Redemption (Forgiven Series)

by Brooke, Rebecca

  Josh held out his hand so we could continue dancing. I quickly took it and moved myself back into his body before looking up at him and admitting, “That was the most romantic thing I have ever seen.”

  He laughed. “It better be, he’s been planning it for forever. He started freaking out more, the closer we got to tonight.”

  “They deserve to be happy,” I smiled.

  We danced through the end of the song while everyone else rushed off the dance floor to offer their congratulations to the happy couple. Caleb’s mom was crying, and so were Emily and Angie. Josh stood back and watched it all with my hand in his. Angie looked up at Josh and started to make her way over.

  She walked up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Caleb stood off to the side. Letting go of my hand, he put his arm around her. “Thank you so much for everything,” she sniffed.

  “Always, Angie,” he promised looking down into her eyes. “I want you guys to be happy. Caleb’s like my brother and I can’t imagine a woman any more perfect for him than you,” he said solemnly.

  The tears started again. “Caleb couldn’t ask for a better friend than you.” She leaned in to whisper the rest in his ear. A look of disbelief crossed his face, when Angie pulled back. “You deserve to be happy too,” she told him.

  He shook his head. “You never give up do you?”

  “Never,” she said ruefully.

  Caleb walked over with his hand outstretched. “Can I have my fiancée back now?”

  I smiled at that, but Angie exclaimed, “I love the way that sounds.” She threw herself into Caleb’s arms and kissed him. When she turned back around her face was flushed.

  I gave her a hug. “Congratulations, I am so happy for you.”

  She hugged me back. “Thank you, I couldn’t be any happier than right now.” When she let go I could see the biggest smile on her face. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her this happy.

  I held my hand out to her. “Well, let’s see that ring.”

  She put her left hand in mine. The ring was gorgeous. A square diamond, it must have been more than a carat in size, and had smaller diamonds about halfway down on each size of the band. I looked up to Caleb. “This is gorgeous! Caleb, you did good!”

  Caleb smiled. “Thanks, Lauren.”

  Emily came over a second later, practically bouncing up and down. “I’m just so excited. Can I borrow you two so I can get some pictures?”

  Caleb and Angie agreed, leaving me alone with Josh once again. He turned to me with a smile and asked, “You wanna dance again?”

  How could I resist that smile? “Absolutely,” I replied. I knew I sounded a little too eager but with my nerves settled I didn’t care. I might actually get to go home with him… something that I was seriously considering.

  Song after song flowed and we danced for a little while longer before making our way back to the bar.

  The party was winding down, and Angie and Caleb said their goodbyes before heading up to their room. Even though it was Angie’s twenty-first birthday, we all knew that they had something even bigger to celebrate. She could go and get drunk any night.

  I was getting ready to say goodbye to Emily when Josh grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. “Hey, we’re going to hit a bar on the way back, do you want to come with us?”

  “Sure, why not,” I said. I tried to hide my enthusiasm as I let him lead me from the room. Maybe I would have something to celebrate too.

  I’d been hoping she would say yes. The more time I spent with her the more I wanted her in my bed. My dick had been at half-mast for most of the night. Dancing with her was pure torture, but I was hoping it would be worth the pain in the end.

  I looked over at Emily and Andrew kissing on the dance floor. Obviously they’d made up, but hopefully they actually talked to each other this time. As for Nick, he was talking to another girl by the bar. There was no way I wanted to rely on any of them for a ride home after the bar.

  I turned to her. “Hey, do you think you could give me a ride home later? I have a feeling Em and Andrew are either going home really early, or really late.”

  She laughed and looked over at them. Seeing them still stuck in a lip-lock she said, “Yeah, no problem. Are you ready to bail?”

  “Sure, I just need to let them know to meet us there,” I said, pointing towards Emily and Andrew.

