Chapter Fifteen:
When we pull up in front of my house, I frown. What would my parents do? Elliott comes around to my side and opens my door for me. "Such a gentlemen," I tease, taking his outstretched hand. He smiles and kisses my cheek. Walking up the porch steps, I couldn't help but feel nervous bubbles fill my stomach. Elliott pulls me close and we walk in. "I'm home!" I call out once I've shut the door behind us.
My dad appears. "Hello," he nods his head and smiles at us. "Been anywhere good?" He asked as he led us to the kitchen.
"The park." I smile. He raises his eyebrow and leans against the counter. "Long story." He doesn't say anything more, just looks over my shoulder at my mum.
I turn around. “Hi mum.”
"Hey, sweetie. Elliott, nice to see you again," she smiles. "Owen is in the front room."
“Um, okay.”
She nods and walks over to my dad. Silence settles over us as I try to work out what to do. I pull Elliott with me to the front room.
"Hey, Lani-bear," Owen smiled up at me then at Elliott. "Hi."
“Hey.”
"So um..." I say. Awkward silence fills the air as I try to think of something to say. What is there to say? Owen scratches the back of his head and frowns. I sit down, pulling Elliott with me.
"Well," Elliott drawls. "This isn't awkward at all."
"The hell it isn't." Owen mutters. I breath out silently through my nose, trying to think of a way to make a conversation that isn't awkward.
"So, what were my parents going on about?" Owen cleared his throat and looked pointedly at Elliott, until he got the hint and stood up. I look up at Elliott.
"I'll give you two a moment, okay?" He smiled and walked towards the doorway. I nod and watch him walk away.
"What did they talk to you about?" I ask him when the door is shut and it's just us two.
"Everything between us."
"Oh." I say.I nod my head and bite my lip. "Like what exactly?"
"Exactly what your mum saw." He rubbed his hand over his face
"Ah," I frown. "What did you say?"
"What did I say? What do you think I said Lani?"
"I...I dont know." I looked down at my hands. He sighed and used his pointer finger to lift my chin.
"Sorry."
"What did you say, Owen?" He leaned back and tugged me so we were side by side. I just look at him. "Lani-bear, she knew straight away that we aren't talking anymore. She told me to spill and I did," he scratched his chin. I look down again. Even my parents know. "She wanted to know if we were going to be friends again," he said in a quiet tone.
"Of course she would ask that."
"How would you answer it?" He asked.
"Maybe." He sighed and nodded.
"I can't believe how bad I screwed up our friendship. I'm so stupid."
Is it really all of his fault? I looked over at him in time to see him furiously rubbing his eyes. Instantly I felt bad. Its not my fault. But I did sleep with him, I didn't stop him. Three times...
"Lani-bear.." Owen turned so he was facing me.
"What?" I looked up at him through my eyelashes. "What?" I repeat. He looked between my eyes.
"I'm taking full blame for this. I can see in your eyes that you were thinking that I wouldn't." I shake my head and close my eyes.
"I didnt stop you, I knew it was wrong but I didnt stop you." The sofa shifted then I felt his arms around me.
"I know that last thing you want it for me to hug you right now, but I miss this," he whispers near my ear. I keep my eyes closed and stay where I am. After a few minutes I finally hug him back, missing his hugs more than I should have.
"You can't take full blame." I say.
"I should," he mutters.
"Why?"
"Because if it wasn't for me, it wouldn't have happened," he told me.
"How do you know that?"
He pulled back and looked at me. "I doubt you would have started that, Lani-bear."
"Maybe." I shrug. He closes his eyes and breaths out slowly through his nose.
"You would have started that, Lani-bear? You would have made the first move to kiss me?"
"I could have." His eyebrow slowly raises as he opens his eyes and look down at me.
"Somehow I doubt that, but okay."
"You want proof, ask Elliott."
He shrugged. "Okay. I'll ask your boyfriend, as your ex-best friend and someone you've slept with, about your sex life, sure, I can do that."
"You're impossible Owen."
"What do you expect me to say?" He looked down at me. "I'm not exactly happy about how all of this turned out, Lani-bear."
"And you think I am?" I ask. "The only good thing that came out of this is me getting a boyfriend."
He shook his head. "For some reason I get the hint that you want me to leave. You've got your boyfriend, you don't need me... I get it."
"Owen...that not what I'm saying."
"What are you saying then?" He rested his head back against the sofa.
"That I'm happy but not completely."
"Why aren't you completely happy?" He looked down at me and frowned.
"I dont have my best friend." His frown deepened as he looked away. I don't look at him. My head snapped to his when he moved his fingers to intertwine with mine. I'm shocked. I blink and bite my lip. "What are you doing? Owen?" I say.
"Lani," he looked back at me with a sad expression, making my heart clench. "Please can we go back to being friends? Just friends, who talk and joke when they see each other. No rush to be best friends if you don't want to be."
I nod. "Yeah, friends." I can tell by his face that he wanted me to say we could be best friends again."We can work our way back to being best friends."
