“Yeah? You guys start recording your next album?”
I unlock my car and climb into the driver’s seat, throwing my briefcase onto the passenger seat, then start it up.
“Yeah, we’re working on it. The label is happy with the progress so far. The tour was successful, and they’re thinking we may be going on an overseas tour for this next album.”
“Wow, that’s great.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait. It’s a lot of work, a lot of long nights, but you know, we love it.”
“Good, good. Do you get a break anytime soon?”
“Thanksgiving, actually. So, I’ll fly in next month.”
“That’ll be great.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait. Anyway, what’re you up to?”
“Just about to leave work. I have to find some sort of Halloween costume because Royce demands that I go to his bar in costume tonight.”
Merrick laughs. “It’s Halloween and you still don’t have a costume? Damn, I wish I could go.”
“I don’t know what the hell to dress up as.”
“What about Pennywise?”
I groan. “Way too much work.”
“So a zombie or the joker is out.”
“Not big on face paint. I can’t do that shit.”
Merrick laughs. “Oh wait! Go to my room and find my Superman T-shirt. Put that on under one of your suits, leave it unbuttoned and wear your glasses. Bam! Superman/Clark Kent.”
“Hey, that’s not bad.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Royce will still hate it.”
“Oh well. Don’t tell him it was my idea,” he says with a laugh. “I’ll let you go. Talk to you later.”
“All right, man. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I stroll into King’s Tavern around nine-thirty, not expecting a huge crowd this early in the night, except it’s already packed. Royce has a band playing tonight, when they’re usually reserved for Saturdays. Right now they’re covering Michael Jackson’s Thriller, a song I’m sure will be played a few more times before the night is over.
I spot a couple of Disney princesses, a pirate, a couple that came dressed as bacon and eggs, and what looks like people wearing animal onesies.
Since I don’t know what my brothers are dressing up as, I don’t know what to look for, but I assume Royce will be behind the bar, so I start there.
I find an empty stool and look down the length of the bar and spot a Joaquin Phoenix style joker making drinks. Royce’s hair has been sprayed green, because I know he wouldn’t dye it permanently. His red suit, green shirt, and orange vest look pretty spot on compared to the outfit worn in the movie, and the white face, red garish mouth, and blue arrow type shapes above and below his eyes look professionally done.
Yep, he’s gonna hate that I didn’t do more with my costume.
“Really?” he asks, sauntering over to me. “A Superman shirt and glasses? That’s your costume?”
“What? Superman is a popular costume.”
“Yeah, like the whole outfit with the cape and everything. You suck.”
“Your makeup looks good.”
He grins. “Cillian did it. You know I couldn’t do this shit.”
“Where is Cill?”
He points a few seats over. “That would be Beetlejuice over there.”
Just then, Cillian turns around, showcasing his own white face with black circles around his eyes, and what has to be a wig to match Beetlejuice’s style. The iconic black and white striped outfit completes the look.
A woman in all black, wearing a large black hat smiles and waves at me. Midge came dressed as Lydia from the same movie.
I walk over and greet them. “Well, aren’t y’all cute with your themed costumes.”
Midge looks up at me with a huge grin. Cill scoffs. “And look at you with the lamest attempt at dressing up.”
“Hey, I’m Superman. What’s the big deal?”
“You didn’t want to wear the tights?” he asks.
“No, no tights,” I reply with a chuckle. “Where’s London? What’s she dressed as?”
Cillian nods over Midge’s head and I turn to find London making her way over to us.
London came dressed to kill in a form fitting red dress with a high slit, purple gloves, and a long, red wig.
“Jessica Rabbit.”
She eyes my shirt. “Superman.”
Royce stops by and knocks on the bar. “Keep the guys away from her. I’ll be back,” he says with a grin and a wink in London’s direction.
An hour later, we’ve commandeered a booth thanks to Midge’s eagle eyes spotting a group of girls leaving it. And thanks to Royce bringing over a tray of green Halloween themed shots, followed by a second round of drinks, we’re all feeling pretty good.
The girls get up to dance a couple times, leaving Royce and Cillian to bombard me with questions about what I’m going to do regarding Nova.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” I tell them.
Royce is about to say something when his eyes land on someone over my shoulder. His lips stretch into a smile as he elbows Cillian and jerks his head to the left.
“Well, Professor,” he drawls. “Look who just walked in.”
I twist my body slightly, glancing over my shoulder in the direction of the door. I immediately spot Nova with a few other people I don’t recognize.
“And my, oh my, what a perfect costume,” Cill states.
My mouth drops and my cock jumps. Nova’s wearing a black, white, and gray plaid skirt that stops mid-thigh. Attached to the skirt is a pair of suspenders over a small, white shirt that ties together just below her belly button. My eyes trail down her legs where she’s wearing white thigh-high tights, and a pair of black heels.
As much as I want to continue watching her, I turn around and look at my brothers. When they see my face, they both start cracking up.
“You gonna be able to keep your hands off her tonight, Professor?” Cill jokes.
“Enough with the professor shit.”
“Looks like she’s on a date,” Royce murmurs.
