by Ivy Smoak
I laughed. "Shh, they're coming over here."
Bee smiled as Mason wrapped his arms around her. "What are you two talking about?"
"How stubborn you are," Bee said. "What were you two talking about?"
"James' bachelor party," Mason said. "Rob and I have so many good ideas."
"Trust me," Bee said and grabbed my arm. "You do not want Mason planning James' bachelor party."
I laughed even though she didn't look like she was kidding. "I'd rather him plan it than Rob. Whenever Rob and James get together they always do something stupid."
"You have nothing to worry about," James said and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I'm not having a bachelor party."
"Of course you are," Mason said. "I already bought the tickets. It's going to be awesome."
Bee frowned. "Where exactly are you guys going?"
"I can't say," Mason said. "It's a surprise."
Bee shook her head.
"We're not going anywhere," James said. "Don't worry about it."
"You should have a bachelor party," I said and looked up at him. "Isn't that like a rite of passage?"
"Yeah, but I've already had one."
Every now and then I let myself forget about his past. I downed the rest of my champagne and picked up the sex on the beach. I kind of hoped it was laced with something. I hated thinking about finding a job. I hated thinking about James' parents not wanting to meet me. But most of all I hated being reminded of Isabella. I took a huge sip of the drink. "You should still go, James. You'll have fun."
"See," Mason said. "She wants you to go."
James squeezed my shoulder. "I'll think about it."
"Are you ready to get going, Bee?" Mason asked and removed his arms from around her. He whispered something in her ear and she laughed.
"I guess we need to get going," she said. "Bye, James." She gave him a quick hug. "See you tomorrow, Penny," Bee said as she hugged me. "Don't encourage them, Penny," she whispered. "You seriously don't want Mason to plan it. Trust me." She pulled back. "Congratulations." She gave me a small smile
Weird. "Thanks, Bee. See you tomorrow."
Mason hugged me. "Congratulations on finally graduating. I guess I can't really make fun of James for being with someone so young now."
"I'm sure you'll find something else to tease him about."
Mason laughed and released me from his hug. "It's going to be a blast, man," Mason said and slapped James on the back. "Maybe not as much fun as you guys are about to have when everyone clears out of here, though, right Penny?" He winked at me.
Oh God. Everyone really did hear. I put my hand over my face as they left the apartment. "I'm mortified."
James laughed. "It gave everyone something to talk about all night." He put his hand on the small of my back and pulled me into him.
"You could have stopped me two seconds earlier, you know. Usually when someone throws a surprise party they don't let the guest of honor say something embarrassing in front of a room full of people."
"I don't know. How many surprise parties have you been thrown?"
"Well, none, but..."
"So I'm pretty sure this was exactly how it's supposed to go." He leaned down and lightly nipped my earlobe. "I had considered letting you keep going. So you're welcome."
I laughed and looked into the living room. There were only a few people left. Melissa and Tyler were sitting on the couch, laughing about something. "Did you say something to Melissa? To make her not want to stay with us? I was really looking forward to it."
"Although I am excited that I get to keep you all to myself, I don't think her not wanting to stay with us has anything to do with me." James nodded back over to them.
"What do you mean?"
James laughed. "They're obviously sleeping together."
"No they aren't." Tyler and Melissa were definitely not hooking up. That was ridiculous. I looked back up at James.
"What, does that upset you?" He lowered his eyebrows slightly.
"Of course not. But they're not sleeping together." Tyler was sweet and kind and Melissa was my best friend, but she was Melissa. They weren't a good fit.
James laughed. "I'm pretty sure they are."
"Melissa would have told me. Tyler would have told me."
"Maybe they thought it would be awkward."
I laughed. "Why would that be awkward?" I swallowed hard and looked back over at them. They were just friends. All three of us were just friends. Melissa laughed and lightly pushed Tyler's shoulder. They are just friends, right?
