by G. , Whitney
I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore.
Random stranger guy spun me around to face him and smiled. He leaned close and whispered into my ear, “You want to get out of here?”
“Like, together?”
“Yeah, babe.” He smiled. “Together. My place?”
“Your place?” My brain still wasn’t firing off enough logical neurons. “To have sex?”
“Um, yeah.” He looked amused. “To have sex. Good sex.”
“No, I’m uh—” I shook my head. “I don’t think I’m sober enough to have sex right now.”
“Why do you need to be completely sober? I’m good at what I do, I’ll make sure you feel more than satisfied when I get done with you.”
What the …
I immediately yanked my hand away from him and pushed my way through the crowd, heading straight for the bathroom. I knocked, waited for a reply, and when none came, I slipped inside and shut the door.
I turned on the cold water and splashed my face repeatedly, murmuring, “Sober up, sober up, sober up.” I gave myself another slap of water and heard the door opening.
“Hey!” I snapped, turning around. “I’m in here! Do you not believe in knocking first?”
“I do,” Carter said, stepping inside. “I saw you come in here, so I wanted to check on you.”
“Oh.” I continued splashing my face. “Thank you.”
“Where’s Nicole?”
“Where do you think?” I looked at him through the mirror, prepared to say something else, but I got distracted by his smile.
Has he always had dimples?
“You should probably stop trying to force that friendship.” He turned off the water and took a face towel from under the cabinet, pressing it against my wet forehead. “I personally think you can do much better.”
“Well, I personally think you can do much better than Josh, but you don’t see me complaining.”
He laughed and pressed the towel against my cheeks and my neck. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I’m going to catch a safety ride later, but I think I want to dance for a little bit more.”
“I’ll join you.” He opened the door and followed me out.
To my surprise, the living room was even more packed now and the lights were a lot dimmer. Since we couldn’t find a decent spot on the dance floor, Carter grabbed my hand and led me over to a corner.
He put his hands on my hips as we danced together, but unlike the numerous times that we’d danced before, my nerves were going out of control. My heart was racing a mile a minute.
I tried to act normal as the music shifted from chaotic to sensual, as he pulled me so close, we were nearly lip to lip, but it was no use.
I wanted him to keep his hands on me, to touch me for the rest of the night.
“You look beautiful tonight, Ari,” he whispered against my mouth, letting his fingers caress my skin through the fabric of my dress.
“Thank you.” I breathed.
“Have you ever worn this dress before?” He tugged at its hem.
“Freshman year.” I blushed and buried my head in his chest to prevent our mouths from getting any closer.
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” he whispered into my ear, but I didn’t answer. I was breathing in his scent, exhaling as he pressed his hand against my thigh.
“Ari?” he asked. “Ari?”
I ignored him once more, and instead of questioning it, he ran his fingers through my hair—setting my nerves on fire all over again.
A few songs later, when I’d convinced myself that my increased heart rate had nothing to do with the fact that Carter was still holding me close and touching me, I looked up at him.
“Why is the DJ playing slow songs now?” I asked.
“Would you like me to tell him to change it?”
“Yes,” I said softly. “Yes, I would.”
The lights in the room dimmed even darker, to where I could only make out the outline of his face.
“It’ll speed back up in a second,” he said, his lips slightly brushing against mine. “He always slows it down before the next power hour.”
“Right …” I felt his forehead touching mine.
The lights suddenly went black, and the next thing I knew, his lips were all over mine and my back was pushed hard against the wall. His tongue slipped into my mouth—demanding complete and utter control, and I immediately gave in.
Murmuring, I shut my eyes as he used his hips to keep me pressed against the wall, as he used one of his hands to slightly cup my ass.
He slid a hand under my dress and softly ran his fingers against my panty-line. In response, my arms went around his neck and my fingers threaded through his hair. He bit down hard on my bottom lip, so hard, I moaned. But he didn’t stop kissing me. He kept his mouth attached to mine, barely giving me a chance to breathe.
“Ah …” I let another murmur escape my lips, and he bit my lip again. Even harder this time.
“Alright, enough of this slow shit!” the DJ bellowed. “Power Hour, part two, bitches!”
The strobe lights came on again, and Carter and I quickly tore away—panting and staring at each other in utter disbelief.
“Fuck …” He breathed. “What the hell was that?”
“You tell me.” I leaned back against the wall. “One minute, I was dancing and the next minute, you were sticking your tongue down my throat.
“My tongue was nowhere near your throat,” he said, now smiling. “And you left out the next minute where you were kissing me back.”
“No, no, no. I was simply reacting to a sudden and rude intrusion of my mouth.” I paused, shaking my head. “You know what? I think I definitely had way too much to drink tonight, so I’m … I’m going to go lay down. Can I use your room?”
He readjusted my dress and smoothed my hair before answering. “Sure.”
I expected him to walk away and leave me to get there on my own, but he grabbed my hand and led me down the hallway—past the bathroom and past the door that separated his suite from the rest of the place.
