21. Parker
21
PARKER
D ylan is staring at me like I’ve got three heads. It was not my intention to stop the elevator and have this conversation with her tonight, but with just enough tequila flowing through me, I have no choice. We spent all night dancing closer than “friends” typically dance with each other, so now feels like as good a time as ever.
I’m tired of walking on eggshells. And I’m especially tired of her believing something that’s not true.
“Talk about what?” She crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts together in a way that accentuates them more than they’ve already been highlighted in that dress.
“God, you’re beautiful,” I sigh.
Her eyes follow my line of sight, and she rolls her eyes but keeps her arms where they are. “Thank you. But I’m guessing that’s not what you wanted to talk about.”
I clear my throat and force my gaze up to hers. “No, it’s not. There’s something I haven’t been completely honest about.”
She narrows her eyes, staying silent. She points her chin down and raises her brows, expecting me to continue. The look is deadly, and I instantly feel ten times smaller. Lying these past few months has been completely and utterly painful, and it’s taken everything in me not to tell her the truth.
“Olivia and I aren’t together. We haven’t been for months. I’m very much single.”
Confusion flickers across her face as she processes what I’m saying. I swallow a feeling of relief that she doesn’t seem mad, but I don’t allow myself to get too comfortable with the feeling. I fidget my fingers behind my back, awaiting her response.
“I’m confused.” She cocks her head.
I power on, ready for the truth to be on the table. “I let you think I was in a relationship because Blake convinced me it was a good idea. I know now that I was an idiot for listening to him. He has no idea what he’s talking about. He said that being in a relationship would make you want me more. But he’s a dickhead that has no leg to stand on when it comes to relationship advice. It’s been killing me not to tell you the truth these past couple of months. Especially after seeing how upset you were with me.”
Her eyes fill with tears, and I exhale, emptying my lungs of any air. Fuck, this is going so much worse than I thought it would. I expected anger, rage, yelling–not sadness. The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint her.
“Why would you lie to me?” Her voice breaks. She looks like a porcelain doll, so fragile and breakable, and it feels like a punch to the gut.
“Why do you think?” I throw my hands up, exasperated. She flinches, and I run a palm down my face. I wasn’t expecting to do the whole confession tonight, but there’s no going back now. I need to tell her the entire truth, or else I risk losing her forever. I’ve already done that once before. I’m not willing to do it again.
“I don’t know,” she whispers.
“Because I’m still in love with you, Dyl! Because walking away from you on your porch five years ago was, and still is, the biggest regret of my life. I was a shell of a man for years after I ended things. There are no excuses for my mistake, and I can’t take back what I did. It’s something that I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life, but I’ve dreamed of the day I could tell you how I really feel. I never thought I’d get the chance to apologize for the pain that I caused you, but here we are. I hope you know how sorry I am. How sorry I always will be.
“But I’m so afraid that I’m going to hurt you again. That I’m going to end up hurt again. I couldn’t live with myself knowing I broke you again. I wouldn’t make it out alive.”
With my words, the final tether that’s been holding us together all night is snapped. Without uttering a word, she rushes over to me and crashes her lips into mine as she snakes her arms around my neck. I groan into her mouth and wrap my arms around her petite waist, sliding my hands down to the top of her heart-shaped ass.
Her tongue slides into my mouth with force, and I tangle it up with mine. The lip gloss she reapplied tastes like strawberry and vanilla, and I get drunk off the flavor. The taste is delectable, and it makes my cock strain against my pants. She grinds her hips into mine while I harden under her even more. I didn’t know that was physically possible, but it’s painful.
I know she can feel how hard I am for her when she breaks the kiss to smirk against my lips. I take the opportunity to mumble against her lips, “Hold on tight.”
I need her closer.
Dylan’s grip tightens, and I lift her dress up to her hips to give me easier access. With one quick move, I sweep her up into my arms. Her legs immediately wrap up around my waist, and I flip us around so her back is pressed against the cool metal wall.
“God, I’ve missed this,” she breathes.
She presses her forehead to mine, and I take a moment to look into her eyes, her cheeks fully reddened, her luscious lips swollen, her hair unkempt. She looks frenzied, and I can’t get enough.
