by P. G. Van
“Well, my dad is into farming and so is the bride’s dad and that’s how my brother was set up with his fiancée,” Neel explained.
“What do you mean set up? You mean an arranged marriage?” I looked around the table wondering if I was the only one who was surprised.
“Yup, my brother is having an arranged marriage,” Neel confirmed.
“I don’t know how they agreed to it.” Annie shook her head as if she was still in disbelief.
“I think its kinda cool and romantic,” Chloe wrapped her arms around herself.
“So, when do we need to be there for the wedding, Neel?” I asked.
“Well, the wedding and reception is on Saturday afternoon but we should get there by Thursday evening for the Mehendi.”
“What? Why Thursday if the wedding is on a Saturday?” I asked confused.
“Vinnie, it’s an Indian wedding, and the wedding ceremonies start on the Wednesday before the wedding. We are just going to show up fashionably late on Thursday.” Annie laughed.
“What am I supposed to wear?” I asked feeling the pressure.
“Wait a minute, my fake girlfriend is a fake Indian too?” Neel asked nudging me.
“I’m technically Indian because my parents are but…” I started to say, but I realized I had no identification with the Indian culture.
“I got you covered girl and Neel is paying for his girlfriend’s stuff anyway…we should go shopping together,” Annie offered.
“No, I don’t want him to pay for it.” I objected.
“He can afford it. It’s not like he has spent all his money on his ex-girlfriends,” Annie taunted.
“Easy, Annie. Now that I have a girlfriend, you are the target at the wedding. People will be asking you if everything is okay with you and why you don’t have a boyfriend,” Neel teased.
“Eddie, Reyan…who wants to be my fake boyfriend?” Annie asked hopefully.
“Not me. Too many people at the wedding know me, and they won’t believe it,” Reyan declared with no second thoughts.
“Annie, you don’t need fake boyfriends, you can be the bachelorette at the wedding,” I cheered.
“Between Reyan and Neel, I don’t have time for a real boyfriend.”
“It’s not our fault you are ambitious,” Neel snapped.
I listened to the back and forth between Annie and the rest of the group, and I realized that every word coming out of Annie’s mouth would have been what I would have said about being in a relationship at that point.
On the other hand, when I looked at Reyan, my thoughts went haywire, and I lost all focus. I couldn’t figure out what was so special about him that made me question my resolve. I was probably just another girl who he found interesting because I was just different from the women he had been with in the past. I knew I had to quench my thirst and satisfy his need just to put an end to the madness. He and I needed to move on as there was no hope for us together.
We were just too different.
“Is Reyan your ride for tonight?” Annie asked as we stepped out of the restaurant.
“Yup,” Reyan jumped in before I could object.
“This way.” He led me through an alley that was next to the restaurant to his bike.
“You were planning to give me a ride on your bike?”
“It seats two,” he said sounding like a used car salesman.
“I’m just gonna hail a cab.”
Reyan reached and wrapped his fingers around my wrist and yanked me towards him. I wanted to slap him not out of annoyance or anger, but to touch him.
“Let me remind you that you said you would let me take you home tonight,” he whispered his breath burning my ear.
Chapter 8
It was almost eleven o’clock by the time we reached home. I got off Reyan’s bike and took off my helmet. I stood looking at him in silence not knowing what to say.
“You said we could talk tonight,” he finally said still balancing the motorbike with his feet on he ground.
“Do we have to?” I whined and added, “I need Starbucks coffee if we have to talk tonight.”
“Fine, let’s go get coffee then.”
“I am not getting on your bike again. You drive like a maniac, it’s eleven o’clock on Saturday, and there are very few of the coffee shops open this late.”
He parked the bike and got off the bike standing tall in front of me.
“Excuses, excuses…If I get you coffee tonight, will you talk to me?”
“Not just any coffee, I want a Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks.” I knew there was no way he was going to go buy me coffee.
“Done!! Give me fifteen minutes.”
“Reyan, don’t be silly. The Starbucks that is open at this hour is at least ten minutes away and you shouldn’t be going now. We can talk later,” I said to him as he typed away on his phone.
When he did not look up or respond, I took the opportunity to admire his profile as he stared at his phone. He had an extremely symmetrical face and was definitely the best-looking guy I had ever met. I was disgusted at myself for being shallow but soon realized that it was his charming nature I had found most appealing. He made me flirt with him even when I thought he was gay.
“You checking me out Vinnie?” Reyan asked without looking up from his phone and jolted me out of my thoughts.
“Don’t flatter yourself too much, I was just wondering what you were doing on your phone.”
“I was ordering your drink and look,” he said showing me his phone and added, “Your drink will arrive in seven minutes.”
“That’s not possible, there is no delivery service from Starbucks.”
“It’s my own service, exclusively for you.” He winked.
I crossed my arms in front of me and said, “I will believe it when I see it.”
“Are you going to invite me in this time?”
“I don’t know. If I get my coffee, then we need to talk so I might invite you in then.”
