“But I’ll help you with the pies,” I offered. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. If John was at work, then I had plenty of time to leave before he came back home. Was I leaving today? Yes, I needed to go. I needed to end this thing with him before it went any deeper. And Thanksgiving was my perfect excuse to leave and never look back.
Just after we made pies.
~ CHAPTER 25 ~
JOHN
I fucked up. I knew I fucked up the moment I told her I loved her. But as I sped away in my car, driving south, freezing my balls off in my wet clothes, all I could think about was how it was true. I didn’t know much about her world. Or her family. Her band. Her past. Her friends. But I knew the curves of her body. I knew how to make her smile and how to make her cry out my name. I knew that when I was with her there was nowhere else I’d rather be. I hated most people. I never let anyone in. And somehow, she’d managed to sneak in past my walls. It was crazy. It was too soon. But, fuck, I loved her.
I just never should have said it out loud. She’d be gone when I returned tonight. I was certain of it. The weird part was—I wasn’t freaking out about that.
Instead I felt numb. My feelings had shut off. I felt more like my normal self. I drove and drove until I reached Kill Devil Ink. Then I went into work like it was any other day. Well, I had to change my wet clothes. But aside from that, nothing was out of the norm.
After work—and I stayed late, past midnight, taking any client who walked in to the shop—I drove back to the Corolla house. I could have stayed at the apartment, slept there, but I went back toward the mansion instead. Maybe I wasn’t as numb as I thought. Because the closer and closer I got to home, the more my hands shook and my heart raced.
When I walked in the front door. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Like my lungs were closing up. Dani would be gone. As much as I thought I was okay with that earlier in the day, I realized now that I wasn’t. Not even in a little bit. I kicked off my shoes and went straight for the liquor cabinet in the dining room.
I never drank. But I knew I’d need something to get through tonight. My grandfather’s ancient whiskeys and scotches were in the cabinet, unopened, collecting value and dust. I picked something that was probably as expensive as Dani’s drums in the garage, and I opened it.
I drank several giant gulps. It had a bite to it, but whatever it was, it was fucking delicious. And I started up the stairs. I kept drinking and walking.
By the time I reached my room, I could feel the alcohol in my veins. The lamp I used for reading had been left on, and in the soft glow, I saw her.
Holy shit. Dani was still here.
She was in my bed, curled up on one side, facing away from the door. I went from feeling like total shit, to falling in love with her all over again in a single instant. She’d stayed. That must mean I wasn’t half as crazy as I thought. Or that I wasn’t alone in the way I felt.
Quietly, I set down the liquor bottle. I tugged off my shirt, tossing it toward my laundry basket, and crawled into bed with her. I moved closer to her body, thinking she was fast asleep, when she snapped, “don’t touch me.”
The anger in her voice hit hard. I backed over to the opposite side, the world spinning a bit, the alcohol washing over me now. I laid there still for a moment.
“You stayed,” I said into the silence.
“You took for-fucking-ever to get home. I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t like waiting on you. I had no idea if you’d even come back. And I slipped in your bathroom because you left a giant wet mess when you got out of the shower. I’ve got a bruise the size of Jupiter on my ass. It hurts to move. So, thanks for that.”
I sat up in bed.
I got out and went for my mini fridge. It had an ice cube tray in the very top freezer part. I found a hand towel and wrapped some cubes inside it. Feeling a little apprehensive, I went to Dani’s side. She stared up at me like I was an animal who might bite her.
“Can I?” I asked.
She held the comforter a little tighter. “It looks nasty.”
Yeah, that wasn’t possible. “I had to pierce a girl’s VCH today. I really don’t think this will phase me.”
“What’s that?”
“A clitoral hood piercing.”
Her eyes went wide, and she sucked in a breath. “What?! You do that? So you were staring at some other girl’s vagina today?” She sat up against the headboard. “I played Suzy Pie Maker with your sister today, while you were touching other girls down there.”
