Simpsational

Just kissing

Kayla

Austin was a really good kisser. She'd known he would be, though she couldn't say why. He'd followed her to her room five minutes ago and she was already longing for more.

"Hey, baby, why don't you take them panties off?"

"In a minute. Kiss me some more first." She pulled him in to graze her lips across his.

"You like my kisses, don't you?"

"I do, I do," she said.

It may have been sixty seconds later when he pulled off the mind melting kiss to say, "It's been a minute. You seem kinda overdressed."

"Oh my, aren't you the eager one?" Ugh, just kiss me, dammit.

"Look, Kayla, if this isn't going to happen, let me know while there are still some unclaimed girls downstairs." He said it with a smirk, half teasing.

It was the other half that bothered her. "Relax, we've got all night. I didn't invite you up here just to make out."

It was only half a minute later when his hand trailed up her thigh and under her skirt to take on the task of panty removal himself.

"You know what, Austin?" She huffed out a breath before continuing. "This isn't going to happen."

"Kayla," he said, moving away from her quickly, "you are such a tease."

"Not really. I just have standards."

He scowled at her. "Since when?"

This had taken a lovely turn. "All the more telling, then, that you don't meet them."

"Screw you, Kayla," he said, flipping her off as he opened her door. She didn't really want to fight with him, she just wanted him to leave, so she held her tongue until he closed the door behind him. Then she stuck it out at the empty space he'd vacated.

She didn't know what was wrong with her. He likely would have been fantastic. Putting up with a little over eager rudeness seemed like a small price to pay.

But she would have felt just as lonely as always tomorrow. At least this way she could feel a bit of pride for sticking up for herself. Just as soon as she was done feeling sorry for herself.

She called Eliz but wasn't surprised when it went to voice mail. Kayla wasn't sleepy but didn't feel like facing the party downstairs. She was also still feeling the effects of her abbreviated make out session. Simp sex on speed dial, she thought.

"Don't do it, Kayla," she said to the darkness around her. What was the point of cutting him loose if she dragged him back the first time she needed a self-esteem boost?

She lasted almost ten minutes before she shot off a quick text, "Miss me?"

Her phone stayed silent. Jace never took more than a few minutes to get back to her, so he was either sleeping soundly or away from his phone.

The next morning, feeling a great deal different about her violation of her own rules, she picked up the phone with a cringe.

He still hadn't replied. "Good for you, Jace." She couldn't help but think after she spoke, Bad for me. Bad for me.

Jace

The job was brutal. Any fear he had about sharing the combined sleeping space with so many people were put to rest immediately. He would collapse into his bed with barely enough energy to chat with Chrissy before passing out.

They had all been through it, so there was plenty of empathy for him when he woke up barely able to walk. None of them cut him any slack, however. After he was up and moving, he could forget his pain as long as he didn't stop.

He didn't know if his placement next to Chrissy had been on purpose or a happy accident, but they had become fast friends. They were both eighteen, she just a year behind him in school, and hadn't done a lot of the extra curricular partying that was so popular among most of their bunkmates. They would sit back at laugh at the chemically altered antics and churning relationships of the others while participating in none of it.

She was really pretty and had the same muscled, fat free build as the rest of them, so as they got closer, he found his eyes increasing drawn to her. She would change with her back to him, stripping off her shirt and bra, but putting on a nightshirt before removing her jeans. He usually turned his back to offer her privacy, but sometimes the other direction had an equally compelling reason not to look.

She was competing in a rodeo on a Thursday when many of them had free time, so they borrowed a Suburban from the Ranch and a bunch of them loaded up for the forty-five-minute drive. Jace loved watching Chrissy in her element, hooking up and loading the horse trailer and doing a full equipment check while most of them goofed off or stocked snacks and beer for the drive.

It was fun to watch her ride. She wasn't the best one there, but she was certainly the best looking. She was still pleased with her performance, chattering excitedly on an adrenaline high as they pulled out of town.

"Komac was off the hook tonight. He's finally starting to feel the excitement of the crowd and amping up with it."

"Isn't it scary moving and turning that fast?" asked Page.

"Not at all. The arena was in really good shape. It's only really frightening when it's not."

"Well, I know my heart was beating faster watching you," Jace said. "Then again, that pretty much always happens when I look at you."

Chrissy gave a dazzling smile in response. "What happens when I do this?" she asked, hopping up on her knees on the bench seat and wrapping her arms around his neck. Jace didn't have a chance to react before her lips were pressed against his.

There were several woops from the car as her kiss lingered. She pulled back, confused by his tepid response. "What's the matter?"

"Sorry, you just surprised me."

Chrissy raised an eyebrow in doubt but didn't press. The look Page was giving him was calculating and maybe a little bit pissed.

Regardless, his response had killed Chrissy's mood. She was pensive and far less talkative for the rest of the trip. When they got back, he helped her unload and stable the horses before they finally stood alone in the last remnants of daylight.

"Look, Jace, I'm sorry about kissing you." She reached out and placed her hand on his arm. "I haven't dated much, and I totally misread your signals."

"Chrissy," he started, trying to find the right words, "you didn't misread anything. I really like you and I'd like to try dating you, it's just my girlfriend---"

"Girlfriend?" She snatched her hand away like she'd been burned. "That's so much worse than you being gay. How could you not tell me?"

"It's not like that. We're on a break. I'm supposed to see other people." He looked at her with what he hoped was apology. "I'm just maybe not as ready as I thought I was."

"How long were you guys together?"

He suppressed a cringe ad he answered, "Eight years. That's why I'm here, to be well away from her."

Chrissy's eyebrows furrowed, "So, since you were like ten?" Jace could only shrug helplessly. "That's still a lot, though. I'm going to have to think about how I feel about this."

"Fair enough." Jace felt bad about hurting her feelings. He would have to find a way to make it up to her.