“Knox and Landon? They believe I’m innocent?”
He nods.
“Yeah. We spoke straight after practice and I have to admit that they made me see sense. I'm very ashamed of the way I judged you, Abi. I didn't believe what my heart was telling me all along about you. I believed the worst because it was easier. And if you never want to speak to me again, I’ll have to live with it. But I hope you’ll give me a chance to prove myself to you and earn your forgiveness.”
I archive the information that Landon and Knox went to speak to Teague and Devon on my behalf for later and look at him, trying to decide what to say, not missing the hope in his blue eyes.
“Teague, you really hurt me. I don't know if—”
He takes my hand in his and that touch burns my skin so much that I have to shy away from his touch.
I know that if I let him touch me, it’ll cloud my judgement and right now I have to use my head as well as my heart, because I can't take anymore disappointment.
“Aubrey, I need to be completely honest with you. When Devon first voiced his suspicion about you being responsible for our failed drug test, my first instinct was that he was crazy, that you’d never do anything like that.”
I look at him without hiding my scepticism and I tell him that for someone who believed me, he was certainly faking it quite well.
He sighs and he runs one of his hands through his blonde hair, something he does whenever he's nervous.
“You're right. I'm not trying to make excuses for my behaviour, princess but there's a reason why. It costs me a lot to tell you what it is and I’ll understand if it won't change your mind. I didn't wanna believe Devon's version of the truth, that he was your target and Landon and I were just collateral damage. But then I thought about what kind of drugs they found in our system: weight loss pills and diuretics. And I remember that you transferred to BHPA from Aylesbury. I know it's far fetched, now it sounds crazy to my own ear but ...”
His voice fades away and I’m lost.
I don't get it: what do the weight loss pills and my previous school have to do with why he thought that I was an evil psycho bitch?
I ask him and I know my voice is full of unconcealed incredulity but his answer shocks me.
He brings up a photo of a young boy on his phone: a blonde, really overweight early teen in an Aylesbury Prep school uniform.
I’m about to ask him who the fuck that is when the blue eyes of the boy in the photo and his little amused smirk tell me that I’m looking at a thirteen or fourteen year old Teague.
“I ... What—”
Teague looks mortified when he tells me his story.
“I started my school career at Aylesbury Prep, I went there since kindergarten. I was always the funny, fat kid. When I was little, I didn't really care but things started to change in my last year of middle school. I was starting to notice girls and every party began to be an excuse for boys and girls to kiss and ... stuff. I obviously hadn't kissed anyone yet but every time we’d play spin the bottle or stuff like that, I’d hope that it would happen.”
I understand that feeling, I was exactly the same when I started high school but I still don't get what it has to do with him not believing me.
“Then I went to Paige Rayburn’s fourteenth birthday party and we got into a game of ‘truth or dare’.”
Oh shit!
I don't say that out loud but I met Paige and I already feel sorry for young Teague.
I guess that every school has its resident mean girl and Paige was Aylesbury’s Queen Bee last year.
I was warned immediately to stay away from her, she terrorised the whole academy with her taunts and scathing social media posts.
So if she's involved in Teague's story, it can't be good.
“My best friend Matty was dating her and she had just broken up with him for some stupid reason, I can't even remember what. The reality was that there was a new boy at school that Paige was into and the party was their first outing as a couple. My bestie felt really salty about it but all our friends were at the party and we didn't wanna go home. During the game, Paige was dared to kiss either Matty or me.”
That cannot be good.
But I don't interrupt him and the conclusion to his story is even worse than I thought.
“Paige burst out laughing at the dare: she said that Matty was a sloppy kisser and I was a fat, sweaty, disgusting little kid and that I was only invited to parties because I was friends with Matty. She said that she’d rather kiss everyone else at the party and at school rather than even come close to me. She opened her purse and threw a bottle of slimming pills at me, telling me to take them all at once. Everyone was laughing and she offered a hundred bucks to any girl who would complete the dare for her and kissed me. Every girl was laughing and saying ‘eww, no!’.”
“Oh, Teague ...”
But his story isn't over.
“Those were her mom's pills, Paige apparently had the beginning of an eating disorder that for what I’ve heard she's still battling with. Normally I’d feel sorry for her but—”
“I’ve met Paige, Teague. She's a real evil Twunt. I don't know her that well but the rumour was that she threw up after every meal.”
Teague nods.
“Yeah, I’ve heard the same.”
“But Teague, please tell me that you didn't take those pills.”
“I did. Thankfully Matty was sleeping over and he woke my parents when I started vomiting. I ended up getting my stomach pumped.”
“That was horrible, Teague. I’m sorry.”
He shrugs but his expression is still intense and troubled.
“After that night, my parents agreed to help me lose weight and that summer, at camp I discovered football and fell in love with it. The weight all came off and by sophomore year there wasn't anything left of that fat kid. Not on the outside at least. I changed schools and at BHPA, I became instantly popular. I was one of the few sophomores playing varsity football. And yeah, getting girls to like me wasn't a problem anymore. I know that I let it get to my head and I got my revenge on Paige last year.”
