I eventually need to talk to her but not tonight. I am worried about her but I know that whatever she’s doing with those two losers, she won’t listen to anything I have to say.
Lucy and Leah are playing against Rob and Jemma, no sign of Austin anywhere.
We decide to go back to Xander’s room passing through the pool, in case there’s someone there.
At night the pool area is illuminated by those eco lights that come on when they detect movement: everything is dark, so it’s a surprise when with our presence the lights come on and I spot him straight away.
He’s sitting on one of those plush chairs by the bbq area and I see a girl kneeling down between his legs.
I would recognise that blonde hair anywhere: it’s Hayley.
He raises his gaze at the same time as I let out a gasp and he pushes Hayley away, standing up abruptly.
The buttons of his jeans are undone and he tries to pull his t-shirt down.
I feel tears starting to stream down my face but I don’t care if he sees me crying.
‘I wanted to talk to you... I wasn’t sure of how we left things but I guess I just got my answer...’
I try to keep my voice steady, I don’t want him to know how upset I really am.
‘Clary...’
He says, his voice different than normal, it sounds like he has been drinking.
‘No, it’s fine. Go ahead, sorry for interrupting...’
He takes a tentative step towards me.
‘It’s not what you think...’
I scoff.
‘Is it not? Should I believe you like you did earlier on with me? One difference: I wasn’t doing anything but with your choice of company, I know you were...’
‘Are you telling me that Joel is an angel?’
He retorts.
I guess he does have a point but when I’m about to concede that he isn’t totally wrong, Hayley decides to grab his arm and I see red.
‘The point is moot. After you touched her, you aren’t coming near me ever again. Let’s go, Xander.’
I walk away, Xander in tow and I am shaking with fury and disappointment.
We don’t say anything until we are in his room.
He takes me in his arms and asks me how I’m feeling.
‘I don’t know, Xander. I am so mad at him and so sad at the same time. Hooking up with Hayley is like a slap on my face, pure and simple. He knows how horrible she’s been to me and that she had that disgusting bet with Lucy and Leah...’
He kisses the top of my head and then looks at me, his turquoise eyes suddenly veiled with worry.
‘Clary, I don’t want to play devil’s advocate here but... He kept saying that it wasn’t what you thought it was. Have you thought that he might be telling the truth? Like you were earlier today? Look, I am furious with him for leaving you alone this morning. If Joel hadn’t arrived at the right time... I would have killed Austin, I swear...’
I sigh and tell him that the reason why Austin had walked away was my request to slow down and I explain to him what happened between me and his cousin and how that made me feel.
‘I hurt him when I told him that I didn’t feel the need to slow down with you and Logan...’
‘I get that, Clary. But he should have called one of us instead of walking away from you, especially after that note you had got the day before. The thing is anyway, if you are done with him, then so be it. But if you are hurting about how things ended between you, you might want to give him and yourself a few days to cool down and talk to him. Don’t leave things unresolved, it will haunt the both of you. I know my cousin and I know he really cares about you. And you care too. Maybe you want to try and be friends and see if you guys can find your way back to each other that way?’
I shake my head and explain that when I offered my friendship before he said that we were never friends in first place.
Now it’s Xander’s turn to shake his head and he hugs me in a comforting way before saying:
‘I need to talk to him anyway. Why did he agree to date you if he couldn’t deal with your feelings? Even if Logan and I hadn’t been involved, what would be the difference if you told him that you needed to slow down?’
I see Xander’s point but I tell him that I think that Austin was still jealous of them.
‘Also, he thought that last night we were doing stuff... The three of us. He can’t get it out of his head that this thing isn’t an excuse to get away with having threesomes.’
Xander shrugs.
‘Honestly, I don’t think I’d be able to share you that way. I see Austin’s point with avoiding excessive PDAs in front of each other. And I know I started it tonight when I pinched your butt but when Logan pinned you against the wall and was trying to feel up your boobs... I really, really had to fight the urge to kick his ass... But I know we both need to work on stuff like that, he admitted that much to me too. We just don’t react like idiots about it, like Austin has been doing...’
‘What about Joel?’
I ask.
‘I don’t have a problem with it. When you stayed in his arms earlier on in the car, my only issue was that you two had no seatbelts on. Look, about what he told us tonight, I didn’t know half the stuff he had been doing. But I want to thank you for being so understanding and forgiving. If you had rejected him, it would have killed him. Clary, since he started hanging out with you, I see more and more of the great guy I grew up with, my best friend and my brother. Even just being friends with you is doing wonders for him. Do you think you will ever want more?’
His eyes stay on mine, suddenly a lot more serious.
‘I already do, Xander. I had this crush on him and when this year he started talking to me and I kept seeing him hanging out with Lucy and Justin, I stopped liking him. Especially because of the way he kept talking to Logan. But then, after he told me about his mom and we started hanging out... I like more than his looks. He’s so caring and sweet and sensitive... He reminds me a lot of you. So that crush kind of came back... And I am attracted to him. I just don’t want to be in the same situation that I have with Austin. You and Logan are so patient with me, letting me go at my pace, I don’t know how it would be with him. Did you hear the kind of things he’s been doing? I think he would get bored with me after 5 minutes. This is why we need to wait that there’s real feelings out there. And in the meantime, I’m going to learn some more things from you and Logan...’
