by Anthology
I sat up slowly, trying to combat the dizziness from both alcohol and Chase’s tongue. He smiled and extended his arms to me. I took his hands and he helped me hop down from the bar.
He raised his glass. “To our last week together until next year.”
I clinked his glass with my own. The words hinted at a sense of finality. And in a sense they were, because after Sunday I wouldn’t see him again until December. At that moment, I’d give anything for this week to last a little longer.
Chapter 6
Chase
We’d sat through two hours of karaoke and another hour of watching people grind on the dance floor. Melissa stretched her arms over her head and gave a wide yawn.
She said, “I’m going to head back to the room. I’ve got massive jetlag going on.” She’d been yawning for the past hour, barely even touched her drink.
It was only eleven and I had a feeling the party would be going strong for at least another couple hours.
Em furrowed her brows. “Need me to come back with you?”
“No, I’m good. You have fun.” She winked.
I didn’t know what the wink was for, but Em didn’t seem to notice.
With Drew off somewhere in the general vicinity, it was just me and Em. I smoothed invisible creases on my shirt and shifted in my seat. After the tequila shot incident, a cloud of tension hung over us. I’d taken the plunge past the friend zone and now that I was in the deep end, I had no clue what I was doing. Any other girl? Wouldn’t be an issue. But this was Em, and when it came to her, I found myself second-guessing everything.
“So...” I said when there was a momentary lull in the music.
“So.” She drummed her fingers on the table.
“I guess it’s just us.”
She smiled and my stomach dropped to the floor. She was so beautiful it hurt sometimes. “Guess so.”
Grow a pair, Miller. You just licked salt and tequila off her fucking stomach. I glanced out on the dance floor, Drew nowhere in sight now. Yes, technically I was going back on my word to him. Then again, nothing had come up about feelings or long distance, so maybe I was in the clear. At this point, I was far past caring about technicalities.
I slammed my beer bottle down on the table with a little more force than I intended and steeled my resolve. “Dance with me?”
She hesitated for a few seconds and then nodded. “Sure.”
I grabbed her hand and we made our way to the dance floor. Thong Song was playing for the sixth time tonight. Someone must have kept requesting it at the DJ booth. I didn’t mind it, but damn, there were other hits on the Top 40.
We found an open spot big enough for the both of us to fit in and dance. I pulled her close, our bodies pressed together, her leg between my thighs. She turned and her ass brushed up against me, and I instantly hardened. I pulled her closer, my hands grazing over her hips. The way she moved, every hip swivel, every dip, was so fluid and graceful. It had me mesmerized. She bent over a little, revealing a gap between her skin and her shorts. A thin strip of red lace bracketed the top of that sweet, heart-shaped ass. Dear god, this was going to be the end of me.
“Is that a red thong?” I asked, my voice thick and foreign.
Her back went rigid for a split second and then relaxed. She peered back behind her, looking down at her shorts. “I guess it is.” She smiled.
I leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Another item I get to check off my list.”
She shuddered and a trail of goosebumps pebbled up her arms.
I may have checked off one of the items on my list, but I still had a few more to go.
Chapter 7
Emily
I’d seen episodes of 20/20 documenting out-of-body experiences—usually people in car accidents or something equally as lethal, watching from above as surgeons operated on them in the ER. I was far from dead, but had the distinct sensation of being an outsider on the whole situation that was going down on the dance floor right now. Typical Emily wouldn’t grind her ass into a guy’s erection, dressed in skimpy clothes from Charlotte Russe. Cruise Ship Emily had a different agenda, and I couldn’t say I regretted it.
Chase’s erection thickened further as I swayed my hips against the rigid bulge. And the thought that he was hard for me was truly invigorating. I caused this. He wanted me. The pure, raw need to be close to him, to feel every inch of him pressed against me, washed over me in waves, pulling me like a riptide of desire. My clothes brushed against my skin the wrong way, felt too tight and constricting, every nerve aware of each time the fabric of my panties rubbed across my sensitive skin.
“You’re so beautiful, Em,” he murmured in my ear.
He smoothed his palm up my back, my neck, and threaded his fingers through my curls. The music was loud enough to muffle my moan. He’d never touched me before—not like that, not anything more than a friendly pat. This was different. Much different.
We continued dancing, Chase’s warm body pressed against mine, and I worked at keeping a steady rhythm moving up and down the inside of his thigh. His breathing changed from placid and calm, to short, shallow breaths fanning across my face. Even the way his eyes focused on me turned to a greedy stare.
He fisted his hands through my hair and groaned. “God, you smell so good. What is that?”
“Country Apple.” New Bath and Body Works scent that I was currently obsessed with. Melissa made fun of me and said I smelled like an orchard, but I didn’t care, I loved it.
He unthreaded both hands from my hair, running them down the span of my spine, pulling me closer. He bent down and whispered, “Let’s get out of here.”
“Where?” My room was already occupied, and Drew would be back in Chase’s room in a couple hours. I really didn’t want to have to deal with the possibility of my brother catching me with anyone, let alone his best friend.
“How about the upper deck?”
