“I know. Isn’t it awesome?”
“Whatever you say brother. No more, ok. Mom and Dad will flip their shit if Ryder brings you home like this.”
Ryder takes Julien’s arm. “I’ve got him. He won’t drink anymore tonight. I promise. Congratulations, Jules. You deserve it.”
“Damn straight I do,” he hiccups and makes a face. “That tastes awful.”
“Let’s see if we can’t get you some coffee. I’m sure Curtis has some somewhere.”
“You ready to go baby girl?” Jayson asks me.
“Yes, please. And I’m driving.”
I give a hug to Julien but when I go to hug Ryder bye, he presses his cheek against mine. “Good night, Elizabeth.”
“Goodnight, Ryder.”
He helps Julien back inside and we watch until they disappear back into the house.
“Where to, princess? Want to grab a late dinner?”
“Chili dogs. My treat.”
We get in his truck and buckle up. “No onions.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m having you for dessert, sweet girl.”
I'm woken up from a deep sleep by a noise. I crack my eyes open and see the bright red numbers of my alarm clock show that it’s three in the morning. After our late-night hotdog dinner, Jayson and I snuck up into my room and made love before falling into an exhausted sleep. I hear the noise again. It sounds like crying. I try to turn over to get out of bed, but Jayson pulls me back to him.
“Go back to sleep, Liz,” he murmurs into his pillow.
“I think Hailey is crying. I’m going to take a quick peek into her room.”
Jayson lifts his head up. “I don’t hear anything.”
His hand moves down to my bare stomach and I forget what I was talking to him about. Oh, right.“I swear I heard crying.”
There’s no other sound but the sound of my sheets rustling as Jayson moves lower and takes my nipple into his mouth. I pull his head closer to me, arching my back, offering my body to him like a sacrifice.
“I thought you said I had to go back to sleep.”
He bites down gently and everything inside of me clenches, desire pooling between my legs.
“Not sleepy anymore.”
He rolls over on top of me. Pulling my hands above my head, Jayson slides into me with one thrust. The only sounds now are the hushed tones of our pants and moans as Jayson takes me and makes me his.
Chapter 18
Elizabeth
Instead of going to our morning breakfast meet-up before school, I tell the guys I’m going with Hailey this morning so we can track down Maria. She’s ghosted me for days and I’m starting to wonder if she’s mad at me or just upset about her break-up with Ryder. I could see things weren’t good between them lately, but I’m her friend and would like to be there for her.
“Mom! Did you sign that permission slip for school yet?” Hailey yells from upstairs. I take a bite of my gluten-free muffin.
I hear Mom mumble “oh crap.”
