Oh god, the man is a heater. I hastily kicked off my blanket, blinking my eyes open to see his chest right against my face. "Ah," I groaned, stretching my legs out. His heavy arms weighed down on me, holding me so tight to him I'm sure I hadn't moved all night. The thought was comforting, knowing I was protected in his grasp, safe and sound.
And fucking hot.
"Chris " I whispered, struggling to scoot up in the bed. He had to weigh well over 200 pounds of pure muscle.
"Don't go." He mumbled sleepily, squeezing tighter.
Bossy in his sleep too.
"I can't breathe. I promise not leaving." His arms relaxed with my soothing voice. I was free to scoot up onto my pillow and finally take a full breath.
"Why you gotta wake up so early, girl?" His brow furrowed, closing his eyes tight.
My eyes dashed to my alarm clock. "It's eleven o'clock, Chris."
"No, it's not." Stubborn as ever, he sounded so sure of himself.
"It is though." I looked over his handsome features, the peaceful expression he held as he slept. I suppose I didn't mind that we'd slept in, it was a rather eventful night.
Oh, that was an understatement.
It was damn near magical. Good enough to make every muscle in my body sore, and leave me wanting more. The idea tore me apart, knowing that I shouldn't let this silly infatuation get to me. This couldn't continue.
But I'm going to let it. If only just for a day.
"Hey," I whispered, rubbing his side gently. "You should wake up."
"I am awake." He groaned, blinking his eyes open. "God damn."
"Sorry, I just-"
"You look stunning."
"Stop." I covered my face. "I look like a gremlin."
"You do not," He laughed out, touching my cheek with gentle fingers. "Let's go shower or something."
"Together?" I blushed.
"What, are you shy now?"
"Of course not."
He watched me, pleased as I faced a battle with attraction and an overwhelming feeling of shyness. "So tell me what you're thinking."
I thought for a moment, looking up to the ceiling. "Well, I don't know, I guess a little unsure."
"Unsure of what?"
"Whatever this is. What are we doing?"
With a long sigh, he sat up, pushing the covers off of him. That glorious body now in full light held my attention, it was impossible to remove my gaze. Did he even realize that he was this good looking?
I had been with that all night.
"How 'bout you forget about what it is we're doing, and just roll with it." He stood up off of the bed and held out his hand to help me down.
"You know this can't happen again right?" I tucked my hair behind my ears, crumbling under his piercing stare.
"Oh, it'll happen again, princess."
Ah fuck.
"Whatever you say." I turned away from him to grab my bathrobe that laid carelessly on the small ottoman in front of my bed. First things first, I need to cover myself from those hungry eyes. I secured the robe tight around my waist, ignoring the look of disapproval he shot at me.
"You're still gonna shower with me." He pulled on his pants, radiating aggressive tension. My stubborn behavior was seeming to get on his nerves.
"Well the only way I'm gonna do that is if you get me something to eat soon." I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Just get your ass to the shower, Peach." He smacked his hand down onto my left butt cheek and nudged me towards the door playfully. "I've got something planned for food."
-
"So how you feel?" He slapped a glob of shampoo onto his hair and rubbed it around messily. His shampoo smelt fantastic, a bold and manly smell that wafted throughout the bathroom.
"What do you mean? I'm hungover and grumpy." I twisted my hair, squeezing as much water as I could get out of it.
"I mean after I fucked you."
"How do I feel?" I chortled. The nerve of this man-acting like he didn't already know. He just needed to hear it so he could have that ego boost. "Well, if you must know-"
Water dripped off of his smiling face, making him look more and more irresistible. His arms on either side of me, pinning me against the shower wall, practically fucking me with his eyes. Does he have any idea how hard it is to concentrate when he does shit like that? "Go on." He tilted my head to the side to lay kisses down my neck.
"Very sore." I gulped, practically turning into a puddle.
"Where?"
"Oh stop." I rolled my eyes. "You know where Christian."
"I wanna hear you say it."
Placing my hands against his chest I pushed him back with a smile on my face. I could play this game too, I'm no stranger to seduction. He isn't the only experienced one here, and I couldn't lie-it was very exciting to toy with him. "You know, Christian," My finger trailed down the center of his chest, stopping at his belly button. "I'm curious,"
That cocky lil' smirk began to fade into a serious expression, glazed over eyes and just a hint of a smile.
"How do you feel after last night." My hand grasped his dick, squeezing it until I heard a deep guttural moan.
"Ah fuck," he breathed, briefly looking up at the ceiling. "Very fucking horny, that's how I feel."
