so their bodies were flush against each other, slick with sweat and so they could feel the inhales of shallow breaths in each other's lungs. "Shannon?" He asked. "Your breathing okay? Maybe you should… um, calm down."

"Shut the hell up, I'm fine." She answered, pulling desperately at the band of his boxers, as he pulled at the seam of her underpants, removing the last layer of fabric between them. They moved closer to each other, his warmth so close now that she could hardly contain her anticipation. She squealed loudly, and Boone had to cover her mouth with his hand to remind her of Sabrina's proximity.

Then he was inside her. During those few moments she felt like she had forgotten every worry she had in her mind – how wrong this was, how this was (probably) their last time, how Sabrina might hear – it was all gone. Now it was just him with her and her with him and that was all. Groaning slowly, he pulled back. "Oh… my… god…" she sighed. " Oh – Boone!" Before she could even breathe, he was back inside, and kissing her lips. How the fuck did he do that? He moved away, but kept kissing her, their tongues against each other once again.

"Can I have you again, Boone Carlyle?" she whispered, seductive.

"Are you serious?" He sighed, his cheeks flushed.

"Yeah. But you should hurry, because… um…" She gestured to his general vicinity.

"Thanks for the anatomy lesson, Shannon, but I think I'm good."

"Oh come on!" Before he could move, she lowered herself onto him so that he was in her again, and then it was all over. Forever. Or so they thought.

"Goodnight," she whispered, kissing him once again, grabbing her clothes, and disappeared into the dark. He didn't dare follow.