by Gina Azzi
I pull back. “What do you mean?”
Abbi sighs and rolls her eyes. “Nothing. It’s just, there’s been a lot going on at work. And I need this. A night out with my best friend, a weekend away from my life, just, a chance to let loose.”
I grin and thank Mom for the wine bottle and glasses she passes us. “Trust me, you’re going to love everything about this weekend then.”
“Good,” Abbi says, gesturing to the house. “Let me see your Boston digs.”
“I like how you worded that, Abs, as if I’m not still living with Mom and Dad.” I grab the handle of her small suitcase.
Mom snorts again. “You say that as if you aren’t living rent free with access to all the good stuff.” She points to the wine bottle.
Abbi laughs and kisses Mom’s cheek. “Thanks for having me, Mrs. C.”
Mom shoos us toward the stairs. “I’m taking you both on one of those Duck Tours on Sunday.”
“Done,” Abbi agrees, following me up the stairs and into my bedroom.
I close the door behind us and my bestie and I spend a solid five seconds just staring at each other, blinking, until we erupt into giggles and screams. We clutch each other’s forearms and laugh, half in nostalgia, half in excitement.
“I’m so ready for tonight,” Abbi says again.
“Me too.”
“And you’re totally fine with Brittney being—”
“Brittney who?” I lift an eyebrow.
Abbi chokes. “Savage as fuck,” she says, unscrewing the wine cap and pouring us two glasses. She passes me one. “To tonight.”
“Hell yeah.” I clink my glass with hers and take a big gulp. “To me and you, Abs.”
“Always.” She smiles and tips back her glass.
Then, we raid my closet and her suitcase, pool our makeup together, and spend an insane amount of time getting ready for an evening we both need. It’s the best.
“Woo!” Marissa shouts, tossing back another lemon drop.
Our dinner at Carter’s steakhouse, a fancy affair, has given way to downright debauchery as we inhaled margaritas at Jolene’s before barhopping across Boston.
Abbi and I are straight up giggling, hanging onto each other’s shoulders. I’m having so much fun dancing, celebrating Marissa, being out with Abbi, that Brittney’s presence has barely registered on my radar. After my first glass of wine at Carter’s, I pretty much forgot all about her and her shitty interpretation of girl code.
It’s a powerful feeling, knowing you’re so completely past something that once had the ability to cause deep pain. In one summer, I’ve managed to grow into a much fuller, happier version of myself and while I shouldn’t give Austin all the credit (hey, I’ve been doing the work!), I know it’s partly because of him.
I toss back my shot and turn from the bar, slamming face-first into a hard chest of muscle.
When I tip my head back and glance up, I’m surprised to be staring at Panda.
“What are you doing here?” I blurt out.
He chuckles, his hands cupping my elbows to steady me. “It’s Friday night in the off-season. What do you think?”
I grin. “Fair enough, Pandatelli. Who’s your pick tonight?” I scan the bar.
“Why? You going to warn your friends about me?” he teases, his eyes catching on Abbi.
“I am if you try to kick it to Abs.”
“Abs?”
I point to Abbi, dancing solo next to the bar. Her eyes are closed, her arms swaying at her sides. She’s rocking a bohemian vibe that’s so out of place in the bar we’re at, it’s impossible not to notice her outright. But then, you can’t tear your gaze away once you recognize how effortlessly gorgeous she is underneath her fringed and beaded threads. “That’s my best friend, Abbi Walsh.”
Panda’s mouth drops open the tiniest bit. “My night just got interesting, Crawford.” He glances over my head. “Where’s Austin?”
I point at Marissa, wearing all white with a tilted crown on her head. “It’s a bachelorette party, Luca. Girls only.”
A knowing gleam appears in his eye. “Ah, got it. So you’re just going to drunk dial him in”—he glances at his watch—“a few hours for a ride home?”
I smack his shoulder. “Don’t go ruining all my plans.” I stick my tongue out at him because, yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. In all fairness, my original plan didn’t include Austin at all.
