“Honestly?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.
“Of course.”
“I feel like this is normal. I feel like being here with you is like no time has passed at all, and we’re right back to how it’s always been. With the exception of kissing you and trying not to jump your bones whenever I see you.” My cheeks warm. Austin’s eyes darken, and a lazy grin tugs at the corner of his mouth.
“I can relate to that feeling, but by all means, don’t hold back. Jump my bones.” He waggles his eyebrows playfully, but there’s fire in his eyes, like a dare to do just that. And I’m tempted to take the bait.
I remove my legs from his lap and reposition myself on my knees. Leaning in close, so close our mouths almost connect but just barely, I speak to him in a soft, seductive tone, “You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if I did. Don’t tempt me,” and place the softest kiss upon his lips, thenlean back and get comfortable in the nook of his arm.
He’s completely thrown. Lips parted, eyes dark and hungry. I feel his chest rise and fall in uneven breaths beneath my cheek.
Someone clears their throat, announcing their presence, and Austin shifts to readjust the bulge protruding from his pants.
“Well, well, well. Am I interrupting something?” Kash asks, plopping down on the other side of me. He waves his hand out in front of him. “Continue, I’d love to watch,” he says with a smirk, waiting for us to have at it right in front of him. Leah sits on the arm of the couch.
“Is that what you want, Kash?” I tease, giving him doe eyes. “You want to watch me fuck your best friend? Will that give you something to think about while you’re pumping your cock alone in bed tonight?” A sinful smile teasing my lips. The alcohol is making me bold. Kash scowls at me, but I know he lives for the banter. Austin laughs and pulls me closer to him, kissing the side of my head
“Down, girl,” he whispers in my ear.
“This party blows.” Kash throws his empty red solo cup on the table.
“What would you suggest we do?” Leah asks. He sits silent for a moment, scheming something up that we’ll more than likely go along with. His face illuminates as an idea comes to mind.
“Come with me.” And we follow. He grabs a bottle of vodka unattended near the door, and we all look to one another, not knowing what he’s leading us into.
TEN
VIX - PRESENT
In the heartof the HHU campus, a full-sized swimming pool sits where the water polo team and the varsity swimmers train. It’s locked and closed down every night at nine p.m. That doesn’t seem to matter to Kash, though. I’m not surprised when he effortlessly picks the lock, allowing us entrance into the pool area. A thrill blooms inside of me as I hear it click open.
Leah stands with her arms folded across her chest, terrified of someone walking by.
“We could get expelled for this!” she whispers through her teeth.
“Not if we don’t get caught,” Kash replies, opening the door for us to enter and then quickly locking it behind us.
Kash strips off his shirt, followed by his pants, and stands there in his boxers, waiting for the rest of us to follow suit. He’s gorgeous, with his shaggy, dirty blonde hair that frames his chiselled face. The dim lights are hitting his abdomen in all of the right places, making my mouth water unexpectedly. Kash is tattooed, fit as can be, and has veins protruding down hisarms to his massive hands, which pique my curiosity. I wonder what they’d feel like on my?—
“Like what you see, Gremlin?” A smug grin spreads on his face when he catches me staring. I give him a deadly glare and then quickly look away. I remove my sweatshirt and pants and stand there in my bra and panties, waiting for someone else to make a move.
I look over at Austin, whose eyes are dragging down my body. Suddenly, I feel self-conscious. I’m usually very confident in my skin, never one to hide from showing my body, but with the way Aus is looking at me right now, I feel like I’m in a room full of people completely naked. He takes a step back and removes his own clothing, tugging his shirt over his head first, his eyes never leaving mine. His tatted chest and bulky arms visible in the faint light of the pool room. That’s when I see it—the number thirteen inked into his skin, right above his heart. My heart starts hammering in my chest. There’s something feral in his gaze, and I feel an ache building between my thighs from his stare.
Kash cannonballs into the pool, splashing all of us and snapping me out of my lust-filled daze. A fit of laughter breaks free from my lips as Austin scoops me up in his arms and jumps straight in, not giving me even a moment to protest or scream before the water envelops me, and we go under. Reaching the surface, I take a breath, then reach for Austin’s head and shove him under the water. He resurfaces laughing and shrugging at me like he just couldn’t help himself.
“Get in the water, Leah!” Kash shouts, splashing water her way.
“Fuck off! I didn’t wear this to ruin it in the pool tonight!” she whines.
“Take it off, take it off, take it off!” Austin starts chanting,and I join as we both splash her until she has no choice but to submit and jump in the pool, clothes and all.
We spend the next hour passing around the bottle of vodka, telling stories about our high school days and what we hope to do together the following year. Austin’s arms are wrapped around my body, with his chest pressed against my back. The contact has my mind wandering to things I shouldn’t be thinking about right now, like how it would feel to dip my hand beneath the water and trail my fingers up his thigh. I wonder what he would do if I slipped beneath his boxers to rub on his cock, just to know what he feels like. It’s torture. Being this close to him and not having all of him yet.
Leah is floating at the far end of the pool, and Kash is rocking out to music on his phone, playing air guitar like he’s playing to a sold-out stadium. The bottle is now almost empty.
I turn to face Austin, treading the water between us. His eyes are focused on my lips. I move towards him, leaning in and begin placing kisses on his wet chest, stopping now and then to look into his eyes. He looks like he’s on the brink of losing control. He pulls me into him, his lips meeting mine in a ravenous kiss.
“Come with me,” I tell him and lead him to the change rooms, where we can have some privacy. Leah and Kash don’t even glance up as we leave them, and I’m grateful for this dynamic we’ve created.
