Date Me Like You Mean It

by Grey, R. S.

  “Do you love me?”

  “Of course, Aiden!”

  “Then give me more time to figure this out.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Maddie

  “A toast for the birthday queen!” Blythe says, instructing us all to lift our glasses around the table.

  “Mia, may every day of your twenty-eighth year be as drunk as this one!” Blythe shouts over the noise of the crowd.

  We laugh and clink our glasses together, wishing Mia a happy birthday.

  The bar we’re at, Easy Tiger, is ridiculously packed. Even in February, the outdoor patio is filled to the brim with guests lingering awkwardly on the fringes, surveying picnic tables and waiting for one to open up. Twinkle lights dip low over our heads as we go around our table sharing funny memories about Mia.

  It feels good to be out with my friends. We haven’t had a night like this since before I left for Vail. I’ve been hard to reach and harder to pin down, but I knew I’d regret missing Mia’s birthday. So, even though I wasn’t really feeling up for partying, I forced myself to get ready and come out with them.

  I’m glad I did. Doing my hair and makeup has improved my mood. My white sweater dress and boots were both Christmas gifts from Jolie, and they fit like a glove. I feel good tonight, almost like my old self. A good part of that has to do with the fact that I turned my phone off. It’s still in my purse in case of emergencies, but I didn’t want to bother with anyone or anything tonight.

  “Don’t look, but there is a seriously hot group of guys that just walked outside,” Lucy says, eyeing them over the top of her glass. “I think they’re heading to the table behind ours.”

  “What does it matter?” Mia laughs.

  Mia and Blythe definitely don’t care about a group of guys, Lucy has a serious boyfriend, and I have…whatever I have.

  Lucy laughs and smacks her forehead gently. “Oh right. I keep forgetting Maddie is off the market.”

  I glance down at my drink.

  “To be fair, it’s probably because I haven’t met him. He is real, right?” she teases.

  Mia laughs. “Yes, he’s real. Though it’s so weird to think you guys are finally dating. How are things going, anyway?”

  “Oh, fine.”

  “Try not to sound too excited.” Blythe laughs.

  I try to shake off my foul mood. “Sorry. It’s just been a long week.”

  “Where is he again?”

  “Right now? Dubai.”

  “Dang that’s cool,” Mia says with an appreciative nod.

  I shrug as the group of guys rounds our table. I glance up and lock eyes with one of them. He smiles and shoots me a little nod, and I do the same, feeling like it’d be rude not to.

  Lucy clears her throat loudly, and when I glance over, she’s wearing a shit-eating grin.

  The second the guys pass by us, she leans in and squeezes my arm. “Jeez. Did you get a good look at him?”

  “To be honest, not really.”

  “Damn. Well he was super hot and he definitely smiled at you.”

  “Who cares?” Mia chimes in.

  Lucy throws her hands up in defeat. “Ugh, you guys are so boring! I miss having a single friend to live vicariously through. Now we just have to sit here and pick our noses in boredom.”

  “Gee thanks, I’m so happy you came out to celebrate my birthday.” Mia laughs with a shake of her head.

  Lucy reaches across the table and grabs Mia’s arm. “You know what I mean! We’re all old maids now, or so it seems. When did that happen? Owen and I are so boring. We schedule sex!”

  “I kind of like scheduling sex,” Blythe says with a shrug. “Builds the anticipation.”

  Mia smirks. “That reminds me—how does Friday at 4 PM work for you?”

  Blythe winks. “Let me check my calendar.”

  Lucy turns to me with a desperate plea. “Ugh! Maddie, save us. Tell us what it’s like to be in a new relationship. I miss all the drama! All the raging hormones!”

  Three sets of eyes turn to me, and I have no idea what to say. I’ve been keeping my troubles with Aiden close to my chest.

  “Well…it’s…we’re still working out the kinks.”

  Lucy makes a sound of disgust. “Working out the kinks!? In the beginning with Owen, the only kink was in the bedroom. Seriously.”

  “Yeah, well…” I square my shoulders, feeling defensive. “It’s different. We’re long distance, so it’s not all fun and games, I guess.”