James kissed my cheek. "Let's go try to subtly get rid of everyone. I want to give you your present in private."
"I told you not to get me anything. You already paid for..."
He silenced my protests with a kiss. "My fiancée just graduated. Of course I got you something." He grabbed my hand and guided me back toward the living room.
The only people left were Melissa, Tyler, Rob, and Mason's little brother, Matt. James sat down in the only empty chair and pulled me onto his lap.
"How'd you like the rest of that drink?" Rob asked. "Are you feeling frisky yet?"
I laughed. "I didn't finish it." I was feeling a little frisky, but not at all toward Rob. The man with his arms wrapped around me was the only guy I ever wanted.
"Now what am I going to do with the rest of my night?" Rob said and leaned back in his chair.
"Stop being gross, Rob," Melissa said.
"I thought you liked when I was gross?" he said and smiled at her.
I looked over at Tyler, but he didn't seem to have any reaction to what Rob had just said. After I had moved to New York, Rob and Melissa had a short fling. Tyler knew about it because we had talked about how weird it was. If Melissa and him were dating now, it would make him uncomfortable to hear about it again. Tyler didn't seem to care at all that Rob wanted to do gross things to Melissa, though. And I didn't doubt at all that they'd be gross.
"I have an idea," James cut in. "You could call it a night and go to bed early."
"That wasn't subtle at all, James," I said.
Matt laughed. "What, do you two need to finish whatever it was you were about to do before Penny realized there was a whole room of people watching?"
"I wasn't about to do anything," I said. "That was a complete misunderstanding. I was just making sure James' outfit looked good. Checking his buttons and stuff." Worst excuse ever.
"That's not what it sounded like," Tyler said. "I'm pretty sure we were all just a few seconds away from witnessing quite the graduation celebration."
Melissa glared at him. I couldn't tell if she looked jealous or if she was just mad at him for further embarrassing me. I couldn't read either of them tonight.
"Well, as much fun as this has been, we should probably get going," Melissa said and put her hand on Tyler's knee.
I looked at her hand on Tyler's knee and then back at her face. She immediately moved her hand. Oh God, they are sleeping together. Why didn't she tell me? I bit the inside of my lip.
"Yeah, we probably should head out." Tyler stood up.
Melissa immediately stood up beside him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Penny."
"Sounds good. Thanks for coming tonight."
"Of course. Great party, James."
"Are you not even going to say goodbye to me?" Rob asked.
Melissa rolled her eyes. "As if you deserve a goodbye. Bye, Matt. It was great seeing you again."
"Bye, Melissa," he said with a laugh. "See you around, Tyler,"
Tyler nodded and they both went over to the elevator.
I wanted Melissa and Tyler to be happy. Why did she think I'd be upset about them dating? I looked down at my lap. My first thought had been that they weren't a good fit. Maybe she was right for not telling me.
"I think you're right," I whispered to James.
"About what?" Matt asked.
I looked over my shoulder. Tyler and Melissa were gone. "Am I terrible at whispering or something?"
I asked.
"You're always really loud," Rob said with a wink.
I felt my face turning red.
"She was talking about how Melissa and Tyler are sleeping together," James said.
Matt laughed. "There's no way those two are banging. Don't you see the way he looks at you, Penny? He probably wants you even more than Rob does."
I felt James' arms tense around me. Damn it, Matt. "Tyler and I are just friends."
"And I don't want Penny," Rob said. "She wants me."
I laughed. "Yeah, right."
"You're all in denial," Matt said. He stood up and yawned. "Okay, I think I'm going to head out too. Are you crashing here?" he asked Rob.
Rob looked over at me. "Well, that depends on if Penny wants me to stay."
I sighed. "I think maybe you should spend the night at Matt's. You've gotten me all wound up from that cocktail, so now I have to do super inappropriate things to your brother. And we don't want to keep you up all night."
James laughed. "That sounds fantastic." His body seemed to relax at my words.
