8. Lexi
CHAPTER 8
Lexi
Wednesday night
“ D arian, please don’t stay up too late. You have school tomorrow,” I hear Shayna say as a door clicks closed and she walks into the kitchen where I’m putting dishes from tonight's dinner into the dishwasher. Cam has been back on the road for three days now and things between Shayna and I have been building. Typically, even before I left Jason, Shayna and I would flirt playfully. However, now it seems more intense… more real… actually serious.
Glancing over my shoulder with a smile, I see her walking through the doorway carrying a few more glasses and plates. I look at them in her hand and roll my eyes playfully, knowing they came from Darian’s room. The kid is always eating something, and since he lives on that game, the dishes accumulate in there.
Shayna looks a little sheepish as she walks them over. “Sorry, babes. I found them when I went into Darian’s room,” she says sitting them on the counter, and I chuckle.
“It’s okay. I got it,” I say, rinsing off a different plate placing it in the dishwasher. After I stand back up, she bumps my shoulder playfully and smiles at me, still standing there. I look at her as I drop Darian’s dishes in the sink and smile back.
“What is it?” I ask. She shakes her head and kisses my cheek, which makes me flush a bit.
“I’m just glad you’re here. That’s all,” she says and lays her head against my shoulder wrapping her arms around my waist. “And… I’ve missed having you here.”
I look down at the crown of her head. Leaning down, I give her a little kiss. I stay there smelling her strawberry scented shampoo. Fuck, what I wouldn’t do for this woman. I’ve had feelings for her for so long, but it’s so hard dealing with the storm inside my heart and stomach whenever I’m around her. No one would understand the maelstrom that occurs when you’re in a relationship with one person trying to make it work, but still have such deep feelings for someone else. Your best friend no less. Your best friend that’s been married for 20 years.
Finally, looking forward I continue to rinse off the dishes, placing them away. She stands up and moves away to walk behind me. I already miss her warmness and comfort. I release a silent sigh. She walks behind me going to the cabinet with the wine glasses.
Smack
I jump all over when her hand comes in contact with my ass and I give a little yelp. She laughs as she keeps moving. “Shay!” I say her name with a light laugh. “You know payback is a bitch, right.”
She shrugs her shoulders, and gives me a devious smile. Leaning up on her tippy toes, she opens the cabinet, reaching for two glasses. Her juicy ass is poked out, almost like an invitation for me. My eyes immediately drop to how her shorts have ridden up and the bottom of her cheeks are peeking out from underneath the frayed jean material. What I fucking wouldn’t give to run my fingers over the curves of her ass, down between her thighs to feel the warmth that’s there. I bite my bottom lip and my hands have stilled as I keep my eyes on how her perfect ass sticking out makes the curve of her spine so beautiful and tempting. The indents of her waist are showing from how her little crop top has ridden up while she reaches toward the top shelf. Her tiny 5’4” self is stretching to try and reach where she has the glasses. A small voice inside my head is telling me she’s doing this on purpose to see if I will act on my impulses. She’s trying to tempt me more than usual.
My mouth is watering, my core pulsing while my heart rate skyrockets. I bite my bottom lip again hard. If I bite any harder, I will pierce the skin and draw blood. She grunts trying to reach it. She drops to the flats of her feet and looks over her shoulder at me with her eyes hooded. Slowly mine rises from her ass to meet her eyes, and she’s smiling deviously. She fucking knows what she’s doing.
“Lex, can you help me… please,” she purrs in such a seductive voice I can’t at all deny her. I put the plate I had been rinsing into the dishwasher and grab a towel drying my hands off. My glance keeps trailing her sexy as hell body as I move closer. She watches me as I slowly move to where she is like a predator stalking its prey. As I do, I think she’s going to move out of my way but she doesn’t. She stands right where I need to be in order to grab the wine glasses for her.
