by Kai Juniper
I pause a moment to think. "Can you come over tonight?"
"For what?"
"We need to talk about this. We all have to be on the same page in case someone else asks what happened. Can you be here or not?"
"I guess. What about Parker and Ella?"
"I'll call them. Be here at seven and don't be late." I sound just like my father, giving people orders like he does to me. I need to stop doing that, but I have to with Finn or he won't show up. I switch the phone back to Parker. "Can you meet at seven?"
"Why? What's going on?"
"We have to come up with a story to tell the insurance agent. He didn't believe the parking garage story."
"What the hell difference does it make how it happened? The car still needed to be fixed."
"Let's just meet and figure out a story. My dad's going to be gone all night so we'll meet here. I'll call Ella and let her know. See you tonight." I end the call and phone Ella.
"Briggs?" she asks, sounding surprised that I'm calling.
"Hey, can you meet tonight?"
"Why? What happened?"
"I'll tell you when you get here. We're meeting at my house at seven. Just push the call button on the gate to get in, or I can give you the code." I text it to her. "I just sent it to you." I probably shouldn't have done that. My dad hates it when I give the code out to people but I'm pretty sure I can trust Ella. I doubt she'd come back later to rob us. She's probably never stolen anything in her life. I've stolen plenty of things, including a yacht, but I was drunk at the time and only took it out for an hour.
"I can be there but I can't stay long. I need to study."
"You can study tomorrow."
"I have to work until four and then I told my dad I'd help clean the house. He's calling me about something. I have to go, but I'll see you at seven," she says before ending the call.
If my father found out Ella's coming here he'd be pissed. He hates her dad for refusing to sell his house. It does bring down the look of the neighborhood but if it bothers him that much, he should've bought a house on a different street, or stayed at our old one, the house I actually liked.
At seven sharp Ella shows up. I knew she'd be the first one here. She's probably never late. I'm usually not either but only because my father drilled in my head long ago that being late gives a bad impression that could last for years and kill any chance for a business relationship. This included being late to social gatherings since even friends could be potential clients if you play your cards right. My father doesn't actually have friends. He has potential clients. That's what he calls his friends.
"Come on in," I step aside, letting her into the foyer.
She looks up at the high ceiling. It's over twenty feet tall and has a black metal light fixture hanging down from it. The old house had a crystal chandelier, which my dad hated. His decor style is metal and dark wood.
"We're meeting in the living room," I say, waiting for her to follow me.
She's still staring at the ceiling so I take the opportunity to look at her. She's wearing denim cutoffs with a white tank and an orange plaid shirt over it, left unbuttoned. She probably just threw those clothes on, not thinking they were anything sexy, but damn, it's got me thinking dirty thoughts again, like how I'd like to slide my hand under the hem of those shorts, or yank down that tank and feel those perfect tits.
"I've never been in a house like this," Ella says, her gaze slowly lowering to the rest of the foyer.
"You want a tour?"
"Don't we have to wait for the guys?"
"They'll let themselves in. And they probably won't be here for another ten minutes. Maybe a half hour. They're never on time." I walk to the hall. "Follow me."
I show her the kitchen, which is all white with high-end, stainless steel appliances that never get used. My dad and I do our own thing for meals, which usually means takeout for me and going to fancy restaurants for him.
"This kitchen is huge," Ella says, opening the oversized fridge. "You guys don't have any food in here."
"There should be some leftover Chinese food." I meet her by the fridge. "Right there." I take out the container. "You want it?"
"I already had dinner."
I put the food away and shut the fridge.
"The garage is out there." I point to it. "And the hallway next to it goes to the laundry room."
"Where does that go?" She points to the back door.
"The pool and the patio. There's also a guest house out there but my dad's talking about tearing it down and replacing it with an office." I walk back to the hall, with Ella right behind me.
"Isn't there an office already in the house?"
"Yes, but he wants another one for his assistant for when he works from home."
