by L A Cotton
“You’re only jealous,” Poppy said.
“Jealous? I don’t have time for girls,” he shot back, and her expression fell.
“He’s so clueless.” I murmured against the shell of Lily’s ear.
“Yep. I hope he realizes before it’s too late.”
“We’re guys,” I said. “It usually takes us a while.”
Lily smiled, stealing a kiss, careful not to apply too much pressure. She was concerned about my injuries, despite my protests that I was fine.
When she went to pull away, I tightened my arm around her and anchored her to me. Gently parting her lips with my tongue, I curled it around hers, tasting her. Teasing her.
Someone groaned from beside us and I flipped the room off. I’d waited a long time to kiss Lily in public; no one was going to stop me now.
Well, maybe Coach Ford.
But he was my girlfriend’s dad now.
I had to make a good impression.
“Did you get his message?” Ashleigh asked me some time later.
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“I think they’re fucking ridiculous.” I snorted.
“They only want to help. I think it’s sweet.” Her eyes flicked over to where Lily sat with Poppy and Sofia, the three of them playing quarters. I knew because I hadn’t taken my eyes off her the entire time I’d been playing pool with Aaron and Gav.
“She deserves this, Kaiden.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“So, you’re in?” A slow smile spread across her face.
“Yeah, I’m in.”
“Eek, okay. So I’ll take her back to the house and get her ready and we’ll meet you there later?”
“She’ll know something is up,” I said.
“Yeah, but she won’t suspect this. I’ll think of something to throw her off the scent.”
“Okay, what do you need me to do?”
“Tell her that you need to head home and that you’ll see her tomorrow.”
“I can do that.” I went to go, but Ashleigh grabbed my arm. “I’m glad she has you, Kaiden.”
“Thanks.” My brows crinkled.
I made my way over to the girls and scooped Lily up, dropping down onto the couch with her on my lap. “Who’s winning?”
“Poppy. I’m terrible.”
I snatched up a quarter and flicked it into the cup. “Nothing a little practice won’t solve.” Kissing the end of Lily’s nose, I ran my fingers over the ends of her braid. “You know, there’s a lot I want to forget about last night, but I can’t get the image out of my head of how beautiful you looked with your hair down.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You know what I mean. It shouldn’t have gone down like that. Our first high school dance.”
“First?” Panic flared in her eyes.
“Well yeah, there’s Winter Formal… Spring Fling… Prom.”
“I guess there is, isn’t there?” Her cheeks pinked.
“Yeah.”
I didn’t care about all that stuff. But I cared about Lily and she deserved to have the full senior year experience.
She deserved to shine.
Curving her hand around my neck, she leaned in. “I want all my firsts to be with you, Kaiden Thatcher.”
Fuck.
Fuck.
She stole the air right out of my lungs. I wanted her. I wanted her so fucking much.
“You know I’d planned on giving myself to you last night… at Bryan’s.” She buried her fingers in the back of my hair, raking her nails over my scalp.
“Fuck, Lily,” my voice cracked with lust.
“I hate that she stole that from us.”
“Don’t even think about her. Lindsey will get what’s coming to her.” With Coach Ford in his daughter’s corner, if the school didn’t handle it, I had no doubt he would.
“We’ll never get last night again.” Her smile fell, and it cinched my chest.
“Never say never,” I whispered the words as I kissed her.
Wondering if she knew the lengths I’d go to, to make her happy.
“Would you relax already?” Bryan walked over to me and gave me a beer. “You’re as tense as fuck.”
“You would be too in my position.”
“Dude, it’s not your wedding day.” He scoffed. “Lighten the fuck up.”
“Thanks for this. You didn’t need to do this. Either of you.” I craned my neck around to look at Peyton. She was busy putting the finishing touches to her makeup.
“It was nothing.” She waved me off. “Besides, we had fun, right, Bry?”
“You know it, sweet stuff.”
