Drawn To You (Paloma's Edge)

by Shaw, Robin

  “That’s why he brought his head down for you to touch it. How was it?”

  The sides of her face quirked up shamelessly. “Smooth, soft, and a little shiny!”

  ***

  Chase: Good afternoon, beautiful. Heard you two almost became groupies last night.

  Me: We had a blast. Thanks again. It did wonders for Brianna. I’ve got some signed bookmarks and stationery for you.

  Chase: Not big on autographs. I want a copy of the photo you and Bri took with them.

  Me: Ok. I’ll get it to you.

  Chase: Look forward to it.

  Hearing the sound of a door close drew my attention. I left my phone on the night table and shot up from bed. I opened the door and looked as Cassidy went down the stairs.

  “Hey Cassidy! Wait up.”

  “Beth.” She addressed me with a smirk.

  “I’ve been trying to meet up with you, but you haven’t replied to most of my messages. Can you spare me a few minutes?” I asked.

  “Sure. You must be eager to talk to me since you’d decided not to go on that date with Andrew.”

  I rolled my eyes at her and she pretended not to notice as she went into my guestroom. I got to the point. “I asked to talk to you because I feel like your story about you and Chase and his account of what took place don’t jibe.”

  She remained by the door. “And you believe Chase?” she asked in a mocking tone that only surprised me because I thought she’d try to act offended by my accusation.

  “When I reflected on it, I recalled that Chase could only take you in small doses.”

  “If that’s what you need to tell yourself so you don’t have to remember that I’ve had him first, so be it.” She pursed her lips and spun around. “Oh, and next time tell Brianna that big girls can handle their alcohol, and little girls should stay home and watch Golden Girls.”

  Seeing Cassidy for who she really was engendered strong dislike and a feeling of loss in me. The only thing I couldn’t change about our relationship was that we were related. I decided that I couldn’t tell Brianna about Cassidy’s comments. Cassidy liked to bring out the worst in people, so that she could appear to all that she was beautiful and harmless, while Brianna would be viewed as uncivilized. Directly or indirectly, Cassidy was not going to harm my friend if I could prevent it. And she’d definitely checked out my Facebook profile to learn that I absolutely love The Golden Girls. I still stand by that show having one of the funniest casts of women on television.

  “And big girls should learn that it’s a punk-ass tactic to try to shift the topic by bringing up someone into a conversation who can’t speak up for herself. It’s hard for me to take that you, my own cousin, doesn’t care that Chase isn’t here anymore and not working at the Paloma. What if he had nowhere else to go? Your skewed thinking is a definite cry for help.”

  Cassidy blew out a breath and her face screwed up in a sneer. “You need your head examined. You’re only here for the summer. Watch yourself, or you won’t only be motherless.”

  I straightened my hands by my sides because I really wanted to just punch her in the face for bringing up Cindy’s departure. There was some validity to what she was saying. I wouldn’t deny to Uncle Anton or Aunt Deborah what I thought about Cassidy if they asked me, and how I pitied her. I wanted nothing to do with her. At least, not until she was honest with herself and with others.

  And so I let her think that she’d had a small victory by having the last words. Joel’s words came to my mind; Chase didn’t do or say anything that he didn’t mean.

  ***

  Chase

  “Look who I found while I was at the market,” Bri said with a smile, and gently pulled Beth beside her.

  “Hey, guys.” Beth waved at everyone. Yesterday she and Beth had gone to the exclusive Tainted Virtue performance at the Double Dulce. Pierce got up to kiss her on the forehead and he raked his fingers through her hair, messing up the pretty style she had it in. Beth ran after him and we heard a high-pitched cry from the kitchen.

  “Is that Pierce crying like a little bitch in there?” Gavin laughed and folded his arms. “Let me find out!”

  When we were all in the kitchen, Pierce was on a chair by the dinner table, coughing with a reddened face. His blond hair was in all different directions. Beth and him were laughing, looking at each other with no more energy in left in them. She was on the floor, wearing the light denim skirt that had been imprinted in my memory since her first day at Paloma’s Edge. Her legs lay straight ahead of her, unblemished. As my eyes roamed farther up, her thighs looked like they were ready to be feasted on. They were toned, muscular, and supple, just how I’d imagined they’d be when I’d studied them days ago. I knew because I’d grasped those thighs with my own hands. I’d almost held those perfect little tits in my hand too, but her nipples had been calling out for some attention.

