I could only hope she felt the same.
My phone pinged.
Speak of the devil…
-Back from your run?
-Yep, how was yoga?
-Hot! We suffered through Bikram. I’m suuuuper sweaty.
-Wish I was there.
-Trust me, you don’t! LOL
-Pete’s excited about the party. Can’t believe it’s here already.
-Maren is too! Thank you again for doing this.
-WE’RE doing this. Don’t forget that.
-Yeah, yeah. I need to shower. Pick me up later? I’ll try to condense all the decorations so we have fewer bags!
-Great idea. Think of me when you’re in the shower ;)
-Was already planning to! ;)
-Geez, you get me hot!
-Save it for tonight…
-It’ll be hard.
-Oh yes, it will. ;)
-Dirty bird!
-You love it and you know it!
-You’re right. See you soon, Castillo.
-
Walking to my bedroom, I fell on the bed, placing my phone next to me, and thought about our effortless texts. I knew it was wrong to compare, but I never had that with Trupti. Even at our best, things were more formal, more forced, more…polite. Until they weren’t. Lyra was real. All the time. And I loved it.
I tossed my sweaty clothes in the hamper and walked to the bathroom to turn on the shower. Time to relieve some of this tension…
“Everything looks amazing, you guys, seriously,” Maren said as she looked around the bar. The party had just gotten started, and only a dozen or so people had arrived. “The jars of candy are a nice touch.”
“Thought you’d like that,” Lyra said.
“That was all me. All of it,” I said, obviously joking. Lyra elbowed me in the ribs and I laughed, trying hard not to spit out my Tito’s and seltzer.
“Ignore him. He’s delirious.” Lyra rolled her eyes before placing a kiss on my cheek.
“Will I get in trouble if I mention how cute you two are?” Maren asked, looking like a kid with her hand in the cookie jar.
“Nah, go right ahead,” I said, giving her a wave. “We are pretty cute, aren’t we?”
Lyra’s cheeks turned bright red and I laughed, wrapping an arm around her and squeezing gently. “Well, she is anyway.”
“Make sure you guys tell everyone to see Morgan at the bar for their wristband. They can’t get anything to eat without it,” Lyra said.
“Or drinks.” I added. “Are your folks coming, Pete?”
“Yeah, they’re going to stop by for a bit. Maren’s sisters will be here too.”
“Nice.”
Scott and Allison walked up behind Maren. Allison put her arm around Maren and squeezed her. “Happy engagement, guys!”
“Thanks for coming,” Maren said.
“Come with me, guys, I’ll take you to get your wristband.” Lyra took Allison by the hand and led her and Scott over to the bar.
Maren looked me up and down with a shit-eating grin.
“Just say it.”
She hopped up and down on the balls of her feet, clenching her teeth and grabbing on to my biceps as she bounced. I turned to Peter.
“Is she having a seizure or something?”
Peter shook his head. “Dude, not cool.”
“Sorry, sorry. What’s going on here, Mare?”
“I’m excited, asshole! You guys look so happy.”
“We are,” I said with a proud nod. “Or at least, I am.”
Maren winked and leaned in close. “So is she. Now, don’t blow it.”
“I’ll try not to,” I said, rolling my eyes. “No pressure or anything.”
“You know I love you, Devvy.”
“Devvy? That’s new.”
“I’m trying it out.”
“I hope it’s short-lived, Mary.”
She recoiled. “Message received. Devvy is dead.”
“Thank you.”
With one swift movement, Lyra linked her arm with mine, leaning in to place a kiss on my neck. “What’d I miss?”
“Well, Maren tried to give me a lame nickname.”
“Interesting.”
“It didn’t take,” Maren said, shaking her head. “Let’s not speak of it again.”
Lyra laughed. “Okay, then. Dev, we should let them mingle.”
“Yeah, yeah, I see some of Pete’s coworkers coming in now. Remember, guys, food will be out soon. Don’t forget to eat.”
