47. Storm
Ihonestly don’t understand what she ever saw in this Evan dude. He’s a dud. Maybe it’s the height thing, he’s a few inches taller than me and I’m already fucking tall. He’s a little heftier than I am, but who am I to judge? I can eat whatever I want and not gain a pound unless I work out and bulk up. He’s also two years older than her. From what she told me about him, he seems like an asshole. Who breaks up with someone they love after they confess they’re going to meet their birth father? Jackass in my books. I don’t get how they were together for three years. Comfort? Stability?
Evan blows smoke directly in my face. I don’t think he means it, he’s a little wasted. “You really moving in with Charlotte?”
I nod, letting the cigar smoke escape my nostrils. “I am.”
He scoffs. “Pretty fucking fast if you ask me.”
I shrug. “When you know, you know.” This fucking guy better not start a fight with me. I can take him, but if they all gang up on me, I’m fucked.
Evan takes a puff off his cigar. “You love her?”
“I fell the moment she walked into my bar,” I say, meaning every word of it.
He blows smoke at me again; this time I think he did it on purpose. “She went through a lot, y’know.” He glances at Sean who steps closer, putting a hand on his chest.
“Leave it alone, man. It’s not worth it,” Sean says, jaw clenching.
Evan doesn’t listen, returning his glare to me. “You know she got drunk last night because of you.”
Because of me? She drank, breaking her three years of sobriety because of me. I didn’t know that. Why the fuck didn’t she say anything?
“Why do you think we’re outside having a breather?”
This fucking guy thinks I don’t know her history.
Evan pulls on the cigar, blowing smoke at me and Sean steps back, shaking his head. “How’s this supposed to work if you’re a bartender?”
I take a piece of the cigar from my mouth. “It’s not like I make her drinks at home. I make her coffee, black.”
Evan raises his voice, scoffing. “You smoke. She hasn’t smoked in two years.”
“Three actually,” I correct him, snarkily.
One of his friends puts his arm around his shoulders, tapping his chest. “How long have you been smoking?” his friend asks.
“Since I was sixteen.” I tilt my head up to blow smoke above me. “Filthy fucking habit, I know.”
“I won’t judge.” Ryan puts his hands up. “I’m twenty-eight and smoke more pot than I drink water.”
“You do drugs?” Evan asks.
I shake my head; he doesn’t need to know my dabble with pot on occasion or that one time I tried ecstasy. Not my finest moment, but I’d do anything to get the negative thoughts out of my head. “Never touched the stuff.”
“Neither has Charlotte,” he says with this smug attitude.
“Auden,” I spit out. He’s getting on my last nerve. I already hate the fact that I’m to blame for making her relapse, the last thing I need is for this giant fuck to act like he knows her better than I do. “You claim to know her so well, yet you always call her by the name she hates.”
Evan lets out a nervous laugh. “Because Auden is a stupid name.”
“It’s a name that she likes, it shouldn’t matter if it’s stupid or not,” I state.
Auden isn’t a stupid name, Charlotte is. I already know three Charlottes, I don’t need another one. I need an Auden. I know one Auden and she’s fine as fuck.
Evan narrows his eyes. “You think you know everything about her, don’t you?”
“I don’t.” I laugh. “We’re still getting to know each other.”
Ryan claps my back and smiles. “Why don’t we leave Charlotte out of this, hmm? This is my wedding night; you guys can fight over her sexy self tomorrow.”
Sean waggles his eyebrows. “She is really sexy. That fucking dress she has on. Is she going commando? Please tell me she is?”
I’m laughing, shaking my head. “Little black lace thong.”
“Ouff,” Sean says, winking at me.
Ryan puts a hand on his chest, his arm still around me. “Millie’s beautiful and all, I love that woman to death, but fuck. I thought Charlotte was my date the night I met Millie.” He snickers, putting a finger on his lips. “She had this little red dress on, you know the one I’m talking about?”
Sean groans. “Yes.”
Nope, I don’t like that.
“My dick got hard at first glance until Evan told me she was his girlfriend.” Ryan shrugs. “I feel bad for Millie about our meet-cute, but I love her still. Woman drives me crazy.”
They’re making this really hard not to lose my shit. Has Auden been with all of them? Should I worry about this, or trust her enough to know that she’s mine and only mine?
One of his friends sighs happily, leaning his head on Evan’s shoulder. “Charlotte in a bikini, though.”
“Charlotte naked is better,” Sean points out.
I snicker even though I cringe at his comment, holding the cigar between my teeth. “To be a fly on the wall in our bedroom.”
I hate the way her guy friends talk about her as if they’re hiding something I don’t know. There is a side of Auden I’m afraid of, the one she barely remembers. I hope one day she’ll open up about it. I know how hard it must be to have this dark side of your life you wish you could erase. I have that dark side, and I sadly have to remember it.