But the more drinks I tossed back and the more I watched pretty girls dance in the arms of guys with too much swagger to contain, the more I missed Austin. My guy. The one I want to put me to bed tonight, preferably his.
Abbi spots us and makes her way over to my side of the bar.
“Abs, meet Panda.” I gesture between them.
“Luca Pandatelli.” She grins.
“You’ve heard of me?” He sounds impressed.
Abbi and I laugh. “Only through Chloe,” she responds. “I don’t watch hockey or anything.”
“No?” he challenges.
She shakes her head. “I mean, I’m into the players. Just not the game.”
Panda snickers but his jawline pulls tight, his eyes narrowing, as if he doesn’t like the gist of what Abbi’s saying.
“She’s not a puck bunny or anything,” I throw out, quick to defend her.
Panda shrugs, as if he doesn’t care one way or the other. But the way his gaze lingers on my bestie suggests otherwise.
“Chloe!” Marissa grabs my hand and pulls me into her side.
I wrap an arm around her waist, trying to keep her upright. She’s the drunkest of the bunch, as she should be, but I don’t want her to fall and bang up her face weeks before her wedding.
“I need to go home,” she slurs, shaking her head.
I brush her hair out of her eyes and giggle. Her eyes are blown and she’s more than just slurring. “You sure, Maris?”
She nods, passing me her phone. “I had the best time. I love you. I love you so much.”
“Love you too. Who am I calling?”
“My brother. He’s my desig-desi-des driver for tonight.”
I dial Ethan and rattle off the name of the bar when he picks up. I keep my arm wrapped around Marissa, my gaze darting over the crowd to locate the other girls.
We came out as a group of eight but I always knew we’d scatter in different directions once the night got going. Brittney hooking up with Steve kind of ruined the harmony of our friend group. Plus, three of tonight’s girls are cousins with Marissa and we just met them through her wedding plans.
Marissa and her cousins are staying at her parents’ house. Brittney and another girl are staying at a hotel. And Abbi’s sleeping at my parents’ house with me.
I turn back to find Abbi. She’s deep in conversation with Panda, both of them gesturing with their hands. I frown, wondering what the hell they’re talking about when Marissa starts to pitch forward in my arms.
“Whoa. I got you,” I tell her. “Let’s get some air.” I round up Marissa’s cousins and herd the girls outside a few minutes before Ethan pulls up.
“Shit,” he swears when he takes in his sloshed sister and drunk cousins. “You’re seriously leaving me with this, Chlo?” he asks playfully.
“They’re all yours.” I help Marissa into the back seat of the car and buckle her in.
She grabs my face. “Thank you, Chlo.”
“Love you, Maris. Happy bachelorette.” I kiss her cheek before closing the door. I glance at Ethan, helping his cousin into the passenger seat. “You going to be okay?”
“This?” He gestures to the car. “I’m all good. It’s kind of funny to see them all drunk together again. Reminds me of college.”
“Call me if you need anything.”
He tips his head back toward the bar. “Go have fun, Chloe. Unless you want a ride home?”
“I’m good.” I shake my phone at him. “I got plans anyway.”
He grins. “Thatta girl. Be safe.”
I wait until he
settles into the car and pulls away from the curb before turning back to the bar. Right before I reenter, my phone chimes with a text.
Abbi: How much would you hate me for going home with Luca?
What? She wants to go home with Panda?
Me: Are you serious?
Abbi: He’s hot. (Fire emoji)
Me: How drunk are you?
Abbi: Enough to go home with a hockey player. Not enough to regret it.
Damn.
Me: Call me in the morning?
Abbi: Duh. You’ll be my ride of shame.
I laugh.
Me: Love you. Be safe.
Abbi: Me more, bitch. Now call your man.
I stand in front of the bar, shuffling from one foot to the next.
Should I go back inside? What for? Abbi’s heading out and I don’t really care what Brittney and her friend are up to. I lean back against the brick, a delicious anticipation pulling low in my abdomen. I miss Austin. It’s only been a week but already, I feel desperate for him. Maybe it’s the alcohol buzzing through my veins but I doubt it. I dial him.
