I pushed the door open, loving the feel of the brisk temperatures here in December compared to back in Connecticut. They had probably all ready seen the first snow for the year. Some of the students who were probably locals, had their winter coats out and scarves wrapped around their necks. I on the other hand, was just fine in the light sweater dress that I had on.
“Well, just the person I was looking for.” I looked up and saw Mariah heading my way. She had something gripped in her hand as she neared me and when she got closer I realized it was the school newspaper. I suddenly had a sneaky suspicion of just who they had gotten their information from for that stupid article.
She pushed it into my hands, but I shoved it back into her chest. “No thanks, I don’t read that garbage.” She smirked at me before shrugging her shoulders. “Well, maybe I can inform you of what exactly it says. It really is a thrilling read.”
“Mariah, probably the only one that cares about that article is you. What did you hope to accomplish by it?”
“For starters, maybe Nash won’t think you’re so perfect anymore. I know he’s still after you. I’ve seen the two of you together. Once he reads this, he’ll want nothing to do with you.”
“That’s his loss then,” I responded, even though it would hurt if Nash stopped talking to me for something I had done years ago. I had met his niece, and she was a great little girl. His sister had accomplished a lot by being a teen mother, she was a lot stronger than I ever was.
“And then I’ll get him back. I know he broke up with me just so he could have a chance with you,” she sneered at me.
“That’s his business then, not mine. I’m in a relationship with someone else. Nash and I are just friends, so if he really has feelings for you still, he can do whatever he wants.”
“You call what you have an actual relationship? Oh sweetie, I feel sorry for you. Maybe you should ask that ‘boyfriend’ of yours where he was about a month ago. I’m not so sure you’ll like the answer very much.”
“Whatever,” I responded, not wanting to listen to anymore of her lies. I pushed past her and headed for my car, not looking back at someone that was trying to bring negativity into my life. I didn’t need it. I was only moving forward.
I pulled into Shorty’s parking lot, able to find a parking spot quickly. The place looked pretty much deserted since most of the students were heading home for break. I opened the back door that led into the kitchen, laughing when I saw Justin. No one else was around but him as he stood over the stove, sautéing something in a pan. He was singing loudly to Mumford and Sons, stomping in place. I loved when he sang, he had no pitch what so ever, but it was all kinds of sexy how carefree he was about it.
I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, burying my head in the crook of his neck. “Hey princess. Excited to see me?”
“I just missed you,” I murmured against his skin, brushing my lips across his smooth neck before I pulled back.
“Well of course you did. Who wouldn’t?” He spun around and lifted me up to set me on the countertop. “Just a few more minutes, and I’ll have your food ready. You’re sure you don’t want to start winter break early with me instead?”
“No, I think I’m in need of a girl’s night before I have to spend all of my time with you.” He clutched at his chest dramatically before turning back to the stove and emptying the contents of the pan into a to-go box. “I think there’s some kind of punishment needed for that. You really hurt my feelings.”
“Oh, really? And what exactly would that be?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” He dropped his lips to mine, giving me a hard quick kiss before pulling away. “Now get out of here, you’re way too distracting while I’m trying to work. I’ll pick you up in the morning.”
“Fine, I’m leaving. Wouldn’t want to distract you while you’re oh so busy.” I smirked as he slapped my ass on the way out the door, carrying my bags of food back to the car.
I almost thought about turning back around to tell him about the newspaper article, but decided against it. There was probably no way Justin would read it anyway and I wanted to come clean on my own terms. He was never judgmental about anything, so I really wasn’t too worried. It would probably feel good just to get it off of my chest though.
I was looking forward to the next two weeks. Justin and I had planned on spending most of the days together. We were actually taking a pretty serious step in our relationship by going to each other’s families for the holidays. Christmas Eve would be spent with my grandparents and Christmas with his family. I was a little nervous about it, but I knew Justin would make it as comfortable for me as possible. If his family was anything like him, I’m sure they would be easy to get along with.
Of course, now I had the little fact to worry about that Justin would be meeting my mother and my perfect step sister, Mia, but I wasn’t going to think about that now. I had a girl’s night to get to and some margaritas calling my name.
Chapter 16
“Oh god, why did I drink that much last night?” Callie groaned, rolling sideways onto my bed. I clutched my own head, wondering the same thing but reluctantly peeled my eyes open. I saw Zoey passed out on the floor and wondered how she got there. Somehow, the three of us had crammed together in my bed after we watched about three movies and started a fourth in my room even though I don’t even remember what we had turned on.
I threw my pillow over my face, hoping I could get a few more minutes of sleep before I had to get up, but a loud banging at the front door made me jump up.
“I guess I might as well get up too.” Callie stood up, nudging Zoey with her foot before padding into the bathroom.
I swung open the door just as I remembered how exactly I was dressed. “Damn, this is what you wear to bed every night? Maybe I should have invited you for a sleepover sooner.” I grinned at Justin as he stepped in and set a white pastry box down on our coffee table. He spun back around to kiss me, but I shoved a hand between our mouths. “Morning breath.”