“Millie was going on about how I have to spice it up because of you two, by the way,” Ryan says, chuckling. “What’s your secret?”
“It’s not me.” I put my hands up. “That’s all her.”
“What? No.” Evan laughs. “She was barely wild when we had sex.”
“Because you’re boring as fuck,” Ryan says. “That’s what Millie said. Charlotte told her.”
“Aww, Evan’s a little softie in the sack,” Sean teases.
Evan shoves him. “Fuck off.”
I’m riling this guy up, and the sick, jealous side of me is loving it. Why not add some more fuel to the fire? “Look at this,” I say, keeping the cigar in my mouth and loosening my tie. I open the top buttons of my dress shirt to reveal the hickies and bite marks on my neck and shoulder. “This is nothing compared to the scratches on my back.”
“Goddamn,” Sean says, moving my shirt over some more.
I fix my shirt, leaving my tie loose right as Auden steps out and smiles at me. My red-haired angel is stunning in any form. My favorite of hers is when she lets her curls out. I love tangling my fingers in them.
“Speak of the devil,” Sean says, putting his arm out so she can curl into him. “Storm was showing us the bite marks you left on him.”
“Oh, God.” She laughs and blushes. “There wasn’t enough makeup in the world to cover up my neck this morning. But the makeup artist managed to do it.” She lifts her neck. “See, not a mark in sight.”
I stick my tongue between my teeth, leaving a kiss on her cheek. As much as I enjoy listening to these men gawk about my girl, the jealous guy in me wants to pummel each of them and gouge their eyes out. But I won’t do that, I won’t disrupt the friendship she has with these guys. She’s mine and that’s all that matters.
Sean whispers in her ear and she nods, rubbing her hand on his chest. I want to know what he said. Was he there when she relapsed? Did he help her or feed her the fucking alcohol?
Better yet, why the fuck didn’t she say anything to me about it? She could’ve called me and I would’ve spoken to her, soothed her, and helped ease her heart so she didn’t have to turn to that shit.
Fuck.
Millie staggers out of the reception hall and squeals when she spots Ryan. She jumps on his back and kisses his cheek a few times before Ryan starts to laugh. “What’re you guys doing out here? The party’s inside,” Millie whines.
Sean lets go of my girl, leaving a kiss on her temple. Just adding more fuel to the fire. “Just having a few celebratory cigars.”
Millie squeals and giggles. “Come have some shots with us.”
“All right, all right. Let’s get you inside, my little drunken princess,” Ryan teases, putting the cigar out on the bottom of his shoe.
Everyone does the same, except for me. I’m nearly finished smoking the cigar, and I don’t think going inside to watch them do shots is a good idea for Auden. Sean claps my shoulder, winking at Auden, and follows everyone inside. If it weren’t for Evan acting like the jealous ex, I could see myself being friends with this group.
“Were they nice to you?” Auden asks, curling into me.
I chuckle and take another puff, blowing the smoke away from her. “Evan asks a lot of questions.”
She groans, burying her head onto my chest. “Like what?”
“Like what color your panties are,” I joke and laugh.
She gasps. “What?”
“I’m kidding. He was just sizing me up. It’s nothing, I promise. The rest of the guys are pretty cool, though,” I say, kissing her head. “They told me how smoking you look in a bikini.”
She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, they’re all right.” Her demeanor changes and that sultry grin leaves to her face. “As badly as I want to get out of here, we can’t leave until they cut the cake. And before they do that, I want to show you something.”
“Oh? Lemme guess, those black panties?”
She takes my hand and walks toward the door. “Mm, maybe.”
I yank her hand a second to stomp on the cigar. But the words Evan said are eating away at me. You know she got drunk last night because of you. Guilt rides through me and I release the last of the smoke from my mouth, staring at her. “Wanna tell me what happened last night?”
Her face goes red and tears well in her eyes. “No,” she whispers.
“Baby.” I cradle her head. “Talk to me.”
She gulps thickly, letting a tear escape. “You’re here now, that’s all that matters.”
I shake my head, gritting my teeth. “I’m so sorry I made you do that. I will never—and I mean never—let that happen again. I’m—fuck.” I release her head and pinch my eyes shut. “I’m so sorry.”
She wraps her arms around my waist and kisses my exposed chest. “You’re my forever, Storm. But do not ever blame yourself for my fuck up. That was my decision. Sean and I went to a meeting this morning after hair and makeup. I’ll be okay, I promise.”
Sean is an all-right guy, I’ll give him that. “It’s you and me, babe. Come to me when you have a craving, okay? You went three damn years without drinking, and I broke you. I promise to heal you just like you healed me. We will thrive, okay? I will not have any more negative thoughts, just like you won’t have any more cravings—”
“—that’s a long shot—”
“We’re a long shot, but we work, babe. We fucking work,” I say and kiss her deeply.