Moving behind her, I press my body to hers reaching over her and I feel her press her ass against my upper thighs as I press her body into the counter. I take a deep inhale of breath trying to steady myself. The will power it’s taking me to not just do all the wicked things my head has conjured over the last several years. I may have been with Jason but whenever I came here to spend time with my best friend, my imagination of us two together went crazy.
I grab the two wine glasses but when she reaches for them I hold them up away from her and drop my lips to her ear. “Keep playing with fire, Shay. My burn doesn’t go away so easily,” I whisper in her ear letting my teeth graze the shell of her ear and breath fanning across her cheek.
She swirls her ass a little more into me when she glances over her shoulder at me, our lips so close they could touch. My eyes immediately move to where her lips are. I know they would taste so sweet. What I wouldn’t give to just taste her once. Both sets of her lips. Fuck. Just the thought alone is driving my body crazy. My clit pulses and I can feel myself get so wet. I’m going to need a cold shower and my vibrator tonight for sure. And the way I’m feeling, I don’t think once will be enough.
My eyes finally go back to hers and I notice now she’s staring at my lips. Her tongue pokes out to lick her bottom lip, and it grazes mine, that’s how close our mouths are. Just the slightest move right now and I could feel how soft her lips are. How well they mold to mine. Feel how her tongue tangles with mine. Her eyes slowly move to mine.
“Maybe I want to feel your heat,” she whispers, stealing my breath for just a moment. Both of our eyes keep dancing between each other's eyes and mouths. The tension is high. My lips separate, ready to devour her, when I hear a door open.
I step back setting the glasses down on the counter moving back to the sink when Darian comes into the kitchen.
“Who’s taking me to school in the morning?” he asks as she strides up the kitchen island counter. Shay grabs the glasses and a shuddering breath leaves her. Good. I’m glad I’m not the only one affected here. I’m so consumed by thoughts right now, I’m really hoping she answers because I don’t think I could find my voice. I hear her clear her throat when she turns around and places the glasses on the island counter now.
“Oh… um… I think Lexi is taking you since I’m taking Bugg,” she says nonchalantly as she moves to the refrigerator taking out the bottle of wine. I glance over and Darian is looking at me. I nod and rinse the last glass that was taken from his room.
“Yeah, Dare, I got you in the morning. Normal time or…” my voice trails off letting him fill in the blanks, so to speak. I can hear Shayna rummaging around the drawer for the wine bottle opener and I place the glass I had been rinsing in the dishwaser.
“Can we leave a little early and pick up CJ? His car is in the shop,” he says. I place the dish detergent pod in its place and close the door, locking it. I press the button to start it and turn to him.
“Sure. Let’s leave like 15 minutes earlier then,” I say leaning my elbows on the counter looking over at him.
“Cool. Thanks, Aunt Lexi,” he says. “I’m going to bed. Night,” he yells over his shoulder as he leaves the kitchen. A few minutes later we hear the door close.
Pop
I look over and see Shayna pouring our glasses of wine. She looks up at me through her lashes. She’s a stunningly beautiful woman. Her bronze skin glows against her playful eyes. As she pours the next glass, she holds the other one out to me. I chuckle softly and walk over taking it from her.
After putting the bottle away, I follow her to the living room. It's a soft glow from the candles she lit earlier along with the little side table light. I sit on the couch smoothly stretching my legs out in front of me, as I usually do. I take a sip of the wine and casually lay my other arm across the back of the couch. The kids are asleep and it’s our time to wind down a bit.
Lately this has been the time for Shayna to vent about work or we talk about what plans to make for the weekend for when Camden comes home. Shayna sits next to me tucking her legs under her, but this time she’s sitting really close to me. So close, her knee is pressed against my thigh. I’m used to sitting close to her, but after that close encounter in the kitchen, I’m worried about what I might do. I don’t want to fuck up things between us or cause a rift between Cam and me.
She sits the bottom of her glass on her thigh and looks at me. I casually push her hair off her shoulder with the hand draped over the back of the couch. Her cheeks flush slightly, and a shiver runs over her body. Making goose bumps raise on her legs. Internally I smile knowing I did that. Now I can tell she wants to say something, and I’m both curious and concerned. My eyes narrow at her hesitancy.