“With gloves on. And it was one girl.”
“Makes me feel so much better,” she said with sarcasm.
I set down the ice. We didn’t need the ice, we needed something stronger. I went to grab the bottle of whatever I’d stolen from the liquor cabinet. I took another long gulp. Then I offered it to Dani.
“That’s expensive shit.”
“My grandfather won’t be coming back to life to retrieve it.”
She took it from me, bringing the bottle to her pink lips. I wanted to be the opening of that bottle. We passed it back and forth a couple time before either of us said anything else.
“No wonder you’re good at finding my clit,” she joked and took another long drink. “Do you do piercings like that a lot?”
“A fair amount. I’m good at it and there aren’t many places close by that do it. So we get a few people in for it each week.”
She looked me straight in the eyes. “I’m so pissed at you and this isn’t helping.”
“You want to talk about what I said?”
“Hell no. We will never talk about that. Like seriously, never.”
I breathed out through my nose. Her blatant disregard for my words didn’t feel good. “It freaked me out, too,” I said, being nothing but honest with her. “That’s why I left. It’s why it took me all day to come back. But I came back. I’m always going to come back.”
Maybe that was what she needed. Proof. Stability. Someone who wouldn’t walk away. I didn’t know who had hurt her in the past. But someone had. Something had. I would do whatever I could to not add to that pain. Including not talking about it—if that was what she wanted.
I joined her in the bed, sitting beside her against the headboard. “If it helps, you have the prettiest pussy I’ve ever laid my eyes on. And I’ve seen a lot of different ones, so I should know. But I am addicted to yours. Anything else in this world, from here on out, will always be subpar to it. I want to be its best friend.” She started to giggle so I kept going. “I want to hang out with it on the weekends. I want to keep it warm at night. I want to invite it to stay for Thanksgiving dinner.”
Hearing her laugh felt so good, especially after the shitty day I’d had. As her laughter settled, she scooted closer to me. I moved down to rest my head on the pillows, and she rested her head on my chest. How could I not be in love with a girl like Dani? It happened fast for me. I’d known the moment I laid eyes on her that she was different.
~ CHAPTER 26 ~
DANI
My phone would not stop buzzing. I’d left it on John’s nightstand, and the noise vibrated off the wood. It stopped and then two seconds later it continued. This on/off annoyance continued for ten minutes straight.
“Dammit,” I whispered.
John had an arm and a leg draped over me. As uncomfortable and claustrophobic as I might have expected that to be, it was cozy as hell.
His ‘forbidden, off-limits, never-fucked-anyone-but-me-in-it’ bed was super comfortable. On the first night back in this house, I’d been a little nervous to sleep in here with him. Especially since he made such a big deal about having me in it. Plus, I kept trying to convince myself this thing between us was only sex. Fuck buddies, right? Fuck buddies did not snuggle.
But we were more than that. The moment I decided to stay yesterday, I knew we became more than that.
I grabbed my buzzing phone. I had eight missed calls and about a million text messages.
Luke: Where are you?
L
uke: It’s been 14 hours. Answer!
Luke: That’s it. I’m going to the airport.
Luke: I bought a ticket.
Luke: I am on the plane. The flight attendant just closed the door. My flight gets in at 11:45 AM. If you happen to get this, come pick me up. If not, I’ll rent a car. I’m really getting worried Dani.
I tried to move, flinching because my bruised ass still hurt. I’d been so distracted last night, I never sent Luke a ‘check-in’ text before bed. Or one this morning, apparently.
I shook John’s arm.
“Mmm,” he sighed, working his hand under my shirt. He started to knead one of my breasts, rolling my nipple between two fingers. “I’m so glad you stayed with me last night,” he said against my shoulder, his voice scratchy and sexy. “I could get used to waking up like this.”
In the next second, he rolled on top of me, grabbing my face, kissing me. His mouth was warm and soft, sending shivers all through me. It was unexpected. I’d gotten so used to fooling around with him and not kissing, that the difference was jarring.