  “I get it, Maddie,” Blythe says, throwing me a supportive smile.

  “Okay,” Mia says, standing up. “How about we blow this joint and go somewhere a little more upbeat?”

  Lucy throws her hands in the air. “Yes! Dancing. Now!”

  * * *

  We’re at the most intense dance club I’ve been to in years. There are strobe lights, blaring music, and so many bodies crushed around me in the center of the dance floor, I’m not sure I could leave even if I wanted to. It’s freeing, though, being out here with Lucy, letting my hair down, trying out ridiculous dance moves. She’s a good partner. She shoos away any guys who get too close then picks right up where she left off, taking my hand and spinning me around so fast we both end up laughing so hard we’re bent over trying to regain our balance.

  Mia and Blythe were out here with us too, but they left to get more drinks at the bar. The night feels young and I’m in no hurry to leave the dance floor. A new song switches on, and the crowd around us instantly recognizes it and goes wild.

  “I’m so old,” Lucy teases. “Who is this?”

  “How am I supposed to know?!”

  It doesn’t matter. The crowd doesn’t leave room for any stragglers. We dance with everyone, feeling the music, even if we have no idea what song we’re listening to.

  I’m smiling, happy for the first time in what feels like weeks, when I look up and see Aiden standing just off the dance floor.

  AIDEN.

  My heart leaps just before sanity sets in and reminds me that’s impossible.

  No.

  He’s not here.

  He’s in Dubai.

  Still, I can’t help but do a double take, craning my neck to see over and around the crowd of people. I’m preparing myself for the inevitable letdown, my breath frozen in my chest, my heart hammering a quick rhythm, and then I see him again.

  Aiden.

  He’s standing at the edge of the dance floor, and his black shirt matches his hair. His mouth is unsmiling as his eyes lock with mine. Strobe lights cast him in contrasting colors, red then yellow then green then blue. He starts to move toward me, and I think I’ve had one too many drinks. Either that or I’m asleep and this is just a vivid dream.

  It feels so real. It feels like I’m still in the club, watching Aiden slowly slice through the crowd to get to me. Bodies crush in against me as I stay stock-still. An elbow hits my ribs, but it doesn’t hurt. Nothing hurts anymore now that Aiden is here.

  He gets closer and I see his eyes, pale green in the dark club.

  It really is him.

  He’s here, a few yards away from me, and then a few feet. He disappears for a moment, ducking around a couple, and then he’s standing right in front of me, tall, solid, real.

  I drag my gaze up over his chest, higher, until our eyes lock.

  My mouth drops open in shock.

  He smiles and a dimple pops.

  I shake my head in disbelief. No. No. He can’t be here. How is he here?

  I feel a tear on my cheek, but it’s gone quickly, swiped away by Aiden’s thumb.

  I’m careful not to speak. I’m scared to blink. If this is some cruel spell, I don’t want to wake up from it. I want to live in it forever.

  Aiden steps closer to me as the music pulses around us.

  I glance back to look for Lucy, but she’s gone.

  It’s just me and Aiden in the center of the dance floor. He reaches out to take my hand, and he weaves our fingers together. Someone bumps into
me from behind and I fall forward. Aiden catches me deftly, but he doesn’t put me back on my feet; he tugs me against him, pressing us together.

  My hand reaches up to flatten against his chest and he keeps my other hand in his as he starts to move us together, in time to the music. The beat is fast, but we catch the slower rhythm, unbothered by the crowd around us.

  Aiden tips his head down and presses a kiss to the edge of my mouth, then lower. His lips touch my neck and then he stays there, folded into me. I move both of my hands up and around his neck, hoisting myself up on my toes so we’re completely flush as we continue to dance.

  His hands grab my waist and his fingers gather the loose material of my sweater dress, bunching it up a few inches so that the backs of my thighs are exposed. It doesn’t matter. No one can see us, and if they can, they don’t care.

  We’re just another couple, dancing close in the club. We’re invisible.

  I whisper his name, and he turns his head to look at me.

