by Kai Juniper
"Seriously?" Parker asks.
"No!" I shove his shoulder. "What the hell's wrong with you?"
"I'd fuck her," Finn says.
"Because you have no standards," I say. "You don't fuck your friend's ex. Everyone knows that."
"That rules out a lot of girls," Parker says.
"Why do you care? You have a girlfriend."
"Maybe not for long. I think she's cheating on me again."
Finn laughs. "You're just figuring this out?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"She cheats on you all the fucking time. Briggs and I have known this for months. I wanted to tell you, but Briggs wouldn't let me. He said it's better if you find out yourself."
"What the hell?" Parker turns to me. "You knew this, and you didn't tell me?"
"How could you not know? She flirts with other guys right in front of you."
"That's just her personality."
"She fucking kissed a dude at last week's party," Finn says.
"Because she was drunk," Parker says.
"Yeah, okay," Finn says, rolling his eyes.
"Shut the fuck up. I'm leaving." Parker gets up and goes over to Scarlett, who's talking to some girls on the other side of the cafeteria. He starts yelling at her, throwing his hands up, shaking his head. She yells back, pointing at him, then shoving his chest.
"He'll stay with her," Finn says. "Stupid bastard. Some day he'll learn to stop having girlfriends and just fuck girls like I do." He smiles and leans over to me. "Are you really fucking Ella?"
"You seriously think that?" I say, like he's stupid for even bringing it up.
He shrugs. "You're not getting any from Aubrey. You gotta be getting it somewhere."
"Not with Ella. Parker's just making shit up."
Finn looks over at Ella. "She's not bad. She's got a good body."
"She'd never get near you, so give up any fantasies you're having." I get up and leave, not wanting to hear Finn talk about Ella.
Right before class lets out for the day, I get a text from the five digit number.
Using company money was cheating. But since I didn't specify, I'll let it count. One for Briggs. Zero for the other two. You need to step up boys or get ready for prison. More instructions coming.
"This is bullshit," Parker says, following beside me as I'm walking to my car. "This guy's just playing us. He'll go to the cops no matter what we do."
"Keep your voice down," I say, noticing all the people around us.
"Briggs!" Finn yells, standing by his Range Rover. "Did you see this?" He holds up his phone.
"Yeah." I walk up to him. "Keep your fucking voice down. We shouldn't be talking about this here."
"I just blocked him," Finn says. "I'm done with this shit." He gets in the Range Rover.
"I'm doing it too." Parker swipes through his phone.
"We're not blocking him," I say. "If we do, we'll piss him off and he'll go to the cops."
"Too late," Parker says. "Already done."
"Parker, hurry your ass up and get in," Finn says, starting the engine.
"You didn't drive today?" I ask Parker.
"I rode with Finn. We're going to his house to get high before the party."
"Good to know you guys are taking this seriously," I say, letting them hear my anger. "It's only our futures on the line."
"Hey, if I'm going to jail soon, I'm gonna party my fucking brains out," Parker says. He goes around the front of the SUV and gets in.
"What are you doing tonight?" Finn asks me.
"Not going to Aubrey's party."
Finn laughs. "Show up. I dare you. I'd love to see her face when she sees you walking in."
"You'd be too wasted to even know I was there." I look at his SUV and get a flashback from that night. "You shouldn't be driving this thing around."
"You sound like Ella. Did she tell you to say that?"
"This isn't about her." I lower my voice. "This is about us, and about keeping us off their radar. The cops are looking for a white SUV. You really think it's a good idea to be driving this thing around?"
"You know how many white SUVs there are around here?"
"The cops could be looking for a specific make and model. For all we know, they're looking for this exact SUV."
"Let's go!" Parker yells.
Finn revs the engine and backs out, then speeds out of the parking lot. No matter what I say, he's going to drive that fucking thing and not give a shit.
I continue to my car and spot Ella out the side of my eye. I don't look at her, knowing people are watching.
"Briggs!"
I look back and see Aubrey running up to me, her long blond hair blowing in the breeze.
"What do you want, Aubrey?"
She stops in front of me. "Don't be so rude. I'm trying to be nice."
"Yeah? So what do you want?"
She sighs. "I was going to invite you to my party tonight, but if you're going to act like this, then just forget it."
"Okay." I go around her and keep walking.
"Briggs! Wait!" She catches up to me. "I need you to be there."
I stop at my car. "Why?"
"Because you should be."
"You mean because if I'm not there, people will think less of your party?"
She looks to the side, knowing I'm right, but not wanting to admit it.
I open the door. "Good luck tonight."
"Briggs, please." She grabs my arm. "We both said things we didn't mean. Can't we just put all this behind us?"
"Aubrey, if you're trying to get back together with me, I'm not interested."
"Why?" She folds her skinny arms over her chest. "Is there someone else?"
"No, but if there were, it wouldn't be any of your damn business."
"Who is she?"
I get in my car and shut the door.
"Briggs!" She bangs on my window. "We aren't done talking!"
I drive off, leaving her yelling in the parking lot.
