One Night (Friends #0.5) (10 page)

“You were not.” Em jabs me in the ribs with a pointy elbow, but she’s also smiling so I know she’s not too mad. “I put you to sleep!”

“Only because I was so comfortable sitting here with you like this,” I tell her, not wanting her pissed at me. She’s touchy. One minute she’s coming on to me, the next she’s trying to push me away, and then a few minutes after that, she’s on the run. She’s confusing. Intriguing.

I’ve never really liked a challenge before. I like my girls easy. I want to know what they want without having to think about it too hard. Maybe go on a date, usually just hang out and talk and laugh. Sometimes have a drink or five, smoke a J, end up wrapped around each other in my truck or in my room or hers or out at the park or…whatever. Wherever.

I’m an uncomplicated guy.

“I really didn’t bore you?” she asks.

Shaking my head, I meet her gaze, hoping she can see the sincerity in my eyes. “No. I like how passionate you are about the stars. I liked listening to you. It’s just maybe I liked listening to you a little too much…and yeah, you caught me. I was totally drifting off and that was rude of me. Sorry.”

Em watches me, her head tilted to the side, her expression completely unreadable. “You are too good to be true, you know that?”

I frown. “What do you mean?” Swear I can’t win with this girl.

“You’re totally hot, you’re a popular football player and all the girls love you and I’m pretty sure the teachers love you too. You’re like this fantasy high school character straight out of a movie or a novel. A jock with a heart of gold and proper manners that just wants to help the school’s bad girl find her lost dignity.” That last sentence makes me wince because she nailed me on the head, and that’s embarrassing as hell. “Yet I’ve also seen you hanging out with total skanks who have worse reputations than I do,” Em continues, holding nothing back. “I seriously don’t get you.”

“I don’t get you either,” I toss back at her, being one hundred percent honest. “You don’t make much sense.”

“Neither do you.” She raises her brows in seeming challenge.

Yeah. She’s right. I never act like this with a girl. Only Em makes me want to…I don’t know. Protect her? Watch out for her? Make sure she doesn’t do anything to hurt herself or put herself at risk? I treat her like she’s fragile, like I don’t want to hurt her delicate feelings, but she’s looking at me right about now with enough fire in her eyes to set me aflame.

So who’s the delicate one tonight, huh?

Clearing my throat I say, “Maybe together we could…” What? Make sense? Like I can tell her that. She’d run screaming from Tuttle’s house and considering we’re so far out of the city limits, she’d probably get lost forever.

“What? Get it on and have some fun? Okay. That sounds perfect.” She eagerly climbs on top of me-there’s no other way to describe it-and then she’s right there, her chest in my face, her arms slung around my neck, her mouth pressed against my forehead. I stare down at her tits, all that creamy skin on display. I’m tempted to bury my face in her cleavage and give her exactly what she wants, but for some weird reason, I hold back.

Stupid. I know what I’m doing is totally stupid but damn it, this thing between us isn’t just going to burn out after tonight.

I don’t want it to.

“Oh my God, you’re so big and hard and…” She grabs hold of my face with both hands and forces my head back, her mouth landing on mine with precise, expert skill. I lose myself in the taste of her lips for a moment, because damn, the girl has a mouth on her like no other. The kiss is eager and hot, deep and full of tongue and my hands move to her ass almost unconsciously. I’m squeezing her, pulling her in as close as I can get her, and she’s basically dry humping me by the time I break the kiss, trying to catch my breath. And possibly catch the remaining brain cells that are desperate to make a run for it.

All because of a kiss from the most confusing girl on this planet.

“Slow down,” I whisper when she tries to put her mouth over mine again. “Gimme a minute.”

Her sigh of frustration is obvious and I smooth my fingers over her butt, trying to calm her down. But that only seems to infuriate her more because she disentangles her body from my grip and climbs off of me in a matter of seconds.

“I don’t want to give you a minute,” she says, frustration lacing every one of her words. “I want all of you right now.”

“Here? On a bench in front of Tuttle’s house?” I glance around, noting that we’re mostly alone but I do spot a couple out on the lawn nearby. A couple who appear mostly naked and are wildly groping each other so I avert my eyes, turning to face Em once more. “I don’t think so.”

