Troublemaker (5SOS)

Chapter Sixteen

Tara and Michael crept down the stairs.  The sun had already set and the house was dark and still.  Just as she reached for the doorknob to let Michael out, he pressed her against the wall for one last electric kiss.  She ran her tongue against her lips after he pulled away, and took in exactly how he looked.  His hair was mussed--more than usual.  His lips were red and fuller from all of the kissing and biting.  His shirt hung loosely on him, but Tara knew exactly what he looked like underneath.  Even his right shoe remain untied. 

"Talk to me later?" She asked, leaning against the frame of the door after opening it to let him out. 

He slid past her, gently cupping her face in his hands.  With one last, sweet kiss, he said "I can't wait."

She watched him bend down to tie his shoe before continuing down the path to his car and closed the door before it felt like she was being too clingy.  As she turned around, her sigh of content turned into a gasp when she noticed Kody sitting at the kitchen island, a smirk planted on her face.

"Well, well.  I was wondering which one it was going to be."

Tara could feel all of the blood rush to her cheeks and neck.  "You knew I was with someone?  Is Calum...?"

Kody slid her plate of nachos toward her sister as she took a seat next to her.  "Don't worry, he's gone.  He had no idea.  So...spill it.  How was he?"

Tara tilted her head back and closed her eyes, moaning after swallowing her first bite of food today. 

"That good, huh?"  Kody laughed, scooping up cheese and guacamole with a chip and popping it into her mouth.

"I wish I could have him all the time.  He's...something else.  Also, these nachos are everything."

Kody told Tara about her date with Calum.  He took her out to eat Mexican food, but it was hard to hold a conversation.  She wasn't sure if she was that interested in going out with him again, which relieved Tara, because then she wouldn't have to try so hard to sneak around with either Michael or Ashton.  Shit, Ashton.  She remembered that the last message she sent him was hours ago, and she hoped that he wasn't trying to get a hold of her while she was with Michael.

As if Kody read the expression on her face, she cleared her throat and said "You don't have to feel guilty, you know.  You don't OWE anyone anything.  Whatever happens, happens.   You can get to know both of them until you figure out which one you like more."

At this moment, Tara couldn't imagine ever feeling so intensely for Ashton as she did Michael, but she hadn't really given him the chance yet, either.  Personally, she knew the most about Ashton, and she loved how caring he was.  She loved that he opened up to her easily, and that he listened when it was her chance to talk.  Ashton was the kind of person to go out of his way to help a stranger.  She wasn't sure what kind of person Michael was yet, just that he fit her body like a puzzle piece.

Tara knew that she might regret the words coming out of her mouth, but they spilled out as she opened it to take another bite of food.  "Have you ever had someone make you come so much that you feel like you can't even stand on your own two feet afterward?"

Kody raised her eyebrows "Damn, Michael, I didn't know he had THAT in him."

The two girls burst into laughter until they were red in the face and struggled to catch a breath.  They didn't spend as much time together anymore, as they each had different interests and circles of friendship.  Talking about something so personal so freely with one another felt right, as if they'd been missing out all these years.