“Baby, you can’t say stuff like that. I don’t have much control right now.” I’m fully panting, and I use my free hand to explore her body, wandering up to her breasts. They’ve been teasing me all night, and I want nothing more than to have them in my mouth. I glance up at her for permission, and with a tight nod, she grants me access. I pull down the dress, her perky pink nipples peeking out for me.
“I don’t want you to be controlled.” She rolls her head back as I take her breast into my mouth, sucking on it gently. She runs her hands through my hair, and I push myself into her further while I begin to nibble at her chest. I use my hips to hold her into place, taking my other hand to her second erect nipple. I give it a pinch, and the moan she lets out turns me into an animal.
I break free with one last kiss to the center of her chest. “If I were to stick my fingers in those panties of yours right now, how wet would I find you, baby?”
I place her back down on the ground and lift the dress further up, exposing the black sheer g-string she’s wearing. I run a feather-light finger up her thigh, teasing her with the touch I know she’s dying to have right now.
“Soaked,” she whimpers.
I move my touch further up her thigh, stopping when I hit the heat between her legs. As I swipe my finger over her pussy, I feel just how wet she truly is. My restraint is bursting at the seams as I speak through gritted teeth, “You weren’t lying. You’re drenched.”
Dylan bites her bottom lip, looks up at me with her large, unblinking eyes, and nods innocently. “Just for you.”
I run my finger, now wet with her arousal, against her bottom lip. She follows the motion with her tongue, gliding it across the path I’ve made .
My self-control is no longer existent, and I reach down, giving myself a rub through my trousers. The thin material does little to hide the bulge she’s given me, and I don’t miss the way her eyes lock on my erection.
As much as I enjoy seeing her watch me through hooded lids, I stop touching myself to lift her chin back up to me. I’m desperate for her touch, but I want this moment to be about her.
“I want to taste you. Is that alright?”
“Yes,” she squeaks.
I kneel down in front of her, the movement drawing a hushed gasp from her. I hook my fingers into the strings of her underwear and slowly draw them down her legs, helping her step out of them. I toss them to the side before placing gentle kisses up her legs where my finger lingered earlier. Her hands slide back in my hair, and she gives it a small yank, which winds me up more.
I alternate between kissing and licking as I get closer to the apex between her thighs, which is glistening, begging to be licked. My mouth salivates at the sight, and I run a finger across her lips. She bucks at the initial contact, and I clutch the swell of her hip, holding her firmly in place.
I replace my finger with my mouth, running my tongue up her folds painfully slow. I moan into her, “Oh baby. You taste so good.”
“Fuck.”
She slams back as I spread her lips open with my fingers. I work my way to the top to find the small bundle of nerves swollen and waiting for me and give it a flick of my tongue. She squirms under my touch, and I use both hands to pin her to the wall, rendering her completely helpless.
As I continue to bury my face into her, she succumbs to the pleasure. I sweep my tongue quickly across her clit as her moans grow louder and louder, her taut muscles going lax with pleasure.
I begrudgingly pull myself off of her, letting go of one of her hips. “I want you to come for me, okay? But I need you to be quiet. Just because the elevator is stopped doesn’t mean someone can’t hear you,” I beg.
Before she can reply, I slide a finger into her slickness, twisting it as I flick my tongue against her sweet spot once again. She slaps a hand over her mouth, and I continue to work, adding a second finger while I lap her up like the dessert she is.
Her walls begin to tighten around me, her legs growing tense. I smirk as she approaches her climax, knowing that I can still read her body like a book. Years may have come between us, but what she likes, what she needs, will forever be ingrained in my mind. I’d spend the rest of my life pleasuring her if she’d let me.
“That’s it, you’re so close for me,” I murmur.
“Don’t stop. I’m going to come.”
As she throws her head back, I ready myself for the full-body trembling that accompanies her orgasms. She continues to clench around me, seconds away from tumbling over the edge, until a sudden robotic voice fills the small elevator.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
Her eyes go wide, and we both look over at the emergency button that she unknowingly pressed amid her build-up. I slide my fingers out of her, making a show of licking them clean. Her face goes red-hot while I savor her taste. I love it when she gets shy.
The fire department calling has all but ruined the moment, and I need to try to keep everything under control before she gets too embarrassed.
