“Hey.” I step into the bathroom and push the door shut behind me. Her head snaps up from her hands. “Beth, look I’m . . .”
The biggest dickhead on the planet.
Her eyes are glistening with tears, a few wetting her cheeks. She quickly stands from the stool she’s sitting on and wipes at her face. “I’m so sorry I’m here. I had no idea you were coming tonight.”
I move closer, shaking my head. “Stop. I didn’t come in here to get an apology from you. You don’t owe me one, okay? I’m the asshole. I’m the one who needs to make this better.”
She stares up into my eyes. “Make what better?”
“Us.”
“There’s an us?”
“I think there was an us. Up until you left my house the other day crying, I think we were . . . something. Am I completely off here?”
Her nose wrinkles as she sniffs. She blinks up at me, looking at my mouth, my nose, above my eyes.
I wipe my hand across her cheek, brushing away a tear. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t handle that shit downstairs. I’ve been jealous twice in my entire life and both times have been with you. It’s confusing. I don’t know how to deal with it. And the past couple days,” I force my hand down when I realize it’s traveled to her neck. “Fuck, Beth. The past couple days have been really fucking awful. Why didn’t you call me back? Did you get my message?”
After a brief hesitation, she nods. “No, I did. I got it.” She sniffs again. “I just didn’t know what to say. It was really embarrassing when you didn’t remember what happened between us. I feel like I took advantage of you.”
I smirk.
She fights a smile, then shoves against my chest.
“Stop. It was, Reed. What did you expect me to do? Call you back and go over every detail of what we did?”
“That would’ve been awesome.” I grab her waist and lift her so she’s sitting on the edge of the sink. She gasps against my neck.
“What are you doing?”
“Cleaning you up. You have black stuff on your face.” I cup her cheeks when she tries to look in the mirror behind her. She stares up at me, lips parting. “I got it. I made you cry. Let me do it.”
She relaxes against my hands. “Okay.”
Reaching behind her, I grab a few tissues out of the box on the sink. I wipe them along her skin. “And you wouldn’t have to tell me every detail. I am remembering some of it.”
“You are?”
Our eyes lock. Her breath suddenly blowing out faster against my hand.
Nodding, I move to her other cheek. “Yeah, but not a lot. It’s fucking torture, if I’m being honest. I’ll get little flashes of us together, and then, nothing. It’s gone. Then I’m miserable, waiting for the next image to pop into my head. I hate that I’ve been with you and I can’t just think about it whenever I want. These little glimpses of what we did are killing me. I don’t know how you felt around me, what you sounded like when I made you come with my cock.” I tilt my head. “I’m assuming I made you come with my cock. Please confirm that.”
Her cheek lifts against my hand. The slightest blush appears. “You did.”
I turn and toss the tissues into the trashcan. My hand rubs harshly across my forehead. “I’m just waiting for the image to pop into my head of me eating your pussy. I think I’m miserable now, but seeing that is going to really fuck me up. Because I know I did it. There’s no way in hell I didn’t have my mouth all over you. And then I’m going to go around breaking shit when I can’t remember what you tasted like.”
Fucking Jim Beam. I’m never drinking that shit again.
Several seconds go by. I look over at Beth when she doesn’t respond. Head tilted down, eyes on me, peeking through her lashes. Hands nervously fidgeting in her lap.
She wets her lips. My chest expands, and I move.
“I remember what one part of you tasted like,” I say, cupping her cheek to lift her head. My thumb runs just below her mouth, tugging at her chin to part her lips. “I’d never forget it. So sweet and wet, and greedy. You have the greediest mouth. The way you suck on my tongue when you’re coming from my fingers. Biting me. Trying to swallow me whole.” I inch closer, slowly moving in. “Those dirty little noises you make against my lips. And your words to me when you’re right there. More, faster, harder. God, I get so hard just from kissing you.” Her hands fist my T-shirt. I close my eyes. “Beth.”
“CJ asked me out.”
My eyes flash open. Hers may have never closed.
“What?” I ask, leaning away, blinking her into focus.