The Bucket List

by Skyla Carter

  "Maybe we should start," she slurred as she pulled his head back before she started unbuttoning his shirt.

  What the hell was he supposed to do? He'd never had to deal with her like this, one on one, not since their ill-fated two weeks together. He knew he'd said he'd sleep with her to save her from herself, but he hadn't meant it like this and definitely not that night.

  Before he knew it, he was shirtless and lying flat on his back while she sat astride him. It took her only a second to whip her top off and she hadn't worn a bra with it.

  He had seen them a million times. He'd played with them a million times. But for some reason, looking at her firm breasts that night sent a different message to his brain. It was probably because he had gone a record 4 days with no sex. He wouldn't have looked at her like that otherwise. She was... Rae.

  "Rae... stop," he said when she started messing with his zipper.

  He saw the way her eyes trailed his torso, like she was dying to eat him up. When her lips found their way to his chest and the tip of her tongue snaked over his nipple, he let out a loud groan. What the fuck?! Why the hell was he getting so turned on? This was Rae... The only time he thought of her in that way was when they had a gang bang because she always looked so hot when she was horny and even better when she came. And also because that was the only time he ever really touched her like that. Beyond that was a definite no. It just wasn't done. He couldn't sleep with her they way he did all those random girls. It would... cheapen their relationship.

  When she finally handled the bulge in his pants, he panicked and pulled her back up his body. It didn't help that he was then staring directly at her naked breasts.

  "Rae, listen to me..."

  "Kiss me," she cut in.

  "What?"

  Before he knew what was happening, she had his lips in a kiss. He kissed her all the time but not like this. Never like this. This kiss sent him reeling; it sent something similar to a million volts of electricity down his spine and replaced his dick with a steel pole. What the fuck was she doing to him? And she didn't stop, either. She kept kissing him, moving her body all over his until he couldn't bear it anymore.

  It would have been the easiest thing to do to just lift her bodily off him and escape, but he found escape was now the last thing on his mind... Tentatively, his hands found her tight little butt and held her down on the steel pole. She let out a little whimper that sent his blood boiling. Would he go to hell for this? There had to be some law against this. Rae might not have been a blood relative but she was still his family.

  "Make love to me," she whispered.

  He didn't need a second invitation. Part of him was disgusted at how quickly he had put aside all his reservations but the other part just wanted to get the rest of her clothes off and enjoy her. Let the morning and all its regrets come, but the night was theirs.

  He rolled her over so he was on top of her and kissed her the way she had kissed him. When she was squirming underneath him, he lowered himself to the little buttons on the Capri pants she was wearing. It only took a few seconds to rid her of them, and the little pants she wore underneath. God, she was beautiful! His hands slowly touched all of her, revelling in the softness of her skin and the way it turned her on.

  He wanted to take his time, to enjoy every single moment of it, but he couldn't wait. He wanted her with an urgency he had never felt before. He didn't even wait to take his jeans off; he just pulled them down slightly to free his need.

  He looked into her fevered eyes for a second and saw she couldn't bear it either. When her legs wrapped tightly around him and pushed the tip of him where she needed him, he completely lost his head. Everything else was forgotten. He slowly pushed himself into her and couldn't believe how incredibly good she felt.

  "Yes..." she moaned, bucking her hips so she took even more of him.

  He pulled out then back in again, deeper than the first time, earning himself a little scream.

  "Faster, Nate."

  He froze. Nate? What the fuck?

  "Rae... It's me," he said breathlessly.

  Please, God, let it be just a slip of the tongue.

  "Don't stop, Nate," she murmured underneath him.

  "Fucking hell!" he swore as he pulled out of her and rolled away.

  He should have remembered that she was drunk. He shouldn't have given in at all. Fuck!

  One look at her revealed that she had passed out. Great. Just fucking great. Getting off the bed, he pulled his jeans up and found his shirt on the floor. Then he grabbed a pair of shoes and his car keys from the side of the bed. He needed to get out of there.

  John was just getting home when Corey bolted out of the front door.

  "Hey, where's the fire," he joked before he saw the freaked out expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

  Corey stopped and pulled on his ear lobe, a sure sign to John that he was about to lie.

  "Nothing. I'm just going to that bar up the road," he said. "You and Ethan have a good time?"

  "Yeah," John frowned.

  "Good. I'll see you in the morning," he said before he walked to the garage to get his car.

  John was still standing there when he sped off. What the hell was eating him?

  When he made his way upstairs to the room he used when he stayed over, he saw Corey's door slightly open and the light still on. A quick peek revealed the TV still glaring, empty beer and whiskey bottles all over the floor and Rae under the covers, obviously naked as her clothes were scattered all over the floor as well.

  He walked in to turn the TV off, then switched the light off before he walked back to his room. They had a big day tomorrow, hopefully neither Rae and Corey would be too hung over to enjoy it. He knew he would enjoy it to the max. Alyssa would be there. And she was spending the night.

  Corey noticed the blonde girl straight away but he felt like a drink first. He drowned about four shots, one right after the other, before he walked over to her.

