(43) Weaknesses

"She kissed me."

Sighing, Makennah rolled over in bed. Not for the first time, she thought about how lucky she was to have someone like Carolynn on her side who created this beautiful comfortable room for her where she truly felt like she could hide away from life's stress, bury her anger and issues, and just rest.

Until someone came and interrupted that rest.

Theo took another step into her dark bedroom, lighted by the tv and the flickering candle on the white rustic bedside table. "She kissed me," he repeated.

I know, she thought.

Curling her hands around the comforter, Makennah buried underneath and hid her face from view.

"She kissed me. I'm going to keep saying it until you believe me." She heard him take another shuffling step towards the bed. She really didn't want him near her.

Instead of listening to Theo, Makennah focused her attention on the tv show, their voices, the sound effects, the way the light played over the white comforter.

"She kissed me, Kennah. Not the other way around."

Ripping off the covers, Makennah sighed in irritation. "Matt told me." That's all she could say.

Watching her with cautious eyes, Theo shucked off his coat and shoes. He hung his letterman jacket on the back of her desk chair. Crossing his arms over his  body, he lifted his shirt over his head and discarded it on the floor. Grabbing his belt, he unhooked it hastily and unzipped his jeans.

"What are you doing?" She propped up on her elbows to watch him undress.

"She kissed me," he said again, dropping his jeans to the floor, standing in her dark bedroom in his boxers.

"You can't do that. Carolynn and Will are downstairs."

"Sleeping," he whispered. "I snuck in."

"What?" She gasped. She didn't expect that.

"You don't get to ignore me." Standing tall at the end of the bed and blocking her view of the tv, Theo bent over and placed his hands on her covered ankles. "You don't get to ignore my calls and texts."

She only bit her lip. She did do that. She shouldn't have.

"You ignored me. That wasn't nice."

Theo hitched up one leg and proceeded to climb onto the bed. He hovered over her, inching closer and closer. She pressed her body into the mattress and hid under the comforter again.

Closing her eyes, Makennah forced her head not to spin. Sitting up suddenly made her dizzy from the alcohol. She didn't want him to know she was kind of drunk.

"We don't do that to each other. I don't play that game. If something happens, we talk. We don't ignore each other."

It was so mature. So much. So...Theo. He was responsible and caring. He was comforting and mature. He made adult decisions and treated her like a grown man not a little teenager.

"I know," she whispered, keeping her eyes closed.

"So why did you ignore me?" He asked, pressing her for an answer. His tone was nonnegotiable. "Look at me."

Peeling back the covers, Makennah breathed deeply. Having him this close effected her in funny ways. His face was a tiny bit blurry but she could see him so clearer, know it was him, crave to have him closer, desire so much more from him than hidden kisses and stolen moments in school hallways.

That's what scared her.

"Because I like you. And that hurt me," she whispered.

Hanging his head, Theo looked beside her to the empty bed before dragging the covers back and sliding in beside her. "I told her to eff off. And that she deserved what she had coming to her."

She turned her head to look at him. "I know."

"You just had to wait for me. Wait for me to tell you what happened. Rebekah can't win," Theo explained.

"I run. When there's problems I don't know how to face. I've been running all my life," she said back.

Theo slid one hand behind his head to prop himself up to look at her better through the clouds of pillows. "You need a different coping mechanism."

Makennah rolled onto her side but remained a fair distance away from him. All of her senses flared with his nearness. However, she intended to maintain her distance because she was half dressed. "All of my coping mechanisms are bad."

Theo smiled. "I know. Matt told me."

Makennah covered her face with her hands. She just needed to sober up a little bit and then she would be fine. When she was drunk, her mouth tended to say things she didn't want to say. "Do you hate me?"

Theo burst out laughing and tried to muffle it when he realized he was being loud. "No. I think it's funny."

"It's not. It's not funny. Smoking is bad," she said with an edge of irritation. She punched his arm under the covers.

Theo covered her fist with his hand. "Hey you're the one doing it not me. I'm surprised to be honest. Since you hate everything your mom does, I'm surprised you picked up that habit."

She closed her eyes and she felt his hand caress her cheek softly before his finger delved into her hair and twisted through the roots. "It's easy to pick up something that everyone else uses to dull pain."

With her eyes closed, she merely felt Theo shift closer to her in the bed. He rolled onto his side and curved his hand around her neck. "But you're Makennah Claire Thomas. You're strong. You don't need to use anything to make yourself feel better."

She wished she could believe him. Theo saw her through such a different lens...a beautiful pretty lens. He might not say those types of things if he had seen her in the kitchen that night after she saw her mother and she had an anxiety attack. "Everyone has weaknesses," she whispered. She opened her eyes slowly and found him looking at her with a soft expression.

"You're mine," he admitted quietly. "You're my weakness."

Despite how much she tried not to, Makennah smiled at his words. She didn't believe him, but that's okay. It still made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. "You can't say things like that."

"Why not?"

"Because we're in my bed half dressed and that makes me want to do bad things." And the alcohol. The alcohol definitely added into that mixture.

