Marlo glared at Carly as she stood up. "I could say the same to you. Watch yourself Carly, you don't know who you're messing with." Marlo left, leaving Carly with the bill. It was time for her to pay for once.
*****
"I don't know if it worked or not Marlo." Tobias whispered as they lay together in her bed. "He seems pretty hooked and I've never seen him look so pitiful."
"Well, I sure as hell didn't get through to Carly. She's one evil bitch. It's a lot worse than I thought it was going to be." Marlo sighed. Not wanting to think about the damage being done to her brother anymore, she changed the subject. "Hey Tobias, how come you never call me Lola anymore?"
Tobias rolled over to his side and looked at Marlo. "You told me not to. Only your friends could call you Lola."
Marlo heard a tinge of hurt in his voice, and immediately felt guilty. She kissed him long and deep, trying to erase all the mean things she ever said to or about Tobias. "I think we're more than friends now." She whispered huskily after she broke their kiss.
"I hope so, after a kiss like that. I'd be crushed to think that you kiss all your friends like that." He smirked and kissed her again.
"Make me forget everything." Marlo whispered to him.
Tobias swallowed hard, wanting to tell her something to make her forget all the drama surrounding them, but was too afraid to say the words. Instead, he put all of his feelings into his kiss.
Soon, they were both lost in the passion, the heat that they were each feeling was the only thing either thought about. Tobias' hands slowly slid up Marlo's stomach, taking the hem of her silky camisole with them. His lips broke from hers as he completely removed the lingerie from her body. His mouth was immediately drawn to her ample breasts, causing a gasp to come from Marlo's mouth. The intensity of the pleasure she was feeling nearly paralyzed her and kept her wanting more.
Slowly, Tobias slid her panties down her legs, leaving her completely naked. He descended between her legs, leaving her with a feeling like she had never experienced before. She squirmed when she felt his hot, wet tongue, until his hands grasped her hips and held her still.
A wave of pure, blissful pleasure washed over her, and she pulled Tobias up to where he was level with her again. Her hands reached down to his boxers and gave a firm tug. He helped her to remove them, then groaned when her hand gripped his member.
"Oh god Lola!" He moaned, loving the feel of her hand.
Marlo smiled when he finally returned to using her nickname. She realized how much she missed hearing it come from his voice. She climbed on top of him and straddled his body. "Please, make love to me Tobias. I want you to be my first."
Chapter 17
Tobias froze as soon as the words entered his ears, and he rolled away from Marlo. "Oh my God, I can't even believe what I almost just did!" He groaned, his head in his hands, his breathing ragged.
"Why are you stopping?" Marlo gasped. "I'm giving you the green light here!" Anger crept into her voice.
"As much as it pains me to say, it just isn't right. Not right now." He said, still panting.
Marlo was getting angry. She yanked the blankets over her bare body. "What do you mean? You don't want me?"
"It's not that, trust me it isn't that! Does it look like I don't want you?" He asked, his frustration evident as they both looked down. "Can you honestly tell me that if all this stuff wasn't happening with your brother that you'd still want this right here, right now?"
Marlo sighed and was silent for a minute. "It's not that I wouldn't want it, because I do, but I'm still afraid, and I probably wouldn't have let it go that far if it hadn't been for the other stuff happening."
"And that's exactly why I said 'Not now'." He pointed out.
"Thanks, I guess." She said sheepishly. She couldn't believe how wrapped up in the moment she got.
Tobias leaned over and kissed her forehead. "If you'll excuse me, I have a date with a cold shower." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and was about to stand up when he felt a soft hand on his arm.
"Not so fast…" She said, and brought him back into the bed to give him more satisfaction than the shower ever could.
They both went to sleep that night with smiles on their faces. Marlo was thinking about how different Tobias was with her than he was with all the other girls, and how impressed she was at his ability to stop himself, especially when she had lost all of her self-control. Tobias fell asleep thinking how great it would be when they finally did take the next step.