This was it. My one chance to get with Chase. If I didn’t take this opportunity, it’d be a year before I could try again.
Then again, what would happen if we did get together? The chance of it being a complete disaster definitely did not outweigh my body’s need to have as little space and clothing between us as possible.
I nodded. “Okay.”
He grabbed my hand, our fingers lacing together, his callused thumb running along the length of mine. He licked his lips and regarded me with an intensity that I’d never seen from him before. College had changed him. He seemed so confident, so in control, and the pressure between my thighs definitely liked this new Chase. We booked it to the elevator, crammed full of people well past drunk. He pulled me to the back, wrapping his arms around me as I pressed against him.
I hefted out a sigh as I glanced at the panel of buttons on the right. Every floor was lit up from the fifth floor to the fifteenth. People staggered off the elevator at each floor, some hopping back on last minute when they realized they got off a floor too early. I tapped my foot against the tile floor, waiting for these drunkards to get their act together.
When the elevator hit the fifteenth floor, we squeezed past a couple with their tongues shoved down each other’s throats right in front of the door and rushed down the hallway toward the deck. This level was fairly empty, most of the other people down at the dance floor and partying in their rooms.
We found an unoccupied two-person cabana, the ones with the covers to block out sun. I let out a giggle as Chase swooped me up in his arms and then laid me down onto the padded cushions. The alcohol had worn off at this point, but I didn’t need that buzz when a thick cloud of lust blanketed over my brain.
The logical part of me would probably say this was a bad idea. Years of friendship being pushed to the test. Unlocking feelings that might have been better left buried—because after Sunday, where did that leave us? Then again, I wasn’t willing to back out now, not when the space between my thighs throbbed for relief and Chase kept planting soft kisses along my neck that drove me wild.
> He adjusted the cabana top so it was covering us from prying eyes. Most of the light had been blocked out by the canopy and it took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Chase lowered himself down next to me, pulling me on top of him. I straddled him, my bare legs brushing against the fabric of his shorts. In the quiet of the moment, I could concentrate on every place our bodies connected. Every bit of skin, clothing, wandering fingers. Every shallow breath.
His hands skimmed under my shirt, rough fingers gliding over my nipples. I arched my back, pushing my breasts into his hands. He wrapped one arm around me and pulled me down closer to him. This was actually happening. I was here with Chase and he was kind of amazing at touching me. No, really amazing.
He stilled and his expression turned serious. “Tell me if you want to stop.”
“No.” It came out more as a pant than an exclamation.
He sat up on his elbows and I tilted my head to the side as he took the fleshy part of my ear between his teeth. “Then I want to taste you. All of you.”
A shudder wound down my spine. How had I never thought of Chase this way? I’d more than make up for lost time on this trip—that was for sure.
His lips were inches from mine, his breath fanning across my chin. And the only thought plowing through my mind was kiss me now, dammit.
We were cocooned in our own little world, the rest of spring break still raging on outside the confines of the cabana. Chase’s breath, the rustling of fabric under my knees, the tiny groan ripping out of my mouth as Chase pulled me into a kiss, those were the only things that existed in this moment.
The softness of his lips was the first thing I noticed. They were in complete juxtaposition with the intensity of the actual kiss. It was like he was putting his whole being into this one kiss. I lost myself, my world crashing down on me as the kiss deepened and he slipped his tongue past my lips, tangling with my tongue. His fingers threaded through my hair and our bodies entwined closer, skin pressed to skin, his heart pounding against my chest at the same pace of my own.
He pulled away, his breath coming out in ragged huffs. “Are you sure you don’t want to stop?”
“Do you want me to say yes?” I teased.
He traced his thumb in lazy circles over my nipple, and it hardened into a peak in response. His fingers worked down my stomach until they skimmed the tops of my panties. “You really should.”
Moves like that? Yeah, he wasn’t getting off that easily. And really, I didn’t want him to stop. In fact, if we stopped, the anticipation of wondering how he’d feel deep inside me might cause me to go into early-onset cardiac arrest, I was sure of it. “I really shouldn’t,” I said, running my nails along his erection.
He rolled me onto my back and slid between my legs. A shaky breath escaped my lips as he kissed his way down my neck and pulled the material of my top down, exposing my breasts.
“I’ve imagined this for so long. You’re gorgeous, Em.” He leaned down and lightly circled my nipple with his tongue before taking it in his mouth. Heat etched a path from his mouth to my center.
Nobody had ever said anything like that to me before. Or if they had, it didn’t include the adoration that was evident in Chase’s eyes. My heart thundered as I tried to process what he’d said. He’d wanted this. And not just starting yesterday.
I ran my fingers through his hair, knocking my head back into the cushion, closing my eyes. Was this moment real? I couldn’t tell if the alcohol was making my head spin, or if it was because Chase had fried every synapse in my brain.
“Can I?” He nodded down toward my shorts. The last barrier between us. Besides my thong.
I needed this. More than anything. “Yes.”
He unbuttoned my shorts and slid them off my legs, tossing them a few inches away. He bit his bottom lip and let his gaze take a greedy perusal down the length of me. “That thong, Em.” He let out a groan. “It’s going to be the end of me.”
