by J. M. Walker
He was right. I really had no idea what the hell I was doing. Whatever was going on between me and Luna would never be the same. We could never go back to being just friends. Even if we never slept together again, everything had changed. And I wasn’t sure if it was for the better or worse.
Taking a deep breath, I started walking toward the kitchen when I was stopped short by laughter.
Luna placed a plate on the table, laughing at something my mom had said. She threw her head back, the boisterous sound coming from somewhere deep in her body. It wasn’t a light laugh. No, it was full-bodied, and it stirred every cell in my body.
I decided right then that it was definitely for the better.
Joining Luna and my parents in the dining room, I cleared my throat.
Luna’s eyes snapped up, a wide smile spreading on her face when she saw me approach.
It took everything in me not to pull her into my arms and kiss the very breath from her lungs. But I couldn’t. Not that it bothered me to kiss her in front of my parents, but I wasn’t sure what she wanted out of this. Whatever it was we were doing.
***
(Luna)
I had worried that it would be weird, but Zach’s parents didn’t say anything about me being there. They weren’t stupid. They must have known what had happened between us, but I was thankful they didn’t ask questions. I just hoped they didn’t mention anything to my father. Oh God, my dad. My stomach twisted. He would lose his shit if he found out that his little girl had been defiled.
“You good, Moonbeam?” Zach asked, coming behind me and placing a soft kiss on my hairline.
I smiled, looking up at him and nodding. “Yeah.”
“Good.” His hand brushed down my arm, linking with my fingers.
“Are you?” I asked him in return.
He winked. “Oh yeah. Best sleep of my fucking life.”
A breath left me on a whoosh. “Good.” I looked around us, nervous that his parents would magically appear but soon realized that they were in the kitchen.
“Did my mom say anything to you?” Zach asked, his voice low.
“No. Just good morning and she was telling me a story about you.”
“Oh?” Zach raised an eyebrow. “What was it about?”
“I was trying to pry information from your mom about your first crush.”
“My first crush was a couple years younger than me.” Zach leaned down to my ear, his mouth brushing along the shell of it. “So I really couldn’t do anything about it.”
“Is that so?” My heart jumped. “Well, she was a lucky girl either way.”
“She was a very lucky girl, Luna. A very lucky girl indeed.” Zach brushed his fingers over the seat of my ass, giving it a light pinch.
I jumped, smacking his hand away.
He winked and sat at the dining room table.
When I sat beside him, he cupped my knee, brushing his thumb back and forth. “Breathe, Luna. We’ll take this one day at a time.”
I nodded, did as he said, and let out a slow breath. His parents took that moment to join us.
Brogan sat across from me, her deep blue eyes meeting mine every so often.
I shifted in my seat, unsure what to do or even say. I had never spent the night at a guy’s house before. When I showed up last night, I never even thought what would happen the next morning or how I would face his parents. I had one focus and that was on Zach.
“When are you heading to the city?” Coby asked Zach, breaking the unnerving silence.
“Soon.” Zach checked his phone. “Actually.” He stood. “I should head out now.”
I stuffed a piece of bacon into my mouth and rose to my feet.
“Already?” Brogan asked, glancing at the spread before her. “Looks like we’ll have to eat this all ourselves, my love.”
Coby chuckled. “That’s a lot of calories, little one.”
“Hmm…” Brogan tapped her chin. “Wonder how we can work them all off.”
I coughed, my eyes widening.
Coby grinned while Zach laughed.
“On that note.” He kissed his mother on the head. “Have fun.” He passed me a glance. “Luna.”
“Thank you for breakfast,” I murmured, rushing to follow him out of the house.
Once we were outside, Zach reached a hand out to me.
I slipped my fingers in his, letting him lead me down the driveway.
“Where did you park?”
“A few houses down. I didn’t want to get caught sneaking in.” I shrugged. “It worked.”
A sly grin spread on his face. “I guess it did.”
We walked to my little beater of a car. Once we stood beside it, I leaned against the driver’s side door and crossed my arms under my chest. Waiting. Wondering.
“Will I see you tonight at Angel and Jay’s?” I asked him, needing to break the unnerving silence between us.
“Yes.” Zach closed the distance between us. He gripped my hip, running his thumb back and forth.
A shiver trembled through me. Leaning my forehead against his chest, I breathed him in.
“Luna, last night…”
I leaned back, staring up at him. “Yeah?”
He smirked. “It was fucking incredible.”
A breath left me on a whoosh. “It really was.”
A goofy grin spread on his face. He cupped my cheek. “I want more.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” He brushed his thumb over my bottom lip. “I want slow, Luna. I need it but…I want slow with you.”
My heart stuttered. “I’d like that.” I grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him toward me and placing a hard peck on his mouth.
Zach cupped my nape, deepening the kiss.
I moaned, breathing in the scent of his spicy cologne.
He chuckled, breaking the kiss and placing a peck on my nose. “Until tonight, Moonbeam.”
My cheeks heated. “Have a good day.”
