Cheap Trick: A Dawson Family Novel

by Goodwin, Emily

  If Danielle had been any other woman I’d been pursuing, a kiss would signal taking things to the next level, and we wouldn’t sit down and discuss things until later on in the relationship when we were getting serious.

  But Danielle and I are already serious, in a sense. She’s my best friend, but I don’t want to just be friends with benefits. I’m in love with her, and getting this close only to have her pull away will crush me.

  Firelight from the tiki torches flickers over Danielle’s face. Her cheeks are red, and the flush goes down her neck and over her chest. Seeing her physically react to the kiss is making me get hard again. I shift my weight in my chair and pick up my glass of water. I chug half of it.

  Danielle serves the appetizers onto both our plates. A new glass of red wine was delivered with the appetizer, and she goes right for it, taking a few big drinks before shuddering.

  “That is so dry.”

  Her face makes me laugh. “You drank half the glass before you realized that?”

  “I swallowed it before I actually tasted it.” She lets out a snort of laughter. “Sorry, that sounded dirty in my head.”

  “It kind of does sound dirty, which isn’t helping my situation right now.”

  She squirms on her chair. “Mine neither.” She takes another drink of wine, and I catch her hand after she puts the glass down.

  “Danielle,” I start, set on telling her the kiss means more to me than giving into physical needs.

  “So, Logan,” her dad butts in, scooting his chair out a bit. “Tell me about this bar you own. Danielle says it’s profitable?”

  Profits? What are profits? All I can think about right now are Danielle’s beautiful eyes and the way she makes me feel whenever we’re together.

  “Dad,” Danielle says, seeming just as flustered. “Can we not drill Logan right now?” She brings her wine to her lips again.

  “When would be a good time to drill him?”

  She chokes on the wine. Coughing, she wipes her mouth with her napkin and sets the glass down.

  “Twenty-eight years old, and you still don’t know how to handle liquids,” I quip, knowing she inhaled the wine because her mind went to the same place mine did. Well, assuming she was thinking a good time to drill me would be right fucking now.

  Fuck. I’m going to have to dump my glass of ice water on myself soon.

  Mr. Cross laughs. “All right. We can talk after dinner. No excuses this time, though.”

  “Yeah, that, uh, that’s fine,” Danielle stammers.

  “The men are having a drink after dinner,” Mr. Cross goes on. “Join us, and we can talk.”

  I nod. “Sounds good, Mr. Cross.”

  “Please, call me David. Or Dad,” he adds with a wink. “But really don’t.”

  “I’m sorry.” Danielle goes for her water this time, taking a big drink.

  “It’s fine,” I tell her. “It’s expected since we’re…we’re getting married.” The words have never sounded more contrived as they do right now. Something beautiful is starting between us, and talking like the beginning already happened seems wrong.

  The couple next to us asks us about wedding dates and plans, and Danielle does her best to sidestep everything by saying we’re in no rush and don’t want anything big or fancy anyway.

  Which is true.

  Weston’s first wedding was pretty typical, I’d say. Dean and Kara’s was a bit extra because of Kara, and Quinn and Archer got married in Disney World. Wes and Scarlet’s wedding was more my style, something small with close family and friends. But if Danielle did want a big wedding, I’d—wait.

  We just kissed for the first time a few minutes ago.

  Now I’m reaching for my wine.

  The rest of the night goes by in a similar fashion, and it’s so fucking weird to go from pretending to be a happy engaged couple who kiss and fuck and fight and make up all the time to pretending to be the same while ignoring the fact we finally kissed.

  After dinner, Diana—who’s a little drunk—grabs Danielle’s arm and tells her she has to go to the bar near the pool and have a drink with her, celebrating her last night as a “single lady”.

  “I don’t feel like drinking,” Danielle tells her sister.

  Diana dramatically gasps. “Are you pregnant?”

  Danielle rolls her eyes. “I’ve been drinking all night, and not drinking doesn’t mean someone is pregnant. That conclusion annoys me, actually.”