Lyra pulled me toward the bathrooms, her hand clutching mine. “Everything okay?”
When we got to a secluded, dark corner in the hallway, she pressed me against the wall. “Yeah, I just wanted you all to myself for a minute. Is that okay?”
“More than okay,” I said, already getting hard. I wanted to drag her into the bathroom and do bad things…very bad things.
Lyra put one hand on the back of my neck, dragging her fingernails at the base of my hairline, just like I liked. I leaned down for a kiss, running my hands through her silky curls as they spilled down her shoulders.
“Wanna get outta here?” I asked between kisses. She laughed.
“Can’t leave your own party, crazy man.”
“No one will know we’re gone. C’mon, there’s a Hilton on the end of the block. We’ll be back before Morgan even has the bill.”
“Don’t tempt me.” She sighed, pulling me in for a hug, resting her head on my chest. I smelled her hair and the familiar scents of strawberries and pears. This time, there was just a hint of cinnamon as well.
Could this woman be more perfect? I didn’t think so.
“Come on, let’s mingle. Morgan asked me to help give out the bracelets to people we know.”
“All right, all right. Just let me settle the little guy down first.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Well, you got me all revved up,” I said, looking down at my very obvious erection.
“Ooh, yes, I did,” she said, raising her eyebrows and licking her lips. “It’s a shame I can’t do anything about that.”
I growled, pushing her against the wall. “Stop teasing me, woman.” I planted kisses on her neck until she moaned. She pulled away and grabbing my hand. “We gotta get back. C’mon, it’s dark. No one will notice your boner.”
A shocked laugh left my lips. I put my hand over my heart dramatically, making my words sound like a 1950s housewife. “I can’t believe you just yelled boner in the middle of our friends’ engagement party. You’re so immature.”
Lyra rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Let’s mingle.”
Just then, my phone buzzed and I held my breath, hoping it wasn’t work. I glanced at the screen. “Sorry, I have to take this.”
“Work?” Lyra asked with an expression I couldn’t quite figure out.
“Yeah, sorry. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Okay, come find me.”
With a sigh, I answered the phone and walked outside to handle the latest crisis across the globe.
Four hours later, the party was a huge success. The bar was packed with its normal crowds in addition to all the invited guests at our party. Peter and Maren had just left after partying their asses off with friends and family. With slurred words and sloppy hugs, they’d thanked us both profusely before calling an Uber and heading back to their house to pass out.
Lyra and I were pretty drunk too.
“We did good,” she said, leaning against the bar. I nuzzled into her neck for the fiftieth time that night.
“So, the guests of honor have left the building. Can we take off now? Finally?”
“As soon as you pay the bill,” she said with a wink before polishing off her final cocktail. “And I’ve been thinking about this… Are you sure I can’t pitch in?”
I closed my eyes and raised my hand to protest. The room spun just a bit.
“Hear me out, hear me out,” she said. Her words slurred a just a bit, but I was sure m
ine were too.
“Nope, not listening. You paid for the decorations. People loved the candy and all the streamer thingies.” Lyra pushed her lower lip into a pout. “Don’t do that. It makes me hard.”
Lyra threw her head back in laughter, holding on to my arm to stay steady. “You like that one, huh?” I said with a chuckle. She nodded as she laughed.
“Dev?” a high-pitched voice called from a few feet away. A girl I’d met on Tinder approached us.
Shit.
Yes, Lyra and I agreed we each had pasts, but so far I was the only one whose past kept popping over to say hello. At this point, I was dying for an ex-boyfriend of hers to make an appearance just to even the score.
Lyra turned to the voice as she approached. This was Malika, a model I’d dated briefly before getting back together with Trupti. I wasn’t gonna lie; Malika was stunning. Tall with rich brown skin and silky black hair. Her skirt barely covered her ass cheeks.
Lyra was not pleased.
“Hey, sexy,” Malika said, leaning in for a kiss. I turned my face so her lips landed on my cheek.
