Part 2.11

            Over the next weeks Hollis’ uneasiness about Donnie’s warning dwindled.  Claire was spending more time at his house than her dorm room.  Hollis would take her to school in the mornings and pick her up when she was done at the library in the evenings.  They were falling in love with each other but neither of them had said anything about it.            On a Friday night Hollis’ roommates decided to have a few people over for a party, but more than a few showed up.  Claire made several pans of brownies that didn’t last long.  She knew a few of the people there but most of them were new to her, and to Hollis, Will and Tyler as well.

            Hollis was trying to make his way through the crowded hallway when he saw some drunk guy who was white but dressed like he was black trying to fight with Will for whatever reason.  Hollis was not about to have a brawl in his house, especially when it involved his friend.  The guy was lifting a beer bottle in an attempt to hit Will over the head with it when Hollis came up to him, grabbed his wrist that held the bottle, twisting it, and punched him in the face.  It was so fast the guy didn’t know what happened and stumbled into the wall, dropping the bottle.  Claire saw the whole thing.  Tyler and Hollis grabbed the guy and pushed him out of the house, followed by a group of people around them, including Claire.  They told him to leave and never come back again.  The drunk guy stumbled down the driveway and Tyler turned around, seeing the crowd.

            “Okay, it’s over, everyone back inside,” Tyler said, motioning towards the door.  The crowd of curious bystanders slowly walked inside the gate into the backyard or the house and Tyler, Hollis and Claire stood outside smoking cigarettes.  Tyler and Hollis were talking to each other about how they don’t allow shit like that to happen in their home, getting a little more worked up and Claire was looking around.  She saw two guys sneak up behind Hollis and Tyler in the dark too quickly for her to warn them.  Claire dropped her cigarette and approached one guy running up to them and used her martial arts to flip him over on his back and turned swiftly around to the other guy approaching and gave him a roundhouse kick to the ear.  Tyler and Hollis turned, seeing her actions, stunned and openmouthed.  Quickly shaking it off they took the fight from the girl and roughed up the two attackers, telling them if they or any of their friends ever came back they’d get more than an ass-kicking from a girl.  They pushed them into the street where the two of the attackers lay, groaning.

            Hollis turned Claire, lighting them both new cigarettes and said to her, “That was hot.”

            “Yes it was,” Tyler said, not afraid to agree.  “Where did you learn that?”

            Claire shrugged.  “I started learning judo when I was a kid with my brother, then in high school I got into kickboxing.”  A cloud of smoke came out of her lungs.

            “Damn,” Tyler said.  “That’s awesome.  I am in awe.”

            Hollis only threw an arm around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head.  He wished she didn’t have to fight, but he was glad she could.  Although he didn’t want her to fight; he didn’t want himself to fight.  He wasn’t going to let her get into any more situations like that.  “Let’s go inside,” he suggested.  “I don’t want any more shit like that happening in there.  Gotta regulate.”

            “That’s for sure,” Tyler said.  He led the way into the house and Claire looped her hand into Hollis’ and they stared at each other for a moment before going inside the loud, smoky house.

            It took several more hours for the party to die down.  No other skirmishes took place and everyone kept their peace.  Claire was a little drunk and stumbled over trash on the floor, not looking forward to cleaning it up in the morning.  She found Hollis who was talking to a buddy of his and fell into him, hanging off his neck.  He held up and grinned to her face.  His buddy, who was the last person there, ended up crashing on the couch and Tyler and Will were in their respective rooms with girls for the night.  Hollis locked the door and followed Claire into his room where she pulled off her clothes and grabbed Hollis, kissing him.  They fell onto the bed kissing and touching as Hollis lost his clothes.  Claire kept thinking about him taking control of the fight before it broke out, grabbing the guy’s wrist and quickly punching him in the face.  It turned her on.

            “Hollis,” she said.  He was over her with her legs around him.

            “Yeah?” He asked, sucking her neck.

            “Make love to me,” she whispered.

            Hollis stopped his motion and looked into her face.  She looked very beautiful and determined.  He paused.  “Are you sure?”  He asked, whispering back.

            Claire nodded.  “Yes.”

            Hollis bent his face to hers and kissed her.  They rubbed their bodies next to each other until Hollis pulled her panties off slowly and got into position while kissing her and he had flashes of Donnie telling him not to ruin her life and of her fighting those two guys.  With the anticipation of the sexual act and the flashes of Donnie and her fighting he lost his erection and stopped kissing her.  Claire noticed something was wrong and looked at him.

            “I can’t do it,” Hollis said.  He rolled off of her.

            Claire blinked.  “Why not?”  She asked.

            “I just… can’t.”

            Claire lay on the bed for a moment feeling confused and rejected.  Whenever they made out he was always rock hard.  He would tell her how beautiful and attractive she was, touching her all over her body and making her wet.  She was ready to do what she never wanted to do before, she actually had been for a while with him but was waiting for the right time, and all of a sudden he couldn’t.  She rolled over on her side and pulled a blanket up over her naked body, staring at the wall in the dark.

            Hollis watched her pull away and put a hand on her shoulder.  “Claire…” he said to her.  She shrugged his hand from her body and he shrank away, settling down on his back and feeling bad for disappointing her.  He wanted to make love to her, but his mind was too boggled to do it.  And he couldn’t take his actions back now. 

            Claire didn’t move all night.  She was hurt and confused and at one point she felt a few tears falling down her face.  She brushed them away and stayed on her side.  She didn’t think she could look at Hollis right then.  Neither of them slept much that night.

            The next morning Hollis woke up, finding out he did in fact fall asleep for some amount of time.  The sunlight was new and birds were chirping.  He remembered what had happened the night before.  He remembered the fight, and he remembered almost making love to Claire.  He wanted to.  He wanted nothing more.  He didn’t know why he couldn’t.  He hoped she would still want to, after what he did.  He knew he hurt her and knowing that hurt him.  He turned to her and she was sleeping on her back.  He raised his hand to stroke the side of her face and her eyes opened, looking at him.  He smiled at her cautiously and she smiled back weakly.  He kissed her, and to his pleasant surprise she kissed him back.  He felt her hands creeping along the backside of his head and he swept her up into his arms, kissing her deeply.

            When they broke apart, Hollis was looking into her eyes.  She didn’t look hurt.  She was boldly looking back into his eyes.           

            “Hollis,” she said quietly.

            “Yes, Claire?”

            “I love you.”

            He blinked, not letting his eyes leave hers.  He didn’t know it, but her heart was beating as rapidly as his.  His mouth felt dry but his body felt full.  “I love you, too,” he told her after a pause.  He meant it.  He was as serious as she was.

            Claire was nervous.  She was staring into his eyes and when he told her he loved her too her heart started to beat faster than ever.  She lifted her face to his and they kissed again, not breaking apart for anything.  They both felt drunk from each other’s newly pronounced love for each other.  Hollis kissed and caressed her for a while until her was in the position again and he made love to her successfully.  It was the best feeling he’d ever felt.

            Claire felt him go inside of her.  It was a feeling unlike any other and she felt her hymen brake.  Time and time again she’d heard how it would hurt but it didn’t, all she felt was a short, tight break and then she felt the thickness of his penis filling her.  Her fingers curled and her fingernails dug into his neck, her legs curling around his body, feeling his every thrust.  Sometimes his movement would make her gasp, making her feel things she’d never felt before.  When he finished she didn’t want him to stop and they stared into each other’s eyes before they kissed again.  He pulled out of her and laid his head on her chest.  Claire stroked his head and smiled as he held her tightly.  They both knew there was nothing better than being together.