  “Well, by the way you two were all over each other, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Diana laughs.

  Danielle gently pulls her arms from her sister’s grasp. “Go get a drink and enjoy the night. We…we, uh, want to be all over each other again.” Danielle cringes as she talks, and I’m feeling the pressure even more to tell her this isn’t just some sort of no-strings hook-up. I don’t want her thinking that’s what I see this as.

  I love her.

  “Come on,” Diana pesters. “Just have one drink. And isn’t Logan having drinks with Dad and Peter? We’re all going to be family soon anyway.”

  “It’s okay,” I tell Danielle, knowing part of her hesitation was so I wouldn’t have to suffer through fake conversation with her father.

  “Fine. One drink,” Danielle tells Diana. She looks at me, and I can’t help but smile, feeling heat flood my veins, tingling the tip of my cock. Dammit. “And I’ll call you when we’re done, and we can meet back up.”

  Diana pulls Danielle out of her seat, looping her arm through hers and leading her away from the table.

  “Logan,” Peter calls as Danielle walks away. “You’re joining us, right?”

  “Yeah. I am.”

  * * *

  I sit back, swirling whiskey around my glass before taking a drink. Never in my life did I think I could be sitting outside at a bar along the ocean, drinking top-shelf whiskey that I’m not even paying for, and want to leave.

  For the last twenty minutes, David and Peter’s father have been complaining about how a country club back in Connecticut takes “any kind of people” nowadays “as long as they pay.” I’ve considered breaking my glass and using the shards to gouge my eyes out just so I can have a legitimate reason to leave this conversation, but then my mother’s voice rang loud in my head.

  Country clubs and Ivy League schools are their thing. And that’s okay. I shouldn’t chastise them for having different interests as me. But this white-collar, keeping-up-with-the-Jones thing isn’t me.

  And it isn’t Danielle either.

  “Logan,” David starts, setting his glass on the bar top. He’s a man used to intimidating people, I can tell. It’ll piss him off when that shit doesn’t work on me. “We don’t know each other well yet, but we do have one thing in common.”

  “We both care about Danielle and want her to be happy,” I supply, and he nods.

  “Right you are. She’s my little girl, no matter how old she gets. You understand that, right?”

  “I do. Making Danielle happy makes me happy.”

  “Good, good.” He claps me on the back. “She’s smart and has so much potential. You might be the last one who can convince her to go back to grad school. Between you and me, I’ll be able to get her into a top-notch internship that will set her up for life.”

  I shake my head. “Danielle doesn’t want to go back to grad school.”

  “Of course she does! Grad school is hard, trust me, I know.” He looks at the others sitting around us and laughs, making sure everyone knows he went to grad school. “But the payoff is worth it. She’ll thank you when she has a good job.”

  “I disagree.”

  Everyone in our party stiffens.

  “You disagree?”

  “Danielle doesn’t want to go back to grad school,” I repeat. “She told me she doesn’t want to.”

  “You haven’t known my daughter that long. Grad school has always been part of the plan. She’ll regret it if she doesn’t go. She needs it to get a good job and be successful.”

 
“She doesn’t think so.”

  David slowly shakes his head. He’s not used to be questioned, and it’s taken him aback. “A good education, a solid, respectable job…how can you argue against that? It was our ten-year plan and the thing Danielle has wanted her whole life. She’s going through something, which is common, but she will regret it if she doesn’t get back on track and out of that town.”

  “Have you even asked her what makes her happy?” I finish my whiskey and set the glass on the bar. “It’s not grad school or fancy jobs.” I lean toward David. “You say she’s going through something, but have you ever stopped to consider the pressure you put on her to follow a life she doesn’t want to live is the cause of all of that?”

  “I…she…how dare you speak to me like that.”

  Out of respect for Diana and Peter—though I don’t think that asshole deserves any—I leave it at that and get up and walk away before my temper gets the best of me. I don’t really know where I’m going, but I keep walking until I’m back in the lobby of the hotel. Stopping to get my phone from my pocket, I realize I still have Danielle’s phone too. Fuck. I don’t know where she went with her sister. Assuming they stayed at the resort, I head through the lobby to check out another bar.

