Page 18

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Fallon

T wo whole pizzas were gone almost instantly between an athletic baseball player and a stoned skater chick. How those two ate almost an entire pizza each was a mystery to me–they even ate breadsticks and garlic knots. My meager three pieces couldn’t compare.

Brent broke the silence first. “Where’s my bed?”

“Fallon’s room. You two seemed cozy in there anyway.” She’d been eying me suspiciously since I ran out with beet red cheeks when the food was delivered wearing a different hoodie–Brent casually walking out behind me.

I choked on a garlic knot. “No way! He can sleep on the couch.”

“Mhm,” she grunted. “I’ll wear earmuffs tonight.”

My food fell right out of my mouth.

“You ruined a perfectly good garlic knot, you ass!”

Buzz!

Kelly’s and my phones buzzed in unison on the table. A notification on mine from a social media app I hadn’t opened for months appeared. And then another. And another. My heart sank into my butt when I saw the headlines and tags.

Montgomery Group Heiress Identified?

I didn’t want to continue reading. Who knows what would be in the sea of mess–gossip on the internet was always a hundred times more brutal. Bring me back to classic tabloids! Holding my phone out to Kel, she picked hers up with eyes bulging out of her head.

My stomach churned scrolling through the posts, tags, headlines, and comments. Garrett’s family being accused of fraud, money laundering, and organized crime–the same things he’d mentioned to us. Montgomery and my pictures were plastered all over it too, naming me as Garrett’s girlfriend and sole heir to the Montgomery Group international real estate firm. There were incorrect connections between our families and businesses. I was being dragged into the mud.

Everything my mother worked for was coming into question. There were questions of how dirty our company was.

My face drained of all color looking at all of this. “Fuck me,” I breathed.

“This can’t be real, right? You’re everywhere and there’s, like, federal investigations and speculations on your mom’s company.” Kelly looked like I felt.

Brent moved his chair over to look at my phone.

I was too shocked to speak and just handed it over to him.

“What do we do?”

I shrugged. Nothing like a heart wrenching scandal to sober her up. It felt like a wake up call and I was wide awake at midnight.

Brent turned my phone around to show me a text that came through.

Garrett: Meet me tomorrow? We should talk about this.

How much farther could my heart have dropped, I didn’t know. My body felt like it was going into an adrenaline-fueled shock. I didn’t know what to think or believe about what was happening. How quickly my world turned upside down.

How did they have these pictures of me? Someone had to have been following me.

Evans would have my head on a platter by the morning.

Brent’s demeanor changed in my peripherals while he watched me digest the internet meltdown and Garrett’s message. “I’m definitely not leaving now.”

That bodyguard that would be showing up anytime now was more than justified.

Confusion, anger, and overwhelm started to overtake me. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What? I came here to tell you about this, and it just so happened to blow up while I was here.”

Everything felt too much. “I don’t want you to stay. It’s no good for you and being seen with me after this is probably not good for either of us...”

“Blondie.”

“Please stop.” I stood up, shaking. “We don’t–we can’t. You’re the infamous womanizer. I’m newly identified. None of this makes sense or even feels right to me.”

“My wanting to help you means nothing?” He mimicked me again, standing up and pushing closer to me.

We had two dates– if you could call them that. He just wanted to see if he could bed me. I was only a fun little challenge for him. There’s no way. He’s just looking out for his own company, right? Just purely selfish, that’s all. “You’re seen with a new girl almost daily, Brent Vaughn. You cannot expect me to believe you only have a pure motive coming over here.”

He huffed, clearly entertained. “This is your only excuse any time I talk to you or even look in your direction. A guy like me can never want to help anyone in his life. Sure, I’m here to only mess with you. Bend over then, I’ll show you.”

Excuse me, what?! Bend over?!

I’ve never wanted to punch anyone in the mouth before. That all changed when he came into my life. Having a normal semester was impossible in the current climate, but this was so uncalled for. Him and his dumb, stupid motorcycle.

