NOTE: Towards the end of the chapter, things get heated between Val and Jared. Read at your own risk -- it's not bad, but it's got some stuff going on -- idk, just a warning! But I hope you all enjoy this chapter :) Much love, Nicole

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J A R E D  W I N S T I N ' S  P. O. V.

"Rise and shine, bitches," I awoke to the sound of Brandon shouting in my room. He was in front of the door; his brown haired shuffled, and he was wearing nothing but his boxers. This was standard attire for Brandon, since he constantly wore almost nothing around the house. I'm pretty sure if Joey and I allowed it, he would wear nothing. 

Brandon and his nonsense. Couldn't he see I was enjoying my sleep?

As I repositioned myself to fully see what was occurring, I realized I was wrapped around Valerie; literally, my arm was wrapped around Val's hip, much like the night at the cabin. She rubbed her eyes to see who had woken her up.

"Ohh, you must be the lovely lady who walked in on me?" Brandon said, coming up to Val. "Did you enjoy the view?" Brandon, asked her mischievously.

"Um," her cheeks turned red at his question. She wasn't used to this type of behavior, I presumed. But this was just Brandon. The kid had the sex-drive of a dog; one mischievous little dog that could impregnate the whole neighborhood. 

 "Who was over last night?" I asked Brandon in a groggy voice.

"Hmm. Vanessa? No. Vivian? No. Something with a V, I think." Brandon placed his finger on his chin to make it seem as though he was truly trying to remember this girl's name, when, in reality, he probably didn't even car. Brandon wasn't the type of person to come back to the same girl. One and done was his policy. 

"Honestly, I forgot her name." Brandon admitted. "I just call her Frenchie." 

"Why Frenchie?" Valerie asked. Oh Valerie, you shouldn't have asked.

"Because she was frenching it up on my dic-"

"Brandon, get out," I shouted, interrupting him. Brandon smirked, and I couldn't help but laugh at his obnoxiousness. I looked over at Valerie to find that she was, sort-of, shocked at his response. But after seeing Brandon last night, I think she's starting to understand what type of person Brandon is.

"Fine, fine. I'm going," Brandon added, as he walked towards the door with a huge grin on his face. 

"I'll make you guys some toast. Y'all probably worked up an appetite after last night," He grinned as he closed the door. 

"That was Brandon?" Valerie questioned, probably still in shock that he woke us up like that.

"Yeah. He's...something else," I chuckled, looking straight at her. We were still laying on my bed, and my hand was still over her waist. I didn't want to let her go. I practically inhaled the image of Valerie before me: dazed and tired but still stunning. I didn't want to move away from her. Instead of toast, I wanted her for breakfast.

No, I needed to stay away from those thoughts. But this was getting too hard, even for me. There's only so much self-control a person could have.

"Wanna go eat?" I asked her, still refusing to move away from her.

"Sure," she said looking straight into my eyes. Something about her gaze told me that she wasn't against me being this close to her. I liked that.

Reluctantly, we both got up and headed downstairs. Brandon, clearly excited to see me with a girl, stood in the kitchen with an apron on -- which made no sense since he was just making toast. His apron had a hello kitty on it; it was a gift from Joey. I remember last Christmas he unwrapped the gift, and rather than being disappointed, Brandon loved it. Actually, he was ecstatic; he said, and I quote, "Bro, you know me so well," and then he hugged Joey, who was in utter shock. What was meant to be a prank turned out to be one of Brandon's most priced possessions.

"Hello, hello, my beautifuls. Here is your breakfast," Brandon snickered as he handed me and Val a plate of toast. Just toast. Nothing else. Not even butter or jam or anything. Brandon may be aggravating at times, but he never ceased to make me laugh.

"You are the greatest cook, Brandon. I mean truly the greatest cook I know. Gordon Ransey should just quit while he's ahead," I exaggerated.

"Obviously," he smirked at me. Brandon was the type of person who had this charm to him. Since he was little, he always got what he wanted. He was spoiled but posed. He never stopped until he got what he wanted -- sports, grades, women, everything -- which was exactly how I used to be. That's why we were the best of friends; now that I was trying to change, and not claim every-little-thing as my own, we've had a bit of a disconnect, to some extent. Well, except today, since he was assuming Val and I had sex and that I had my "game" back.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. It's exhausting to be such a great cook. I should really get paid more," Brandon exclaimed.

"You aren't getting paid at all!" Val shouted, next to me. A smile broke on her lips. She was clearly amused by Brandon's exuberant manners.

"That's my point!" Brandon yelled back, halfway to the top floor.

"He's an idiot," I said, turning my attention to Valerie.

"An idiot that makes surprisingly good toast," she added, biting into her food. I chuckled at her.

We spent around 10 minutes eating and enjoying each other's presence in silence. Afterwards, I offered to take her home, to which she agreed to. She quickly ran up the stairs to take off my clothes and put on her dress; I told her she could keep my clothes if they were comfy, but she objected. It really wasn't a hassle for me though; she looked hotter in my clothes, anyway. 

When she came back, she was wearing the same black dress that hugged her curves. It had excellently exposed her chest, which was one of the features I loved about the dress. I gestured towards the door as we walked out and climbed into my car. 

Before starting the car, I asked: "Did you have fun, last night? With me?"

"Yeah, I did. So far, I always have fun with you, Jared." She looked at me sincerely. God, she was hot. Even her smile managed to excite me; how was this possible?