  I grabbed her hand and pulled her over to where they were standing. Emily looked up at us and then down to our joined hands before her eyes snapped to mine. She gave me a look that clearly said, ”Do not screw around with her.” Damn, I’d forgotten how scary she could be. I did my best to act like Emily’s glare wasn’t having an effect on me.

  “Lauren’s going to give me a ride to the bar, so we’ll meet you there,” I explained. I knew there was no way Emily wouldn’t come to the bar, even if was just to keep an eye on me.

  Her eyes continued to bore into mine. “Absolutely, we’ll be right behind you.”

  I could see Andrew’s confused face as he looked back and forth between the two of us. I could only guess that one minute he thought he was going home to get some, but the next he was stuck staying out.

  “Are you ready?” I asked, turning to Lauren.

  She nodded. “Let’s go.”

  We walked out to her car and when I saw it, I stopped dead in my tracks. “Shit, is this yours?”

  She laughed and nodded. “Yep. Why, are you surprised?”

  It was a BMW Z4 so of course I was. “Absolutely, but it’s hot as hell to see a girl driving a car like this.”

  I watched as her breathing sped up at my comment. Fuck waiting until we got to the bar, I moved until I was standing in front of her. She looked up into my eyes and I cupped the sides of her face with my hands, pushing her back into the side of the car while I bent my head and took her lips in a possessive kiss.

  She matched enthusiasm until I sucked on her bottom lip and she gasped. Taking advantage, I slipped my tongue between her lips. Just the taste of her on my tongue was enough for me to lose all control. My hands pushed back and fisted in her hair. Tiny hands slipped up my chest and around my neck while I deepened our kiss. I knew we were in a public parking lot but she tasted way too good for me to stop. After this there was no way I was going to be able to go home alone.

  I heard someone clear their throat behind me. Slowly I pulled away and looked down to see Lauren breathing as heavy as I was. Whoever it was better have a damn good reason for interrupting us. I turned to see Emily standing there looking like she wanted to rip my balls off.

  “Josh, can I talk to you a minute?” she asked tightly, but I knew it wasn’t really a question. She was telling me to get my ass over there before she dragged me away.

  I looked back down at Lauren and saw that her cheeks had turned an enticing shade of pink. God, why was that so sexy on her? “Give me a minute and then we’ll hit the bar.” I winked.

  “U-u-umm… okay,” she stuttered. I liked that I had that kind of effect on her.

  Emily took a few steps away from where we were standing and I moved to catch up with her. As soon as we were out of earshot she started.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped.

  I put my hands up in surrender. “Whoa, Em, calm down.”

  “I will not calm down. Lauren is one of our friends, not one of your groupies you can fuck and throw away after one night,” she snarled.

  I took a step back from her only to have her move forward into my personal space. Wow, it was so much better to be on Emily’s good side. I knew this, but I still couldn’t resist the pull I’d felt toward Lauren all night.

  “Em, I only kissed her. I haven’t taken her anywhere.” Yet. There was no way I was saying that out loud though.

  “She’s had a shitty couple of days and she doesn’t need you taking advantage of that.” She shoved her finger into my chest.

  “What happened?” I asked, genuinely interested. She’d seemed so happy in there tonight that I just c
ouldn’t imagine what Emily was walking about.

  “It’s none of your business, just back the hell off,” she said as she started to walk away.

  I grabbed her arm and pulled her back to me. I was starting to get pissed. She couldn’t tell me to stay away from Lauren and not give me a reason. “If you want me to back off then you better damn well tell me why,” I snapped.

  She sighed, shaking her head and dropping her arms to her side. “She caught her boyfriend cheating on her the other night. So she really doesn’t need your ‘standard’ treatment.”

  “Who cheats on their girlfriend?” This was something I just didn’t get. I might have been a pig on some level but I also believed that if a guy decided to be exclusive then he should stick to it.

  She laughed humorlessly. “Oh, you know him. But seeing that look on your face I’m not sure I want to tell you who it is.” A slow grin crept across her face. To anyone else it may have seemed like an ordinary smile, but I knew Emily. That smirk spelled trouble. “Then again maybe I should tell you and let the chips fall where they may.”