I sneak another peek and find a guy I’m assuming is Lorenzo with his hand on her back, leaning in and saying something in her ear. His face is painted but I recognize the way he interacts with her.
“He’s in my class, too,” I tell them.
Their eyebrows shoot up. “They dating?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so, but I don’t doubt he wants to.”
“Well, good luck with that,” Royce says, sliding out of the booth. “You definitely can’t be seen doing anything with her. Not if other students are here.”
“You see my issue, then.”
“You won’t always be in these situations,” Cill offers. “Don’t get discouraged now.”
“I’m gonna go find London,” Royce says before taking off.
“Royce has that apartment above the bar,” Cill says, waggling his brows. “You know, I’m sure it’ll be easy to disappear for a little bit.”
“Thanks,” I reply dryly, knowing that will not happen.
But now I can’t stop thinking about how much I want it to.
26
“Let’s see if we can squeeze in and get some drinks,” Ayanna says loudly, trying to be heard over the music in the bar.
“You didn’t have enough to drink at our little pre-game party?” Luca asks, drawing her into his side.
“We walked all the way over here from that parking lot. It had to have been two miles. I walked off all my liquor.”
Luca laughs then turns and shakes his head at me and Lorenzo. “It was like a block and a half.”
“In heels it feels like two miles,” I say, siding with Ayanna.
“We should’ve dropped you ladies off here,” Lorenzo says. “I think we were just thinking about where to leave the car overnight, since we’re probably gonna be catching a Lyft back home.”
“You can make it up to me b
y buying me my first drink.”
He smiles. “Deal.”
“You too,” Ayanna says, tugging Luca’s hat down.
Ayanna and Luca came dressed up as Hugh Hefner and a Playboy bunny. Mostly because Luca didn’t really want to dress up, so he threw on a robe, found a cheap sailor hat and fake pipe. Meanwhile, Ayanna’s wearing a black halter-style corset, a bow tie, tuxedo tails hanging down past her ass, a tulle overlay skirt, and of course the bunny ears and tail to finish it off. She added black pantyhose and long black gloves, simply because it’s getting colder outside.
I showed up to her room without a costume, because I forgot to look for one online, and couldn’t find anything in the stores. So my school-girl costume was made of things she and I found in her closet and drawers.
“I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” I announce. “I’ll be right back. Just get me whatever Ayanna gets.”
Lorenzo nods, and Ayanna and Luca are too busy kissing face to know I even said anything.
It takes a good ten minutes before I’m making my way back to the bar. There was a line of about ten girls in the bathroom, and the crowd on the dance floor isn’t easy to get through, so I skirt around the edge, trying to find a path with less people. My eyes land on a man leaning casually against the wall, but when I do a double-take, I realize it’s Elijah.
“Oh my God,” I say with wide eyes. “What’re you doing here?”
He smirks. “I believe we met here. It’s not so weird that I’d be here tonight, is it?”
I glance around. “Kind of. It’s a Halloween party.”
“Am I too old?”
I roll my eyes. “No.”
“This is my brother’s bar,” he says. “He forced me to be here.”
“Oh.” I think back to the night at the pizza place. “Does he have bright green eyes?”
“Yep.”
“I think he’s the one who gave us the flyer. I thought he looked familiar.”
“Yeah, he recognized you.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Oh yeah? You guys talkin’ about me?” I joke.
“Maybe,” he says, surprising me.
My heart thumps against my ribcage, and since I don’t know what to say, I switch directions. “Superman, huh?”
“Only by night.”
I let out a giggle before letting my eyes trace the room, checking to see if my friends can see me. “You staying for a while?”
“Probably.” His eyes travel down my body, making my stomach do a somersault. “Nice costume.”
“You like it?” I flirt. “I can wear it when we study tomorrow.”
His eyes flash with desire. He continues to look composed, but his hungry gaze swallows me up and sets me on fire.
Elijah pushes away from the wall and slowly walks toward me. My heart jumps into my throat, wondering what he’s going to do. Will he actually try to kiss me in front of all these people?
He pauses for the briefest of seconds when he’s at my side. His arm grazes mine, and his fingertips brush against my bare thigh.
“I think you know we won’t be studying.” His husky words send a throbbing ache to my pussy.
He walks off, leaving me standing there staring at a wall while I try to gain my composure. I want to chase after him and beg him to take me home now. I want his hands and mouth all over me. I want everything he has to offer and I never want it to end.
“There you are!” Ayanna says, yanking me out of my daydream.
“Yeah, sorry. So many people in the bathroom,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“I bet. We got drinks and found a table. Let’s go.”
She hooks her arm in the crook of my elbow and escorts me to the booth. We pass by the table Elijah’s sitting at with his own group of friends. Possibly brothers. Ayanna doesn’t notice him, but I do. How can you not spot the hottest man in the whole damn room?
An hour goes by, and I try to keep my mind off the fact that Elijah is just a couple feet away. We keep ordering drinks, take a little food break, then drink some more. Around eleven forty-five, a man dressed as Joker, who I’m assuming is Elijah’s brother—the owner, gets up on the stage and says the costume contest is about to start.