He smiles, pulling me closer to his body.
‘Oh, I see, am I your sex Ed teacher?’
I push him away with a laugh.
‘Oh ew, no! You would never say that if you had met the sex Ed teacher I have at school. Mr. Montgomery is about 85 and wears a fedora everywhere. I don’t even think they had invented condoms when he was our age...’
‘Ok, ok. On a serious note, I really have the hots for you, baby. And we haven’t had the chance to be alone for a few days...’
He kisses me and one of his hands sneaks under my top, on my back, teasing the skin at the edge of the waistband of my shorts.
Having him close makes my heart rate speed up straight away: I can talk all I want about Logan looking like a Norse god and Joel like a fairytale prince but the attraction I feel towards Xander is something magnetic and strong. He’s perfect, so handsome and he has those aqua coloured eyes that take different hues depending on the light. His sandalwood and amber scent is so sexy and I never get tired to touch his lean but defined muscles. He’s ripped and perfectly strong but his skin is the smoothest and softest I’ve ever felt in my life.
We kiss passionately and he descends from my lips to my neck, giving me that electric current that lights all my nerves on fire and makes me want to be naked in his arms.
‘Xander...’
He looks at me a bit confused that I am trying to stop him.
‘Are you ok, baby? Am I doing something wrong?’
I shake my head, embarrassed.
‘Remember when I told you guys th
at Austin walked into my bedroom and found me in bed with Joel? He had his hand on my stomach to soothe me because I’ve just got my period...’
I blush and look down but he lifts my face up to him with a finger under my chin and places a sweet, soft kiss on the tip of my nose.
‘Are you embarrassed? You know you can talk to me about anything, baby...’
I feel bad because I know he missed me and I missed him too so I blush even more when I say:
‘If you want I can take care of you but obviously I’m out of commission for a couple of days...’
He holds me a bit tighter and whispers in my ear that if I want, we can just sleep but if I’m up for it, we could go in the shower and take care of each other.
‘You can keep your panties on, baby but I know how to make it really nice for you...’
With anyone else, I would have felt way too self conscious and I would have said I was too tired but this is Xander and I let him slowly strip me down to my underwear while I help him out of his clothes.
He takes my hand and guides me into the bathroom and sets the shower to a comfortable temperature: he knows I don’t like my showers scolding hot.
He’s completely naked, in all his glorious perfection and I still have my underwear on, which might be silly but it makes me feel less embarrassed.
I can see that our kissing and taking each other’s clothes off has had a certain effect on Xander and I stare at him for a few moments, while he puts some shower gel on his palms.
‘Do you like what you see, my sexy mermaid?’
He smiles and I blush: I guess we should be past the embarrassment of being naked together but he just caught me staring at his junk so...
‘Clary?’
He asks with one of his trademark smirks and I shrug, trying to look as casual as possible.
‘Well, you can’t blame me for looking, I mean, it’s quite noticeable...’
He steps closer, his hardness almost touching my stomach but not quite.
‘Are you saying that I have a big...’
‘Yes! You do and you are well aware of it...’
His smile widens.
‘And you like it...’
I must be really red if the heat that spreads all over my cheeks and neck is to be trusted but what the hell? He’s my boyfriend and we’ve been naked together and closer than this so I just admit it.
‘Yes, I like it a lot. I find it fascinating, fun and in all honesty, pretty...’
He freezes in place, his mouth agape.
‘Baby, did you just call my penis pretty?’
I shrug.
‘I guess so. I like how it looks, it’s got perfect proportions and a lovely colour to it. And I can obviously compare it to two more and nothing wrong with the others because they are perfectly nice, but yours is definitely the best looking.’
Now it’s Xander’s turn to blush and it must be the first time I see him embarrassed, I really thought he was unflappable.
So I smile and take the shower gel bottle from him.
‘I haven’t seen it in a few days and I guess I missed how pretty it is...’
He groans.
‘Ok, I’m flattered but I wish you stopped calling him pretty.’
He comes closer and he puts his soapy hands on my shoulders, starting to soap up my neck and chest.
His hands work in small, circular movements and descend to find my boobs.
Now, I had no idea that having his slightly rough, soaped up hands on my boobs and nipples would feel like nothing short of heavenly.
It makes me wish that we had taken a shower together naked sooner.
His gentle, sudsy massage makes me moan in his ear and my own soapy hands start on his chest and abs, rubbing his hips muscles, the ones that almost form a V and then finally finding the object of my admiration.
Having soap on my hands makes the whole endeavour slippery and much easier than it is on dry land and as I stroke him gently to soap him up, up and down his length and not forgetting any part of it.
