Page 54 of Hunt for the Roses
As much as I want to lash out at Dane and scream at him, I decide to meet him tit for tat. If he wants to play this game and try to shame me for going on a date with a guy, I may as well go all in on this. He’s treating me like a child. Like I can’t make my own decisions and need his permission to take steps forward in my life.
Screw that.
I kick my snarky tone into high gear as I turn to look at Dane’s side profile. “Maybe you should make a Do’s and Don’ts list for me.”
Dane furrows his brows. “What?”
“Well I’m not sure I remember how to fuck a guy, so I’m going to need some tips,” I retort.
Dane concentrates on pulling the car up to the curb in front of our townhouses, and he smirks knowingly. Like he’s confident he’s about to come back with a wiser remark than mine, and I’m a fool to have ever challenged him. When he shuts the car off, Dane shifts back into his seat, one palm still on the steering wheel and one on his thigh. He looks forward as he says, “Then it’s a good thing all men love tight pussy.” Then Dane looks over at me with a smug grin. “You won’t disappoint in that area.”
My palm connects with Dane’s cheek so hard the contact causes my skin to vibrate uncomfortably, but I don’t feel the throb just yet. The sound of the slap lingers in the air as I stare at Dane’s side profile, just shocked. He tries to alleviate the sting by adjusting his jaw, and I just ponder in disbelief at the turn of events within the last five minutes. I’m fueled with anger as I quickly turn and reach for the door handle to exit Dane’s car, and I make sure to slam the car door obnoxiously.
Once I am inside my house, I let out a heavy breath as I lean back against my front door in my foyer, trying to settle my raging emotions. How could Dane speak to me like that? I peel myself away from the door and run my hands through my hair, closing my eyes to try and sort through tonight’s chaotic events. Up until tonight, Dane has been nothing but kind, supportive, respectful, and a genuine friend to me. Never in a million years would I have envisioned him talking to me like he did.
I open my eyes and stare aimlessly down the hallway as I inhale. I let out a long and slow exhale as I try to make sense of everything that transpired tonight, but the hazy fog in my mind doesn’t part enough for me to see clear answers. It’s like the path Dane and I were on this summer has been clouded over, and we’re going to have to find our way through the mist to get back on track. But the fog in my mind feels like it’s growing thicker as I continue to think about our friendship, and it’s getting more difficult to see when and where we may have made a wrong turn from our original course.
The most dangerous part is, I’m not sure we’re ever going to find our way back on the original route.
Saturday, July 9, 2022
I’m going out tonight. There’s no way I’m staying home to watch Aria potentially bring this guy back to her house. Things between us got extremely heated last night, and neither of us has said a word to each other since. I have no clue what to do with these feelings that I’m having, to the point where I’m starting to unravel around Aria unexpectedly. Every time I see her, her beauty is no longer lost on me. I notice every detail of her perfect face and body. Every time I hear her laugh, I want to hear it a thousand more times, and every time she smiles, I think about how much I want to make her smile every moment we are together.
But Aria has a date tonight, and I’m doing what I do best and going to look for a distraction.
Thankfully, Shippers is more crowded than yesterday, giving me a better chance of bringing home some much needed company. I go straight to the bartender, order a beer, and take a seat. I scope the scene as I take a sip of my beer, and I’m looking around for about five to ten minutes before I feel someone squeeze in next to me.
Lucky for me it’s a good-looking redhead, so I shoot my shot. “Well, my night just got better,” I say and then throw her a smirk. She smiles wide, and I’ve landed myself a distraction for the night.
* * *
I’m leaning shirtless against the headboard of my bed as Lisa straddles my hips and cups my face in her hands. Our tongues find one another through desperate kisses, and I lift the hem of Lisa’s dress up and over her, leaving her in a blue lace bra and thong. My hands grab handfuls of her ass cheeks, and I let out a groan as she slowly grinds on the erection through my jogger sweatpants. When Lisa trails her lips down my neck and over my shoulders, I find myself staring at my bedroom ceiling and walls.
I start to get lost in my own thoughts and think about what Aria might be doing on her date. I think of Blake laying Aria down on the bed, and Aria giving him what she hasn’t given a single man in over a year. What the fuck makes Blake so special? I internally wince when I imagine Blake’s hands inching up Aria’s thighs, eventually touching her most sacred part. He’d get to hear and taste her moans of pleasure while being inside her, not fully knowing what she’s been through, or how incredibly innocent she is.
My blood starts to simmer at the images that scroll through my head, and I feel a blunt sense of possessiveness take over my mind. Blake wouldn’t know how to take care of Aria like I would, that much I am certain. I’d make sure to kiss every inch of her body, and pay attention to her every need. Every desire. Her wish would be my command, and I’d fall to my knees before her to give Aria anything she wanted from me. I’d take her with tenderness and passion, making sure every part of her mind and body came alive under my touch. If she was with me, Aria would be reminded just how powerful intimacy between two people could be, and I’d make it my life’s mission to restore her faith in that.
“Is something wrong?” Lisa’s agitated voice cuts into my thoughts as she stares down at me.
I inhale as I rub my palms up and down Lisa’s back. “No, I’m fine,” I breathe.
“You seem distracted,” Lisa counters.
Lisa’s words draw my attention to my softer state below, and I’m a little confused on where to go from here. As much as I really need a distraction tonight, I foresee this night continuing to dip further south. I exhale as I run a hand through my hair and say, “I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”
The corner of Lisa’s mouth tips up as she lightly grazes her fingertips up and down my abs. “Let me help take your mind off of whatever’s distracting you.”
Lisa’s fingers curl into the waistband of my sweatpants, and I welcome her attempt to successfully divert my attention. I close my eyes with a groan as I feel her silky palm cup my length, and start to stroke me from base to tip. I feel myself start to get harder, and I bite my lip at the sensation as I open my eyes to look at Lisa. Her smile of victory is sexy, but just as I revel in the pleasure she’s giving me, I’m also very aware that the woman stroking me right now is not the woman I want it to be. As I stare into Lisa’s green eyes, I feel let down that I’m not staring into a pair of light brown ones, and that notion terrifies me more than anything. The reality is that although the physical feeling of this moment is amazing, my head is just not in this.
“This isn’t going to work for me,” I say as I wrap my hand around Lisa’s wrist.
“Are you serious?” Lisa asks as she narrows her eyes.
“Look I’m sor-”
Lisa doesn’t even wait for me to finish my apology as she hops off the bed, and retrieves her mini dress and wedge sandals from the floor. “Asshole,” she mutters as she walks into my master bathroom.
Saw that coming.