“You too.” And with that he walked away.
My gaze followed him, noticing the extra bounce in his step. My eyes trailed down the length of him, landing on his ass.
“Stop checking me out,” he yelled over his shoulder.
I laughed, shook my head, and headed home.
Luna
TRYING TO SLIP INTO a house when you lived with three other girls, was hard. Especially when two of them were early risers. And to top it off, the twins were there as well.
“Well look what the cat dragged in finally,” Meadow said, sitting at the dining room table. She grinned and patted herself on the back. “I’m so proud of myself right now.”
I rolled my eyes, shut the door behind me, and joined everyone in the dining room. “Are we having a party or something?” I asked, sitting beside Meadow.
“Looks like Zach finally got his head out of his ass,” Ashton said, leaning back in his chair. A smug grin spread on his face but there was something else there. Something dark, something unknown. Was he jealous?
“So…” Meadow sat forward. “I need to know. How was it?”
“Meadow,” Aiden scolded. “We don’t need to know about her sex life.”
“I’m going to go take a shower,” I mumbled, rising from the table and heading to my bedroom. As soon as I entered the room, I went to close the door when Ashton appeared. “What do you want?”
“Did you enjoy yourself?” he asked, coming into my room and forcing me back a step.
“Why do you care?” My heart jumped.
His deep blue eyes glanced around the room before landing back on me. “Is he still going to date other people?” he asked, ignoring my question.
“He hasn’t dated anyone. Not for a long time.” I snapped my mouth shut, not sure if Zach actually wanted that piece of information made public.
Ashton stiffened. “Seriously?”
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but this shit needs to stop,” I said, glaring up at him.
“I like you, Luna,” As
hton confessed, shoving his hands in his jean’s pockets. “And I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“You only like me because Zach showed an interest. You never even made a move before him.” I turned around to head to my dresser and get some clothes when a firm hand grabbed my upper arm. “Ashton,” I murmured.
He spun me around, cupped my face and did the unexpected. Something I never thought he would ever do. Especially not with me.
Ashton crushed his mouth to mine.
My eyes widened.
He backed me up until I hit the wall, keeping a firm grip on my face. His tongue peaked out, licking along my bottom lip before giving it a gentle nip.
A shiver trembled through me but before he could take it further, I pushed him away. “Stop this,” I said, my cheeks burning.
He only gave me a cocky grin. Reaching out, he ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “If he hurts you, I’ll kick his ass.” Leaning down to my ear, his hot breath scorched the side of my face. “And once he’s done with you, I’ll be here to pick up the pieces, Moonbeam .”
My heart jumped to my throat. Before I had a chance to respond, Ashton pushed past me and left my bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind him.
Reaching a hand up to my lips, my fingers grazed over them. They tingled from the kiss. A few days ago, no guys were interested in me and now there were two. What the hell was going on?
A soft knock sounded on the door.
Oh God. Now what? “Come in.”
The door opened, revealing…
“Piper? Listen, I have no idea what’s happening right now, but I promise, nothing is going on between Ashton and I,” I said all in one breath.
“I’m not with him. I haven’t been with the twins for a while,” she said, coming into my room and shutting the door behind her. “But I just wanted to warn you.”
“About what?” I asked, leaning against my dresser.
She sighed, running a hand through her dark hair before pulling it back into a high ponytail. “Ashton is a player. I’m not sure what his intentions are with you, but I overheard him talking to Aiden and a couple other guys.”
“Is he only interested because Zach is?” I knew Ashton had gotten around but I never thought I would ever be his latest conquest.
“I’m not sure. Just be careful. Ashton has no interest in settling down. I…I hurt him. I hurt both him and his brother and I didn’t mean to.” Piper let out another sigh and pushed away from the door. She moved to my bed, sitting on the edge of it. “The guy I met in Paris…well…it was intense but, Luna, it was fucking amazing.”
“That’s good. Is it not?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“Well, meeting someone in Paris is romantic and all,” I added.
She laughed lightly. “I don’t think romance had anything to do with it. But it…God, Luna, it was the best night of my life, but it also scared the shit out of me.”
I frowned. “How come?”
“Because if he hurts me, I don’t think I could ever come back from that.”
I thought a moment. “Do we know this guy?”
A nervous laugh left her. “I…he’s been around. Meeting up in Paris was super random. I don’t even know how it happened. But he was there. I was there. And the next thing I knew, I was leaving his hotel room the following morning.”
“Wow. I…uh…went to leave last night. After everything…”
“Oh?” Her gaze shot to mine. “And?”
“He wouldn’t let me leave.” I shrugged. “I’m not experienced like all of you are, but I had assumed that’s what you do after and he wasn’t having any of it.”
Piper smiled. “It’s different for you. Sure, you can leave after if there’s nothing there but for you and Zach, something has always been there.”
“You think so?” I asked, my stomach tumbling.
“Yeah, I do.” She hesitated. “I heard he never went on that date.”
