by A. R. Breck
"Smells good." I say when I turn the corner but stop in my tracks when I see who's sitting at the table. In my spot.
Aeron.
I'm tempted to turn around and run back to my room. Why is he here? He hasn't eaten a family dinner since he's returned home. Why tonight?
"Homemade chicken breast, potatoes, salad, you name it. I don't know why I cook for a feast every night. Although, you did get me off takeout, Mercy. I'm thankful for that." He laughs as he walks to the table with a dish full of chicken. "What're you doing? Oh, Aeron, that's Mercy's spot."
"No, sorry. I'm fine. I'll sit somewhere else." I say to Dave, not even chancing a look at Aeron.
I keep my eyes averted as I walk to the other end of the table. He hasn't said a word since I entered the room, but I can feel his heavy gaze bearing down on me.
Is it hot in here?
Once I sit down and everyone has their food, Dave looks over at me with a smile, "Aeron said he saw you out at the pool earlier. How was it?"
I swallow down my food, almost choking on the piece of chicken. "It was great. The temperature was just right today. Thanks for letting me use it."
He waves me off. "You don't have to even ask, Mercy."
"You did look like you were having a good time. Almost too much fun out there." Aeron speaks up for the first time since I got in the room. I glare at him from beneath my eyelids, embarrassment coating my cheeks.
"I've had better." I mumble under my breath, only enough for Aeron to hear because he's sitting next to me. And no, I haven't had better. But fuck Aeron for trying to rile me up when I'm near his dad.
Screw him.
"Uh, I'm sorry, what was that?" His smile falls along with his joking tone. Shit, he did not like that.
"Nothing.” I smile at him and my eyes almost bug out of their head when I see the scratch marks on his shoulders. He didn't even have decency to throw on a t-shirt? And I did that? Seriously? It looks like he was mauled by a bear.
Dave zones in on what I'm looking back, releasing a big cringe when he sees what I'm looking at. "Oh, Aeron. Can you show a little respect to the lady in the house? You look like you were attacked."
Aeron snorts, "I was, in a way. She was a wild one, that's for sure."
"Aeron. Shirt. Now." Dave orders, but I'm far past having lost my appetite.
"No, it's okay. Dinner was great, but my head is killing me, I'm going to go lay down if that's okay."
I seriously feel sick to my stomach with what I’ve done.
"Sure thing, Mercy. Feel better."
Silently, I bring my plate to the sink and then walk to my room. I can feel Aeron's stare on me the entire way. I should have told Aric I would go with him. It doesn't matter what he's doing. I would have picked up dog poop if it means getting out of this house with Aeron.
I go to the bathroom next to my room, splashing cold water on my face to cool down the heat burning through me. Whether I'm irritated or just turned on from being in Aeron's proximity, I'm not sure. Either way, the heat is back, and it’s burning hotter than ever.
When I grab a towel and dry my face, I hear the door creak open. Except it's not coming from my door, its coming from the other door connected to Aeron's bedroom.
Fuck, I forgot about this damn jack and jill bathroom.
"Go away." I groan.
He closes the door behind him and leans up against it. Still without a shirt on and with all his tattoos on display. I can't take this anymore. This guy needs a damn shirt on.
When he doesn't say anything, I look at his face and see him staring at me. No cocky smirk, no angry scowl. Just a dead stare.
"Can I help you?" I ask again.
"What crawled up your ass?"
"N-nothing.” I pause a second before changing my mind. “No, you’re my problem."
"Me? What the fuck did I do?" He stands up to his full height from his leaning on the door. Stalking towards me, he gets in my bubble and towers over me. All I can smell is him and it makes me dizzy. Chlorine, woodsy and smoky.
Fuck.
I press my palm against my forehead to stop the dizzy feeling.
What is it about him that makes me feel this way?
"What we did was wrong, and you know it." I say when I get my bearings.
"No, actually, I don't know it. It felt pretty fucking good to me."
I roll my eyes and let out a sigh. "Aric and I-"
"Aric and you are nothing but a joke. I see how you look at him. Yeah, maybe you feel something. But I also see how you look at me."