"How often does he work from home?"
"All the time. He goes to the office during the day and then works again when he gets home, unless he's out having dinner with clients. That's where he is tonight. He'll probably be home late." I open the door to the dining room. "This is where he has client dinners."
Ella pokes her head in the room. "You guys don't eat in there?"
"We don't eat meals together."
"What about when your mom lived here?"
"She never lived here. She lived in the old house."
"But did you guys have dinner together?"
"Only at holidays. I usually ate in my room or sometimes in the kitchen in front of the TV."
She turns to me. "That's kind of sad."
"Why is that sad?"
She shrugs. "I just like the idea of families eating together. I love having dinners with my dad. It's the only time we sit down and talk."
"You like talking to your dad?" I ask like she's crazy. I dread talking to my dad and try to avoid it whenever possible.
"I love talking to him. He's a good listener."
I tense up as she says it, feeling my anger rise as I think about how unfair it is that some people get decent parents while other people get parents who give them bruises and tell them they're stupid.
I continue down the hall. "The rooms we just passed were my dad's office and his study." I stop at the living room. "We'll meet in here when Finn and Parker show up. Could be another ten minutes, maybe longer for Finn. He's always late."
"Can I see the upstairs?"
"Yeah, but there's not much to see. Just some bedrooms." I point down the other hall. "Down there is the library and the gym."
Ella’s eyes widen. "You have a library and a gym? In your house?"
I smile at the shocked look on her face. For a moment I forgot she's not like everyone else at school who has a house just like this, or better than this.
"C'mon, I'll show you upstairs."
I show her the three guest rooms, then let her peek in my dad's room but don't let her go in. I end the tour with my room, which is kind of a mess with clothes on the chair and the bed unmade.
"Your room is almost as big as my house," she says, going in it.
"That's it for the tour. Let's go." I wait at the door, wanting her to get out of my room because seeing her there makes my mind go back to the thoughts I had of her being in my bed, and in my shower.
"Is this your mom?" She holds up a photo I have on my bookshelf.
“Yeah." I walk over to her and take the photo, setting it back on the shelf. "It's from a few years ago."
"Was she a model? She's really pretty."
"She did some modeling when she was younger but nothing major. She was hoping to get into acting but then she got married and had me."
"Did she ever work?"
"Not a regular job. She planned parties for my dad and his clients and did charity work with the other rich moms. I guess you could call that work."
Ella walks over to my bed and sits down. "So why are we meeting?"
I don't answer, too distracted by seeing her on my bed. Why would she sit there when I have plenty of other places to sit, like my desk, which is not sexual at all, although no
w I'm having dirty thoughts about doing her against the desk.
"I'm guessing something happened?" she says.
"The Range Rover. The insurance company doesn't believe Finn's story about how it happened. They said the damages don't match up with what he told them. They're calling him on Monday to ask him about it."
"Why do they care what happened?" She gets up and walks over to me. "It's already fixed, right?"
"Yeah, but if they think he ran into someone they'll want to know, in case that person shows up later demanding the insurance company pay for whatever damages he did to the other car."
"Is that what they think? That he hit someone?"
"I don't know but I'm guessing that's what it is. I don't know why else they'd be asking to talk to him."
She chews on her lip, her eyes bouncing around the floor. "What if they think he hit someone? Not someone's car, but an actual person?" She looks up at me, panic covering her face. "If they think that's what happened, they'll put it together. I'm sure they know about the hit-and-run. It's all over the news. And Finn's Ranger Rover was brought in to be fixed right after the guy was hit." She's breathing fast, barely able to get the words out. "What if they find out? What if they—"
"They won't," I say, pulling her into my arms. I wasn't even thinking. I just did it. She was panicking and for some insane reason I felt the need to comfort her. What the hell is going on with me? I used to torture this girl and now I'm holding her in my arms?
"This is bad," she says, not even trying to pull away from me. "Insurance people are like detectives. They can tell when you're lying."