How did I date her as long as I did? The thing is, I never thought she was that bad until I started hanging out with Ella and realized how much easier it was to be around her compared to Aubrey. I actually want to spend time with Ella. I just wanted to have sex with Aubrey. Spending time with her always led to us arguing.
I never looked forward to seeing Aubrey the way I look forward to seeing Ella, which is messed up and makes me think I need to stay away from her.
I should cancel tonight and tell Ella I'm busy. That would be the smart thing to do. But when it comes to Ella, I'm really fucking stupid.
Chapter Eighteen
Briggs
"Hey!" Ella says as I open the door, a big smile on her face. "Ready to do this?"
She's talking about our assignment, but my mind immediately goes to something else, the thing I told myself not to think about. Unfortunately, it's all I've been able to think about and there's no chance of making it stop with her wearing that dress. It's one of those t-shirt dresses that Aubrey makes fun of, saying it looks like an old shirt Ella's dad had that Ella turned into a dress. This one doesn't look like a man's shirt. I've never seen Ella wear it before, or I've never noticed her wearing it. But I think I would've noticed. It fits tight to her body, not loose like the ones she normally wears, and it's short, ending high up on her thigh.
Shit, now I'm thinking about touching her thigh, shoving her dress up, sliding her panties down.
"Can I come in?"
I startle from my thoughts and step aside. "Go ahead."
She comes inside and I check out her ass. The dress clings to it, making me want to grab it, then bend her over the table and—
"Briggs, are you okay?" Ella says with a laugh as she turns to me. "You're not saying anything."
"Sorry. Long day. Oh, I got a message." I show her the text on my phone.
"So you bought us more time."
"I'm hoping that's what it means." I put my phone away. "I don't want to talk about it. I need a break
from it. You want something to drink?"
"Sure." She follows me to the kitchen. "It was nice of your dad to let the company donate the money so you didn't have to." She cringes. "Sorry, I'm still talking about it."
"It's okay. And my dad wasn't being nice. He didn't want to do it. I had to convince him to." I open the glass cooler where we keep the drinks. "What do you want? Soda? Flavored water? Regular water?"
"I'll take the flavored water." She comes up beside me, reaching across me to grab one. Her arm brushes against my chest and our eyes meet.
"Want anything else?" I ask, trying not to kiss her, but damn, I really want to. She's right there, and I know she's thinking the same thing. I can tell by the look she's giving me.
"Just the water," she says, backing away. "I already ate."
I take a water for myself and close the cooler.
"Where do you want to work?" she asks.
"We could go by the pool."
"It's kind of windy. Might blow stuff around, and I heard it might rain."
Is she really worried about the weather, or does she want to be inside for some other reason?
"We could go to your room," she says. My face must show what I'm thinking because she says, "Or maybe not. I just didn't want to disturb your dad."
"He's not home. He's going somewhere for the night."
"Oh," she says, suddenly sounding nervous. Does she think that's why I invited her over? Because we'd be alone? I do want to be alone with her, but I'm not expecting anything to happen. As much as I want that, I need to stay away from her. Even just a kiss could be trouble, so I need to stay away.
"What about you?" she asks. "Are you going out tonight?"
"No. There's a party, but it's at Aubrey's house. Finn and Parker are going." I pause. "Hey, I'm sorry about what happened today. With Aubrey and Scarlett. They were being bitches."
Ella shrugs. "It's not like I'm surprised. They do stuff like that all the time."
"Doesn't make it right."
"That didn't stop you from doing it. I mean, before..."
I don't know how to respond to that, so I don't.
"Thanks for sticking up for me today," Ella says. "I didn't think you would."
"I had to. I couldn't stand watching them do that to you in front of everyone."
"You used to do the same thing."
"Why do you keep bringing that up?" I walk past her. "I know what I did. I don't need to be reminded of it."
"You don't have to get angry about it."
"I'm not." I turn back to her. "I just don't like it being thrown in my face."
The door swings opens and my father walks in. I didn't even hear the garage open. I must've left it open when I got home.
"Briggs," he says, glancing at Ella. "I didn't know you had a visitor. And Ella Quinn, of all people. She's been showing up quite a lot here recently."
"It's for an assignment," Ella says. "Briggs and I are partners."
"Yes. I heard." He fakes a smile. "How is your father doing? I've been meaning to have him over to give me a quote for his lawn services, but I haven't had a chance to call him. Perhaps you could mention it to him."
"He could give you a quote over the phone," Ella says.
"I prefer an in-person visit." He turns to me. "May I have a word?"
I glance at Ella, then back at my dad. "What do you need?"
"Please ask your guest to excuse herself so we can talk in private."
"Oh, sorry," Ella says, setting her water down. "I'll go wait in the living room."
My father watches her leaves, then looks back at me. "What is she doing here?
"We have an assignment to work on."
"On a Friday night? Why do you keep meeting with her on Friday nights?" He points his finger at me. "You better not have something going on with her."
"I don't. Why do you keep bringing this up? You know I'd never date someone like Ella Quinn."
"I should certainly hope not. The girl is trash." He walks away from me, shaking his head. "Living in that disgusting house. I'd burn it down if I could."
