42. Just running errands in wet panties, nbd
Chapter 42
Just running errands in wet panties, nbd
Ariana
T aking a sip of my coffee, I look over the shopping list I made on my phone at the kitchen counter. Luca walks by on his way from the gym and detours to give me a quick kiss before going upstairs to take a shower. I watch him walk away, biting my lower lip. When he’s out of sight, I turn back to my list with a sigh. Becca chuckles and my head snaps up, my eyes wide because I totally forgot she was standing there, and find her smirking at me.
I shoot her a glare. “Rude,” I mumble.
“Who’s rude?” Lil asks, coming into the kitchen.
“Becca. I don’t know why we put up with the disrespect.” Becca laughs again and comes over to give me a kiss on the forehead.
“You’re such a silly one, my sweet girl. And so very in love with that boy.”
“Maybe I just want him for his body,” I shrug, keeping my face neutral.
“Maybe I’d call you a liar.” Becca puts her hands on her hips, shaking her head disapprovingly .
“Yeah, yeah.” I wave her off.
With a final chuckle, she heads off to go about her business.
I give the list on my phone one last check. “Okay, I think that’s everything we need to make a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting with Callie.”
“I call dibs on the frosting bowl.”
“You don’t think the little kid should get the frosting bowl?”
She thinks it over. For about three seconds. “Nope, dibs. And I fully intend to fight any kids either of us has for the frosting bowls, forever.”
“I fully intend to teach them to kick your ass.” She’s unbothered. Which makes sense, really. I’ll teach them how to shoot and bake, Luca will have to teach them how to fight.
Wait, what? My entire face crinkles in confusion. Did I really just imagine Luca teaching our future kids, and Lil’s future kids, how to fight? Do I even want kids? Does he even want kids? We haven’t talked about his long-term plans. Does he actually want to stick around here? He said he loves me, but does he love me in a, ‘I want to be with you forever,’ kind of way? Or a, ‘I want you to wait for me while I go off and fuck around for a decade,’ kind of way? Because I don’t have that second one in me. It hurts to think about him with someone else. And what if he wants to stay here, but fuck around?
My thumb moves back and forth over the locket. I carved DeVille across the middle, with Ari above and Lil below, as soon as I knew how to spell everything. It’s scratched and scarred and lost its shine a long time ago. Even if I didn’t use it as a fidget, it wouldn’t be in great shape. But we don’t give a shit. The locket holds our greatest treasure.
That first day we met when we were five, we found a dandelion with just one piece of fluff left on it at recess. We made a wish to be together forever and put the fluff inside the locket Lil was wearing to keep it safe. That’s how wishes come true .
I think I want forever with Luca, too. But forever with a DeVille is dangerous. Forever with me?—
Lil’s hand covers mine and my thumb stills. I blink rapidly, trying to bring my vision into focus. Trying to pull out of the spiral. She starts rubbing my back gently.
“Shit,” I sigh heavily.
“Ari, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, I’m fine,” I lie, ignoring the way it sits like a rock in my stomach. I can tell she’s about to ‘Friends don’t lie,’ me. “Really, I’m okay. Just went down a weird rabbit hole in my brain.”
She holds my gaze and chews on the inside of her cheek, debating whether or not she believes me. When one side of her mouth raises, that rock in my stomach gets heavier. Of course, she believes me. We don’t fucking lie to each other.
I almost cave. I almost tell her about the ice neck.
“Okay.” She looks down at the list. “Should we run to the store, or are we pilfering your baking supplies?”
“Are we pirates?”
“Could be. You want the eye patch or the peg leg?”
“Eye patch. I’m keeping my shoes. I’m a fancy pirate.”
“I could rock a peg leg. And I just remembered that we finished off the good tortilla chips and promised Mom we’d get her more, so we better go to the store,” Lil says as Luca steps into the kitchen. He groans and turns right back around like he’s going to leave. “Oh, come on, we’re not that bad!” she declares.
“Yes, you are.” His hair is wet and he smells like his soap. I turn my head and take a deep breath when he comes up behind the stool I’m sitting on to wrap his arms around me.
“Did you just sniff me?” he whispers in my ear, sending a shiver of want through my body.
“What? No.” He chuckles, and I elbow him in the gut. “Shut up. ”
He laughs again before asking, “Are we doing dinner there with Callie?”
“We usually do. Danielle always insists on ordering us food.”
“Let’s run to the grocery store now and grab coffee while we’re out.” Lil always has the best ideas.
“Yes! Let’s do that!”
Luca looks at our coffee cups on the counter and purses his lips, but stays silent.
