Annabella's Oblivion (Hard World Tour #1) (43 page)

We were having such a good time, and the second round of drinks was given to us by Jeremy. We had no idea what the guys did, but we knew we were watched like hawks and were protected, so we could let go of our inhibitions. Not that there were people who we had to be protected from, but still.

We danced for around forty minutes, until we were tired, hot, and red, and the girls were slightly tipsy after their three beers.

I looked around but couldn’t see our guys anywhere. I frowned when a hand grabbed me by my waist and Nate pointed to the pool table.

The guys were playing alone, and I wondered what the hell happened to those weird-looking guys.

“
Where are the other people?” The bar was pretty empty before, but now it looked like it was only us here.

“
We convinced the owner that it would be good for him to close up and allow us to have the bar to ourselves.” In other words, they paid him well to make it exclusive, only for us.

“
Jeremy is clever. Is he afraid Sam will run off?”

Nate looked insulted. “You don’t think it was me who wanted to keep those people away from you?”

I patted his chest and smiled. “There weren’t that many people.”

“
Still.”

“
Of course not.”

“
Why?” he asked.

“
Because you know you’re getting laid tonight.” He blinked as though it was the last thing he expected for me to say, but then his blue eyes became heavy with desire and his voice dropped low.

“
I do?” He took my mouth in a deep kiss and I moaned, but it ended too soon and I made the sound of protest. I wanted to follow it up and have one more when he leaned back with a smile.

“
Later, baby,” he whispered, and I knew it was a promise I could look forward to.

“
Come on, guys, you can suck face, at home. We’re here to have fun!”

“
Ariel never shuts up, does she?” he asked with an annoyed sigh, and now it was my turn to laugh.

“
Yeah, it’s hard for her.”

“
That’s what I thought. Let’s play.”

Ryan

I couldn’t believe it was happening and she was here with me, in my house.

I must be dreaming.

“
Are you sure you don’t want to go for some ice cream?” After all, that was the reason she went out with me in the first place.

Then the kiss happened.

I had no idea what went through me. I certainly didn’t expect to grab her and do it.

But she kissed me back and came home with me, and we both knew what it meant.

It was killing me because I didn’t know how to act. I’d never done this before.

I was fucking twenty-two years old and a virgin. Whoever heard that would laugh their asses off.

I was sure she had more experience than me, and although it killed part of me to know what she did all those years when I loved her, I forced myself to not care about what happened in the past.

She would be mine in the present.

She gave me a weak smile and took off her jacket while looking around my neat apartment. I liked everything to be clean and in place, but I didn’t have a lot. Couch, TV, table, kitchen, and then there was the bedroom, with a bed and a wardrobe. I could afford more, but I just didn’t want to.

What was the point of a big space if there was no one to share it with, or bring home?

“
We grabbed ice cream at the store, remember? Nice place. It suits you.” I had the need to ask if it was as boring as she considered me, but kept my mouth shut.

“
It’s not the same as going to the ice cream parlor.” I put the bags on the kitchen counter and went to the sink to wash my hands, and she joined me.

“
True, but I think I’m okay with that. Where do you have spoons?” She opened one of the drawers and, with her luck, that was the one she was looking for.

“
Don’t we need bowls, too?”

She cocked her head and questioned, “To put ice cream in? Haven’t you ever shared it from the container?”

“
No.” Who was I supposed to do it with? I had a limited amount of friends, and they all were guys. No one would share this shit with me, and I had no girlfriends, platonic or otherwise.

“
Okay. Then it’s your first time I guess.” She sat on the couch and put up her legs, crossing them in front of her.

“
I guess,” I repeated under my breath, still finding the image surreal.

Annabella Hastings on my couch. I needed to really get a grip. I didn’t want it to be wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am.

As I joined her on the couch, she gave me a spoon and opened the carton. She took a spoonful of strawberry ice cream and then passed it to me.

“
So how is life as the rich heir?” Everyone wanted to know that, but for the first time, I gave an honest answer.

“
It’s okay. Nothing changed much. I still live at the place I rent. I finished college and got my job on my own and, basically, have the same life. I just have my dad now, who makes my mom happy, and that makes me happy.”

“
You don’t want the hotel business? It’s huge and worldwide famous. Besides, you could move to Manhattan.” She wiggled her eyebrows, making me laugh.

“
No, I know it may sound weird to you, because I know how much you love the Upper East Side, but I have the same love for Brooklyn. As for the job…” I looked at my TV wistfully. “You love to sing, don’t you?”

She nodded her head eagerly. “I can’t imagine my life without it.”

“
Would you change it for anything else?”

“
Never.”

