by Kayla Perrin
Dammit, why couldn’t she stop thinking about Aaron? This was stupid.
“Another round of shooters?” Maxine asked.
“Actually,” Bonnie said, sneaking a glance at Wilma, “we should be going.”
“Already?” Tasha asked. “I like this bar.” She glanced around at the decor, which ran toward Mexican paintings and artifacts. “I feel like I’m in Cancún.”
“It’s nice, but we’ve got to get going,” Bonnie said, and helped her down from the stool. “We’ve got a tight schedule to keep.”
“Thank you, Peter,” Wilma said, her voice low and flirtatious.
“You ladies don’t do any serious damage now,” he cautioned playfully.
“What fun would that be?” Wilma asked.
“I wonder what the guys are up to right now,” Tasha said as Bonnie led her to the bar’s exit.
“Don’t you worry about the guys,” Bonnie said. “Ryan’s celebrating his last night of freedom, and so are you.”
Melissa could only imagine what the guys were up to. Probably something raunchy. Naked women dancing all over them. Aaron was undoubtedly reveling in the experience.
It was ludicrous that anyone was even talking about there being any spark of attraction for her on his part. They’d dated—and he’d dumped her.
All Melissa knew was that she was older, wiser and not about to be flattered by a guy looking at her, even if his smoky eyes were the sexiest she’d ever seen.
And now that she knew that the bridal party was practically taking bets on when she would bed Aaron, she was all the more determined to give him the cold shoulder over the next couple of days. Let someone else become victim to his charms. Melissa was past that.
Chapter 8
“Why are we stopping?” Ryan asked.
Beside him, Aaron clamped a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll see, cuz.”
Ryan shot him a suspicious glance. “I thought we were heading to a bar in another part of town. Isn’t that what you said when we got back on this bus?”
“Actually,” Aaron began, “some guests will be joining the party.”
Music was blaring in the party bus and the drinks were flowing. The party was in full swing.
“Hey...” Ryan frowned. “I specifically told you guys no strippers.”
“Just sit back and relax,” Jeremy, Ryan’s older brother, said.
“Jeremy, I promised your wife we wouldn’t do anything scandalous. Not to mention I promised Tasha.”
Dave, Ryan’s friend and best man, made his way to the front of the bus. The song playing on the speakers changed to an old favorite, and the seductive words “Do you mind if I stroke you up” blared through the limo.
“You all ready?” Dave asked.
The doors opened. A twirling feather boa was the first thing that appeared. Aaron looked at Ryan, who was shaking his head. “Come on, guys. You know this isn’t what I wanted for tonight. I just wanted to hang with the guys.”
“Ryan,” Aaron said, “stop talking.”
“Wait, what?” Ryan asked when the woman fully appeared. She strutted farther into the vehicle, heading toward Jeremy. “What is this?” Ryan asked.
“Your surprise,” Aaron answered.
Then he heard, “This isn’t our bus,” and his breath stopped. That was Melissa’s voice.
“Sure it is,” Bonnie said.
“Are there strippers on this bus?” was the next question. “Because I didn’t agree to—”
Bonnie yanked on a hand, pulling the protesting woman up the steps.
Melissa.
Aaron swallowed. Though he’d seen her earlier, as his gaze settled on her now, he felt a fresh stirring inside his body.
Her hair was down, hanging just past her shoulders. She’d curled it, and it looked amazing, with soft tendrils floating around the front of her face. Her eyes were narrowed, her confusion evident as she checked out the occupants of the party bus. Aaron’s eyes went lower. Her purple shirt clung to her breasts, and the white jeans she was wearing were like a second skin.
Wow, those curves.
His breath caught in his chest. She was beautiful.
Wilma shimmied her way over to Jeremy, while Tasha appeared next. Her eyes lit up, and then she began to giggle. “Ryan?”
Maxine entered the bus last, and she too started to laugh. Then, as was the plan, all the women in the bridal party headed toward their respective partners and began to dance in front of them.
Everyone except Melissa.
Aaron made eye contact with her and raised his eyebrows, hoping she would catch his drift that she was to play along.
Ryan, looking awestruck, hurried to Tasha. He pulled her against him and started to dance. Then he faced his groomsmen. “You guys got me. I thought you had strippers entering the bus. I was about to kill you all.”
Tasha looped her feather boa around Ryan’s neck. “You’re not disappointed, are you?”
“Absolutely not,” Ryan told her. “I couldn’t be happier.”
As the two started to kiss, the other men started to dance in front of their respective partners. Melissa stood, staring awkwardly around.
Wow, so she wouldn’t even be a sport and dance with him?
Aaron slow danced his way over to her. He saw the flash of panic in her eyes. Was she really that unhappy to be around him?
Or was she feeling something else?
She crossed her arms, her lips pulling into a tight line. She seemed completely unhappy.
Aaron knew that things hadn’t ended in the best way between them, but they’d both been much younger at the time. He’d hoped that this wedding would give them a chance to reconnect.