“Hey, girl.”
“How are you?”
I took Lyra’s hand in mine.
“Good, good. This is Lyra.”
“Oh,” Malika said, pursing her lips. “Hey.”
She turned back to me. “Why haven’t you called? It’s been forever. I’ve missed you.”
“Life got crazy, you know?”
“Sure. This place is packed tonight. Wanna dance?”
“No, thanks.” I squeezed Lyra’s hand as Malika tilted her head to the side. “This is Lyra… Lyra, this is Malika. Malika and I dated briefly a long time ago.”
“It wasn’t that long ago,” Malika said with a wink, and I didn’t understand why. I literally hadn’t seen her in more than a year.
Lyra swallowed hard and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
Malika shot daggers at Lyra, who shook her head and laughed under her breath at the awkwardness of the moment. “Oh. Well, now I see why you never called.”
“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “Good to see you, though. We’re gonna bounce.”
She turned and walked away without saying goodbye. I faced Lyra, my teeth clenched and my tail between my legs.
“So…” she began, her brows furrowed, a little wrinkle forming above her nose. “How many women are we going to run into? And should I get an HIV test, like, tomorrow?”
“Whoa.”
“I mean, c’mon, Dev. Anytime we’re out in public, some girl comes up and tries to start things up with you.”
“Not at the Indian place,” I said, my teeth still clenched. She had a point, but I was trying really hard to make her laugh and not be so bothered by Abby and now Malika and whoever else was bound to run into us sooner or later.
“Are you jealous?” I asked, part of me hopeful despite the fact that I could feel this situation snowballing into one hell of a fight.
“No, that’s not it. I just… It’s awkward as hell, you know?”
“C’mon, let me pay the bill and we’ll get outta here.”
“Fine, I’ll say goodbye to Scott and Allison.”
“Fine.”
After paying the bill, I grabbed our coats and met Lyra at the door. She glared at me as she met me at the door.
“Shit,” she said under her breath.
“What?”
“It’s raining.”
“My place isn’t far. I’ll cover you with my coat. Come on.”
Holding my coat over her head, we left the bar and walked down the block, the cold February rain coming down in harsh drops. My hair was soaked by the time we got a block away from the bar.
Lyra stopped walking. I turned to face her.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“I’m serious, Dev. Do I need to get tested?”
“Lyra,” I said, my mouth agape. I wasn’t sure what to say. “If it’ll make you feel better, then yes.”
She placed her hands on her hips and glared at me. “That’s all you have to say?”
“I mean, what do you want to hear?”
“Is that going to be us next year?”
“What do you mean?”
“Will I be walking up to you at a bar wondering why you never called? God, I hate the fact that I’m even asking you this—I’m so not this person! But they’re literally popping up everywhere we go, and it’s getting ridiculous!”
“Lyra, we would never go that long without seeing each other. Our best friends are engaged.”
“And that’s the only reason?” she asked, looking disappointed and I felt like an asshole.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. C’mon, we’ve both had a lot to drink. Let’s get back to my place. We’ll put our clothes in the dryer and we’ll talk, okay?”
“Fine,” Lyra said, her hair soaked and clinging to her face, despite the fact that I’d tried to protect her with my coat, which was now completely ruined.
We walked in silence back to my place. When we walked through the door, we stripped down to our underwear and I tossed everything into the dryer. “I’ll get you a shirt and boxers.”
“Thanks.”
You could cut the tension with a knife. Lyra climbed into my red plaid boxers and navy blue hoodie, still not speaking a word.
“You okay?” I asked, putting my hands in the front pocket of the hoodie and pulling her close. She wouldn’t make eye contact.
“Yeah. I don’t wanna talk about it anymore.”
“We both have pasts, Lyra. Mine just keeps catching up with me, that’s all. But yours is there too… It’s there, lurking…like the silent killer.”
She cracked a smile, even though she was fighting it. Playfully, she pushed me away. But I persisted.
