Aubrey introduces me to Tyler and we exchange a brief handshake, assessing each other like men usually do.
When we’re ready to drive to Margaux's, a fight starts among the girls for who’ll get to ride with Tyler.
Margaux’s voice reaches such a high pitch, that I worry about the windows of all the cars in the stadium lot.
“Of course I’m riding with Tyler! First off, I'm the fucking captain and second, we're going to my house, to my fucking party! So back off, bitches!”
She says it laughing but I'm pretty sure that Rachel, Macy and the other few girls around got the message loud and clear that Margaux is determined to have first pick of the fresh meat.
I help Aubrey into my truck and start driving, content to have her by my side.
“So, Tyler won't be bored tonight, huh?”
She giggles.
“Definitely not. But he wanted me to introduce him to the cheerleaders, so in this case I’d say ‘be careful to what you wish for’.”
“No shit! But that's ok, he’ll be entertained and I'll have some undisturbed quality time with my girl.”
The party is soon in full swing, with people playing the ever so popular beer pong, others chatting by the pool and we immediately spot Tyler who's being offered food and beer by Margaux, Rachel and Macy.
I'm about to ask Aubrey if she's hungry, when Devon arrives with a plate of food for her and Teague with a drink.
“I got you some OJ, princess.”
“Unless you prefer beer or a wine cooler?”
That’s Knox.
I’m looking for an excuse to ditch the guys the whole time we spend eating but to my surprise it’s Aubrey who asks the guys to clean up our empty plates and takes my hand, walking towards end of the backyard where the mansion’s extensive gardens sprawl out and away from the house.
She stops by a gazebo surrounded by bushes with the last roses of the season and she sighs when she looks into my eyes.
“Landon, I’m so sorry. Between the whole Tyler thing and the guys being so ... intense—”
Her face is lifted towards me and I cut her off with a soft kiss.
“It's ok, sweetie. It's my fault for asking you on a date somewhere where they're around.”
She strokes my cheek with delicate fingertips, her lips still extremely close to mine.
“But we can leave the party early and you can hang out with me at my place.”
The look in her eyes causes my heart to beat faster and I kiss her hard, exploring her mouth and breathing her in, enjoying the feeling of her soft body against mine.
We kiss for a while, surrounded by the scent of the roses and enjoying the warmth of this early fall night.
My lips begin wandering behind Aubrey's ear and down her neck but I stop when she shudders and I see goosebumps appear on her skin.
“Are you all right?”
She tightens the hold on my biceps and nods.
“Hmm, yeah. I just love being kissed on that particular spot.”
I take notice of the fact that I was kissing at the base of her neck, where her shoulder starts and I place another kiss there making her moan softly.
She pushes her body closer to mine and feeling her tits against my chest makes me start to harden in my jeans.
This is when usually things would start progressing possibly towards a hand job or a blowjob, or I would try to sneak my hand into the girl’s panties.
And judging by the way Aubrey's looking at me, she probably wouldn't reject me if I tried to do any of those things.
But there's some things I need to tell her before things go any further between us and I don't wanna do it here at the party, I want some real privacy.
“Do you wanna get out of here?”
She nods and tells me that it would probably be a good idea to find the others and tell them that we're going.
“I also wanna make sure that Tyler’s all right. I don't want it to get back to my daddy that I ditched him.”
We head back into the house and we find Teague playing beer pong with some of his teammates, while Devon and Knox are leaning against a wall watching with matching brooding expressions.
Knox looks especially angry.
Aubrey approaches to tell them that she's going home with me and ask them if they’ve seen Tyler.
Knox grunts clenching his fists, I’ve never seen him so angry.
“Tyler’s upstairs. With my sister.”
I know how much he hates Margaux's hooking up habits and I see from Aubrey's expression that she feels responsible for bringing Tyler along.
“I’m sorry. I—”
She offers and Knox's gaze softens a little when he fixes his eyes on her.
“It's not your fault, Aubrey. Margaux does what she wants, she couldn't give two fucks what others think.”
She tells him that she'll send Tyler a message on Insta to tell him that she decided to go home and asks if they could make sure that he knows.
This is when Devon puts a possessive hand on her shoulder.
“Baby, can I speak to you before you go?”
Aubrey's tone is kind but firm when she tells him that whatever it is, it'll have to wait until tomorrow.
“Sorry, Devon. This is my date with Landon. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”
And just like that, Aubrey and I are alone again as I drive my truck back to her house.
It's a quiet ride as each of us is lost in thought and I debate within myself how to tell her something I’ve never told anyone, especially not a girl.
The opportunity presents itself when I walk her to her front door and our goodnight kiss soon turns into a heated make out session against the door.
Her lips are so soft and her body feels so incredible against mine that I’d rather keep kissing her instead of having uncomfortable conversations.
But Aubrey finally breaks the kiss to invite me in and I know it's time, especially because we’ve been talking about how her and I have had less alone time compared to the others.