Theo smirked. Underneath the blankets, his hand grazed her thigh near her knee. "Well I'm half dressed. What are you?" That same hand whisked up her thigh, fingertips tracing patterns all the way up to her hip where he discovered she wasn't wearing any shorts or pants - just underwear and a T-shirt. His fingers dipped under the hem of her shirt, dragging up her spine where he found out that she wasn't wearing a bra either. "Half dressed," he said as if it took him great effort to say anything at all.

"Half dressed," she repeated, keeping her eyes on his lips.

Slowly but surely, Theo dipped his head and found her lips. Their lips barely grazed each other's. His tongue snaked out and dragged along her bottom lip. Her breath hitched.

Rolling over onto her, Theo raised up on his knees and looked down at her. His eyes raked over her face, her hair, her lips, her neck and shoulders down to her hips clad in light pink panties. Even though she wore a T-shirt, she felt utterly naked underneath his probing gaze.

"I'm gonna make out with you now. Please don't stop me."

She wouldn't dream of it.

Theo's lips crashed onto her own, claiming her possessively. Instantly, he took control, moving his lips over her mouth like she wanted. All niceness and gentleness disappeared and replaced itself with raw hunger. Theo cupped her jaw and lifted her mouth for easier access before he opened her lips with his tongue and dove inside her mouth.

Of their own accord, her hands slipped over his bare arms and around his neck. Her fingers felt on fire from touching his muscles and toned arms. Every little moment she dreamed about was coming true.

Theo's arm curled around her lower back and lifted her hips off of the bed, bringing her body flush against his. He nestled his hips into the apex of her legs before lowering them onto the mattress. A low moan worked through throat. At the sound, his grip tightened on her waist. He snuggled his body against her as he kissed her passionately like she had never been kissed before.

He scared her. He scared her so much. She didn't want this moment to happen just because it felt nice. She wanted it to happen because she liked Theo a lot.

In her whole life, she never thought she would find someone as good as Theo that would like her as much as she liked him. He treated her like a queen and didn't require anything for it. He just did it because he wanted to. How could she deserve something like this?

Makennah lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. His hand dragged down her thigh and two fingers slipped under the edge of her panties, circling her hip.

Their lips parted for a moment to catch a breath before locking back together. His warm lips interlocked with hers like they belonged there. He tasted a little bit like chocolate and mint. Mint chapstick. Definitely mint chapstick.

Her head swam with his intoxicating kisses. His lips moved expertly over hers, declaring his dominance. This was probably the best kiss she ever had. Theo was unsurprisingly a wonderful kisser.

While his lips were parted, Makennah dipped her tongue into Theo's mouth. He paused momentarily to enjoy the moment. Her body tingled with pleasure as his body writhed against hers. Once her tongue left his mouth, he bent his head and found her neck. He licked his lips and breathed over her skin, teasing her before he languidly kissed her neck below her ear. His mouth trailed south, peppering kisses on her sensitive skin. Her hips squirmed against his from the pleasure she couldn't wrap her mind around.

The hand on her hip swept under her T-shirt as his fingertips worked little circles over the soft skin of her belly. The combination of his lethal neck kisses and his fingers sent her body into overdrive. She wanted him so badly. Needed him so badly.

His hips matched her movements with equal intensity. While this was totally unexpected, maybe she should have made this happen before now.

The thought that Theo was in her bed half naked, on top of her, with his hand up her shirt drove her mad. The secrecy of his existence even in the house at this hour made her feel more powerful. It gave her the confidence to scratch her nails down his bare back and find the hem of his boxers.

The hand on her belly circled upwards over her ribs. His big hand and long fingers wrapped around her ribcage. His thumb swirled over the unseen skin beside her breast underneath her arm. His touch aroused deep dead parts of her that she shut down in the past after she was irrevocably hurt. Her body yearned for more of his touch and she tried to convey that message by kissing his lips desperately.

Grabbing his jaw, she tilted his chin back and locked her lips on his neck. Theo sucked in a breath. His muscles locked up, biceps flexing as if he were trying to control himself.

Rocking her hips, Makennah rolled him over and climbed on top of him. Her lips found his neck again. Theo's hands latched onto her hips and rocked her against him. He breathed heavily through his mouth. His skin felt hot under lips.

Darting her tongue out, she dragged the tip of her tongue along his neck and collar bone. Theo groaned. "If you keep doing that, I'm not gonna be able to stop."

She giggled against his neck, blowing cool air over his skin which made him squirm. "Come on, baby. Show some self-control."

Theo's hands cupped her face and lifted her head to kiss her gently, sweetly. "I can't with you."

She bit his lip and dragged it through her teeth.

"Stop it," he grunted. "You're doing that on purpose."

She laughed again and kissed him. "Of course I am. Is that your weakness? Neck kisses?" She asked, teasing him.

Theo smirked and found her gaze. He looked into her eyes. "Among other things. What's yours?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She whispered.

"Don't tempt me. Because I will find out." Taking that as a dare, Theo flipped her over, smacking her back down on the mattress.

Her eyes went wide at his aggressiveness. It was...well, hot.

Theo started to smile and lifted the hem of her shirt slowly. "Let's start here."

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Xoxo

W. Carolina