I run my hand down my face in irritation. "Fuck, my head."
"Come here." He grabs onto my hand and suddenly I'm in his room. I take it in, the dark colors and it’s so... empty. I figured it would be filled with personal belongings like Aric's room, but it's not. It's void of anything that might give away his personality. The only thing that gives away that someone lives here is the smell.
Aeron shifts around to his nightstand and comes back a second later with a little white pill.
"Uh, no thanks." Not that again.
Aeron opens my palm and drops the pill in. "Just take the pill, Mercy. It'll take the edge off and take the pain away."
I pinch it between my thumb and pointer and stare at it. I don't want to take drugs. I'm not a druggie, but I can't deny that it is tempting to take the edge off for a little while.
When Aeron steps even closer, getting into my personal space and making the only thing I can smell is him, he rasps, "Come on, Mercy. It's nothing too strong. Promise." He grabs two himself and pops them in his mouth dry, swallowing them down and giving me a smile.
He walks over to his nightstand and grabs a bottle of water sitting on top of it, unscrewing the cap and handing it to me. The looks in his eyes is one to sway anyone’s ideas, thoughts and morals.
Looking him right in the eye, I drop the pill in my mouth and take a swig of water, swallowing it down and handing the water bottle back to him.
When he grabs my hand and pulls me down to his bed. “Give it a minute and I promise you’ll feel better. I can sense all the tension rolling off your body in waves. You have to sit back and relax. Live a little.”
I ignore the irritation filling me up at his words. He makes me sound like a prude. “Just because I don’t do drugs doesn’t mean I’m some stuck up goodie two shoes.”
He tilts his head back and barks out a laugh, revealing his Adams apple. I zone in on it, swallowing down my suddenly dry throat as I wait for the pill to start working through my system. “I know you aren’t some goodie two shoes, Mercy. But everyone needs a little Zan every once in a while.” His eyes sparkle as he looks down at me, and when his lids become hooded, I have to swallow down my sigh
Laying my head down on his pillow, it takes all my effort not to turn my nose into the fabric and inhale Aeron’s scent. He stares at me from the other side of the bed, half sitting and half laying down, his elbows digging into his dark comforter.
We stare at each other, looking into each other’s eyes. Staring, not saying a word. I want to say something, but I don’t know what. Maybe that we shouldn’t do this. Maybe admit my feelings. Maybe tell him my fears.
He wants to say something, too.
I can’t take it, and I’m afraid of what he wants to say. So, I turn my head to the side, closing my eyes and feeling my body become weightless.
Finally, it hits.
He twists his body, grabbing his phone off his nightstand and suddenly, music fills the room.
When Death Cab for Cutie Soul Meets Body fills the room, I peel myself off the bed in a daze and stand, running my fingers through my wavy hair. “Ugh, I love this song.”
I feel good.
He smirks at me and says, “Somehow, I knew you would.” He gets off the bed and walks over to me. Standing in front of me, he looks me in the eyes. Not touching me, just standing there.
I feel weightless as my arms lift in the air and I twirl around him. “I feel good.” I sigh.
“I knew you would.” He echoes his previous statement.
I stop twirling and look at him. “You seem to think you know quite a bit about me.”
He shrugs, his heavy lids making his gaze unreadable. Out of nowhere, he reaches his arms out and wraps them around my waist. “Let’s dance, yeah? We had quite a good time the other night.”
He pulls me tight, every inch of my body touching every inch of his. Just like before. I can feel his heartbeat. I can smell his scent. I can hear his heavy breathing.
He’s affected, too.
We sway to the music, looking into each other’s eyes as the drugs take hold. It feels like a vortex and I willingly let go of all the stress and pain in my life, letting Aeron take hold of my body and move us to the music. I Will Follow You Into The Dark comes on, and I sigh and wrap my arms around his neck, leaning my head back and closing my eyes.
Feeling nothing.
Feeling everything.
Needing nothing except for this man in front of me to keep me grounded to the carpet that my bare feet are stepping on.
“Mercy.” Aeron whispers after a few minutes.