"Yuck. Okay, let's get out of here," Rob said and slapped Matt on the back.
"Congrats, Penny," Matt said. "My parents wanted me to give this to you," he handed me an envelope.
"What is it?"
He shrugged. "A gift I guess. Later, James," he said and they did one of their weird handshakes.
"Are you going to open it?" James asked as Rob and Matt left our apartment.
"Do you know what it is?"
He shook his head.
I ripped open the envelope and pulled out the card.
Penny,
We have known James his whole life. He was at our house growing up almost as much as Mason and Matthew were. He's like a son to us. And we can't think of someone more perfect for him than you, Penny. We would be honored if you'd let us throw you a late engagement party at our house. Just something small, to officially welcome you to the family. Call us so we can arrange a date. And congratulations on your graduation!
-Mr. & Mrs. Caldwell
I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. James' parents didn't want to meet me. But I already knew the Caldwells. I had spent a lot of time with them since moving to New York. Every time they saw me they always asked if I had gotten to meet Mr. and Mrs. Hunter yet. I tried to act as optimistic as I could, but everyone knew I was upset about it. Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell clearly cared about me and James. Maybe it was okay that James' parents didn't want me to be a part of their family. Maybe everything I had was enough.
I looked up at James. "That's really sweet, isn't it?"
"I didn't know they thought of me like that." He had a weird look on his face. It wasn't confused exactly. He almost looked sad.
I moved so that I was straddling him. "James, I love you so much. You are the sweetest man I have ever met. But you are just terrible at telling when people care about you."
He smiled at me. "I know that you care about me."
"Mhm. And all the people that came tonight. And Mason and Matt's parents," I said and held up the letter.
"I think everyone just likes you."
I shook my head. "I don't think so."
"Like Tyler."
I laughed. "Oh God. You know that's not true."
He shrugged. "Now that I'm friends with him, I don't think it matters one way or the other. He's a good guy. He won't try to steal you away now."
"Apparently he likes Melissa. So you have nothing to worry about."
"I wasn't worried." He kissed my cheek and then the side of my neck. "Let me go get your present."
I reluctantly moved off his lap. I had only been half joking when I was talking to Rob earlier. I was definitely planning on enjoying James tonight. When he disappeared into his office, I looked back down at the note. They wanted to welcome me to the family. My body felt warm, and not just because of the mixed drink Rob had made me. I had tried so hard to fit in here in New York. But at first I had really missed the suburbs. I had missed passing strangers on the sidewalk that were nice, having grass everywhere, and not being worried I was going to be mugged if I stepped outside at night. It was a hard adjustment. I wasn't sure when it had happened, but suddenly I fit. James' friends had become my new family. And New York had become my home. James' parents not wanting to meet me was the last thing that made me feel like I shouldn't be here, like I didn't belong in this new life.
But this could be enough. I stared at the note in my hands. It was going to have to be.
Chapter 3
Saturday
James sat down on the rug in front of the chair I was in and handed me a manila envelope. He put his hand on my knee, rubbing the inside of my knee with his thumb, not looking at my face.
I had gotten pretty good at reading him. Whenever he did something he knew I wouldn't like, he rarely ever looked me in the eyes. Whatever was in the envelope, he thought I wasn't going to like it. My heart started to beat faster. "What is this?"
"Your present." He tore his eyes away from my knee and looked up at me. "Open it." He leaned down and kissed my kneecap.
I moved my leg away from his hand. Now he was just trying to distract me. I tore open the top of the envelope and pulled out a small stack of photos. They were pictures of really beautiful rooms. Really beautiful, huge rooms. Each room was elegant, yet modern at the same time. It was exactly James' style. Which had become my preference as well. I let my eyes meet his.
"Now, before you say anything..."
"I don't want to move." We had discussed this in length. And I thought we had agreed to stay here for at least a while longer. Graduating, starting a new job, getting married, it was all too much at once. I didn't want to move on top of everything else.
