Prom King

by Penny Wylder

  Suddenly I jerk awake. I hadn’t realized I was fully asleep until the car stopped. “We’re here,” Adam says.

  I look outside the car and—holy shit. “Adam, how rich is your family?”

  “Richer than we let on,” he says.

  He helps me out of the car and grabs our bags before paying the driver. In front of us is a house. He called it a house. It’s not a house, it’s a fucking mansion is what it is. And not only that, it’s on the beach. I can see the water stretching to infinity behind the house and I’m pretty sure that I still haven’t picked up my jaw from where it’s fallen to the ground.

  “Why isn’t your family here all the time?”

  Adam laughs. “Neither of my parents actually likes the beach that much. They mostly came out for the parties that their friends were having, but all their friends prefer the city now too. It’s empty most of the time.”

  “Wow.”

  There’s a keypad that looks like part of a security system that’s no joke, and Adam enters the code to let us inside. It’s like walking into a house that’s been a movie set. It’s gorgeous and modern, but it also looks like it’s never been used. Like it was set up just for us.

  The foyer reaches straight through the house to where there are sets of French doors opening onto a gorgeous patio and then the beach. Stairs wind up and out of sight, and I can see glimpses of the kitchen through the living room to the right. “This is amazing.”

  “What do you want to do first?”

  I open my mouth to say something and close it. More than once. “I don’t even know where to start.”

  “How about a swim?” Adam asks.

  Glancing through the house toward the ocean, it does look really inviting. “That sounds nice.”

  We go upstairs, Adam carrying the bags, and we go into a bedroom that’s bigger than my entire apartment, and I don’t even think that’s an exaggeration. “This is the master,” Adam says, giving me a look. “It has the biggest bed.”

  “Obviously the most important part,” I say, grabbing my suitcase and pulling out one of the bikinis I packed. It’s black and purple and I’ve never worn it because it’s just a tad too small. I’ve never been in a situation that I’ve been comfortable enough to wear it in. But I think today is the day. “Is the beach public?”

  Adam shakes his head. “Occupants only. We might see some neighbors, but I doubt it.” He puts on a pair of swim trunks, and I’m distracted by the way the lines on his hips slip down into his trunks and he catches me staring. “Of course,” he says, “we don’t have to go for a swim.”

  “Let’s go,” I say too quickly.

  Adam grabs towels for us, and the minute I step out the back door I realize just how much I’ve missed the beach. I can’t remember the last time I’ve actually been. New York will do that to you. You always talk about the things that you want to do, but you get so busy that you never actually do them. The air is breezy and has that salt smell that I would love to bottle and inhale every day. Every second. I close my eyes to breathe it in, and when I open them I find Adam staring at me. “What?”

  “You look different,” he says softly.

  “I love the beach,” I say. “It’s the closest I have to a happy place.”

  “Why?”

  I think, but nothing comes to mind. “I don’t know, really. I just…we—my family—we’d always go on vacation to the beach. And it was just happy. Whenever I think about the beach I feel happy. It stuck.”

  “I’m glad.” Adam drops the towels on the sand. “Does that happiness include what’s about to happen?”

  “What’s about to happen.”

  “I’m going to dunk you in the ocean.” He scoops me off my feet and over his shoulder.

  I scream, startled and happy, “Adam!” He jogs with me towards the water, and then he’s in it and my feet get splashed. “It’s cold!”

  “Yes, it is.” And then he’s up to his waist and we go down together. I’m plunged into freezing cold and it hurts and it feels amazing and I don’t remember when I’ve felt this alive. I come up gasping for air and soaking, Adam right next to me. The sun is reflecting off his now wet body and oh my god he’s breathtaking. Just looking at him gives me a twinge in my chest, and I didn’t realize it before, but holy shit I am in trouble.

  I knew I liked him. I knew I was having fun. I didn’t know that it might be more. That I might be falling head over heels for him in a way that could be amazing or disastrous. But that moment is gone, because Adam has a wolfish grin on his face, and he tackles me into the water. I manage to shriek only a second before we go under again.

