Chapter 27 #2
The table is clear, the dishes are running in the dishwasher, and this is usually the part of the evening where we part ways to do our various nighttime activities before going to sleep in our separate rooms.
But that was before we started this friends with benefits business. Now…I don’t know how to act. He made me dinner, gave me time to relax, and now he’s looking at me like he wants to help me relax even further. And I want that too, more than fucking anything.
I open my mouth to say something flirty–which probably wouldn’t have been–but the feeling of vibration cuts me off.
The name that flashes on my phone gives my heart a brief stutter but I suppress it. Holding my phone up, I show him who’s calling.
“You should take that,” he says, disappointment heavy in his face.
“Yeah,” I say. I look back and forth between his eyes a few times before moving around him into my bedroom and closing the door. I hit accept at just the last minute and hold back my sigh.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Danika! Why haven’t you called me? I’ve been worried. You’ve been ignoring me.”
I roll my eyes, laying down on my bed. Might as well get cozy, this is going to be a long conversation. “I haven’t been ignoring you, Mom. I’ve been very busy with school work.”
“If you’re too busy to call your own mother then you need to rethink your schedule. Maybe you’re taking on too much.”
“I’m not–Mom, what’s up? How are you?” Turning the conversation toward her always gets the heat off of me. But it does open up a can of worms I’m pretty much never ready to open.
“Oh, honey. I’ve been very busy. There’s so much to do before the holidays and I have…
” I’m sure she’s talking about her shopping addiction.
I put the phone on speaker and rest it on my stomach.
The ceiling looks so interesting right now.
Much more interesting than whatever she’s blabbering on about.
“And your father wants—”
“I don’t care what my father wants,” I say, sharply.
“Danika, stop it. Hasn’t it been enough with you two?”
“You know how I feel about it, Mom, and if you’re going to talk to me about him then I’m hanging up the phone.”
“Stop being such a child, Danika, he’s your fath—” Cutting her off with that big beautiful red button, I breathe out a sigh of relief.
She won’t call me back. But I will get an earful about this the next time we do talk.
But she knows I don’t want anything to do with the man that contributed half of my DNA.
It’s bad enough that I need to go back there on holidays and watch him verbally and mentally abuse my mother.
I refuse to let her vent to me about it.
I’ve offered her help for years. I’ve offered to go with her to therapy, to help her find someplace else to live, even if she wanted to come up by TU, I would’ve found us an apartment off campus together but no.
She’s refused me every single time so this is what she gets.
She made her bed with Kevin and now she has to lie in it.
I scroll mindlessly through my phone for a while to get my mind off of that conversation.
Half of me wants to go back out there and see if Arden is still around but after that conversation, I’m not exactly in the mood to do much.
When I do peek my head out of my door, all the lights are off except the one under Arden’s door so I guess he’s in for the night as well.
Tiptoeing into the bathroom, I do my nighttime routine and then creep back to my room.
Guess I’ll just catch up on some much needed sleep.
Turns out, after reading a bit of a romance novel that Margot lent me last year, I am in the mood for some…intimacy. How does one initiate sex with a friends-with-benefits-
fake-boyfriend-slash-roommate? Do they make self-help books for this? I should look into it. I’ll bet someone has a tiktok series on it. They make videos about anything.
Just get up and go to his room. You know he wants you there. Damn you, devil.
Throwing the blanket off, I give myself a once over in the mirror.
My booty shorts are pink with red hearts and my tank top is plain white but my nipples are showing through it, so that’s probably fine.
My hair is a mess but I can’t be bothered to fix it up so I opt to run a brush through it quickly and then I head toward the door.
As I open my door, I see Arden standing immediately outside of his door on the opposite side of the apartment. Either he was about to go in or he was about to come to my room. I hope it’s the latter.
He’s in nothing but boxers and my mouth dries at the sight of him.
“Hi.” I give a small wave from my doorway. “Going somewhere?”
Arden cracks a smile. “Are you going somewhere?”
“I asked you first.”
He gives me a cheeky grin and I want to slap him and then kiss the shit out of him. “Oh, I was just going to get some water,” he says, walking toward the kitchen. “You?”
“I forgot to brush my teeth,” I say, totally casually. We cross paths to our destinations but we don’t touch. I rush into the bathroom and shut the door, leaning against it. I already brushed my teeth, of course, and he probably knows that but for some reason I couldn’t think of a better excuse.
I run the sink for a second just to keep my story going but I know I need to get back out there soon. He’s waiting for me.
The anticipation builds in my stomach. I’m going to have sex with my best friend’s older brother, the guy I've been crushing on since I was in junior high. Is this real?
As I leave the bathroom, Arden is coming around the kitchen island, cup of water in hand. Oh, maybe he really did just come out here for water.
When he sees me, he puts the cup down, grabs my waist and hauls me against him. He kisses me fiercely and any doubts that he wants me tonight fly out the window. I kiss him back, with great enthusiasm and let him back me toward his bedroom door which he left open.
