I attempt to ignore my skin being set ablaze by Alec's longing gaze.
I try to force away my growing arousal and walk into his mama's bar. Ignoring the palpitations of my heart as I long to kiss him again.
I still feel his soft lips and tongue against mine as our gazes connect, sending an electrical current surging between us.
My body vibrates with perilous, iniquitous desire. My skin prickles with anticipation and need. My heart beats wildly with unholy emotions as it sinks with the weight of my betrayal and deceit.
And yet I still find myself wanting to kiss him again and again and again.
I crave to feel his touch against my skin, to feel his lips against mine.
I so desperately want to drive to the house we once shared and listen to him talk about his life in the last seven years. I want to hear the melody of his deep, husky voice until the early hours of the morning.
I know I shouldn't feel this way. I know it's forbidden but I can't help it. Even with the guilt battling for dominance.
My body is yearning for the wrong man and I'm going to burn in the hellfire surrounding me.
"No fucking way!" A familiar voice exclaims, extinguishing the rapidly burning wildfire encapsulating me. "Telana?" He gets to his feet, his sapphire blue eyes widening in disbelief. Contagious happiness radiates off of him in waves.
"Oh, my God, Asher?" I laugh, staying rooted in the doorway of the bar as I hand my Toothless teddy to Alec.
"Come 'ere," he takes three long strides, engulfing me and my feet lift off the ground.
He puts me down, a radiant smile adorning his thin, pink lips.
"You haven't changed one bit," I ruffle his dark brunette hair.
"Why change perfection?" He runs his hands down his muscular body, a cocky grin dancing across his chiseled face.
"Move out the way," Kaden pushes Asher aside, wrapping me up in a warm embrace. "Good to see ya again, Tel."
"Same," I smile warmly. "Y'all are looking good."
Asher and Kaden Turner are the only identical twins I've ever met. There are some mild differences between them like Asher's jawline is sharper than Kaden's, Asher's cheeks are more defined than Kaden's and Kaden's lips are fuller than Asher's.
Other than that, they're identical but they're polar opposites when it comes to their personalities. Asher is by far the rowdiest and most childish in the best of ways. At least, he used to be. I'm not sure about now.
Kaden is the more reserved, broody type, waiting for princess charming to sweep him off his feet but it seems she's already swept him off his feet as a gold band sits snuggly around his left ring finger.
Girls at school fawned over the Turner twins and it seems one lucky lady landed one of them.
"Hope you don't get into any trouble with the law while you're back in town. I don't wanna have to use my cuffs on you," Dale emerges from behind Kaden with a teasing glint in his brown irises.
"No, not at all officer Dale," I raise my hands in surrender. "I'm a law-abiding citizen," I wink.
"That's chief to you," he chuckles, giving me a tight hug.
"It's so good to see y'all," I step back, my eyes settling on the one person I didn't want to run into.
The genuine smile slips off my face and I replace it with a small smile. "Hey, Sar," I walk towards her, the atmosphere becoming tense.
The guys stop laughing and smiling, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. They avert their gazes, def not making this more awkward.
"Hi, Telana," her brown curls bounce subtly as she walks towards me hesitantly. We exchange a brief, uncomfortable hug.
"Long time," I say stiffly, unable to formulate an adequate conversation starter.
"Mmhmm," she hums in agreement, a tense smile dancing across her freckled face. She tucks a wild curl behind her ear, her wedding ring glinting under the bars' lights.
"You got married. Who's the lucky man?"
"That would be me," Dale pipes up proudly, wrapping a loving arm around Sarah-Lynne. "Once I landed her in senior year, there was no way I was gonna let her go. She's the best wife and mother."
"Congratulations," my lips tug up in a smile. "Y'all have a kid?"
"Three actually."
"Oh, that's... nice."
Sarah smiles tightly.
"Our eldest daughter, Luna, is five. Our second, Charlie, is two and our third, Josephine. She's a new addition to our family, she's only four months old," Dale says proudly, kissing the side of Sarah's head.
