“Worms are gross but not scary.”
“Fears don’t have to be rational.”
“That’s true.”
“Why are you scared of the dark? Did something happen or have you always been?”
“When I was five or six, me and Adam were playing at my grandparent’s house. It was this old house with creaky wooden floors and doors that somehow no longer fit the frame, so you had to put all your weight into them to close. They had this great back yard with a treehouse and a trampoline. Before my grandmother passed away, the whole family on my dad’s side would get together. The adults would sit outside in lawn chairs and the kids could run wild.”
“Sounds like something out of a fifties TV show.”
“Well, it wasn’t quite that idyllic. Uncle Walter showed up stoned more often than not, and my cousin Tillie was always teaching us Urban Dictionary slang. My mom almost had a stroke with some of the words I learned. Anyway, one day, the whole family was over there, I think it was one of my cousin’s birthdays. Everyone was outside and the cousins decided we would play hide and seek. I’m the baby of the family and I really wanted to prove that I was a good hider, so I’d been scoping out places for weeks and finally found the best hiding spot. In the pantry there was this extra closet where grandma kept brooms and mops. It was really small, and I knew I was the only one who could fit in it and that no one else would think to look there. So, when everyone took off to hide, I hung back so not to give away my spot and then went and shut myself in.”
Heath strokes my arm as my voice wavers. Part of the memory is so real I can almost smell the dust and Pledge mixture of that tiny closet. Other things I only remember like I watched someone else go through it, like the way I wrapped my arms around myself, squeezing tight and sobbing through the screams.
“I don’t know how long I was in there. For a while I was so careful to be quiet. I didn’t want to give myself away. I could hear Adam calling my name and I just felt so proud, you know? He’s always been a total know-it-all. Cocky and just better at everything, so I was really excited to have beaten him at something. Anyway, eventually my cousins grew bored of the game and when I was certain I’d waited long enough that they were never going to find me, I pushed the door open ready to show off my awesome hiding skills, only I couldn’t get out. The outside of the door had one of those hook latches and it’d fallen in place when I shut the door. I screamed and screamed until I lost my voice. It was so dark and so small.”
“Fuck, Ginny.”
I nod. “By everyone’s best guess, I was in there for two hours before my mom noticed she hadn’t seen me in a while and went looking for me. They called an ambulance because I couldn’t get my breathing under control. Adam freaked. He knew I was missing but didn’t think it was a big deal, so it really hit him harder than anyone. He didn’t leave my side for weeks.” Heath’s hold tightens around me and I snuggle into him. “I know I probably should have gotten over it by now.”
“I don’t think fears work like that. I think they hang on until you face them in one way or another, poking holes in the pain and letting good shine through.” He pulls the sheet up over our heads and smiles at me in the near darkness. “Let’s make some good memories in the dark.”
The thin sheet doesn’t really block out the light of the TV, but it’s a step and I take it.
32
Heath
I disappear from under the covers long enough to grab a condom and then hurry back underneath where a very eager Ginny is wiggling out of her clothes. I had big plans for undressing her with my teeth, but I’m too busy appreciating the view to complain.
“You’re so beautiful.”
Her smile, even in the near dark, is bright and genuine. She eyes the condom in my hand. “I’m on birth control. We can…” She hesitates. “I mean, if you’re comfortable going without, so am I.”
My already throbbing cock is now harder than it’s ever been. I pull my shirt over my head and Ginny works on unbuttoning my jeans. Together we push them and my boxers down and before I can kick them off, Ginny’s mouth is covering the head of my dick.
“Oh Jesus. Slow down, babe. I’m never gonna last, like that,” I tell her, guiding her head up and down my length. Her warm mouth is heaven. She comes off with a pop and I groan at the loss. I pull her up and swipe a hand over her lips. She looks a little uncertain and I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
“You sure you wanna do this?”
“I do, but I’m a little nervous. I might suck at it.”
“Well, in that case, you can just keep sucking me with your hot as fuck mouth.” I wink so she knows I’m joking and shift so I’m on top of her, holding most of my weight off her slender frame. “Babe, don’t take this any other way than I mean it—a compliment—but there’s no way you’re bad at sex. You’re the sexiest, most enthusiastic partner I’ve ever had.”
That earns me a grin and I take her mouth in a bruising kiss. And just like that, the wild Ginny I’ve come to know is back. The blanket falls, but she doesn’t seem to notice or care. She pulls at my