“Did you two…” I mouthed out of view from Peyton, and he grinned.
“I never kiss and tell.”
“You dirty dog.” I smirked, shaking my head.
“What? We got done earlier than planned and had some time to kill.”
“Heard that,” Peyton said, humor lacing her words.
“Does it mean you guys are—”
“Nope.” She leaped down off the stool and fluffed her hair. “Bry knows the deal, don’t you, babe?”
“Babe?” My brow arched.
Bryan looked unfazed, grinning like the cat who got the cream. “It’s all good, babe.”
Shooting him a bemused look, Peyton disappeared down the hall. “She went there, huh?” I said. “I did not see that happening.”
“Tell me about it. I felt sure she would knock me back.” He took a long pull on his beer.
“But it’s just casual?”
“It can be a one-time thing for all I care. It was worth every second.”
“Enough said.”
“How are you feeling… about everything?”
“It still feels surreal.” My shoulders lifted in a small shrug. “I felt sure I’d lost her. The look in her eyes when Lindsey told her.” It would haunt me forever.
“That bitch needs a healthy dose of payback.”
“Something tells me she’ll get it.” Coach didn’t mess around when it came to the people he cared about.
“What are you going to do about your dad?” He eyed my face.
There was a split in my lip, and I had a nasty bruise along my jawbone but, in some ways, it needed to happen because it had finally given Mom the push she’d needed to call him out on his bullshit.
“I’m done. I don’t want his toxic bullshit anywhere near Lily.”
“Yeah, but how’s that going to work exactly? I mean, he’s an asshole, but he’s still your dad.”
I stared out at the yard, inhaling a sharp breath. “He doesn’t get to meet her, it’s that simple. Not until he’s figured out his shit and gotten the help he needs.”
I didn’t want him anywhere near Lily.
“But your mom—”
“Dude, I don’t have all the answers right now. Mom wants him to go to rehab. We’ll have to see if he can do the right thing or not. But so long as he’s still drinking, Lily is off-limits to him.” As far as I was concerned, it wasn’t negotiable.
“I still can’t believe you’re ban—I mean, with Coach Ford’s daughter. You know the rest of the guys are going to give you shit about it at school.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck what anyone thinks. Coach gave us his blessing. I made a promise to him to protect her, and I’ll do that, teammate or not.” A low growl rumbled in my throat and Bryan threw me a knowing smirk.
“Whoa, down boy. I’m on team Laiden, remember?”
“What the hell? I gawked at him.
“Or maybe team Kily is better. Which one do you—ow!” My knuckles buried in his arm and he jerked away. “What the fuck was that for?”
“I love you, man, but sometimes you don’t know when the fuck to quit it.”
“Landed me seven minutes in heaven with Peyton though, didn’t it?” His brows waggled.
“Seven minutes?” I quipped. “Wow, lucky girl.”
“Hey, fuck you, bro. Fuck you. I’d like to s
ee you do better when you finally stick it—”
I levelled him with a hard look, and he gulped. “Aaaand I’m shutting up now.”
“Good idea.” I drained the rest of my beer and stood. “They should be here soon.”
“Relax, they’ll be here.”
Just then, Peyton appeared, dressed in a tight black dress that left little to the imagination.
“Isn’t that a little… much?” I cocked a brow.
“Any excuse to look good, right?” She shrugged, but I saw the hint of sadness in her eyes. “The guys are here,” she said. “Which means Lily should be here any minute.”
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” I grumbled, tugging at the collar on my shirt.
“She’ll love it, I promise. Plus, don’t you want a do-over?” Peyton winked at me, taking off down the hall to welcome our guests.
She was a force to be reckoned with. Sure of herself, confident, and whip smart. But underneath all that bravado was a girl carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. I saw it every time I looked at her.
Voices filled the hall, and Peyton yelled, “Kaiden, she’s here.”
My heart lurched into my throat. It already felt like hours since I’d seen her, when in reality, it was only three at the most.