“Is that what you say to them all? The group of not one, not two, but five girls the other day? I see you around and I wish I didn’t. You crashed my date with a fight for God’s sake! I wish I didn’t take you up on that stupid motorcycle ride at the party. You’re just no good.”

Nothing made sense and everything felt like a game. Brent wanted me to bring my guard down around him long enough to add a notch in his belt. Garrett suddenly became a stranger overnight. What was next? My best friend turning on me? Overwhelm wasn’t a strong enough word for how I felt.

My entire world crashed again. It wasn’t enough that my mother died of cancer, but I had to deal with the world she got into with no way of navigating it on my own.

The distance between us closed again, charged with not lust but irritation. “You want to question my judgement? At least I know when people want something from me. Those girls want one of two things from me: my dick or my money. From day one, you’ve done nothing but judge me and don’t think for one second I didn’t see that look in your eyes. While I spent time trying to learn more about you, you spent that time looking down on me. You think you’re so smart despite being just like the rest of us. Being naive in experience and sex doesn’t absolve you of not being as innocent as you want us to think you are.”

Not being as innocent as I want them to think? He must have been out of his mind to think that I was playing games with people. Clearly, something was broken in his brain.

He smoothed out his shirt, physically comprising himself. It made sense he got worked up easily if he was always inciting fights. “We went out on dates–two of them! We never even made it past almost kissing and you still think that I’m in it for your pussy. If that's what I wanted, I would have quit a long time ago.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, looking for anywhere else to look. Kelly was trying not to look while focusing heavily on her food. Embarrassment flowed through my body freely like water. My composure was faltering.

“Just for the record,” he said, voice softening, “I did not pressure you into anything. I asked you for a kiss all of maybe two times which you just obliged me in your fucking closet of all places.”

My cheeks were bound to become permanently red at this rate. I wanted to hide inside myself with how exposed he was making me feel.

It was annoying that he might have made sense. I was angry that my life had been turned upside down so quickly, spiraling into chaos. I was furious that I had little judgement skill in picking men when I thought I was doing as well as my mother hoped I would. A man being let into my inner circle, into my life, and turning out to be no good? It was my mom picking my dad in another life. Since her death, it was like I wasn’t trying to live at all. Hiding away and sheltering myself more than she ever would.

Everything felt like a mountain I couldn’t climb.

All I saw was my biggest fears coming to life.

And a world I knew nothing about revealing itself to me too late in life.

I was an escapist. And even worse, I was scared. Putting my head down was my way of dealing with things. Especially when it came to the second half of my teen years. Why face my name–my legacy–when I could lie to myself and pretend it wasn’t real?

I stared at the floor while my vision blurred. Processing some of the things he said–the truth–was not what I wanted to do. Fire was all over my face and down my neck from the intensity of everything. Life had punched me in the gut.

––––––––

T he movie finally ended , and I still wasn’t tired enough to go to sleep. I forced myself to lay down, but my eyes just wouldn’t shut.

Emotions were high all around. The atmosphere of everything felt dark and grim. I fought hard to escape that feeling. When I lived with my aunt, things were bad. She called me some of the same things, but worse.

Spoiled rich brat!

You and your mother have always looked down on me. Now look at you!

Sleep wouldn’t come to me, so, pizza it was. The plush carpet barely made a sound as I padded through the house and into the living room. Brent was wide awake sitting on the couch when I came in.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Hi,” I replied, crossing into the kitchen. My head was still reeling from earlier and I felt the urge to distract myself with whatever pizza was left.

I rummaged through the fridge to pull out a box of whatever was left.

“Can we chat?” He was right behind me.

Nodding my head, I shoved a breadstick in my mouth.

He rubbed the back of his head before taking a brownie out of the box I offered up to him. “It felt too charged to try to remedy the situation earlier, so I’ve been sitting here wondering how to apologize.”

“Didn’t think you got so offended so easily.”

He chortled. “Could say the same about you.”