"Finn's their customer. They're not doing this to get him in trouble. They're just covering their asses in case someone else was involved and demands payment for any damages. Finn just needs to convince them nobody else was involved."
"I'm not sure I trust Finn to do that," she says, her body relaxing against mine.
"I'm not either but we don't have a choice. Everything will work out. We just need to give it time and this will all go away."
She looks up at me. "But what if it doesn't?"
I look back at her, not answering, and not wanting to talk about this anymore, or about anything. I just want to look at her, at those deep, brown eyes, those full lips, the ones I desperately want to kiss. Part of me thinks I only want her this bad because I know I could never have her. Because I know she hates me as much as I hate her. But then why haven't I wanted her like this before? Why now? Is it because of the accident? Do I feel closer to her knowing we share this secret?
"Briggs, what if the guy dies?" she asks, that panicked look still on her face. "What if he—"
I lean down and kiss her, cutting off her words and cutting off the part of my brain telling me not to do this. I know it's wrong. I know I shouldn't have done it, but I did, and now it's too late.
She's not pulling away. Just like last night, she's kissing me back. I wrap my hands around her face and feel her lips part, her soft breath mixing with mine. I slide my tongue in her mouth and hear what I think was a moan but it was faint. I probably wouldn't have even noticed if I wasn't paying attention.
I keep waiting for her to shove me away but she's not, and it's confusing the hell out of me. Is this some kind of joke she's playing to get back at me for bullying her?
"Why are we doing this?" I say, gently pulling away. I keep hold of her face and look in her eyes, as if they'll tell me an answer her mouth won't.
"I don't know," she says, looking away.
"You hate me."
She doesn't respond.
"So why are you letting me do this?"
Her eyes return to mine. "I can't answer that. I guess I just..." She pulls away from me and goes to sit on the bed.
"You what?" I ask, going over to sit next to her.
"I um...I liked what you did last night. The kiss. In the parking lot."
"And you wanted to do it again?"
"I guess," she says, looking down at the floor. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I wouldn't even be talking to you if we weren't having to deal with what happened, but now we're kind of stuck in this together and..."
"And you feel like things have changed between us."
"Yeah." She turns to me and our eyes meet.
"I feel the same way, like something shifted between us. We've always been enemies but now I kind of feel like we're on the same side."
"We don't have a choice. We're trusting each other to keep this huge secret." Her eyes move over my face. "You know how hard that is for me? To trust you?"
"I do." My gaze lowers to her lips and I notice her breaths speeding up. I reach over and smooth my hand over her hair, once, twice, and on the third time, I keep my hand behind her head and gently pull her toward me. She doesn't resist, and before I can stop myself, I lower my mouth to hers. I hear that soft moan again and feel my cock pushing against my jeans.
She slides toward me, gripping the front of my shirt. If she were any other girl, I'd pick her up, lay her down on the bed, and strip her naked so I could do all the dirty things my mind is conjuring up as I kiss her.
But I can't do that with Ella. It'd end whatever this is that we started, and I'm not ready for it to end. I want to see where it goes. I've never been this turned on by a girl, and she's not even naked. It's more than her body that arouses me. It's her fight to not give up or give in. Her drive to succeed. Her sassy mouth that tries to put me in my place, even though I know there's a part of her that's scared of me.
My hand moves to her thigh, testing to see how far I can take this. She doesn't tell me no, or try to move my hand, so I slowly slide it up, stopping when I reach the torn hem of her shorts, which got pushed up to her crotch when she sat down. I move my thumb just the slightest bit but enough to slip under her shorts. It's such a slight movement I could say it was an accident if she yelled at me for it. I could say I got so into the kiss I didn't notice what I was doing. She wouldn't believe me but I'd still say it if I needed to, but it may not come to that because she's not pulling away. She's got her hand wrapped around the back of my neck, not letting me go. Moving slowly, I slide my thumb up a little more until I feel her panties. They're silky with a bit of lace. I never would've thought Ella would be a silk-and-lace type of girl. I imagined her wearing cotton panties, although in my fantasies she didn't wear any at all.