“No. He didn’t.” I sighed. God, if he found out that Ashton kissed me… “I need to know. Did the twins ever get jealous of each other?”
“No.” Piper looked away. “It wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like that. We got drunk and one thing led to another, but it was supposed to be one time. That was it. But I needed more. And then Paris happened, and my wish came true. So I ended things with them.”
“How did they take it?”
She pulled the elastic from her hair and put it back into a ponytail. I realized she did that whenever she was nervous or was talking about something she didn’t actually want to talk about.
I moved to the bed, sitting beside her and taking her hand in mine.
“God, Luna. I like this guy. I like him so damn much, but he also terrifies me. And my dad’s going to lose his shit…” She grimaced, shaking her head. “Anyway.” She stood. “I just wanted to warn you about Ashton.” She quickly left my bedroom, not giving me a chance to respond.
I really had no idea what the hell just happened. I knew something was up with Piper and the twins, but I never knew that it went that far. And then for Ashton to hit on me and tell me that he wanted more. Something was definitely in the water.
***
(Zach)
Today was long as hell. I couldn’t get thoughts of Luna out of my head, so all damn day, I was sporting a semi. And I couldn’t tell you what my meetings were about. My father was going to kick my ass.
While I was sitting in my office, waiting for the clock to tick down to the time I could leave without it being frowned upon, my phone rang.
Sticking the ear piece in my ear, I pressed connect. “Porter.”
“Hey.”
My dick jumped.
“Hey, Moonbeam,” I greeted, my voice coming out husky.
A breathless laugh left her. “How’s your day going?”
“Long and boring,” I grumbled, sitting back in my leather chair. “How about yours?”
“Not too bad. I went to The Dove Project and helped out there for a little bit and then did a few hours at the shop.”
I smiled. The Dove Project had been set up by all of our mothers, years ago. It was to help human trafficking victims get their lives back after the trauma they endured. “How’s it going there? I know everyone’s working on getting it ready for the extension my mom wants to do on the place.”
“Good. Really well actually. Oh wait. You’re working. Am I bothering you?”
“Never, Moonbeam.” In all honesty, even if I was busy with work, I would drop everything to talk to her.
“Oh okay. Good.” She went on to tell me about the center and how she loved volunteering there. It was something she had been telling me for quite a while, and it made me wonder why she never actually worked there.
“Luna,” I said when she paused for a breath.
“Sorry.” She laughed. “I’m talking your ear off and you have things to do before dinner.”
“No.” I sat forward. “It’s not that. Have you ever thought of working at the center?”
“I…no. It’s not something I want to do. I love working with my mom and Aunt Jay. That’s my job. But the center is just something I do for fun. And that’s…” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I should go and let you get back to work so I can get ready. See you later, Zach.”
“Luna.” A click sounded in my ear. I frowned, wondering what that was about. As soon as I was about to take the ear piece out, another call came in. “Porter.”
“That sounds so professional.”
I grunted. “How are you doing, Clara?”
“Good. You?”
“Oh, you know. Living the dream.”
She scoffed. “Right.”
“What’s up?” I stood from behind my desk and gathered up my things. No sense sticking around if I couldn’t focus on work. The sooner I got out of there, the sooner I could get a work out in and head back to Luna.
“I was just wondering if you’ve accomplished anything with your girl.”
“Uh…we’re making progress I guess you could say.” I didn’t usually give my phone number out to just anyone but when Clara mentioned how her brother was trying to get an internship, I gave her my business card and told her to tell him to contact me.
I shut down my computer and leaned a hip against the desk.
“Well, that’s better than nothing.” Clara laughed. “We should go on a double date.”
“Oh? Are you seeing someone?”
“I am. After you turned me down, I was feeling sorry for myself and met someone.”
“I…that’s not…”
She laughed harder. “I’m kidding. I actually met up with a guy I dated in high school. It was so weird, Zach. I found out that he’ll be living in the same area as me.”
“Life has a funny way of throwing these things in your path. Obviously, you two were meant to be.”
“We’re taking it slow but…” She sighed. “I would really like to meet her.”
“I’ll set it up.”
We continued talking about school, work and our upcoming double date. I liked Clara, but she would never be more than a friend. Although we had a lot in common, it wasn’t the same as it was with Luna. With Luna, it just felt…right.
***
Later that night, I arrived at Luna’s place. Stepping out of the car, I walked around it and leaned against the passenger side door. I sent Luna a quick text that I was there and started reading through my emails. I could have gone inside but I was sure that it would have been weird for her already since she didn’t spend the night before there. Knowing how our friends worked, I would bet on my life that everyone knew we fucked.
“Hey, Zach.”
I glanced up from my phone, finding the twins coming toward me. Aiden chanced a look at his brother before meeting my gaze once again.
“How’s it going?” Aiden asked as both he and his brother stood on either side of me.
“It’s going fine. What’s up?” I went back to my phone.
“How was your date?” Ashton asked that time.
“There was no date, but Clara actually didn’t know that. Did you forget to tell her that I never agreed to the date in the first place?”