  Time seems to pass in a blur, and it’s a passing thought that we’re once again a cliché—playing in the waves on the beach. But it’s nice, and after an hour I’m exhausted. I stumble up the sand and spread my towel before collapsing onto it. “You’ve worn me out,” I say to Adam as he sits next to me.

  “I hope not,” he says. “I have plans for later.”

  “Yeah? What plans?”

  He stretches out, arms behind his head. “We could have a fire on the beach, watch another movie, go out to dinner. Oh, and all the sex.”

  I laugh. “You’re insatiable.”

  “For you I am.”

  We sit for a while, catching our breath and resting. I keep turning over so that I don’t burn. You would have thought that knowing we were coming to the beach that I would remember sunscreen, but I didn’t.

  When we go inside, I’m starving. We haven’t eaten since breakfast, and it’s well into the afternoon now. Adam calls out for some delivery while I take a quick shower and change into the comfy clothes I brought: sweats and an oversized sweater that has a bad habit of slipping off my shoulders. I’d never admit to Adam that that’s why I brought it, to tease him, but that’s why.

  And then we curl up together on the couch, and soon my head is in his lap, and I’m dozing off while we watch a movie. An action film this time that’s fast and colorful and it doesn’t really matter what the plot is as long as there are lots of explosions.

  I can’t remember the last time I was this relaxed. Everything is perfect, and even though I feel like I’ve been falling asleep all day, I’m so close to slipping under. Adam is stroking my hair, his other hand settled on my hip, and I think as I’m fading, that this is perfect happiness.

  * * *

  When I wake up the sun is setting and Adam isn’t on the couch with me. I sit up and I see him in the kitchen, the beeps of the microwave faint. “Hi,” I say.

  “I didn’t want to wake you,” he says. “There’s pizza.”

  My stomach growls at the mention of food. I was already hungry earlier and I fell asleep before it even got here. “Yes, please.”

  He sets a plate of food in front of me as I make my way to the breakfast bar. My sweater slips off my shoulder and I don’t fix it. I notice the way Adam glances at my suddenly bare skin and stifle a grin. I guess I was right on when bringing this sweater. “Did you finish the movie?” I’m wolfing down the pizza in a way that’s probably really unsexy, but I don’t care because it’s really good. And I immediately feel more awake, like I’ve given myself a shot of caffeine.

  “I did. The good guys won.”

  I lift my fist in the air. “Go good guys.”

  He laughs. “I thought that maybe we’d do the fire tomorrow?”

  “Fine with me. What now then?”

  “Well…” There’s a wild and feral gleam in his eyes that I recognize. He comes around the counter and spins my stool so that he’s standing between my legs. “I had another idea, if you’re open to a little adventurous experimentation.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  “Do you remember our little video chat?”

  Of course I do, and I immediately blush because somehow it’s still embarrassing. “Yes.”

  Adam runs his hands down my sides, and they cup my ass, pulling me closer on the stool. “I told you that I loved your tits, and t
hat I wanted to fuck them till we both came.”

  My stomach drops with desire, my pussy going instantly slick. I turn away from him, grabbing the rest of my pizza and finishing in several huge bites. “Yes,” I say. “Yes.”

  I don’t wait for him, hopping off the stool and going upstairs. I know he’s going to follow me. I walk into our bedroom, stripping as I go. I stretch out on the bed and savor the look on Adam’s face when he walks in and sees me posed and waiting.

  Watching Adam pull his shirt over his head is like watching a work of art. I could play it on repeat forever. And that’s just the prelude to what comes next. Watching him step out of his shorts is an entirely different kind of art and it makes my mouth water. He only pauses on the way to the bed to grab a bottle of lotion from his bag. “You came prepared.”

  “Yes, I did.” He takes my mouth in a kiss before settling his knees on either side of my waist. His cock is so close, and the way he’s towering over me is overwhelming. But he doesn’t do what I expect. He doesn’t jump in. Instead, he takes the bottle of lotion and squeezes some into his hands. And then he touches me. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the way that it affects me, like it sinks through my skin and drops down to my core and brings my arousal to the surface.

