Page 23

CHAPTER 23

Geo

I pour myself another glass of champagne as Felix raises an eyebrow.

“You know you don’t have to run through your missed teenage years in five days, right, Geo?” His tone is clipped.

Duncan settles next to him, setting down a plate of nachos.

I shoot him a glare as the blur starts to set in.

“I’m taking a page of my sister’s book,” I say petulantly.

“Apparently she drinks when the men in her life fuck her over.”

Felix raises both his eyebrows as Mateo grabs the flute from my hand.

“Hey, I was drinking that,” I whine.

“You aren’t going to find the answer to your problem at the bottom of your glass, Geo. Trust me.”

Dare climbs into Mateo’s lap again, and I have to look away.

Mateo shoves him off.

“What’s wrong?” Dare slumps down next to me.

“Everything,” I bite as I grab the bottle of champagne.

Felix takes it off of me.

“Jesus Christ Geo, it can’t be that bad.”

I rub the bare spot of my finger, and Felix curses under his breath.

“Oh, shit. You took the ring off.”

My bleary eyes meet Felix’s cerulean gaze.

“I forgot to put it back on,” I say, but even I don’t believe myself.

“What ring?” Dare asks, but no one answers him.

“Go home, Geo,” Mateo says, wrapping his arm around Dare.

“I don’t know where home is anymore,” I say, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.

How did things get so complicated?

Mateo catches my gaze, but it’s Felix who speaks.

“Home is with your boyfriend , idiot.” Then he gripes, “Sorry, I meant your demographic.”

“He called me his friend ,” I say.

My gaze falls.

“I don’t want to be his friend.”

Dare rubs my shoulder.

“Then tell him that.” He chews his bottom lip.

“Men are stupid. Sometimes they need it spelled out.” I watch him smirk at Mateo.

“What if?—”

“Your ride is here,” Mateo says smoothly.

What ride?

“I’ll walk you out.” He climbs to his feet, and I follow, confused.

“I didn’t ask for a ride...”

Mateo stops in front of a black SUV.

“I know,” he says warmly.

“But Dare’s right. Don’t tell him I said that, though.”

I sigh.

“I think I love him, Matty.”

Mateo doesn’t correct my drunken slip up like he does with everyone else, and for that I’m thankful.

It only highlights how drunk I actually am.

He opens the door for me.

He smiles.

“Then tell him , not me.” And then he shuts the door.

When I get to Zeb’s driveway, I am terrified.

That I’m going to walk through his door and he’s going to be pissed at me.

I slide my hands in my pockets, hoping he’s still awake, since I know it’s late.

If not, then I’m going to have to go to my parents’ for the night.

And showing up on my mom’s doorstep, half-drunk at one in the morning is probably not good idea no matter how old I am.

Plus, I’m sure Katy would kill me.

There’s no way she wouldn’t put two and two together, even if Zeb didn’t call her.

I’m surprised when I push the door and it opens.

The lights are dim, and I shut the door quietly.

Locking it.

Maybe he’s already asleep, and I can just?—

“You came back.” His voice is deep, dark, gravelly.

And definitely drunk.

“Of course, I came back,” I reply, toeing my shoes off at the door.

I walk slowly across the tile, noting where he sits on the couch, shirtless.

The low lights cast a golden glow on his skin, shadows dancing and making his dark hair thicker across his chest, alongside his jaw.

His green eyes are dark, sad, and I stand in front of him for a moment.

My fingers fidget from the habit, turning an invisible ring.

“I fucked up,” he slurs, taking a drink of green liquid.

I see the Sour Apple Pucker on the coffee table, about half full.

And then I see the jar of maraschino cherries, several little stems lined up on a napkin, tied into knots.

“Zeb—”

He stands, and the motion draws my attention to his massive frame and height.

He towers over me, his eyes glistening with sadness.

“I let you down,” he says softly, burying his face in my hair.

I fall into his warmth, my hands tightening their grip on his hips.

“Fuck, the first chance you gave me to step up...” He runs his hand over his weary face.

“I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that,” I state, feeling my own sense of guilt.

“I just...”

He glances down at me with watery eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he cries.

He fucking cries.

“Can you forgive me?” His voice shakes, and I come undone.

I wrap my arms around him, nodding my head as my own tears stain my cheeks.

“It’s okay,” I assure him, my own voice shaking.

“You’re okay. Of course, I forgive you.” Tears are coming to my eyes like rain as I bury my face in his chest, the thick hair tickling my jaw.

I let his intoxicating scent fill my lungs, let his warmth envelope me.

Regret swells inside of me, for words never said, actions never taken.

I made a choice all those years ago, and that choice cost me everything I held dear to me.

My family, my best friend.

I don’t want history to repeat itself.

Maybe it’s the alcohol, or maybe it’s the mid-life crisis taking hold since my birthday is only three days away.

But whatever it is, I don’t fight it.

Because it feels right.

“I love you,” I whisper, and the silence is deafening.