She stomps her foot like a pouty little kid and crosses her arms in front of her chest. “Why not? What’s the big deal? Since when did you get a moral compass or whatever?”

What the hell is a moral compass? I’m not about to ask. I don’t want to look like a dumbass. I’m not stupid but sometimes I worry I’m not the brightest bulb around. When I was younger homework wasn’t a priority and tests and all that, they never came easy for me. People like Tuttle always make me feel less than. The guy is way too smart for me and he knows it.

And I don’t like how Em just made me feel like an idiot too.

“So I should have left you to the assholes in the hot tub? Is that what you wanted?” I’m yelling and she’s taking a step back, like she needs the distance. That makes me feel bad and I clamp my jaw shut, trying to calm down.

“Yeah, you should’ve. I did want them. You’re the one who decided to step in and become my hero.” She spits out that last word like it’s a dirty one.

“Haven’t we already had this argument?” I ask wearily. I slump back against the bench and rub my eyes with my hands, keeping them there for a moment before I drop them so I can look at her. “This is ridiculous.”

“Yeah. It is. So I’m gone.” With that she turns on her heel and walks away, never once looking back. I don’t say a word. I don’t stop her or chase after her. Hell, I don’t even know exactly what just happened.

All I know is, I’m too exhausted to go after her. She’s too much for me.

She probably always will be.

*****

Hey I’m posting this chapter early! The chapters will be coming faster and closer together as the release date for JUST FRIENDS draws near. It’s out September 13th and I’m soooo excited! Thank you everyone for reading this story - these last few chapters are my favorite. Don’t forget to vote/comment/share!!! xoxo Monica

I head back toward Tuttle’s house, wiping my fingers beneath my eyes to get rid of the tears. Stupid, irritating tears. Like I’m sad over what happened between Cannon and I. He means nothing to me. I don’t even know him. All I wanted to do was get off and he had to go and ruin it for me. Act polite and crap when that was the last thing I wanted.

I just wanted to lose myself, you know? Get caught up in his kisses and the way he touches me. I like how his big hands feel sliding all over my body, the way he squeezed my butt with them. He’s big and strong yet gentle and…sweet.

Frowning, I mentally shove Cannon out of my thoughts. I don’t care about his sweetness. He’s of no use for me tonight. I need to find someone else.

Someone willing, ready and able.

I ignore the front door and walk around the side of the house toward the backyard, where the party is still in full swing. The pool is crowded with people, some of them wearing swimsuits, some of them buck ass naked. I see one guy who graduated a few days ago jumping into the pool with a bottle of tequila in one hand, his swim trunks falling past his very white butt before he makes a gigantic splash in the water.

“Total waste of good booze!” someone yells while plenty of other people boo and give the guy a bunch of grief when his head pops up out of the water.

He grins good-naturedly, his gaze snagging on mine when I come to a stop near the pool. I return his stare, trying my best to remember his name.

Nathan? Nate? Nathanial? Wait-Noah. His name is Noah. He played basketball with Dustin and while he’s a nice guy, he’s nothing special. As in, he’s not some hot, gorgeous player fighting off a bunch of girls.

Meaning, he’s the perfect guy for me to hook up with tonight.

“Nice jump,” I tell him as I slowly approach the pool.

He stays where he’s at, treading water, the tequila bottle long gone. “My friends are pissed that I ruined their alcohol.”

“Isn’t there enough inside?” I arch a brow.

Noah smirks. “Yeah, but they spent forty dollars on that shit, so they’re mad.”

Understandable. Who buys forty dollar tequila before coming to Tuttle’s house? Clearly these guys haven’t partied here before. “Their loss.”

His gaze roams over my body, lingering on my legs for a while before he speaks. “You coming swimming?”

I shrug. “I did earlier.”

“Don’t you wanna cool off?”

“Don’t you wanna warm up?” The smile I send him is practiced. As in, I’ve literally sat in front of a mirror in my room and practiced this smile again and again. I’m trying to hook him. Reel him in.

Looks like it’s working.

He goes to the ladder and grabs the handles, hauling his lanky body out of the water. He’s tall and thin, his skin pale and his black swim trunks barely clinging to his narrow hips. I normally like them bigger-this makes me think of Cannon, ugh-but this boy will do.