"Hmm." I mused, moving my hand slowly up his length before releasing him. "I could say the same but-well,"
"Well, what?" The tension in his voice made me want to cackle. He could dish it out, but he couldn't take it.
I pulled back the shower curtain and stepped out. "You should've fed me first."
"God damn it, Briel, you tease."
I haven't even started yet
-
We sat in his truck comfortably shaded in the diner parking lot, eating our scrambled eggs and toast. The noise level in that place was far too much for our hungover heads to handle. To my surprise, Chris had suggested eating in the truck, happy to be alone with me in peace.
"You're fucking cute." He watched me chew up a mouthful of eggs, little bits and crumbs falling messily into my lap.
"What, how?" I questioned, forgetting my manners.
"Every time you take a bite you do this lil' dance thing."
"No, I don't." I glared quizzically at him.
He laughed at the certainty in my voice. "Yeah, you wiggle your ass after every bite." He copied me, shaking his butt in the seat.
"Do I really?" I covered my mouth as I laughed.
"It's fucking hilarious." Just then Chris's phone started to buzz in the center console, capturing our attention immediately. He lifted the phone, every so slightly turning the screen away so I couldn't read the caller I.D.
"Hey man, how you doin'?" He answered, a smile stretching over his face. "Nothing really, just eating breakfast-oh for real?" He paused and looked over at me with that adorable grin. "Yeah, can I bring someone? Sick, I'm on my way."
"Who was that?" I asked as he started up the truck, dropping his phone back down in the cupholder.
"My buddy, Rick." He whipped the truck in reverse and peeled out of the parking lot-trying to show off.
"Is he gonna be nice?" I crossed my arms, not exactly thrilled to meet any more of his friends after my encounter with his band.
"Yes, he'll be nice." He chuckled. "They're some of the most chill people I know."
"They?" I questioned.
"Yeah-you'll get to meet his ol' lady, Rey and their daughter, Stella."
"Aw, they have a baby?" I clapped my hands together. I loved children, they're always so honest and sweet, just excited for some company. Sadly enough for me, I did not foresee any children in my future. Daddy made sure of that, making all of his girls send regular proof of birth control. I could confidently say that the last thing I needed now was to get knocked up.
Little stubborn spawns of Chris? No thank you.
Well-I suppose that would be kinda cute
"She's not a baby anymore." He shrugged. "I think she's 'bout four now."
"That's awesome!" I squealed. "I love kids."
He whipped his head over to me, looking pale in the face. "I came inside you last night."
"I know." Keeping it casual, I shrugged and bit back a smile. That shocked realization written on his face was too perfect.
"Bri— you better not get pregnant on me I swear to god you'll fucking kill me." A hint of panic could be found in his tone, and that was enough for me.
"I'm on birth control, don't shit your pants okay?" I nudged his arm, giggling out loud.
"Fuck, woman. I nearly had a heart attack." He let out a long sigh. "Jesus Christ."
"Oh hush, I'm only messing with you."
"Yeah, thank god."
"So how old is Rey? Is she around my age?"
"Eh," he shrugged. "Probably in her mid twenties I'm thinkin'."
"Wow, they had a baby pretty young then huh?"
"Yeah. That's exactly why I don't wanna get you knocked up. I had to see them go through all that shit."
"Well, I'm excited to meet them, Chris. Thank you for letting me come."
He shot me a side smile. "Don't mention it, sweetheart."
-
The moment we stepped up onto the front porch, we could hear the wails of a very upset child. Chris looked over at me before knocking loudly at the door-his expression speaking volumes. "Another reason why I don't want kids."
The door opened and a petite girl with gorgeous blue eyes grinned at us, her smile widened as she looked at me. "Wow, you guys got here fast-shoot." She pulled Chris in for a hug, squeezing him tight before looking over to me. "I'm Rey! Come on inside." She held the door open and we stepped inside.
"How you doin' lil' lady?" He grinned at her, shutting the front door behind us.
"Tired." She said loudly over the sound of an ongoing tantrum in the back of the house. "Stella!" She yelled, turning in the direction of the noise. "Come see who's here."
Chris smiled broadly as the sound of little footsteps ran down the hallway. A little teary-eyed girl came into sight, clinging tightly to a fuzzy pink stuffed bear. Her sweet green eyes lit up when she saw him, running quickly over to him, grabbing his hand. "Uncle Chris!"
"What you cryin' for?"
"Momma won't let me go outside to see daddy." Her little lower lip quivered while she blinked up at him.
