Hola! ♡♥♡
Yay! I actually managed to update again!
There's an image on the side of the cabin that will be mentioned later on in this chapter, that's how I picture it but you can think of it however you like!
This chapter is dedicated to AilynGodina ♡
Enjoy!
Chapter 28
Arissa's POV
After sneaking Tyler upstairs and locking my bedroom door, I shoved him onto the mattress and climbed on top, trailing my lips over his jaws and neck, teasing him, not allowing our lips to meet. "Damn it Arissa," he murmured, making me smile.
He tossed us over and pinned me down beneath himself, reversing roles and torturing me now. His lips ghosted over mine but he made no attempt to kiss me, leaving me craving his touch. He leaned down until his lips were beside my ear and whispered, "two can play that game, baby girl."
"But there can only be one winner," I replied, lifting myself up on both elbows and pressing my mouth against his. I felt his smile through our kiss and released my elbows, but pushed him up so we were both half-sat on our knees. He peeled my pyjama top off my body, exposing the skin I was afraid to show him, and his hands wandered from my neck down to my stomach. My breathing hitched and I closed my eyes, feeling vulnerable and insecure. His hand traced over the fresh cut on my arm then moved to the hideous bruise on my stomach, examining it. I slipped my hand over the mark and he looked up and frowned, removing it.
"You're beautiful, I don't want you to hide any part of yourself from me," he said. My heart fluttered erratically as he lowered his head and slowly pecked the damaged skin.
"It's ugly," I frowned, making a face of disgust because of the memories it brought back.
"Don't be stupid, no part of you is." He brought his lips to mine once more and I dug my fingers into his luscious brown locks as he increased the intensity of his actions. I began to unbutton his black button down shirt— I was surprised it wasn't one of his usual plain tees— whilst his hands searched for the clasp of my bra. He undid it and was bringing the straps down my arms when there was a knock on my door.
"Arissa, open up!" Drew said.
My hands were holding on to each side of Tyler's shirt, just below his collars, and I dropped my forehead onto his bare, chiseled torso. "I swear everyone has actually made a pact to stop us from, you know," I groaned, my voice sounding slightly muffled.
"From you know?" He laughed. "What could that possibly mean?" He tilted my chin up and his minty breath fanned my face.
I rolled my eyes at him. "You know what I mean!" I stood up from the bed, re-clasped my bra and retained my clothing from the ground. "Give me a minute!" I hollered out to Drew who I had almost forgotten about. "Button your shirt up," I ordered Tyler once I was dressed.
"Nope, you started to undress me so you should dress me too," he winked.
"Shut up and do it."
But of course stubborn Tyler wouldn't listen to me.
He stood up and I walked over to him, then began buttoning his dress shirt. "Arissa!" Drew called again.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I was fastening the final button when Tyler wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to his chest, my hands trapped between our heated bodies. "Get off!"
"No, I quite like this," he smirked.
"You're going to get me into trouble!" I struggled to be freed.
"Why? We're not doing anything wrong."
"You are in my brother's eyes," I told him, pushing him away with all my force. I unlocked the door to reveal Drew's frowning face.
"What took so bloody long?" He asked, then peered in to find Tyler sat down. "Where the hell did he come from?" He strode into my room uninvited.
"My mother's va-"
"Shut up," Drew replied, knowing exactly what he was going to say. He squinted his eyes at Tyler for a few antagonising moments and folded his arms. "Joining us for dinner again?" he asked Tyler whose face automatically became alarmed.
"Oh, no thanks!" After the previous time I was sure he wouldn't want to join anyway. "I'm heading home now."
"No, no, you're joining us. We're going out tonight," Drew offered Tyler his best forced smile. I wanted to laugh at his plight as he unwillingly nodded. "Get dressed Arissa."
He left the room but glanced back. "Come on then, Tyler, not staying in there are you?" He asked in a hostile tone, warning him not to say the wrong thing.