I slide my hand over his pecs, feeling his heartbeat beneath my palm.

His hand grabs mine where it lays.

“Zeb, I?—”

“I have always loved you,” he says as he squeezes my hand, his lips finding mine, and he tastes like cherries and sin, like heaven and hell.

His kiss burns through me like an eternal flame.

He grabs my face in his hands, his fingers sliding along my neck and into my hair.

Everything is a blur as the heat of our truth takes hold.

His hands pull at my shirt, I pull him by the waistband of his boxers, and we crash into chairs, bump the counter, and nearly take out the framed artwork in the hall as he opens his mouth, sliding his tongue into mine in languid, messy strokes.

I run my hands over his body, afraid if I can’t feel him beneath my fingers that he’s going to slip right through them.

I slide both my hands beneath the waistband of his boxers and I shove them down, freeing his perfect cock.

His fingers fumble with the button on my jeans and we both hobble around, knocking into walls and doors as our mouths and tongues fight for dominance as we shed our clothes like snakeskin, needing to evolve.

To become something new.

Zeb breaks away for a moment, staring down at me.

His hand slides between us, his fingers stroking me, the pad of his thumb collecting the fresh blossom of precum that’s already gathered at my tip.

I let my head fall back as the haze of alcohol and sex forms a fog around me.

His lips assault my neck as he takes both of us in his hand.

The feel of his bare cock against my own, combined with the way his mouth works its way down my throat, makes me see stars.

“Make it up to me,” I breathe, finding his mouth once more.

I kiss him hard, slipping my tongue into his mouth, my fingers grabbing his neck.

I push him on to the bed, falling with him like a shooting star.

He looks up at me with glassy green eyes, his fingers sliding into my hair, and I straddle his thighs.

The edges of my vision are hazy, but he’s clear.

Sharp focus fuels me as I grind myself against his entrance, taking his cock in my hands.

His fingers grip the dark sheets.

His lips part as he thrusts himself up against me, and the sound that escapes his chest is like an earthquake, shattering me to pieces.

I’ve never wanted anyone like this.

I’ve never wanted anyone like I want him.

“Fuck, Geo...” His voice is thick and hazy, and I can barely think straight.

I glide my hands over his warm, solid form, and the moonlight shines through his window, casting us in an angelic glow.

“Zebulon,” I purr as I lower myself, grinding my wet cock against him.

I’m so hard it fucking hurts.

Zeb arches his back, his cock sliding against my abs, leaving trails of precum along my cross outline.

My cock rests against his smooth opening, and my heart beats in my chest like a freight train.

“Is this what you want?” I ask, pressing myself against him, spreading my precum along his entrance.

Zeb sinks his fingernails into my shoulders as he leans upward, finding my mouth once again as he kisses me furiously.

“Yes,” he growls.

I thrust myself forward, meeting his resistance, but he melts underneath me like a puddle.

I keep my gaze fixed on his face, on the way his jaw goes slack, the way his eyebrows furrow.

Zeb curses as he thrusts his cock up against me, seeking friction.

I wrap my hand around his thickness, my rhythm slow as I watch his face contort into one of pure pleasure.

I thrust myself against him, but it’s not enough.

His hand slides between us, and I look down to see him fucking himself on his damn fingers, his gaze hazy and dark.

Before I can say anything, do anything, he removes them and I know exactly what I need to do.

I line up myself easily, inching the head of my cock into the space that’s a little wider now.

“Harder,” he breathes, his voice deep and gravelly, tinged with lust, drink, and love.

I push myself against him, finally breaching him.

The tightness around my cockhead makes me see stars and I curse as his mouth finds mine and I sink my own nails into his skin.

I pull my hips back, and then I push.

Harder.

Faster.

Within two distinct thrusts, I bottom out, groaning in his mouth.

God, he is perfect.

Zeb’s breaths are heavy and his grip falters between agonizing and wonderful as his arms wrap around me, hands sliding over my ass, up my spine.

“Fuck, Geo...” His breathing is labored and I’m glad I’m not the only one who can’t fucking breathe.

My hips move of their own accord, and I relish in the feel of how tight he is, how full I feel.

How each thrust becomes smoother with each roll of my hips.

Inside of him, I feel everything.

“Promise me,” he breathes, his lips trailing kisses over my throat, up my neck.

“I promise,” I say, not even giving a shit what he wants to ask for.

I’ll promise him the world if it means I get to come home to this.

My orgasm hits out of nowhere, and I can feel the warmth as my cock pulses, throbbing at the same time I feel him erupting against my stomach.

I look down at him, face flushed, eyes all hazy and pupils blown, lips swollen from kissing me.

I kiss him with all that I am.

I feel like I could die here, like this.

Buried in the man I love.

The person I know was meant to be mine.

I collapse against him, his grip on me loosening as I slide out of him, as exhaustion takes hold, and I roll over on the bed, my eyes falling shut.

The pillows welcome me, and Zeb pulls me close, burying his face in my neck and hair.

“I love you, too, Geo.”