The Taste of Paradise / l.h ✔️

19

~Nova's POV~

"There's a party this weekend." Amir told Jaida and I, causing her to scrunch her nose up. She wasn't really a fan of going to parties. Amir and I, however, were rather fond of parties.

Jaida frowned at him and crossed her arms over her chest, huffing to herself. "And...?" She asked expectantly, like she just knew what he was trying to insinuate. We all knew very well what Amir was hinting at. However, Jaida really did hate parties, so if Amir didn't ask us to go with him outright, she'd pretend like she didn't see what his point was. It was her way of trying to get out of going, which almost never actually worked anymore. It wasn't that we forced her into going—because we didn't—but I suppose she felt like she didn't need to go if she wasn't asked directly about going.

Amir rolled his eyes and sighed deeply, shooting me an exasperated look that made my lips twitch in amusement. "I was hoping we could all go. It's been a while since we've been to a party and just let loose." He said, making her grumble under her breath as she slouched back in her chair, defeated.

Both Amir and I looked at her expectantly for her answer, as it was basically a given that I was going to be tagging along regardless. "Fine, I'll join." Jaida sighed, pushing a long braid over her shoulder. We both grinned excitedly and simultaneously threw our arms around her, squeezing her in a tight hug as she giggled and playfully pretended to try to nudge us off. "What day is it?" She asked as we broke away from her, a curious look on her face. I looked to Amir for the answer as well, not sure of this either. Amir was always the one who gathered the party details because he was popular with almost everyone in our grade. He got invited to tons of parties.

"It's on Friday." He answered, making me hum. I had tutoring with Luke on Saturday's still, but I doubted that me going to a party on Friday night would be a very big deal. It's not like it'd make me late to our sessions or something like that. It'd be fine. Plus, he was my tutor. I didn't have to have his permission to go to a party.

Brad poked his head out from the other side of Luke's broad frame, glaring at me with suspicion. "You're going to the party on Friday, too?" He huffed, crossing his arms over his beefy chest. The odd proportions of his head to his neck and shoulders were made even more prominent due to the way he leaned his head back a little, like having his head too close to me would give him airborne cooties or something. "I believe that's what we just confirmed, yes, Brad." I affirmed, nodding my head.

He groaned and slouched forward over the table in defeat. "Damn it. Now I really don't know if I wanna go if you're going to be there." He grunted, a hard frown on his lips. I pretended to gasp. "Brad! How rude!" I whispered playfully, earning a roll of the eyes.

Luke, who was between us, suddenly looked down at me and frowned. "You shouldn't go to the party, pipsqueak." He told me, acknowledging me for the first time since Monday when we'd agreed that what had happened between us was a mistake. It was now Wednesday and yet this was the first time he'd spoken to me at all. Oh, but he had definitely taken any opportunity he could find to ogle me. We'd gone right back to the beginning and I was frustrated.

I scoffed at him, unable to believe that he was actually trying to tell me what I should do. "Excuse me? Why the hell not? You're not my dad, Luke." I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest angrily. He had quite a lot of nerve to be telling me what to do. "In fact, you and I are hardly even friends anymore, thanks to you." I added, feeling irritable.

Unsurprisingly, he glared at me and then leaned down extra close, his eyes icy. "Don't bullshit yourself here. You're the one who sucked my dick. What did you expect, for me to thank you? You know I don't do casual shit, so you brought this on yourself." He snapped, keeping his voice low enough that only I could hear it. Or at least I thought only I had heard it, until Brad gasped loudly and poked his head around Luke's shoulder. "She did what now?!" He hissed, eyes wide with shock as he glanced between Luke and I. "Did you just say Nova sucked your dick?" He practically squawked, catching Jaida and Amir's attention.

They both whipped their heads to me while I glared at Brad, throwing a balled up paper towel at his face. "Shut up! Seriously, are you trying to tell the whole world?!" I huffed, and he just rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. With your reputation, I'm sure they already know. It's not like anyone would even be surprised about it." He retorted.

Clenching my hand into a fist, I went to tell him off when Luke smacked his friend on the back of the head, making Brad jerk away. "Ow!" He exclaimed, pouting. Luke just sent his stupid friend a look. "I've told you to stop saying shit like that about her, Brad." He muttered, making me blink in surprise.

He was trying to get his friends to stop slut shaming me? But why? Could it be because I told him about how it makes me feel?

Perhaps it was stupid but I couldn't help but to feel grateful for it regardless. I smiled softly to myself and looked down at the empty salad bowl in front of me that I'd had for lunch. I considered thanking him for a moment, but I decided not to out of fear that he would somehow end up getting even more upset with me.

"Nova!" Amir hissed, throwing his empty milk carton at my head. I yelped and placed a hand on my head, glaring at him. "Couldn't you just get my attention in a way that doesn't involve throwing shit at me?" I huffed, but he just shushed me, leaning towards me at the same time as Jaida. They both gave me wide eyed, expectant looks. "Did you really do that with Luke?!" Jaida gasped softly, making sure only Amir and I could hear her. I ducked my head and scratched my arm nervously, shrugging. "Well, yes, but just pretend like you don't know that. It was a mistake anyway." I said, the blatant lie slipping off my tongue thoughtlessly. I didn't want anyone to think that it hadn't meant anything to me, but it almost seemed worse to have Luke know that it really had whilst it had been nothing to him.

The two of them gasped and exchanged glances, shocked. I knew the reason for this reaction, and I understood it very well. I hadn't done anything even close to this since I'd lost my virginity.

"But..." Jaida frowned at me with uncertainty, trailing off. I shook my head subtly, not wanting to talk about this around everyone else. She got the hint and dropped the subject, though she was visibly hesitant.

I looked back up at him, who had just been silently looking at me, his pink lips in a frown. "Anyway..." I muttered awkwardly, gazing into his pretty eyes. "I'm going to that party. You being a douche to me isn't going to make me suddenly just change my mind." I told him, causing him to scowl at me in annoyance. He leaned towards me a little more, his knee brushing mine. "You're not. We have tutoring on Saturday." He said firmly, giving me a look that dared me to defy him.

A little smirk formed on my lips and I leaned towards him as well, knowing I had caught him off guard with our sudden decrease in proximity. Our noses brushed and I could feel his breath fanning over my lips. "I don't have to listen to you. You don't control me. I'm going to that party and that's that, Luke." I insisted, but my words just seemed to infuriate him more.

All of a sudden Luke grabbed my wrist and pried my hand off his thigh, the look on his face giving away his attraction to me even in moments like these, when he was angry. "You really are just a giant pain in ass, Nova." He scowled, his gaze trailing down to my curves. I felt his grip on my wrist tighten and he glared at me, seemingly irritated. "What?" I hummed, mocking innocence. It probably wasn't a good idea to be provoking him like this and I knew it, but I was angry at him. I was bitter that he regretted what we had done.

"If you insist on going, then just know you'll be seeing me there, pipsqueak."