-
We settled down in our seats at Golden Dragon, a Chinese restaurant 15 minutes away from my home which provided the most delicious Asian food. It was probably one of the most popular places to eat at in our small town, every being living here had visited, no doubt.
It took us a mere 10 minutes to choose our meal and order it since we all knew what we wanted from previous times. We began to chat and hadn't even realised when the food was served twenty minutes later.
"Oh my God, Tyler!" was screamed just as I dug into my chicken fried rice. A petite brunette walked over in her skinny jeans, cream blouse and stilettos and rested her hand on Tyler's shoulder. "Aw, here with family are you?" she asked. Before he had the chance to answer, her friend joined us.
"Tyler!" She over dramatically gasped, holding her manicured hand to her mouth. "Long time, no see babe!" She leaned down and planted a kiss on his cheek. Well she was certainly the affectionate one, wasn't she?
"This Heidi?" She asked him, referring to me. She clearly knew him very well.
"Actually, I'm his girlfriend," I spoke up. It didn't seem like he was planning on telling them. Drew and my parents both had annoyed looks etched on their faces, matching mine. Couldn't we have one normal dinner? No wonder Drew acted more protective than a brother actually should.
The two girls started to laugh. "Girlfriend? Tyler isn't a girlfriend kind of guy!" The brunette exclaimed.
"She means his daily fuck," the other one said so casually and my parents' mouths dropped open. Drew and Tyler both rose from the table, except Drew wanted to tackle Tyler and not the two friends who evidently had a history with my boyfriend.
"She is my girlfriend," Tyler growled.
The two girls looked puzzled or shocked, maybe both. "I think you should leave now," Drew said calmly before things could get more out of hand. They instantly left and headed back to their group of friends, probably to gossip about what they had just found out.
"Anyone who didn't know we were together will definitely know now," Tyler informed me as he sat back down. I had lost my appetite but continued to pick at my meal since everyone else was enjoying their foreign delicacies.
"Hey, you! I haven't seen you in forever!" Another female voice rang. I looked up to notice a pretty blonde woman who looked like she was in her mid-20s standing by our table. Shaking my head, I looked away. I wondered how many more women from Tyler's past would approach us tonight.
"Jenny!" My brother's panicked voice filled my ears. He abruptly stood up and led her out of the restaurant, telling us he would be back in a minute or two.
He returned ten minutes later without company, obviously having wrapped up a conversation with Jenny. "Ex-girlfriend?" Tyler questioned.
Drew shook his head. "Not quite, more of an ex-acquaintance with benefits," he laughed and I shot him a disgusted look at the same time Mum and Dad told him off. Seriously, acquaintances? He was exactly like the old Tyler.
"There's more in common between us than you think," Tyler smiled in amusement.
-
After that dreadful meal we headed back home. "Can't Tyler come inside?" I asked, much to the disapproval of my three parents. That's exactly what Drew felt like to me, a third parent— as if I needed another.
After giving my boyfriend a good night kiss I shut my front door and grumpily stomped to my room, telling them all I was having an early night.
Tyler:
*I want to take you somewhere, I'm waiting outside.*
I scrunched my nose at the text, confused. Didn't he just hear that he wasn't allowed in? How on Earth would I be given permission to leave?
Me:
*You know I won't be allowed!*
I tapped my black nails, which had been freshly polished just today, on the screen of my phone as I waited for a reply.
Tyler:
*I know, that's why you need to sneak out.*
Were my eyes deceiving me or did he really just tell me to sneak out? I'd get caught instantly! I couldn't risk being grounded for five years, or probably more.
Me:
*No way! I'll get caught or I'll fall— either way somebody will be digging a grave for me!*
Tyler:
*Don't be a drama queen. You won't get caught and I'm here to catch you if you fall ;)*
I smiled at his words but still wasn't prepared to sneak out. Several more texts were exchanged between us when I received one which changed my mind.
Tyler:
*Fine, I'll just have to take somebody else. Maybe one of the two girls from Golden Dragon?*
Me:
*You wouldn't.*
Tyler:
*Baby girl, you know I would.*
I took at least a few minutes to contemplate this and came to a decision, even though it wasn't a rational one but based purely on jealousy.