His hands are still on my chest but as I keep stroking him, his eyes close and he let a out a soft moan.
I tighten my grip on him only just slightly and keep enjoying the effect I have on him until a few moments later, he whispers my name and I feel his warmth hitting my belly several times.
I let go of him when his breathing starts to slow down again and he sighs with a contented smile.
‘I have to say, you are becoming quite skilled with your hands, baby...’
I blush.
‘The soap actually helps...’
He smiles wider and gives me a deep kiss, the warm water streaming on our faces and bodies.
‘Now I believe that a certain little mermaid, could do with some aquatic pleasure of her own...’
He puts his hands under my butt and lifts me up carrying me to the bench against the shower wall.
He sits down on it with me on his lap, the water is still hitting us fully but with less force now that we are further away from the shower head.
He keeps kissing my lips and his hand travels down my body leaving a trail of heat everywhere it touches until it settles between my legs.
I am still worried about something embarrassing happening and I flinch but he reassures me, his lips now on my neck.
‘I won’t take your underwater off. Just enjoy my touch, baby...’
And I do enjoy it, his hand is gentle and his deft fingers know exactly where to touch and how much pressure to apply and before I know, my body is shocked by this massive wave and the pleasure reaches every nerve ending until a pleasant numbness settles down on me and my eyes start struggling to stay open.
Xander notices and he lifts me up again and turns the shower off.
We towel dry each other and brush our teeth side by side.
I shoo him out of the bathroom just as I change my underwear, thankfully I always have an extra pair on me during those days of the month and then we climb into bed and I yawn, my head on his chest.
‘It’s been a hard day, eventful to say the least. Let’s have a good night sleep, baby...’
He says kissing the top of my head.
I settle into his arms and the pleasant numbness of before returns and before I know, I am asleep.
12.
Miss Emerald
I wake up to his sandalwood and amber scent and I lift my head from his chest to see if he’s still asleep.
His eyes are closed but he has a wide smile on his lips and he looks like he’s trying to keep from bursting into laughter.
‘What?’
I ask trying to move further but his hands on my hips keep me in place and then I feel it: he’s obviously hard and my eyes dilate in horror when I realise what’s been happening.
‘Have I...’
He laughs.
‘Oh yes, you have! You must have been dreaming about last night because you’ve been using your hand and you’ve been grinding on me in your sleep...’
I’m about to die of embarrassment: I was in fact having a dream of... Playing with his... Ok, my hand is still wrapped around him and I take it away in horror.
‘Oh my god, Xander! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realise... Why didn’t you stop me?’
He smirks, his bad boy smile firmly in place, eyes glittering in the dim lit room.
‘Because I’m a gentleman, Clary, but I’m not an idiot. What you were doing didn’t exactly bother me...’
I blush and thank the drawn blinds that he can’t see it.
‘I feel like I was taking advantage of you, you were asleep...’
He squeezes me tighter in his arms.
‘So were you. And I officially give you my permission to take advantage of me any time, asleep or awake, my sexy mermaid. Trust me there’s nothing you could do to me when it comes to us being alone, in bed that could not encounter my unconditional approval... If anything, I encourage you to...’
He’s teasing me and I slap him playfully on his chest.
He laughs.
‘I am so not! But seriously, Clary, what you were doing was awesome and in my case, I embrace any sexual activity you want. Just have at it, baby!’
‘Idiot!’
I laugh and he now gets really serious.
‘On the other hand, if I were ever to do things to you in my sleep, you need to wake me up straight away, because with you is different...’
‘How?’
I challenge him.
‘Oh come on, Clary! Ok, now I am serious: what if I were dreaming that were having sex and I...’
‘Oh...’
‘See?’
‘But what if I was?’
I retort.
‘Ok, if anything happens with one of us asleep that goes beyond touching, we need to wake the other one up. At least until we... You know how I feel about your first time. I certainly don’t want to jump you while I’m half asleep...’
‘Ok... Sorry for, you know...’
He smiles again.
‘Oh no, baby. Don’t be sorry. It’s the best wake up I’ve ever had... However now you literally have a “situation” on your hands...’
He’s still hard, I can feel him against my hip.
‘Well, now that we are both awake, I could finish what I started in my sleep...’
His eyes darken with lust.
‘And it’s your choice if you want me to use my hands or my m...’
There’s a knock on the bedroom door and we ignore it for a second but they knock again.
‘Go away! We are busy!’
Groans Xander and I tuck myself closer to his side, my hand still hovering over his groin.
Another knock.
‘Come in...’
He sighs lying completely down on his pillow, sounding frustrated but taking me down with him and giving my butt a firm squeeze.
‘Me and you aren’t done, baby... Later...’
He whispers in my ear while Joel and Xander step in the room taking in the scene.
They look at each other knowingly and then stand at the foot of the bed with a blinding smile on their handsome faces: they could both audition for a toothpaste ad.
Lake Emerald Chronicles: The First Summer: A Reverse Harem Romance Page 40