  Why was I so pissed off anyway? Broken and angry chicks just weren’t my thing, but she seemed fine all night and I was curious. Lauren either didn’t care, or she was excellent at hiding her feelings.

  “I know I’m going to regret asking, but who was it?”

  “Ryan Bartlett.”

  Damn, I knew I wasn’t going to like it. I couldn’t stand him. He thought he was God’s gift, on and off the field. “How did she meet an asshole like him?”

  She gave me a curious look. “On the field. Lauren is the varsity pitcher for the softball team.”

  Hot and an athlete? How have I not met this girl before tonight? “Interesting,” I mused.

  “Get that look off your face. You are not sleeping with her!” Emily snapped.

  “She seemed like she was fine tonight,” I argued.

  She looked over at Lauren. “She wants to pretend she’s fine, but I know she’s full of it… which is exactly why you need to keep your hands to yourself.”

  I really wasn’t sure what to do. I couldn’t deny the connection I felt as soon as I saw her, but I also didn’t feel like taking on Emily, who was right—Lauren didn’t deserve a one-night stand. Then again I didn’t have to decide anything. Lauren was a big girl so she could make the decision.

  “I got it, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t ride to the bar with her and get to know her better, especially since you guys didn’t even introduce me to her until now.”

  “We knew exactly how you would react once you saw her. You’d start thinking with the head that doesn’t contain your brain.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “So you’re saying that I can’t just be friends with a girl. I manage to be friends with you,” I fumed, probably because I was pissed about her assumption, even though, again, she was right.

  She stood there for a second longer before placing a hand on my arm. “All right, but please behave yourself once we get there and no making any moves on her.”

  Wow, this sucked. I had to find a way around Emily’s rule. “What if she makes a move on me?”

  “Then it’s her choice not yours.” She shrugged her shoulders but I could tell she wanted to say more. It actually surprised me that she was biting her tongue instead of letting me have it again.

  With the conversation apparently over, she turned and walked back to where Andrew and Lauren were talking about the party.

  “All right, let’s go,” I announced and everyone moved to their cars.

  We climbed into the car but before she had a chance to switch on the engine I put my hand in hers and she stilled. “Lauren, can I ask you a question?”

  She groaned and kept her head facing forward. “Emily told you didn’t she?”

  “She did. I’m sorry about the kiss earlier.”

  I could tell she didn’t want to talk about it but finally she turned to me and said, “Please don’t apologize for that. Emily seems to think I’m not ready to move on.”

  She seemed a little too flippant for it to be the truth and I wasn’t really sure why but I didn’t want to hurt her. This wasn’t my normal thing, but the more time I spent with Lauren the more attracted to her I became. Causing her more pain was not the way to get her into my bed for tonight, or more nights to come.

  Wait, hold the train. Since when had I considered sleeping with someone for more than one night? Whatever, it didn’t matter. I still wanted her and nothing was going to change that. Although I’d promised Emily I wouldn’t try anything, I still had hope that Lauren would eventually make a move on me.

  “How about we forget about the asshole and go and have a good time?” I asked. I wanted to get her mind off of Ryan.

  “That sounds perfect.”

  The drive to the bar was quicker than I would’ve liked. I wanted more time alone with her before Emily was there, watching my every move. We were just heading in to the bar when I remembered something important and stopped in my tracks. “I forgot to ask, do you have a fake ID?”

  She smirked. “Of course I do.”

  I liked this sassy side of her. It was doing crazy things to my dick. How the hell was I going to keep my hands to myself tonight? Damn you, Emily!

  We walked in and took seats at the bar. Emily had made sure to be only a minute behind us. She must’ve been serious about me staying away from Lauren but unfortunately for her, that wasn’t going to happen. I never backed down from a challenge and Emily’s warning had made it one.

  I turned to Lauren. “What do you want to drink?”

  “Rum and Coke.”

