14. Ally
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ALLY
“Can I come back to your place?” Chelsea asks Dan as the four of us exit the restaurant, stepping out to the cool night.
Traffic is dense. There are many people on the sidewalk, but it all blurs out of existence as I fixate on Chelsea’s question. She’s been looking at Dan all night like she can’t wait to sink her claws into him. I don’t know what kind of sex Dan is into but given the nature of Chelsea’s outfit and that Dan asked a woman like her to be his date, he’s probably into BDSM. It wouldn’t surprise me, given the dynamic we used to have. Each time I got naked for him, he took a more dominant role, instructing me on what to do with my body. I enjoyed submitting to him.
Those moments felt so uniquely us. I can’t imagine doing the same thing with anyone else and it makes me sick to think that Dan would. Somehow, I have to try and act like none of this bothers me.
“Rain check,” Dan tells her. “Ally is staying at my place tonight.”
My gaze whips to Dan. We never discussed me staying at his apartment. He knows there’s a car service waiting at his place to drive me back to The Hamptons tonight.
“Too bad.” Chelsea pretends to pout, her voice all sex. “We’ll arrange something for another night.” She pecks Dan’s cheek and heads for the subway without saying goodbye to me or Liam.
“Kind of rude,” Liam mutters to me, watching her leave. We look at each other and laugh a little. Though my laugh is forced.
“You ready to go home?” Dan asks me.
“To your place?” I clarify.
“Yeah. I’ll drive you back to the beach tomorrow.”
“Um... Okay. Let me say goodbye to Liam.” My answer feels dangerous. The last time I was at Dan’s apartment, my resolve to treat him as a brother weakened and I ended up giving myself an orgasm in his bed. After seeing him with Chelsea, my insides are purring that he’s chosen me over her.
Dan leans one shoulder against the restaurant’s brick wall, once again shuffling the neon cards as he waits for me to say goodbye to Liam. The purring grows stronger. I’m desperate to ask whether the deck still holds the same sentiment for Dan, but that would entail opening the door to our past which I’m working so hard to shut.
“So, Ally.” Liam lowers his voice, though I’m not sure how private this conversation is with Dan only a few feet away. “I had a really good time with you tonight.”
“I did too.”
“If you’re free next Saturday night, I’d like to take you out on a proper date. Just the two of us.”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” I tell him, and it’s the truth, regardless of how much effort it’s taking to be present with Liam, distracted by those cards. Liam and I got along well tonight—when does that ever happen for me? I’d like to get to know him better. Regarding Liam’s appearance, he’s more my type than I originally thought. Liam could be the guy that helps me let go of this obsession with Dan.
“There’s something I should first tell you.” His tone shifts to serious. “And look, perhaps I should have mentioned this the first time we spoke, but I wanted to meet you and see if we got along.”
The deck of cards vanishes from my mind, replaced with a red flag alert. “Wow, great way to make a girl nervous. You’re a serial killer or something?”
He laughs. “No, nothing like that. I just want to let you know that I only do open relationships.”
“Oh.”
The red flag intensifies. This is just my luck—I meet a guy I could genuinely see as my future boyfriend, and yet he doesn’t do monogamous commitment. By the wall, Dan’s shuffling comes to an abrupt stop.
“I know open relationships can be a deal breaker for some people,” Liam says. “I understand if it’s not your thing. I just want to be transparent with you.”
“Um…” A nervous laugh leaves my mouth. I don’t know how I’m meant to answer him. “It’s something for me to think about. Are you currently seeing other people?”
“Not currently, and if that were to change, I’ll tell you. This is just a lifestyle that works best for me.”
I shift back and forth on my feet. My fingers find the end of my hair and start twisting. “Um… thank you for being honest.”
“You don’t need to say anything right now. Just know I had fun with you tonight, and I hope to see you again.” He scoops me into a hug and kisses my cheek. “I’ll call you, okay?”
Liam releases me from his arms and I’m too speechless to say anything other than goodbye.
Dan and I don’t exchange words for the entire drive back to his apartment, partly because I’m still seething over Chelsea and that Dan thought she would be an appropriate date. The deck of cards also keeps plaguing me, reminding me of the connection Dan and I had before Paris, how intoxicating and all-consuming we were together, and that the past is fighting hard to not be buried. Then there’s the curveball Liam threw at me at the end of our date.
Whenever we stop at a set of traffic lights, I feel Dan’s eyes lingering on me. I pretend not to notice, occupying myself with my phone, but there’s no denying the thrill that runs through me, tightening my tummy. I’m questioning my sanity and why I agreed to spend the night at his place. Nothing good will come of it, not when the anticipation of us being alone together already has me aroused.
When Dan pulls up in front of his apartment, I spot the car service I hired waiting in front of us. I can still return to The Hamptons tonight as originally planned. Going home would be a far safer option than spending the night with Dan.
