Chapter 21 #2
By the time I returned home and explained everything that had happened to Bram, I barely had enough time to get ready for the event at the gallery.
I switched into another dress: a shorter, more form-fitting black halter-neck.
It was one of the sexy outfits Mac had gotten without the guys’ knowledge when she’d shopped for me using Bram’s money.
Mac, Lemon, and the guys were going with me tonight. Because we all couldn’t fit in my car, Mac, the guys, and I would meet Lemon at Stewart’s.
The guys dressed up nicely for the event. Roe was in all black. Black slacks with a black button-up shirt. Wyatt was wearing a dark blue button-up with nice blue jeans. Reid was in a dark red button-up and black slacks.
Mac borrowed from me a short, pale gold dress with very thin straps that looked amazing on her. She had her long brown hair with caramel highlights down and curled.
It was dark when the event started. We met Lemon outside. She was dressed in a short, dark forest-green cocktail dress that was form-fitting and long-sleeved.
As soon as we walked into the gallery, I just felt this joy take over.
There were quite a few people attending.
The gallery was large with a maze of floor-to-ceiling white walls, light wood floors, and lighting that perfectly illuminated every piece of artwork on the walls.
Waiters walked around with trays of champagne flutes.
I’d purchased the tickets for everyone ahead of time. After checking in, we started to make our way around, taking in each piece one at a time. Lemon flagged a waiter down and bribed him with a hundred dollars to serve us. We each got a glass of champagne.
Wyatt and I were the most excited and talked a lot as we moved from artwork to artwork. We both took the time to explain the different styles each artist used to the others.
I bribed the same waiter for another round of champagne, which was warming my empty belly. I stupidly hadn’t eaten all day. I’d been too nervous this morning before meeting my grandfather, whom I could once again refer to as such, and after the meeting, I’d had to get ready to come here.
“You’re smiling a real smile,” Roe whispered in my ear as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
My smile stayed where it was as I continued to take in a dancing naked woman wearing a pearl-beaded mask that only covered her eyes. “I know.”
“I think this one is my favorite so far,” Mac said as she came up to stare at the naked woman, leaving Reid, Lemon, and Wyatt behind as they lingered at the previous piece. “Do you think the artist used a model to draw this?” she asked.
“Possibly. I’m sure the curator would know if the artist isn’t here,” I said.
Mac couldn’t pry her eyes from the drawing. “How amazing would that be?”
“To model naked?” I asked. “Are you wanting me to draw you naked? If so, that’s a whole other level of bonding compared to me showing you my breasts.”
She snorted. “Not you—”
Before she could say more, someone approached us. “You ended up coming.”
It was Ezra. He was dressed nicely in an all-black suit, sans tie, and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone. The dark outfit really made his black-rimmed, lime-green eyes pop.
“Thank you for telling me about it.” I gestured to Mac and Roe. “I don’t know if you’ve met, but this is my boyfriend Roe and this is my friend Mac.” I gestured to Ezra. “Guys, this is my drawing rival, Ezra.”
Roe and Ezra nodded at each other, but Ezra stared at Mac, taking all of her in. “Hello,” he said to her.
Unaware of or pretending not to notice his fixed gaze on her, she asked him, “How are you two rivals?”
“We’re the best in our class. But it’s not much of a rivalry. She’s a lot more talented than I am,” Ezra said.
“I wouldn’t say ‘a lot.’ I have to work hard to compete with you,” I grumbled.
Ezra looked up at the dancing woman. “Regardless of who’s better, it’s all for fun at the end of the day.
” For a split second, a sadness that I understood showed in his eyes.
The sadness of not being able to pursue what you loved.
Ezra was going off to an Ivy League college after we graduated, to later go work for his father’s company.
Mac stepped closer to him. “Do you draw with charcoal, too?”
He shook his head. “Oil pastels.”
I pushed my back against Roe’s chest so we could retreat and sneak off, leaving the two alone. We went over to the rest of our group. Lemon glanced over my shoulder at Mac and Ezra, then gave me a smile.
