The Bad Boys of Summer Anthology(274)

“You feel so good, Eliza. You make me feel good,” he whispered. “You can’t leave. You have to stay.”

I didn’t bother to speak. If I were to respond, I would have lied to him. We both knew I couldn’t stay. I had a life to live, things to do. I had dreams to accomplish. Instead of speaking, I pulled him into me, leaving no space between us, and he went harder. His grunting grew heavier as he gripped my hips.

He then did something I didn’t see coming: he lifted me up, still stroking and my chest still against his, but my back was no longer on the bed. I was being held upright against him, his arms circling around to hold me up by my back. He slammed into me some more and I stared into his eyes, enjoying the full feeling at the pit of my stomach.

“Ride me,” he whispered.

I did as commanded. I had no idea what the hell I was doing, no idea which way to go, how fast to go, how slow to go, but I worked my hips as best as I could. His eyes were blazing, watching my pleasured face intently. He cupped my ass, allowing me to do all that I could. He kissed my neck, providing his own strokes and his own rhythm, which helped me out in return. He kept me steady, giving me a good balance, and after a while, I knew I’d gotten the hang of it because he grunted harder, hissing my name and cursing right after. I was moaning loudly, unable to hold back.

My hips grinded, still feeling him at the pit of my stomach. My core was tightening. I clenched around him, knowing another spiral of pleasure was on its way. He knew it as well because he brought his head up again to look into my eyes. “I want you to watch me as I watch you let go. I want your eyes on mine. Don’t close them. Don’t block me out.”

His husky voice sent me higher. He stared into my eyes, his face oozing with just as much pleasure as mine. He groaned; I excessively moaned. My lips locked with his and my fingernails clenched into his skin, but I kept my eyes open. It was coming, and with each second, I kept getting hotter and hotter, but I didn’t dare myself to look away. I couldn’t. His eyes were doing something to me that I couldn’t hold back on. They were low, heavy, watching every reaction.

Finally, I screeched, soaking the length of him, still grinding my hips, a bead of sweat trickling down my back. I was coming undone, falling apart. Melting. He growled against my chin and I couldn’t help it anymore. I shut my eyes, shuddering and shattering. Trembling and quaking. My hips didn’t stop moving. My head fell back and then he cursed beneath his breath, flipping me over. He gripped my ass, slamming into me from behind countlessly, grunting through his teeth, until finally he collapsed on top of me.

We breathed through the moment, the intensity still in the air, until I finally turned over to face him, tangling my fingers through his damp hair as he kissed my cheek.

So many thoughts were running through my mind. I had to stop this before I ended up even more torn than I already was. I had to just tell Gage straight. It wasn’t like he couldn’t replace me with another girl within a second. He could—I knew it—and as bad as I didn’t want to be a part of his past, I knew we could never be more than a fling. We could never be more than casual because Gage lived the fast life. He lived a life that I could never live up to. We were two completely different people with completely different lives. I wanted a normal one. I couldn’t tolerate being on the tabloids or the entertainment channels anymore. Most were calling me his girlfriend, but I wasn’t that. We were just friends… with benefits.

I couldn’t be the girl Gage wanted me to be. I had my own dreams to chase after and I knew I wouldn’t be able to trust him once I was out of sight. Even if I were to ask for more, in the back of my mind I knew it would be dumb of me because he wasn’t a faithful person. He didn’t have to admit it for me to know. Sooner or later the distance would get in the way.



In between telling Gage good-bye so he could go practice with his band, taking a shower, brushing my teeth, detangling my hair, eating something light, getting dressed, and sulking on the couch all day with a book glued to my face, I finally settled with just letting life run its course. I didn’t want to think about the end of the week any more than I needed to, so I slept it away and half-heartedly forgot about it.





STEPDAD

The following day, Ben and I went out to pick up flowers and balloons for Deed. No guy wanted flowers, but Ben insisted and irritably, I’d conceded and went with him. I should have known something was behind his little day out, though. He seemed much happier from the night when he was crying over Bentley. I refused to bring it up, especially when I knew it would most likely kill him to talk about.