He unlocked the door to his room and hit the lights, motioning for me to get into his bed.
“Wait.” I felt a sudden chill hit my skin, bringing attention to my still slightly damp dress. “I need to take a shower. Can I use your shower for a few minutes?”
“Of course, you can,” he said, his eyes locked on mine. “You know you never have to ask me for anything like that.”
We stared at each other, and I was pretty sure that dampness I was feeling was not my dress.
“Um …” I stepped forward, looking away from him. “I’m going to go um … Take that shower now.” I moved past him and walked straight into the bathroom, but I saw his reflection in the mirror behind me seconds later.
He took a towel from the closet and handed it to me. “Here.”
“Thank you,” I said, wondering why he was shutting the door. Shutting the door without leaving.
“You’re not going to stay in here with me the whole time, are you?”
He smiled. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Do you watch Josh when he takes his showers? Do you get off on watching your friends naked?”
“No,” he said, smiling wider, looking me up and down and making my heart race all over again. “I was only going to help you get undressed because you’re not completely sober yet, just in case you can’t do it yourself.”
“I’m pretty sober, so I think I’ll be perfectly fine.” I felt my cheeks heating. “I take off my own clothes every day, all alone. So, I think I can manage.”
“I’m just being a good friend, Ari.”
“Yes. A friend, Carter.”
“A good friend.”
“Yes.” I was definitely more than drawn to him right now. “You’ve said that already.”
Our eyes locked again and I felt like I couldn’t even force myself to look away.
“Okay. I’ll wait in my room until you’re do
ne.” His eyes lingered on my lips for a few seconds, and then he left.
Swallowing hard, I shut my eyes and tried to think.
This is a dream, Arizona. A very sexy, titillating, yet random as hell dream.
You did not kiss Carter. He did not kiss you. You like him as your friend and you do not find him that attractive. You’re in his bathroom because you probably just went to the beach together and wanted to freshen up afterwards.
Yes. Yes, that makes much more sense.
I opened my eyes again and turned on the water—holding my hand underneath the faucet until I felt like it was warm enough. I pulled the shower lever forward to turn on the overhead streams.
Then I realized I hadn’t taken off my clothes yet.
That I couldn’t take off my clothes.
The zipper on the back of my dress was jammed, and I now remembered Nicole forcing it up a bit before we came to the party.
I considered ripping the dress off myself, but the fabric was too thick, so I decided against it. I walked over to the door and called Carter’s name.
He walked down the hall to me seconds later, with a knowing smile on his face. “Yes, Ari?”
“Could you please help me take off my dress?”
“Just your dress?” He raised his eyebrow.
“Yes.” I stepped back inside, letting him follow me. “Just. My. Dress.”
“Okay. Turn around.”
I turned around and felt his hands in my hair, felt him slowly pulling my hair on top of my head and attempting a makeshift bun.
He gripped my zipper and jerked it a few times before it gave, and then he slowly pulled it down until it reached my lower back.
I started to turn around, started to thank him, but he gripped my hips and held me still. Gently tracing the line above the clasp of my bra, he looped his fingers underneath the clasp and tore it free.
“Do you need help getting out of anything else?” he whispered.
I shook my head, completely turned on.
With my back still to his front, he hooked his fingers under the straps of my dress and pushed them down my shoulders—pushing the fabric down my arms, down my waist, down my legs.
He pressed his mouth against the back of my neck as he took off my bra, and then he whispered into my ear. “Are you sure you don’t need help with these?” He tugged at my panties.
“I’m sure.”
“Okay.” He kissed the back of my neck again and left the room.
I was pretty sure I stood there for twenty minutes, not moving, not blinking, and only trying to figure out what the hell that was.
When I finally came to my senses, I stepped inside the shower and stood directly under the streams. Shaking my head again and again, I kept wondering if it was a dream. Wondering why I was reacting so strongly to him all of a sudden.
He’s like a brother to me. I shouldn’t be thinking about him like this at all.
When my skin was red and raw, I turned off the water and stepped out, noticing he’d placed a white robe across the vanity for me.
I dried off and put it on, heading back to the bedroom so I could go and pass out.
Carter looked up from his desk as soon as I entered the room. “Ready to go to bed?”
“Yes, but um … You’re not …” My heart still hadn’t returned to its normal rhythm. “You’re not going to join me, are you?”
“No.” A slow smile spread across his lips as he stood up. “Not unless you want me to.”
“Are you implying sex right now?”
“Are you?”
My eyes widened, and he laughed.
He picked me up and tossed me onto the bed, fluffing the pillows and pulling the covers over me. He pulled out a few bottles of water from his mini fridge and set them on the nightstand next to me.
“I’ll come back and check on you in the morning,” he said. “Do you need anything else?”
“Um …”
“Um?” He raised his eyebrow. “You’re starting to say that word a lot.”
“I …” I felt a sudden oncoming of sleep. “I think you’re sexy as fuck, and if you weren’t my best friend, and this wasn’t a dream, I’d totally fuck you right now.”