"That house isn't worth going to jail for."
He turns to me, a smirk on his face. "You have yet to understand the power of a great lawyer. They can get you out of anything."
"I'd rather not find out. So why are you here? Did the event get cancelled?"
"No, I just forgot my golf clubs this morning. And I wanted to get my jacket in case it rains." He walks up to me. "Do your assignment and get her out of here."
"Why do you care if she's here? You're leaving."
"Ella Quinn is not the type of girl I want around you, or even in this house. Although after tonight, I doubt that will be an issue."
"What do you mean?"
He smiles and pats my shoulder. "I need to get going. I'll see you tomorrow."
I'm not sure what he meant by that comment, but I'm not going to worry about it. He's always saying cryptic shit like that and not explaining what he means. I've learned to just ignore it.
After he leaves, I go find Ella in the living room.
"We can study here if you want," she says.
"Let's go upstairs. I hate that couch. I hate all the furniture down here. I feel like I'm in an office."
Ella laughs. "I was thinking the same thing."
We go up to my room and I sit at my desk while she sits on my bed. I need to keep some distance between us, but seeing her on my bed, I desperately want to join her. This is going to be impossible. How can I do the assignment when I can't get my mind off all the things I want to do to Ella?
"Did you come up with any ideas?" she asks, taking out her notebook.
"I haven't even looked at it yet. I didn't have a chance."
"That's okay. We can come up with stuff now. I jotted down a few notes, but nothing I think we can use. Go ahead and read through the assignment and then we can talk about it."
I read the first sentence of the assignment but can't remember what it said, so I read it again. My lack of sleep this week combined with my constant thoughts about Ella has turned my brain to shit. I can't even think.
"Are you done?" she asks after ten minutes.
I turn to her and sigh. "I only got through the first paragraph. Sorry, I'm just not thinking straight tonight. I've got too much on my mind."
"You want to take a break?"
"No, I'll just try again."
"You could just read my notes. I summarized the main points. You want to see?" She holds her notebook up.
I feel like she's inviting me over there. I could just be imagining it because it's what I want, but either way, I find myself walking to the bed and sitting beside her.
"These are the chemical properties we have to work with," she says, pointing to her notebook, her arm brushing my side. "So now we just need five or ten ideas of practical uses based on the properties."
I stare at what she wrote, but I can't focus enough to read it. I can see her legs under the notebook, bare and smooth and tan. Her dress rode up when she sat down, moving even higher up her thighs. God, I want to touch her.
"Briggs?"
My eyes meet up with hers. "I don't think I can do this."
"Why?"
"I think you know why."
"Briggs, I didn't come here to—"
"I know. And that's not why I asked you."
She's breathing hard, and I see that look in her eyes, the one she gave me in the parking lot the other night. "Why does this keep happening?"
"What do you mean?" I ask, even though I know exactly what she means.
"Why do I want this so bad?"
That's all she had to say. I was going to hold back, do everything possible to control myself, but now? Hell no.
I take the notebook from her and toss it on the floor, then kiss her as I lower her down on the bed, my hands moving over her body. It's all I've thought about since the last time I touched her. The soft curve of her hips. The tightness of her ass. Her firm, perky tits. Her lean legs
. I keep thinking she'll tell me to stop, but she doesn't. Her hands are all over me, too, gripping my hair, digging into my back, grabbing my ass. She wants this as much as I do, which makes me wonder how this is going to end. I said I wouldn't be her first, but I'm quickly changing my mind.
Breaking from her lips, I kiss her neck, my hand cupping her breast. She arches up as I move lower, until I'm down between her legs. She's breathing hard, her head tipped back, mouth open. It's so damn hot. I love getting her all worked up. It turns me on.
I shove her dress up and slowly lower her black silk panties down to her ankles, then rip them off, tossing them aside. I slide her legs apart and slip a finger in her. She sucks in a breath and grabs hold of my bed. I slide another one in and she holds on tighter, breathing even faster. She's soaking wet, and it's making me want to be inside her so bad I can barely control myself.
"Yes," I hear her whisper as my fingers pump in and out of her. I add my tongue to the mix and she moans and starts panting. Seconds later, she comes. God, I love doing that to her. I love watching her as she comes, hearing the sounds she makes. I could do that all night and never get tired of it.
I move up next to her, turning on my side and watching as she comes down from it, her breaths slowing, her eyes fluttering open.
She turns and looks at me. "I want to keep going."
"Ella, we talked about this." I put my hand along the side of her face, looking her in the eye.
"I know, but I've thought about it, and it's what I want."
"Not with me. You'll regret it."
"With the old Briggs, yes, but not this one."
"They're the same person."
"They're not. The one with me right now is the real you."
"How do you know?"
"Because I can feel it. I can feel that the guy I'm with now is the real you. The other version is someone else."
"That doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't have to." She leans over and kisses me. "I want this, Briggs. I'm ready."
I should tell her no, that I haven't changed my mind about this, but the truth is I have, and I don't want to turn her down. I want this.
I could think of a million reasons why this is a horrible idea, or I could just let myself be with her. We both want this, so why not just do it?