“Come on. We did a good job tonight; we threw our friends a killer party. They’re probably at home right now having hot engagement party sex and here we are, fighting, totally wasting our buzz.”
“We’re not fighting,” Lyra said, shaking her head.
“Sure feels like it.”
“Sorry, I just…every time one of those girls walks up to us, I feel gross. I can’t explain it.”
“Those girls meant nothing to me.”
She glared at me, her eyes pained, but I couldn’t figure out why. Didn’t she know I was completely smitten with her? Hadn’t I made it painfully obvious how whipped I already was?
“Look, I dated a lot during my Tinder days, but you already knew that.”
“That was before.”
“Yeah, but it’s still not new information. It’s just affecting you now. I’ve always been honest with you, Lyra. Always.”
She nodded.
“Hey, look at me. I’m crazy about you. Like, freaking batshit crazy. So crazy that my R-&-B-loving ass has a whole playlist devoted to you.” I grabbed my phone and showed her the playlist simply called Lyra. She scrolled through the songs, a playful grin resurfacing on her gorgeous face. And for the first time, I noticed the gold specks in her chocolate brown eyes.
“That’s a lot of Keith Urban. And I think “Put You in a Song” is on here, like, three times. You must really like that one.”
“It makes me think of you,” I said, nuzzling her neck.
“Over the Rainbow,” she said softly, her voice cracking. “Okay, you won me over. We can stop fighting now.”
“Thank God, because I’m dying to get you out of this hoodie. Seeing you in my boxer shorts does strange things to me.”
“Good things?”
“Um, better than good.” I took her hand in mine and placed it on my dick.
“Ooh, hard as a rock.”
“Yep, even after all that Tito’s.”
“I’m kind of impressed,” she said with a wicked grin, stroking me gently through the fabric. I cupped her ass with my hand and pulled her close. “Maybe we should make up. Officially.”
“Music to my ears.”
“Can we listen to the Lyra pl
aylist?” she asked playfully.
“I gotta draw the line somewhere,” I said. “And I think we can make our own music, don’t you?”
“Okay, that was cheesy,” she said, rolling her eyes, but her grip remained on my dick.
“Just go with it,” I said, taking Lyra by the hand and leading her to the bedroom.
“I’m a little cold,” she said when we reached the doorway, “I think I need a shower.”
“Now?”
“Well, I mean, I don’t plan on taking it alone.”
My dick twitched and without another word, I followed her into the bathroom.
“Hold on one sec,” I said, reaching into the medicine cabinet to grab a condom. I knew Lyra was concerned about possible STDs, and the last thing I wanted to do was put her in a situation where she’d be even more worried than she already was.
“Thank you,” she said with a knowing smile, that little wrinkle above her nose telling me all I needed to know. Turning on the water, I glanced to make sure there were two fresh towels before I pounced on Lyra, pulling her in for a kiss. My kisses were greedy, possessive. I wanted every inch of her. Steam surrounded us as we stripped one another of our clothes. Lyra smiled and led me into the shower, closing the glass door behind us. We stood under the stream, the water crashing down on us as I cupped her face with my hands, kissing her passionately. The hot water relaxed my muscles and Lyra stirred every last desire in my body. With water pouring down our hot skin, my hands explored every inch of her, caressing her hips and squeezing her ass.
Lyra reached down to grab me, stroking me as the water soaked us both. A moan left my mouth as I closed my eyes. With one last kiss, Lyra slowly made a trail from my chest to my dick and as she took me into her mouth, I steadied myself against the wall, pressing my hands into the tile.
“Holy shit. Don’t stop. God, you’re amazing.”
Lyra used the tips of her fingers to caress my balls until I felt like I was going to come.
“Wait, not yet.” I helped her to her feet.
“Why not?” she asked, wrapping her arms around me as the water poured around us. My hand traveled down her abdomen to rest between her legs. With a simple stroke, she moaned at my touch.
Stuck With Me: A With Me in Seattle Universe Novel Page 21