  Her sister is there, but Danielle isn’t. Diana thinks Danielle left to look for me, which means we probably just missed each other. This resort is huge, and each bar is on different ends. If I walk back, there’s a chance we’ll miss each other all over again.

  I hang around the tiki bar with the bridesmaids for a bit, waiting to see if Danielle comes back. Ten minutes later, I head out to look for her, feeling drawn to the water for some reason.

  I’m halfway to the other bar, walking outside, when I look out at the water. Danielle is standing on the shore, long hair blowing in the breeze behind her.

  “Danielle,” I say, coming up behind her. She turns, and a smile breaks out on her face. I can’t get to her fast enough.

  “Hey,” she says, turning. Her arms are crossed tightly over her chest, and goosebumps cover her arms. There’s a good chance things will be weird now that the moment has come and past.

  “Are you cold?”

  “Just a little chilled.”

  I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close to my body. “Does this help?”

  “Yeah, it does. Thank you.” She shuffles closer, resting her head against my chest. My eyes fall shut, and I rest my head against hers.

  “I have your phone. I didn’t realize I still did until I went to call you.”

  “I remembered after I frantically looked in my purse for it.” Her arms are pulled in, sandwiched between her body and mine, trying to stay warm.

  “How are you cold?” I ask with a laugh. “It’s still hot outside.”

  “The breeze coming in over the ocean is cool, but I like watching the waves at night. It’s hypnotic.”

  “It is.” I run my hands up and down her arms, warming up her skin. Then I take her hand, lead her away from the damp sand, and sit on the beach. She sits between my legs, with her back to my chest. I wrap my arms around her, and she leans back, resting her head against me.

  “This is nice,” she says quietly, tipping her head up to mine.

  It’s better than nice. It’s perfect. Running my fingertips along her arm, I look down at her pretty face.

  “The ocean’s so big.” Her voice is quiet, and her eyes are set on the dark water. “I know that sounds like an obvious statement, but when you think about it, it’s almost hard to fathom. It’s so big across and then so deep at the same time. It’s weird to think how we’re just up here on the surface and so much is going on deep below, isn’t it?”

  “I’ve never really thought about it like that, but yeah, it is. There’s so much unknown in the ocean.”

  “Right! That’s why it freaks me out,” she says with a laugh. “But I do kind of wish we had time to go snorkeling. Seems pretty safe.”

  “I think so. We’ll add it to the list of things we want to do when we come back.”

  She puts her hand over mine. “I’d like that.”

  “Maybe we should just stay. Extend our vacation another week.”

  “Or two.” She twists in my arms, looking into my eyes. “Can you imagine the fit Owen would throw if he found out we decided to just stay here a bit longer?”

  I laugh. “I can because I’ve seen him throw a fit like that. And now staying is even more tempting.” I bring my head down, unable to help myself any longer. My lips got to her neck, and a soft moan escapes Danielle’s lips.

  “It’s really…tempting.”

  “Should we resist temptation?”

  She spins in my arms, breaking out of my embrace. Brows furrowing, she locks eyes with me. I swallow hard, heart in my throat. We shared one epic kiss earlier, and I refuse to let that be our one and only. Each kiss will be better than the last.

  My hands settle on her waist, directing her back to me. I straighten my legs and urge her forward. Danielle’s breath leaves in a huff as she straddles me, dress bunching up around her tight little ass.

  Cock jumping from the feel of her on top of me, I push her hair back and cup her face in my hands.

  “No,” she breathes. “We shouldn’t resist it.”

  Chapter 21

  Danielle

  Everything hums inside of me. Every nerve in my body. Every inch of flesh. I’m straddling Logan, feeling his cock harden against me. I rock my hips, and just the fabric of his pants rubbing against me sends a jolt through me.