"I told you, Stella, he is working on his car and you have no business being out there bothering him." Rey said, sounding exhausted.
"Let's go get him. How 'bout that?" Chris lifted her small frame into his arms.
"Okay!" Stella cooed as he opened the door and stepped outside, leaving Rey and I alone in the house.
"You want somethin' to drink?" Rey beamed at me, looking me up and down.
"Please!" I followed her into the kitchen, glancing over the well decorated room. "Just water is fine for now."
She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and handed it over to me. Her perfect smile never leaving her face. "What's your name?"
I cleared my throat nervously, trying to stay cool and collected despite the fact that I felt incredibly shy. "Briel."
"Girl, you are gorgeous. How the heck did you fall into Chris' trap?"
My cheeks flushed pink, and I chuckled softly. "We're just roommates."
Her eyebrows raised, and her smile broadened. "No way?"
"Yeah, I needed the help." My god, I could just die right now.
"Well, I'm glad. Just watch out, that man can be very-" she paused to think, laughing as she did so.
"Intense?" I offered, sipping on my water.
"Yes, exactly." She leaned herself over the counter, propped up on her elbows. "You sure you aren't together?"
Screaming internally, I looked away and grinned. "Well, we're not together or anything, but-"
"My goodness, that's amazing!" She clapped excitedly. "Chris hasn't had a serious girlfriend since Vanessa. For good reason at that." Her face crinkled in disgust at the mention of her name.
Vanessa?
"Really?" I asked, swallowing hard. I had no place to feel so threatened by someone I didn't even know. Chris was his own man with his own past.
Who the hell is Vanessa?
"It was years ago." She nodded. "I mean he's had his share of flings I'm sure, but I kid you not, he has never brought a girl around us."
Huh. I must be a lucky one
"He's never mentioned a Vanessa." Tucking a lock of hair behind my ear with a cautious smile, I felt that green monster called jealousy grow like a balloon in my gut.
"She's nothing to be worried about, I promise. That woman is a psychopath to put it lightly." She waved her hand carelessly in the air. Of course she had picked up on my mild discomfort, there was no disguising how I felt.
"Just out of curiosity," I started, already fearing the answer I might receive. "What did Vanessa look like?"
"Ugh, like a snake!" Her head shook in disapproval. "Skinny, mean, blonde-you know. The typical run of the mill bitch."
Blonde.
That figures.
After chatting with Rey for just a few minutes, I had decided that I liked her. A lot. Sweet and kind with a little bit of bite, she seemed to be a wonderful friend. The excitement in her voice when she answered my many questions about motherhood stood out most of all. She loved her family, and she was blessed to have them.
Our conversation was interrupted by the front door opening, a tall dark haired man strode into the kitchen and embraced Rey. Holding her with the utmost care, he held the sides of her face and kissed her lovingly. I'm assuming that this was Ricky.
"Hey, baby girl. I just finished changing that CV axle, I just gotta put on some new brakes and rotors and I'll be all done." He said softly, only focused on her.
My god, they were adorable
"Well, you aren't going out again tonight. Stella has been dying to play with you all day." She huffed, turning away from him to grab a couple cans of beer from the fridge.
"Deal." He grinned at her, fiddling with his lip piercing.
"I'm Briel." I said awkwardly, watching as Chris walked into the kitchen with Stella wrapped around his back, pulling on his neck.
Adorable.
"Ricky. It's great to meet you." His green eyes flashed from me to Chris, and he smiled. "You want a beer?"
"Yes, please, thank you so much." I eyed Chris, searching for any sign of disapproval.
Ricky cracked open a can of Budweiser and passed it over to me. Now, I'm not a huge fan of beer, and Budweiser is not my go to-but holy hell I drank that thing down. To settle my nerves of course.
"Alright lil' lady," Chris groaned, lowering Stella to the ground. "You gotta get down."
"Why?" Stella asked, still holding her arms around his neck, clearly unamused.
"Cause, you're choking me." He laughed, prying her off and standing up next to me.
"Let's go sit in the living room. It's too crowded in here." Rey made her way out of the kitchen and we all followed, Stella chasing after Ricky excitedly.
"So, Chris was telling me y'all are roommates?" Ricky asked, sitting down on the couch. "How bad is it?"
I choked out a laugh. "It's torture, believe me."
"Oh, I believe it." I couldn't help but notice his jittery movements, leg bouncing up and down. Perhaps he was a smoker?
"We have our share of fun." Chris chimed in, glancing at me with a devilish grin.
