Chapter 43 #2
The rounds go by quickly. It’s probably the fastest game of pong I’ve ever played.
Kaylee makes sure Judd knows to eat his choice over and over again as our team pulls forward with only four cups left.
She kisses the ball, her focus on one of the remaining cups before she softly tosses it right in.
Goddamn, she’s so hot. From her competitive nature, to her fiery personality, it’s like she was hand-tailored to be my weakness while simultaneously being my reason for strength.
A rush goes through me as I wish for nothing more than to be the next thing she presses her lips to. Everywhere if possible.
I look at her as I send my ball in the direction of the cups. A bold move given that the game could be on the line, but I make it, and the sly look she flashes me says I’ve earned something extra later because of it.
Swinging her body back toward the boys, she sings, “balls back,” and her happiness feels so pure that it has to be contagious.
“Judd, ya better start thankin’ the girls here for dustin’ off your balls and holdin’ on to them with such care.” Daisy blushes, shaking her head at my joke while Kaylee laughs and leans right in.
“Unfortunately, he won’t be getting them back because we are about to win.” Tossing her ball, she sinks yet another shot, crossing her arms and sticking her nose arrogantly up toward the air.
Sawyer drinks each cup in stride. It’s funny, we’ve barely had to drink at all. Looks like I got added to the right team.
“Y’all do this in a past life or what?” Disbelief washes over Judd. The comment may be fitting to Kaylee and Daisy’s costumes but, damn, can they run the table.
“This is my first time playing,” Daisy replies in the most blissful tone.
“Well beginner’s luck, I guess, but I definitely made the wrong choice,” Judd spits out, envy shining in his stare. He always has been a sore loser.
“Next time, don’t underestimate your opponents based on how hot they are.” Kaylee turns to Sawyer. “No offense, Sawyer, you were just along for the ride.”
Raising his hands in surrender, he says, “None taken,” chuckling softly to himself.
I roll my neck, setting my sights on the final cup.
Kaylee’s sugary-sweet scent lingers around me, but I’m not about to let that distract me.
Coiling my arm back, I toss, letting the ball sail toward the red cup across the way.
Hook. Line. Sinker. I pump my fist in the air, elated I made my mark. We win.
“I should’ve bet ya somethin’, Juddy. This win could’ve been that much better.”
He laughs. “The girls carried you. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
Daisy retreats to Sawyer’s side, and I find Kaylee back at mine. “Better luck next time. Practice up and we can have a rematch later.” I reach to tip my hat like its muscle memory but find a crown instead and drop my hand, hoping no one else noticed.
“Wanna dance?” asks Kaylee. Before allowing me to answer, she pulls away from me, linking her fingers with mine and leading me toward the patch of dirt we dedicated to the dance floor. “I didn’t know you guys had this many friends,” she says, looking over the sea of people at the party.
“We don’t.” I laugh. “Word apparently just traveled beyond the crew and at the shop. I don’t know who more than half these people are. Ain’t seen any of them until today.”
She beams back at me and I lean in to give her a kiss.
Her scent is sweet like candy, fitting for the occasion, but also a contrast I’ll never get over from her much tougher, less sweet, outward personality when she doesn’t know someone.
Her teeth graze my bottom lip and I try to remain controlled, to not take her immediately into the bunk house and forget the party all together.
We are engulfed in a crowd of costumes, from cops and a pirate to some playboy bunnies. Everyone dances and sways to the beat of bass, all seeming to have the time of their lives.
Kaylee and I make it toward the middle of the makeshift dance floor and I eye her up and down.
Her body is perfect, so perfect that I can’t keep my hands away.
I find myself behind her, pulling her into me as I glide my hands down her curves.
Her ass presses against my cock as she sways to the music, and my hands trail around her waist. As angelic as she looks, all I want to do is slide my hands between her thighs.
Had I been a couple more drinks in, I probably would have, even if only for a second.
Tilting her chin up to expose her neck, I crouch to pepper kisses along her jawline.
“You look so fuckin’ hot,” I whisper.
I try to advance toward her lips, but my stupid crown gets caught in her wing. Standing up straight, I yank it from its place, tossing the stupid hunk of plastic over the crowd and into the dirt. The thing was annoying anyways.
“Next time, we need to think through how our shits gonna interfere,” I chuckle.
Our bodies grind against each other as we dance, and I enjoy the intimacy of it, but I know my desire would deepen if we were alone and wore a lot less layers. None to be exact. I’m already turned on and it would take very little convincing to make that happen.
Her smile looks hesitant. “Next time?”
“Ya plannin’ on leavin’ me by next Halloween?”
The smile on her lips lessens and I wish I could see into her thoughts. “No, I’ve just never planned that far.”
My brow furrows. Is that code word for her maybe having doubts about us?
Sawyer and Daisy appear in the crowd though, aiming straight for us.
She extends her hand, tugging Kaylee in her direction, preventing me from responding at all.
Disappointment gleams in her eyes. Well, fuck.
Everything’s been going so good…or at least I thought.
“Can we dance with you?” Daisy is oblivious to what’s happening, as she sways to the music.
“I’ve got to use the restroom.” Kaylee responds as she turns to leave.
I touch her shoulder and she smiles back at me, but I notice immediately how fake it is.
It lacks the light her true smile always renders.
I barely get the chance to give her a nod before she makes her way through the crowd, not giving me another glance.
I bite back a curse. It doesn’t take a genius to know that something is on her mind, I’m just not fully sure what.