  His lips are so close I can’t help myself. I lean in and kiss him softly.

  It feels like I haven’t seen him in so long, and the kiss is so sweet, so long overdue that when we break apart, we both immediately fall into another kiss. His hands tighten on my waist. I clamber higher, trying to even the score. I wish I were taller. I wish I could flatten myself against him completely, feel him from head to toe.

  His hands start to roam on my body, dragging up along my side and then back down, lower, cupping my ass, bringing me up against his hips. He rolls me against him, and it kills me that we’re in a club with so many people around.

  One of my hands leaves his neck, moving lower to the hem of his shirt. I toy with the waistline of his jeans, dipping my fingers a few centimeters down into the denim.

  He sucks in a sharp breath, almost like he’s in pain, and I get it. God, this is torture, being with him in public after going so many nights without him in my bed.

  We’re making up for lost time. Our mouths barely part even when we both need air. His hands sweep my hair out of my face, angling it up so he can stare down at me. His gaze flits back and forth between my eyes as if he’s unable to stay focused anywhere for too long.

  He finally breaks us apart and steps back, but he keeps hold of my body. He turns and scans the crowd, looking for something.

  “Fuck, let’s go,” he says, starting to tug me off the dance floor.

  “Where?”

  The club is huge and there’s a hallway that leads to a second floor. Before we reach the stairs, though, Aiden pushes open a bathroom door, thrusts me inside, and then steps in after me. He engages the lock, the metal sliding into place like an ominous warning.

  “Aiden, this is a horrible idea! We’re going to get caught.”

  He doesn’t listen to me. Already, he’s stalking forward, backing me up to the sink. His mouth tips up into a sinister smile just before his hands reach for me. He picks me up and hoists me onto the counter, right at the edge. With one hand on each knee, he parts my thighs, and my dress slides higher.

  My attention pings from him to the locked door and then back again. I’m not a rulebreaker. I’ve never done anything like this. I don’t want to get in trouble. I’m telling Aiden this, and his smile only widens. He likes this game. He likes that my heart’s racing in my chest as his hand slides up my thigh, turning slow circles.

  “Maybe we’ll get caught,” he taunts as his fingers skim my panties. “Or maybe we won’t.”

  My stomach dips in anticipation.

  Already, the fight is seeping out of me. He cups me through my underwear, using the soft material to toy with me. I try to squeeze my thighs closed, but his hand is already there, pressed to the center of me as two of his fingers rub steady circles.

  “No one has any idea what I’m doing to you in here,” he says, dropping his head so his mouth skims my cheek. “They have no idea I’m touching you like this.”

  My hand drops to his wrist. I’m trying to do something, pull him away or make him continue. I haven’t decided which.

  “Open your legs for me.”

  My gaze drops to where he’s touching me. I have such a weak grip on his wrist. It’s pitiful, the effort I’m putting in.

  His fingers push into my panties so that I feel the touch all the way to the tips of my toes. I gasp and he continues, moving in soft, slow circles.

  I shudder and his mouth trails to my neck. I tip my head to the side, giving him better access, and then he presses my legs apart again, wider this time, enough that he can continue touching me without any resistance.

  I feel slightly woozy on the edge of the counter, like I need some kind of handhold. I grip his shoulders as he presses his fingers in, a little harder, a taste of what’s to come if he pulls the fabric aside.

  He skims across the part of me that’s begging for his touch and I rock my hips, chasing the feeling that keeps building inside me. I’m so close just from this, just from him teasing me.

  Suddenly, I get one swift taste of it, the sudden lick of pleasure, but then he takes his hand away and I release a frustrated groan against his chest. He laughs and my gaze flares with anger as I meet his eyes once again. He’s staring down at me with such intensity, such need, and our gazes stay hooked together as his fingers slide my panties aside, baring me to the cool air.

  I shudder as his fingers finally touch me without the barrier of clothes between us. Finally, we’re skin to skin, his finger skimming over me, spreading me, teasing me as he moves lower. My eyes squeeze closed as I try to process the onslaught of tension building in me, the absolute bliss of feeling him fill me. I rock my hips against him, riding his hand. He encourages me, kissing my neck, thrusting his finger to meet my rhythm.