He gives me a small smile. "That's good. I guess I better go then. I'm sure Elliott is getting impatient."
"Yeah, thats probably a good idea." he still hasn't let go of my hand, and ive been trying to get it out of his but his grip is too tight. "Owen.." I sigh.
"What?" I lifted our hands up. "Oh, sorry..." he lets go. I give him a small smile before standing up. "So I'll see you tomorrow morning?" he says. I nod my head from side to side.
"I don't know."
"Okay." With a final glance, he opened the door and walked towards the front door.
"Bye." I say. He tapped two fingers against his head in a salute before exiting the house, a few minutes later his car started. I start looking for Elliott. The sound of his laughter tells me he is in the kitchen. When I enter my parents look over at me, and I could see my mum silently asking whether we made up or not. I nod and walk up behind Elliott, wrapping my arms around him.
My dad mock glares at Elliott, but it dropped into a grin when he looked at me.
"Hey everyone." I smile tightening my arms a little bit around Elliott. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and kisses the side of my forehead. I smile even more.
"Hey, sweetie," my mum sits down next to my dad. "How was your night?" She raised her eyebrow with a smile on her face.
"My night was amazing." I smile.
"Ah," she nodded her head. "That's good." I lean my head on Elliott, who kisses the top of my head.
My dad clears his throat. "What did you get up to?"
"Tonight?" I ask.
"Last night," he raised his eyebrow. "You stayed over his, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I did."
"Well, what did you get up to?"
"We just hung out, watched movies, and ate." He nodded his head and narrowed his eyes.
My mum hit his arm, "stop bothering them, darling. I'm sure they want to go watch tv."
I walk over to my dad. "What wrong, dad?" I ask.
He frowned and shook his head. "Nothing, Lani. Do I get a hug?" A grin took over his face as he opened his arms.
I hug him."I love you daddy."
"Love you too, bud." He let me go and smiled.
"Is it okay if Elliott and I go watch a movie up in my room?"
My mum nodded. "You know the rules though."
"I know." After everything that happened with Owen, I now have rules for having a boy in my room. I take Elliott's hand and lead him up the stairs. I bring to where my movies are so we can pick one. He drops down on my bed and smiles at me. I grin, I cant help it. He bit his lip and laid back, looking up at the ceiling. I walk over to my bed and sit down next to him. His arms instantly wrap around me and pulls me to his chest. I giggle. With a small, happy sigh, he kissed the side of my forehead and snatched the remote from my hand before I blinked.
"Hey!" I smile.
"Yes, love?" He gave me a cheeky grin.
"I was going to grab that."
"And?" He pecked my lips and turned the DVD on. I fake pout, but I kiss him. Someone clears their throat from my doorway. I look to see who it is.
"We're going out. Owen's parents invited us over over for dinner. They asked whether you wanted to come, but clearly you two are watching a film," my mum smiled.
"Okay mum." I say.
"Be good," she stared at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Mum!"
"What?" She gives me a innocent smile, when Elliott looks down at me, it turns into a wicked grin - causing me to chuckle and shake my head.
"Oh just go already before dad comes up."
"Maybe I should call him up, don't you want to say goodbye to him?"
"Yeah." I watched her as she called him up, I mentally groaned. I hear him as he comes up the stairs. I wait patiently as he stares at me and Elliott.
"I expect you two to behave."
"We know dad." I say.
"I'll be phoning shortly after we eat dinner," he wiggled his finger as a slow smile spread across his face.
"Okay dad, we get it." He nods his head and tugs my mum's hand, pulling her down the stairs with him. "Bye!" Elliott and I call out. We hear the front door close and instantly I breath out. The next thing I know, I'm in Elliott's arms and smiling.
He returns my smile and kisses my cheek. "I love you." I beam as I say that. I can't help but chuckle at his smile, it stretched across his face and it shined in his eyes.
"I love you, too."
I wrap my arms around him. He leaves little butterfly kisses along my jaw as I try to form a sentence. "The film," I mumble, "we're missing it."
"Do you want to watch it?"
"What would you rather do?" I raise my eyebrow. He kisses me softly. I smile against his lip but pull away when my phone starts ringing. "I bet that's my dad." He hands me my phone.
"What, dad?" I sigh as I flip open my phone.
“Just checking in.”
"It's be, what, ten minutes!" I huff and scowl at the ceiling.
“Okay, okay. Bye.” I chuck my phone onto my desk and smile apologetically at Elliott.
“Don’t worry.” he tells me. He leans on his elbows and cocks his head to the side, looking down at me.
“Yes?” I say.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just annoyed with my dad."
"Don't be," he smiled. "He just wants to make sure nothing happens."
"He doesnt care that..."
"Hm?" He raised his eyebrow.
I sigh, "My doesnt doesnt care that I slept with Owen."
"What?" A taken aback look crossed his face before he masked it. "Oh," he nodded his head. "Okay."