This felt so damn good—like floating. As a kid, I used to love to float on my back in the river close to our house, staring up at the blue sky, imagining all the things I wanted to be when I grew up. This felt exactly like that somehow. I wanted so badly to let it continue, but I had to stop him.
I pushed on his chest until he broke our kiss. “I have to go to the airport,” I breathed, still a little lost on those lips.
“What?”
“I missed a million texts from Luke. He’s on a flight. I freaked him out. If I leave right now, I might be able to make it to the airport in time to pick him up.”
“Oh, thank God. I thought for a second you were leaving.” He pressed his lips to mine once more, very briefly, before rolling off of me. He got out of bed and began dressing. In less than a minute, he was in jeans, a t-shirt, and Chucks. I hadn’t moved. I’d only watched him dress.
“C’mon, Dani, get up. What are you doing?”
“You’re going with?”
“Yes, I’m taking you. Let’s go.”
I swallowed hard. He’d really do that for me? No hesitation. No questions. I think I just fell in like with him.
~ CHAPTER 27 ~
JOHN
Dani had been on her phone almost the entirety of our drive to the airport. We were only a few miles away now. She seemed completely engrossed in whatever she was doing. Meanwhile, I grew more and more anxious by the minute. Luke clearly didn’t like me. I wasn’t great with first impressions—or second ones, for that matter. I knew he was her favorite of her cousins, and I needed this to go well.
“What’s so interesting on your phone?” I asked when I couldn’t hold off any longer. I needed her attention to help calm me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her gnawing on her bottom lip as she studied something that had to be pretty damn riveting.
“I’m reading all about piercings,” she muttered. “Specifically the vertical hood one. It’s kind of hot. It says not all girls have the right anatomy for the piercing. That a percentage of women aren’t shaped right for it. Am I shaped right for it? You’re the expert.”
I snapped my eyes straight forward and back on the road in front of me. I couldn’t look at her and have this conversation, especially if I wanted to keep us alive and on the road. Because the image of her fine-as-hell pussy with that piercing popped into my mind, instantly sending blood south and making my heart race.
“I’m not piercing you,” I stressed, keeping my hands at ten and two on the wheel.
“What if I’m considering it now?”
“No.”
“I could get someone else to do it.”
“No.”
“You can’t tell me no.”
I groaned. I didn’t want to argue with her. Because as beautiful as a piercing like that might look on her, I’d heard enough girls scream and sometimes cry as I pierced them to know it was very painful. I couldn’t hurt her.
“You have the right anatomy,” I told her as gently as possible, noticing the airport exit was coming. “But it’s painful as fuck. Or so I’m told. I’d have to stick you with this giant needle. And while I have zero problems sticking other people… the idea of hurting you, especially there, freaks me out. My best friend, remember? I wouldn’t do that to my best friend.”
And when I called her pussy my best friend, I really meant her.
I took the airport exit, on fucking edge, and this conversation was only stressing me out more. “What airline was Luke on?”
“United,” she shot at me, clearly unhappy with my answer. “If it freaks you, I can find a stranger to pierce me.”
Well, that made it worse.
“Dani. No.” I pulled the car to a stop in front of the Delta pickup zone, knowing full well this wasn’t where I needed to be. I put the car in park, turning toward her to finish this conversation. “What if this random person accidentally fucked it up? Besides, I can’t stand the idea of anyone else’s hands on you. I get how that’s a double standard. Which is why, from today on, I’m never doing another one.”
“Really? You’d do that for me.”
“Without thinking twice about it.”
That seemed to calm her. Thank God. Was she really serious about getting this done? She’d been reading about it for only an hour. But if she was, and she really wanted this piercing, I guess I didn’t want anyone else doing it but me.
I gave in.