  There’s a knock on the door, but we don’t answer. Instead, his thumb rubs me, and my body responds immediately. Someone speaks outside the bathroom, but Aiden doesn’t stop. His thumb rubs the very center of me, the part of me that throbs with need. I splinter and break, crying out for half an instant before Aiden’s mouth covers mine, silencing me. He doesn’t let up, his touch dragging me through pleasure until the last shudder subsides, and all I’m aware of is my eyes pinched closed and my uneven breaths. My hands clutch his shoulders, and when I blink my eyes open, I find him staring down at me, almost in awe.

  We can’t continue on in the bathroom. We’ve toyed with the consequences too much as it is. There’re voices right outside, and soon management will get involved. Aiden helps me off the counter and my dress falls back into place.

  We right ourselves as best as possible before walking back out into the hallway.

  Before I can say a word, Aiden says we’re leaving.

  “But I’m here with—”

  “We’re leaving,” he says again, leaving no room for negotiations.

  A laugh spills out of me as he takes my hand and starts tugging me around the dance floor.

  “Mia and Blythe are around here somewhere,” I tell him.

  He looks back at me and nods. “Yeah. How do you think I knew where you were?”

  Right.

  I hadn’t cared to consider that part. I was too shocked by his arrival, too excited to have him here in the flesh.

  I spot them talking to Lucy near the bar. I expect Aiden to lead me over there, but he just waves as we pass by and continues right on dragging me out of the club after him.

  “My purse!” I explain, trying to inform him that I need to go back and get it from Blythe.

  “Lucy can bring it home.”

  Good grief. Someone’s impatient.

  Outside the club, we head north up the block.

  “I’m parked up on 7th street,” Aiden explains.

  “It’s like you’re trying to set a world record or something. Can you slow down?”

  He stops then and turns, backing me up against the brick wall behind me. He takes my hand and presses it to the front of his jeans. I feel his hardness there, and my breath hitches.

  “We
get to my car or I take you against this building. Your choice, Maddie.”

  Well…all right. I have no words for that. Nothing. Zip.

  He shakes his head and starts off again. This time, I don’t complain about the pace as he drags me along.

  At his rental car, he unlocks the doors and I scurry inside before he can toss me in. I don’t think he really would do anything to me against that brick building, but he’s in one of those moods where I don’t really want to test him and find out.

  He rounds the front of the car and I watch him like cornered prey as he tugs his door open and takes his seat. The car purrs to life and I sit perfectly still, hands on my lap, breath caught in my throat.

  Surely, we won’t continue right here. His windows aren’t even all that tinted. People are walking by us on the sidewalk.

  Aiden doesn’t pull away from the curb right away. I think he’s considering what to do.

  I peer over at him from beneath my lashes and watch as he inhales sharply before putting the car in drive and pulling out onto the road. His hands clutch the steering wheel harder than necessary. I know he’s suffering. That moment in the bathroom was about me, and now he’s the one who has to stave off his desire that much longer. I lean over and touch my hand to his knee. His thigh tenses and he looks over, a look of warning in his eyes.

  The condo isn’t far from here. He can wait but…he shouldn’t have to.

  “Pull over if you don’t think you can drive,” I say, letting my hand slowly skate up his denim-clad leg.

  I watch his breathing hitch as my hand moves higher, reaching his zipper. I palm him through the thick fabric and his hips roll to meet my touch. I have to lean over and use both hands to unbutton his jeans and slide his zipper down. He’s wearing gray boxer briefs, and I glide my hand over the front of them as he inhales sharply. His foot hits the brake hard as we come to a stoplight, and I use the moment to my advantage, sliding my hand over the coiled muscles of his stomach and then lower, down inside his underwear and over his silky hard length. His body jerks, and I still my hand as the light turns green.

  His hand covers mine and he starts to move me up and down, encouraging me. I tighten my grip around him and pump, and his hips follow my hand.