His fingers skimmed the bare skin on my stomach that was showing in between the short cami I had on and the boxer shorts. “I could really care less.” He settled with dropping a kiss on the corner of my mouth, but his tongue slipped out at the last minute to lick the seam of my lips. I giggled at the sensation, smiling up at him when he was done.
“I’d ask you if you were ready to go, but I’m assuming you’re not wearing that out, even though I definitely wouldn’t mind. And I thought you were supposed to be the responsible one,” he teased.
“I am, most of the time.” I opened up the box, picking out a chocolate covered donut and took a bite. “We stayed up a little too late last night though. Thanks for these, I really needed some sugar. Just give me about twenty minutes, and I’ll be ready to go.” I left him with a kiss on his cheek and rushed to take a shower, hopping over a still sleeping Zoey.
By the time I came back out dressed in a pair of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, she was gone, which was a good thing since she had to be getting to her parents house. They were heading to Florida to visit her grandparents over the holidays. I knew she wasn’t ecstatic about it, but they wouldn’t be happy if she didn’t show up.
I crammed clothes into one of my smaller suitcases, figuring I could always come back if I forgot something. “All ready to go yet?” I turned to find Justin standing there, his hands gripping the top of the door frame, just showing off a sliver off his toned stomach. I wasn’t exactly sure when he worked out to have a body like that, but I certainly didn’t mind the after effects.
I zipped up my suit case a little faster, wanting to start my vacation off a little sooner. “Make sure you have a bikini in there, you’re going to need it.”
“O-kay, mind telling me for what?” I asked as I added it into the front pocket. “Do you have a hot tub hiding somewhere that I don’t know about?”
“Nope,” he replied with a pop before grabbing my suitcase out of my hands. “It’s a surprise.
Think you can handle that?”
“I don’t know if I can trust any surprises from you. That could lead to serious trouble.” I stopped in the living room where Callie and Zoey were both waiting for me, shoving donuts in their mouths. “Well, I guess we’ll see each other after break.” We did one more group hug before we left. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Callie whispered in my ear, and I snorted as Justin opened up the door for me. “And what would that be exactly?”
Once we were loaded into the car, Justin turned in the opposite direction of his house. I noticed a duffle bag sitting in the backseat as we merged onto the high way. I fiddled with the radio to try and stop myself from bothering him about where we were going. I settled on an Of Monsters and Men song, which only occupied me for about a minute by tapping my fingers to the beat.
“Okay, I can’t wait. Please, tell me where we’re going. I’ll be sure to reward you as long as you answer me.”
“Wow, I think that was a record. It took you a whole ten minutes before asking me. How about this, you give me my reward first and then I’ll tell you where we’re going.” I looked at him with a look of disbelief, but he held out his finger to me. “Pinky promise,” he said in a sweet voice. I rolled my eyes but chose to believe him for whatever reason.
I looked around, the cars blurring past as he kept up a steady speed, passing car after car in the left lane. Justin tended to have a lead foot but somehow managed to never get a ticket. In this case, I was sort of glad for what I was about to do. I crept my hand over to his lap and squeezed lightly. “Holy shit, Della. What are you trying to do to me?” He swerved slightly, but quickly righted himself.
“Well if you’re going to act like that, I guess I’ll just stop then,” I went to pull my hand away, but he quickly pushed it back down.
“No way, you started something, you better just finish it. Remember, I promise to fill you in on my little plan when you’re all done.” I glanced around one last time before pulling the zipper down on his jeans and sticking my hands underneath the elastic of his boxers.
He was all ready hard, which didn’t surprise me. He had once told me he was always at command when I was around. After awhile of being around him, I had started to actually believe him. I was a little nervous to be doing something so adventurous like this, but after one grunt from him, I knew I was doing something right, so I cautiously leaned over, lowering my head down to him.
One hand stayed on the steering wheel, while the other twisted into my hair, guiding me along as I licked the tip. I swirled my tongue around, learning just what to do judging by the muffled sounds I could hear passing through his lips. “Oh, fuck.” I could feel him hardening even more in my mouth if that was possible, so I could tell he was close. He tried to pull me up, but I stayed right where I was until he exploded in my mouth.
He moaned out my name, arching his hips into me before finally relaxing back on the drivers seat, letting out a loud sigh. “Best road head ever. In my life.” I giggled as I sat back up, pushing the images out of my head that some other girl had done that before. Normally, I wasn’t the jealous type, but that side seemed to be coming out more and more with Justin.
“Okay, so now I think you owe me.”
“Oh, yeah…that. But let me just say, you’re more than welcome to reward me anytime you feel like it, I wouldn’t mind at all.”
“Uh-huh, I’m sure you wouldn’t. Can you please tell me where we’re going now?”
“All right, fine. I guess you earned it,” he said in a bland tone, smirking when I hit him in the chest. “Okay, geez. We are going to the beach. It’ll probably be a little chilly, but I figured we could use a little alone time before spending the holidays with our families. I rented a hotel right on the-”
“Shut up,” I said, smacking a kiss on to his cheek. “You had me at beach.”