“Chloe?”
“Austin Merrick.” I wince when I realize I sound tipsier than I thought.
“You okay, baby? Where you at?” he asks and I can hear the smile in his voice.
I tell him the name of the bar.
“Do you and Abbi need a ride?”
I chuckle when I think of Abbi going home with Panda.
“Just me,” I sing-song. “Hurry up and come get me, Austin.”
“Is something wrong?” His voice hardens and in the background, I hear the jingle of his keys and a door closing.
“No,” I reassure him. “I just—I need you. All of you.”
He chuckles. “That so?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“How badly?” His voice drops several octaves.
My thighs press together at the promise in his tone. Fuck, I want him to just get here. Now. “What’s your ETA?”
“Three minutes. I’ll see you in three minutes.”
“Hurry,” I say.
“I’m already on my way, Chlo. Now tell me exactly where you are.”
So I do. And not even three minutes later, Austin Merrick, looking insanely hot in casual sweatpants and a black workout tank, steps from his SUV. My mouth drops open and I swipe my tongue over my lips.
He grins when he spots me, his eyes widening when he takes in my barely-there, very daring dress. He walks over, his hands grabbing my hips. “You look sexy as fuck, baby.” He kisses me hard on the mouth.
I wind my arms around his shoulders and hop onto him, my legs wrapping around his hips. He catches me easily, his hands palming my ass. He growls, low in his throat, and I shiver, not giving a damn who sees my flashing ass right now.
“Take me home, Austin.”
“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go, Chloe.” He kisses the side of my throat before depositing me in the passenger seat of his car. He pulls the seat belt across my chest and glances at me, serious like. “Just tell me. Where’s Abbi? Are your friends all good?”
The concern in his tone flows through me like honey. God, he’s sweet. Thoughtful. How did I get so lucky? I reach for his face and cup his cheek, liking the prickle of his stubble against my palm. How will it feel between my thighs tonight? I bet—
“Chlo?” he says softly, dipping to catch my eyes. “Your friends?”
“Oh, yeah,” I breathe out. “Everyone’s good.” I laugh, shaking my head. “You’re not going to believe this but Abbi went home with…Panda!”
I anticipate Austin’s laughter but when he frowns, his jawline tightening, I lean forward. “What’s wrong?” I whisper.
He shakes his head, his eyes finding mine once more. This time, they’re cloudier, swirling with thoughts I can’t read.
“Nothing,” he responds. “Just fucking Panda.”
I wrinkle my nose at him and his expression softens slightly.
“They’re adults, Austin,” I remind him. “They can make their own decisions. Choices.”
He sighs and runs a hand over his hair. “I know. I just—I worry.”
I widen my eyes at him. “Even right now? When I’m desperate for you to take me back to your place and—”
He silences me with a kiss. It’s hot and intense and full of dirty promises I want to lose myself in. I reach up and grasp the material of his shirt as his tongue slips inside my mouth and duels with mine.
“No.” He pulls back, breathing heavily, his forehead pressed against mine. “Not right now. Let’s go home, Chlo.”
I smile and kiss him again. “Hurry.”
20
Austin
A breathless, trusting, yet determined Chloe who looks at me with big eyes and parted lips, is my undoing.
For a beat, she stands next to my bed with a stricken expression, that causes a wave of worry to flood my chest. Her eyes dart to mine.
I frown, pausing three paces away, and hold up my hands. “Are you feeling okay? We don’t have to do anything.”
One side of her mouth pulls up and she shakes her head slowly, her fingers dragging down the zipper along the side of her dress. “It’s not that,” she says, right before the slinky fabric ripples down her body.
Jesus. I stifle a groan.
Of course she’s not wearing a bra. How could she in that painted-on dress? But her panties are lace, a bright tangerine color, when I would have guessed white or black or nude. And yeah, she’s sexy as hell, an endless canvas of smooth skin and mouth-watering curves. But the thing that really causes my heart to beat frantically, my throat to dry, and my desire to flare to life is her confidence.
