Page 33

Bailey

“You look hot,” Savannah chimes from my phone. I have her on a video call and propped up on the desk while I finish my makeup for the rehearsal dinner. “That dress matches your eyes,” she says, tying her hair in the perfect bun she wears for her ballet practices.

I’ve chosen a silky light blue dress with a large bow to tie it together in the back. It’s beautiful, one of the only dresses I’ve picked out without the help of my mother and sister and I think I did a great job.

“Thanks,” I murmur, slipping on a light teak rose lipstick. “Is this too much?” I ask, pulling her closer so she can get the full effect of my face in the camera.

“No. It looks perfect.”

“You’re just trying to butter me up.”

“Never. Is that a new locket?” she asks, narrowing her eyes.

I pull the chain up from between my breasts. “No. The chain disintegrated one night and Charlie had it repaired and had the locket cleaned.” I open it up, showing the picture dad had put inside of us kids and him.

“Oh, Charlie had it fixed?” She wags her eyebrows like a cartoon villain.

I roll my eyes, resisting the urge to fan my face. All of a sudden, my room feels five thousand degrees hotter.

“You’re very flushed, Bails. Do you need to sit down?” she snickers, flashing her megawatt smile at me.

“I’m fine,” I snap, busying myself by running my fingers through my loose curls. “And yes, before you ask, we’ve been seeing each other.”

“Finally,” she sighs. “I’ve been trying to get you to date him for years.”

“We aren’t dating .”

“Are you doing anything together other than fucking?”

I grit my teeth. “Yes.”

She shrugs. “Then you’re dating. I think it’s good. You both seem like you need someone that’s willing to work on a relationship.”

I shake my head. “It’s temporary.”

She shoots me an exasperated look. “Why, Bailey? Why does it have to be temporary?”

“Because we’re from two different planets. Because Mom will disown me.” I bite my bottom lip, suddenly very emotional. “ He doesn’t want me like that.”

This is one of those rare instances where Savannah doesn’t automatically know what to say. I can’t blame her. There’s nothing to say.

“Do you want him like that?” she asks quietly.

I open my mouth to speak, but footsteps in the hallway force me to snap my mouth shut. Charlie steps in the room, eyeing me with a guarded expression.

Heat instantly comes to my cheeks when I catch a glimpse of him. God, in a suit, he could melt the panties off a nun.

He must notice, because his lips quirk in a devilish grin. He steps up behind me, bends, and places a kiss to my forehead.

Savannah clears her throat on my phone and I’m embarrassed to say I forgot she was there for a moment.

“Oh, Charlie, this is my sister. Savannah, you remember Charlie.”

“I don’t know, do I?” she jokes, shooting me a coy smile. I glare at her, willing her to shut the hell up, but it just makes her laugh.

“Ma’am,” Charlie nods, turning his attention back to me. “You ready to go?”

“I am,” I say with a pointed look at Savannah. “I have to go, Sav. I’ll talk to you later?”

“Yeah, right. In that dress? I imagine you’ll be busy.”

As if it was even possible for me to be any more embarrassed, Charlie chuckles, slipping out of the room. I say goodbye to my sister and slip my heels on before going to find Charlie.

He’s standing in the kitchen, his hands shoved in the pockets of his trousers as he looks at the picture of Andi and I on the fridge she had hung up the last time she was over.

It was taken in Cancun when we went for her twenty-first birthday. It seems like decades ago. So long ago, in fact, that Andi had cut out both the men in the photo. Drew on my side and Hunter, her ex-boyfriend, on the other. It’s hard to believe she’ll be marrying Tom tomorrow and I just tried anal for the first time with her brother last night.

It’s funny how things change.

“I got sun poisoning on that trip,” I murmur. Charlie doesn’t turn around.

“You don’t look happy.”

He finally turns to face me. My breath catches in my throat at the intensity in his gaze. I can sense the air around us has shifted, but I don’t know what to do or say to make it alright again. Did we take it too far? The locket, the sleepovers? The kissing? Someone always develops feelings when you make-out with someone constantly — a fact that I specifically told him, but he chose to ignore. This time, I’m afraid it’s me. He can sense my feelings toward him have shifted like a shark can sense blood in the ocean.

“I wasn’t,” I shrug. I was miserable.

“And are you happy now?” he asks, his eyes flashing with a look I can’t place.

I think for a moment. I can lie and try to tone it down, but he’ll see right through me.

“I am. I think a little too much.” Admitting it makes my stomach clench, so I lean against the counter for support.

“Me too,” he says, a little too roughly. He takes a step forward, crossing the distance between us and stopping when he’s just a foot in front of me. The small kitchen feels infinitely smaller with us facing off in it. Like there’s too much left unsaid between us. “How are you feeling?”

I blush, remembering the night before. Truthfully, I woke up feeling like he did after his big fight, but I refuse to tell him that. There’s still a part of me that doesn’t want him to see the weakness inside me.

