Chapter 10 Annalise
Chapter ten
Annalise
Brunch plans turn into lunch plans by the time our group is all up and functioning.
“I’m never drinking again,” James groans as we all walk out to the parking lot.
“How late did you stay out?”
“Antonio, Sasha, and I shut the bar down, but apparently, they were drinking something magical called water in between drinks, and no one thought to share with me.”
Antonio snorts, “Oh, I’m sure the water was in short supply wherever you wandered off to.”
We all pile into James’s car and head to Ray’s, a cute retro diner that the locals try to keep secret, as James tells us about the girl he almost left with that he is pretty sure is the one—except he forgot to get her phone number at the end of the night.
We barely wait two minutes before we’re being seated in a large U-shaped booth.
“You should have seen the way Lucas lost his shit right after you left last night,” Matt beams. “I swear it was almost as satisfying as if I got to hit him myself.”
“Nooo, seriously? What happened? Who pissed him off?” I jump at the drama because anything that makes Lucas miserable makes me happy. I don’t care how petty that makes me.
Everyone at the table looks at me like I’ve just asked the dumbest question imaginable.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say it wasn’t anything that the poor guy that met his fists did…” Suggests Antonio.
“Okay, so what was it?” I push.
“Probably him seeing who you left with, since it started right as you were walking out the door?”
“Why would Lucas care who I left with? What am I not getting here?” I can’t hide my confusion. We have hated each other for so long; there is no love lost between us.
“Oh, babe,” Sasha’s soft tone immediately has me nervous. “Please tell me you knew who Aiden was before you left with him.”
I stare at her, waiting for more information as I sip my sweet tea.
With a gentleness only Sasha can achieve, she admits, “Uhm…Lee, Aiden is Lucas’s best friend.”
Water goes down the wrong pipe, and I’m coughing like crazy as Matt chokes on air beside me.
“I’m sorry, say that last part again?”
Bravo Company. Tattooed. Of course, he is Lucas’s friend Aiden. I hadn’t just seen him walking around campus; he was the last guy who joined Lucas’s friends while I had my nice chat with Lucas in the mess hall last weekend. That’s where I recognized him from.
James laughs. “Oh my gosh. You really didn’t know before you left with him?”
“I can honestly say I didn’t know until thirty seconds ago.” My palms connect with my face, both punishing and trying to hide the shame.
Matt waves down the waitress and orders two tequilas on the rocks. “You okay?” He asks when he turns back to me, pulling me into his side.
“I’m fine,” I say, though the words come out shakier than I want. “I—need a second.”
Matt hands me one of the drinks when our waitress returns. “I’m sure you need more than this, but it’s a start.” Then he downs the other.
Sasha leans in. “Okay, you spill first, then we’ll tell you what you missed. I lost you for a bit when I got back to the table, and next time I saw you, bam, you're pressed up against a Tattooed God, looking like you’re two seconds from climbing him and letting him take you right then and there.”
Antonio cuts in, suggesting we save the details of the rest of my night for girl time.
“Fiiine,” she dramatically concedes. Then, perking up like she is about to tell the most exciting story of her life, she continues, “Ok, so as soon as you left, Lucas got into a crazy fight with this tall, bulky guy with veins popping out of his shaved head.”
“Pretty sure the guy lives on steroids and protein powder, but Lucas was so pissed—” Antonio adds before noticing Sasha’s death glare aimed directly toward him.
“As I was saying…Tables were getting knocked over, a chair was thrown against the wall.”
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” I exclaim, but I already know that had to have been the crash we heard when we were walking out the door. He must have looked to check out who Aiden was leaving with after he said goodbye, and then lost his shit when he realized it was me.
“Just wait, there’s more…” Sasha continues, “So these two are yelling and shoving at each other, Lucas is slurring and yelling something along the lines of ‘I’ll show him’.
“And then Lucas starts pummeling him. Like twenty other people jumped in, and it became a full-on bar brawl.” Sasha’s voice is vibrating with excitement.
“Baldy got in one good hit that we could see before Lucas knocked him out.” Antonio continues.
“The bouncers turned on all the lights so they could see everyone in the fight and kicked everyone out that they could get a hold of,” Sasha says, “but we saw Lucas sneak out the side door before they got to him.”
“Oh my gods,” I stare blankly at them all as the reality of my actions starts setting in.
“Maybe Lucas was too drunk to remember? Or maybe it was a booze fueled reaction, and he’ll move on?” Sasha suggests.
I exhale slowly, trying to cling to the false hope Sasha is trying to give me, even though I know it’s a lost cause. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
Based on one look at Matt, I know he isn’t buying it either, but instead of saying so, he pulls me to lean on his shoulder while we wait for our food.
There is no chance Lucas will drop this.
Alone in my room, I can still feel the echo of Aiden’s fingers digging into my hips, taste the liquor on his tongue, and smell his intoxicating woodsy cologne while he held me on the dance floor.
Tomorrow, I’ll forget Aiden exists and make a plan to avoid him and Lucas at all costs.
But right now?
Now I crawl into bed and replay every second of our night.
My hands running through his hair again when he had me pinned against the wall.
Every circle I make on my clit is him working me into a frenzy in the backseat of the taxi.
Every thrust of my fingers is his fingers stretching me, soaking me, and getting me ready to take him as I’m bent over the desk.
It’s not enough. I scramble to get my purple vibrator, needing more than I can give myself.
Pumping in and out and pressing it against my g-spot, I come with his name falling from my lips.
Even still, it might be the worst orgasm I’ve ever given myself, and I’m not sure if it’s because I just got off thinking about someone I should hate, or because, despite knowing last night can never happen again, I’m still wishing I could have the real thing right now.