She wears it effortlessly, proudly. She’s not rounding her shoulders or dipping her chin. She’s standing tall and steady, no hesitation in her expression or doubt in her gaze. It’s sexy as hell.
“What is it then?” I ask, closing the space between us.
My fingertips glide over the skin at her hips, skirting along the edge of her lace panties.
She pulls back slightly, tipping her face up to mine. “I know it’s too soon. I know it, Austin. But I’m falling for you.”
Her words ripple through the space between us, like skipping stones. Concentric circles that expand around us, until we’re the center of all these things I’ve always known but never realized. My heart pounds, my concern from moments earlier melts away, and a joy I’ve never known rises in my chest. A slow smile works its way over my lips as I drown in her eyes, in her trust, in the beautiful certainty of the woman before me.
“You are?” I ask, humbled yet desperate for her to say it again.
She nods shyly, her hands slipping up my chest and tugging on my shirt before resting on the tops of my shoulders. “This wasn’t supposed to happen,” she murmurs.
I roll my lips together, studying her. Memorizing the shape of her face, the smattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose, the delicate fan of her eyelashes, the dimple I adore in her left cheek. “I’m happy it did,” I reply, my tone deeper than a second ago.
As I say the words, I realize I mean them. Sure, on some level, Chloe’s trust in me, her confidence in this, sends a jolt of panic through me. But it’s quickly snuffed out by a wave of calm. A sense of knowing. This is right; we are right together.
I lower my head and brush my mouth over hers. She sighs contently, raising her chin to meet my kiss. I kiss her slowly, thoroughly, our tongues meeting together in sweet caresses and sincere claims. Our breathing rises as one, our bodies melting into each other effortlessly, naturally.
I kiss Chloe like I’ve never kissed a woman before. With promise and intent, with thoughts of more than just tomorrow but the entire future before us, with all of me poured in.
She grips my shoulders harder, one of her arms snaking around my neck and I groan, taking the sweet to steamy in a heartbeat. Our kissing morphs into touching, exploring each other’s bodies with a need that wasn’t there last week.
&nb
sp; I lose myself in her, my hands tracing the lines, curves, and dips of her body. I tug on her hair until the column of her neck arches. I lick a path down the side, kissing and nipping, tasting and needing.
Chloe mewls when my hand palms her breast. She pushes into me and I nuzzle the delicate spot below her ear. I love how she fills my palm, as if she was made for me. “You want me, baby?” I murmur, rolling her nipple between my fingers.
“Badly,” she breathes out.
Her tone ignites a fire inside of me. My want to savor her transforming into a need to claim her. Because, fuck, I want her badly too.
I spread her out on my bed, taking a moment to appreciate how sexy she looks there. I shed my shirt and pants in record time. Our panting mingles in the air and our eyes stay locked together.
I crawl up her body, kissing her sweet skin as I go. She shivers beneath me, her fingers tracing up my ribs, gliding across my shoulder blades. When we’re lined up again, I glance down at her and tell her the truth, one I’ve never admitted to a woman before because I’ve never felt the way I feel in this moment. “I’m falling for you too, Chlo. And it scares the shit out of me and lights me up at the same time.”
Her eyes widen, a ribbon of understanding flickering through them. Instead of responding, she threads her fingers through my hair and tugs my head down. I go willingly, my lips finding hers once more.
Our kissing turns intense, overflowing with the depth of our feelings. Our bodies grind against each other, searching. Right before I push into her, I remember something important. “Condom,” I breathe out.
My girl shakes her head and kisses the corner of my mouth. “I’m on the pill.”
Fuckkkkk. Heat blazes through me at the meaning in her words and I push into her slowly, my entire body clenching up at how fucking amazing she feels.
Her body arches into mine, my frame cages her in, and slowly, we create a centuries-old rhythm that feels brand new. Chloe’s lips graze along my skin, leaving an inferno in their wake that only her fingertips can satisfy. Her touch is both torture and pleasure. The sounds falling from her mouth turn me on and I know I need to slow this down, savor it. Pulling out of her, I kiss a path down her body until my head is between her creamy thighs.
