No Strings Attached | ✓ 18+

thirty .ೃ࿐

At around ten thirty in the evening, I was finally able to locate Clay.

It wasn't like I had a hard time finding him or anything, it was just that even though he was sitting across from me the entire time, I couldn't for the life of me work up the courage to tap him on the shoulder or drop a note in his lap to speak alone in private for just a few minutes.

Now, while everyone was out on the dance floor, letting loose because the stress of the speeches and the dinner was all over, I felt confident enough to hopefully find him and ask him to talk with me. No, I didn't feel confident because I'd drank enough liquor, I actually only had the one, watered-down pink lemonade that I didn't end up reordering and that was it. I promised myself I wouldn't deliver this speech drunk and slurring, though drinking has never been that much of a problem for me, as I wasn't much of a drinker.

Either way, I wanted to keep my head as straight as possible, (pun intended, because I do love me some boobs), so that I could get everything out to him in one go.

The music was loud and the crowd was even louder. The lights matched the pace of the music, and I was able to spot the newlyweds dancing together in the stream of people, Amber's head was thrown back laughing at something Trent had said.

Clay was actually just leaving the crowd, and it looked like he was on his way to our table. So, I quickly scurried after him in the least manic way possible, not wanting to seem weird or desperate. I just needed to get his attention before I talked myself out of it again.

Sadly, before I could think of a cute, gentle way to get his attention, he was alerted of my prescence by my heavy, out of breath state and my elephant feet, (I was wearing super chunky, chic heels, as per Amber's request—don't get me wrong they were adorable, just a pain in the ass), and when he finally made eye contact with me, he looked surprised.

"Hey, Adalyn." He said to me, and I swear to God I felt my knees waver at the sound of his voice. It's been too long since it was directed toward me.

"I need to talk to you," I said quickly. There, it was out in the open. No turning back now. "Please. In private, if that works with you."

Clay no longer looked somewhat playful, instead he looked almost surprised. Despite that, he allowed me to lead him to an empty room, far away from the main hall of the venue. It was the designated dressing room, for wedding emergencies.

When we got inside, I locked the door and immediately regretted it as I saw the look in his eyes.

"Oh, God! No, I'm sorry. That gives off the wrong idea," I exclaimed, rubbing my face in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. I just want to talk to you, in uninterrupted silence, please. Jesus Christ, I'm so not trying to sleep with you right now."

"Relax, Adalyn," he said, and he gently grabbed ahold of my hand. "Just take a breath. Here, we can sit down."

We both fell into the cushions of the L-shaped couch, that was the color of a creamy white. It was soft, and definitely worth more than anything I've ever owned in my entire life. I'm almost near certain that Amber is in fact, also behind this couch as well.

Once we settled, I took another breath. It was shaky this time, as my nerves were kicking in. I couldn't back out now, I'd already dragged him in this room, away from the whole crowd of people, and locked the door. It literally could not be any more serious than it is right now.

So, I went for it.

"Look. I know that we haven't been speaking much lately, and honestly that's been really shitty, because quite frankly, I really like talking to you. I don't want to make this super sappy, because I could just be making a big fool out of myself," I took another breath, releasing my fist that had formed of my very nervous fingers. "I like you, Clay. More than I should, for sure. I've liked you since shortly after you specifically told me not to, but I didn't know it then. It really kicked in when I found out that you had a crush on someone you saw at work, because hearing that broke my heart. Obviously, I didn't want to stop sleeping with you because then you'd know something was wrong, and the entire point of our agreement was to have no strings attached and still get some despite being, in my case, recovering from a break-up and, in your case, liking someone you apparently cannot have. Which, actually, blows my mind because you're absolutely breathtaking..."

Clay was looking at me with such an intense stare that I wanted to disappear into thin air and never reappear again. I felt embarrassed to have let so much of myself out in the open like that. He opened his mouth to speak, but I anxiously cut him off, apparently wanting to embarrass myself further.

"I know, that you might be upset with me because I do, in fact, like you, but I understand. I can move out, leave, it doesn't matter. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, and I'm sorry for that, Clay."

He began to shake his head and I felt impossibly more heartbroken in that moment. Here I was, laying my heart out for him, and even though I had known it was a bad idea—

We were kissing.

Clay's hands were cupping my face, pulling me closer and closer to him like he needed me to breathe. It took me a minute to register his lips being on mine, but when I did, my hands didn't waste time before weaving into his hair, making him open his mouth to give me more access.

He let out a groan and let go of my face so that he could pull me onto his lap. I'd have to thank Amber for letting us pick such stretchy dresses, otherwise there would be a huge rip up my leg right now.

The room was warm, and it felt heavy. Not a bad heavy, but like the kind that's deliriously sexy, a heaviness that you wish would stay there forever. There were sparks shooting up every body part that his fingers touched, and when he cupped my ass I just about squealed.

After kissing up my jaw feverishly, he stopped and pulled away. His hands found my cheeks again and he pulled me to look him in the eye. "It was you," he breathed heavily. "You were the girl I liked from work. You were a part of my everyday deliveries. Hell, I took extra shifts if I knew the shop you worked at would be one of the stops."

I couldn't help but let a huge grin break out on my face. "You mean it?"

Clay chuckled and I felt his chest reverberating underneath me. "Oh, love. You have no idea how long I've been pinning over you."

We leaned forward and our foreheads touched, and his breath warmed my face as it came out in short pants. My heart was full, so full I swear it could burst in my chest at any given moment. His hands continued to caress me, grabbing and massaging gently at any place they could.

I dared to ask the looming question. "What does this mean, now? For us?"

His response was instant. "I would have loved to ask you formally, but, I suppose this couch is more formal than anything I could ever afford." We laughed at that. He grabbed the flower that was pinned in the pocket of his suit. "I have nothing else to offer you but this single white rose, on this lovely cream-colored couch, so here. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"With all the strings attached this time?" I asked playfully as I leaned forward, nibbling at his neck.

Clay groaned, unable to help himself to pushing his hips up into me. "All of the fucking strings, Adalyn. Please. Give them all to me."

"Then yes," I agreed. "I will be your girlfriend."

Clay made a noise of triumph as he scooped me up in his arms and flipped us over, so that I was underneath him. He began to kiss my neck, down my collarbone, nipping and smirking silently as I would whimper and moan at the feeling.

When he pulled away, I couldn't help but smile again. "I'm going to make love to my girlfriend, now. Is that okay?" He asked me gently.

"Yes," I let out. "It'll always be okay."