AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You know, I’ve always thought you take hockey too seriously. You have girls lining up, and you barely take advantage. Although…” He glances over. “Maybe that had nothing to do with hockey. But…it’s who youare, Elliot. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve talked about playing professionally. Next summer…you only get the one shot.”
“I know.” I lean back on my palms. “Fuck!”
“I’ve never said this non-ironically before, but sucks to be you right now, Reid.”
I snort, then sober. “Yeah.”
Josh punches my shoulder gently, then stands and leaves.
* * *
The kitchen is packed. Heat and hormones swirl in the alcohol-scented air. Rap music pounds away in the background.
I check my phone again.
Nothing.
I worry my bottom lip. Should I text her? She would have told me if she wasn’t coming, right? I haven’t seen Annabel yet, and that was Auden’s supposed means of transportation. Maybe something happened between them?
Oliver and Josh are standing beside me, arguing. Last I listened, they were debating which girls to invite on the boat. When I shove my phone in my pocket and tune back in, I learn they’ve moved on to a new topic:me.
“…sick or something?” Oliver is saying.
“Nah,” Josh replies. “He’s just freaked because Auden isn’t here yet.”
I grit my teeth. “I’m headed outside. If you decide to take the boat out, let me know.”
“I’d stay inside if I were you,” Josh tells me.
“Why?”
He nods toward the door. “She just got here.”
My head whips around. Josh snorts.
He wasn’t messing with me. Auden has just walked into the kitchen. I inhale sharply. She’s wearing a navy dress that’s strapless and short. The curves of her shoulders and collarbone are fully exposed, displaying an endless stretch of creamy skin. She says something to Annabel, who nods. Then, she starts looking around the kitchen. Her eyes land on me, and we stare at each other.
Auden takes one step, two. I track her progress across the space more closely than I’ve watched anyone walk before. The foreign sensation of nerves swarms me, until she smiles. It’s a small, secretive, sexy one. Not the sort you give someone you regret sleeping with.
When she reaches me, I act on instinct. I wrap a hand around her waist and pull her body flush with mine. Then, I kiss her. It was meant to be an assurance—to her, thatIdon’t regret what happened between us last night. A claiming—to any guy who saw her talking to Joe and might have thought he has a shot with her. But mostly, I just want to. She initiated things between us last night, and I know her well enough to know that’s far out of her comfort zone. This is me thanking her for it, because I’m not sure I ever would have, and I know I’ll never regret it—no matter what happens next between us.
She kisses me back, and it rapidly escalates. I tell myself each swipe of my tongue will be the last one, but then she tugs my bottom lips with her teeth. My mind is a complete haze. Memories from last night assault my brain, mixing with the sensations of this moment.
Auden pulls back first. Her cheeks are flushed. It’s freaking hot in here, but I like to think I played a role, too. Her lips are swollen and pink and conjure lots of dirty images. “Hi.”
“Hey.” My voice comes out deeper than usual, so I clear my throat a couple of times before I speak again. “How was the museum?”
“It was fun. Annabel came, so she might no longer hate me. Although…” She smirks. “I didn’t mention this”—she gestures between us—“so I think that will probably take care of any progress I made.”
“Hmmm.” I hum as I trail my fingers upward until I reach the bare skin exposed by her low-cut dress. I ghost along the smooth skin between her shoulder blades, same as I did on the boat yesterday afternoon. Her breath hitches.
She’s curled her hair, which I’ve never seen before. The loose ringlets just reach the top of her dress, dark strands contrasting with her pale skin. I play with it a little, and she steps forward, pressing up against me again. “What did you do today?”
I’m honest. “Thought about last night, mostly.” Auden blushes, and it’s my favorite sight in the whole world.
“What, uh…” She looks down at my chest, then back up. “What were you thinking?”
“That—” I look away from her for the first time since she appeared. Pretty much everyone in the kitchen is looking at us. “That it’s probably something we should talk about later. Just us.”
