Nope.
Instead, I pull him in, my arms circling around his neck, my hands sinking into his soft, thick hair. His mouth moves over mine, tasting of beer and harder liquor, though I can’t decipher what type exactly. He kisses me in that mind-numbing, body-humming way of his, and I light up like a Christmas tree, eager for more.
I’m so predictable, it’s painful.
He doesn’t pull away either. I think he’s enjoying the kiss as much as I am, and I throw myself into it, pressing my body fully against him, my tongue matching the same rhythm as his. I show a little aggression and he becomes even fiercer, a growl leaving him just before he kisses me like he really means it. He backs me up against the counter, somehow lifting me so my butt is sitting on the edge, my legs falling open as he steps right in between them as if he belongs there.
Eli does belong there. Here. With me. Why do we keep fighting this? Yes, I’m still upset and frustrated with him, but I can’t deny my feelings.
And my feelings are screaming that I’m still in love with this man.
The kiss goes on and on, his hand settling on my hip, keeping me in place, as if he’s afraid I’m going to run away. I kiss him hungrily, trying to communicate through my lips that I’m not going anywhere. I’m already exactly where I want to be.
There’s a soft knock on the door, but we both ignore it, our mouths too busy to do anything else but continue kissing each other. A whimper leaves me when he breaks away from my lips to trail his mouth down my neck. He licks and nibbles, his other hand shifting, resting on my waist before slowly moving up higher.
Higher.
Until his hand is on my breast, lightly resting there, asking a silent question.
Yes or no, Ava? Can I do this?
I don’t pull away. I say nothing. I lean into his palm.
Yes, I say.
Yes.
His thumb drifts over the front of my shirt. My bra. Slowly rubbing back and forth, again and again, making me sigh into his mouth. There are layers between his hand and my flesh and still my nipple hardens. My core tightens.
My body missed him.
There’s another knock on the door, more insistent than the last time. I remove my hands from his hair and touch his shoulders, pushing him so he has no choice but to lift away from me, his brows furrowed in confusion.
“We should go,” I whisper.
He watches me, his lower lip damp, his tongue sneaking out for a lick and making it shinier. A jolt of lust races through me and my breath hitches.
“You really want to leave?” he asks, the sound of his deep voice settling right between my thighs.
“No.” I shake my head, and I’m rewarded for my honest answer with another sweet, drugging kiss.
Now the knocking is nonstop and a male voice booms, “Come the fuck on! I gotta piss!”
Eli pulls away from me, his gaze meeting mine. “You want this?”
What exactly is he referring to? I’m about to ask, but realize we don’t have time to pick this moment apart. I go on full instinct, nodding my answer instead.
He offers me the slightest closed mouth smile, one side quirked up. Otherwise, there’s no reaction. “Give me thirty minutes.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“Give us thirty minutes. You go back out to that party and so will I. Talk to someone else. Talk to a bunch of guys, I don’t care. See if any of them interest you,” he says.
What in the world? “Eli, I—”
He rests his fingers over my lips, silencing me. “Flirt with other guys. Take forty-five minutes if you need it. But don’t drink another drop of alcohol. I won’t either. Let’s see how we feel about each other at the end.”
“Give me an hour,” I tell him, because I could probably convince myself this is a bad idea in an hour. I could definitely flirt with other guys. Talk to my friends and tell them what’s happening—they will talk me out of this, I know they will. Leaving with Eli is a bad idea and I’ll end up sabotaging this entire night, like I’m so good at doing lately.
“Perfect. We can set a timer.” We both pull our phones out and do exactly that, setting our timers at the same exact time. The guy is still pounding the door, making me feel guilty that we’ve been in here so long. He must really have to use the bathroom. “Let’s go.”
We exit the bathroom, the beefy looking guy easing up when he spots Eli. “Hey man. Sorry to interrupt your hookup.”
“No problem,” Eli says easily, not bothering to correct him. We walk down the hallway side by side, as if we’re still together, and I search the room for my friends, glancing over at where Eli was just standing when I realize he’s gone.
Huh. Well, that only took two seconds for him to abandon me completely.
I spot him immediately, not too far from where I’m standing. Surrounded by a group of women, but he’s talking to just one.
My heart sinks.
She’s pretty. Blonde like me. About my height. She’s smiling at him as she talks and he nods at whatever she’s saying, appearing completely into her. He never once looks in my direction. The longer I watch, the angrier I get. Not even three minutes ago he had his hands all over me and his tongue in my mouth, and now he’s flirting with some random chick.
Fine. Two can play at that game.
I wander around the house, my gaze searching as I seek out a guy. Any guy. Preferably one I find attractive, which shouldn’t be difficult.
I spot my friends and I wave but don’t stop to talk to them. I feel like a shark swimming in the ocean, searching for my next meal. Diego makes eye contact with me when I enter the kitchen and I wave at him but otherwise don’t stop to talk to him either. He’s with Caleb and Tony and all three of them are looking at me with pity in their eyes.
No thanks. The last thing I need is Eli’s ‘boys’ watching out for their bro and telling me I need to leave him alone.