  Adam slowly massages my breasts, moving them together and apart and together again, thumbs slowly rubbing across my nipples. I groan, because this feels so good. At once relaxing and hot and I swear to god it’s like he’s touching my pussy. My nipples harden under his fingers and I squirm, the urge to touch myself strong, to get there faster and we’ve only just started.

  He’s making eye contact with me, and I can’t look away. It’s not awkward the way I thought it might be. It’s so damn sexy that I can’t breathe. Adam pushes my breasts together again and thrusts his cock into the space between them. Oh my god. The slickness of the lotion on my skin and the hardness of his cock send fireworks shooting through my chest and down to my clit.

  He presses them harder together, fingers slipping on my skin as he thrusts again, and again. No other man I’ve been with would believe me when I told them that this feels like getting fucked, but it does. My pussy is so wet it’s dripping and if I touched my clit right now, I’m sure I’d come.

  Adam’s eyes close and I reach up and put my hands on his, pressing harder. He lets me, falling onto his hands, and thrusting harder, faster. It takes my breath away and the pleasure building behind my clit is spreading. Like I’m slowly wading into an ocean of it. I want more, more, more.

  I push so hard it almost hurts, until I can feel every ridge and vein as he slips between my skin. Adam is grunting with the effort of every thrust, and I see his face. It’s caught in a storm of pleasure, fierce and taut, and oh—

  The wave breaks before I expect and now I’m caught in my own storm of pleasure. It writhes through me, and I’m quaking, coming, every breath deeper.

  Adam breathes out sharply, thrusting once more, and I feel the heat of his cum on my skin, wave after wave of it. And I’m still feeling the aftershocks of my own. We’re both frozen and breathing together, and I’m so glad that I can come like this. That I feel safe enough with Adam to try stuff like this.

  When he finally slides off me, Adam goes to grab a towel. I think he’s about to help me clean up, but then he stops. “We could shower instead.”

  “Together?”

  “Of course.”

  I’m off the bed before he finishes the words and he has to race to catch up with me.

  23

  Ollie

  I wake up to a slamming sound.

  “Adam!”

  It’s a distinctly male voice, and one that I don’t remember. Somebody is in the house. I’m hazy as I come to consciousness, covered in nothing but a sheet. I’m definitely naked. I flip over to find Adam just as blearily coming awake. The bedroom is a mess, blankets and pillows everywhere. He and I could have written a sex manual with everything that we did last night, and my body is sore and sated enough to prove it.

  “Adam,” the voice calls again, booming and angry. “I know you’re here. Get your ass down here, now.”

  I watch his face go pale as he rolls out of bed and grabs his pants off the floor. He goes straight out of the room, and immediately I hear yelling. “What the hell are you doing?” The voice says. I’m assuming that it’s Adam’s dad. Though why he’s here and why he’s yelling are the things I’m unclear on.

  I grab my comfy clothes from where I left them on the floor and put them on. Creeping to the door, I listen. I would try not to, but Adam’s father isn’t exactly keeping his voice down.

  “I get a call from Dr. Pratt saying you took days off, and then I get a call from Sasha telling me that she hasn’t heard from you in days. Is this how you treat the mother of your child? You should be talking with her every single day and making sure she’s okay. A healthy relationship means a healthy baby.”

  I feel like a bucket of ice has been dumped on me. Dr. Pratt. Sasha. Sasha Pratt. Sasha from high school and prom. Adam has a baby with her?

  Adam is speaking now, fast and low, and I can’t hear what he’s saying. Screw staying out of sight now, I walk out onto the landing, and immediately his father’s eyes are on me. Adam whips around, seeing me at the stop of the stairs. “Is that true?” I ask. “You got Sasha pregnant.”