“Hi there. I’m so sorry about that. I accidentally hit the emergency button in the elevator,” I call back, still on my knees in front of her. My eyes don’t leave hers, and although a bucket of ice water has all but extinguished the moment, I can see the lust lingering in the way she’s sucking in her bottom lip. In the way her chest is covered with angry red splotches.
It takes everything in me not to return to what I was doing. I need her to come more than I need air right now, but I shove my desire down, urging my dick to get the memo.
“Everyone’s alright?” the deep but muffled voice asks.
“Yes, thank you so much for checking. I apologize again.” I reply politely, the line going dead.
I stand up, pulling her dress down in the process. I flatten her unruly hair, wipe away a smear of mascara from under her eye, and hand her the underwear thrown on the elevator floor with a laugh. The tension melts away as soon as I see her breaking down into hysterics.
“So good you called the cops on me, huh? That’s a first,” I snicker.
She playfully hits me across the chest, making a show of fixing the top of her dress and tucking herself back in. I feel my cock twitch against my zipper, knowing that just moments ago, she was going wild for me.
“Shut up. You and I both know that your head is big enough as is. We don’t need that ego of yours getting any bigger.”
“If we weren’t in an elevator, you would’ve been screaming my name. I’d say that’s cause to have an ego.”
She blushes but doesn’t argue and smacks the emergency stop button again, resuming our trip down to the lobby.
“We should probably-”
“Soo…” I start at the same time. I cut myself off, let out a low chuckle, and gesture for her to resume her thought. “Go ahead.” The elevator ding marking our arrival interrupts her yet again.
As we walk off together, I naturally gravitate toward her, wanting to touch her in some capacity. Now that we’ve crossed over the boundary of physical touch, I know I’m going to be craving it every chance I get.
“Do you want me to walk you home? Finish this conversation on the way?”
“Actually, I’d like to be alone for a little, if you don’t mind.” Her eyes move from the ground in front of her up to me, and she gives me a sad smile. I notice the small step she takes away from me. It’s as if a switch has been flipped, and the sudden change in attitude makes my head throb. I stumble back, trying to help her feel at ease, dipping my chin.
“Sure…. Can you at least text me when you get home so I know you’re safe? And take my jacket so that I know you stay warm?” I hesitate. I’m uncomfortable with the idea, but the mood has shifted, and I don’t want to make things weirder than they’ve already become in the last sixty seconds.
“I don’t want to take your jacket. You need it.”
“I don’t. Besides, it gives me an excuse to see you again.”
She huffs out a small laugh. “I don’t think you have to worry about that. We do work together and everything.”
“You can never be too sure.” I offer a cheeky grin, trying to lighten the mood as I see her mind running a mile a minute. This girl has been an overthinker since the minute I met her, and I know that she’s in her head right now. Unfortunately, I can’t talk her off the ledge like I once did–especially since I know I’m the reason she’s lost in her thoughts.
“Alright.”
I shrug off my suit jacket and wrap it around her shoulders, pulling it tight. I catch her staring at my chest and arms, and in spite of the terrible timing, I bask in the idea that she’s checking me out. The look she’s giving me makes my skin prickle, and I do my best to shake off the never-ending burn of desire. It’s useless, though, because I will always be insatiable with Dylan .
“Promise me you’ll text me as soon as you’re home,” I demand.
“I promise.”
Ignoring her aloof demeanor, I gently grab her wrist and pull her tightly into my chest. She wraps her arms around my waist, and we stand in the deserted lobby, holding one another. I bury my face in her hair, inhaling the subtle rich spices and vanilla of her perfume.
It’s the smell that has lived in my dreams for the past year–the one that stops me in the streets whenever I smell something similar. The one that made me do a double take every time I walked past it in California, knowing damn well that the girl who wears it was nowhere near, but still hoping anyways.
The hug lingers far longer than I expected, and I make no move to break free from the hold. Her grip relaxes on my waist, and I have to force myself to pull away, even though my mind is screaming to never let go.
“I’ll see you later.” She gives me a halfhearted wave and walks into the dark New York streets. I’m immediately met with a spasm of guilt, knowing I should’ve fought harder to ensure she got home safely. I just poured my heart out to her and tasted her (and will be dreaming of doing so for the foreseeable future), and I have no idea if she feels the same way, and now she’s walking home alone. Fucking idiot, I scold myself .
As I step out onto the bustling sidewalk, I contemplate whether or not I just made the second biggest mistake of my life.