To add to that, the way she said my name made my stomach turn, again. It was an odd feeling. A feeling I never felt towards anyone before. It was nauseating, but I didn't want it to go away. Somehow this woman made me feel something. Something inside myself that I haven't felt for a long time.

We rode in silence; I could see Valerie enjoying the view through the window, as she often did when I drove. Maybe she enjoyed looking at the view as much as I enjoyed looking at her. I wanted to talk to her, but I struggled to find the right words to says. 

Eventually, Valerie turned to me and said, "What's one thing you wished you'd experience, but haven't gotten the chance to yet?"

"What?" I laughed. "Where did this come from?" 

"I don't know, I'm just curious." She said. I glazed at her to find her staring at me, curiously. She was clearly very interested in hearing my answer.

"Ummm," contemplating on the what to say, I answered, "I guess maybe skydiving?"

She nodded her head as though she was accepting this answer. I mean, I don't think there's anything else that I wanted to experience in life; I've already experienced so much shit that, at this point, I just wanted to be happy. 

"What about you?" I asked. I wondered what Val haven't experienced. Did she have anything she didn't experience? She seemed like she's lived a good-ish life. 

"A hickey," she answered, charmingly.

"A what?" I asked, loudly. Was this a joke?

"A hickey," she giggled. "No one's ever given me one."

Why was she telling me this? This was, not only, an extremely random question, but it was also a really specific answer. Was she hinting that she wanted a hickey? A hickey from me? But I couldn't give her one, could I? Could I take this opportunity to....I really couldn't. Could I?

Taking a leap, I went for it.

"Do you want one?" I suggested, trying to sound casual, but my heart was racing.

"What?" She looked surprised that I would offer such an... offer. As though it was unbelievable that I would even suggest such a thing. But, what could I say, she was the one who brought it up.

"I could give you one... if you want." 

We were close to her house now, but rather than parking in the driveway, I parked near the bushes around the house. If she did want a hickey, I didn't want Cleo looking at us through the window; that's just weird. She's my sister, and I don't need her shit about this. Come to think of it, this probably wasn't a good decision but most of the best things in life aren't.

"Are you sure?" She turned to look at me with her alluring brown eyes; her pupils diluted. Her eyes were eager, but her body hesitated.

"Yeah," I smiled, "I've given and gotten them. I know what to do, if you want it though. No pressure." I answered.

She took a moment to think this over. She bite her lower lip as she gazed out the window; the sun lit up her face in a way that highlighted her beautiful olive complexation and her blonde hair. 

"I mean, it'd just be a friend helping out another friend." I added, anticipating her agreement. Yeah, just a friend. Friends can kiss, right? Or give each other hickeys? Why not? There wasn't any law against it.

"Okay, let's go," she said, eagerly. 

Excitement filled through me; my stomach was in knots, but there was this feeling of ecstasy that escaped me. This was it. This was going to be the moment that I would get to feel her against me. That I could kiss in her into utter bliss. This was really happening. All of the sudden, I felt slightly flustered. I moved closer to her, moving her hair away from her face and behind her ear to expose her neck. I placed my lips, lightly on her neck, and a giggle escaped from Valerie's lips.

"You can't laugh," I smiled at her.

"I'm sorry," she answered with a chuckle. "Okay, okay, I'm ready." I could see Val was trying to relax as she closed her eyes. For a moment, I stared at her beautiful face that shinned so perfectly in the sun. Not a blemish or scar was visible. Although, I don't think it would matter if there was; she was effortlessly perfect. This woman could be a Greek goddess.

I moved in closer once again, lightly caressing her neck with my thumb. Val let out a light sigh, almost as though she was forcing herself to relax. I began to place little kisses on the side of her jaw, working my way down to the side of her neck. I placed a soft kiss on her neck as I held onto the back of her head. 

Delicately, I began to suck on her neck, applying a bit of pressure. My one hand held onto to her head, and the other I placed on her knee. Slowly, I gazed up her thigh, feeling the goosebumps that arose with each touch. When I reached her hip, I left my hand there, gripping it and trying to move her body closer to me, while still working on her neck. Valerie left out a soft moan the moment I grasped her hip.

The sound of her moan filled me with excitement. Suddenly, this wasn't some simple hickey, this was my chance to be with her. I wanted to make her feel things no man had ever made her feel before. To make her know what real pleasure was.

I shifted myself away from her neck, working my way down to her chest. My hand filled with her blonde hair as I lightly pulled it and proceeded to place a hickey on her chest. It took every bone in my body to stop myself from undressing her right then and there. Valerie's breath quickened as I applied more pressure.

Moments later, Valerie took hold of my face in her hands -- both of my cheeks in her hands -- looking me into my eyes. Fire was beaming in her eyes; it was a look I never saw on her before. She moved my head closer as her lips rammed into my mine. Her kiss was fierce and filled with passion; her tongue danced with mine; almost like a tango: each movement and each breath necessary for the success of the dance. I placed both my hands on her back, pushing her body towards me as she put her hands behind my head and pulled my hair. Such a simple action, but it was able to fill me with desire. I had never craved someone the way I was craving Valerie right now.

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEEP!" A harsh sound came from a car that was turning the corner of Val's driveway. Valerie pulled away from me at the sound of the car horn. No.

"Oh my god, I have to go." Valerie said, as she rushed out of my car. Her face was completely red. 

Fuck. I can't believe she left. I can't believe she let me give her a hickey. I can't believe she kissed me. 

I don't think I could ever just be friends with Valerie. 

Frankly, I didn't want to be.