No one said anything else while we ate in silence at the table. What would we say? It was true we didn’t know each other so well but knew how to effortlessly push each others’ buttons. We’d only observed each other for the short time that the semester had been going. Me, judging him. Him, watching me in whatever weird way he did.

I may have been quick to misjudge him, but I didn’t have to like him. Tolerating him would have to do.

I sighed into my cold piece of pizza. “I can’t sleep.”

“Same.”

My fingers idly poked at what was left in the box, hoping it would spark some inspiration for something–anything. The only light in the house was the dim light from the kitchen nightlight and whatever moonlight there was from the window. It was perfect for winding down and sleeping, but my body was not having any of it.

His usual smirk appeared across from me. “What is it, Blondie?”

“Please stop with the ‘Blondie’ stuff.” I shook off a shiver that ran off my spine. The cold, I told myself. It was cold as hell inside.

“You look like you want to ask me something.” He ripped off the end of another breadstick. “I can see that look you get on your face. Right here. Yep, that spot. It does this cute little thing, and it shows your brain working overtime.”

He made me want to roll my eyes every time he opened his mouth. “I’m going back to bed. It’s cold and my feet hurt.”

His interest perked up at the word bed and I knew I fucked up. “I’ll join you. I don’t mind being a space heater.”

Him? In my bed? No way, no how. That was asking for danger and death. I couldn’t handle him in my room for two seconds before shoving my face onto his when he taunted me. If he was in my bed...

“No funny business.”

Surprise painted his face. He looked genuinely floored. “And here you were, yelling at me about how I was just going to make you a notch in my belt.”

“Don’t make me take it back.”

“Alright. Let’s go,” he said, holding out his hand to mine.

Surely, I would regret that. I regretted it when I sat down on my bed and pulled my legs up to my chest. My room, invaded by him of all people. Again. That closet over there was where I kissed him. I kissed him, and that was my choice to make.

“Earlier,” I started, “I didn’t mean to outright attack you.”

“Wow,” he gasped. “You’re apologizing?”

I shoved him a little. “I can take that back, too.”

“Fine, fine.” He held his hands up and settled in next to me. “I’ve also never been this challenged by a girl and it made me angry.”

Yeah, right. “That can’t be true.”

“You’re like this maddening impossible little puzzle.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Sorry that taking someone out on real dates is so hard on you.”

We laid back in bed and stared at the ceiling. The situation we were in was new to me–business and personal wise. Being pursued by the biggest player I’ve ever seen was weird in itself. Add on strange corporate, elitist drama and you have a situation I should have put on my bingo card for this year.

“Everything feels like it’s crumbling right now,” I muttered.

“Welcome to the life of never-ending shit.”

Not being able to look at him while talking was better; he always stared into me while we talked. “It feels like my mom is dying all over again. I don’t do well in these situations. Escapism made me feel better when shit hit the fan, but I’m guessing I won’t be able to escape this time. That’s the part that is freaking me out and making me feel trapped. And don’t even get me started on my aunt...”

“And here I was thinking we were so different. Your escapism looks different than mine, but it’s still escaping all the same.”

“By being a man slut?” I laughed and kicked him.

Having a heart to heart with the punchiest man I’ve ever seen was also not on my bingo card this year.

“If that’s how you want to label it. The baseball star. The playboy. The guy no one wants to mess with because he’ll kick the shit out of you. My grandfather didn’t get the title ‘Dictator’ for no reason. He expects rigidity. Excellence.” He let out a sigh and looked over at me. The softness in his eyes came through. “So why give a damn about anything? You’re the first one to put up a challenge and it’s different–I like it.”

“Different? Weren’t you just saying–”

“Yes, different. You sat and had food with me. Despite your protest, you came out with me a second time. Normally, I get hit up and it’s a quick fuck and I dip.”

I cringed.

He continued. “If they wanted more out of me, it was after I fucked them. You didn’t even seem to want to come within a ten-mile radius of me half the time.”