I follow her into her living room and when she takes my hand guiding me towards her couch, I follow her down, landing on top of her.
We kiss softly at first but soon I can't ignore the feeling of her underneath me and my hands skim the sides of her tits as if they had a will of their own.
Aubrey’s back arches into my touch and her teeth nip my bottom lip, sending a smouldering hot wave of excitement straight to my crotch. I'm so hard that I could explode, but I know that I need to tell her how I feel before we go any further.
I'm trying to muster the courage to talk when one of her hands starts sneaking inside my t-shirt and her touch makes me hesitate.
Maybe I should let things evolve naturally and ...
“Aubrey, I’m a virgin!”
She immediately stops touching me and straightens herself up to a sitting position.
Maybe I should have said it less abruptly but I guess there's no taking it back now.
She looks confused and so fucking beautiful, her chest heaving while she tries to calm down enough to speak.
“You're a —”
I’ve never been so embarrassed in my whole life: this is why I never told anyone.
Especially none of the guys on the team.
“Yeah.”
She looks perplexed.
“Landon, I mean no disrespect but how's that possible? You're as popular as Knox and Teague and I’ve seen Macy and Rachel literally chasing you down the sports building hallways begging you to let them blow you.”
Her incredulity makes me feel marginally better but now that the cat’s out of the bag, I know I owe her an explanation.
“I didn't say that I never had any kind of sex, I’ve hooked up with my fair share of girls, I just never did ... it. Other things, lots of other things.”
She seems to consider my words and she nods.
“Ok. I ... we don't have to do anything you don't want.”
I groan: this isn't going well.
> “Aubrey, I want to. You’ve no idea how much I do. But the reason why I haven't done it yet, is that I want to it to mean something. I want it to be special.”
Her eyes darken when I say that and I rush to clarify what I mean.
“I’m saying this all wrong. I want you, so much. I’ve been waiting for the right girl and I think you're it. What made me hesitate is this ‘situation’ we’re in. What I’m trying to say is that if I made love to you now and then you made your choice and it were one of the others—”
She sighs and comes closer to me, resting her head on my shoulder and looking into my eyes.
From this close, her eyes have beautiful silver coloured flecks in their dark blue depths.
When she speaks, I can feel the emotion in her voice.
“Thank you for being honest with me, Landon. Can I be honest with you?”
I nod and I’d be lying if I said that I weren't worried about what she’s gonna say.
If I just put too much pressure on her with what I want my first time to mean, that really wasn't my intention.
“You did everything but. I was in the opposite situation: nothing beyond a few kisses until that night on the beach with Devon. And I understand how you feel, you want it to mean something. And if we did it now, trust me, it would mean a lot to me because I care about you Landon. But I get what you're saying and ... I don't know what I’m gonna do with you guys. I have feelings for all of you and every time I think about letting even one of you go, I ... I can't even breathe.”
She looks away but I catch her chin with my hand, forcing her gaze back to mine.
“I can't breathe when I think that you might choose and it might not be me.”
A single tear falls down her cheek, creating a wet trail on her perfect skin.
I trace that wet track with my lips and I ask a question that was lingering in the back of my mind since last night, when I walked into this room and realised that Aubrey and Teague had just slept together.
“Do you even want to choose, sweet girl?”
She hugs me tighter, hiding her face in my chest.
“I wish I didn't have to.”
Her words have a strange effect on me: on one side, I wish she could just say that she wants only me.
But on the other hand, I wonder if I could live with her having relationships with all of us if that would mean no risk of losing her.
Could we coexist for the sake of being with her?
Her soft voice interrupts my thoughts.
“Landon, please stay with me tonight. We don't have to do anything but I wanna sleep in your arms.”
18.
The Eye Of The Storm
Devon
THE NEXT FEW WEEKS go by in a strange, peaceful routine: the guys and I pass every drug test and Aubrey keeps making sure that she's the only one handing us drinks before a game.
Tyler seems to be an ok kinda guy and shows up at every game, since he might be transferring schools he decided to ditch football and just play lacrosse in the New Year for Aylesbury, if his father signs the contract with RGS (Richmond Global Security).
He seems to hang out with Margaux all the time and I’m grateful because that seems to keep her unwanted attentions away from me and I can concentrate on Aubrey, on making our relationship grow and making amends for my stupid behaviour.
I know that she hasn't forgiven me completely but she seems to warm up to me a little more every day.
The only thorns in my backside are the others who are as relentless as I am in pursuing the girl I love.
It's Friday today and I’m in the best mood I’ve been in since the end of the summer: we're gonna play an away game in San Diego tonight and a few of us have decided to stay at Tripp’s house in Temecula.
He's throwing a huge party, the opposing team and cheer squad will be invited too and I summoned all my courage and asked Aubrey to be my date tonight.
She said yes and I admit that a part of me was surprised, I thought she'd make me beg.
Obviously I’ll have to tread carefully because I really wanna show her that I care and that I won't repeat the same mistakes that almost ended everything between us.