“Ava.”
The voice is deep. Male. He says my name like he knows me and when I glance over my shoulder, I see a guy standing there, leaning against the wall, surrounded by friends. They’re all laughing and talking, except for him.
He’s watching me.
I turn to fully face him, squinting at his familiar face. Dark brown hair. Handsome, rugged features. Pretty sure I went to high school with him.
“You remember me?” he asks, sounding amused.
His name comes to me from out of nowhere. “James, right?”
He nods and smiles, revealing deep dimples bracketing each side of his mouth. His hair flops in front of his forehead and he sweeps it away, his blue eyes sparkling as he takes me in. He’s really cute. “You do remember.”
“We went to school together, of course I remember you. You’re a year younger than me, right?”
“Yeah. You’re not gonna hold that against me, are you?” His smile widens.
I’m actually blushing, and I immediately feel guilty. Why, I don’t know. Eli and I are not together. We haven’t been for months. Who cares if we just made out in a bathroom? He’s the one who wanted to do this in the first place. But why? To test ourselves? To see if what we really want is each other?
God, sometimes he’s so frustrating.
“I’m definitely not holding that against you,” I tell James, my tone extra flirtatious as I slide in closer to him. I can feel eyes on the back of my head, and I guarantee Eli’s friends are staring me down. I hope they go report me talking to this dude. “How are you? I didn’t know you were going to Fresno State.”
“I didn’t know you were going here either,” he says, his gaze eating me up, not hiding it whatsoever as he sweeps those blue eyes up and down my body.
“Oh, I don’t. I go to San Diego State,” I correct him.
“Here visiting for the weekend then?” He lifts a brow.
“I was in a study abroad program over the summer that ended in September, so I’m taking the rest of the semester off. I’ll go back to San Diego in January,” I explain.
&n
bsp; “Ah.” He nods. “You’ve been hanging out with Bennett then?”
Everyone knew we were together my senior year of high school. I made it super obvious and told anyone who would listen that he was my boyfriend, proud of the fact that I was dating someone older, someone in college. If anyone followed my social media, they’d know I was involved with him the last few years as well. I posted him—and us—constantly. James’ assumption makes sense.
“Actually, we broke up,” I admit.
“Really?” His expression changes. As if everything just got a little more interesting. “Just to warn you, he’s here tonight. I saw him walk in.”
“I know,” I say with a little shrug, playing it off. “It’s fine. We share a lot of the same friends, so I knew we’d run into each other. It was bound to happen eventually.”
I’m not about to admit to James that I kissed Eli in the bathroom. He’d walk away so fast my head would spin. And this is what I’m supposed to be doing, right? Flirting with someone else? Testing myself?
I hear familiar laughter coming from behind me and my heart pangs. I know that laugh anywhere. It’s Eli. And it is followed by a female laughing too, which makes my heart ache even more.
“You don’t have a drink,” James says, inclining his head toward my empty hand. His voice is really deep. “You want something?”
I shake my head. “Thanks, but no. I’ve had enough already.”
“It’s still early though.” He mock pouts. I love how we’re talking while surrounded by his friends, who are all too involved in their own little conversations with other people.
“I can’t get too drunk,” I tell him. “I want to remember tonight, you know?”
He laughs. “I know exactly what you mean, but I haven’t hit my limit yet. Come to the back yard with me? I hear there’s a fresh keg out there.”
“Sure,” I say, falling into step beside him once he’s pushed away from the wall. We head through the kitchen, my gaze scanning the area, searching for stupid Eli.
I don’t see him anywhere.
We stop in the kitchen and James slaps hands with a friend of his. They make easy conversation about the party, the game, the class they share. I stand there essentially ignored and already bored, wondering if I made the right choice.
But then I remember Eli asking me to do exactly this and I realize I need to make the most of this moment. Even though what we’re doing makes no sense and I don’t even know if we’re going to leave this party together or whatever, I’m at a loss.
What do I do now? I’m so out of practice flirting with someone, I feel…inept.
“Ready to go outside?” I ask James when there’s a lull in their conversation, flashing him what I hope is a beguiling smile.
“Yeah, let’s go.” He grabs hold of my arm and steers me away from his friend, who he never introduced me to, by the way, but whatever. We head for the back door and within seconds, we’re outside, the cool air washing over me and making me shiver.
There’s a cluster of people standing around a keg and we head over to them, me asking questions about people in James’ graduating class. He tells me what they’re doing now, and the conversation is flowing easily, just like the beer from the keg. James fills his cup and while I wish we were back inside, he doesn’t seem in any hurry to get back in there, so I keep up the conversation outside, trying to ignore the cold seeping into my bones.
“You really broke up with Bennett?” James asks me at one point.
Frowning slightly, I nod. “Yeah. I already told you that.”
“It’s just—he’s watching us.” He tilts his head slightly to the left. “Don’t turn around and make it obvious. He’s on the back patio talking to some girl, but he’s not listening to her.”
“How do you know?”
“He’s too busy watching us. You,” James stresses before he takes a giant swallow of his beer. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“You’re not in trouble.”