I’m glad for him.
“How?”
“We played against Aylesbury and since we’re both LA schools, someone there threw this massive rager and we were all invited. Paige was there and she didn't recognise me. She tried to hook up with me and I turned her down.”
I nod.
“Well, she fucking deserved it, Teague.”
He doesn't look pleased.
“I know. But I was an asshole about it. I said that I’d heard that her boyfriend had dumped her because she had herpes and she was gross and fat and that if she wanted, I could lend her some much needed slimming pills. I said it in front of her whole cheerleading squad and most of Aylesbury’s football team. I know it's no excuse Aubrey, but when I heard that you’d been an Aylesbury student, I thought that somehow the whole thing could be Paige’s way to get her retribution. To get me kicked out because of slimming pills. I thought that maybe you two were friends and ...”
His voice fades away and I don't say anything at first, processing his story and how that makes me feel.
He's right, after what happened to him at those parties I kind of get why he reacted that way when he was accused of taking slimming pills. And I know it was probably irrational to think that it could be a dig at him but, was it?
If I’d been evil enough to fuck with Devon’s drink, is it that crazy to think that I could be trying to get back at him on behalf of a scorned friend?
The look of contrition in his blue eyes pulls at my heart in a way I don't want it to.
I should make him grovel and play hard to get but all it takes is finally allowing myself to look at him and see beyond the attractive bad boy, the popular football player all the girls at school want to date.
I can't take the hurt in his eyes, I know I didn't do anything to cause it but the fact that I'm indirectly responsible for his pain and the regret that's taken that b
eautiful, amused glint away from him are enough to make me capitulate.
I walk up to him and only stop when my face meets his solid, muscled chest and my senses are invaded by his fresh, citrusy scent.
His arms close around me and it's a different hug than the ones we’ve shared so far.
Before today, attraction was burning hot between us every time we touched, but right now there's more.
This isn't just a hug it's an embrace, it's full of so many complicated feelings: acceptance, forgiveness, regret, fear and something a lot sweeter that we could let blossom between us if we can get past all the hurt.
And when Teague and I touch, attraction is never out of the equation and I feel its irresistible, magnetic pull when I lift my face to look into those deep blue eyes.
“Aubrey, I’m so sorry.”
“I am too.”
He drags the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip in a slow, mesmerising motion.
“What for? You didn't do anything. I should’ve believed you, princess.”
I have to summon all my self-control not to let my tongue touch the skin of his thumb, like I want to.
“I know. And a part of me is still mad at you. But I understand why you felt that way. I’ve been betrayed before and I know that trust is fragile and takes time. So I forgive you, Teague. But it might take me a while to let go of my anger.”
His hand cups my jaw and our noses touch, his warm, minty breath tickles the sensitive skin of my lips.
“It's fine. It’ll take me a while to get over my guilt. But I swear that from now on, I’ll work on trusting you.”
I wanna tell him that I’ll work on that too but as soon as his lips descend on mine, every rational thought leaves my mind and my body takes over.
My body has already forgiven Teague and I let it guide me, kissing him back with a heat that burns bright, and incinerates all the resentment to leave room only for our pure, unadulterated passion.
We kiss as if our lives depended on it, both eager to let our mouths take control, and our kisses are worth more than any words right now.
My back is against the living room’s wall and I thank God for the support the wall is offering because the way Teague is kissing me and the way he's running his tongue down my neck is making my knees weak.
When he nips at the sensitive skin at the base of my neck, where my shoulder starts, I lift his t-shirt eager to feel his rippling, defined muscles under my fingertips.
He groans softly at the contact, pushing me further against the wall and grinding against me, hard in his jeans and delicious against my centre.
Only the thin fabric of the little dress I changed into before dinner and the lace of my panties separate me from his hardness and I feel a wet, throbbing ache starting to build up in my core.
Teague's lips have trailed down my neck and he’s opened a few of the tiny buttons that close the front of my dress, kissing the soft skin of the swell of my breasts, causing my nipples to harden painfully.
I need to feel his mouth on my skin and I want to feel his skin against mine, nothing else will do.
So I tug at his t-shirt and he stops kissing me just long enough to take it off.
He lowers my bra and when his warm mouth closes around my nipple, I almost don't recognise the panting, breathy sound that comes from my lips.
I know that this is crazy, I know that up to ten minutes ago I wasn't even sure that we would still be able to handle going to the same school but I also know what my heart and my body want and I believed him when he said that he’d work on trusting me.
His lips return to mine while his hands find the naked skin of my thighs under my dress and skim up to rest on my lower hips.
Teague lifts me, hoisting me against the wall and grinding into me again and the contact sends sparks of blazing hot electricity up my spine, making my core clench almost painfully.
