Six
November Twentieth
Whitney
Fade: Want to come over this weekend?
Whitney: And do what?
Fade: Each other.
Fade: ??
Whitney: Sorry, I’ve been shopping.
Fade: Send a picture.
Whitney: I don’t do pictures.
Fade: So come over then.
Whitney: no.
Fade: Fucking tease.
Whitney rolled her eyes and didn’t bother responding. She grabbed her to-go box of chicken and headed home. Shianne was working tonight, and Emma was probably with Thomas. Not that it mattered, even when Emma was around, all she ever wanted to talk about was wedding plans and Thomas.
Whitney was more excited about getting into pajamas, crawling into bed, and eating her chicken strips in peace.
As for Fade? He didn’t impress her enough to justify running over to his place again anytime soon. Sure, she liked him. They got along. And maybe there was potential in the bedroom, though there was definitely room for improvement in the stamina department.
Was his ex the only girl he’d been with? The questions rattled through her mind, but she brushed them off. Tonight was about her and not Fade, not his ex, and definitely not their lack of longevity between the sheets.
November Twenty-Fourth
Whitney
Whitney gazed out at the crowd at Community Day. “You know, if it wasn’t for the free food, I’m not sure why you even come to these things. Wolfboy’s not coming. He hasn’t shown up in years, why would he start now?”
Shianne popped a grape into her mouth, eyes scanning the crowd. “He said he might.”
Whitney raised a brow. “You’re still talking after what happened last month?”
“He said he’d prefer if we pretend it didn’t happen since it was, you know, embarrassing for both of us.”
Shianne set her phone face down on the table with a sigh. “What about you and that coworker? Anything happen there?”
Whitney shrugged. “I haven’t heard from him in a few days. Not sure he’s my type.”
It was a lie. She was trying to shut down whatever this thing was between them, pushing aside the way he got under her skin, the way she kept thinking about him. Even when she wanted to stay away, something kept pulling her back.
Shianne frowned. “Oh. I thought you guys were gonna be a thing.”
“No.”
Whitney avoided her gaze. “There were sparks, but no fuel.”
Another lie.
There was an ocean of fuel. She was just too scared to light the match. Because once it was burning, there’d be no going back. And if she was honest with herself, she was afraid it had already started. Her phone buzzed on the table.
Fade: What are you up to?
Whitney: I’m at the community event thing.
Fade: Already moving on?
Whitney: Moving on from what?
Fade: What we started.
She didn’t reply. Just set her phone down and went to toss her plate. He might not have lasted long, but she knew she wasn’t done with him. Standing in the drink line, she thought about the last time they were here and the first time they’d officially met. It would be more fun if he was here. She liked his company more than she cared to admit. And it drove her crazy how easily just thinking about him turned her on.
Fade
He tossed his phone on the bed and scowled at the ceiling, waiting for her response. Why was she there? Was she not interested anymore? Was he a one-and-done in her eyes? The memory of her hands in his hair flashed through his mind. The way she moaned his name, the pizza guy knocking for the fourth time while she finished. He smirked.
She was hot. And he didn’t want her out where every guy on the island was looking. He didn’t want to claim her, they weren’t a couple, but the idea of sharing her? It made his blood pressure spike. He wanted to see where they stood. See if they could agree on a friends-with-benefits situation. But, as usual, she left him hanging.
He grabbed his phone again.
Fade: Did you not have fun?
Whitney: What makes you think I didn’t have fun?
Fade: Maybe because you’re dragging those pretty little feet back over here.
Whitney: Do you have a foot kink or something?
Fade: Are you looking for someone with a foot kink?
Whitney: What if I am?
Fade: I think I could handle that.
Whitney: Honestly, I don’t think you can handle what I want.
Fade audibly laughed before responding.
Fade: I doubt that, you’re ninety pounds soaking wet.
He knew she had an attitude problem and she could be enough to keep him entertained for a while.
Whitney: Not even close.
Fade: Might as well be.
Fade: When did you want to come over again?
November Twenty-th
Whitney: Maybe tomorrow.
Fade: What?
Whitney: You asked when you wanted me to come over again.
Fade: Yeah and then you left me hanging, like usual.
Whitney: Right, like it’s me everytime. Do you want me to come over or not?
Fade: Yeah.
He stood in the bedding aisle, staring at the shelves. He tossed a black set into the cart next to a generic piece of wall art. She was right, his room did look like a damn dorm. Even though he was still pissed about Community Day, he found himself wanting to impress her.
A soft red blanket caught his eye, and he threw it in the cart. Then a fake plant. It was a start.
November Twenty-Seventh
Whitney
Whitney adjusted her dress as she slid into the passenger seat. “Right on time.”
Fade forced a smile. “Of course.”
She glanced over. “What are we eating?”
“Whatever you want.”
His hand stayed high on the wheel, his mood unreadable. He looked good, hair down, shirt tight over his chest. But something was off.
Her phone dinged.
Shianne: Did you leave?
Whitney: Yes, I’m with that guy, Fade.
Her phone dinged again the moment she positioned it face down in her lap.
Shianne: Are you coming back early tonight?