“Fair enough!!”
“We don’t have to wait until my coffee arrives to start talking.”
“If you are hoping I will be done in the next seven minutes,” he paused and moved closer to me and added, “I won’t be done.”
“Whatever, what did you want to talk about?”
“I want to talk about you. I want to know you, know what you like and what you don’t like.”
“You are wasting your time Reyan. What do you really want to know?”
He took a deep breath and cupped my face with his palms. “I want to know why you got into that ambulance the night of the accident.”
I looked away from him to hide my emotions as memories came crashing down.
I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes and said, “You asked me to, didn’t you?”
“You could have said no like when I asked you out on a date.”
“Reyan, why does it matter now? Anyone in that situation would have done what I did.”
“You and I both know that any other person would have called 911 and left.”
I looked at his resolute face as he stood waiting for me to answer, and I could not get myself to tell him to mind his own business. He had the ability to turn me into a softy.
“My mom and dad passed away in an accident when their car rolled off the highway.”
“I am sorry,” Reyan said and wrapped his arms around me, flattening my cheek on his chest. I felt my heart weigh me down with the pain, and I wound my arms around him tightly. I stayed in the comfort of his embrace, and I was amazed at how secure I felt in the arms of a guy I barely met a few weeks ago.
“I still believe they would have been alive if someone had seen their car roll off the highway.” I took a deep breath as tears threatened to gather in my eyes. I felt Reyan’s palm run gently along my back. We held each other, and I kept telling myself that I should take a step away from Reyan, but I could not get my body to move away from him. He knew my soft spots or knew how to get to them.
/> I finally pulled back when he planted a kiss in my hair and looked into his eyes. “I didn’t know what was going on in your head when you asked me to ride with you in the ambulance, but I did it for my mom and dad.”
“You know why I asked you to go with me?”
I looked up at him curiously.
“I passed out before I could get your phone number so I didn’t want you out of my sight. I made sure the nurse gave you my stuff so you wouldn’t leave.”
I pulled back and drove my fist gently into his abs. He laughed tilting his head back and pulled me back into his arms.
“Reyan, please stop flirting with me. Can we be friends?”
“Nope, you are too interesting and too hot to be a friend.”
“This is getting old. I need you to stop hitting on me.”
He pulled back and smiled looking into my eyes. “You have the darkest and the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. Your eyes are so dark, I can’t read you, and I want to know everything about you so I am not guessing what you are going through.”
“Reyan…” I paused when I saw a bike approach us and stopped right in the driveway.
“Are you my Starbucks buddy?” Reyan spoke to the guy on the bike. The guy on the motorbike pulled out two cups of Starbucks coffee from a box that was attached to the side of the bike. Reyan spoke to the guy for a minute before walking back towards me with the biggest grin on his face. He handed me one of the cups and said, “I hope you enjoy your coffee while we sit inside and talk.”
“Who was that guy and why did he bring you coffee?”
“Can we go inside and talk?”
“We can but few rules.”
“I will keep my clothes on.” Reyan winked, and I felt my cheeks heat up hotter than the coffee I was holding.
I turned on my heel and started walking away from him. “Good night, Reyan.”
“Okay, I am sorry,” he said as he reached out to hold my wrist.
“My room is right next to Meg’s room connected by a bathroom. I need you to be very quiet because I don’t have the energy to answer the gazillion questions she will have if she were to see you inside. Deal?”
“That’s easy.”
“I also need to know how you got the coffee delivered…before we go in.”
“Promise me you will answer all the questions I have about you.”
“Fine!!! I will.”
“So…I got the coffee delivered through a beta service.”
“What service?”
“Well, it’s something that Neel, Annie, and I have been working on for the past year.”
“Interesting, How does it work?”
“It’s simple. I send out a message to everyone that is in the location of my interest and offer certain points for someone to do something for me.”
“Points?”
“Yup, points that convert to cash every time they hit a certain threshold of points.”
“Hmm…how much did you spend for the coffee?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes, it does. I get the feeling you spent a ridiculous amount of money for coffee.”
Reyan laughed but did not respond. He wrapped his fingers around my elbow and urged me to go into the house. I entered my room from the side door and tiptoed towards the bathroom and locked the door that connected the bathroom to Meg’s room.
“If there is nothing between us, what are you trying to hide from Meg?”
“You don’t understand, she is a teenager with her imagination running wild.”
“I think we should go to my place. It’s not a good idea with Meg right next door.”
“Thanks for your concern. We are okay for tonight, she’s at a friend’s place for a sleepover.”
Reyan chuckled and settled into a chair right next to the door. He looked around my room as I put away my stuff in the dresser.
“Nice place!!”
“Thank you!! What do you want to talk about?” I sat in the other chair that was right across from him.
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his eyes boring into mine.
“I wanna know why you are fighting what you and I have going on? Why can’t you let go?”
I took a deep breath and leaned back into my chair.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“I know you do, Vinnie.”