I wrap my legs around his hips and when he grinds into me again, we both moan in unison.
He's shirtless and I’m still partially dressed, only my breasts exposed touching the smooth skin of his chest when he pushes upwards with every grind.
I’m throbbing against him and I know what will happen if he keeps grinding against me but I decide that I don't want it.
Not like this, I want more, much more and I decide that I'm gonna take what I need, I’m not sorry about wanting him.
When I use one of my hands to unbuckle his belt and drag his jeans down, I trust that he'll support me by keeping his hands under my thighs.
He doesn't protest when I pull his boxer briefs down, he grinds against me again and this time the sensation that courses through me is so wild that I push the lace of my panties aside and grab his hardness to guide it towards me.
He stops kissing me but his lips are still against mine when he pants:
“I don't have any condoms.”
I rest my head against the wall, putting some distance between us, to look into his eyes.
“There's some upstairs but ... I’ve always used condoms, Teague, but I’m on the pill. I—”
“I’ve always used condoms too. Are you saying that—”
I nod.
“If you want.”
He doesn't hesitate, he pushes himself inside me.
“Fuck! You're so wet.”
I push my hips towards his and gasp:
“You make me this way.”
Those are the last words we exchange for a while, Teague begins rocking his hips into me and in this position it takes the smallest of movements to send intense jolts of pleasure up my spine.
We get lost in each other, eyes locked and bodies tangled in this desperately hot embrace.
His movements become faster with my breathing rate, his skin feels so hard and hot against the soft flesh of my core but we fit together so perfectly that I'm trying to delay the inevitable.
He must feel my inner walls starting to tighten around him, squeezing him with my soft, wet heat as I emit a strangled moan, because this feels so good and I don't want it to be over.
“Let go, Aubrey.”
Teague's words are my undoing and I let the massive wave of pleasure crash over me with devastating power as my moans fill the room until he starts throbbing inside me.
With a condom I completely missed out on the hottest thing in the world: the feeling of his release flooding me in hot waves that prolong my pleasure.
Teague
I’VE HAD A LOT OF SEX in the past two years but nothing compares to what just happened between me and Aubrey.
And yeah, the lack of condom was certainly a factor because I’ve never felt anything softer, warmer, sleeker, and more perfect in my whole life.
It isn't just that though.
It's the attraction and the connection that I felt with her from the very first time our eyes met in the school parking lot.
It's also the sweetness of her forgiveness, the fierceness that tells me that she set her pride aside because she cares.
Her forgiveness was given freely and unconditionally but I also know that I need to earn it, to be worthy of her.
Only then will I be able to forgive myself for being a stupid, callous asshole.
I make sure to support her weight and I carry her to the couch, still wrapped tightly around me.
I sit with her straddling me and I'm still hard inside of her but I know that this isn't time for round two.
I need to use my words now and make sure that together with her forgiveness, I earn the chance to make our connection last and grow.
I almost laugh at the thought that with every other girl I’ve ever been with, my worst nightmare was to have to ‘cuddle’ and then talk about feelings straight after sex.
Sometimes the thought of it was enough to make me decide not to sleep with someone, if they were known as ‘clingers’.
But now I relish in her closeness, kissing her as softly as I can, my hands tangled into her silky brown hair.
“Aubrey—”
; It's time to address the elephant in the room, the fact that we aren't the only two people in this relationship, that she's been involved with Knox, Devon, and Landon.
All of a sudden I feel insecure, worried that she gave herself to me in the heat of the moment, carried away by the onslaught of emotions of the last few days and that while she doesn't hate me, she doesn't want me as more than a friend.
She runs a hand on the nape of my neck, her soft gaze giving me the courage to speak up.
“I want more than just being friends. I hope you know that.”
She looks serious for an instant but then she smiles teasingly.
“That was the idea, when I let you have me against my living room wall. I don't know about you Teague, but what just happened isn't my standard forgiveness procedure.”
She doesn't sound mad and I chuckle at her quirkiness.
“Good, because I normally don't apologise like this.”
She laughs and lifts herself off of me, to settle down in my arms.
“Sorry, but having you still inside me like that was confusing and makes what I’m about to say harder to express.”
I kiss the spot behind her ear, encouraging her to speak up.
“Teague, I want more than being just friends too. But I ... I guess what I'm trying to say is that with Knox and Landon—”
I feared this.
“What you're saying is that you want to keep seeing them too. That you aren't ready to make a choice.”
She nods.
“Is this a deal breaker?”
After how I behaved, I certainly can't demand that she chooses right now and that she chooses me.
Especially when Landon believed her immediately and Knox hasn't been a complete douche like I have.
“No. It isn't. I won't lie to you, I’d rather it just be me and you but I understand that you were exploring things with them before ...”
I gesture between our almost naked bodies.
Beverly Hills Prep Academy The Complete Boxset : A Light Bully Romance Page 81