I decided to take it a little farther and turned to the side. “Glad you like it so much.” I gave a little booty shake.
“Now you’re just playing unfair.”
“Maybe. But you like it.”
“I do.” He ran his finger under the trim of my panties, teasing a path down to my center. “But I think I’d like other things more right about now.”
Oh god, I was so on board with whatever other things meant. My hips rose as his fingers glided further toward my center, and right now, I needed him. All of him. “Me too.”
Chapter 8
Chase
I hooked up with Emily. I fucking hooked up with Emily. It didn’t seem possible, yet here I was, back in my room with the taste of her on my lips.
Drew was still out partying somewhere on the boat.
Shit. Drew.
If he found out, he was going to murder me. Probably find some way to make it look like an accident that I’d fallen off the edge of the ship in a drunken stupor. Suddenly my life sounded like a math word problem, the ones with trains and velocity. If Drew found out about me and Emily when he specifically told me to leave her alone, and his fist was going at a rate of fifteen miles per hour, how many teeth would he knock out of my head before his rage subsided? I raked my shaky hands through my hair. I had to keep it together. There was no way I could tell him.
He was more worried about her well-being, not a hookup, but hell, this still felt like I took our friendship and flushed it down the industrial-sized cabin bathroom shitter.
The telltale beep of the keycard on the other side of the door sounded and seconds later Drew was through the door. He made his way to his bed and flopped down on top of the covers, a grin affixed to his face.
“What’s got you so happy?” I needed to play it cool. He had no clue what I’d just done.
“Nothing,” he slurred. I’d lived with Drew long enough to know he’d tell me just exactly what made him happy in about three…two…one—“Melissa.”
“Yeah?”
“Did you know she’s a great kisser?”
Damn. He was three sheets to the wind hammered. “No, buddy, I didn’t. Here take this.” I tossed him a bottle of water I had on my bedside table. Last thing I needed was him to be insanely hungover and complaining all day tomorrow. I needed to take my own advice, because my own head was swimming with the buzz of way too many tequila shots. I grabbed another bottle from the nightstand and guzzled half of it in record time.
“Where’d you go off to?”
I capped the bottle and fumbled with the lid, deciding what to say. Somehow, Oh, you know, just eating out your sister, didn’t seem like it’d cut the bill here. I really didn’t have an early death wish.
I settled with, “Was out on the top deck enjoying the view.” And technically I was enjoying a view, a very sexy, naked one that called out my name and squirmed under my touch.
“Did you run into Em? I didn’t see her when Melissa and I got back to the lounge.”
“Yeah, and I made sure she got home okay.” And I was back to feeling like a shithead. Although, technically, her emotional well-being was just fine when I dropped her off. Not that that would earn me any brownie points with Drew.
“I’m glad I can count on you to look out for her. There are way too many tools on this boat.”
“Yeah, lots of tools,” I mumbled. Myself included. What did hooking up with her mean anyway? The thought of a long-distance relationship put a downer on what had just happened an hour prior. I was going to be a teacher on the West Coast. Em was going to New York. But goddammit, if anyone was worth months of lonely nights for the chance at a future together, she was.
The ground underneath me spun and I clutched the side of the bed, trying to steady myself. Shit, maybe I did have a few too many shots and they were just now catching up with me.
“Dude.” He furrowed his brows and assessed me cross-eye, pointing at me. “Are you sweating?”
“It’s hot in here.”
“Yeah, I guess it is kinda hot.”
He paused for a second and started tracing imaginary shapes with his fingers still pointed at the ceiling, squinting. “You know who else is hot?”
I shook my head and chuckled. “Melissa?”
“Yeah.” He let out a loud sigh and then seconds later was snoring.
Glad someone was able to get some shut-eye, because my guilt-ridden mind wouldn’t allow for that anytime soon.
By the next morning, Jose Cuervo and I were no longer on speaking terms, I’d decided. Same went for Jack. Or any alcohol starting with a J, for that matter. The slash of sunlight cutting through the shades of the room, along with the giddy screams of chicks drunk well before noon, running down the hall of the ship, should have signified the start of another epic day of spring break. But the five-shots-past-shitfaced hangover dictated otherwise.
Music blared from the room next door and I shoved my pillow over my face, trying to block out the sound. I didn't care how catchy that Christina Aguilera song was—she could go shove that genie back in her bottle if it meant the pounding in my head would let up for two seconds. Hangovers had no place on spring break.
I glanced over at the other twin bed, a little disheveled, but it looked like Drew never ended up under the covers. The chocolate mint that had been on the pillow was now on the floor, and a towel wrapped in the shape of a swan still sat at the end of the comforter. Two foil-wrapped chocolates rested above the swans beak, glinting in the sun. Waves crashed against the side of the boat, and even though the stabilizers were working, I had the sensation of rocking back and forth. Okay, that was the last time I drank that much. I glanced back at the empty bed beside me, wondering where my roommate had ended up. He was here last night, so he must have gotten an early start. It was already nine, so he probably went down to breakfast.