Chapter Sixteen
Annie
Tears sting behind my eyes, so I turn away and face the bar, noticing my orange juice waiting for me. I take a sip through the bright straw just as one escapes, sliding down my cheek.
I quickly wipe it away, glancing back at Aston and his new best friend.
The anger fades, replaced by something heavier—a hollow, sinking feeling. Doubt creeps in, twisting tight in my chest. Why did I let him kiss me? We’re about to make it big, and there will be women throwing themselves at him everywhere we go.
How am I supposed to compete with that?
I’m not special. Not stunning. I’ve got issues—anger, attitude… baggage.
Why would he choose me when he could have anyone?
God, I didn’t think this through at all.
Another tear slips free, and I swipe it away as the stool beside me scrapes loudly across the floor, and Ella drops down next to me.
“Today was incredible. Tonight? Unreal. Best night of our lives, and you’re over here crying into orange juice?”
I sniff. “I’m fine. Probably just hormones or something.”
She gives me a look. “I’m not stupid, Annie. I know you.”
“Oh yeah? What does the prologue say?”
She grins. “Best friends turn into something more. Then the guy gets attention from someone else, and the girl spirals, thinking she’s not good enough.”
I huff out a laugh. “And the epilogue?”
“The sister smacks him upside the head, he realizes he’s an idiot, kisses the girl senseless, and they live happily ever after.”
“If only it worked like that.”
“You do realize he’s not flirting back, right?” she says, squeezing my hand. “He’s not touching her. Not even really looking at her. He’s not interested in Amber. He’s interested in you. He always has been.”
I hesitate, then glance back over.
Now that she’s said it…
Yeah, she’s right.
“I love you, sis,” Ella adds softly. “And you didn’t hear this from me, but… rules are meant to be broken.”
I gasp dramatically. “Who are you and what have you done with my sister?”
She laughs. “Seriously. Dad’s being overprotective. Don’t let him ruin this for you.”
I nod slowly, my gaze drifting back to Aston.
He’s definitely not interested in Amber Leopard Print Pants.
“Right, I’m going to mingle. Go talk to Guy. He’ll cheer you up.”
“Thanks, Elle’s Bells.”
“That’s what family’s for.” She kisses my forehead, steals a sip of my drink, and disappears into the crowd.
I watch Aston for a moment longer. More of Red Velvet have joined him now, and he’s talking mostly with the guys. I smile faintly, then grab my drink and move to one of the red sofas, sinking into it and taking in the room.
Socializing has never been my thing. Crowds? Fine.
Conversations? Not so much.
I prefer observing and watching people.
It’s like Animal Planet, predictable and entertaining. One person always wants the other more, and you can see it all over their face. Like the brunette currently trying to pick up Caleb. She’s pretty, sure, but not his type. She’s trying too hard, and he’s already checked out.
I shake my head, taking another sip, when a sharp tingle runs over my skin.
I glance toward Amber.
Aston’s gone.
“Psst… Lennox.”
I spin around. “Aston?”
Nothing.
Then his head pops out from behind a partition I hadn’t even noticed before. He grins and curls his finger, beckoning me over. I glance around. Dad’s busy talking to Guy and the rest of Peripheral.
Perfect.
I set my drink down and slip around the partition where Aston’s waiting. The second he sees me, he grabs my arm and pulls me in. A laugh escapes me as my heart jumps into overdrive, that familiar flutter sweeping through me. He backs me up against the wall, his body pressed flush to mine.
“I’ve wanted to do this all day,” he murmurs, and then his mouth is on mine.
The kiss is instant.
My hands slide up his arms, into his hair, holding him there as I melt into him.
This isn’t like last night.
This is stronger, deeper.
He presses me harder against the wall, surrounding me, and I don’t fight it. I lean into it, giving him exactly what he’s asking for.
A soft sound escapes me, and he chuckles, easing back slightly.
Too soon.