  “Quit messing with my hair,” Beth told Pierce with a little laugh. Bri helped Beth get up.

  Pierce sent her a gesture of surrender, but she didn’t look convinced. Everyone was in the small kitchen now, but it didn’t have that crowded feeling that I’d encountered in small places with a ton of people.

  “Pierce will think twice before he messes with your hair again,” Joel said as he took a seat beside Pierce at the table. With a snicker, he nodded to Beth, who acknowledged his gesture with a smile.

  “For real, ’cause that sounded eerily similar to my dad’s girl when she squeals.” Rylan made a face.

  Pierce gave a laugh. “Damn, Rylan. Ain’t no way I want you associating me with her.”

  I pulled a chair out so Beth could sit next to me and she accepted it. “So, I am free of you?” she teased Pierce.

  Pierce cocked an eyebrow at her and inhaled the smell of the pot roast along with the rest of us.

  After we were all seated, we devoured the pot roast in under ten minutes. With a proud glint in his emerald eyes, Gavin got up to serve seconds and thirds. No matter how many lessons I’d taken from Nancy, my food could not possibly taste as palatable, or be as pleasing to the eye as Gavin’s dishes. Even Bri made a point of making her desserts look pretty.

  Beth took her napkin from her lap and wiped the corners of her mouth. “Delicious, Gavin.”

  Joel eyed the stove. “Your slices of herb chicken and pesto pasta were on point, but you knocked it out of the park this time.”

  All of us made noises in agreement with Joel’s assessment and Gavin tried to smother a smile.

  Beth excused herself from the table and collected everyone’s plates. She started rinsing the dishes off and then placed them into the dishwasher. As Bri prepared everything she needed to make flan, which caused Joel to light up with glee, I got up from the table and helped her out.

  “Hey, Chase,” Beth said softly. She reached for the now-empty pots and pans.

  “Hey, Beth. What have you been up to today?”

  I couldn’t pretend that I didn’t like it when her gaze traveled from my eyes down to my lips. My cock hardened, and the apples her of cheeks darkened.

  “I was window-shopping,” she answered calmly. “Brianna called to see what I was up to.” I loved it when she tried to act unaffected. Putting another pot into the dishwasher, I titled my head at her and went into the living room.

  ***

  Bethany

  “May I?” I canted my head toward the spot next to Chase on the couch that no one sat on yet. There were two big couches in their living room and two sofas. Everyone was enjoying their flan, but I was still stuffed. When I’d gone to sit by Pierce, he gave me the “Is it really me you wanna sit with?” look that made his dimples show without smiling. I hadn’t responded. Pierce just chuckled at me and I’d decided I’d let him enjoy his husky laugh. He understood that I yearned to be with Chase and he didn’t get weird over it. Gavin, Brianna, Rylan, and Joel didn’t hide that they wanted to know what was going on between Chase and I.

  Chase’s expression was contemplative. I wondered
where he was mentally. He looked like he was miles away when he was right in front of me.

  Jerking his gaze up at me, Chase pulled me down, half of my rear landing on his thigh. I’d felt like I was going to break out in a downpour of nervous perspiration if I hadn’t busied myself with moving around and making sure the dishes had been cleaned after dinner. Having a meal next to him hadn’t been enough for me. I’d felt like there was a wide, cold river between us.

  Slanting a side of my body next to Chase, I felt his fingers journey into the nape of my neck, settling on the base of my head.

  “No more doubts?” Chase’s whisper feathered against my ear.

  “No more doubts,” I echoed, truly believing in that he was sincere. I wondered if this was how Cindy had started to weaken when it came to men.

  While Chase’s expression didn’t change, there was more vibrancy in his hazel eyes. I could so easily get lost in them. Secretly loving that it was dark in the living room, save for the reflection of the television, I propped my chin on his shoulder and pressed my lips to his neck.