I saw the others’ expressions when I asked her: Teague and Knox seemed very annoyed, while Landon observed us with a pensive expression.
I'm thinking ‘fuck ‘em’, they wouldn't have even had a chance with Aubrey if I hadn't behaved like an asshat and ‘ruined everything with her’ when I almost walk into Margaux, coming out of a storage room where the cheerleaders keep all their equipment.
“Hey Devs.”
I nod in her direction but she obviously wants to talk to me because she asks me if I’d be her date tonight.
“Uhm, I thought we’d talked about it a few weeks ago. You're a great girl Margaux, but I like Aubrey. Like, seriously like her so it wouldn't be fair to treat you like a hookup.”
Our blonde cheerleader captain takes one step closer to me:
“And I thought that I was clear that unless you give me a reason to, I won't be able to keep people from gossiping about your family and how you grew up.”
I shrug and suddenly I don't feel sorry about turning her down anymore.
“Say whatever the fuck you want, Margaux. I told Aubrey everything and she doesn't care about how much money I had growing up or about my mom’s questionable morals. Plus, I thought you and Tyler were an item.”
“I only hooked up with Tyler to make you mad. He's all right but I like you. Devon.”
“I’m sorry. I already asked Aubrey to tonight's party.”
Margaux folds her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes in a venomous gaze.
“Really? And she said yes? I know she's been fucking my brother and Teague is all over her constantly, so I'm betting she's fucking him too. And she came to my party as Landon's date. So, is she fucking you all? Is that what you're into? If you want, I can ask Macy and Rachel and we can have some fun together. Or is it that you're into other guys?”
I don't dignify Margaux's provocation with a comment and tell her I gotta go.
“You're falling for her innocent act Devon, but she isn't a nice girl. She doesn't come from a nice family, you could do much better. You’ll come crawling back to me when you’ll realise that she's a fucking ho.”
I walk away without engaging with her any further but the exchange with Margaux has left a weird feeling in my gut.
And then it hits me: what if she drugged our drinks?
At first I think that it doesn't make sense because popularity to her is obviously very important, so my QB1 position obviously makes me more desirable.
But what if she just wanted to make trouble between me and Aubrey?
I need to find out if she said anything to her, but I need to tread carefully because she's Knox's sister and I doubt he’ll tolerate any kind of accusations towards her.
I hate the idea of talking to Aubrey about this on our date but that's my only opportunity to carve out some alone time with her, because normally the others are always around.
Aubrey
OUR TEAM WINS AGAIN: both Knox and Devon get the chance to play and they both score a touchdown, propelling our team towards the playoffs for the State Championship.
As I’m waiting for the guys after the game, I'm talking to Tyler and I’m surprised to see that he isn't taking Margaux to the party tonight but his date is actually Macy.
I don't ask because it's none of my business who he sees but I don't miss the pissed look on Margaux's face when Tyler opens his car door for Macy.
Knox's sister has been unusually quiet tonight and I caught her looking at me a few times.
I asked Knox what he said to her because obviously she's seen me showing up at parties and school events on Knox’s arm but also with Landon or Teague.
Knox told me to let him worry about Margaux, so I didn't tell her about me dating all the guys for now but I’ve caught her staring at me more and more recently.
We haven't
really talked much beyond official cheer team business after she tried to comfort me in the girls bathroom a few weeks ago.
But I don't think she cares much about who I date, because she made it clear that day that Knox wasn't a relationship kind of guy, so much so that she led me to believe that Knox had totally lost interest in me after we slept together.
I was relieved to discover that she was wrong and that Knox wants a serious relationship with me, because despite this making my choice harder, I really like Knox.
I like everything about him: he's handsome, smart, thoughtful, and so fucking sexy!
I spent a whole night with him last weekend and things between us are only getting hotter.
I try not to think about having to choose because my attraction for Teague isn't any weaker and after his apology a few weeks ago, our physical relationship has been growing and he took me out on a family outing. So I got to meet his parents and his younger brothers.
I was ambivalent about it: on one end, getting to know the guys better is the only way for me to make a choice but I felt embarrassed meeting his family when I know that I’m not dating Teague exclusively.
He told me to let him and the others worry about their families and I’m relieved that none of them are trying to put any pressure on me to choose quickly.
Landon is the only one I confided in about my complete inability to choose and I admit that things between us have been progressing fast and my feelings for him are growing every day.
Probably the fact that he knows how I really feel is a huge factor because when I’m with him, I feel less guilty.
We haven't slept together but we’ve been exploring each other and the attraction between us is growing stronger and stronger and it's becoming harder not to cross the line that he's clearly drawn.
I know that if I slept with him he’d think that I made my choice, so I’ve been letting him lead the way when it comes to how close he wants to get on a physical level.
And then there's Devon: I didn't make things easy for him, I meant it when I said that he has to earn my trust after the way he behaved with me.
Beverly Hills Prep Academy The Complete Boxset : A Light Bully Romance Page 84