Me:
*You win, I'm coming.*
I could just picture the triumphant grin on his perfectly sculpted face as he read the text message I had sent.
-
I had draped scarves down my window so I could climb down. It was a ridiculously cliché moment. I checked approximately one hundred and seven times to make sure they were tied tight enough.
There was a ground floor, first floor and second floor to our house. Luckily, I was on the first floor so it wasn't too high from the ground. I gripped onto the scarves and took a deep breath as I climbed down, genuinely scared for my life. Halfway down I scraped my knee against the brick wall, tearing my favourite black jeans. Wonderful.
"Tyler, I don't like this." It reminded me of rock climbing except it was much worse.
"Just jump and I'll catch you," he calmly suggested as if it was such an easy thing to agree to.
"Are you out of your—" I began to shout then remembered to lower my volume. "Are you out of your mind?" I whispered loudly.
"It'll be fine. If you trust me, you'll jump."
Oh, so he was using the blackmail technique. 'I don't trust you' was what I wanted to say but decided against it. "If you drop me, I'll come back and haunt you."
I didn't look down to measure the distance, it would only scare me more. I screwed my eyes shut and let go, so full of fear that I wasn't even able to release a shriek. I landed directly in Tyler's strong arms and held on tightly, opening only one eye at first. "I didn't die!"
Tyler laughed. "I wouldn't allow that now, would I?"
He carried me to the passenger side of his car and seated me inside, buckling the seatbelt for me.
-
"Would you like a red carpet too, ma'am?" He imitated a posh accent as he held the door open for me.
"That would be great actually," I joked back and grasped the hand he held out for me. We arrived at this place, which I had never seen before, in a matter of thirty minutes and Tyler was now leading me somewhere further along. As I got out, all I could see were tall trees and all I could hear was the sound of them rustling as the wind pushed them closer together.
A sort of pathway had been created for pedestrians, a thick forest surrounding it. If it wasn't for Tyler being right beside me I would have been completely spooked out.
The blustery wind blew my hair in my face and we kept walking for at least ten minutes until we came to the end of the pathway, which opened up to reveal a garden of some sort. Red, white and pink flowers, not in full blossom, decked the ground and the branches of trees hung low to create a roof, sheltering us. Before us was a white, wooden arched arbor, inviting us into this secret place of beauty. We walked forward hand-in-hand, Tyler's eyes locked on me as he watched how amazed I was.
Right at the centre of it all was a pond, decorated with lilypads and fallen petals and leaves. The air felt warmer here and I gazed at the reflection of the moonlight in the peaceful pristine water. The stars twinkled in the dark sky and the trees seemed to silence. All I could hear was the sound of our breathing and unknowingly I started taking steps forward. I heard a plop sound as a fish broke the surface and the ripples in the water widened out, causing a smile to appear on my face.
Beautiful," was the one word I managed to say as I examined the place in awe. I crouched down and stroked my hand through the water, peering into the depths. Small fish were freely swimming around. I never thought something so simple would be astonishing to watch.
"Like it?" Tyler broke me from the spell the area had cast on me.
"I love it! I never thought I'd be this happy after sneaking out."
Tyler looked very content and satisfied as he approached me. "Come with me." He wrapped his arm around my waist and we walked a little further until a huge wooden cabin was in sight. "Oh my," I said. It was perfect.
"It was my grandpa's. Our whole family came down every Christmas when we were, well, functional," he laughed. "After his passing this place was transferred to me," he jingled the keys in his hands.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Nope, one hundred percent telling the truth. What do you say, should we stay the night?" He asked. I glanced at the grand property again and thought about it. He leaned down and seductively spoke in my ear. "Just think, we'll have no disruptions or distractions for... you know."
My stomach churned vigorously and his eyes were lit in amusement as a bright blush made its way on my cheeks on hearing what he was suggesting. I nervously bit my lip and nodded. "Let's stay."
I enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope you liked it!
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