Page 23 of Christmas in Comets Valley
Leaving me in the dust, Aera bolted over to the stage when the chorus of “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande blasted out through the speakers.
Her dancing started off innocent enough as she claimed her spot center stage. But as the song progressed, her moves grew increasingly more sexual until she started sensually pushing down the sleeves of her top.
“Oh, fuck no,” I muttered to myself, barging onto the stage the second she reached for the hem of her shirt and lifted upward, exposing her midriff. Mere moments before she flashed half the town, I planted myself in front of her, covering her half-naked body from the crowd. “Aera, put your clothes back on.”
“I’d rather wear yours instead.” She flickered a seductive gaze up at me while a defiant smile played on her lips.
I narrowed my eyes at her before pausing to pick up the shirt she flung onto the ground. “What’re you doing?”
“You knowexactlywhat I’m doing. Just like you knewexactlywhat I was doing when you came to my room last night too.”
“Afraid to say it out loud?” I challenged, stepping an inch closer to her.
“Fine. I’m flirting with you, idiot.”
It only took a few seconds for me to take the black sweater off my back and shove her head through the opening at the top. She stared up at me with a drunken smile plastered on her face while I worked her arms through the sleeves like a toddler.
She was cute when she was drunk.
“Looks better on you, anyway.” I shot her a wink and a faint blush rose to her cheeks.
Silence passed between us for an extended moment and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to kiss her again. Even now, in the middle of the bar with half the town watching us. I debated it for a moment longer, but before I had the chance to dip down and capture her lips, Aera hopped off the stage and was lost in the swarm of people.
I stood there dumbfounded for a beat, shaking my head before walking off, bare chested, toward the table we were at earlier. Coming up behind her, I plucked a full shot glass out of her hand. “Nope, I think it’s time we get you home.”
“Oh, come on,” she protested with a scoff. “The night's just getting started!”
I placed my free hand on her hip and ducked down low enough that my lips brushed the shell of her ear. “You’re telling me you don’t want to go back to the house and spend the rest of the night coming on my tongue?”
She sucked in a breath, looking up at me while I tossed back the shot of tequila I stole from her with a wink. Placing the glass on the tabletop, I turned to Calliope, who’d been watching us with a wide smile. “Unfortunately, we’ve got to go home to feed Mr. Whiskers.”
“Mr. Whiskers… right.” Calliope waggled her brows at the two of us before pushing off her chair to give Aera a quick hug goodbye.
* * *
Shortly after walkingout of the bar, I sent my buddies a text letting them know I’d meet up with them another night. Their only response was a picture of a few college girls who were home for the holidays surrounding their table. Rolling my eyes, I shoved my phone into my pocket and ignored them.
On our walk home, Aera insisted on climbing onto my front like a backpack to ‘keep me warm’. Somehow turning the fifteen-minute walk to Juliet’s place to thirty due to the reality that we kept having to stop and readjust every hundred feet. It might’ve made things ten times harder, but I had to admit it was pretty damn cute.
Approximately five minutes after we made it through the door, Aera passed out on the couch. Though she made it a point to strip out of the sweater I gave her before settling in for her slumber.
On the bright side, at least I didn’t have to sit around shirtless for the next few hours now that I got my sweater back.
A few hours passed with her out cold, but I continued to watch her out of fear that she was going to wake up and vomit all over the floor. Then there was also the fact that she was so still while she slept, I had to continuously check to ensure she was still breathing.
As she slept, I realized the universe had given me another chance to convince her to stay. Only this time, I wasn’t going to leave as easily as I did this morning. She’d already come back once, and the odds she’d do that again weren’t in my favor.
That being said, I was willing to pull out any and all stops to keep her here a bit longer.
The sound of Mr. Whiskers tumbling down the steps caused Aera to squirm underneath the fuzzy throw blanket I placed on top of her.
She let out a long yawn before turning her head to look at me. “What time is it?”
“Last I checked, it was a few minutes past midnight.”
“And what time did we leave the bar again?”
“Seven forty-five.” I pressed my lips together to keep in a laugh.