Looking at him, he was just another egotistical guy. Tattoos. Short hair. Leather jacket. The guy who rode a motorcycle to get girls to drop their panties, smoked like it was his second language, and fought like he had nothing to lose. Like he didn’t care about anything or anyone, kept everyone at arm’s length, except when it came to the girls who did drop their panties.

And he criticized my discernment skills. Asshole.

“I’ve never really thought about getting my rocks off. That’s never happened anyway.”

Propped up on his elbow now, he stared at me in the dark. “It’s because you want something real.”

“If only people were real,” I sighed, flopping my arms out. “Your jacket is in my closet, by the way.”

His hand found its way to my arm, his touch somewhere between comforting and seductive. A fine line to walk. The warmth of his skin on mine sent a shiver through me.

“I’ll be sure to let your groupies know that they can’t have it.”

Carefully, I laced my fingers in his out of curiosity. It sent a message of sorts–a welcoming one perhaps. He considered it for a moment looking down at our hands linked of my own volition. He could assume what he wanted. He was warm and comfortable, and I wanted to have a little of it for a moment.

“Question for a question?” Knowing I’d regret another thing, I added it to the list anyway.

He didn’t answer with words. The pillows were brought down, and we propped ourselves up while he looked at me suspiciously.

To start us off in an insane manner, I asked, “So have you ever slept with a virgin?”

His eyes went wide, the surprise abundantly clear on his face for the second time today. “Damn, went straight to it, Blondie.” He breathed out slowly, tracing soft circles on my hand with his thumb. A touch that sent a warm pulse through my skin. “If you must know, yes. Have you ever touched yourself?”

I started this, so why was I shocked? My cheeks heated up and I hesitated to answer. “Um, can I pass?”

He shook his head, a devious smile playing on his lips. “Nope. You asked, now you answer.”

“Fine,” I muttered. “A couple of times, but I have no clue what I’m doing. Outside of me, have you ever been on a date that didn’t end up with hooking up with them?”

He paused for a moment, weighing his answer. “A couple of times,” he finally admitted. His voice dropped low, almost seductive. “Have you kissed anyone but me?”

I bit my lip. “I’m sure you know of one, but outside of him? No.” Saying it out loud made me feel like I was stripping myself bare in front of him, exposing it all. “Did you expect me to sleep with you at all?” This question was going to give me something I didn’t know that I wanted.

The space between us shrank as he shifted closer to me. “Not at all. You intrigued the hell out of me and I wanted to figure out why.” His eyes darkened as he asked, “What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?”

Our conversation started a warmth low in my belly that I didn’t want to think about, but I started it all. Thinking about the crazy things I’ve done–which I could probably count on one hand–I only came up with everything I’ve done with him. “It’s a tie between getting on your bike or kissing you in my closet.” I tried to keep my voice steady, despite my hummingbird heart fluttering away in my chest. “What’s the craziest thing the infamous Brent Vaughn has done?”

He answered quickly and without hesitation. “Getting interested in you. What’s the first thing you thought when you saw me?”

I laughed, remembering the warning Kelly gave me about him. “When Kelly warned me about you after coming back from shopping. It’s funny because I thought to myself ‘this guy looks full of himself’ as I watched you instigating fights in your own front yard. When did you see me first?”

He started playing with my hair as he had a teasing smile on his lips. “Sometime earlier than that. I saw you in the neighborhood and was very grateful to have you as a neighbor. Why did you kiss me in the closet?”

I slapped his chest. “You wouldn’t stop talking about it! Why did you want to kiss me?”

“Because,” he said, moving his hand up to grip my chin, slowly swiping his thumb across my bottom lip. A spark of heat shot straight through my body, warming up the inside of my thighs. “You talk back so much I wanted to know how sour your words tasted, but when you kissed me, you were as sweet as honey. Can I do it again?”

My room shrank a million times. The tension in the air so thick I could taste it. The pull between us so magnetic–even if it was temporary–made me want to do something that I’d regret in the morning.

“I–” My words caught in my throat. What did I say to that? My brain was malfunctioning. “What if I want more?” The words slipped out before I knew what I was saying.