I shake my head, not wanting to come back to earth from the ultimate dream in living in at this very moment. Whatever he gave me, I want it to last forever.
I don’t ever want it to end.
“Mercy.” His fingers give my waist a squeeze, trying to get my attention once again.
I tilt my head up, cracking my eyes open only a touch to gaze at him.
He licks his lips, and one hand slides off my waist, up my back, and into my messy hair, gripping a heavy handful and pulling me towards him.
I let loose a gasp just a moment before his lips touch mine. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever encountered. Most men give and take. Take the lead but allow you to take what you want, too.
Aeron doesn’t allow that. Not for even a second.
His kiss in the pool was a prologue to the real thing. That was a test drive, this is the real deal. There is no going back from this kiss.
He almost lazily takes control of not only my mouth, but also my entire body and all the oxygen in this room. I succumb to Aeron’s hands and lips and tongue as he curls his entire body around mine, cocooning me in our own little drug induced world. Time slows as his tongue slides against mine. We kiss slowly, the beat of Death Cab controlling the speed of our movements.
He pulls me over to the bed as Transatlanticism comes on, laying down on the bed and guiding me on top of him. I straddle his legs, the curtain of my hair falling around us and making me feel like we’re in a world of our very own.
He guides me back to his lips, kissing me with a heavy passion once again, guiding a hand underneath my summer dress and underneath the scrap of underwear covering my body.
He lets out a grunt. “Fuck, you’re drenched.”
I grunt in return, reaching forward and grabbing him out of his pants, breaking our kiss when I realize how big he is.
“Holy shit.” I whisper-moan. His fingers touching and swirling between my legs is making my knees quake and my toes tingle.
His free hand grips my hair at the back of my head again, pulling me back in for another kiss. I’ve never been kissed like this before. Like the day might never end if our lips can whisper to each other a little longer.
I squeeze his length, letting out shaky breaths as I try to coordinate the feeling of his fingers between my legs, his tongue sweeping across mine, and my hand on his hard length. We create a rhythm, breathing out into each other’s mouths as feelings take over.
Everything is heightened on the pills. The world slows down and emotions speed up. The sensations of his fingers sliding across my skin feels like thousands of electrodes going off by the second. I can’t control the tortured moan that tumbles out of my chest.
Aeron curls his fingers inside of me and I can’t even stop the roaring orgasm that falls over me. Tingling and heat make my toes curl and I quicken my pace with my hand on his cock. He grunts into my mouth and his cock twitches, spilling semen all down my hand.
I’m thirsty for it.
Thirsty for him.
Shit, did he give me X or something?
Finally, we disconnect lips and stare at each other, staring into each other’s eyes as Lover I Don’t Have To Love ends.
“Wow.” I murmur, feeling like words don’t quite describe what just happened between us. Aeron by himself is enough to light a fire.
Us combined, it’s enough to start an apocalypse. We’re too much for this world when we’re together.
Aeron doesn’t say anything, instead reaching his hand up and swiping his thumb across my bottom lip. He releases me, and I fall back against his pillow once again. Aeron lays down next to me, and we end up staring at each other while Bright Eyes continues on playing in the background.
The world feels like it’s running in slow motion.
I close my eyes, letting my body melt into the mattress. I hear his breathing even out beside me, and if my limbs weren’t so heavy, I’d get up and go back to my own room.
Except, I’m lying. I wouldn’t get up and leave. I’m comfortable right here.
With Aeron.
11
Mercy
I wake up to the mattress vibrating, and my foggy brain can’t comprehend what it is. Then I hear grumbling beside me, “Shut the fuck up.” Aeron starts moving around and shaking the bed even more. I can tell by the vibrations that it’s my phone.
I sit up and wait for the world to stop spinning and then reach under the comforter and grab my phone.
“Hello?” I ask without even looking at the screen.
“Mercy? Finally, you pick up. How are you feeling? Is your head feeling better?” The multiple questions overwhelm me as I try to catch my bearings.
“Aric?” Rubbing my eyes, I tilt my head and look over as Aeron frowns and gets up on his elbows, staring down at me.