*****
"You guys need to stop ganging up on me and Carly." Dusty told Marlo the next day. "You know, I always thought I'd have you on my side. I never expected my sister to turn her back on me."
Marlo sat at the kitchen table in shock. Dusty had walked into the kitchen and immediately went after his sister, who had no idea that she had anything coming to her. "Dusty, I never have and never will turn my back on you. I don't know what Carly said to you, but she was the one that was rude to me. I was trying to get along with her."
"You've been against me and her being together from the beginning. I never said anything bad about you and Tobias, I'd appreciate the same from you." Dusty spat at her and left the room.
Marlo felt blind-sided. She didn't know what had just happened, and even though the fight wasn't that bad, Marlo broke down crying. Her and Dusty rarely argued, and when they did, Marlo felt the weight of the words a lot heavier than they actually were.
Tobias walked in a few minutes later to see a dazed look in Marlo's eyes, tears streaming down her face. "Hey beautiful, what's wrong?" He asked as he kneeled next to her chair and took her face in his hands. He wiped the tears from her face with her thumbs, waiting to see what she had to say. It broke his heart to see her so upset.
"Me. And. Dusty. Got. Into. A. Fight." She sobbed. "About Carly." She finally finished.
Tobias grabbed a tissue for her, and she blew her nose. After he threw it away for her, he pulled her out of the chair and sat down himself, pulling her back onto his lap. Her head went to his shoulder as his arms encircled her body and held her tight. He let her cry for a few more minutes, knowing that she'd be able to talk about it soon, but until then, he'd have to wait.
"It's so unfair. Why is it my fault that no one likes Carly? I'm only trying to help him, but yet he sees it as me being against him." She finally whined. "I can just imagine what she said to him to get him so mad at me."
"Our plan obviously didn't work. But don't worry, one way or another, we'll get rid of Carly." Tobias promised. "Until then, we'll just get through it together."
Marlo looked at him and smiled. "I want to know what you did with the old Tobias…the one who was always so mean to me."
"He's locked in the basement. Said he doesn't want to come out ever again." He joked and kissed her nose. "How about dinner tonight. We'll get dressed up and everything. I can actually wear a nice dress shirt now, since I got the cast off."
"I guess you twisted my arm. I'll go get ready." Marlo jumped up excitedly. It was amazing the effect that Tobias had on her.
"But we're not leaving for at least two hours!" Tobias laughed.
"Well, a woman needs to look nice for her man. Sometimes that takes time." She teased. "Besides, I need to figure out how to get rid of this red nose." She said, looking cross-eyed down to the tip of her nose.
Tobias laughed as she walked out of the room. He thought back to how miserable he was before Marlo, and now he was always in such a good mood.
*****
The restaurant was beautiful, and Marlo was really impressed. It was fairly dark in there, lit mostly by candles to increase the romantic atmosphere, and very few dim lights. The table clothes and window treatments were a deep red shade, with a single Fire and Ice rose at each table.
"Wow, this place is beautiful. I feel so under-dressed." Marlo stared in wonder.
Tobias looked at the woman on his arm and wasn't at all ashamed at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a long, black s
trapless dress, the bottom reaching mid-calf and slightly flaring. "I think you look gorgeous." Tobias whispered and kissed her cheek. "How am I going to keep my hands to myself all night?" He asked, teasingly.
"I guess you'll just have to try." She told him as the hostess led them to their table.
The food was exquisite, and the evening was perfect as they ate. Tobias made Marlo forget all about the fight that she had with her brother, and for a time, they were the only two people on earth.
It all changed once dessert came though. Everything came crumbling down over a shared piece of Death By Chocolate. One of the tables near theirs had a group of six women, obviously having an expensive 'Girl's Night Out'. When dessert was delivered, the whole table looked over to see what delicious concoction had been ordered. Not only did they see the delicious dessert, but they also saw the delicious lead singer of Pleasure Pointe.