The engine switches off and I make a move to exit the car, reaching for the door handle and gasping when Dan’s hand slips into mine.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
“With what?” I ask, peering back at him in the dark car, lit only by the surrounding streetlights .
“You’ve been quiet the entire drive.”
I gulp, gazing down at my hand that Dan still holds. The heat of his touch spreads through me. I never want him to let go, which is exactly why I pull my hand free. But his grip tightens. His free hand tilts my chin up so that I have nowhere to hide. I don’t know why it excites me so much when he handles me like this, controlling my body. His breath brushes against my face, he’s so close. My mind swirls and I can’t think straight, intoxicated by the thought of him leaning forward and kissing me.
“Are you seeing Chelsea again?” I answer his question, reminding myself why I’m frustrated with him.
“What’s it to you?”
“General curiosity.” I shrug, trying to sound more confident than I am. “I feel pathetic beside her, considering how much sex appeal she has. That’s the kind of woman you’re into?”
He raises an eyebrow. “This is what’s got you upset?”
“Yes. It makes me feel differently about our past. Inadequate. I thought what we had was intimate and intense. Now, I’m realizing it was probably all very amateur to you. I never really knew anything about your sexual desires. You always watched me, but I never saw you do anything.”
His gaze drops to my lips and remains there as he speaks slow and deep. “Don’t you think that tells you what kind of sex I’m into—watching my stepsister do things I definitely shouldn’t be asking you to do. Teaching you about sex. Corrupting your sweet virgin ways and turning you into a desperate little slut for me and only me. Since telling me you’re still a virgin, all I can think about is teaching you how to ride my cock.” His eyes return to mine, boring into me, making my pussy clench. “That’s not quite true. Taking your virginity is all I’ve ever been able to think about. So, you don’t question for another second whether I have any fucking care factor for Chelsea. Or any other woman.”
Every inch of me is burning up. My clit is aching, begging to be taken care of. I press my hips firm to the car seat and grind a little. Just once. The movement isn’t as subtle as I thought, and the slightest smirk rises on Dan’s lips.
“Ally, are you rubbing your pussy on my car seat?”
My breath hitches. I nod, too embarrassed to speak the truth. Common sense tells me I should have just lied. But when Dan gets me in these moods, I can barely think straight.
“That’s my girl. My sweet little sister. Don’t stop.”
Everything in me wants to follow his command. The times I’ve been vulnerable like this in front of Dan were the most intense moments of my life. But they were also wrong.
“I… can’t,” I whisper, lowering Dan’s hand from my chin and reaching for my purse. “What you want with me is the exact thing I’ve been running from. It scares me.”
“It scares you, but you want it. Admit it.”
I weave my arm through the purse strap, trying to occupy myself with a task, any task, so long as it distracts me from Dan. “I can’t stay at your place tonight. I don’t trust myself alone with you. Maybe we shouldn’t continue this teaching thing either. Lines are being crossed. I think I could have something good with Liam.”
“Yeah, I can see you two really hit it off.” His words are bitter. Dan leans back against his door, watching me rummage through my purse. “You don’t care about the open relationship policy?”
“It’s different from what I expected but I’ll see how things go with him. He seems like a really good guy, and we got along well tonight. I made a commitment to myself that I’d stop being so timid and start seeking out life experiences. I don’t need exclusivity.”
“Ally, any guy who is happy to share you is a fucking idiot. You deserve to be treated like a queen.”
My eyes pop open wide and I freeze, hearing the word queen leave his mouth, remembering all the times he called me Queen, symbolizing exactly what I meant to him. It’s not right how much I want to hear that pet name leave Dan’s lips again.
“I should go. The car service is waiting for me.”
“I’ll let you go if you answer one question for me.” He takes my hand and pulls me in close again, whispering, “Are you wet right now?”
I swallow hard, my breath heavy. “Yes.”
“All from a little conversation about riding my cock.” He’s so smug about the effect he has on me, and I hate that I find it so hot.
“It won’t ever happen.” I speak with confidence, trying to throw him off his game. “I’m not precious about my virginity. Maybe Liam will take it next weekend on our date.”
My words only intensify his smug demeanor. “You get off on teasing me? You always have, rubbing your ass against my cock each time you snuck into my bed. Leaving the bathroom door open so I could watch you with the showerhead pressed to your pussy. You’re mine, Ally, and I’m not letting anyone else fuck you.”
The ache between my legs is so intense, hearing him claim ownership of me. I fight against the urge to grind against the car seat again. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.” I pull free of Dan’s grip and exit onto the sidewalk before he can stop me, knowing if I spend another moment with him, I’ll cave in and do something I shouldn’t.
“Ally.” Dan’s car door slams shut as he calls after me.
His footsteps approach but I don’t look behind me. Instead, I slip into the backseat of the car service, telling the driver to take off immediately.