The Right One

by Ariadne Wayne

  I smiled, reaching up to touch his face. “No. I wouldn’t be in bed with you if that was it." Running my finger down his cheek, I tilted my head to the side. "I went to see Olivia during the week. What she’s been through has been life-changing. She’s struggled for so long, but now everything has changed for her.”

  “Meeting you changed my life.” His words touched me, and my insides melted as he turned his head to kiss my hand.

  “It’s been pretty good for me, too.”

  “So you’re not pulling out of our arrangement?”

  This time, his choice of words made me giggle and I pushed him off me and onto his back, straddling his hips and lowering myself back onto him. “No, no pulling out going on here.”

  “Do you know why I like you so much, Becs?”

  “You get sex on demand and I’m insatiable?”

  “That, and you make me laugh. It’s pretty damn hot.”

  Right at that moment, I just wanted to chain him to the bed and keep him. I wiggled my hips and he let out a loud moan, all the while with a big cheesy grin on his face.

  “Was that for real?” I asked.

  “Do it again and maybe I’ll tell you.”

  I laughed, leaning over to kiss him. With him I always felt comfortable in my own skin, never needing to watch what I said. I could just be myself.

  What have I been doing with my life?

  “Do you know what else I like?” he whispered, nipping at my neck as I lay flat, pressed against him.

  “What?”

  “I like that I can just be myself with you.”

  I wiggled my hips again and cried out as he rolled us both over, claiming the top spot once more.

  “Come and see me play?”

  My mind went blank as he said it. He’d managed to get me on such an angle I was about to …

  “Holy shit, Elliot.”

  “What? Is that a yes?”

  I nodded franticly, wiggling my hips and letting out a grunt that started him laughing and he came shortly after me with a guffaw in my ear.

  “Well, that’s never happened before,” I said.

  Elliot rolled off me, and I turned my head toward him, meeting his eyes as we both dissolved into fits of laughter. He slid his arm under my neck and I wriggled closer to him, my heart as warm as my body.

  “You’re my best friend, you know? I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life.”

  “You’re not so bad either. For an old chick.”

  I gaped, slapping him on the arm as the grin on his face grew bigger.

  “So, are you coming to hear me play?” he asked.

  “Where and when?” Right at that second, I would have done anything he asked.

  “Tomorrow night at the Capitol Club. We’re on stage from nine until ten.”

  I took him in, the pleading in his eyes, the smile on his lips. He really wanted me to hear him play. I hesitated, for a moment unsure of what to say. All this time we’d been screwing and we’d only once left the little bubble we’d put around us. Our relationship barely existed beyond the front door.

  “What’s your band’s name?” All this time, and I didn’t even know. There was so much I didn’t know about Elliot, so many things we’d never discussed. Hell, I knew one day he wanted children, but I didn’t even know what his parents did, anything about his childhood, or the name of the band he’d played in since before we met, even if it was off and on.

  “Oblivion.”

  I screwed up my nose. “That’s a bit morbid.”

  “So will you come and watch me play?”

  “Maybe.”

  “That’ll do.” He kissed me, his tongue pushing into my mouth with so much urgency it might have been possessed. Maybe he was just excited.

  * * *

  The fabric was soft against my skin, the satin glinting in the bedroom light as I turned from side to side. I’d get away with not wearing a bra with this top. The shoestring straps and low neckline made me feel almost naked, but there was enough fabric to cover up the bits I didn’t want to show off.

  “Not bad for an old chick,” I said, grinning at my reflection.

  I grabbed my handbag and pulled my cash card out of the purse, shoving it into one pocket, my phone in the other. That should be enough to get me through the night without carrying too much crap around. Olivia teased me all the time about carrying around the kitchen sink with me; tonight I travelled light.

  As I drove closer to the city, the crowd thickened. People were everywhere, some already staggering out drunk from bars, most just having a good time. It had been forever since I’d done anything like this. I was much more of a homebody, quite happily curling up with a bottle of wine and watching television until I fell asleep.

  The closest park I could get was a block away, and as I stepped out of the car, the cool night air hit me, the light fabric of my shirt rippling in the slight breeze. I’d never been more glad to have worn jeans in my life; at least the bottom half of me was warm.

  I shivered, pulling at the shirt to stop it from clinging to me. The last thing I needed were random strangers in the street seeing that the cold had made my nipples stand up straight. What I really wanted was a cardigan.

  It would have been easy to get back in the car and go home, but instead I took a deep breath and headed toward the club.

  Thump, thump, thump.

  The beat was pounding from halfway down the block, and I forced my eyebrow down as I took in the girls with skirts up to their navels, and tops with much lower necklines than mine. If anything, it made me feel far less self-conscious as I approached to pay the cover fee.

  I pushed my way into the building, pondering the legality of just how many people were inside. I looked around for some indication of their fire limit and …

  Stop acting so old and responsible.

  I found a gap in the hot, sweaty bodies dancing around me, and spotted Elliot on the stage already. They must have gone on early.

  If I’d ever thought he was hot before, he looked crazy sexy now. His muscles flexed as he put all his effort into playing his guitar, slapping it into submission as it wailed.