"I'm sorry.....I know thats hard to hear." He shrugged but I could see it was hard for him to hear that. I climb on top of him, staddling him. "I'm sorry." I kiss him.
"It's okay," he mumbled, shifting so he could put his hands on my waist. I kiss him again, only this time longer and harder. A surprised squeak escaped my mouth as he flipped us so he was hovering over me. I look up at him and smile. "Reckon he'll phone back?" He asked in a quiet tone, moving his head to kiss my neck.
"No."
"Good." He intertwined his fingers with mine and moved them above my head. I just lay under him, smiling. He smiled back.
"What are you doing?" I ask him.
"What do you mean?" He gave me a sweet smile.
"My hands."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Huh?" I ask confused.
"I can either let go or.." he leant forward and kissed me. I smile against his lips and kiss him back. He grinned when he moved back. "I love you."
He blinked and a adorable look crossed his face as he looked down at me. "I love you, too." I smiled brightly. I want to pull him closer but he has my hands so I cant. He hands trail down my arms, leaving goosebumps behind, until he gets to my cheeks. I feel heat rise to my cheeks. He lightly kisses my lips, slow and sweet. I bite his bottom lip, teasing him. A small groan leaves his mouth as I kiss along his jaw. I smile to myself.
"You tease me too much," he breathed out, a small smile on his face.
"You tease me a lot too."
"I do not," he gave me a innocent look.
"Oh yes you do."
"Oh, really? What do I do?"
"What happened at school for example."
"What happened at school?" He repeated, a cute thinking expression on his face.
"Oh you know what happened at school."
He moved forward. "Maybe you should remind me?" I kiss him passionately. When we pulled apart, he smiled and rested his forehead against mine. "I still can't remember," he said in a hushed tone.
"Maybe if I could get my hands back that would help." I giggle.
He hands moved to my sides. "Now what?" I wrap my arms around his torso and pull him really close. He grinned.
"I don't think we can get any closer."
"Its possible." I tell him.
"How so?" He cocked his head to the side and looked down at me.
I just look at him. "You know how."
He stared down at me for a moment, until his mouth formed a O shape and he averted his eyes.
"Yeah...."
"Well," he cleared his throat.
"Yeah?" He met my eyes. "Yeah?" I say again.
He frowned. "This is the closest we are going to get at the moment..." he cleared his throat again and looked away. I wanted to pinch his cheeks at his embarrassed expression. I pull him closer and rub his back. He sighed and nuzzled his face in my neck, his breath tickling. I kiss his shoulder while continuing to rub his back. He kisses my neck and wraps his arms around me.
"I love you Elliott."
"I love you, too, Lani, so much." He squeezed me closer to him. I smile and bit my lip. I couldn't help but think that this wasn't close enough. Is he holding back because he doesnt want to hurt me or thinks I'm not ready? I couldn't exactly ask him, could I? I frowned and looked at the side of his head. "Something wrong love?"
Startled, I blinked a few times until I realised he was looking at me. "Love, what's wrong?" He pulls back a bit and makes me look at him. "Lani?"
"Why haven't we slept together?" I blurted. Not even a second later my eyes widened and my cheeks burned.
"What?"
"Why havent we slept together?" I ask.
He blinked and looked down at me. "Why haven't we slept together," he repeated. I wait for him to say something else. Silence settled over us as he thought over what I said. I probably shouldn't have blurted it out but...I want to know. "I don't know," he finally says.
"Oh."
He frowned. "I didn't think you wanted to, to be honest..."
"Oh..." I repeat. He watched my face, trying to see my reaction. Wow, I didnt expect that at all...
He kissed my forehead. "Sorry, love." I just stay where I am. He looked like he was thinking of something to say. I look up at him, waiting. He blows out a breath. "I don't know what to say, love."
"Me either." I scrunched my nose up when he kissed the tip of it. I wrap my arms around him. He moved his lips to mine. I kiss him and I feel him smiling against my lips. A small sigh leaves his lips as he smiles down at me. "What?" I ask with a smile on my face.
"Just thinking, I guess," he kissed me again. I kiss him back. "Is it too late to make up for that not happening?" He smiled and kissed my cheek.
"Its never too late." I smile. A adorable grin crossed his face as he leant forward, his face hovering over mine, I giggle and pull his head down to mine, kissing him.
His hands explore my back and stop when he comes to my bra.. I don't stop him when his right hand traces the waist of my jeans while the left plays with my bra straps. He undoes the clasp. He traces my hipbones with his thumb. He tugs on my belt and his hands trace where my jeans meet my bare skin. he slides me out of my belt and jeans. My hands go to the waist of his jeans. I help him out of his jeans. He looks down at me, asking for permission. I nod. He kicks off his boxers and slides off my panties. He puts on a condom. Pleasure shoots through my body and I smile. When he kisses my neck slowly and softly, my heart races. We continue to ‘make love’ and it seems to go on for hours and hours. The whole time he holds me and won't let go.