Chapter Twenty-Four #2
As I pull off of him, I let my teeth just barely graze the skin, and a hiss comes barreling out of him. I bob up and down two more times before he’s screaming my name and cum is filling my mouth. I drink him down, relishing in the way I affect him, in the ways I can make him come undone.
I love it. I love him.
I roll over so I’m lying beside him in the opposite direction. He leans over to kiss my leg, then grabs his phone.
“Seth!” he screeches.
I jump up. “What? What’s wrong?”
“It’s six-thirty in the goddamn morning, that’s what’s wrong.”
A laugh bursts out of me as I fall back to the mattress, and I have to hold my stomach because after my run and the workout we just gave each other, my muscles are sore.
“Stop laughing at me,” he whines. “I can’t believe you woke me up this early!”
“Baby, I woke you up with a blowjob, are you really complaining?” I muse as I stare at his devastated yet beautiful face.
“Yes!” he doubles down.
I sit up, using his arm to pull him up with me, then place a delicate kiss on his pouty lips. “Want me to make it up to you by fucking you in the shower before your busy day?”
“Ugh, it’s the least you could do,” he relents as he swings his legs over the bed to get up. Grabbing the chain of his necklace, I pull him back to me. I crash my lips into his in a possessive kiss, hoping he feels the way I love him without me having to say the words out loud just yet.
I lean my forehead against his, hand still wrapped around the chain, and pull away just enough to say, “Good boy.” A smirk tips up the corner of his lips, a mischievous glint in his mossy eyes. I hold his stare for a moment longer, cataloging every inch of his face.
I let go, and this time he gets up without me intervening. I watch as he walks to the hallway in all his naked glory then turns around and asks, “Are you coming?”
After getting a front row seat tonight, I’ve realized Ripley not only is chaos, but he thrives in it.
He’s somehow made everything look effortless.
When Thea started crying before the rehearsal even started, when Josh, RED’s sous chef, prepared the wrong appetizer, when Cary surprised her by having Travis and Melody here for the wedding weekend, and even when Melody had a meltdown over not being able to wear the dress she wanted, he handled it all so well. He was made for this role.
The more time I spend with Ripley and Thea in the same room, the more I see how well they fit too. They’re two sides of the same coin, puzzle pieces made with the other in mind. Maybe I’m only seeing it so clearly because of how big of a day this is, but it’s all making sense now.
Before tonight, I didn’t understand their bond or their friendship in the way I do now.
And I get why he had people convinced they were dating for some time; they act like soulmates—they truly are soulmates.
Much to my dismay, it makes me miss Iris.
She’s my Thea, and I probably haven’t told her nearly enough how much I appreciate her.
I’m going soft, and I blame Ripley for it.
I’ve been lost in my own thoughts, then lost in the passionate speech Ripley gave about the history of bourbon to the group at the table with us.
I had to calm myself down so I didn’t get a hard-on at a fucking wedding rehearsal when he started listing off the rules.
But fuck, I love listening to him talk about his passion.
His eyes light up, a smile takes over his face; he looks like a kid on Christmas morning, simply telling others about something he loves.
“Right, Seth?” His eyes are trained on me now, pulling me back to reality. From the look on his face, it’s not the first time he’s asked for my attention.
“Sorry. Say that again.” I fidget with the end of my tie under the table, attempting to ground myself.
My leg has been bouncing this entire time as anxiety spreads through me.
My growing feelings for him have me looking deeper at other aspects of my life, trying to figure out how to make it all fit together.
He scoffs, the look on his face full of disbelief. “I knew you weren’t listening to me.”
I want to tell him he’s right, I wasn’t listening, but not because I’m uninterested in what he has to say.
I want to hear every thought that goes through his mind.
I just can’t stop getting distracted by him.
Every time he pushes his glasses up his nose, my cock twitches in my pants.
Every time he speaks, I have to try not to smile because I love the sound of his voice.
And when he looks at me? God, it takes my breath away.
I’m not the only one enraptured with him. His natural charisma has the whole table enthralled. The passion he has for bourbon—and even for life—is practically blinding from how bright it shines.
If I’m being honest, this isn’t the first time I’ve gotten lost in him, wondering if someday I could be the one to make him laugh or be the reason he smiles. It’s just the first time I’ve admitted it to myself, let myself fully feel it for what it is.
I think I want to spend the rest of my life being distracted by him, by the way his hands move as he tells a story. I want to spend the rest of my life getting annoyed with him and his stupid fucking drinking game.