He looked at me in silence when I did not respond. When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse and the intensity in his voice sent shudders through my body. “I want you so badly, I can’t think of anything else. I want to spend every waking minute with you, and I want you to show me how much you want me.”
“Reyan, please. I have too much going on in my life to think about what I want.”
“What do you have going on Vinnie?”
“My goal is to save up enough money so my aunt can start her business.”
“That’s good but why would wanting something stop you?”
“You are a distraction, Reyan!!” I uttered in a firm voice.
His lips curved up for a glorious smile when he heard what I said, and I shifted in the chair feeling his eyes on me. He slowly stood up and took one step towards me. I looked up at him unable to comprehend his expression. He leaned forward and took me into his arms by my shoulders.
I felt his breath tickle my ear lobe as he leaned in and whispered, “You do think about me, huh?”
I pushed him away gently and said, “I don’t, and I don’t want to.”
He chuckled deep inside and said, “You are a bad liar.”
I stood frozen as he traced the pad of his thumb along my jawline. I held my breath as I tried really hard to make sure I didn’t reveal anything about the tornado of emotions I was experiencing and the rush of blood through my veins.
“Breathe!!!” he commanded as his lips gently brushed mine. I moaned inadvertently as I felt his arm tighten around my waist. I ran my palms along his tight chest and eventually wound one arm around his neck and snaked my fingers through his thick silky hair.
I angled my head and dug my tongue through his lips and felt the ripples of pleasure build inside my body. Reyan ran his palm on my bottom and pulled me closer to him. I felt his hard arousal against my mound and felt my inside turn into goo.
“Reyan, I can’t…” I muttered against his lips.
He hushed me gently and traced the tip of his tongue along my lower lip that wouldn’t stop quivering. I felt the steam come out of my epicenter and felt the beads of moisture gather down below. Reyan was capable of making me dewy just with a kiss, and I didn’t want to think about what he would do if I were to let him continue.
“I don’t do one night stands,” I said through clenched teeth as he traced his lips lower along the length of my neck. I fisted my fingers in his hair, threw my head back letting him continue on with his invasion.
“Your skin is so soft,” he mumbled, thrusting his tongue against my ragged pulse on my neck. “I want to taste every single inch of your body.”
I let out a sound that was half a moan and half a hiss. He leaned into me and forced me back into the chair and buried his face in my lap. As he did this, he took a deep breath against my throbbing core.
“Reyan…”
“Stop lying to yourself, Vinnie. I can tell you are wet for me already.”
He reached under my sweater dress and found the waistband of my leggings. I felt his knife-edged fingers grab the waistband of my panties and in a flash, he yanked them down to my knees.
I suppressed a need to yelp by biting down on my lip as he drove into my deepest spot with his tongue. I threw my head back, my eyes rolled closed, and I dug my fingertips into his scalp as he teased my clit with the tip of his tongue.
My body pulsated with a deep longing to be filled by him as he twirled his tongue around my nub. He ran his tongue on the inner walls of my lips down below before thrusting his tongue into my pleasure cavity.
“I love it that you are so wet for
me.”
I moaned unable to form a sentence. I lost control and let my hands drop to the side when I felt him suck on my entirety as if he wanted to take in every drop of dew that had gathered. My pragmatic side had lost its fighting chance when Reyan started his seduction.
I lifted my hips off the chair forcing him to dig his tongue deeper into me. Reyan pulled away from me to bring his lips to mine with crushing hunger. I pulled him on top of me while I sank further into the plush chair. I grabbed onto to the collar of his polo shirt as he lifted me off the chair and took me to my bed.
I fell on my bed like a rag doll intoxicated by my own sexual drive. I looked at him through my lashes as he slowly unzipped my boots one at a time, all the while holding my gaze. He removed my leggings and panties that were pooled at my knees and threw them on the floor.
He went down on his knees next to my bed and nuzzled my clit, re-igniting the burn. He pulled back and before I could complain about the interruption, I heard the knock on the bathroom door from Meg’s room.
“Don’t stop,” I panted, grabbing his hair.
“Vinnie, where is Meghan?” I heard my aunt’s voice through the door.
“She is at Lisa’s for a sleepover,” I managed to respond in a steady voice.
“Okay, goodnight!!”
Reyan continued to run his tongue through my folds, and I spread out wide for him.
“You taste so good,” he mumbled and added, “I can’t stop even if you want me to.”
“Reyan, stop teasing me. Just fuck me!!”
“Not so fast. I want you to come for me.”
I moaned and called out his name as his lips found mine. I felt his thumb on my clit and his fingers entered me with ease. He moved his fingers in and out while his thumb circulated on my clit, dragging me down an abyss of pleasure. I felt the surge of sensations clash as my inner muscles tightened around his fingers, and my body shuddered as I peaked letting out my release.
I lay in his arms, my hair a mess and a bigger mess on the inside. I felt secure in his arms in spite of feeling exposed and vulnerable.
“I know you want more, but you won’t get it until you ask for it.”
“I want more,” I hissed.