  I couldn’t move. I was stuck to the spot, mesmerised by this rock god on stage. It was a beautiful sight, and as I slipped my hand into my pocket to grab my phone to take a photo, I noticed someone watching me.

  He was tall with a bushy dark beard, and wore jeans with a flannel shirt. Oh great. Attract A Hipster night. He swaggered toward me, his eyes firmly focused on my chest, and I sighed, shaking my head. All this effort for Elliot—I hadn’t thought of the unwanted attention my plunging neckline might bring.

  Ignoring him, I raised my phone, lined up the photo and clicked. Somehow it captured him perfectly, that scruffy hair flying just as he threw his hand down to hit the next note. Whatever happened between us, I had this moment when my best friend, my lover showed his skill to a very excited, primarily oestrogen-filled audience.

  “Hey,” Mr Hipster said, still not raising his eyes to my face.

  “Not interested.”

  He stood there as the song finished, and I looked past him as a little blonde thing in a barely there skirt jumped up on the stage. She grabbed hold of Elliot, and she had to be a surgeon the way she started performing a tonsillectomy on him. With her tongue.

  Pains in my chest grew as I stood there, unsure of my next move. Go closer and let him know I was there? Find out he wanted it?

  It was easier just to leave and pretend I'd never been here. He didn’t owe me anything. I’d been a fool to not think about his life outside my house. I fought back the tears as I turned to leave, not helped by the twat who had approached me grabbing hold of my arm. He had a strong grip, and the panic rose in me as he pulled me closer to him.

  “Not running away, are you?” Now he was this close, I could smell the alcohol on his breath. His eyes were red and glazed, and I yanked my arm away from him, scared of what might happen if I didn’t get out of there.

&nb
sp; “Get off me.”

  “Come on.” He grinned.

  I shook my head, rolling my eyes, and pushed my way past the people blocking the exit. Pausing as I got to the door, I gulped the cold fresh air that punched my lungs as I tried to make sense of everything.

  What an idiot.

  “Are you alright, miss?”

  I jumped as the bouncer beside me spoke. I hadn’t even seen him, but he was pretty hard to miss, just a big ol’ wall of muscle.

  “No. Some dickhead grabbed me in there. Wouldn’t be surprised if I have a freaking bruise from it.”

  “What did he look like?”

  “Tall, jeans and a red flannel shirt, big long beard.”

  “Shit. That describes half of the guys in there.”

  I shook my head. “Sorry, that’s about the best description there is.” I looked back over my shoulder, only to spot him. “That one there.”

  The security guard turned and spoke to another man behind him, who nodded and disappeared into the crowd.

  “He won’t be doing that to anyone else.”

  I swallowed hard, grateful, but now was a good time to disappear back to my car and not linger while the dickhead got thrown out into the same street I stood on.

  “Thanks. I’ll be going.”

  The guard nodded, winking at me as I turned on my heel and set off down the street at a stiff pace.

  When I got to my car, I sat for a moment taking deep breaths, and I leaned back in the driver’s seat, looking at myself in the rear-view mirror.

  “What were you thinking, Rebecca? Those girls are all ten years younger than you.” I shook my head as I spoke to my reflection.

  Time to go home.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The sound of the shower woke me a little after two in the morning. It could only be one person, and I slid out of bed, stumbling toward the faint light showing under the en suite door.

  Elliot grinned when he saw me, sliding back the shower door just a little.

  “Wanna join me?”

  I shook my head, lowering the toilet lid so I could sit on it, just wanting to go back to bed and away from him. But at the same time I wanted to be near him, as he seemed to want to be near me.

  “You okay, Becs?”

  I shrugged, rubbing my eyes. “Half asleep. Why are you here?”

  “I had an amazing night,” he said. He lifted the shower head from the cradle, running it over the last of the soap bubbles, which ran down his body and into the drain. He pulled back the shower door and grabbed a towel from the rail beside it. “I wish you’d been there. The crowd went nuts.”

  Leaning forward, I buried my face in my hands rather than answering, his hands landing on my shoulders as he stood over me. I looked up. He’d wrapped the towel around his waist and was standing there, all dripping wet and smelling of Johnson’s baby soap. My favourite.

  “You look tired.”

  I feel about a million years old compared to the girls throwing themselves at you.

  “I’m just glad it’s Sunday. At least I get to sleep in,” I grumbled. I stood, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, my hair tousled from sleep, probably with a million little tangles to brush out. What a sight.

  “Come on, beautiful. If you’re up for it, I could do with a little tension release before sleep. I’ll make you bacon sandwiches in the morning.”

  My eyebrow crept up. “You want to stay the rest of the night?”

  “It’s two in the morning. Where else am I going to go?”

  “Home?” I shrugged.

  His eyebrows drew low as he looked at me, scanning my face for something. “Do you not want me here?”

  “I’m half-asleep. I don’t know what I want.”

  I pushed past him, exiting the bathroom and flopping onto the bed, face down.

  “Is that an invitation to something new?”

  No matter how tired, annoyed, and frustrated I was, that made me laugh, and I rolled onto my back as he lifted the towel to dry himself off.