"Briggs," she whispers over my lips. Is she telling me to stop or keep going? I can't tell. Normally, I'd keep going without even questioning it but I can't do that with Ella, not if I want to do this again. I have to be cautious, go slow, and let her decide what's next.
I'm not used to that, and I'm not sure I like her being in charge, but I like what we're doing right now so I'll do anything to keep it going.
I feel her legs part by maybe an inch, which isn't much but it's enough to give me the answer I was hoping for. I kiss her a little harder, but not aggressively, and then ever so slowly, I slip my fingers under panties. She breaks from the kiss, breathing so hard it's like she can't catch her breath.
I give her a moment, then fuse my mouth with hers and start to slowly slide my fingers back and forth over her slick center. She moans, loud enough for me to clearly hear it this time, and making me want her so bad my cock is literally aching to be inside her. I keep going, my fingers circling over her clit, making her body tremble like she's about to come. I plunge a finger in her and then another.
“Briggs, you upstairs?” I hear Parker yell.
Ella pulls away from me and gets up from the bed. "We did NOT just do that! Understand?"
"Yeah." I sigh as I stand up. Why the hell did they have to show up now? They're always at least a half hour late.
"You in there?" Parker yells, banging on my door.
"Yeah, just a minute." I look at Ella. "You good?"
Ella's standing in front of my mirror, straightening her shorts and smoothing her hair. "Yeah, go ahead."
I open the door and see Parker there but not Finn. "We're mee
ting downstairs. Go wait in the living room. Where's Finn?"
"Trying to open your dad's liquor cabinet," he says with laugh.
"Go down there and stop him. He can't be drinking when he's supposed to be practicing what to tell the insurance guy. I'll be down in a minute."
"Hey, I wanted to talk to you before we go down there." He shoves open my door and sees Ella. He looks at me, anger filling his eyes. "What's going on in here? Why is she in your room?"
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ella
"I asked him to give me a tour of the house," I say to Parker, hoping he'll believe it. I don't want Parker and Finn finding out about Briggs and me, not that there's anything to find out. We were just...I don't know what we were doing, but I still don't want Parker and Finn knowing about it. Briggs better not tell them. If he does, I'll kill him.
I'm still trying to believe it happened. I let Briggs kiss me, and touch me in a way only one other guy has ever done.
When it comes to guys, I'm a little inexperienced, or some would say more than a little. I have even less experience than Charlotte, which you would never guess because she's so shy around guys. But last summer she went to music camp and hooked up with a trumpet player. She showed me his photo. He wasn't my type but he was okay looking. Charlotte said he was a gentle lover—her words, not mine—and that he was just what she wanted for her first time. I never imagined what I wanted for my first time. I assumed it wouldn't happen until college, which I'm sure it won't since I hate all the guys at my school.
The guy I was referring to—the only other guy who got to third base with me—was Jax, the gym rat with the great body. We were making out in his room and I let things get farther than I'd planned because I was tired of being so innocent. I was even prepared to have sex with him that night, but seconds after his hand went up my skirt I quickly changed my mind. The way he touched me was so bad. He poked and prodded and had no idea what he was doing. I decided then that sex could wait until college, where hopefully guys would have learned some things.
But Briggs just proved that some guys have already learned—and perfected—these skills while still in high school. I wasn't going to let Briggs get even close to that part of my body but when his hand landed on my thigh I was flooded with feelings that were too good to stop. So I let him keep going, and when his fingers slipped under my panties, I almost came. If I had, he'd know how inexperienced I am, which would've given him just another thing to make fun of me for. Wanting to avoid that, I was about to pull away, but then he slid his fingers in me and I couldn't do it. I wanted more. I could feel it building and didn't think I could stop it until I heard Parker yelling from downstairs.