He rests his forehead against mine, both of us breathing hard.
“I missed you,” he whispers, brushing his lips against mine again.
“I missed you too… and I may have been imagining ripping Amber’s hair extensions out while you were talking to her,” I admit.
He pulls back, eyebrow raised, clearly amused. “You were jealous?”
I glance down, nodding just slightly.
“Really?” he says, sounding far too pleased with himself.
“Aston,” I warn, looking back up at him.
He laughs softly. “Sorry. Just… no one’s ever been jealous over me before. It’s kinda nice.”
I smack his arm. “Wasn’t nice for me.”
His expression softens before he leans his forehead against mine again. “Annie Slade… there’s only ever been one girl for me.”
My breath catches as I look into his eyes. “If you turn that into a joke,” I murmur, “I will knee you.”
“This isn’t something to joke about, Annie. You’re it for me. You always have been… and you always will be.”
His words hit me right in the chest. I lean in and kiss him softly. When I pull back, our lips barely parted, I whisper, “What about Dad?”
“We’ll figure it out, Lennox,” he murmurs. “Every chance I get, I’ll be with you. I promise.”
My stomach flips, light and giddy. “You promise?”
He nods, his gaze steady on mine.
“But I don’t want to sneak around all the time,” I say quietly. “Why were you acting like that today?”
He exhales, glancing around the corner before answering, “Because when your dad answered the door, he made it very clear I wasn’t to go near you. At all.”
My brows pull together. “What did he say?”
Aston huffs out a breath. “That if I did… I’d regret it. Big time. Not going into all the specifics, but castration was mentioned.” He laughs.
I roll my eyes. “He’s such a lunatic.”
“Hey,” Aston says gently, cupping my face. “He’s just protective. It worked for a bit, yeah… but I’m done staying away from you.” Relief floods through me. “I want to be able to be near you,” he continues softly. “To play with you like we always do. To be… us.”
My chest tightens in the best way.
He shifts closer, his body pressing lightly into mine again, and everything in me sparks back to life.
Then he parts my legs with his knee by moving his leg right in between mine, so his thigh is pressed against the center of my legs.
I gasp as his mouth comes back to mine and he slowly rubs his thigh against me, making everything throb in such a way that I want more.
“I just won’t push it in front of your dad,” he adds, his voice dropping.
Before I can respond, his mouth finds mine again.
The kiss is deeper this time. Slower, but no less intense.
My mouth opens, and our tongues dance together while Aston’s hands run through my hair and down to caress my face.
The loud noise of the after-party fades into the background, and all I can hear is my heart thrashing in my chest. Every part of me is aching in a good way.
I have never really thought about sex before, but right now I am definitely thinking about it.
I notice Aston’s boner rubbing against my leg, and I realize what I am feeling is turned on.
I’m actually horny, and I get now why everyone loves this feeling so much.
“Mmm,” I moan into his mouth as his kissing and rubbing become more forceful.
We’re both breathing heavily out of our noses, trying to inhale some oxygen into our lungs between the frantic kissing. This is definitely hormone-fueled snogging, and I know we’re both feeling as turned on as each other.
His hand moves from my face, down my neck to my shoulder. I’m pretty sure his hands are trembling, but I don’t mind. I think I’m shaking all over as well. He slowly edges his hand downward, and he stops just above my breast. He breaks the kiss for a second and looks into my eyes.
“Is this okay with you?” he asks, and he starts to edge his hand down my chest and over the top of my breast. I’m breathing rapidly, and right now I want him to touch me everywhere, so I nod, and he smiles.
“Lennox, I need you to tell me it’s okay,” he says, and then I smile at him and take his hand, placing it on my breast.
“Touch me, Aston. Please,” I whisper, and he gently caresses my breast, and it feels awesome.
My nipples harden, and the throbbing between my legs is becoming unbearable as his lips crash back to mine.
I feel like I should be doing something to make him feel as good as he’s making me feel.