  ***

  Chase

  After I opened my car door for Beth, I brought my hand to her shoulders and positioned her back against the side of my car. The breeze from the water blew through her hair, giving her that sexy bedhead look. She wasn’t worried about fixing her face or her hair or making sure that her skirt was perfectly aligned with those beautiful hips of hers. It’d been gratifying when she’d came to sit next to me. I knew that it took a lot of courage for her to show that part of herself in front of others, especially with Pierce present. Luckily, no one had offered to take Beth home, because I wasn’t done spending time with her.

  Cradling her face in my hands, her breathing grew deeper. “No more of this trying to be friends business,” I told her, and tasted her mouth. My hands went for her waist and fixed on the curve of her back, where I’d seen those two beautiful dimples that led me to her ass. Nodding her head, Beth pressed soft kisses to corner of my mouth, to the flesh at the center of lips, and when she went on her tiptoes, pulling my head farther down to give my cupid’s bow a little squeeze with her firm lips, I canted my hips. My swollen cock nudged her stomach. As much as I desired to hike up her skirt, pull down my jeans, and sink into her wet pussy, I fought it.

  Without her lip balm, she still tasted so unbelievably sweet. Beth dug her hands into the back pockets of my jeans, making my dick jerk into her more, and she moaned into my mouth. The erotic sound was like nothing I’d ever heard before. This slow, sensuous exploration of her mouth was unrestrained . Having her in my arms was nice, but taking ownership of those lips and her tantalizing tongue gave me a great sense of power over her. She dipped her tongue into my mouth, multiplying the sensations she triggered in me. She was giving me every bit as much as I was giving her. From the tortured look on her face, I knew she was throbbing between her legs. Her entire body turned soft in my hold. My hands returned to framing her face and she tried to look away, but I shook my head at her until she looked me directly again.

  “You’re so fucking beautiful,” I told her. “Have you any idea?”

  She laughed my comment off and reached to kiss me, but I pulled back a little.

  “You’re beautiful, Chase.”

  I rolled my eyes at her and she tittered a laugh. “You love hard. You don’t go half-assed into anything you do. And your face and your body surpass any of those tits and ass magazines I used to have. They’ve been gone since I saw you the day I brought you here. They’re trash. None of those girls compare to what I’ve got in front of me right now. I have you. You’re fucking beautiful, Bethany Pruitt. And you don’t have to be shy about knowing it.”

  I gave her one last peck on her pert nose. If we kept at it, we wouldn’t have any clothes on. As great as I knew it’d be to have her, I didn’t want us to go there under the influence of lust. We’d just come back from Cassidy trying to tear us apart. Connecting with Beth on a more physical level had to be like a slice of heaven. This morning, I’d marked another day on my calendar where I hadn’t had sex. Of course I’d jacked off last night when I’d been thinking about Beth, but still—only I’d touched myself in five months and a week. She had work tomorrow and deserved to be savored all day and night with no time constraints.

  I went to the trunk of my Altima to get my beach chair and beach bag. I was collecting myself, just like Beth was. She took the beach bag from me and I locked the car. It was fully dark out now.

  “You talked to her?” I asked, not even wanting to say her name when we reached the official entrance of Paloma Beach.

  “Yes,” Beth answered, holding onto my arm.

  “Any kind of attention to her is good attention.”

  “I’ll watch out for her, Chase,” she said.

  We walked some more until we had some privacy but weren’t too secluded, either. We found a perfect spot in the sand. About ten other people were on the beach as I unfolded the chair. Two of them were couples, making out like Beth and I had minutes prior. I watched Beth’s face burn. She was probably thinking along the same lines as me. She handed me a warm bottle of water from my beach bag and I sat down on my chair, widening my legs for her. She slid onto the seat, careful so that no one else got a glimpse underneath her skirt for both of our sakes. Beth’s back was against mine as we sat on the beach hair. She took the hoodie I’d given her out of her tote and draped it on her arm. I watched her smell it and quietly sigh. I kissed the top of her head. My hands were on her flat stomach and her breast jutted out of her top.

  “I don’t think I am gonna give this back,” she said playfully.

