Chapter 5
Austin
"You came for me?" she squeaks.
She shakes her head in disbelief. "I need to get some air."
I nod and step back from her. I watch as she walks over to the table where her friends are at. She grabs her purse out of the booth, and I see her pointing to where I'm standing. All eyes go to me. I wait for the judgmental looks, but all I see are smiles on their faces.
When she walks back toward me, I hold my hand out for her.
She grabs on to it, and I swear I want to pump my fist in the air right there.
It's only a small thing, but it seems like such a big step for the two of us. I make my way through the crowded room, and people part as we walk by them. I get a lot of stares, but what Ruby said earlier is true: I really don’t fit in at a place like this.
When we get outside, I let her pull me to the side of the building.
She stops. And I stop too. She stands in front of me, toe to toe.
I breathe in her sweet vanilla scent. I swear it's like coming home again.
Her hands start at my waist and climb to the swell of my chest. Her breaths are coming in and out in little pants.
I suck in a breath, loving the feel of her hands on me. Her eyes never leave mine. She’s wide-eyed, looking up at me. "If I kiss you, Austin, are you going to push me away again?"
"No, honey. I'd die about now to just have your lips on mine."
I don't know who moves first. It seems like we both do at the same time.
She goes on her tip-toes, and I reach down, our lips mashing together like a union I've never felt before. My hands stroke up and down her back before moving to each of her ass cheeks and squeezing her there. It’s too much, too fast, but how can I resist?
She's on me as if she's climbing a ladder, and I lift her up into my arms as her legs wrap around my waist. This is so much more than a kiss.
I should have known it would be like this.
I should stop, but I can't. I've wanted her for seven long damn years.
Her hips flex against mine, and my hard cock hits her right at her center.
She pushes into me, gyrating her hips back and forth.
Our clothes are the only things stopping me from taking her right now.
That thought, knowing that we're here at a club where anyone can see her, has me drawing back.
I let her body slide down mine, and she's staring back at me with wide eyes and swollen lips.
Her hands go to her mouth. "I want to go back to the hotel. "
Big fat rain drops start to fall, and there is a bolt of lightning that races through the sky.
I pull Ruby with me. She seems nervous as I pull her toward my rental car, and my stomach drops.
Please, tell me I didn’t just fuck this up.
I had planned to just be here in case she needed me, but when I saw the preppy guy in the loafers walking toward her, I knew I had to do something.
There’s no way I could just stand by while she danced with another man.
I help her inside and try to calm myself as I get around the car and into the driver's side.
She is quiet the whole way, and I try and concentrate with the windshield wipers on high.
It's a short drive, but she doesn't say a thing.
I can feel her eyes on me, but I don't say a word.
I'm on edge, and it wouldn't take much for her to push me over, for us to do something that we would never be able to take back.
When we get to the hotel, I walk her to her room. After three tries of using her key card, she finally gets the door open and stumbles in, holding it open. "Are you going to come in?"
I dig my hands into the front pockets of my jeans. If I thought pushing her away when she was 18 was hard, this is even harder. "No."
Her eyes round, and her mouth falls open before she starts to stutter. "No? No! What do you mean no? Is this a game to you, Austin? You kiss me and then turn me away?"
She looks so hurt, and that was never my plan. I never want to hurt her, but I got myself into this, and I don't know how to stop it. "Let me explain, Ruby. You've been drinking."
She puts her hand on the wall to steady herself. "I'm over 21, Austin. I don't see what the big deal is."
I’m still standing in the hallway. It's late, and I definitely don't want to wake up everyone on the floor.
I lean in and tell her thickly, "The big deal is, Ruby, that when we make love, I want you to be sober for it. I want you to remember every fucking thing about it. I don't want there to be any doubt in your mind that this, me, I am what you want. That's the big deal."
She looks up at me, stunned. I've never been a person that cusses a lot, so maybe it's my use of the F word, or maybe it's the words themselves. But she backs into the room. "You know what, Austin McCoy? You're a tease. That's what you are."
She slams the door in my face. I stare at it, fighting temptation to push my way in and take her anyway. I know I'm doing the right thing, even though it's hard. I fucked up, but I can't have one night with her. Not when I want forever.