AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Xander
I layawake half the night, still able to smell Peyton on my pillows, my sheets. Her vanilla perfume was woven into the room, heating my blood.
She’d been perfect in every possible way. But I hadn’t expected to feel so stripped bare afterward.
Ever since Mom got sick, when I was just a kid afraid of losing her, people had looked at me with sympathy and pity. Once she’d died, people lost their ability to see me. They only saw my grief and pain and anger at the world. My dad and Cameron tried to shield me from that, to protect me. But it only got worse after Dad died. I was so angry and confused, people’s sympathy became tinged with fear. They didn’t know how to reach me, what to say to me, and I grew to resent it. Even with Cameron and Hailee. It was like my instinctive defenses worked against me, repelling people rather than attracting them. But I didn’t know how to make it stop.
I didn’t know how to let them in.
After the shitshow in senior year, everything changed again. People no longer saw a boy damaged by the loss of his parents. They saw a teen who threw it all away, a boy who tarnished his family’s name.
I was no longer a victim; I was the villain.
But staring down at Peyton as I’d loved her body, there had been no traces of pity or sympathy or fear or disappointment… I’d only saw understanding swirled with desire. She wanted me. Despite everything, this brave, beautiful girl wanted me.
I didn’t deserve it—I didn’t deserve her. But it was such a moment of clarity, that it shook the foundations of my soul.
And maybe she was right when she said that you didn’t always choose it, that sometimes, it chose you.
I had never expected to become the hero of someone’s story… I hadn’t wanted it. But when she looked at me, I didn’t feel like that lost boy or the cold-hearted man I’d become. I felt alive. For the first time in years, I felt like I could breathe.
I felt like maybe, just maybe, there was something better out there for me.
It was a crazy fucking notion given all the obstacles that stood between us, but I’d never been one to follow the rules, or to conform to society’s rules or the small-minded expectations of Rixon’s residents. And if losing my parents at a young age had taught me anything, it was that life was too short.
Peyton was my shot at something good, something besides the loveless, bleak life I’d made for myself.
With the sunrise finally peeking in through the crack in the curtains, I leaned over and snatched up my cell.
Me: Happy birthday. Enjoy your day.
I didn’t expectPeyton to be awake yet, but her reply came instantly.
Blondie: It would be better if I was waking up next to you.
She addeda wink emoji and I fought a grin. Jesus. She was turning me into a sap. But it was impossible to resist playing with her.
Me: Hmm, I like the sound of that. I can think of a few ways I could wish you a happy birthday…
Blondie: I’m listening…
She was game.And from the state of my morning wood, I was more than willing to oblige her.
Me: I’d pull you into my arms, your back to my chest and slide my hand up your stomach, gently squeezing your tits while my mouth trailed up the side of your neck.
My blood turnedto fire as I fought the urge to palm myself.
Blondie: It feels so good, Xander… I can feel you pressed up against my ass, hard and ready…
Fuck.I fisted myself and hit dial on her number. Her voice, thick with sleep, filled the line.
“Good morning,” she said.
“God, I wish you were here right now.” My voice was ragged, and I heard her breath catch.
“Are you…?”
“Yeah, is that okay?” Pumping myself harder, I imagined her in bed, naked and ready for me.
