His fingers intertwine around the braided gold strap on my shoulder, and he slowly slides it off. “I think we should sit at a different table next year. Together. Invite some cool people to sit with us. Or you could just come sit with me and all the soccer guys.”
“Really? You’d do that for me?”
He stops kissing my shoulder and looks into my eyes. “It’s not just for you. It’s for me too. I don’t want a bunch of fake friends.”
“I don’t either, but I don’t know. Vanessa would make our lives miserable. She’s probably already planning our demise. We pretty much committed mutiny tonight. You should see the things she texted me. And RiAnne is just as pissed. I don’t know what they’ll do, but trust me, it won’t be pretty. Those cheerleaders, Mandy and Alicia, are dying to sit at our table. She could fill our spots in seconds.”
“She can’t have her parties without me.”
“She’ll find someone else to use. I know how she works.”
“So let’s use it against her. Plan her demise. I’m sick of her thinking she’s queen. Let’s knock the throne out from under her.”
“And if it backfires?”
He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into his hips.
“Who cares? We’d have each other, and our relationship would not be a sham.”
“Cush, it’s already a sham. We don’t have a relationship, and people think we do.”
“First and foremost, we’re friends. No one but you would have gone to all those dinners with my dad.”
“That’s not true. Lots of girls would’ve gone with you. You took me because you didn’t want other girls to think you liked them. That you were serious about them.”
“I’ve got your back. That’s what matters.” He grins at me, runs his hands down my butt, and gives it a little squeeze. “And I have to say, you’ve got a really nice back.”
I laugh. “I know all your moves, Cush. Seen them in action too many times. They aren’t gonna work on me.”
He replies with a long, deep, sexy-ass kiss.
And I’m starting to think his moves might work on me just fine.
His lips are all I can think about.
How good they taste. How forceful they are.
Or skilled, maybe.
Oh my gosh, are they skilled.
The way his tongue flits across my lips. The cat and mouse way in which he lets me suck on his tongue, but then pulls it away from me the minute I start to gain control. The way he sucks on my tongue with just enough force to pull me closer to him. The way it feels like he’s teasing me. Tantalizing me. Making me want to beg for more.
As if he reads my mind, his hands slide out of my hair, down the bare skin of my back, and grab my ass, pushing me firmly against him. I start to grind on his leg like I do when we go dancing, only I’m moving to the rhythm of his tongue darting in and out of my mouth.
My phone buzzes and buzzes, but I pretend not to hear it.
Because right now, every nerve in my body is screaming about how Cush is making them sizzle.
I’m tired of waiting for Brooklyn to start liking me. Tired of being the only one of my friends who hasn’t done it. Tired of waiting for some mythical true love. And tired of wishing on the stupid moon.
What I need is a really hot hookup.
And Cush’s kisses are hot.
Especially the ones that he’s now running down my neck and into my exposed cleavage.
My sense receptors are flooded with information.
After Cush sucks his way up and down my neck, his kisses get softer.
Across my earlobe. Across my cheek. Then back to my lower lip.
He slowly sucks my lower lip into his mouth then says, “I need to tell you something.”
“In a minute,” I mumble, as I finish unbuttoning his shirt, push it off his shoulders, and kiss across his tan sculpted chest.
Then I get brave and unbuckle his belt.
I mean, it’s Cush. It’s not like he’s going to turn me down. I don’t think he knows how to say no to a girl.
As I attempt to unzip his pants, he grabs my hands. “Keatyn, I need to tell you something.”
“Um, okay?” Seriously? Is he going to tell me no?
“There’s a reason why I haven’t gotten serious with a girl. Why I haven’t dated anyone. Why I always wanted you to come to dinner with me. Why I counted down the days until the next dinner.”
“Why?”
He gives me the Cushman grin. The grin so sexy, I want to pull him into bed right now.
“I’m kinda in love with you.”
I blink hard, back away from him, and sit on the bed.
Is he serious? Cush never lies to girls to get them into bed.
They all go willingly.
“Are you telling me that so I’ll sleep with you?”
“No, I’m telling you that so you won’t sleep with me. I know you’ve been crushing on the surfer dude. I know that I usually don’t treat girls all that well myself, but you’re different. You’ve always been different.”
“Vanessa told me I should hook up with you and not tell you I’m a virgin. That you would never notice.”
“I’m pretty sure I’d notice.” He scrunches up his nose. “I think, anyway.”
“Not if I got you drunk,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.