I want this. I want him. I want to be loved by him.
“I got distracted, I’m sorry. But… I’ll be right back,” I say, and his face scrunches in confusion.
I can’t address it though, I need to talk to Thea.
I need to make strides for him, for us. I want to sit next to him as his boyfriend, not as the best man in the wedding.
I want to tell everyone how I feel about him, but she has to be first.
Pushing my chair back, I stand from the table. I feel Ripley’s questioning eyes burning into me as I make my way to Thea’s side. She’s been chatting with some guests closer to the bar.
“Thea, can I steal you for a moment?” I ask over her shoulder, my tone serious, and my voice quiet.
She turns to look at me, her eyebrow rising when she realizes I’m the one behind her, then squinting suspiciously as if she knows exactly why I asked her to talk in private. Maybe she does. As much as I’d like to think I’ve been good at hiding my feelings, I suspect she’s seen right through it.
“Of course, yeah.” She excuses herself from the couple she was speaking with, and we walk out to the wrap-around patio overlooking the lake.
Last year, when Cary came back to Seattle, he raved about the view.
I didn’t believe him. But now, with the sun setting over the lake and the magnificent pinks, purples, and blues spanning the sky, I get it.
“Everything okay?” Thea asks, her voice hesitant.
I put a few steps between us, leaning over the railing. I think I’ll be able to get this out quicker if I’m not looking directly at her. I’m not the best at apologizing, but if I want to move forward with Ripley, I need to clear the air.
“Yeah, I uhh… I need to apologize to you.” I crack my knuckles, working up the courage to continue. “The way I treated you in Seattle, it was uncalled for, and you didn’t deserve it.”
She doesn’t respond, but her breath hitches like this is the last thing she expected me to say.
“I—fuck, this is harder than I thought it would be.” I blow out a breath, pinching the bridge of my nose as my eyes start to burn, the tell-tale sign of tears in my future if I don’t get a handle on myself.
Clearing my throat, I try again, “Cary… he was the first person to show me love.” I pause, swallowing the lump forming in my throat. “Before him, I didn’t know what real friendship looked like, and I sure as hell didn’t know what being loved felt like.”
She’s silent, so I look over my shoulder, just to make sure she’s still here. Maybe she ran the second I brought Cary into this. The moment I see her face, tears streaming down her cheeks, I wish I’d kept my eyes on the lake instead.
“Fuck, Thea. Ripley is going to kill me for making you cry.”
She laughs, but it comes out as a half-sob.
“I gotta get the rest of this out, okay?” I ask, turning to face her now, and she nods her head, wiping away the tears still overflowing.
“I was protective of him. I thought…” I look down for a moment, focusing on a scuff mark on my shoe, building up the courage to keep going.
“Well, I thought there was more than friendship there.” I let the words fall between us as I bring my gaze back to hers.
Her lips thin, but she nods her head once more as if she’d already put this together and was waiting on me to come to the conclusion myself.
“For a bit, there was—but only on my end. He was just being a friend and treating me with affection because we were friends, but in my mind, I thought it was love. I thought being grateful I had him in my life and wanting to spend time with him… I thought it equaled love because I didn’t know what love was. ”
A sob breaks free, but she covers her mouth to try and stop it. We stare at each other for a moment, she’s still crying, and tears brim on my own eyelids, then she’s barreling toward me.
Her arms wrap around my neck, the force pushing my lower back into the railing, but I ignore it, wrapping my arms around her waist. She isn’t holding her tears back anymore, and my own spill down my cheeks.
“I was just protective of him,” I say into her hair. “He’s a great fucking man, and you’re so lucky to have him in your life. I’m so sorry for the things I’ve said.” My words only bring on more sobs from her as she buries her face into my neck. “And he’s lucky too.”
She laughs, squeezing just a bit tighter. “I’m so sorry you ever felt that way, if I’d known—”
“I know, Thea. I don’t blame you for one second. You had every right to hate me, you still do,” I tell her, despite hoping—for the first time in my life—she doesn’t.
She pulls back, wiping at her eyes. “I don’t hate you, Seth.”
“No?” I ask with a spark of hope.
She shakes her head with a small smile.
“Thank God, because… I think—no.” I stop and start again, feeling more confident this time.
“I’m in love with your best friend.” It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud, the first time I’ve given those words the freedom they deserve.
A weight lifts off my shoulders, and my weepy eyes start leaking again.
She reaches over, wiping at my face as she says, “I know,” with the brightest smile I’ve ever seen.