“Blondie...” his voice was so guttural and deep that it had me gripping his arm, digging my nails in.

Oh, hell. I just did myself in, didn’t I?

With fresh goosebumps prickling my skin and unfiltered thoughts slipping out, I felt drunk on whatever was flowing through my veins. “Why do you call me Blondie?” I breathed.

He was barely containing himself, but obliged my extra question. Our faces were brought dangerously close together while he focused on my lips with a hunger that scared me. “Because I love watching you squirm .”

My lips parted open in surprise and I found my nerve. I took his lower lip between mine and grazed my teeth across it and felt him shudder. My heart pounded so loudly that it was apparent to both of us. The rush in my ears told me adrenaline was taking over and lust filled my bones.

In the moment it took me to take a single breath, he flipped me over and pinned my hands to the bed. “Don’t play with me, Fallon.” His tone was deathly serious.

“I’m not playing. What if I want more?” I challenged him from my very disadvantaged position, my eyes grazing every inch of his body.

Oh. My. God. What was I doing?

He released my hands from his grip to peel his shirt off. What a fucking body.

I was probably drooling.

“This what you want?” He pulled my hands to his chest and it took all my strength not to ogle longer. He lowered himself to my ear and nibbled on it. “Now it’s my turn.”

“Oh dear God,” escaped my lips in a pant.

A vicious, low laugh rumbled from his throat. “I love this side of you, but tell me...what does more mean exactly ?”

I was hot. Everywhere. I managed to find my voice despite how mousy it sounded. “More, fuck.” I couldn’t concentrate. “It means I want...to have sex with you.”

There it was. Out in the open. My V card his for the taking.

He nuzzled into my neck, trailing soft kisses from my ear to where my hoodie prevented him from going any farther. “Show me.”

I shakily snaked my hands to pull my hoodie off. I was bare in a small bralette he’d seen earlier. No big deal, right? We were both bare-ish on top.

A delicate bite to my neck forced an arch in my back while my entire body tingled. “Brent,” I gasped.

“Blondie,” he replied. His voice was full of merriment. With his mouth on my skin, I was set on fire.

This was nothing like touching myself, or anything my imagination could conjure. He was down to my belly, gripping my sides with just enough force to hold me in place. The tingling from his touches had my body begging for more, reaching out each time he pulled away.

Then he was gone. I looked up to see him undoing his belt. My eyes went wide. Oh, shit, he was taking his pants off.

Do I take off mine too? What are the rules of engagement?

“Cold feet?” he asked, stepping out of his pants that dropped to the floor. He was in nothing but his boxers and I was sitting there like a true lost virgin.

Scratch that. In his boxers with a very apparent boner.

I stuttered. “I, uh, do I take mine off too?”

He broke into a full, gorgeous smile as he let out a snort. “Fuck, you are so cute,” he said shaking his head, pushing me back onto the bed. His mouth crashed into mine in full passion.

Radiating. I was radiating. Our mouths moved in sloppy, hungry kisses as I desperately pulled his body into mine. “Here,” he breathed into my mouth. “Let me help you.”

Wiggling around, he gently pulled my sweats off while I let out an excited giggle. He flipped me over, so I was on top of him this time, grabbing at the back of my neck to pull me back to his mouth. He was starved for my mouth and I was fully straddling him. Just two small pieces of fabric between us...

I leaned into what felt right, my hips slowly rocking as we continued to make out, earning groans and harder grips from his hands. He started rocking into me and I knew this was my tipping point.

“Ready for more?” he growled into my mouth.

“Uh huh,” I breathed back into his.

On my back again in an instant, he was pulling off my underwear and positioning himself between my legs. Oh, fuck. He gingerly rubbed my thighs, priming me to his touch. He kissed the inside of my thigh sweetly. “I want to warm you up. I want you to lay back, look pretty, and tell me if something doesn’t work for you. Got it, Blondie?”

Warm me up?! I’m warm! Hot. On FIRE.

“Okay,” I whispered.