  He didn't need to work hard at it; in fact he didn't work at all. She was all over him like a rash the minute he gave her his melt-your-panties smirk. Her eyes weren't quite as blue as Rae's and her hair wasn't quite golden, so there was no way anyone would think he had picked her because of these similarities. He didn't want to sleep with Rae at all. He'd only temporarily lost his mind. Come the morning, Rae wouldn't remember a thing and it would be all good again..

  He didn't take the woman back to the house. He did her hard and fast in the back of his Hummer then told her to piss off.

  Then he went back in for a few more drinks and to pick another woman. He would do this till the dirty image he had he had of Rae moaning underneath him was completely banished from his mind.

  ***

  When John got downstairs the next morning, he frowned when he saw the front door wide open. His eyes followed the trail of clothes on the floor that led to the lounge and when he opened that door, found Corey passed out in a chair, stripped down to his shorts with an empty bottle of whiskey on the floor next to him. What the fuck?!

  It seemed to take hours to get him up, but when he finally did and even with a few cups of coffee and some painkillers down him, Corey still hadn't said a word.

  "Dude, what the hell is the matter with you?" he asked when he'd finally had enough.

  "Nothing," Corey grumbled.

  "You know what? Forget it. Just follow me," he snapped as he picked up the tray with their breakfast on in. "Bring the coffee."

  They'd planned on waking Rae up with breakfast in bed then spending the morning just lounging before taking her out for lunch. Then Corey would take her shopping, which was one of her favourite pastimes, while he made his excuses and got the house ready for the party. Corey would just have to get over whatever was eating him. He had no time to play nursemaid. Alyssa had said she'd be there for four o'clock to help and he already had butterflies.

  She woke up with a start when she heard the loud pop in her ear.

  "What the fuck?!" she screamed
, then immediately regretted it when her head exploded.

  "Happy birthday!"

  She lifted her head to see her friends standing over her with goofy hats on. Corey was looking less than pleased though, so Mr. Happy had probably dragged him out of bed to pull this stupid stunt. If her headache was anything to go by, Corey was suffering the same fate. They must have gone through the whole liquor cabinet.

  "Oh, God, John! Take that noise somewhere else," she grumbled as she buried her face in the pillow.

  "Come on. We do this every year. You know I'm just going to bug you until you get up," John said as he tried to pull the covers off her.

  She did always get shit faced the night before her birthday. Then on her birthday she normally just had a sip here and there while she feasted on human flesh. Aaah, the good life... It was all gone now.

  "Just give me another half hour. Corey, get back into bed. I'm lonely all by myself in this big old bed."

  If she had lifted her head she would have seen the panicked look on his face, and the frown on John's as he looked from one to the other.

  "I'll go and get us some beers first," Corey said as he all but ran to the door.

  "It's seven in the morning!" John pointed out.

  "It's my birthday. We're allowed to start early," Rae said as she threw the covers off her body to get out of bed.

  Again she missed the stricken look on Corey's face as his eyes took in her naked body. But John didn't.

  "I'm going to take a quick shower, then. I feel dirty," she said as she walked to the en-suite bathroom. "Corey, maybe you should make it something stronger... ."

  Before she could finish her sentence, Corey was already gone.

  "He must really want that beer," she shrugged.

  "Hurry up, though. Your breakfast is getting cold."

  She didn't think she could stomach any food, but John was John. He would get it down her one way or another.

  "And you and I still need to talk," he added.

  With a weary sigh, she closed the bathroom door behind her. She would have to think up some excuse to avoid talking to him.

  "What the fuck is that man doing now?" she muttered when hours later they finally drove up the driveway after a major shopping spree. All on Corey, of course. What kind of birthday would it have been if she'd spent any of her own money?

  They had heard the music as soon as they stepped out of the car, but it wasn't until Corey had closed the front door behind him that the awful truth dawned on her. The dicks were throwing her a party!

  "Oh, for fuck's sake," she muttered angrily to herself as she turned to leave again.

  The last thing she wanted was a party. She had too much going on right now to even think about it. And who in the world had they invited, anyway? It wasn't as if she had any friends.

  "Where the hell are you going?" Corey asked, blocking the door with his huge frame.

  "I told you guys I didn't want a party," she hissed. "I wasn't just fucking with you."

  "I know, but this is different," he said as he dropped the millions of bags of shopping that he had carried in for her. "I know you want to be faithful to Nate, I'm not going to make it any harder for you by throwing the usual wild party. I invited just family and a few friends."

  By family, he meant his family. And by friends he probably meant John's and his. As she'd pointed out before, she could count her friends on two fingers. Three now, with Alyssa. Everyone else was just a mere acquaintance. Or a conquest.

  There was music blasting away from the system, and she heard voices, lots of them, just laughing and talking from somewhere in the house. Was that Irving's voice? Fucking hell! Her friends were breaking her heart and they didn't even know it.

  "Well, you can just go on in there and uninvited them," she hissed again as she tried to push him out of the way.

  "Rae, what the fuck is the matter with you? These people are here for you."

  Yes, they were. And she'd look into all their faces and think of leaving them behind. Even the ones she'd already screwed. Even the ones she couldn't stand. It would break her heart.

  "I can't do it, Corey," she whispered, struggling in his arms.