“Have I ever told you about Alyssa?” she quietly says, looking at me.
I cock my head slightly to the side and shake it a little. Shay takes a deep breath looking down at her lap and releases it in a huff.
“A-Alyssa was my girlfriend,” she says and my brows raise in surprise. Not that she dated a girl, because I know she’s bisexual, but that she’s bringing this up now. But before I can say anything she continues. “And Cam’s.”
My mouth pops open slightly. Now this is a little revelation. After all these years you would think she would have told me this. I stare at her while her eyes finally lift to mine gauging my reaction. After taking that in and letting my imagination run crazy for a moment, my brows then furrow in slight confusion. She waits for me to let that sink in.
“Wait… you mean–” I say, still processing that information. I lean forward and sit my glass on the coffee table. When I lean back again, my body turns facing hers even more now. “...you mean at the same time?” I ask and she nods slowly. The hand that had been holding the glass rubs down my face, trying to take this in. I look back at her and her eyes are flitting between mine. The silence grows even more.
“Say something, Lex,” she breathes and I can hear her nervousness.
“I’m… confused. So you and Cam dated the same girl. At the same time?” I ask, trying to piece this together. My brain knows how this works but I’m still trying to understand why she never told me this important piece of their lives. She nods her head. I can see the turmoil processing behind her eyes. She’s scared I’m going to judge her. That I will now pull away. But she doesn’t realize that I’m actually intrigued.
Now my brain is wondering how that could work with us. Could it work with us? I have very strong feelings for Shayna and the longer I’m here living in this house with them, I know that I’m also growing closer to Camden. But who wouldn’t? The man is sex on a stick.
“For how long?” I ask needing more information.
“About six months. It was before I met you,” she rushes the last part out trying to explain why she never told me. I just look at her hoping she will go on. When she looks down at her lap, I realize she’s not.
“What happened?”
“I really cared about her, and so did Cam,” she starts. A feeling of jealousy starts to rise inside of me. I shouldn’t feel like that. Lexi and I are only friends, but why this girl? Why not me? “She stayed with us when we lived in Jacksonville, but she had a hard time dealing with both Cam and I. It came easily with me and her. But she seemed to be forcing it with Cam. He could tell and he started to pull away, but not just from her. From me as well. At the end, things became very tense in the house.”
I sit and listen patiently. The green eyed monster is growing more and more in my gut. The controversy inside of me, feels like I’m tearing in half. Anger and jealousy because she had the opportunity I never had and then hope and excitement, wondering does this mean I have a chance here.
“Then?” I push wanting to know more, but the uproar inside of me won’t allow me to speak more than a few words at a time. I’m very conscious that the more I listen to her story the more I’m leaning towards her giving her my full attention. We both seem to be gravitating to one another.
“Well, one day Cam and I came home from work and she was gone. All of her stuff was gone. No note. No call. Nothing,” she says on a breath. She takes a big gulp of her wine, finishing it. She licks her lips and I watch the slow, seductive trail it makes. She leans forward placing her glass next to mine. But when she sits back tucking her legs again, she’s moved even closer. Close enough that her knee isn’t just touching my thigh, it’s resting on it slightly.
I wonder if it’s by accident or is she purposely moving closer to me. The one thing I notice is the heat from her body is radiating over me and she smells delectable. Her strawberry shampoo and body wash is wafting over to me. I have always loved the way she smells. But the opposing feelings inside get the best of me.
“Why are you telling me this, Shayna? Why now?” I practically growl. At the deepness in my voice, her brows raise and she looks at me. I see the war going on behind her eyes. Normally, I can tell what Shayna is thinking, but right now I can’t.
She leans even closer, placing her hand on my cheek. I don’t move and I don’t flinch away. My eyes soften just a bit. “Because… I wanted you to understand more about my past… our past,” she says, leaning even closer.