“He looks like he wants to tear me apart, and he’s a big dude.” James sounds the slightest bit scared, the wimp.
Unable to stand it any longer, I glance over my shoulder to find Eli’s smoldering gaze on me, his mouth tight, his jaw clenched. A fresh wave of lust washes over me, just seeing the look on his face. Angry Eli is intimidating.
Sexy.
I smile at him. He asked for this. Did he think I wouldn’t talk to another guy? If so, he completely underestimated me. Which I think has been his problem for a while. I’m just as stubborn as he is when I want to be.
Like right now.
Eli glowers at me in return, the woman shifting closer to him, her hands moving in tandem with her mouth. She’s a very animated talker, but I can tell he’s not even listening to her. Just like James said.
He’s too focused on me.
She’s still talking as he walks away from her without saying anything in return, heading in my direction. I whirl back around, sending an apologetic look at James and he just shakes his head.
“I knew I shouldn’t have bothered trying with you. You two are still wrapped up in each other. It’s pretty obvious,” he says, and I’m so stinking grateful he doesn’t sound pissed, I do something completely impulsive.
I hug James.
“Thank you for being so understanding,” I murmur as I pull out of his arms…
And collide with Eli.
“Oh.” I glance up at him to see he’s glaring at James as if he wants to murder him. My stomach flutters. Clearly, I have issues. “Hey.”
“Great game tonight,” James starts, but the look on Eli’s face shuts him up.
“Keep your fucking hands off her,” Eli says fiercely, his wrath aimed at the innocent guy I just hugged.
Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.
James throws his hands up in front of himself. “She hugged me first. I’m not interested.”
“Keep it that way, asshole,” my obviously jealous ex-boyfriend spits out at him.
“Eli,” I start, but he turns that glare on me, and I take a step back from the force of it, wary. He must see my wariness because his gaze softens, as does his voice.
“You got a minute?” Eli asks me, not waiting for my answer. He wraps his fingers around the crook of my elbow and guides me away from James.
“What are you doing? Our time isn’t up yet,” I tell him, wishing I could grab my phone and see how many more minutes we have left.
“I couldn’t take it anymore,” he says through tight lips, not smiling or acknowledging anyone as we pass by the party goers. Everyone is watching us, which is kind of awkward, so all I can do is smile and wave at the few people I actually do know.
Like my friends who are currently watching us with shock all over their faces.
“Couldn’t take what?” I ask.
“Watching you with that asshole,” he grits out.
“You’re the one who talked to someone else first,” I so kindly point out like the mature, responsible adult that I am.
“She called me over. I know her. We have classes together,” he says irritably.
I tamp down the jealousy rising within me. “I know James too.”
“James.” Eli makes a disgusted face, as if the guy’s name completely offends him. “How do you know that prick?”
“I went to high school with him. He’s a year younger than me.”
“Going for babies now, huh? That’s just great, Ava.”
I jerk my arm out of his hold, suddenly infuriated. “Don’t you dare insult me when you’re hanging out with groupies, knowing they’d all die for the chance to hook up with you.”
He smiles, the asshole, and if I could smack that smug look off his face, I so would.
“You’re right. They’re all dying for a piece of me.” He leans in close, his nose almost touching mine. “Except for you. You could give two shits about me.”
We glare at each other while standing in front of the door, and I swallow hard. I could walk out of thi
s house right now and never have to deal with him again.
“You’re wrong,” I whisper harshly. “I’m still in love with you, and that’s my problem. You’re the one who wanted to pretend we’re interested in other people in the first place. This weird, go flirt with other guys for forty-five minutes thing that makes no sense. You make no sense, Eli. Why didn’t we just leave together after the bathroom? Why did you want to do this? Were you testing me? Is that it?”
Without thought, I place both of my hands on his chest and give him a shove. Of course, he doesn’t move a muscle. He’s as solid as a tree and that infuriates me even further. Worse, he doesn’t speak. He only stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.
Well, maybe I have.
“I’m sick of the back and forth. If you still want me, Eli Bennett—” I take a step closer to him and poke him in the chest with my index finger, “fucking prove it.”
Fifteen
Eli
I feel like a dick. A jealous, enraged, out-of-control asshole. I had her right where I wanted her. In my arms, in the bathroom, her body pressed to mine. She would’ve left with me right then, no questions asked.
But I had to go and test her and myself by putting that stipulation on us first. Why the hell did I do that? Why did I torture myself and her too? I thought it would be no big deal, watching her flirt with other guys.
Truly? I didn’t even think she’d do it. I was thinking she’d hang out with her friends and wait me out. That was my original plan—to wait this out. See if I still wanted to take her home. If the occasional female approached me, I’d chat her up but never take it too far. I’m not interested in anyone else.
Just Ava.
Then someone had to call me over and Ava witnessed it. I forget sometimes she can be just as stubborn as me. She went right out and found a guy and I couldn’t stand it. I showed all my cards with that reaction.
Such a jealous fuck. I can’t take it.
“You want me to be real with you?” I ask her.
The Senior (College Years Book 4) Page 12