  "Do what? What's wrong?"

  She stopped struggling and looked up into his eyes. She could actually see the wheels in his head turning. Fuck! She needed to pull herself together before he made her talk. She wasn't ready. But as she held his gaze, she saw the fear in her own eyes mirrored in his. It was too late.

  "All right, fine! I'll go to your little party," she said as she turned away from him, hoping to get away as quick as she could.

  But he didn't let her go. He pulled her back and turned her so he had her trapped against the door, one of his hands holding both of hers captive above her head.

  "What's wrong?" he demanded again.

  "Corey, chill. I just wanted a quiet birthday with just you and a few drinks, but we can do that any other day," she lied.

  "Bullshit!" he hissed. "You're hiding something from me."

  "Really? Just like you're hiding something from me?" she hissed back.

  She saw the look of panic in his eyes and frowned. He had been acting weird all day. Like when John had told them he had stuff to do after her birthday lunch in town and Corey had practically begged him not to leave them. Then when she had suggested underwear shopping, which he loved doing anyway because of all the women he got to chat up, he had run a mile in the opposite direction. And his taste in clothes had been totally warped. She'd modeled the hottest little dress for him and he'd told her to take it off, that it didn't suit her at all. The whole afternoon had gone like that. She had let him get away with it because she had planned on getting it out of him over a few quiet drinks and some music that night, but obviously, with the party and all, it would have to wait.

  "Don't turn this round on me. You've been keeping secrets from me from the minute you joined us in Orlando," he hissed. "I let it go because I thought it was because of your list, but now I'm sure it isn't. I gave you one whole freaking week to tell me but you still haven't said shit."

  "That's because there's nothing to tell," she lied.

  "Again with the bullshit!" he snapped. "Just tell me, Rae. Are you in trouble? Has someone hurt you? What is it? Maybe I could help you."

  She held his gaze again. Poor Corey. His world was about to fall apart and he didn't even know it. He wouldn't either until the very last minute if she could help it.

  "Next time we get to be alone, we'll talk," she told him. "You're keeping something from me, too. I want to know what it is."

  She saw the panic again. She freed one hand and gently put her palm on his cheek. What the fuck was wrong with him?

  "Tell me, sweetheart."

  He closed his eyes and leaned his head into her palm. For a second, she felt some sort of desperation in him. And frustration. Had someone hurt him? He only had to say the word and she'd be all up in that bitch.

  "About time!"

  John walked into the entrance hall at that moment, a huge goofy smile on his face as he walked to his friends and broke the moment. Corey quickly released her and looked away, earning a little frown from her.

  "A few people dropped by to wish you a happy birthday and I just asked them in to wait for you. I couldn't be rude and tell them to fuck off," he started. "It was a complete surprise."

  "Save it, John. Corey's already told me you guys planned it," she told him as she let him lead her away from Corey to the lounge.

  "I do not know what you are talking about," he answered in an exaggerated voice, as if he was reading from cue cards.

  The first person she saw was Irving. He was standing alone right by the door with a drink in his hand. She really hadn't expected to see him again so soon.

  "Hey," he smiled when he saw her. "Surprise!"

  She walked into his open arms for a much needed boost of strength before she turned to the rest of the people in the room.

  They were all there. The Steeles, Ta
mmy, Alyssa. The idiots had even invited quite a few of their friends from work. They were probably only there for the free booze. She walked further into the room, plastered a fake smile on her lips and dropped kisses on her nearest and dearest as she accepted their birthday wishes.

  "Happy birthday, sweetheart," Elizabeth Steele said with a smile.

  "Yeah," Ethan put in as he took her into his arms. "It's just a shame that the one time you've actually allowed me to one of your parties, you've rated it PG."

  Alyssa stood with them as well. As Corey's good friend, she had already met the family a few times. It made her see how much of a selfish bitch she had been before for not seeing how close Alyssa had become to them. She gave the brunette a kiss on the cheek and made her promise her a birthday dance before the night was out. John was standing next to her and his little cough told her he didn't like that at all. Well, payback was a bitch. She'd flirt the socks off Alyssa's pretty little feet just to piss him off. But not just yet. She needed a few strong drinks in her system first if she was to get through this night.

  She smiled at the rest of the guests in turn, pretending she was happy to see them all as she walked towards the adjoining bar/game room. She wasn't being a bitch but she just really couldn't handle them all there all at once. This wasn't like a club where she could just ignore them all.

  The bar/game room was their pride with a well equipped fully fledged bar at one end, complete with bar stools, tables and chairs and of course, a couple of pool tables and an ancient duke box. On the other end was where they did the serious business of gaming. It held every games console and accessories known to man, complete with a few well placed comfortable gaming chairs. She and Corey practically lived in this room when they were home.

  But as she walked in, she had to stop in her tracks. The first person she saw in this room was Dave. What the fuck?

  "That guy? Really?" she said dryly to John, who was right behind her.

  "It was Corey's idea," he shrugged.

  Trust Corey! Rolling her eyes, she put the fake smile back on and walked to the bar so she could pour herself that drink.

  "Happy birthday, Rae," Dave said when he saw her.