"Are they with your parents?" I direct my question to both of them.
"They're with my mama. I can cart baby Jo around anywhere, she's still on the tit but I can't bring a baby into a bar. That would be wrong."
"Right," I clap my hands together in front of me ineptly. I hoped the tension would ease by now but no.
"Come with me!" Asher booms, grabbing my wrist and dragging me to the bar. Slicing through the tension. "You gotta do shots with me. For old times' sake."
"Okay," I happily agree, needing something to ease the lingering awkwardness.
I take a shot, banging the glass against the bar and I smile, loving the burning sensation settling in my stomach.
I probably should've stopped drinking after that, but I went for another and another. With the mentality of, what's the worst that can happen.
I caught up with mostly everyone.
Asher and Kaden started their own business, renting out boats and kayaks to tourists. They're doing decently considering Tybee is a well-known vacation spot.
Dale is now the chief of police. I never even knew he wanted to be a police officer growing up. He seemed to have no problem breaking the law, but people change.
Sarah and I hardly spoke. She left after the fourth shot of tequila. My fourth shot, not hers. Turns out, she doesn't work. She chose to stay at home and take care of her family. I commend her for doing it.
These days choosing to be a stay-at-home wife and takin care of your husband and children is like asking to be personally attacked 'cause you aren't a feminist. For some reason, it pisses people, mainly other women, off when a woman chooses to be a stay-at-home wife.
But to each their own. I personally don't mind it. Whether you are a feminist or not, it's your choice.
Anyhow, Sar maintains an extremely popular blog. So much so, she makes money doing something she loves along with helping other moms out there.
Jackson, who came about thirty minutes ago, giving me a warm greeting, is in cahoots with the twins and someone else. But they refuse to say who.
"Remember when you pranked Lacey by putting itching powder in her cheerleading uniform before a game and she undressed in front of the entire school?" Asher snorts, handing me a martini.
Man! I Feel Like A Woman! By Shania Twain plays in the background as I throw my arm around his shoulder. "How could I forget? I added triple the amount of itching powder. She undressed so fast."
"Her body was so red!" He guffaws. "You were a menace."
"I was not!" I gasp.
"You filled her car with glitter," he deadpans. "Glitter. She sparkled for weeks."
"It was harmless," I finish my martini, ordering another one. "She got me back though. I nearly got arrested multiple times."
"How about when you bought all those keys and scattered them around town with her phone number?"
"Again, that was harmless fun."
"She received calls for months," he chuckles.
We continued reminiscing until the sun set below the horizon and I got drunker.
We laughed and joked. It almost felt like old times. It almost felt like the seven-year gap between us diminished but it hadn't.
"How's New York?" Kaden asks as Dale and Sarah walk into the bar.
"It's great. I'm engaged," I thrust out my hand proudly, smirking at Alec. "I wanna get married soon but my husband over there refuses to sign the divorce papers."
"Lana, don't," he warns with a dangerous, sexy edge to his voice.
"I ain't doing anything," I shrug innocently, drunkenly.
"Now, why won't you give this pretty little lady what she wants and divorce her already?" Jackson pipes up.
"He's being spiteful."
"Lana," he says warningly again.
"He can't stand that I've moved on with my life and I'm happy without him. Tracey, how about another!" I place my empty martini glass on the bar, and she gives me a disapproving shake of her head.
"Darlin' I think you've had enough."
"I think you're right, Tracey," I sway. "What's wrong with you people anyhow?" I ask with a laugh. "You know there's a big world out there, right? And y'all choose to continue wasting your lives in this dead-end town."
"What is the matter with you, Lana?" Sarah asks, her angelic voice laced with sadness.
"She's just unhappy with her life," Alec wraps his fingers around my arm, leading me towards the door.
"Let go of me!" But he doesn't nor does he respond. The cool evening air hits my face, doing little to sober me up. "Alright!" I exclaim, drunkenly attempting to rip my arm from his grasp. "I'm leavin. It's not like I wanna spend another minute 'ere anyway."