A couple of the girls shrieked when they finally recognized Tobias and immediately left their table to ask for autographs and flirt with him, completely ignoring his date who was sitting at the same table as him. Tobias being Tobias, he didn't tell the girls to leave him alone, or that he was out on a date with his girlfriend. Even worse, he went beyond being polite to the girls, and started flirting himself.
Marlo sat at the other side of the table, completely forgotten and fuming. Sure the girls were beautiful, but she didn't think that Tobias would forget all about her, just because a couple of pretty girls flaunt themselves at him.
Marlo had enough. Watching one of the girls whisper into her boyfriend's ear was more than she could handle. Sure he looked a little uncomfortable at that point, but he got himself into the mess, he could get out of it. And that was exactly where she was headed- out.
She grabbed her clutch purse and walked away from the table and out the door, not even pausing when she heard Tobias call her name. Luckily when she got outside, there was a cab dropping another couple off. She quickly slid in and gave the driver her address. As he drove away, the tears began to flow down her cheeks.
'What a fool, to actually think that he can give up all the other girls and be faithful to one person. Especially not me,' Marlo thought. 'I won't even give him something that he has probably never gone without!'
Minutes later, the cab pulled in front of her house. She threw some bills up front and ran into the house. She really hoped that no one was there, she just wanted to be alone, and she definitely didn't want to talk about what had gotten her so upset.
Luck was with her at the moment, because she was able to make it into her room without anyone seeing her. She slammed the door and fell onto her bed crying. Lately it felt like all she did was cry. She used to be such a strong person.
Not wanting to stay in the same dress for a minute longer, Marlo got up and put her pajamas on and went to the bathroom to wash the makeup from her face. Just as she lay back in her bed, someone pounded on her door.
"Marlo! Let me in!" Tobias yelled through the door. He sounded out of breath.
"Go to hell Tobias! I'm done with you!" She yelled back at him.
There was a loud cracking noise and her door flew open. "Well I'm not done with you." He growled after kicking her door open. "Why the hell did you leave like that?"
"I'm surprised you noticed I was gone. Looked to me like you had plenty to keep you occupied." She said stubbornly. The tears were gone, and replaced with anger.
"They were fans Lola! It's not like I can be rude to them. For god's sake, we're having enough trouble with the band without pissing off any more fans!" He yelled.
"You don't have to be rude, but you don't have to enjoy it so much either!" She shot back. "I felt like I was a voyeur, getting ready to watch you have sex with one of them or something! They were all over you and you let it happen! We were supposed to be on a date!"
"You know what, maybe I was enjoying the attention. That's a part of being in a band, and it's something that you're going to have to get used to. I'm sorry that it happened while we were on a date, but you need to get over your insecurities and realize how in love with you I am!" He shouted at her.
Marlo froze and looked at him. Her jaw dropped to the floor, barely processing what was going on around her. She couldn't believe what he had just said.
"Well, that came out at the wrong time." He said, as if kicking himself. He looked over at her shocked face and smirked. "It's true though, and wasn't nearly as hard to say as I thought it'd be." He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Don't lie to me just to get me to forgive you." She said softly, feeling the tears resurface.
"I'm not lying Lola." He said and moved to where she still sat on the bed. "Marlo LaPointe, I never thought it could happen, but I am so in love with you." He told her as he knelt before her and grabbed her hands in his. "Those girls meant nothing to me, and for the first time I saw everything so clearly. I love you and only you. You're the one that I want to be with."
"You're wrong, you don't love me. Stop messing with me because I really can't handle you playing with my feelings right now." Marlo pleaded.
"I'm not wrong. I love you!" He smirked. "I can't believe that is so easy to say when you really mean it." He said, kind of to himself. "You better get used to hearing it. I've never said it before, and now that I have, I don't plan on stopping."
"You really love me?" She asked softly, a small smile appearing through the tears.
Tobias nodded. "More than I ever thought possible."