“I need to go change my shirt because this one has a stain on it from when someone wore it, stretched it out with her big boobs, and spilled ketchup all over herself.” Lil narrows her eyes at me.
“It was hot sauce, thank you very much.”
“That’s right. Which shirt did you get ketchup on?”
“Which time?”
“How many… you know what, never mind.” She heads out of the room, presumably to find something I didn’t spill food on or stretch out. Good luck, my friend. When it’s just the two of us hanging out, and I’m not worried about my scars, I throw on whatever I find sometimes.
I turn around and grab the front of Luca’s shirt in my fist, pulling him in for a kiss. He picks me up and off the stool, sets me on my feet after a few more kisses and giggles from me, then turns me toward the stairs. He swats my ass playfully when I don’t move right away.
“Go get your shit, baby. We’ve got errands to run.” I smile over my shoulder at him as I go upstairs to get my purse and shoes.
“You have a ridiculously adorable grin on your face. I’m guessing my annoying cousin put it there.” At this point, ‘annoying cousin’ is her term of endearment for Luca because she’s smiling when she says it. I know her better than anyone, and she’s not nearly as bothered by the situation as she’s pretending to be.
But I still need to make sure. She’s been my best friend for most of my life, and I don’t want things to be weird for her. “Are you really okay with this, Lil?”
“I’m okay with whatever makes you happy. And for a naturally happy person, in spite of everything, you’re even happier now. Honestly, I thank Zeus or Thor or whoever sent Luca here because he’s like the piece that was missing from your puzzle.” She wraps me in a big hug. “I think he was a piece that was missing from all of our puzzles, but yours is where he was needed the most.”
“I’m glad I punched Parker back in kindergarten. I wouldn’t have any of you if I had just ignored him messing with you.”
“Yeah, you’re still my hero. Even if he’s not such a jerk anymore.”
“He was never a jerk, Lil. He was having a bad day.”
“Whatever. He hardly talks to me, so I wouldn’t know anyway.”
Because he’s in love with you . But it’s not my place to tell her that, and it’s technically not my secret so I don’t count it as one of the few I’m keeping from her. Maybe one day, he’ll pull his head out of his corduroy-wearing ass and admit his feelings for her.
And maybe one day he’ll keep a fucking Tamagotchi alive for more than a week. Anything’s possible, right?
Lil and I meet Luca at the bottom of the stairs, where he’s standing with his arms crossed, looking like he was about five seconds away from coming to track us down.
We grab coffee at a nearby drive-thru before stopping to pick up bowling shoes and balls for Luca. He has such big feet and hands and fingers. And his cock…
Fuck. My panties should not be getting wet in a freaking sporting goods store. And I swear Luca can read my mind because he catches my gaze with fire in his eyes, and his lips curl into a sexy grin.
If panties could melt off, they would be a puddle on the floor .
“Whatcha thinking about?” He whispers, pulling me back against his torso while we wait at the register. Lil’s wandering around like the feral shopper she is.
I know my cheeks are red. They feel like they’re on fire. “Nothing,” I lie.
“Mmmhmmm.” He leans down so his lips are next to my ear. “You sure you’re not thinking about last night? Your hand wrapped around my cock and my fingers in your pussy?”
I can’t hold back the low moan that escapes me. Turning my head so my lips are against his ear, I whisper, “You don’t play fair.” A shiver runs down his body and his cock starts to harden against my back. It hardens a little more when I nibble on his lobe.
His voice is growly when he grits out, “Neither do you, baby.”
The store employee clears his throat, and now my face is an inferno. We grab Luca’s stuff, then harass Lil until she finally picks out a new pair of sneakers so we can move on with our day.
Word got out at home that we’re running errands, and now we have a list of shit to pick up for people. Before long, the back is full of Dad’s suits, three bags of yarn for Becca, and approximately three thousand throw pillows Mom ordered. Sadly, none have Nicholas Cage’s face on them.
By the time we’re done with the extra errands tossed our way, we’re starving. Lil and I introduce Luca to our favorite sandwich place. It’s the only place where I can order a cheesesteak and not worry about coming across meat that makes me gag.
We finally make it to the grocery store and get everything on my list for Callie’s cake, along with a lot of stuff not on our list.
Luca stays closer to me than he ever has before, and we can’t stop holding hands or touching all day. He tucks my hair behind my ear. He kisses my temple and forehead. He threads his fingers through mine. He rests his hand on my hip and slips it into my back pocket .
I rest my head on his chest or bicep. I trail my finger down his arms. I lean against him when we stop moving long enough.
Donna grins as she scans all of our groceries. “Maybe it’s a good thing Marco picked this one to follow you around,” she says with a wink.
She’s not wrong.