  Articulating my emotions was too hard, so I lay and watched this beautiful, naked man in my room as he dried himself before climbing into bed beside me.

  “What are you thinking?”

  That this is the weirdest night ever? That I feel further from you than ever, but all of this is just so intimate?

  “Nothing. I just want to go back to sleep.”

  His right arm slipped under my neck, pulling me to him.

  “I was there, okay?” I mumbled.

  “What?”

  “I came to see you play. Took a photo, saw you with a girl, got harassed and left again.”

  “Rebecca, look at me.”

  He had to be serious for him to use my full name. He was the only one who called me Becs, and that was all he usually called me.

  I met his gaze. For a change his expression was so serious. I fought the urge to just close my eyes and go to sleep.

  “You saw me with a girl?”

  “Yeah. You looked like you were playing tonsil hockey with her." I said.

  “And now you’re here, letting me climb into bed with you.” His expression didn’t change. No joking, no sign of any humour.

  I shrugged. “It's better than being in a cold bed.”

  There was that earnest look again. “Are you jealous?”

  Yes.

  I rolled my eyes. “No. I’d just appreciate it if you are putting your penis anywhere other than in my lady bits that you tell me so I can make a choice whether to keep doing this or not.”

  He nudged my head to one side, brushing his lips down my neck

  “We decided on monogamous friends with benefits. Just the way you wanted it. My penis only goes near your lady bits, no one else’s. I’d tell you if I was even considering that. I’m not about to disrespect you, Rebecca.”

  There it was again, my full name. What was up with him?

  “Oh, there was no performing tonsil surgery on her with your penis either?” I didn’t want him inside me if he’d been inside anyone else, but I didn’t stop him touching me.

  “She grabbed me, kissed me, and I told her thanks but no thanks. That was it. I wanted you with me. Are you sure you’re not jealous?”

  His hand was inside my panties now, his fingers stroking my clit, driving me insane. . It took everything in me not to make more noise, cry out as my climax approached. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

  “No,” I yelped as he thrust his fingers into me.

  “It’s okay if you are. I like it.”

  The bedside drawer opened and he pulled his arm out from under me as he fiddled with the condom. My head swum with a mix of emotion. Could we have an actual relationship? This friends with benefits thing had been fun, oh, so much fun. But there had to come a point where we worked out where it was going.

  It was easy to come home and sink into a warm bed with an eager man, rather than chase after anything else. And it wasn’t just that he wanted this too—he was sweet, charming, had the biggest heart of anyone I’d ever known, and had been willing to keep this whole thing a secret. Not that I was ever embarrassed by it.

  Having Elliot to love was the icing on the cake. Not just the sex.

  I gazed at him in a new light as the revelation hit me.

  “What?” he asked, his lips twisted into a confused smile. He was probably wondering about the way I was looking at him, as if I’d never seen him before.

  Elliot was this beautiful blond angel who had given me what I needed whenever I needed it. He was everything I’d ever been taught was wrong, and yet he felt so right. Being with him was just so easy, as if he was a part of me that was missing.

  “Nothing, just tired.” At least I could have tonight in his arms and wake with him, maybe even tell him how I was feeling after I’d had my morning coffee and could speak coherently. Staying was a first—maybe there would be many more sleepovers.

  As he moved over me, I ran my hand down his chest. We’d been intimate so
many times, but this was different. At least for me.

  “I’m sorry if seeing that upset you,” he whispered. “I wanted you to be there so you could share another part of my life. One you haven’t been a part of until now.”

  “I know, I’m sorry.”

  “Although, I’m kinda glad you didn’t stick around. Some big fight broke out as the bouncers tried to take out some guy who’d harassed a girl or something.”

  He slid into me, cocking his head as he began to thrust slowly. Leaning over, he kissed my shoulder before looking at my arm, his brows dipping in concern. “That’s an impressive looking bruise coming up. What did you do?” He bent his head, touching his lips to that same part of my bicep, kissing me better.

  “That’s probably where I got grabbed. Freaking dickhead decided that I might want to do something with him. I got out of there as fast as I could and set the bouncer on him.”

  He nodded, knowingly. “So it was you behind the big fight?”

  I shrugged. “Guess so.”

  “Trouble-maker,” he whispered. He picked up the pace, pumping in and out of me like a man possessed. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt. Don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”

  The words made me want to cry, but I held it in. For him to have come back to me. Could this really turn into …?

  I couldn’t even think the word it was so far out there.

  And as he came, groaning in my ear, kissing my cheek, the cool night air filling the gap between us as he pulled away to dispose of the condom, there was only one question circling in my head.

  Could he just be the one?

  * * *

  It was nearly ten before I woke, and while the bed was cold, the smell of bacon through the house brought me comfort, familiarity. What would I do without Elliot and his bacon sandwiches?

  I stumbled out of bed, grabbed a big T-shirt from my chest of drawers, and followed the aroma.

  Elliot stood at the cooktop, just the same way he had the day I met him, dressed in a T-shirt and boxers.

  I wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning my head between his shoulder blades.