She huffs, looking up at the sky. “I couldn’t get the image of you the morning I left out of my head. You never looked back…why didn’t you just look back?”
I pull her to me, burying my face in her neck. “If I looked back, you wouldn’t have left.”
She sniffs, pressing her lips on my neck. “I’m happy you’re here, so fucking happy, Storm.”
“Why does it sound like there’s a but coming?”
She pulls away, looking up at me. “It’s you.” She touches my face and smiles. “There is no but. Not anymore.”
I slam my lips on hers and let our tongues tangle. She is the best damn decision I have ever made. “It’s you, too, baby. Always has been.”
She giggles, wiping her cheeks and taking my hand. She pulls me inside, music thumping behind the closed doors. I think she’s taking me on the dance floor to grind up against me again—fucking tease—but she isn’t, she’s leading me toward the back of the reception hall, away from the party altogether.
It’s quiet here, no one’s around and I don’t even think we’re allowed to be here. I don’t say anything because I’ll make love to this woman anywhere she wants me to. To prove to her that I will never let her slip again. She’s better than that, and I’m an idiot to let it happen.
She looks back at me, those blue eyes smiling, and points to a closet. Classy, real classy.
“We can’t be that loud.”
She opens the door. “I know.”
It’s dark and I can’t find a light switch. The flashlight on my phone helps enough, especially when I turn it over and rest it on the shelf beside me. I take her face, kissing those gorgeous lips. It’s the type of kiss I long for. The one you need after a long day to make everything better. It sends shivers through me, rippling every muscle in my body where her fingers are exploring.
Her panties are off and she stuffs them in the pocket of my blazer, biting my lip before I let out a growl and spin her, lifting this dress I can’t wait to rip off her.
She lets out a soft moan as soon as I enter her. There isn’t enough time in a day for the things I want to do to this woman. Just the thought of her gets me excited. I tingle for her. Ache. She’s my oxygen. Without her, I can’t breathe.
And whenever she has a craving, this is exactly what I’ll do to her. She won’t want for alcohol; she’ll want for my dick. The cure to all her demons.
I know I have to make this quick in case someone barges in here, it’s highly doubtful but I can’t take that chance. I thump as hard and as rough as I can, making it harder for her to stay quiet. She lets out a couple of moans and every time she does, I slap her ass as hard as I can without hurting her so she stays quiet. It’s not working because she lets out a louder moan every time I slap her. Growls leave me the harder I thrust, we can’t stay quiet for the life of us.
“Fuck,” I let out, my voice tremors, and I grunt intensely pushing in as deep as I can. “How can you get tighter? It doesn’t make sense.”
She laughs breathlessly and looks back at me. Christ, she is beautiful.
Before we separate, the closet door opens and the pregnant bridesmaid is standing there with her arms crossed and a smile on her face. Auden pushes her lips together and pulls at my blazer to hide some of us, but it isn’t working. I laugh, tapping her bottom softly.
“You’re loud as fuck.” She tilts her head. “Anyone in the hallway can hear you.”
Auden snickers, blushing. “Sorry.”
“It’s cake time anyway, so clean up and bring that enthusiasm on the dance floor for pics,” she adds, closing the door as someone cheers on the other side of it. It sounds a lot like Sean.
“I told you to be quiet,” I say, pushing in once more and sliding out of her.
Auden fixes her dress. “No, you didn’t.”
“Every time you were too loud, I spanked you.”
She places her fists on her hips. “How’d that work out for you?”
I laugh. “It made me harder.”
She wrinkles her nose. “I like it rough, what can I say?”
“Every craving you have, I’ll spank you, then. Shit, maybe I’ll even tie you up and buy ourselves a whip and some toys.” The thought of Auden relapsing makes me want to scream. I want her to see how much it bothers me. I hope she knows I mean every word of what I said. She and I will go to meetings, we will tell our story, and I’ll sit there, cheering at every chip she gets.
She kisses me and steps toward the door as I’m doing up my pants. “I like the sound of that.”
“Wait,” I say, pulling her back to me. “One more kiss.”
She kisses me the way that kills me, the ache that craves so much more. Even when I’m kissing her, I wish I was kissing her more. I can’t get enough and it’s infuriating.
She giggles and threads her fingers with mine, leading us back to the hall where the groomsmen and bridesmaids are waiting to cut the cake. She kisses my knuckles and lets go of my hand to join her friends, standing with her legs crossed. I know that’s because I’m leaking out of her and it’s driving me wild that I am.
I can’t believe our paths crossed. I’m so happy and fortunate that they did. My depression was becoming too much. My hatred and sadness toward the world and my loss were unbearable. She made it better. She saved my fucking life that night. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that blue-eyed, red-haired angel. She’s mine.