  My face is cupped by both his large hands, and when he inches those long fingers along my cheek, I can’t help but quiver. Because I know without a doubt those long fingers are going to be exploring more of my body tonight.

  “Logan,” I breathe, but don’t get any more words out. He puts his mouth to mine and moves his hand to the back of my head, taking a tangle of hair in his grasp. I widen my legs, pressing myself down against his lap. His cock is getting harder, and—holy shit—it feels huge.

  He brings his hands down to my hips, gripping me tight and pushing me down against himself. Then he angles his hips up, rubbing his hard cock against me. Fuck! I toss my head back, nails digging into his back. I’m getting wet already, and I swear he could make me come like this, rubbing against me through my panties.

  I’m straddling Logan. Feeling his hard cock press against me. In the back of my mind, I know this could be a terrible idea.

  He’s my best friend. The one person in the world I know I can always count on. I should stop. Break away and get up.

  Because sex can complicate things, and I don’t want to ruin what we have.

  He pushes my hair over my shoulder and puts his lips to my neck, kissing and sucking at my skin with fury. It sends a jolt to me, making me even wetter than I already was. His desperation makes mine worse, and now all self-control has gone out the window.

  My lips part, and if I weren’t kneeling in the sand, my legs would buckle and give out. Letting his hand fall down over my shoulder, he grabs one of my breasts through my dress. I’m not wearing a bra, and his fingers circle my pert nipple. I rock my hips again, rubbing myself against him.

  “You are so fucking beautiful,” he says between kisses, pinching my nipple between his index finger and thumb. I pitch forward, pussy so wet and so hot I need to come before I explode. His fingers go to the zipper on the back of my dress, and I put one hand on his cheek, kissing him with fervor.

  He starts to undo my zipper, and my hands fall to his pants, fumbling with his belt. I get it unbuckled, and he starts to inch down the zipper.

  “Danielle,” he pants, breaking away.

  Having his lips not on mine is like not breathing. Why the hell did he stop?

  “Let’s go to our room.”

  Room? What room? Oh shit, right. We’re on the beach. A public beach. I blink, looking behind Logan at the glowing lights of our resort.

  “I…I forgot where we were,” I admit, inhaling dee
p. Logan pulls the zipper back up, but I don’t have that kind of self-control. My hands are still on his cock, feeling the length and girth through his pants.

  I don’t know if that thing is going to fit inside of me. It if does, it might destroy me in the best way possible.

  “There’s no one out here,” I groan.

  “Fuck me.” Logan puts his mouth to mine, unable to resist any longer. In a swift movement, he flips us over and moves between my legs.

  “I plan to,” I whisper as I go to kiss him again. His tongue pushes inside my mouth, and my pussy contracts. I want to push his head down and feel that tongue against my clit.

  Voices echo along the beach. We stop kissing, but Logan makes no attempt to move off of me, and I’m still wrapped all around him. Separating will be physically impossible.

  Swallowing hard, Logan starts to sit up. I don’t want to stop because what if the moment is over? I’m so wound up and turned on it’s going to take a lot to ruin the moment though.

  Logan gets up and extends a hand for me. Sand falls off me, and Logan laces his fingers through mine. Licking my lips, I look down at his cock, which is so big and so hard it’s barely contained by his pants.

  I mean to tell him that I’ll walk in front of him and we’ll go straight to our room. But it comes out as, “I want you,” which doesn’t help our situation at all. Hand in hand, we rush into the hotel. The elevator is crowded, and standing here, smashed up against Logan and his monster dick, I start to think about what we almost did.

  And how much I want to do it.

  We get into the room, and with anyone else, the vibe would be gone and things would be a little weird. But it’s not.

  Not at all.

  Logan’s arms go around me as soon as the door shuts, and it’s like we never stopped. Pushing me up against the door, he gathers my dress up in one hand while kissing my neck. I slit my eyes open as I wrap my arms around him.

  My heart is racing and my breath hitches. Logan’s hands are on me. One is edging dangerously close to my core, and I almost can’t believe this is happening.