When he stops in front of me, Noah shakes his head, water droplets spraying everywhere and reminding me of a dog. I scowl as he runs his hand over his short brown hair, and I take a step back as I continue to get showered with water.

“What’s your name again?” he asks, like we’ve talked before. We might’ve seen each other around when I went to Dustin’s basketball games but we’ve never been introduced.

“Emily, but call me Em.” I beam at him. “And you’re Noah. Star basketball player.”

His cheeks turn ruddy and he waves me off, almost like he’s bashful. Please. “I wouldn’t call myself a star.”

“Come on. Don’t be modest. I watched you play a lot of games. You’re amazing.” I put on the awed tone, knowing boys like it when I talk like that and from the spark that lights Noah’s eyes, I see it’s worked. Everything’s working.

It’s almost too easy.

“My team was pretty good.” That’s true. They won their regional championships tournament. “But I’m not that amazing. Trust me. Couldn’t even get a scholarship for college.” His expression turns hard and I realize I’m losing him fast.

“Their loss!” I sound way too chipper so I dial it down. “Where are you going to college?”

“Community for a year, maybe two. Then I’m going to transfer.” He sounds bitter and I guess I can’t blame him.

That’s the last thing I want to do too. That means I’m stuck here and I’ll feel trapped. My parents would probably want me to still live with them and while it’s the obvious choice, helping me save money and all that, I want to make my escape from them as soon as I can.

Not that they notice me, or care. They’re too focused on their own lives to worry about mine.

“Well, at least you can still hang out with us, right?” That was the wrong thing to say. I see his expression fall and his gaze dims. I need to cheer him up fast.

Threading my arm through his, I lean into his cool body, pressing my cheek against his upper arm for the briefest moment. “Let’s go get something to drink, okay?”

We find some beer and make small talk. He complains about his friends, who are now nowhere to be found, and I complain about mine, who are probably still around but hopefully they won’t notice me. He grumbles about a girl he had a major crush on the last half of the school year and how she never even noticed him.

“She was in band. In your grade.” He flicks his chin at me and I frown, not sure who he’s talking about.

“Aren’t they all a bunch of weirdoes anyway? Why’d you like her?” I tease with a giggle, pretending I’m already buzzed. I wish I was. I think I’m gonna need it to get through the rest of tonight.

“She was cute.” He shrugs. Takes a sip from his beer before he continues. “She had that whole innocent thing going on. Like I knew she was a total virgin yet she was probably hot for it, you know?”

I cannot believe he’s talking to me about this. Worse, I know exactly what he’s referring to because he’s describing me in a nutshell. Just because I’ve given a few extra hand jobs and blow jobs during my junior year does not mean I’ve given it all up. I’m still a virgin, though I’d like to change that status by summer’s end. I’m tired of it hanging on to me like some sort of invisible cloak of purity. Screw it.

I wanna get laid.

“What’s her name?” I ask, curious.

“Tara. I don’t remember her last name.” Noah grins at me and I smile back, a little repulsed by his crooked smile. I’m mean. I shouldn’t judge.

But I am totally judging right now and this guy needs braces.

“I don’t know her,” I tell him.

“Don’t worry about her. Screw her.” His grin widens. “I have you tonight. I don’t need her.”

“Is she here?”

“Yeah. I saw her earlier.” Noah scowls. “With some wimpy looking douche. She was hanging all over him. It pissed me off.”

“Oh, well yeah. Forget her.” I scoot closer to him, my side flush against his. Reaching out, I rest my hand on his thigh and slip my fingertips just beneath the damp hem of his swim trunks. “You’re right. You do have me tonight.”

He dips his head and presses his mouth to mine. There’s no finesse, no sweet, innocent kisses to warm me up. His tongue thrusts inside my mouth like an angry animal, busily searching for mine and I withdraw from him, my hand now on his bare chest, keeping him at a distance.

“I don’t want to do this here.” I smile at him, hoping it’ll ease the sudden lust that’s seized him but he doesn’t look happy.

“Where then? My truck is parked out in the field.”

My smile is so wide and fake it hurts. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

Noah takes my hand and we dash around the pool, ignoring the catcalls from everyone hanging out nearby. I’m scanning the entire backyard as best as I can, making sure I don’t see Liv or Dustin or worse, Cannon close by, but no one’s around.