  “You’re sneaking off to be with her?” his father hisses. “Adam, this is unacceptable on every level. End this now. Come home and take care of Sasha. It’s the very least you can do not to be a total disgrace.” The look that he gives me makes me feel like I’m about an inch tall, and the hatred pulsing off him is palpable. He turns and stalks to the door, turning around at the last second. “I came all the way out here because I hoped that I was wrong. I hoped that you weren’t a complete disappointment. I was wrong.”

  He leaves, slamming the door behind him and taking all the oxygen with him.

  Adam turns to me, and takes a deep breath. I cut him off. “What the fuck is he talking about, Adam? This entire time you’ve been with Sasha and you have a baby? Never mind the fact that it’s Sasha, you didn’t think you should tell me that you’re with someone else?” The words feel like they’re cutting me as I speak them. Bullets and glass shards shredding the happiness I had not even twelve hours ago.

  “It’s not what you think,” he says, coming up the stairs.

  “Oh really.”

  “It’s not,” he says carefully. “Please let me explain.”

  I backtrack into the bedroom and grab my bag. “You have five minutes.”

  He sighs, rubbing his hand over his face. “Dr. Pratt is my boss. My dad thought it would be a good idea for me to date Sasha so that he would like me. This was years ago now, and I went along with it because I thought it would help my career. I’ve never slept with Sasha and made it clear that I never will. She’s convinced that we’ll be together eventually even though I’ve told her no a thousand times. Please, don’t go.”

  I keep gathering my things, though there aren’t many things to gather. “If you didn’t want to be with her then why not just break it off?”

  “Because I’m an idiot,” he says. “That’s the real answer. But I was too busy with residency and I liked the attention that Dr. Pratt gave me. Since I wasn’t focused on having a girlfriend, I didn’t care that I had a fake one that much. Sasha liked to tell people that she was dating a doctor. Until about a week ago, I thought that it wasn’t hurting anybody.

  “But then the reunion happened. That brunch I had to go to, Sasha and her father were there. She cornered me alone, and she’d seen us together. I told her I wanted to break it off, and she freaked out.” Adam’s voice is uneven now, and he’s starting to pace. “She told me no, and I didn’t care. I went back to our table fully prepared to break the news, and Sasha came with me. She told our fathers that she was pregnant, and then she told me that she would provide proof that I had cheated on every residency exam. That she would ruin my career if I
didn’t go along with it. I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t.”

  I feel like I’m being slowly ripped to shreds. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “How? How could I tell you that I’d been ‘with’ the girl that had tried to ruin your life? Who hated you? I honestly didn’t know I would ever see you again, Ollie. If I’d known, I never would have done this. It’s the worst decision I’ve ever made.”

  I clear my throat. “Why didn’t you tell me? If the baby is fake, why were you so worried? You thought I wouldn’t believe you?”

  He sinks down onto the edge of the bed, saying nothing.

  “Adam?”

  “I don’t know.”

  I grab my bag, “You lied to me. Not only did you lie to my face the entire time, you lied to me about her.”

  “I was going to tell you, Ollie. I was, I just didn’t know how. I was trying to figure a way out, to try to figure out how to counter blackmail. Sasha knows everybody, and she doesn’t bluff. I didn’t want to lose my career or you.” He stands, coming to me, but he makes the wise decision not to try to touch me. “I had just found you, and I didn’t want to break your heart. Not when it seemed like we had a chance to heal it together.”

  Tears spring into my eyes and I have to turn away. I start heading toward the door and I hear his footsteps follow me. “It’s a little late for that, Adam.”

  “Please don’t go, Ollie.” He says. “I promise there’s nothing between Sasha and me. We’ve never even kissed. There’s nothing.”

  I don’t answer. I can’t stay here. This whole thing was a lie or a sham or a ruse and I don’t know which, and I like him too much to let him try to comfort me. Because if he tries to comfort me, there’s a chance that I’ll forgive him. And I can’t. There’s too much history for that right now. I can’t be here.

  I slam the door behind me and call a cab, waiting at the end of the driveway until it comes. Adam watches me from the doorway until I disappear.