Whitney: Most likely.
She smirked at her little joke to herself and placed her phone back into her bag before exiting the car after he put it into park. Fade silently pressed his hand on her lower back, guiding her into his apartment. Opening the door to his bedroom she saw a new bed cover and wall art that hadn’t been hung up yet. “Wow, look at you.”
She set her bag down.
He closed the door behind him. “roommates home.”
Fade sighed, “Yeah, figured I could liven the place up.”
Whitney sat in the chair near the desk again, with no intention of staying seated, but to take her shoes off, making herself at home.
“How was Community Day?”
He mocked, leaning against the desk to hover over her.
She pulled the second shoe off and responded with a question after picking up his tone. “Fine?”
“You find someone better?”
She snorted, knowing that would be hard to do. “No.”
Whitney looked up at him and adjusted her head back more as she noticed the tension on his face.
He shifted his weight and stared at the wall across from them. “Sure, that was probably who you were messaging in the car.”
“You think I was messaging a guy in the car?”
She blinked, almost amused.
All he could do was shrug, lips still tight.
Whitney was shocked, her mouth a gape. “Are you kidding me? That was my roommate.”
She was in disbelief that he was expressing these feelings of jealousy after being together only one night.
“Right.”
His glare continued ahead, arms crossed.
“Did you bring me over here to just belittle me?”
She stood barefoot and faced him, meeting his eyes as he continued to mimic a brick wall. “I do not have to report back to you! I have lived my life with men telling me what to do, you’re not going to walk into my life just to be another one. If I want to go somewhere, I go. If I want to talk to someone, I do. I have nothing to hide and no reason to lie. I’m an honest person, so if you don’t trust me, that’s on you.”
Her fist tightened as her toes grazed his boots.
“I’m just telling you how it looks.”
His serious gaze lined up with hers.
Whitney’s eyes narrowed. “And how is that?”
“We fuck and you move on, I’m surprised you messaged me, let alone came back.”
“Move on? Is that what you think of me? I’m just whoring around trying to sleep with everyone on the island?”
“You were at an event for singles.”
“What? Are you serious right now? We aren’t even a couple and I had a terrible time!”
Fade’s eyes rolled to the side. “Now you’re going to act all innocent? How many guys were trying to get with you?”
“None!”
Her brow pinched down. “I wasn’t looking.”
Fade scoffed. “Then why did you go to Community Day?”
Whitney met her breaking point. “Fucking Shianne wanted to go! And guess what? I thought about you the whole fucking time!”
She gritted her teeth grabbing her phone from her bag. “Damn it Fade, you’re all I can think about, I like you and I don’t want to.”
Whitney flipped her phone around showing him the recent messages, fumbling her phone into his chest. “See, you asshole!”
His shoulder softened and he opened his arms, not to catch her phone but her. He pulled Whitney into him by her waist as her phone fell to the floor, kissing her hard. Fade backed her to the bed and observed her wild expression of anger hanging over her. “This doesn’t fix what you said about me.”
She dug her elbows into the mattress to prop herself up. “You think I am just lying to you.”
He smirked and removed his shirt, watching Whitney’s eyes drop down to his chest and arms. “I think I can find something that can fix it.”
He crawled over her, guiding his hand up her leg.
“No,”
She playfully pushed it back. “I want an apology.”
Fade balanced over her, getting a glimpse of her red lacy underwear. “A what?”
His thick calloused hand tugged the fabric down to her knees while he watched her body move.
“An apol–”
He shoved his lips to hers to shut her up. Whitney allowed his tongue in her mouth as he propped himself over her, sinking one hand into his mattress. His other hand rubbed softly between her legs until she shifted and he hooked two fingers inside her.
Her hands felt his body, catching her off guard by the metallic touch of his nipple rings before moving up his shoulders and into the nape of his neck. She grabbed his hair in her fist for revenge. The side of Fade’s lip rose as he peered down at her, his grip tightening inside her. Whitney cranked his head backwards kissing down his neck and giving a little bite, not feeling him flinch at all. Trying to find a weak spot, she made her way to his nipple and flicked it with her tongue. She noticed his stomach tighten and continued playing with his nipple ring, enough to distract him from his grasp.
She shoved his shoulders back to the mattress and straddled him, causing her tight dress to spring up her thighs as they spread. Whitney kissed him placing fingers on both nipples and felt him twitch under her, she pulled away, knowing it would be more of a tease to come and go. Her hands grabbed the bunched up fabric at her hips and peeled her dress off, tossing it to the floor. Fade’s hands moved over her stomach and breasts. She leaned back over to his lips and shoved hers into his. Reaching in between them she began stroking him, feeling the throbs through the material. Rocking her hips into his, he ripped his jeans down.
Whitney sat up and looked down at him. “You know what I want.”
She felt him pressed up to her and knew he felt how wet she was for him.
He thrust his hips down into the mattress and lifted her, springing upward and suddenly inside of her. “I’m sorry.”
He smirked. Her hands found his chest as she moaned in surprise, digging her nails into him, making sure to catch them on his nipple.
She looked down at him. “Shut up and choke me.”