“Who is my sister talking to?” Reid asked as he frowned over at them.
“My rival,” I said.
“He’s a good guy,” Lemon said.
“If anything happens, I’d be more worried about Ezra,” I said.
“Same. He seems…vanilla and selfless,” Lemon said.
“She did say she wanted someone like that,” I said.
Reid frowned.
“They’re talking about what kind of lover he might be,” Wyatt said with a grin before finishing off his champagne.
Reid’s expression turned horrified.
I flagged our waiter down with another hundred and got us another round of drinks. Lemon declined because she had to drive home. So did Wyatt. Roe, Reid, and I kept drinking.
By the time we’d walked through the whole gallery, I was buzzed on endorphins and champagne.
Every artist that was featured, including the main, Jane Fontaine, was so inspiring.
Wyatt made a comment about having art like that in our future home one day.
Roe said we would, but it would be mine.
I liked it a lot when the three of them talked about a future with me in it.
I liked being able to imagine my future with excitement instead of dread.
After the event, Mac left with Ezra. He was taking her to dinner and promised to bring her home after.
Lemon gave us all a wave goodbye before getting into her car and heading home.
It was just the four of us now. Wyatt was driving us to get something to eat.
They’d noticed I was a little more buzzed than them, maybe a lot more, and I’d admitted that I hadn’t eaten anything all day.
Roe and I rode in the back together while Wyatt drove and Reid sat shotgun.
I was snuggled against Roe, tracing the tattoos on his arm with my finger, when we pulled up to a Chinese restaurant.
Wyatt and Reid offered to run in to grab us food to take back to Reid’s place while Roe and I stayed in the car.
I ran my fingers down to the butterfly tattoo that went across Roe’s middle fingers. “Did you know all three of you have butterfly tattoos?”
“I did know that.”
“Why is that?”
His chest shook as he chuckled. “From losing bets with each other. We all have little hearts tattooed on us from losing bets, too.”
I pulled away from cuddling to face him. “You wagered permanent drawings on your body?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think they turned out too bad.”
“Where’s your heart tattoo?” I asked.
He reached out and grabbed a tendril of my curled hair. “It’s on my ankle.” He leaned in and kissed me. He was wearing his lip piercing tonight. The cool metal felt good against my warming skin.
By the time he pulled away, I felt hot and achy all over. So I climbed on top of him, straddling his lap. I returned to kissing him, which he seemed happy to reciprocate. His hands went to my hips and he helped me grind against him.
I snaked my fingers into his hair as I kissed down his neck. I ran my teeth over the spot I knew made him shiver. His breath hitched and his hands tightened on my hips.
“Roe,” I whispered. “I need you.”
He let out a groan. “You’ve been drinking.”
“We’re in a relationship, Roe.” I pouted a little. “Does that mean we never get to have drunk sex?”
“You want me to fuck you in this back seat when Reid and Wyatt are walking back to us right now?”
“Yes.”
Just as I said that, they both climbed in.
“Hello, what do we have going on back there?” Wyatt said as he started the car.
“Just drive,” Roe strained to say.
Wyatt chuckled and did as Roe said.
I continued to kiss, lick, and bite Roe while grinding against his now-hard cock. “Please,” I begged as I moved back until I was kneeling on the floor between his legs, undoing his pants.
Roe’s eyes went wide and he cursed when I pulled his cock out. I leaned forward and licked the tip of him.
Groaning, his head lolled back as I took him into my mouth.
“Is she…?” Wyatt started to say.
“Yes, she is,” Reid said.
I had never gone down on a guy before, but I had read a bunch of romance novels thanks to Lemon, and I felt properly educated on the matter. I also had six glasses of champagne to help me do this with confidence.
I slid my mouth as far as I could go down his shaft. The tip of him hit the back of my throat. As I pulled back, I sucked. Bobbing my head, I took him in and out of my mouth multiple times. Then changed it up by licking him from base to tip.