My hand moves to where her knee on my thigh is instinctually. Almost automatic of its own accord. When my hand splays across her skin, my thumb immediately starts to soothe her skin. I can see her visibly relax and a small smile curves the corners of her lips.
“What would you say if I told you that I wanted to try with you?” she asks me on a quiet breath. She speaks softly as if she says it too loud it will break the little bubble that we are in. Her eyes flitting between mine back and forth. I can feel her anxiety radiating through her as almost a tangible thing. We are slowly gravitating together.
I can’t speak, because I don’t know what to say. I’m so scared my voice will betray me. My other hand that has been draped over the back of the couch slowly moves to the back of her head and gently pulls her to me. I keep my eyes on her, needing to see in them the permission I’m begging for. My eyes move from flitting back and forth between hers to glancing at her mouth. As we move closer, her mouth opens slightly and I take that as my queue as I go ahead. My want and need for her overriding all the caution my head is throwing at me.
I tilt my head slightly and at first I just brush my lips over hers lightly, then move to the corner of her mouth ghosting my lips over there as well and move to her ear. She exhales a shaky breath, and her body gives a little shiver.
“Are you sure?” I ask her and the subtle nod she gives, makes the smirk rise on one side of my mouth. Normally, I want verbal permission but for this, I will accept her nod.
I move back and look into her eyes, my mouth just touching hers. She’s breathing heavily, almost panting now and I can feel her hand on my cheek shaking slightly. The nerves in my stomach are at war right now, but you wouldn’t be able to tell on the outside. From an outside perspective, I’m calm, cool and collected.
My tongue sneaks out and flicks against her top cupid’s bow of her lip, and her mouth drops open even more. My hand that was on the back of her head moves to the nape of her neck, pushing her hair off her shoulder again so I can feel her soft skin. My thumb pushes at her jaw lifting her face to mine and slowly my lips descend onto hers.
At first it’s slow and seductive. Just the pressing of lips together, but when I pull away just a bit, I see that her eyes are closed and she’s entranced in the feeling. My heart is racing and I need more. I press again, this time I nip at her bottom lip and she opens. When she does, I tilt my head and my tongue immediately invades her mouth. Our tongues clash and the kiss gets heated quickly.
While we are devouring one another she stretches her legs over my lap and my hand rests on her upper thigh. As we passionately kiss, a moan slips from her mouth, and fuck if I don’t feel it all the way to my core. My hand begins to travel up her leg. When I feel the frayed edges of her shorts, my thumb slides under it and begins teasing the soft supple skin there. I feel her legs begin to part.
“Please, Lexi…” she moans against my lips. And everything comes to a screeching halt at her words. Realizing what we’re doing. Yeah we are both consenting adults but she’s married. Regardless if I’m a woman, it’s still cheating. I can’t let this go any further. I’m breathing so heavy, my panting breaths blowing against her face. My hand slowly moves from the crease of her thighs back down to her knee.
I move to wipe the saliva from her bottom lip, the evidence of how passionate and messy our kiss actually was. Her brow furrows adorably. My mind is racing again and I wish I could do this. She tastes even better than I ever thought. Her lips feel like ecstasy against mine. Almost as if we were made for one another. But that can’t be true. Her and Cam are soul mates. They were made for each other, not us. I’m fooling myself and trying to convince myself of something that just can’t be.
“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?” she asks me confused.
I give her a small smile. With the hand still holding the nape of her neck, I angle her head down and kiss her forehead, letting my lips linger.
“I can’t. I’m sorry,” I whisper and kiss her forehead once again. Moving her legs from my lap, I stand.
“Wait, Lexi. Please. Let’s talk about this,” she says as I walk straight to my bedroom, closing the door softly behind me.
I lean against the door and let my head rest against it. I was just presented with everything that I’ve always wanted, and had to turn it down. Now, on top of everything, my friendship with Cam is just as important as Shayna’s. And now I have to tell him that I kissed his fucking wife.