He stopped in front of her, but kept his body moving to the beat of the music. “Come on, Melissa. Smile.”
“I... I thought I was being lured onto a bus with male strippers.”
“Are you disappointed?” Aaron asked.
“No. Of course not. Just...taken aback. I need a moment.”
Aaron glanced around at everyone else on the bus. They were either dancing or pouring drinks. Having a good time.
“We decided to have a little fun with the bride and groom,” Aaron explained. “Make them both think we’d ignored their wishes and had raunchy things and debauchery waiting for them.”
“Cute,” Melissa said, but the tone of her voice told him that she thought the stunt was anything but cute.
Wow, she was a tough cookie. Despite the happy partiers around them, she stood still, as if determined to be miserable.
That wouldn’t do.
Aaron slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Come on, don’t be a poor sport.”
She glanced around, and seeing everyone else having a good time, she began to sway to the music with all the enthusiasm of someone with a gun held to her head.
“There you go,” Aaron said, smiling. “It’s not killing you to dance with me, is it?”
She said nothing, but at least she didn’t pull away from him. He tightened his grip on her, his breath catching as her soft breasts pressed against his chest. Man, she felt good, smelled good. And even with annoyance in her eyes, she looked irresistible.
“You don’t have to hold me so tightly,” Melissa said, squirming a little.
Oh, she was feisty. Aaron wondered how that attitude played out in the bedroom.
“You’re not interested in getting to know me again?”
Instead of answering, she cut her eyes at him. She was trying hard, but Aaron felt something simmering beneath her outrage.
Passion.
She was fighting the obvious attraction between them.
Aaron urged her closer. “You feel good.”
“Aaron, please.”
“Please what? Whatever you want, I’ll
do.”
Her eyes widened in horror, but he caught the flash of a spark. There was heat in her horrified gaze.
Good. He needed to know that he wasn’t the only one feeling the pull of attraction.
“I’m not asking you to...you know that’s not...” She could hardly get her words out.
He swayed with her slowly, looking down into her eyes. She glanced back at him awkwardly, then around at the others. It was clear she didn’t want to look into his eyes.
Was she afraid that her frosty exterior would melt?
“Hey,” Aaron said softly.
She slowly lifted her gaze, a question in her eyes. Her chest rose and fell with a heavy breath, and her lips parted slightly.
Heat zapped his groin. Damn, he wanted to kiss her.
Aaron didn’t know what he’d expected when he’d seen her again, but he hadn’t really been prepared for this reaction to her. He had hoped to reconnect and renew their friendship. But this visceral pull? This was more than he’d anticipated.
All he could think about was getting her naked.
“I’m not the same guy you knew before,” Aaron told her, his voice low.
“I know,” she said. “I’ve read the papers. Seen the news stories. You’ve led quite the life as a star.”
Aaron frowned. “You can’t believe everything you read in the paper.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure.”
“What have you heard?” Aaron asked. Though he pretty much knew. Everything he’d done had been reported—and exaggerated—in the media. If he had coffee at a café in Rome with a female friend, the paparazzi wondered who the new “flame” in his life was. Heck, some of the stories had been downright lies.
The piercing sound of a whistle sounded on the bus. All eyes went to Bonnie, who stood at the front. “Sorry, y’all, but it’s time to go. We have to get back to our respective partying.”
“Nooo,” Tasha protested, but Bonnie was already locking arms with her.
“What have you heard about me?” Aaron asked Melissa, hoping she would answer.
Instead, she pulled herself away from him. “We’ve got to go.”
And not a moment too soon for her, Aaron surmised. She was no doubt happy for the chance to escape.
“We’ll continue this conversation later,” he said.
“No. We won’t.”
She angled her jaw, trying to look defiant. But Aaron could see that she was flustered.
He knew the feeling.
Seeing her again had shifted his world off its axis. Gone was the shy, somewhat awkward teenage girl he’d gotten to know that long-ago summer. She had blossomed into a radiant beauty. A sexy, mature woman.
One he wanted very much to get to know.
Chapter 9
“I’ve never forgotten you. Never forgotten our time together.”
Aaron’s voice was husky, and his fingers were warm as they traced her face. Melissa’s lips parted on a sigh. She could look into his eyes all day, every day and not get bored. How was one man so darn sexy?
“You don’t have to say that,” Melissa whispered.
“I’m not saying anything I don’t mean.” Aaron angled her face upward, lowered those full sexy lips and softly captured hers. The kiss sent a jolt of electricity racing through her body, and delicious heat tingled through her veins.
“Baby...”
Melissa reached for his face. But all she felt was air.
Her eyes flew open, a sense of disorientation and panic instantly hitting her. For a moment, she was confused. One minute she had been with Aaron, his lips on hers. His hands gently touching her face. Now...
She was in her old bed in her parents’ house.
She’d been dreaming.
About Aaron.