“A little sore, but I’ll be okay.”

Charlie looks me up and down, his gaze lingering a second longer on the strappy heels I’m wearing. “I like this dress,” he says quietly, his fingers playing with the silk over my hip. Heat pools in my core under his dark gaze. Suddenly, I’m not sore at all, but painfully aware of just how good he smells and looks with his tie hanging around his neck and the top buttons undone.

“We match,” I point out, lightly touching the light blue handkerchief sticking out of his pocket.

He looks down to where my hand is, then back up to me. “Keep it up and you won’t make it to the rehearsal dinner.”

I chuckle under my breath, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, then leaning forward to whisper in his ear. “Patience is a virtue, Mr. Coulter.”

I reach for his tie. I got really good at tying them for Drew, but my fingers seem to shake while I do Charlie’s. He lets me, anyway, watching me with a blank expression that makes me squirm.

When I step back, patting the tie down to lay flat, we just stare at each other for a moment, like each of us is debating on playing hooky.

No, I scold myself. You can’t stay home from your best friend’s rehearsal dinner to bone her brother, Bailey.

“We should go. Don’t want to be late.”

Charlie grimaces and it makes me laugh. I give him another quick peck on the cheek and slip out around him to grab my purse. He swats my ass when he spots a glimpse of it while helping me into the truck. I jump, shooting him a dirty look over my shoulder that he just smiles wickedly at.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Charlie asks, putting the truck in drive and pulling out onto the street. The Quarter is alive with the smells of restaurants serving dinner and it makes my stomach growl. I haven’t eaten since Charlie and I made French toast this morning.

I sink back in the seat and run through my emotions.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask to stall my answer.

Charlie side-eyes me as he pulls out onto the busy street just outside of the Quarter. The hotel hosting Tom and Andi’s wedding is closer to downtown, surrounded by the taller buildings of the city. It’s not the same as Los Angeles, but the contrast is nothing compared to that of this part of the city and the Quarter.

“Everyone will be there.”

Irritability courses through my veins and my good mood fades. Of course, I’m nervous. Why wouldn’t I be? Charlie and I are basically wearing a big neon sign that says WE’VE BEEN HAVING SEX EVEN THOUGH WE HATED EACH OTHER in front of everyone we know. Madonna would be nervous.

“Are you worried?” I ask, turning the question back on him.

He eyes me and I look straight ahead as the city begins to swarm in around us. The tall buildings make my chest hurt, my throat tightening until it’s harder to breathe. I don’t know if it’s my reaction to the city or what I told Savannah, but my heartbeat is thumping in my ears, my skin feels too small, and my mouth has filled with saliva. Just the thought of letting everyone else into our private affair has me debating on rolling out the truck door, traffic or not. If I survived, I could make a run for it. If I didn’t, then I still wouldn’t have to go.

“Why are you upset?” Charlie asks, his tone clipped.

“I’m not upset.”

“Don’t lie, Bailey,” he warns, turning to look at me.

I don’t respond, shaking my head and looking out the window beside me. I tightly grip the small bag where I had stashed my phone and lipstick, hoping he couldn’t see the slight tremor in my hand.

Abruptly, the truck jerks to the right and comes to a halt at the curb. The people behind us honk at us and the driver flips his middle finger, but Charlie doesn’t seem to either care or notice as he sets the brake. My stomach clenches when he turns to face me, his shoulders tense and his gaze smoldering.

“We aren’t moving until you talk to me.”

Biting the inside of my lip, I will the anxiety that I’ve turned into fear to calm itself, but it’s not working.

“What do you want from me, Charlie?” I blurt, finally.

“I want you to tell me what’s gotten you so upset. Was it something that was said? Did I do something?”

I shake my head. “You aren’t listening to me. What do you want from me? What is the point of this?”

“This what?”

“ This!” I practically screech at him, gesturing between the two of us. “You and I. It was just supposed to be sex and now we’re spending every second together. We cook together, shower together. We even sleep together. We broke every single rule we set out.”

His eyes darken past the point of anger. Fear coils inside me, but I push it down, my anger winning.

“Do you want to go home?” he asks, his voice suddenly cold.

I lean back against the head rest.

I weigh my options. Going home gets us both out of this before either one of us gets hurt. Going to the rehearsal together sets us up for more let down in the long run. I know Charlie doesn’t want anything long-term. When this started, neither did I, but recently I’ve been second guessing myself. I developed feelings for him past just lust, even before I let him kiss me again.

My anger isn’t with Charlie, or going to the party together or even the fact that I know this is coming to an end, one way or another. It’s with myself. I had been the one that put those rules in place. Just sex. Nothing else and here I was, the one that was thinking of jumping off the deep end for a man who isn’t willing to give me the things I’m dreaming up in my head.

“Can you take me home, please?” I ask, finally, settling back into the seat. Tears burn at the corners of my eyes, but I use all of my willpower to keep them from spilling over. Charlie stares at me for a long moment and I can feel his gaze burn into the side of my face.

