Page 52 of My Lucky Star
“What do you want, Aria?”
I stared at her parted lips, plump and glossy. I knew what I wanted. Her chest heaved up and down, nipples erect. No bra. My brain registered this by lighting up every region responsible for being irresponsible. I leaned closer, a breath away from her mouth, waiting.
“I want you, against my better judgment.” Her husky, troubled voice set my hand in motion, tracing the outline of her chest. Definitely bare underneath the T-shirt. I slipped my hand under the hem and her breath hitched. I held mine, trailing my fingers along her smooth skin all the way to the curve of her breast. Her lips parted even more, and she sucked in a shallow inhale but didn’t move, her hands pressing against the wall behind.
I leaned in and whispered into her ear. “I’ll give you anything.”
When my lips made it to hers, she opened her mouth, releasing a soft moan. Her tongue met me halfway, like a friend waiting at the doorway, inviting me in. For a moment, nothing else existed. Only tongues. Fire. Pulsing need. But when my hand cupped her breast, she tensed under my touch.
I pulled away but not far, our breaths mixing. “Do you not like that?”
Her mouth twisted. “I like everything you do, Cem, but I can’t.”
“Why?”
Her voice was soft and desperate. “Because I know you’re only chasing me for the sake of it. As soon as you have me, you’ll be over me. But I won’t be over you.”
Her words seized me, and my hand dropped. I stood there, frozen, inches away from her, unable to move. “You think I’ll forget you? How could I forget you?”
“I bet you’ve forgotten a lot of women.”
She was right, of course. But I knew this was different. She was different. “I haven’t chased many women. I don’t usually have to chase.”
“Maybe that’s why you want me?” She raised an eyebrow. “Humans always want what they can’t have.”
My heart told me she was wrong, but I had no evidence.
I stepped back and ran my fingers through my damp hair. “That’s not fair!”
“Why?”
I huffed in frustration. “Because I can’t prove you wrong! Anything I say or do is evidence of me chasing you and wanting what I can’t have. I can’t prove you wrong unless you... let me. Be with me and I’ll show you how much more I want. But you won’t, will you?”
“You could try to be my friend,” she whispered, her chin jutting forward. “If we never slept together, would you rather be my friend or forget about me?”
I filled my lungs, trying to ignore the tropical vanilla scent of her skin lingering in my nose. “You’re killing me, but yes. I’d rather be your friend.”
Aria exhaled, bringing her hands to her stomach, brushing down the shirt as if trying to lengthen it. “Good. Prove it. Tell me another fart joke. Something disgusting, please. Or better yet, fart.” She stared me dead in the eye. “If you care about me at all, you will let one rip right now.”
I couldn’t pass gas on command, but I burst out laughing. The force of it shook my body, taking the edge off my sexual frustration. “I love how your mind works. Can I bring you along to my next boring interview?”
“I’m sure it’d be the verbal equivalent of an accidental dick pic,” she mused, rolling her eyes.
I sighed. “There is no verbal equivalent.”
“Your dick leaves everyone speechless. Got it.” She gave me an exaggerated thumbs-up and turned back to the stairs. “I’ll evaluate the smell in those rooms and decide if we need to bring in the crime scene cleaners or regular ones.”
“Be my guest.” I followed on her heels. No way I was missing a second of her company, no matter how much sniffing she had on her to-do list.
Aria started from the back of the corridor, peeking into the smallest room I’d deemed unlivable. Not because of the smell, but because the bed was only a single.
Her eyes rounded in mock horror and she fanned herself. “Oof. That’s bad.” She crossed the floor and opened a window.
The way she said ‘oof’ sounded so much like Burcu I had to shake my head to dispel the image. I wondered if she’d watched more of my show. She’d mentioned it once in her text but asking about it felt self-centered. Maybe that show was my true dick pic, the one I’d sent to millions of people, begging for them to notice me and be attracted to me.
So, I was thinking of dick pics as I followed Aria to the next room. That was not great, considering I’d promised to be a friend and evidently had zero filter around her. Being able to speak to someone so candidly gave me such a high I was becoming addicted to it. Addicted to her.
Via text, it had been so much easier to stay friendly and not cross those boundaries, but in person, she was this stunning woman who now only vaguely resembled Burcu.