Marlo launched herself at Tobias and tackled him to the floor, assaulting his face with kisses. Both of them laughed as they rolled around on the floor kissing and tickling. At that moment, everything was right in the world again.
Chapter 18
"Tacos!" She yelled.
"No chance. Pizza." He countered.
"Yuk. Seafood." She rolled her eyes.
"You don't even like seafood." He challenged.
"But it would be better than pizza right now." She said, sounding like a four year old having a temper tantrum.
"Burgers."
"Gross! Pasta."
Tobias opened his mouth to protest, then shut it quickly, thinking for a moment. "I could do pasta."
"Finally!" Marlo yelled. They'd been arguing about what to have for dinner for way too long. "Grab your wallet and let's go!"
"Why am I paying?" He asked as he walked to his bedroom to get his wallet.
"Because you love me?" She said oh so innocently.
"Don't make me regret telling you." He warned playfully. "I think I can still take it back. I'll have to check the return policy on the receipt though."
"Not a chance!" Marlo protested. She felt like she had been floating since he had made his little declaration. She hadn't expected it, and it still didn't feel quite real, like he had said those words to her. In some instances she felt like it was too soon, but then she realized that they had truly had feelings for each other long before they ever got together.
"Don't worry. I meant what I said, and I'll never take it back." He told her, pulling her in for a steamy kiss.
"Oh yuk! Can't you two find somewhere else to do that?" Sammy asked, walking in to the living room.
"We could, but this is so much more fun." Tobias replied with a smile, taunting him by nibbling on Marlo's neck a little more.
Marlo giggled and smacked his arm. "What's up Sam-man?"
"Just seeing if you guys wanted to hit a couple of clubs tonight. AJ and I were thinking about getting everyone together, maybe try to smooth things over." He told them, plopping down on the couch and kicking his feet up on the coffee table.
"I'm in." Marlo said, anxious to try to get back on her brother's good side.
"I guess that means I am too." Tobias replied. "See you about 10:00 here tonight then?"
"You got it." Sammy said good bye to them as they went out the door, in search of some good pasta.
*****
Ten o'clock sharp, Sammy, AJ, Marlo, and Tobias sat waiting in the living room for
Dusty and Carly to finish getting ready. Finally, after fifteen minutes, Dusty and Carly made their appearance in the living room where everyone was not so patiently waiting.
She sneered when she walked into the room, and blatantly asked Dusty, "Tell me again why we have to go out with them."
"Carly, they're extending a peace offering. The least you could do is accept it." Tobias groaned, his impatience with her evident.
"Whatever. I forgot something. I'll be right back." She said dismissively and went back to her bedroom. Minutes later, she reappeared with a smile plastered to her face. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get this night of fun underway!"
Dusty smiled, relieved at Carly's change in attitude. He just wanted everyone to get along. It finally looked like Carly was going to make the same attempt that the rest of the group was making.
*****
Marlo was having a great night at the club, in the VIP section. She stayed a respectable distance from Carly, without making it look like she was avoiding her. No matter how much she said she was going to try to be civil, she just couldn't stand to be around the woman.
So instead, Marlo made sure she was busy on the dance floor. No one was safe from being dragged out there at one point or another. AJ was one of her most favorite dance partners so she spent a lot of time with him at the beginning of the night, until Tobias decided that he was getting tired of watching all the other guys grind against his girlfriend. From that point on, Marlo had only one dance partner.
Just as one of her favorite songs was ending, Marlo felt a tap on her shoulder. "Lola, can you do me a favor?" Dusty yelled over the music. "Carly's been in the restroom for a while, can you go check on her?"
Marlo looked to Tobias quickly, and gave him an all-knowing look before heading to the bathroom. When she walked in, there were a couple of girls at the mirror, but she didn't see Carly anywhere. She walked further into the bathroom, toward the stalls, and called out Carly's name.
When she got no answer, she called her name again. In response, she heard a faint moan at the furthest stall down. Marlo ran over and knocked on the door to the stall.
Under Her Skin Page 12