"What makes you think you can insult my friends like they're shit under your shoes?"
"I didn't mean to insult them," I smirk. "Just you."
"I'm takin you home," he scoffs with a shake of his head.
"Fine, I can't find my keys anyway."
"I got 'em. Where'd you park?"
"Around the corner," I walk in the direction of where I think I parked my car and when we find it, Alec helps me in, buckling my safety belt. His words from not even ten minutes ago do backstrokes in all the alcohol flooding my brain.
Okay, it's not that much. I didn't drink so much. I had one martini...no that's not right. I had more than one.
Tequila... one, two, four, nope, I can't count how many drinks I've had. My math isn't mathing and I ain't going to force it.
"She's just unhappy with her life." His words prance through my mind once more in a mocking singsong voice like a, a, um... a baby deer – great, now my English isn't Englishing – in a field filled with luscious green grass and an array of wildflowers and butterflies.
Unhappy with my life? Me? Seriously?
My life is great. Amazing even and I couldn't be happier with the trajectory of how everything is unfolding for me.
"I'm not unhappy with my life," I say as he begins driving.
Restraint.
It's never been my forte.
But it took so much restraint not to respond to Lana's drunken outburst in my mama's bar. It took so much of me not to say the first snarky thing that came to mind.
The anger which flared through me at that moment is exactly what she wanted. She wanted a reaction. But none of us gave her one.
I could see how hard it was for Jackson and Sarah-Lynne to see their best friend like that after seven years of no contact.
It's a literal shock to the system.
"I'm not unhappy with my life," she repeats in the passenger seat, her thrilling blue gaze torching my skin.
I don't respond, trying my best to concentrate on the road instead of her eyes on me.
"Alec."
"Mmhmm," I hum, nearing her house.
"Please don't take me back to my folks like this again."
"Lana."
"Please, Alec, I'll even sleep on the dog bed if it'll make you feel better."
"Jesus Christ, Lana. I'm not a fucking monster." The anger left behind, dissipates, leaving me with zero fucking defenses and no shield to protect myself from her alluring gaze and intoxicating siren call.
"No, you're not," she giggles. One of the best sounds I've ever heard in my lifetime. "At least not anymore. The way you are now reminds me of the person you used to be. It's fucking with my head," she mumbles.
"Yeah, and how's that?" I ask, parking her car in my driveway.
"Caring, loving, sweet, goofy... funny... devilishly handsome with a panty dropper smile," she sighs. "Being back here, being around you again, it's warping my mind and blurring the lines between right and wrong. I've never so desperately wanted to be wrong in my life."
Her words sink in and my heart soars with hope. Residual anger from the bar leaves my body like a demon leaves its bodysuit during an exorcism.
"Let's go inside," I smile, not responding to her.
"Okay," she smiles, unbuckling her safety belt. She gets out and stumbles around to my side.
I just need a moment. Her being here isn't only messing with her head, but with mine. I know what I'm doing is wrong. Kissing her, lusting after her like she's still my wife but I can't help it.
When I'm around her, I feel drawn to her like a magnet to metal.
My self-control wanes, flying out the window faster than Sonic the Hedgehog.
She knocks on my window, an expectant smile dancing across her lips and I succumb, getting out. Her hand curls around my bicep and my mind immediately reels back to this morning, seeing her hand curled between her gorgeous, trembling thighs.
That's another moment of restraint. It took everything I had not to hop in that shower and devour her pussy and drown myself in her orgasmic arousal.
The way her body jerked, and her tits bounced.
Fuck me.
I almost rustled the dragon right there to her muffled moans.
Fuck, I almost nutted in my pants.
Her moans this afternoon reminded me of it, too. My restraint was seriously being tested big time today.
I unlock the door, Hades barrels towards us and Lana drops to the ground, rubbing and kissing him.
Her blue orbs sparkle brighter than any diamond or gem as she whispers to Hades.