But he doesn’t say anything. He puts the truck in drive and cautiously pulls back onto the road and circles back toward home.

We sit in silence while I wage war in myself. I ruined everything because I’ve become too attached. Now, I’m making him take me home because I’m too afraid of what will happen when this is all over.

The other shoe has to drop at some point. I’m just forcefully removing it and throwing it across the room.

When I get home, I’ll either Uber to the hotel or tell Andi I’m sick, like a coward. No. Scratch that. I am a coward.

But Savannah’s voice pops into my head, telling me Charlie and I both seem like we need someone willing to work in a relationship together. I never thought something so small could play such an impact on my thoughts, but that sentence sticks with me, playing over and over like some kind of broken record.

Mom always told me to take chances and grow. If something bad happened, in the end, you would learn from it. Was I letting her down, by chickening out at the last second before going to this party?

Charlie pulls down a quiet street at the very start of the Quarter. Devoid of people.

The windows are completely tinted.

“Bailey—” Charlie starts, but I cut him off.

“Pull over.”

“What?”

“Pull over.”

With an exasperated sigh, Charlie drags the truck back to the curb and jerks it back into park.

“What the hell is going on with—”

I don’t give him time to finish his sentence. I climb over the center console and into his lap. His hands go to my hips to steady me and in a split second, I crush my lips to his. He lets out an animalistic groan, kissing me back with a fierceness I’m not accustomed to.

His lips against mine send an electric current through my body. My core warms and wetness coats my legs. Charlie’s hands grip my hips and he slides me up onto his erection. The rough fabric of his pants brushes over the damp material of my panties and makes my body tingle. I grind my hips into his, earning me a slap on my bare bottom.

Charlie releases my lips and my body cries out from the loss of his touch. His hand fists in my hair, tugging my head back and to the side to expose my neck. He nips at the flesh below my ear and I surge against him, earning me the sting of another slap.

“Can anyone see us?” I ask, panting like an animal in heat.

“Not with the tint,” Charlie bites, out, suckling on the flesh at the base of my shoulder.

I reach between us, undoing his belt buckle with shaking fingers and then his pants. I pull his erection out, stroking it in my palm. He’s hard and thick, his body needing this as much as mine. The thought that I can get to him as much as he can me makes my heart flutter in my chest.

“Fuck,” Charlie groans, untying the bow in the back of my dress and letting it fall down around my waist and expose my breasts. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he grits, leaning forward and capturing one of the hardened peaks in his mouth. His other hand slips between my legs and tugs my panties to the side, his finger sliding inside me.

I gasp as his teeth nip at my nipple, a tingle shooting through my core. I adjust his erection so he’s lined up with my opening and slide down the first inch, gasping as he fills me.

“Go slow.”

I slide down, as slow as I can manage, my head falling back as his thick length fills me. I’m still sore, but the pain only makes the pleasure that much greater.

“You feel so good,” I breathe, setting my hands on his shoulders for leverage.

“All of it,” he orders, his voice hoarse, before he takes my other breast in his mouth. He grips my hips hard enough to leave bruises, guiding me onto him. It’s too much and I’m too full, but he pulls me up just as I take all of him.

There’s no gentleness in the way he pushes me back down on him. His movements are quick and hurried, like he’s as desperate to touch me as I am to please him. I lean forward and burry my face in his neck, sucking on the flesh beside his Adam’s apple.

“Is this what you need?” he grits, pulling me tighter against him and locking his arms around my back, moving me up and down on him so fast I fear I might black out from how hard he’s thrusting into me.

“Charlie, I’m going to come,” I cry, my body seizing and my vision blurring. White hot fireworks explode between my eyes and I let out a shrill cry. Charlie swallows it, continuing to fuck me with abandon. He comes hard, groaning out my name like it’s a dirty curse word and pumping up into me.

I go limp in his arms, his heartbeat racing against my chest. Our breathing is heavy and sweat coats my lower back.

Charlie takes my face in his hands and I can feel them shaking. I had an effect on him, though I wasn’t sure if it was the rough sex we had just had, or something deeper, more genuine.

“Why did that feel like a goodbye?” he asks, his gaze searching mine .

My heart clenches in my chest as I fight off the wave of emotions I’m feeling. I reach up and comb back the hair that had fallen into his face.

“You better wipe my lipstick off you before we get to the party,” I whisper, afraid to tell him what I’m really feeling.

Fuck the deal. I want him.

His lips quirk at the edges and he leans forward, capturing my mouth. He kisses me gently and my heart explodes with longing.

When he pulls away, he slowly slips out of me, leaving a trail of wetness coating my inner thigh.

“That’s so fucking sexy,” he murmurs darkly.

“Can we go eat now?”

Charlie chuckles, planting a kiss to my forehead.

“Of course. You’re about to be ruined for Californian food for the rest of your life.”