“Well, yeah. Who else would it be?” Aric chuckles over the line, his deep rasp making me blush and feel guilty all at the same time.
“Uh, yeah. Sorry, I was sleeping. I’m kind of groggy.” I comb my hair out with my fingers and ignore Aeron’s heavy stare.
“Well, are you feeling any better?” His voice turns concerned again.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m feeling better.”
“Great. I’m actually about to pull up to the house in a few minutes. I was going to see if you wanted to go and grab some ice cream.” His voice lowers at the end, and I know this is his way of asking me on a date.
What timing.
“Right now?” I ask, chancing a glance over at Aeron. I quickly look away when I notice his scowl. Shit, he looks pissed.
“Yeah.” Aric laughs. “I’ll be there in a few minutes. Okay?”
“Okay?” I answer it almost like a question, but Aric doesn’t seem to notice how odd I’m being.
“See you in a few, babe.” Aric hangs up, and I drop the phone into my lap.
“Was that my brother?” I hear from beside me, snapping me out of my daze.
“Uh, what? Oh, yeah. He wants me to go out for ice cream with him.” I say, shifting to a seated position and straightening my dress out.
Holy shit, I can’t believe what I’ve done with Aeron today. Twice.
Aeron barks out a laugh. “What, is he five? Asking you out on a date for ice cream?”
I scowl at him and stand up. “Shut up. Don’t be a dick.”
He stops laughing and curls his lip up. “You’re actually going out with him? Right now?” He points to his bed in hard jerks.
My eyes widen at the hurt and angry look in Aeron’s eyes.
What am I doing?
“Um…”
Aeron gets off the bed and tosses me my phone. “You know what? Go out with him. Enjoy your fucking juvenile date and damn ice cream cone.” He adjusts himself in his pants before walking towards his door.
“Aeron…” I walk towards him.
He stops and tur
ns around, sneering at me and saying, “When you feel the wetness from earlier still lingering between your thighs, know that it was from here, earlier, with me, and not with my fucking pube of a brother.”
He walks out without another word, leaving me in the middle of his room.
Shocked. Hurt. Aroused. Confused.
A car horn honks a minute later, alerting me of Aric’s arrival.
I run to the bathroom to freshen up, then head out to my date with Aric.
What am I doing?
~
“How is it?” Aric asks, taking a bite out of his cheesecake blizzard.
“Delicious.” I’ve got some ultimate chocolate blizzard that is seriously overboard, but too tempting to pass up.
“Did you run by Aeron today? I haven’t seen him in a few days.”
I swallow down the hunk of chocolate brownie which goes down like a piece a coal at his question. “He was around.” I stir my chocolate treat around to hide the guilty flush filling in my cheeks.
“Did he seem high or anything? I don’t know… I haven’t seen him the last few days and I’m worried he’s off the wagon. I mean, I know he does stuff here and there, but once he goes heavy on the pills is when he always ends up back behind bars. I don’t want that to happen to him again.” His voice sounds so sad. Like a little brother who wants his big brother back.
Shoving my guilty conscious underneath, the small table, I put on a brave face and grab his hand. “Aric, don’t worry about your brother. I’m sure he’s fine. I bet he just has to get back into the swing of things. Don’t let it stress you out.” I feel like at any moment, a lightning bolt is going to come down and zap me to a crisp. I’m the worst friend in the entire world. If only Aric knew that Aeron gave me pills earlier today, and then had his fingers inside of me—
Oh, fuck.
Aric, being oblivious as ever, places his free hand over mine, and together we’re holding all four hands as he looks me in the eyes with his thick, milky gaze that makes me feel warm all over.
“Mercy, there’s kind of another reason why I wanted to bring you out tonight.” His tongue peeks out and swipes at his lower lip, and I zone in on it while trying to focus on his words. “I like you, Mercy.” I look up in his eyes and get caught in his stare. “I hope you know that this isn’t a game to me. I know since my brother got back things have been a little… off. I want to forget about the other weekend and move forward. I want to move forward with you, Mercy. I haven’t… I haven’t really felt like this since my mom died.” He clears his throat, running his hands through his hair as he looks away from me.