Roe collected my hair and held it out of the way so he could watch. He groaned at the sight of me. His other hand went to the back of my head as I took him into my mouth again. “Can you take me deeper?”
I tried, but couldn’t.
“Relax and breathe through your nose, Charlotte,” Reid encouraged from the front seat.
I did as he said and I was able to take more of Roe in.
“That’s it,” Roe gritted.
I took him deep into my throat repeatedly until he pulled on my hair a little to stop me. “Lottie, if you keep doing that I’m going to come in your mouth.”
I crawled back up him until I was straddling him again. I pushed up the skirt of my dress. “I want you to come inside me.”
Roe went wide-eyed.
The car swerved a little before Wyatt righted it with a curse and an apology.
“The only place he’s coming is in a condom, Charlotte. No babies yet, remember?” Reid said, and a condom hit Roe in the chest from the front of the car.
I smiled. “That’s what I meant.”
Roe picked up the condom with a questioning look. “You two talked about babies, too?”
“I need you to focus, Roe,” I said, snatching the condom from him.
Wyatt chuckled. “You better get to fucking, because we’re almost to Reid’s.”
As soon as I ripped the foil packet open, Roe pulled the condom out and rolled it on.
I pushed my thong to the side as I lined him up and sank down on him. “Please rip my underwear off,” I begged, because it was getting in the way as I moved up and down.
Roe easily grabbed the thin lacy fabric and ripped it on one side, then the other, and pulled it off of me. He smiled as he tossed it toward the front seat.
Instead of getting bad memories of Clay, I thought it was hot, and captured his mouth to show him how I felt about it.
I grabbed the headrest to help me bounce on him and get in the perfect rhythm. Once I found it, a moan slipped out of me.
“Is this what you needed, Lottie?” Roe asked.
“Yes,” I breathed.
Roe’s hands went to the back of my neck and undid the halter strap. He pulled the front of my dress down, revealing my breasts. “I will never get over how beautiful you are.” His tattooed hands cupped my breasts and his fingers tugged on my nipples.
“Roe,” I moaned.
He took one of my nipples into his mouth, sucking and biting it lightly. He let go of my other breast to reach between us and rub my clit.
There were too many good sensations at once—I forgot where I was, who I was with.
All that mattered was what I was feeling.
I grabbed the back of his head as he gave me little nips of pain that seemed to shoot straight down to my vagina, sending me right to the edge.
“Fuck,” I cried. Then I was coming and coming. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Roe grabbed me by my hips, lifting me slightly above him.
He pumped up into me repeatedly until he finally came with a loud exhale and his head leaned back.
Both of us were breathing hard as he let me sink back down on him and slump against him.
We both just sat there as we came back to ourselves and that was when I realized the car wasn’t moving anymore.
I pushed myself upright and glanced over my shoulder.
Wyatt and Reid were both turned around in their seats watching us. I couldn’t help but smirk.
The corner of Wyatt’s mouth lifted. “What a naughty girlfriend we have.”
I flicked my messy hair over my shoulder. “Are you complaining?”
Wyatt shook his head. “Fuck no. Just wondering which deity I need to thank for giving us you.”
My smirk dropped and my eyes began to burn. “Aw, Wyatt. You’re going to make me cry.”
“That’s our cue to get food in her and sober her up,” Reid said, and climbed out.
Wyatt snorted and climbed out, too.
I faced Roe and he kissed me, saying, “Come on. Let’s feed you.”
I kissed him again and said against his lips, “You already fed me.”
He groaned. “Food, Lottie. You need to eat.”
“Next time I’ll swallow,” I said, making him curse and threaten to fuck me again, which I was totally for.
Before things could get started, the car door next to us opened. Reid reached in, pulled me off of Roe, and set me on my feet. He and Wyatt worked quickly to fix my dress.
“No more orgasms until you eat something,” Wyatt said as they finished and headed toward Reid’s front door.
I sighed and waited for Roe to get out of the car. Holding hands, we followed them inside.