“
It’s the same with me and management. I know it seems like a boring job to an artist,” her cheeks became red, and I knew my statement was correct, “but it’s what I love to do, and what I’m good at. I can be good at a lot of things, but I really want to do something I enjoy. As for the money and good apartments, I will get there on my own, and I’m in no hurry.” Suddenly, she smiled and let go of the ice cream, putting it on the table.

“
I’m sorry. People probably ask that all the time, don’t they? I should have known better.”

“
I don’t mind.” I felt like I had to be honest. “At least I don’t mind it from you.” There was a long silence after that, and in that moment, I hated the fact I didn’t have more experience for this kind of thing. What did people do? Think fast, Jackson. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

“
Sure.” She seemed as unsure as I was, but then tried to smile again as she picked up the remote and turned on the TV. There wasn’t much to look at, but then she found some movie that looked like chick flick and I groaned inwardly. It wouldn’t have been my choice, but whatever. She started laughing and I gave her an odd look. Maybe her nerves played a part in this.

“
You should have seen your face.” She changed the channel again and settled on some action movie. “I can’t stand all those romantic movies either. I was teasing you.” She rested her head back on the couch and we silently watched the movie together. I wondered if maybe I misread the whole situation.

Somehow the idea that we may not have sex tonight gave me some kind of relief, letting me enjoy the moment. At some point, I brought us soda and chips as we laughed and discussed some random shit about the movie.

“
You know, I haven’t watched a movie like that in ages,” she said.

“
Me too. I think last time was with you and Nick that day he made us dinner.”

She groaned. “Yeah, when he wanted to surprise Megan, right? He tried out a new chicken recipe and burned it, because he didn’t use the new oven right... It was awful.”

“
I was afraid to eat the shit he made.”

“
So you ordered pizza and snuck it out.”

“
Yeah, and we ended up eating it on the balcony.” She was laughing hard that her eyes watered up.

“
The most hilarious part was when he saw us and just joined us with defeat written all over his face. He couldn’t eat what he made either.”

“
Yeah!” Suddenly, our eyes met and there was a moment of hesitation, but then the next thing I knew, she was in my arms, straddling me, while my hands were on her hips and her lips covered mine in a deep, sloppy kiss.

I moved my hand to her hair and tried to control the kiss, to find the rhythm, but she just wouldn’t let me; it was like she was attacking me. Finally, I decided to let her have her way and relaxed.

I had no idea what I was doing but decided to go with the gut; it couldn’t be that hard, right? I’d kissed a few girls and even fooled around with two, so I wasn’t going into it completely blind.

I slipped my hands under her top and felt her soft skin covered in goose bumps.

She moaned and I took her mouth deeper. Our tongues were clashing inside and she could probably feel my hard-on under her amazing, firm ass. I grabbed her shirt, tugging it off her, which allowed me the room to breathe because she finally let go of my mouth.

She was wearing a tiny, see-through bra, which showcased the beautiful view of her small but firm breasts. Her nipples were hard, and without thinking much, I took one of them in my mouth. She cried out in pleasure and her nails bit into my shoulders, probably leaving marks. Moving my mouth to her other breast, I lavished the same attention on it. She kept grinding on me, and I was fucking afraid to finish in my pants, embarrassing the hell out of myself. She chose me tonight, so I couldn’t screw that up. Maybe if I kept her satisfied, she would want to have more. Fuck, I hoped she would.

The bra started to piss me off, so I undid it while licking her neck and collarbone.

“
Ryan,” she moaned and, God, if that didn’t make me hotter inside too.

Swallowing, I moved my hands down her stomach gently, ended on her pants, and I undid the button. Not quickly; after all, I had no experience with it. Frustrated, she removed my hands and did the work for me.

Suddenly, I didn’t like our position anymore. I wanted to have whole access to her, so I stood with her. She squealed but wrapped her body around me, bringing both our groins in direct contact. Moaning, she started to grind on me, trying to get friction, and I had to stop because I was about to drop her.

“
Wait, umm… just wait, okay?” She shook her head, but then stopped as I moved us to the bedroom. The moonlight was bright enough that I didn’t need any light to see her clearly. Part of me was afraid, if she saw who she was sleeping with, she might change her mind.

I placed her on my bed and pulled off her pants with her panties, which left her gloriously naked, and I almost stopped breathing.

She was so utterly beautiful, a goddess, a dream come true. Her black hair was over my pillow, her violet eyes sparkled with desire, and her pale skin was flushed red either from want or embarrassment—I had no idea
,
maybe both? Her small breasts, flat stomach, triangle with small black curls, and long legs—which just a minute ago were wrapped around me. I wanted desperately for it to happen again. She rose up on her elbows and scanned me from head to toe.

“
Can you take off your clothes?” For some reason, I was making her nervous and I didn’t understand why. It was my first time, so I should be the only one nervous here.