We decided on grabbing some lunch after stuffing the flowers and balloons into the car with Marco. Marco rolled his eyes at us, but, as always, we thought nothing of him. The restaurant Ben chose was in the heart of New York City. The city was bustling; bodies were everywhere. Steam drifted out of potholes, the color yellow crowded streets because of taxis. I would never understand why New York was so busy, but it truly was the city that never slept.

As we entered, a tall man with light-grey hair and a warm smile greeted us. He had on a chef’s hat, a clean white smock, and black slacks. He was a decent-looking guy and knew who we were as we stepped into the restaurant. He called Ben by his first name and Ben blushed a few times, grinning at the man who he’d said to me a million times was a real “hottie.” I smiled and laughed with him to keep his happy mood going, but I knew he was only trying to cover up his broken heart.

Thinking of broken hearts made me sick to my stomach. After last night, I was ripped in half. I could hardly sleep. I hadn’t talked to Gage this morning and was slightly relieved he gave me some kind of space. I needed to clear my head. I needed to think.

Ben chatted with the man at the bar, but my gaze drifted to the busy streets. My eyes swung to the fleeting pedestrians, the food stands, the couples walking by hand-in-hand. I sighed, longing for Gage’s hand in mine. Then again, I snapped out of it, knowing his hand wasn’t what I needed. I only had three more days left. Three more days. I really didn’t want to face the reality of it. Dreaming was better. Spending time with Gage was better. Laughing, joking around, teasing, cuddling, and even sex was better than being alone.

I wondered if he thought more of me, as I thought of him. He said a lot the other day, but everything was broken up. He didn’t complete his sentences and it confused me even more. His face was torn, but I needed to hear it. I needed to know. I was hoping I wasn’t overreacting to our fling that had transformed into more. I wasn’t stupid. I could feel it between us. I just wanted so badly to ignore it. To just pretend it was nothing. Of course, that was nearly impossible.

“Eliza,” Ben snapped, pulling me out of my daze. I dropped my hand from my chin, providing all my attention. “Eliza, talk to me,” he sighed. “You’ve been zoning out on me all morning. Speak.”

I sighed, shrugging and forcing a smile. “I’m fine. Just thinking… about school and classes and stuff.”

I stole a glance at him and his eyes narrowed, full of doubt. “Gage,” he said.

I frowned, my cheeks burning. “W—what?”

He smiled, oddly amused by my blush, and then sighed again, folding his arms. “You’re thinking about him. I see it in your eyes. In your face. In your little red cheeks,” he noted, reaching across the table to pinch them.

I brushed his hands away, smiling. “I’m not. I’m fine.”

“Hmph.” He snorted. “Whatever you say.” Ben picked up his menu and I did the same, but his eyes never left me. “Liza, can I ask you something?”

I looked up, swallowing heavily. “Yeah, Ben. Anything.”

“When it’s time for you to go, what are you going to tell him exactly?”

I squeezed my hands together. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… how are you going to go about it without getting hurt? Without hurting him?”

“It’s not going to hurt him,” I assured, waving him off and staring at my menu. I was shrugging it off, but on the inside my heart was clambering and I could hear the beats in my eardrums.

“You think so? What about you?” he asked. “You didn’t answer for yourself. How are you going to handle saying good-bye?”

I bit on my bottom lip. Tears stung my eyes, but I kept them down, reaching for my glass of water. “I don’t know, Ben.” My voice was faint, almost inaudible, but somehow he heard me.

Ben sighed, adjusting himself on his side of the table. I looked up and his eyes were empty, distant, but he was still staring at me. Worry crept behind those eyes and then he sighed again, reaching for my free hand that was on the table. I clutched my glass of water, hating how he’d set me up just to talk about it. I didn’t want to talk about it. I just wanted to go through with it and get it over with already, no matter how much it tore me apart.

“I see the way he looks at you,” he whispered. “I see the way you look at him. You told me it was just a fling—just a casual thing—but I see more than that, and you’re fighting it. You’re denying it so you won’t be hurt by the end of this week.”