For a long moment, she lay there, her chest rising and falling with harried breaths. Hadn’t it been bad enough that she’d had to see Aaron? Now she was dreaming about him?
She needed her head examined.
Melissa turned onto her side, and that’s when she felt the first stab of pain in her temple. Good Lord, her head hurt.
Then she remembered. The night before. Making the rounds at different bars in Buffalo. Having one too many shots.
Suddenly, there was a noise, some sort of blaring. It took a full couple of seconds for Melissa to realize that it was the alarm clock on her cell phone going off.
She rolled over in bed and fumbled for the phone on the night table. Another few seconds passed before she was successfully able to swipe the screen and stop the annoying noise.
Then she dropped backward on the pillow.
For the first time in years, she was hungover.
Worse, she was aroused.
“I’m never drinking again,” she muttered, then got out of bed.
* * *
Melissa took a long, cool shower, but it still felt as though her brain were in a fog. The throbbing headache would not subside. No surprise there. She hadn’t had that many drinks in a long time. At her age, she could no longer drink like a college student.
She wanted to regret the previous night, but the truth was, it had been fun. And just what Tasha needed. Her cousin had had an amazing time, and she was no longer worried about the wedding and things going wrong. The night on the town had been worth it just to see her cousin happy—even if at the end of the night Tasha had ended up weeping, talking about how much she missed Ryan and that she couldn’t wait to see him and never leave him again.
Melissa couldn’t help chuckling at the memory as she got into her car. It was nice to know that her cousin had found that special kind of love. From everything she knew about Ryan, he was a stand-up guy. Unlike his cousins, there had never been a hint of scandal about him. She felt confident that Tasha was going to marry a man who truly did love her and would always honor and respect her.
The bridal party was to meet at three in the afternoon for coffee and pastries. Melissa would need the largest coffee she could get, with at least a couple of espresso shots.
Hopefully the espresso would help fully sober her up—and keep thoughts of Aaron from invading her brain.
* * *
All the women appeared to be in the same boat when they arrived at the coffee shop—hungover and badly in need of caffeine. Wilma wore dark shades that she didn’t take off. Unlike the night before, she was quiet. She downed two cups of coffee in no time, but Melissa got the feeling that she would have preferred to have it injected into her arm.
Melissa would have preferred that, too.
But despite everyone’s clear fatigue and recovery mode from last night, there were some smiles and a definite sense of satisfaction throughout the group.
“Does anyone know whatever happened to all the beads I had?” Tasha asked.
“You started giving them away to random guys,” Melissa said. “They gave you a kiss on the cheek, you gave them a bead. It was all very...cute.”
“Why do I have no memory of that?” Tasha asked.
“Because you had way too much to drink, my dear,” Maxine said and patted her hand.
Only Arlene was completely fine today. “Sounds like I missed quite the night. I could have used it.”
“You can still let loose at the wedding. There are plenty of good times left to be had,” Maxine told her.
“I, for one, am not drinking again,” Melissa said. “I’m too old for this.”
“Hush,” Wilma said. “We’ve got a day to recover.”
After enough coffee to keep them going and pastries to fill their stomachs, the bridal party headed to the nail salon. The salon owner had put out a big sign offering congratulations to Tasha in the back of the shop, and every seat that was reserved for them had a string of flowers adorning the sides and top. It was a nice touch, and the tears that welled in Tasha
’s eyes had them all collectively saying “aw.”
Melissa gave Tasha a spontaneous hug. She was finally getting caught up in the excitement of the wedding. One more day, and her cousin would be married off.
Melissa wasn’t excited about the rehearsal, however, which was to take place at seven o’clock at the church.
After last night on the bus with Aaron, Melissa felt even more awkward. Seeing him tonight and tomorrow at the wedding was going to be hard to endure.
Already, he was starting to invade her thoughts, and not in a good way. Why on earth had she dreamed of him? Imagining his lips on hers, his fingers softly skimming her skin... It was too much to handle.
She didn’t know what it was about being back in this town and seeing Aaron again that had her so...flustered. It wasn’t like her to even feel hot and bothered. She certainly hadn’t spent restless nights dreaming of her last boyfriend.
As she watched the rest of the ladies settle into the chairs for their pedicures, it hit her just what was going on. Being away from work, her brain was unoccupied with the various crises she was used to and the day-to-day business of running the group home. Which meant she had all the time in the world to think about the here and now. And surely the alcohol didn’t help—she was not used to drinking so much. Coupled with the fact that Aaron really was the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on, her subconscious brain could not stop her from thinking about sex.
Whoa...sex?
Though the women around her couldn’t read her thoughts, Melissa shot nervous glances at them. She hoped that her eyes and facial expression didn’t indicate what was going through her mind. She sat in the pedicure chair and tried to relax.
“I’m thinking of having one of my nails painted blue,” Tasha said. “You know, for something blue.”
Melissa tuned them out, her thoughts wandering back to Aaron. Was she really thinking about sex with him?