Starfire(2)

“That was a long time ago, Adrian. I don’t feel the same way about you now.”

He stopped walking and grabbed me confidently as he kissed me again. I melted in his arms, powerless at the touch of his lips and hands.

“You’re wrong,” he said, pulling away. “You still feel the same way about me. You’re wrong about this, like you were wrong about so many things with the yearbook. Remember how you wanted to include a page with everyone’s signatures scanned in?”

I scowled up at him, but didn’t pull out of his embrace. “That was a great idea. That way people wouldn’t have to get their books marked up if they didn’t want to.”

He held me tight against his lean, hard body, which made his words seem more convincing. “Peaches Monroe. I think you’re missing the whole point.”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

He flashed a grin, then leaned down and used his lips for something better than talking.

~

The walk back to my house took over an hour, because we kept stopping to kiss and put our hands all over each other. By the time we reached my front door, I was so hot, I was practically in a lather.

“You do like me,” he said as we stood on the porch while I fumbled around for my house keys. “I knew for sure when you sent me that photo of your nipple.”

“That was a joke. You’re the one who sent me a blurry picture of Mr. Happy.”

He laughed. “I sent you a picture of me giving you the thumbs-up gesture. Like this.” He put his thumb up close to my face, where my eyes couldn’t focus on it properly. “Get it? Thumbs up because I wanted more photos of your goodies!”

“You tricked me with a blurry photo.”

“I’d never send a dick pic to a girl. She’d send it around to all her friends.”

I bit my lower lip. “I’d never do that,” I lied.

“If you want to see what I have, the offer is for in-person viewing only.”

I pushed the door open. Ahead of us lay the stairs up to my bedroom. “Show time,” I said.

“You’re drunk,” he replied.

I stepped in through the door, but he hesitated.

“You’re afraid of raccoons,” he said, chuckling.

“Yes, I am. And you’re afraid of what I might do to you in my bedroom.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then why are you standing out there on the porch? Get in here so I can climb you like a tree again. I liked that.” I grabbed his hand and rested it on my hip. “I know you liked it, too. I could feel how much you liked it.”

He grinned, looking sheepish. “You don’t actually want me, Peaches. You just want a warm body to soften your fall.”

I backed away, further into the house.

“Of course I want you.”

Adrian stepped inside and leaned in toward me. I expected him to kiss me, but he just dragged his tongue up the side of my neck. I shivered and tilted my chin up so he could do it again. He did, this time stopping to suck on my pulse point.

Close to me, he murmured, “You want to use me like a drug, to change how you feel. But you said it yourself tonight—you don’t feel the same way as you used to.”

“Adrian.” My voice was pleading.

He pulled away. His blue eyes were cold. “I should get going. It’s a long walk to my parents’ house.”

“Adrian, if you walk out that door tonight and leave me, you’ll never walk back in.”

He took an audible breath in, then he turned and let himself out. The door clicked shut.

In the silence, I sensed him standing there on the porch, just on the other side of the door.

He’d kissed me so passionately the whole walk home. His hands had been all over me, and I knew he wanted to be with me. Was he just teasing?

I pulled open the door, expecting to see him there with a big grin on his face. The porch was empty, though. Adrian was long gone.





CHAPTER 2


Saturday morning, my brain featured a double matinée showing of that movie nobody wants to see: Embarrassing Highlights From Last Night.

We could call this horror film EHLN for short.

When I first woke up, EHLN was at the part where I told my friends they were being jerks for making fun of me.

That night at the bar, I realized they must have been talking about me behind my back. Maybe it was innocent enough, and just friendly teasing, but I wasn’t in on the joke, so it wasn’t funny to me.

I’d just returned to Washington State from LA, where I’d modeled for a plus-size lingerie photo shoot, and my friends were obviously jealous. Remembering that part of the previous night, I didn’t feel so bad, because they had it coming. Also, storming out is badass, so long as you don’t forget your purse and have to go back for it.