I haven’t spent much time in Arden’s room since I moved in. No time, really. What reason would I have to go in there? It’s not like we’re sharing clothes. I don’t really think lacey pink is his color. But you never know.
I don’t look at my surroundings. I truly don’t care what the place looks like.
All I want to see is the bed. Before we get there, he uses the hands he has braced on my hips to haul me up onto his, my legs wrapping around his back.
The position brings my center directly on top of his and I can feel his desire for me.
It brings a flush to my cheeks and I’m glad his lips are buried in my neck so he can't see it.
Gently and with the strength of an Olympic athlete–in my opinion, Arden slowly gets down on his knees and places me sitting on the edge of the bed, my feet grazing the floor. He pulls the loose cami over my head before kissing me again, lightly. Then he leans back on his heels, taking me in.
Suddenly, I want to hide. I’ve never been shy before. Not with people I’ve slept with. But Arden is not just any lover. He’s…Arden.
Without thinking, I attempt to cover myself with my hands but he’s catching them before I can.
“Don’t you dare,” he says, kissing both palms. “You’re fucking stunning, Danika.”
There goes that blush again, no hiding it this time.
Arden smiles sexily when he sees the way he affects me.
He places my hands down onto the bed and leans forward, placing the gentliest kiss on each of my breasts.
Then, he takes one in his mouth, gripping tightly to the other and I roll my head back with pleasure.
I love the way he handles me. Equal parts sweet and salty.
Arden looks up at me and his dark eyes are like spirals of desire.
God, he is so fucking handsome. Especially with his mouth on my chest. He switches positions, giving each breast equal attention.
I’m loving the affection he’s giving me but I’m getting so impatient. I just need him inside of me, now.
I pull him up by the neck and attack his mouth with a vigor he was not expecting.
While we kiss, I reach down and push his underwear down.
He quickly understands my direction and helps me out.
Once he’s completely naked, I push back, using his chest as a kickboard to push myself back further onto the bed.
My foot rests against his chest and he looks down at it. “This isn’t going to keep me away from you.” He grabs my ankle, holding it tightly. Holding it up, he places gentle kisses up my ankle up to my calf, then my inner thigh and my legs shake from the sensation of his soft breaths on my skin.
As he moves up my body, he kneels on the bed, bringing himself all the way up until he’s floating over me. His forearms are on either side of my head and it’s clear that he doesn’t want to put his whole weight on me.
I mean, he’s a big guy but I’m no shrimp. With a sneaky grin, I take my legs and wrap them around his waist, pulling his bare core directly against mine.
Arden hisses in a sharp breath at the contact.
“Brat,” he warns. “You’re being greedy.”
Smiling, I place wet kisses along his neck. “No, I’m not.” I tighten my legs, bringing him even closer to me, and he laughs through a groan.
“Danika,” he breathes my name and I could break from the sound alone. “Dani,” he says again, like a whine. A plea.
“Yes, Arden?” I reply sweetly.
“Tell me what you want, baby.” He’s trying to hold his composure but I’m rubbing up against him and I can tell it’s taking all the willpower he has not to push his way home.
“I want you to get a condom.”
Like a flash of lightning, Arden is up grabbing a condom from his bedside table and then he’s back in the exact same position.
As he does, I pull my shorts off, not waiting to waste a second.
He pushes back onto his heels and sheathes himself before falling back over me.
We could ignite this way, just like this, but that’s not what I want. No, he’s been in control way too long.
With a vicious grin, I push his chest so that he falls off me and onto his back. He has no time to complain about the movement because in his next breath, I’m placing myself over him, lining us up perfectly.
“Tell me what you want,” I taunt him, hovering over him. He grabs my waist to anchor me but I know he’s waiting until I give the okay.
“I want you, brat. Now.” Say no more. I take a seat and am immediately filled to the brim. He feels so right inside of me. So complete. I don’t even think I need to move to finish this way. But I do, shifting up and down, leaning down so our noses touch.
“God, you’re so perfect. Beautiful, stunning, perfect,” he murmurs as I move over him.
I kiss his neck and let his words sink in.
I’m so close and I can tell he’s close too, the friction bringing us both close to the brink.
Arden moves his hand between us to give my center the attention its craving and I moan against his neck. “That’s it, baby. Yes.”
I keep up the momentum and so does he as we both inch closer and closer to the edge. “Yes,” I echo and I feel the tension building, ready to release. “Fuck, yes.”
“Yes, baby.” Arden’s body tenses up and so does mine. We’re about to explode at the exact same time and I can’t believe anything has ever felt this good. “Fuck, Dani, yes. Yes, you’re–”
I explode and he explodes, and I want to melt into a puddle of pleasure against his chest but as he finishes, a word sneaks out of his mouth that causes my entire body to tense.
“Mine.”