"Baby," he said and grabbed my hand. "When we get married, we're going to need a bigger place."
"This place is big. It's way too big actually."
James laughed. "It's cozy. That's why we picked it."
"I think I remember telling you that it was too big to be cozy, but this was the place you wanted. So I said yes."
"And now you love it here."
"Exactly. So I don't want to move."
"But we're going to be a family."
I stared back at him. We rarely ever talked about having kids. Whenever I brought it up, he not so subtly diverted our conversation to a safer topic. Was he changing his mind? I squeezed his hand. "James, I thought you didn't..."
"You're going to be my wife." He cleared his throat. "We're going to be a family."
Oh. Me and him. Of course that's what he meant. And that's all that I wanted. He was always all that I had ever wanted. "Since we're going to be married, you want more space to escape from me?" I smiled at him.
James laughed. "No, not exactly." He grabbed my waist and pulled me to the edge of the chair. "More rooms to have you in, maybe." His hand slid up my thigh.
I laughed. "Are you sure that you don't want to just run away from me because I have so many flaws?"
"Hmm." He leaned down and kissed the inside of my thigh.
God was he good at distracting me.
He slowly pushed up the bottom of my dress, following his fingertips with a trail of kisses. He hooked his thumbs in the sides of my thong. "Baby, you don't have any flaws."
And he knew exactly what to say to wear me down. I lifted my hips and let him remove my thong. "Okay, fine. We can make an appointment with your realtor and go look at it together. Happy?"
He smiled. "We don't need to make an appointment. I already bought it."
"James!" My exclamation quickly changed to a moan as he thrust his tongue deep inside of me. Fuck. "James, you can't...God!" I let my head drop back against the cushion as he spread my legs farther apart. I couldn't possibly think straight like this. Damn it.
He pushed the bottom of my dress up over my waist and I quickly pulled it over my head. My anger had been replaced by a more primal need, somehow making my want for him even stronger. I unhooked my bra as his mo
uth moved to my clit, sucking on it hard.
"Yes!"
His fingers replaced his tongue, plunging deep inside my aching pussy. His tongue on my clit matched the rhythm of his fingers, pushing me closer and closer to release. Why did I always give into him? Why did I always let him manipulate me with sex? He curved his fingers, hitting that spot that always made me lose control.
Oh God. My whole body felt warm from the combination of the alcohol coursing through me and the building desire in my stomach. I moaned again as his hand slid up, pinching one of my nipples. The sensation had a direct line to my groin.
I grabbed the back of his head as he sucked hard on my clit again. "James!" My orgasm crashed down on me. But the high didn't last long. The reality of what he had just done quickly returned. Jesus. I pushed on his shoulders.
After one last stroke against my wetness, he pulled back and stared at me.
I knew why I always let him have what he wanted. Because I could never resist him. Not when he looked at me like that. Who was I kidding? I could never resist him.
He started to unbutton his shirt.
My chest rose and fell as I tried to catch my breath. I stood up and pointed my finger at him. "You can't just buy a new apartment and not tell me about it. We're getting married. We need to make these kind of decisions together. And we had already discussed this. It's too much change, too fast."
He stood up too.
"I'm really mad at you," I added, when he didn't say anything.
Ignoring me, he slowly removed his belt and unzipped his pants, letting his erection spring free.
I quickly looked back up at his face. "What are you doing? James, we need to talk about this."
His eyes were ablaze. "I like when you're mad at me."
Fuck it. I grabbed the back of his head and pulled his mouth to mine. He was always right. When I was mad at him, it just made me want him even more.
***
James propped his head up on his hand and looked down at me. "I think I know what you like, Penny."
I tried to suppress my smile and shook my head. After everything he had just done to me, I didn't have any energy left to talk about this right now. I winced slightly as I turned to face him. The odds that I didn't have rug burn on my ass were slim to none. "It still would have been nice to be part of the decision."