But it was three too long.
I took off down the hall, passing our friends. Aaron shot me a cheeky grin. “Go get her, QB.” He tapped me on the shoulder.
Fuck. I was sweating.
Why was I sweating?
It was only Lily.
My Lily.
The girl who held my heart in the palm of her hands.
She climbed out of the car and the world went from under me. Fuck me. She. Was. Stunning.
Her eyes found me, twinkling like stars in the night sky.
“Lily,” her name fell from my lips on a sigh.
“What is all this?” she said.
Her sister and friends slipped around us, disappearing into the house.
“I wish I could take the credit, but it was all Peyton’s idea.”
Her brows furrowed. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The heavy makeup on her eyes, the deep red lip gloss coating her lips, and her hair… fuck me, her hair. It cascaded down her back and over her shoulders in thick waves I itched to caress.
“Kaiden?” Her voice was so small, so uncertain.
“I… do you have any idea how beautiful you look?”
“I feel a little ridiculous to be dressed like this, at Bryan’s house.”
“You look perfect.” It wasn’t the dress she wore last night, but a black, floor-length gown that dipped low in the front and back giving a hint of what I knew lay beneath.
I took her hand in mine, surprised to find my own shaking. “Don’t think of it as Bryan’s house,” I said, dipping my head to kiss her cheek. “Think of it as Homecoming 2.0.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Lily
I still couldn’t believe it. I was at Bryan’s house, surrounded by my friends and family, dancing with my boyfriend under a slightly off-kilter disco ball to a cheesy mix tape…
And it was hands down the best night of my life.
The fact that they’d even thought to do something so amazing had completely blown me away.
“Are you enjoying your night?” Kaiden leaned down, brushing his lips over the shell of my ear. I snuggled closer to him, a contented sigh escaping my lips.
“It’s perfect.”
“You’re perfect.” His arms banded tighter around me as we swayed completely out of sync to the upbeat song blasting through Bryan’s speakers.
“Excuse me, but you’re hogging the Homecoming queen.” Peyton wrangled me out of his arms and slid a tiara into my hair. “There, now you’re perfect.”
“And you’re absurd.”
“But you love me?”
“I do. So much.” We hugged to the sound of Kaiden’s soft laughter.
“I’ll be at the bar,” he said.
Because Bryan had fashioned one of those over in the corner of the room.
“So… what do you think?” Peyton grinned.
“I love it. It’s…”
“Perfect?”
“It really is.” I glanced around at all our friends dancing and enjoying themselves. Poppy and Sofia were dancing casually with Aaron and Cole, and Ashleigh was entertaining Bryan and Gav with one of her stories.
“Ezra didn’t want to come?” I asked her.
“No. Much to Ashleigh’s disappointment. But you know how he is.”
“Yeah.” He’d hardly been around since senior year commenced. Ashleigh was worried, but she didn’t talk about it. No one did, giving Ezra the space he seemed so desperate for.
“Come on. I want at least one dance before King Kaiden steals you away.”
“What do—oh. Oh!” My cheeks burned.
“You didn’t think this was just about the dance, did you?” Her brow arched.
“Peyton,” I warned, feeling my skin turn three shades darker.
“Relax, it’s only sex. Sex with the guy you love. You lucky bitch.”
“Oh, Peyton.” I threw my arms around her neck and hugged her. It was hard to believe she was moving back in with her mom soon. Ms. Myers was getting out of rehab next week.
“I’m going to miss you, Lil. So fucking much.”
“Me too.” The words caught on the lump in my throat.
“I want in on this.” Ashleigh joined us, wrapping her arms around me until I was sandwiched between them. “What are we hugging for?”
“Oh, you know, our girl losing her v-card.”
“Hell yes,” she shrieked. “It’s going to be amazing.”
“Oh my God,” I breathed, feeling myself heat up all over again.
“Tonight has been amazing. You did good, Pey.”