“Excuse me?”
Everything went black.
Track 9. Tell Me Why (3:13)
Carter
What the hell was that?
I couldn’t get the last thing Arizona said out of my mind, nor could I stop picturing the way her mouth and body felt against mine at the party yesterday. That meant a lot, considering the fact that I was pissed about two major things right now.
Sighing, I wiped the last of Tina’s vomit out of my car and clicked the text she’d just sent me. “I didn’t know I was so drunk. OMG Sorry I messed up your car, I was serious about wanting to do anal sex first, though. Call me when you see this!”
Ugh. I put my phone back in my pocket, returning back to thoughts of last night.
The second I’d seen Arizona in that red dress, I couldn’t focus on anything else. Not even Tina, and I’d tried. Hard.
I’d done my best to seem interested in Tina’s bland and oversexed conversation, to act intrigued when she not-so-subtly showed me the color of the thong she was wearing, but no matter how many times she whispered how badly she wanted to ride me later, I could only think about Arizona and how badly I wanted to be with her.
What’s more, was when the two of us danced together at the end of the night, it didn’t feel as playful and innocent as it normally did. And I knew she could feel the difference, too; she’d never blushed around me before, and she’d definitely never touched me the way she did either.
I’d checked on her a few times after she’d gone to sleep in my room and when I noticed that she’d rolled off the bed and onto the floor, I made her wake up. I held a wet towel over her head as she quietly cursed at me, made her drink a bottle of water with aspirin, and then I waited until she fell asleep again. I was honestly beyond tempted to spend the rest of the night with her, to make sure she remained okay, but Tina had found me and was begging me to take her home, so we could have sex.
Maybe her vomiting all over my car was a good thing.
Still thinking, I walked down my driveway and unlocked the door to my backyard—coming face to face with the second reason I was pissed.
Red cups and beer bottles were everywhere, and quite a few people had passed out on the Slip N Slide’s yellow tarp. The jello pool was overturned, white T-shirts were hanging from a makeshift clothing line, and there were numerous partiers who’d made pillows out of some of my appliances.
I headed inside, looking for Josh so I could kill him.
“Hey, what’s up?” He smiled as I walked into the kitchen, holding up a frying pan.
“Do you see all those red cups and beer bottles in my yard?” I looked around my house. “On the floor in here, too?”
“Don’t worry about any of that,” he said. “Last semester’s newest class will be over in an hour to clean up everything. You want eggs?”
“No.” I grabbed an orange juice from the fridge. “Will the furniture be put back today as well?”
“Yep.” He flipped his eggs over. “Everything should be put back in order no later than three o’clock today. Maybe after you see how well everything is put back together, we can set up another business meeting about hosting an ‘Epic: Part Two’ party?”
I gave him a blank stare, and he laughed.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I saw you leaving the party with Tina around three. How did that go?”
“It didn’t,” I said. “She vomited in my car as soon as we hit the highway.”
“Oh. Well, let me guess. You helped her clean up and stuff when you got to her place?”
“Of course, I did.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m not as big of an asshole as you. How was your night?”
“Eh. I’ve had way better pussy, but it was still good.”
“Do I even want to know who the unlucky vi
ctim was?”
“No, not unless you promise you won’t judge me.”
“I will.” I laughed and stepped back. “Whatever extra stuff you put in the jello shots this time, you should seriously reconsider that next time you want to throw an ‘epic’ party.”
“Epic with a capital E, my friend.” He smiled. “And why would I reconsider anything? Because one person got sick?”
“Because everyone got sick.” I waved around the room. “Or do you not notice the twenty extra roommates we have this morning?”
“Noted. If you change your mind about another party, don’t forget that I’ll be willing to show you my worthiness around three today.”
I didn’t bother responding. I walked down the hallway and into my room, noticing that Ari was struggling to sit up.
“Stop.” I placed a pillow behind her back and helped her.
“Thanks.” She looked up at me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Ask away.”
“Did we really kiss each other last night or was that a nightmare?”
“Yes, we really kissed each other last night,” I said. “But even if we hadn’t, it would be more of a wet dream for you, not a nightmare.”
“Forget I ever asked.” She tried to roll over, but I held her still.
“Do you remember any of what happened last night?”
“What do you mean any of what happened?” She looked terrified. “We did more than just kiss?”
“No …” I said, not sure how to feel about her not remembering. “Do you want to stay here for the rest of the day, or do you want me to take you home?”
“I honestly can’t feel my legs right now …” she croaked, as she pushed her phone toward me. “Can you text Chris and ask him if we can skip tonight and go out tomorrow? I’m too hungover.”
“Being hungover means you’re incapable of texting?”
“I’ve texted your girlfriends before, and I didn’t complain.” She narrowed her eyes at me, handing me her phone.
I tapped her message box and noticed that Chris had sent her a shit ton of messages since last night. “Are you sure this guy isn’t the male version of Emily? He’s texted you damn near every hour on the hour since yesterday. You should probably read his messages first.”