After only stopping for two bathroom breaks, we were there at just a little over four hours. The roads were deserted as we pulled into the parking garage that was located underneath our hotel, probably because most people headed a little more south on winter break. It definitely wasn’t warm enough to go swimming in the ocean, but I was looking forward to spending time here with Justin.
We walked into the shiny lobby, the floors gleaming to where we could see ourselves in them. “Hi there, checking in for the honeymoon suite, Mr. and Mrs. Parker.” Justin wrapped an arm around my shoulder, a beaming smile as he looked down at me.
I stuffed down the urge to roll my eyes at him and smiled at the man that was checking us in. “Ah, congratulations are in order. We will be able to take extra special care of our newlyweds since not many visit this time of year. Here are your room keys, and we’ll bring your bags up shortly. Best room we have available for our special guests.”
We headed towards the bank of elevators located at the center of the lobby and punched in the top floor that was available. Justin pushed open the door after sliding in the key card, and I was instantly wowed at the sight.
The whole front wall was a sheet of glass overlooking the ocean. A bed sat in the center of the room, covered in deep red rose petals, arranged into a heart shape. A bottle of champagne sat in a bucket of ice next to the Jacuzzi made for at least six people that looked straight out into the water. There was even a tray of cheese and crackers sitting right next to it.
“Wow, you really out did yourself. How long have you been planning this?” I poked him in the stomach as he just smiled back at me. I really didn’t think he had something like this in him. He just kept on surprising me over and over again.
Our luggage came shortly after we got to our room, and once we changed into fresh clothes, we decided to check out the small beach town that we were in. A lot of the businesses and restaurants were closed for the season, but we were able to find a hamburger joint that had a small arcade attached to it. I kicked Justin’s ass at air hockey and then we decided to walk up the beach back to our hotel.
We only passed a few people as we walked hand in hand, with our feet shuffling through the wet sand. It was serene being here, kind of like the calm before the storm of my mother that I knew was coming. We dropped down into the sand right in front of our hotel, and Justin pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me to keep off the chilly breeze blowing in. “I think we need to talk about a few things.”
“What would that be exactly?” He asked quickly, his body stiffening under mine.
“It’s nothing bad,” I reassured him. “It’s just some things that have come up lately, and I think I should fill you in.” I retold the story of what I had done in my past, the one thing I had tried so hard to conceal.
Now that I thought about it, I really didn’t know why. If someone had a problem with the mistakes I had made in the past, then that was their problem. I finished my story, this time managing to keep the tears away. He was silent for a long time and I was almost afraid to turn around, not sure what his reaction would be. Once I felt his hand squeeze mine, I knew everything was all right.
“Well,” he finally said. “I’m a little pissed that you didn’t tell me sooner, and I’m a little pissed at your mom. Who seriously acts like that? I don’t know how I’m going to prepare myself to meet that woman. She sounds like a real bitch.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “Don’t worry, her opinion really doesn’t matter to me much anymore. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Della. I can’t imagine you having to deal with something like that by yourself. I wish I could’ve been there to take care of you because I would’ve been there every step of the way, unlike that douche Chris. If I ever see that guy, I’m going to beat the shit out of him.”
I could feel Justin’s body tensing underneath me again at just the thought of it. He always said he was a lover not a fighter, but deep down he had that instinct for me and it made me happy, even though Chris really didn’t need the shit beat out of him.
“I’m just upset that the whole
experience was ruined for you.”
“What experience?” I turned around, looking at him questioningly as his hands moved around to rest on my stomach. “Of being pregnant. Maybe someday I can make it a good one for you.”
My mouth gaped open when he said that, something in the future between the two of us that I hadn’t even considered. It honestly scared me and made me feel a little happy at the same time. Not that I needed to be pregnant anytime soon, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to have kids someday, but to know Justin was thinking about something like that, got me thinking too.
“C’mon,” his hands dug into my hips, lifting me off of his lap and he scooped me up into his arms. “We’re newlyweds, remember? We should be celebrating and there’s a Jacuzzi calling our names.”
Chapter 17
My eyes popped open and I breathed out a moan at the trail of kisses that was currently running across my bare shoulder. I pushed back against Justin, his warm body molding perfectly to mine as he continued brushing his lips against my bare skin.
Last night had been amazing.
After turning into prunes, soaking in the Jacuzzi and sipping on champagne, we had laid together on the bed touching every inch of each other’s bodies. Our first time together had been everything I had hoped for, and I was glad we had waited for a while. I had been surprised that he hadn’t pushed me, not once, the whole time we had been together. I think that was one of the reasons it had been so special.
His hand drifting between my legs brought me back to the here and now. I cracked an eye open to see that it was just a little past four in the morning. I thought at first, maybe he was doing it in his sleep but when I felt that finger swirl around so expertly, I knew he had to be awake.
“Aren’t you a little worn out?” I whispered into the darkness, craning my neck to see his eyes as the moon reflected off of them.
Chaotic (Imperfect Perfection) Page 13