But, to be honest, I’m enjoying this too much to take any of my concentration away from the feelings engulfing me.
He lifts his leg higher, and the tension between my legs is easing slightly with his rubbing.
I don’t know how he knows how to do all this. But I’m sure glad that he does.
His tongue dances against mine, and a tingle starts to run from the bottom of my spine all the way up to the tips of my hair. It feels fantastic, and I know that I want to do this with him as much as possible. He starts to ease the kiss and pulls his leg down away from me, and I pout at the loss.
“Don’t stop,” I whisper against his lips, and he chuckles.
“I have to now, Lennox, or I won’t be able to stop at all,” he says, taking a step back from me and rearranging his dick in his pants.
I bite my bottom lip and giggle to myself that he got hard because of me. “So what would you do next if you couldn’t stop?” I ask, and he raises an eyebrow and smirks.
“Well, I’d kiss your neck and bite on your ear, while my hand traveled down between your thighs.” He stops stepping back, but stays close to me and leans in, so I can feel his breath on my face.
My heart is racing as he talks to me, and every part of me is tingling.
“Then I would gently rub your clit while kissing you hard, and I’d be able to feel you pulse around me,” he says, and I open my eyes wide at his dirty talk.
I can’t help but bite my lip as I imagine him doing exactly what he’s saying.
“I would work you up till you’re panting my name, and finger you gently while rubbing your clit with my thumb.
Then I’d kiss you hard as you come all over my fingers.
Then, Annie, I would hold you while you recovered and do it all over again, making you scream my name like you mean it.
So I know how much you want me,” he says, and then leans in, kissing me hard and biting my bottom lip.
I gasp at how easily this all comes to him. I’ve never done any of this stuff, but right now he’s making me want to do it all with him. “How do you know what to do?” I ask, and he chuckles.
“Caleb,” is all he says, and then he leans in, kissing me again as I chuckle.
Of course, he gave Aston pointers. He’s probably given them to Chad as well.
Oh God, I hope Caleb doesn’t know what Aston plans to do with me. How embarrassing!
Aston pulls back from the kiss and looks me in the eyes. Every single inch of my skin is burning red hot. I love the way Aston is holding me right now. He almost has to hold me up because my knees aren’t doing such a good job of supporting me anymore.
“Aston,” I murmur, and he looks into my eyes and smiles.
“Yeah, Lennox?”
“Can you kiss me for a little while longer?”
“Sure thing, but this time I’m only going to kiss ‘cause trying to stop myself from touching you even more will be too hard.”
“Then touch me even more,” I whisper, feeling embarrassed that I even said that.
He chuckles. “Oh, I will, Annie, trust me, I will. But not here and not tonight. I’m not rushing into this with you.
You mean too much to me to let me go all in, even though every part of me wants to.
I want to take my time with you and cherish your body by worshipping you and the ground you walk on.
You mean everything to me, and I do not want to fuck this up by moving too quickly,” he says, and my heart races and explodes at the thought of him with me.
As much as I want to race to the finish line with Aston right this minute, I think for the sake of our friendship, going slow is the best idea.
Plus, this is all new to me, and I have no idea what I’m doing, so some guidance would be great.
I swallow hard and look down at the floor. “I’ve never done anything like this before, Aston. I don’t know what I’m doing or how to do it,” I admit, and he smiles and lifts my head by my chin so I look directly into his eyes.
“I don’t know how to do anything either, Annie.
I’m learning just like you are. The only difference is that I’ve done research and talked to Caleb about it.
Let me take the lead, and I’ll tell you what and how to do things, okay?
” he asks. I nod, and he smiles. “We’ll just take this really slow.
I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do or that you don’t feel safe doing,” he says, and I nod again.
He leans in and gently kisses me again while he pins me to the wall.
And right now, at this moment, things couldn’t be more perfect.
Strange and unknown… but perfect!