And just like that his mouth was on a very sensitive spot, tongue circling around my clit. I’d seen this acted out before, but oh my God, it felt like an itch being scratched I didn’t know I had. Slowly, he slipped a finger inside and gauged my reactions. I was breathing heavily, panting, and trying not to scream in joy.

“How’s my Blondie doing?”

How wasn’t I doing with him eating me out? I didn’t know what to say, so I said “Great.”

Wow, it’s great! Can you tell I’m a weirdo?

My eyes rolled back when he started moving his finger upward with his mouth still firmly planted and tongue moving. It felt so fucking great, I didn’t lie about that. “Yes, very great,” flew out of my mouth and he chuckled.

A second finger slipped in and I bit my tongue so I couldn’t make a sound about it. Two fingers moving in and out slowly, I felt a build up brewing inside of me. The way he worked his tongue in sync with the way my body reacted wouldn’t have me lasting much longer. He ramped up intensity as if he could feel what I felt and kept hitting the spot just right. A puddle. I was a puddle. In a pool of pleasure that I never wanted to get out of.

He kept going to take me to my breaking point. Oh, fuck! There it was. It was so close to claiming me and I groaned and begged for more. “Yes,” I breathed.

Moaning in response, he held that spot, pushing me over the edge.

Did I scream? I hoped not, but I knew we weren’t being discreet in any way whatsoever.

I was sensitive and pulsing. He slowed down while my body spasmed out. Holy shit.

He moved back up, helping me out of my bralette and slipping out of his boxers. “I’ll be gentle,” he said, kissing my collarbone.

On top of me, I watched in full view as he stroked himself a couple of times. His gaze never left mine as he glided the tip up and down at my entrance before smoothly pushing himself inside me. It was a full feeling I desperately wanted to keep, and fuck, it felt so good.

Slow, steady strokes started us off as he leaned back down to take my lips with his again. My body responded strongly to every thrust with a moan of pleasure. Every move he made, my hips followed suit.

“Tell me what you feel,” he whispered softly. “I want to know everything going on in that pretty little head of yours.”

“I–erm.” I started stuttering. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”

“I know.” He kissed me again. “Try your best.” He picked up the pace once he felt me relax with him inside me.

All I knew was that I didn’t want it to end. I gripped him harder. “I have no idea how to describe how good this is. I want more.”

“More?” His tone was teasing, daring me.

I nodded.

“Say it again,” he demanded.

“More,” I pleaded. “I want more.”

He flipped me onto my stomach and pulled my hips back. “Put that pillow under your belly.”

I did as he told me, and I was semi bent over in a lying position with my ass in the air. My hips were gripped firmly, and he slid back inside me. We both groaned. A breath came low into my neck. “Ready?”

“Yes,” I moaned.

The pace was quicker, but it was just too good. Too, too good. “No wonder people do this a bunch,” I laughed.

A small laugh escaped him as he gripped the sheets next to my head. “You think?” he said, placing a small kiss on my head.

I instinctively pushed back on him with every thrust, my body begging his for more and more. Fuck me, I needed more. “Harder.”

His body quivered above mine and his groans became deeper. Was it as good for him as it was for me? His body responded to mine like mine did to his. The thrusts were harder, more desperate. I was flipped back over, and he plunged deeper, faster, harder. In the trance of watching him above me, the faces he made told me it was good for him, too.

We were completely lost in the moment. The heat between us made the cold feel so far away. The breaths and moans between us filled my room–as did the laughs of me being such a weirdo. Him inside me and the kisses...

“Fuck,” he muttered. “I’m going to come.”

A growl came from his throat while he pulled out, spilling his cum all over my stomach. “Wow,” I sighed, body going slack. “Spectacular.”

Gently, he toweled me off and chucked it into the laundry bin. He couldn’t stop smiling and shaking his head.

“What?” I sat up.

“You’re just so fucking cute. That’s all.”

He climbed into bed and held me close as we both drifted off to sleep. Future me would have words with past me.