He tells everybody who wants to compete to come up to the side of the stage. Solo entries on the left, couple entries on the right.
“Let’s go, babe,” Ayanna says, yanking Luca out of the booth.
“You gonna enter?” I ask Lorenzo. He’s not necessarily in costume, but his face is painted pretty extravagantly. He’s basically a scary pumpkin. His eyes are surrounded with black, his nose is black, and his mouth is exaggerated with jagged black paint, creating a creepy pumpkin mouth. He’s wearing black sclera contacts, hiding the whites of his eyes, and then streaks of orange, black, and yellow cover his face and neck.
He throws his hood over his hair and stands up. “I’m about to win. Get ready to cheer for me.”
I laugh. “Okay. Good luck.”
I turn to the side so I can get a good look at the stage, then Elijah’s voice finds me.
“You’re not entering?”
My head snaps to the left, and I peek around the wood that separates my booth from his and find him sitting in a similar position.
“No,” I laugh. “Not going up there in this cliché costume.”
He chuckles, continuing to stare at the stage. “I’d vote for you.”
“You may be a little biased.”
“Is that so? Why? Because you’re my student?”
“No, because you’ve seen me naked.”
That statement has his head turning in my direction. I squirm under his gaze. He’s probably picturing me naked right now. Well, actually, now I’m remembering what he looks like naked. A shiver runs up my spine.
He focuses back on the stage as his brother calls people up and has the crowd cheer for their favorites.
“So, what changed?” I ask.
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. I’m now invited over to your house. Where we won’t be studying.”
“Oh, I’ll be studying,” he says. “I plan on devoting a lot of time and attention to your body.”
Heat pools between my legs. “So you’re no longer worried about the rules.”
Elijah angles his head my way. “We can talk about this tomorrow.”
“Yes, Professor,” I say with a giggle.
He turns and narrows his eyes at me. “Funny.”
My grin grows. “Are you going to teach me a few things tomorrow, Professor?”
A low growl emits from his throat. “You have no idea the things I can introduce you to.”
My body trembles
“Like what?” I ask in a voice barely above a whisper.
He leans closer, a cocky smirk taking over his face. “Guess you’ll have to wait for our lesson.”
“I don’t want to wait,” I breathe.
Elijah glances back at the stage, so I do the same. My friends are still toward the end of their respective lines.
“In a minute, walk toward the back of the bar, right before the hall that leads to the bathroom.”
“But…” I trail off, because he’s already sauntering off.
I do my best to wait the full minute, but it’s not like I’m actually counting the seconds. I take another sip of my cocktail, even though I’m feeling pretty buzzed as it is, then I get up and follow his instructions.
Before I turn to walk down the hall that holds the bathrooms, a door that’s mostly hidden cracks open and Elijah yanks me in.
“What…” I don’t get to finish my question, because as soon as I enter the darkened room, he closes the door and has me pushed up against a wall.
I can barely see him, but I feel him everywhere. His hips pin me in place and a hand grips my jaw while the other one slips under my skirt and cups my ass.
My chest heaves with desperate breaths as I wait for him to kiss me. Instead, he angles my head to the side and nuzzles my neck.
“This is what you want?” he asks, his voice thick with lust. “Stolen moments in dark rooms?”
I nod, unable to speak words.
Elijah shifts, allowing more space between us. As soon as I whine in protest, the hand that was massaging my ass comes around to my inner thigh.
“Because this is all we get. This is all I can offer.”
“I don’t care,” I breathe, bringing my hands to his biceps.
His fingers dance delicately over the material of my panties and I gasp. “You deserve more.”
“I just want you. Anyway I can get you.”
Elijah continues to move his fingers up and down, switching from rubbing circles on my clit to prodding teasingly at my entrance.
“You should be publicly lauded. You shouldn’t only accept affection behind closed doors.”
I squeeze my eyes closed, moving my hips, seeking more. “It’s okay,” I moan. “I just…want you.”
His fingers continue their slow and teasing pace, but his lips brush against the shell of my ear before moving lower, kissing my neck.
“I know you’re entitled to so much more, but I’m a fucking selfish man, Nova, and I want you all to myself.”
“Please,” I moan, bringing my hand to his, trying to force him to move faster. “You can have me, just please.”
He takes my hand off his and pins it to my side. “I’m also a man who likes to be in control. You’ll have to learn to accept pleasure the way I give it.” He nips the flesh on my neck with his teeth. “Don’t worry, you’ll love it.”
A raucous explosion of cheers outside the door penetrates our lustful haze. Elijah plants his lips on mine. Once. Twice. And then slides his tongue across my bottom lip before stepping away.
“Until tomorrow.”
My eyes flutter open. “Wait, what?”
“Be a good girl and don’t touch yourself tonight. Wait for me. It’ll be worth it.”
27
When I wake up on Saturday morning, the plan is to stay as busy as possible, so seven o’clock will arrive faster. Unfortunately, I’m incapable of sleeping in, so I was awake at seven in the morning, eating breakfast by seven forty-five, and then coming back from my run around nine-thirty.
Against the Rules Page 11