“Yeah, well, I had a little help from my friend.” Her eyes slid over to Bryan. He gave her a sly wink and she chuckled. “Ugh. He’s such a good guy. I shouldn’t have…” She bit her lip.
“Oh no, what did you do?”
“That would be Bryan.”
“Peyton!” I wriggled free. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“I can’t, I’m sorry. It just happened. He was being so nice and saying all the right things and I wanted to feel something, ya know?”
“So, did you?” Ashleigh asked.
“Did I what?”
“Feel something.”
Peyton’s expression dropped. “No. But the sex was mind-blowing.”
“He likes you.”
“I know, I know. And I told him it was a one-time thing. He’s too good for me.”
“Don’t say that,” I said, my heart aching for my best friend. “You’re a good person, Peyton.”
“Oh, look at us, all sad and depressed. It’s a party, this is not acceptable. Bartender,” she yelled across the room, and Bryan’s head snapped up. “Shooters for everyone.”
“Hell yes.” He fist pumped the air.
“Come on.” She pulled me and Ashleigh over to the bar, and everyone gathered round as Bryan poured out ten shooters.
Kaiden handed them around, saving mine for last. “You don’t have to do this,” he said.
“I want to.”
He hooked his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side.
Peyton climbed up on a stool, using Bryan for support, and cleared her throat. “I feel like Lily should be saying a few words since it’s her night, but I know she’d kill me, so you’re stuck with me. Lily, babe, I love you. I will always love you. And I will always have your back no matter what. I am so happy you’ve found your person. And to the rest of us single happy people, here’s to surviving senior year. Salut.” Knocking her shooter back in one, Peyton wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and stuck her tongue out at the rest of us. “That was your cue to drink, fuckers.”
“Is she okay?” Kaiden whispered to me.
“She will be.” I watched as Bryan lifted
her off the stool, staring at her with more than lust in his eyes.
“She’s going to break his heart, isn’t she?”
“Yep.”
“He’s a big boy, he can handle it.” Kaiden spun me in his arms and placed my glass down on the counter. “Want to get out of here?” His eyes turned impossibly black.
Liquid lust swam through my veins, igniting a fire inside my stomach. “Yes.”
Nobody commented as Kaiden led me out of the party room and down the hall toward the back of the house. My skin vibrated with anticipation, my heart pounding in my chest.
The air was frigid as we made our way across Bryan’s yard to the pool house. Kaiden opened the door and let me pass, his hand winding around my waist as he closed the door behind us. He pushed me up against the wall, burying his hands deep in my chocolate waves.
“Do you have any idea how badly I’ve wanted to do this all night?” His eyes blazed on mine, full of fire and love.
“Kiss me,” I said.
He closed the space between us, sealing his mouth over my lips. The second his tongue touched mine, I whimpered, running my hands around his waist and pulling him closer.
“Are you sure?” he rasped, and I nodded.
His hands dropped to the curve of my thighs and he lifted me against the wall, pinning me in place with his big, strong body. “I love you, Lily. So fucking much.” His gray eyes, hooded; and pupils dilated with desire, searched mine.
I ran a hand along his jaw, palming his cheek. “I love you too.”
Flexing his hips, he ground into me at the perfect angle. My head dropped back, and Kaiden fixed his lips to my neck, kissing and sucking. “You taste so sweet,” he murmured, setting off a swarm of butterflies deep in my stomach. Tongue and teeth, he painted a trail down my neck and along my collarbone. His hand slipped between us, finding its way underneath my dress to the thin layer of lace covering me.
“Fuck, Lily,” the words vibrated in his chest, “you’re soaked.”
“Touch me,” I begged, desperate for more.
He pressed a finger inside me, and another, coating them in my arousal and then slid them over my clit.
“Oh God…” I cried. “More.”
“My greedy girl.” He smiled against my throat, nipping the skin there, sending a bolt of pleasure shooting right to my core.