"I'd imagine so." Ricky looked down at Stella who was desperately pleading for him to hold her barbie doll. "One second baby girl, let's play in a little bit, okay?"
Stella smiled and sat herself down by his feet. "You can be the Ken doll, daddy."
"'kay baby." With a cheeky smile, Ricky looked back up at Chris. "We went to see Ty today."
"Don't." Chris shook his head, his face going blank and still. Drained of all emotion in an instant. "Let's just not talk about it."
"Talk about what?" I blurted, eagerly trying to read Chris. He showed almost no emotion, except maybe anger. Bitterness?
Okay, so, who is Ty?
"See," Chris held out his hand, gesturing towards me with a glare directed at Ricky.
"It's his fuckin' birthday, man. You don't gotta say shit. All I'm saying is I went to see him, okay." Ricky eased himself off the chair and walked over to the door. "I gotta smoke."
Well, I was right about the nicotine addiction.
Before I could even open my mouth to blast questions out like a cannon, Chris sighed and turned to me. "It's Ty's birthday."
"Who's Ty?" Pressing him only made him more uncomfortable. Something in his sad eyes spoke to me, hoping I would drop it and move on.
I have to let it go.
"A good friend." Rey smiled, breaking the tension between Chris and I. "Chris just hasn't visited in a long time."
I smiled warmly at him, blinking slowly to assure him I would let it go for now, at least. "Oh, okay. Maybe we can visit sometime?"
Chris looked down at his lap, clenching his fists tightly. "Maybe."
"I don't mind either way." Without a single thought in my mind, I laid my hand on his knee. The simple touch alone grabbed his attention, he was confused; and just for a second, I saw a small smile.
"My god, you guys are killing me." Rey fanned herself. "You guys have it so bad for each other, it's not even funny."
Quickly, my hand retreated from his leg and back into my lap. "Oh my goodness."
Chris smirked at me, tipping back his can of beer and chugging a generous amount out of it. "You think so, Rey-Rey?"
Her hand lifted to cover her face as she laughed. "I do. And you better be nice. You hear me?"
"Yeah, yeah." Chris shrugged and stood up off the couch. "I'm gonna join Rick."
"I was thinking about making some hotdogs for lunch, would you guys want any?" Rey pulled her light brown hair back into a ponytail and smiled gleefully at me. "You can help if you want, Briel!"
"I'd love to." Chris held out his hand to assist me off of the couch.
"I stole your girlfriend, Chris." Rey giggled. "We're friends now."
Chris smiled. "Well that's a shit ton of trouble, ain't it?"
His smile was handsome as ever, but that sad look in his eyes never left. He was feeling some sort of deep down pain, battling it alone within himself.
Who is Ty?
-
Chris and I ended up staying until at least five o'clock. An hour before I had to be at Honey's for my shift. With careful thought, I made up a very valid excuse to call out of my shift. Luckily it was Candy who answered the phone, she was most likely answering calls to bait in customers. All I had to tell her was I couldn't do it today and she was fine. No harm no foul, just a night off. Candy understood completely and wished me a wonderful night, staying in character just in case.
"Listen Bri, I'm really glad you had a good time." Chris said after a long silent drive home. We sat still in his truck, neither of us eager to get inside. It was nice, a refreshing way to end an evening such as this one.
"I think Rey is cool." I fiddled with a stick of gum, unwrapping it slowly as I thought to myself.
"What are you thinking about?" He looked at me like I was the only person in the world, all focus on me. He wanted to say something, I could just feel it.
"Well she mentioned something, and it stuck with me." I shoved the stick of gum in my mouth, chewing slowly at it until it softened in my mouth.
"What's that?" He leaned his head back against his headrest, breaking his eyes off of me. "Are we playing another fun round of twenty questions?"
I rolled my eyes, giving him a gentle smack on the arm. "No, Christian, I just have one for right now."
He scoffed, annoyed. "For right now? So there's more?"
"You wanna tell me about Vanessa?"
He whipped his head up and shot a glare at me, cold and unforgiving. "No, I fucking don't."
"Why?"
"Because there's nothing to talk about." He snapped, ripping open his door and hopping out of the truck.
With a deep sigh, in and out, I opened my door and followed him into the house. It didn't take much to upset him, but I had become damn near an expert. "Hey." I snapped, closing the front door behind me.
Not even seconds after walking in the door he had a bong loaded. Creamy thick white smoke filled the neck as he pulled out a long hit, holding it in while he moved to the kitchen, for what I'm guessing is going to be a glass. Maybe even a bottle of liquor.