  “It’s yours.” Beth turned on her side, her gaze drifting to the bulge showing through my jeans, and her breath hitched. “Whether you’re around me or not, or on my mind, I get hard. Don’t give it any thought.” Inwardly, I gave myself a pat on the shoulder for saying it so smoothly—especially with the way her blue eyes twinkled.

  She fondled my dick through my jeans and I threw my head back because it felt so damn good, especially the barely-there strokes she gave me and how she firmed her grip on me. I took her hand back and placed it over my chest. I was so freaking hard I didn’t know how I even thought straight.

  “You don’t want me to touch you?” The hurt in her tone brought down my lust by several degrees. I peered at her. Confusion was etched on her face.

  I heaved in a deep breath and pulled a lock of her brown hair behind her ear, the back of my fingers trailing against the skin of her flawless neck that I’d become so addicted to. “I’ve been a slut for most of my life.”

  Beth grimaced. “Don’t use that word. It’s so ugly.”

  “It is when it’s used to make women feel ashamed of their sexuality, or when it’s untrue, but the truth can hurt. I don’t like how reckless I’ve been with my body. Like I said, I’ve been a slut. Okay, a man-slut, to be more technical about it. It’s all semantics to me. It’s been five months and one week since I’ve had sex. I’ve explicitly told you how much I want you, and that hasn’t changed.” I opened up my bottle of water and took a long gulp, which caused her face to soften. “I wanna wait a little longer before we go all the way. Is that cool with you?”

  As I put the bottle of water on my side, by the edge of the seat, her nipples pebbled through her shirt. Her breasts looked fuller. I looked at the sky and shook my head. Beth sat on my thigh and traced the tip of her tongue on my top and bottom lips. “It’s cool with me.” She pushed her tongue inside, laving against it. I reached for her hair instead of her ass, tightening my fingers in her hair. My tongue caressed hers and she hummed. Panting with warm and moist breaths, our tongues teased each other’s. As the movement of my hands lowered to her bare shoulder blades, I felt her swift heartbeats. Even in the semi-darkness, she was gorgeous. I could see every fine detail of her face that made her distinctly Beth. Her top exposed just enough of her skin for me to have access to her without feeling like I was being restrictive with myself when I�
��d touched her. It hugged her curves and it turned me on more that outside of work, she did her body justice.

  She separated her lips from mine. “You’re so good with your tongue. I couldn’t help myself,” she said breathily.

  “You are too,” I told her.

  She shot me a seductive look that made me want to go for a quick swim to take the edge off. She drew her hand away from me and settled between my legs again, her hair lying on my shoulder. When we were more relaxed, she guided my hands over her stomach and rested her arms on top of mine. Her sandals were off and I looked at her tiny feet, now painted in sky-blue nail polish, yet her nails were a beige color. “Where I come from most people consider my mom, who I’ve called Cindy since I could talk, a slut,” she started. “Uncle Anton and her were born and raised in Franklin Parks. Since Cindy was a teenager, she’s slept with many men. So when I started developing in middle school, I got the looks that she got.”

  She paused for a moment and I lifted her hand and kissed the front of it. She didn’t have to say that older men were in that category of perverse assholes that had made her feel uncomfortable. The thought made me flaccid. Beth probably had to worry about her image and self-esteem more than other young girls had because of her mom.

  “Everyone saw me and assumed that I was like her. I kept my head up and went to school. It wasn’t the end of the world. But what frustrated me most was that their assumptions about me didn’t come out of thin air. Cindy freely dated around and went to places in town that she’d frequented with other dates. Recently I learned that she’s with a married man.” She let out a bitter laugh. “I was stupid enough to think that she’d never be with a married man because she told me that was a line she’d never cross.”

  I shook my head.

  “Yeah. When I came home from school, my home was mostly bare. She’d run out of town with him.” She opened her tote again and I watched her unzip a small pocket inside and she gave me a tiny piece of paper. It read: Beth, Sorry but love doesn’t wait for you to be ready. – Cindy, xoxo. “That’s the note I found on my bedroom counter when I arrived home. Some days later, I found out that the rent hadn’t been paid in months. And that she didn’t renew the lease.”