Her plump lips curl into a hypnotic smile and the urge to kiss her resurfaces.
On the beach this afternoon with the wind in her hair, the sun kissing her skin and the carefree smile she was sporting. I couldn't help myself. I had to capture her lips and cement that moment in my memories.
For a split second I was convinced I had my wife back. I made myself believe she was mine and only mine.
It's so far from the truth but as I stare at her with adoration, Hades resting his face across her thighs, I believe it again for a second time today.
I offer her my hand; she gently removes Hades' face from her legs, and she takes my hand. Her body molds to mine perfectly as I cup her cheek and angle her face perfectly.
Her tequila laced breath mixes with my own and I close the distance. A shudder runs down my spine the moment her fingers weave in my hair.
I pull her body closer, and she wraps her legs around my hips, my hands instantly finding her thighs. I deepen the kiss, caressing my tongue against hers.
A deep guttural moan vibrates between us, eliciting a ravenous desire to surge through me. I break the kiss, leaning my forehead against hers.
"Alec," she whispers huskily, opening her brilliant blue eyes filled with lust, gazing into mine. Her eyes flicker from my eyes to my lips as she moves her lips towards mine with uncertainty.
"We shouldn't," I whisper back, edging my fingers closer to the soft skin of her ass.
"You're right," she runs her hand down my hair, resting her fingers against my nape.
"This is wrong," my gaze flickers to her red, swollen, enticing lips as I lean closer.
"So wrong," she breathes but my legs have a mind of their own as I walk towards the bedroom we once shared as a married couple.
I push her up against the wall, gazing deeply in her eyes. Her pupils are blown, dominating the blue but I can see her battling against her want for me, her husband and her loyalty that's been so far twisted for her fiancé.
I want to do the right thing and pull away, put an end to this madness but I can't. I love her. I've always loved her.
So, I kiss her.
I kiss her like my life depends on it.
I explore her mouth, getting lost in the way her tongue moves perfectly against mine. Like we were designed specifically for each other.
She runs her hands over my shoulders and down my chest, reaching for my hem. I abruptly end the kiss, walking over to the bed and I place her on it gentler than I ever have before.
I slowly, teasingly remove my tee and her eyes explore my body like she's never seen me shirtless before.
It sets off an explosion of warmth inside my chest and I'm positively breathless.
A voice in the back of my head is sending warning signals through my body but I don't listen, lowering until her fingertips trace my tattoo.
"What is this?" She runs her finger over a silhouette of a man staring up at a baby angel with obscured features and wings wrapped around its body.
The tattoo of the man is a solid black whereas the angel's wings are a light shade of yellow, adding some color to it aside from the black outline with shading around it. Amplifying the intensity of the bold dark color against my tanned skin.
"It's a tattoo," I snort.
"I know," she rolls her eyes.
Without realizing it, she gave me the sign I needed to stop. I lie down next to her, her gaze following me.
"You know what it is," I respond. "What's the purple butterfly on your back mean?"
"Change," she gulps, the lie rolling off her tongue with ease like she's told it a million times.
Her eyes fill with the same sadness I feel stabbing my heart and I stare up at the white ceiling with a blotch here and there of navy-blue.
"I'll take the couch," I offer after a moment of silence.
"Please," she grabs my hand, vulnerability lacing with her usually confident, fiery voice.
"Stay."
A/N: Telana left more than a husband behind when she left home. She left friends behind whom she didn't contact either. Not all of them seem to be bothered by it except one person... Sarah-Lynne. Since this story is inspired by a certain movie, there's been a few people who made the connection... did you catch that one line?🤭😉 I couldn't resist. I just had to add it for a good laugh. Did it work?
Alec and Telana know what they're doing is wrong but they can't seem to stop locking lips and feeling each other up😈 Thankfully, a tattoo prevented something more from happening👀👀 That would've been wrong... So wrong🙈 Right?👀🤔
Anyhow, thoughts???
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I'm just gonna awkwardly end this off with a:
Til the next chapter❤️👋🏻