"You really should just talk to me." I sat in my blue chair and started to remove my comfy canvas shoes, silently giving thanks that it didn't have to be stilettos that I was removing.
He stormed back into the living room, stomping around in his big mean boots to make a point. I'm angry and I'm mean, stay away from me- blah fucking blah.
"Dude, just calm yourself." I rolled my eyes with a huff. "All I did was ask about her."
In a moment he had crossed the room over to me. With a ferocious growl, he pushed me back into the chair, his mouth on my ear as he spoke. "Don't call me dude."
"Why you getting so mad?" I giggled, rolling my eyes at his sudden outburst.
With a look of disgust, he pushed away from me. "You wipe that goddamn grin off your mouth, or I swear I'll shove my cock so far down your throat, you won't be able to breathe."
I couldn't help the slight tug I felt at the corners of my lips. "That might be real nice if it's well executed."
He didn't expect an answer like that, it took him off guard. With a confused glare, he watched me. "It will be well executed. You trying to fucking piss me off?"
I challenged him with my smiling face, biting my lip. "Is that what I'm doing?"
"Oh my god." He let out a groan, dropping his head and shaking it slowly. "Peach, why you gotta act like that?"
"I want to know why Rey made her seem like a big deal."
"So, it was Rey?" He growled, still heavy on the defensive.
"Yeah, and she said Vanessa is a psychopath who-"
"You really want to know about her?" A smug expression crossed his tired face.
"Yes, I really do. Why is that so bad?" Matching his tone, I scooted forward in the chair, holding to his shoulders.
"Fine." He barked and stood up quickly, pulling out his crumpled pack of cigarettes. "She's a stupid fucking tramp who slept with my friends, and fed me Oxys like they were candy."
"How long were you guys together?" I swallowed hard, studying him with a heavy heart.
"Does it matter?" He took a long drag from his cigarette and ran his hand through his messy hair.
"I'm guessing it was your longest relationship?"
"Somewhere around four years, give or take." I watched as he paced the living room before squatting back down in front of me. "It was off and on."
"I'm sorry that she did that to you, Chris." I scooted down to the floor, carefully sitting in his lap. "I can't understand how anyone could do that."
"Don't be sorry for me." He studied my face, visibly relaxing his cold demeanor. "She just saw an opportunity when-" His fingers touched a strand of my hair, brushing it delicately in this touch.
"When what?"
"I was goin' through some shit."
His dad?
"That's awful." I snaked my arms around his torso, laying my head on his chest. "I'm so sorry."
Silent and still, he allowed me to hug him tight, eventually he returned the embrace and breathed me in. "Peach," as he spoke my name, I could feel his heart thudded louder in his chest, arms squeezing tighter.
"I won't ask anything else." I pulled back quickly, the feeling inside of my chest was terrifying. That heart-racing, nerves bursting, mind-scrambling feeling was taking me over. "You wanna take some shots?"
"Fuck yeah, I'd love that."
God, I would too.
-
After nearly a whole bottle of Tito's Chris and I were plastered, sitting on the couch in the living room. Taking occasional breaks from our Sopranos marathon to make out in between our drunken laughing. It was all nonsense, but it was fun to let go of all rules and seriousness.
If only that moment could have lasted longer.
There was a loud bang at the front door, followed by a rapid succession of hard knocks. Chris jumped up from the couch, and in a second he was looking through the peephole. "It's your friend." He looked at me quizzically.
"Candy?" I asked as he opened the door, Candy bolting inside the house. "What's wrong?"
"Briel," She panted, hands shaking at her sides as tears streamed down her face. "We need to- Peach, something is wrong."
"What do you mean?" My eyes flicked from her to Chris, worry plaguing my mind.
"They came to Honeys." She grabbed my arm, trying to pull me back to my bedroom. "They looked everywhere for you, Peach."
"They didn't-" My legs were weights below me, making me stop in my tracks.
"No. They hardly talked to me." She looked away.
"Are we gonna have visitors?" Chris took another shot from the bottle, watching me with confidence.
I certainly hope not.
"No, just crazy customers." I shrugged casually, smiling as sweetly as I could. I couldn't have him asking me about this.
What if they come to the house?
Chris walked over to the couch and knelt down to his knees. Reaching underneath, he pulled out a gun, cocking it back. "I won't let anyone through that door."
"Hey," I called to him before Candy finally dragged me down the hall to my bedroom. "Think before you shoot."
-
*Mwah*
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