  “No sissy drinks for you then,” I winked which earned me another one of her dazzling smiles.

  I turned to the bartender and order our drinks just as Emily and Andrew sat down next to us, probably to keep an eye on me.

  “Hey, I’m gonna head to the ladies room, be right back,” Lauren said, picking up her purse and moving in the direction of the bathroom.

  My eyes followed her and Emily snapped her fingers in my face. “Remember, hands to yourself.”

  “I heard you the first time,” I scowled, pushing her hand away. I shot Andrew a look but I knew even he couldn’t control her.

  Thankfully he realized I’d reach my limit and took her to the dance floor. Good move because I was going to lose it if she didn’t back off. Normally, she scared the crap out of me, but tonight I was just pissed. She acted like I was the world’s biggest man-whore and maybe I was, but none of the girls I took home were under the illusion that there would be anything beyond that one night. If Lauren wanted that one night then that was up to her. It really wasn’t any of Emily’s business.

  I’d calmed down by the time Lauren came back from the ladies room. She sat back down and immediately grabbed her drink from the bar, downing half of it before she turned to me. “So, how much crap has Em given you about paying attention to me?”

  My head snapped in her direction. “What do you mean?”

  She laughed. “I know that’s why she’s shooting dirty looks from the dance floor. She’s afraid that I can’t handle you.”

  “And what wouldn’t you be able to handle?” I asked devilishly.

  “Apparently you’re known for your one-night stands.”

  I choked on the beer in my mouth. This girl was blunt. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me,” she said, turning to look me in the eye. It was as if the fragile girl who’d caught her boyfriend cheating was gone, and in her place was a woman willing to put it all out there.

  We sat there staring at each other while I tried to wrap my head around what she was saying. Earlier she seemed shy, but now I wasn’t so sure. Her behavior was extremely erratic. Maybe she had more to drink than I thought? Or maybe she’d decided that she didn’t want to be taken advantage of anymore and was going to get the upper hand. But even more important than that, I didn’t understand why it mattered so much to me what she thought.

  “Y
ou didn’t expect me to be so honest, did you?”

  I shook my head. “Not really, at least not without a few more drinks in your system.” I moved my gaze to hers. “So, since we’re being honest, I think you’re hot as hell and would love to dance with you right now.”

  “Horizontally or vertically?” she asked, but then her cheeks blushed scarlet. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I just said that.”

  Hearing her say that, plus the gorgeous color in her cheeks, had my dick hard in seconds. What was this girl doing to me? I’d never had this kind of reaction to a girl before. I shook my head. Get it together!

  “How about we start with vertically and maybe move to horizontally later at my place?”

  She leaned over and put her lips on my ear. “I’m still not so sure about that but we’ll just have to see where the night takes us,” she whispered.

  The feel of her breath on my skin sent the blood rushing straight from my head. This girl was definitely messing with me, but it didn’t make me want her any less.

  I put my hand out to help her down from the barstool and felt the heat between us as she touched my fingers. Pulling her behind me, I led her to the middle of the dance floor. She came easily into my arms and we began to move together just like we’d done at the party earlier. This time, however, she turned around and danced with her back to me. The feel of her ass moving against me had need coursing through my veins. Slowly, I moved her hair over her shoulder and lowered my lips to the back of her neck. Hearing her moan softly, I kissed my way up her neck to the spot just behind her ear.

  “Josh,” she sighed and brought her hand up to wrap around the back of my neck.

  “Your skin tastes as good as you smell,” I whispered in her ear. I could see the rise and fall of her chest and knew her breathing had sped up. Nothing was going to keep me from having her.

  By the time we left the dance floor we were both a hot, sweaty mess. Moving through the crowd toward the bar, we found Emily and Andrew. Over a round of drinks we talked about Caleb and Angie. Emily and Lauren were gushing over how romantic Caleb was. I could tell Andrew wanted to talk about Emily again but he knew better so we talked about football, but I couldn’t keep my eyes from wandering to Lauren.