She was harder to say no to than even Sydney. “If you still want it in a couple weeks, I’ll do it. But please take a little bit of time to think about it. Okay? It takes six weeks to heal. Sometimes longer. We wouldn’t be able to have sex while it’s healing.”
She sucked in a deep breath, turning her eyes on me, making my heart pound straight out of me chest. “You’re thinking that far ahead?”
“Always.”
I hoped like hell she’d still be in my life in six weeks. I couldn’t imagine a future where she wasn’t. Fuck—the alternative would cripple me.
I leaned over the space, taking her face in my hands, working my fingers into her hair... and I kissed her. A lot harder than normal. This kiss was claiming and demanding. I didn’t want anyone’s hands on her but mine. Period. Forever. Fuck, I was so hopelessly hers.
She melted into me, letting me take what I needed. If we were at home, this would have turned into another marathon sex session. The fact that I had to cut myself off from her made me pretty damn annoyed with her cousin Luke.
But he was probably waiting on us at this very moment, so I pulled away from her lips.
“Don’t say it,” she whispered as I moved back to my seat. “Don’t you dare say it.”
Say what? That I loved her? Is that what she meant? I’d told her I loved her yesterday. Did she mean the l-word now? It hadn’t been on my mind. But it had clearly been on hers.
“I’m not saying anything.” I smiled, restarting the car. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” I played coy, but now I was exuberant. I kissed her and she thought of my words in the shower.
Maybe, just maybe, I could hope for a future with her.
~ CHAPTER 28 ~
DANI
Luke gave me a giant squeeze, his floppy brown hair blowing in the wind. “What the hell are you still doing with this guy?” he muttered.
“I’m trying to figure that out.”
“Can you figure it out before Thanksgiving?” He shot me a look as he pulled away.
Considering that Thanksgiving was tomorrow, probably not. For the first time in a long time, I felt okay. Or at least the closest I’d ever been to whatever ‘okay’ was. And John had everything to do with that.
“How’s Caleb doing?”
“I’ve been avoiding Caleb.”
What? Why? Someone needed to be checking in on him. After ending things with Emma, he had to be spiraling. Unless he’d rekindled whatever he used to have with Rebecca and now they
were living ‘happily-ever-after’ with their son. But Rebecca, his ex, was a bitch, so I highly doubted that. I thought Luke would have been the person to look after Caleb. Being the oldest, he tended to be responsible like that. Fuck. Now I had to worry about that, too.
“So you don’t know how he’s doing?” I pressed.
“Let’s talk about it later.”
“Fine.” But I wasn’t letting him off that easy. “You want the front?” I offered.
“No way in hell. You enjoy.”
“Be nice.”
“I’ll try,” Luke said just before he pulled open the back door and climbed inside.
I took the front, buckling in. Then I made quick introductions. “John—Luke. Luke—John.”
“Hey, man.” John turned around so he could reach and shake my cousin’s hand.
Oh fuck. I went tense. Luke didn’t ever like to touch people he didn’t know. But he did it. He shook John’s tattooed fingers without saying a word or even flinching.
John returned his eyes to the front. Then he cut out of the pickup zone and started driving through the airport loop.
Nobody spoke.
A good fifteen miles passed as we returned to the highway, heading home now, and still nobody spoke! Shit. I started drumming on my thigh with my thumb pretty incessantly. I hadn’t even realized I was doing it until John reached over and rested his hand on top of mine. His hand was warm and almost comforting. “The next exit has food. You want to stop?”
“I ate on the plane,” Luke commented from the back. “So I’m good.”
John’s question still hung in the air. He wasn’t asking Luke. I hadn’t eaten all morning. “Yes,” I breathed. Maybe that would make me feel better.
John took the next exit. We went through the drive-thru of the first place he found. In my nervousness, I ordered enough for about four people.
Then we were back on the road—eating our food now in silence. My leg began to bounce now. I noticed it and I couldn’t even slow it.
Never Kiss a Rockstar (Never Trust Book 2) Page 9