"Are you gonna tell me what happened with Aiden last night?" Ava asks as she continues to carefully place sparkles over my blinding highlight, purposely overdone for the music festival today.
I look down sadly. After everything happened with Aiden, I found the girls and practically begged for us to leave. I didn't want to ruin everyone's fun, but I was scared to leave alone. I asked if at least one of them wanted to head back and they decided the pack moves together.
Gosh, I love my friends.
Ava kept pestering me about what happened and since she saw Aiden getting shit faced and making out with some random girl in fishnet stockings and a black lace bra, only, she had a feeling it had to do with him.
But I didn't want to talk about it. We still had the rest of the weekend ahead of us and I didn't want to taint it with my bad mood and anger towards Aiden.
Smiling at her sadly as she examines her work, I tell her, "I don't wanna talk about it. And I definitely don't want it to affect our day!" I slap my thighs with my hands and stand up once I realize she's done. Looking into the mirror I smile at the tasteful contrast between my tan skin, the shining highlighter/sparkles, and my blood-red colored lips, "This looks amazing, Ava!"
She smiles proudly at me, the purple-hued highlighter that sculpts her face is glistening just as bright at her smile, "Yeah. I did a pretty good job," she says smugly, "But don't change the subject. What happened?"
I exhale deeply and walk from the mirror to sit on our shared queen-sized bed, "We had a fight. He said some pretty awful things and I spazzed on him. Short story even shorter, whatever we had is over," I say, sounding way more upset than I originally intended.
Ava comes to sit by me, putting her arms on my shoulder, "I've seen you guys. The way you guys act around each other, the secret smiles, the blushing, the sneaking off. You'll get past this," she says, surprising me with her words.
I didn't think she was paying so much attention to Aiden and I. But all that stuff was just us trying to fool around and get a little action before returning to reality. A way worse reality where we weren't actually together and would never be.
"I don't know about that but, we should meet up with everyone and head to the festival! I want to get a good spot," I quickly get up from the bed and examine my outfit one last time, high-waisted shorts with a brown belt and a white lace bra covered by a diamond mesh shirt that belongs to Ava, and make my way to the door.
"L-let's go!" I stutter awkwardly and practically run into the door before slowly turning the doorknob and walking out calmly instead. I make my way down the stairs and into the kitchen before stopping from the sight of a complete stranger in nothing but an oversized t-shirt pouring herself a cup of coffee.
Who in the fuck is she?
"Who in the fuck are you?" I ask out loud, sounding rude because I have a gut-wrenching feeling I knew who's overnight guest this was.
The brunette turns around and gives me an embarrassed smile and blush. Fuck, she's pretty. I can see her makeup smudged across her face, but it didn't make her look any less gorgeous, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Aiden was taking long to wake up and I just love coffee in the morning so I thought I would make... myself... Some," she slowly starts to quiet down. Probably because of my death glare. Classic Aiden to bring a random girl home. Why am I even surprised?
Looking at her in Aiden's light blue t-shirt that I was tugging off of him two days ago on the hood of his car, I felt sick. It shouldn't hurt, but it does. A whole fucking lot. Probably because this is Aiden's response to fighting with me.
But once again, he didn't owe me anything... I guess.
I force myself to stop glaring at the innocent girl and send her a passive-aggressive smile instead. It's the best I could do, "Oh. Yeah no problem," I walk over to her side and reach for a mug of my own and hold it out toward her. She smiles at me and pours the coffee in my cup, "What's your name?" I ask.
She giggles, "Yeah probably should have started with that. My name's Nina," she says. Okay, kinda creepy that the name of the girl from my made-up story in English is pretty much standing in front of me right now.
"Mariana," I say and I see her face drop slightly.
"Y-your Mariana?" she asks, looking severely uncomfortable now, "I just thought he misheard me or something," she mumbles.
I furrow my brows, "What? What do you mean misheard you?" I ask and chuckle awkwardly.
She crosses her arms over her chest and purses her lips, "This might sound weird, but when I was... with Aiden last night and he... finished, he kinda moaned out your name and not mine," she reveals to me. My eyes widen and my face turns beet red. Aiden moaned my name while fucking someone else??
"He moaned my name while having sex with you??" I blab out the question before I could stop myself.
She shakes her head slightly, "We didn't have sex. I gave him head and before we got to the good stuff, he stopped me. Probably, now that I think about it, embarrassed that he was thinking of someone else when my mouth was wrapped around him," she says effortlessly as if that wasn't extremely awkward.
I'm still blushing like crazy. So he had this stunning girl in his bed last night and didn't have sex with her? Why is that so hard for me to believe right now.
"Oh... I'm so sorry. I don't know why he would do that. That's so horrible," I apologize to Nina, feeling kinda bad for her.
She just shrugs nonchalantly, "Eh, I don't care. It was just a one night stand and the dick was still good so I'm not complaining," she sets her mug down in the sink before looking at me with a smirk, "But you probably know that," she winks at me.
I laugh loudly and snort, "Pfft! Um, NO. N-no way. We are j-just friends," I sip on my coffee.
I hear her chuckle, "Yeahh, okay..."
"Oh shit, you're still here."
We both look toward a distressed Aiden at the edge of the staircase, shifting his eyes between us looking like he just got caught red-handed.
I smile sweetly at him, "Yes! I got the chance to meet the lovely, Nina! She told me all about the fun you guys had last night! Every. Single. Detail," I say getting closer to him with every word, still giving him a tight-lipped smile.
I have never seen Aiden as stressed as right now. I can practically see the sweat starting to drip off him and gathering on his upper lip, "Um, I can explain, Torres," he gulps down harshly before I burst out laughing.
"I don't care what you do, Grey," I pat his chest and walk past him and back up the stairs to Lexi's room. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I managed to keep it cool in front of Aiden, but I felt like punching him in the stomach, not laughing and acting like I didn't care.
Trying to shake off my annoyance at Aiden, I make my way to Lexi's room and barge in when I get there, "Lex, I need to ran– AHHH," I scream and close the door. I completely forgot that Lexi and Mason were sharing a room. Why does this happen to me even when we aren't at UCLA.
I hear rustling and whispered-yells on the other side of the door before Lexi opens the door slightly, looking flustered and sporting a birds nest on top of her hair, "What's up, Mari," she chokes out with a smile as if none of that just happened and slides her arm down the side of the door.
I give her a deadpanned look, "Can't you guys keep it in your pants for like, a second?" I ask in disbelief. Last time I talked to Mason he was mad at Lexi and obviously harboring some feelings for her. Maybe he confessed them...
A small smile comes across my lips, "Did Mason say anything in particular last night that got you in the mood?" I ask, not being too subtle but subtle enough because it's Lexi.
She gives me a confused look, "Um... just the usual 'I'm horny. Drop your pants' why?"
Guess not.
❀❀❀
"This spot is perfect!" Lexi squeals in excitement before gesturing for Mason and Luke to put down the large picnic blanket. We got to the festival at a pretty good time so we were able to find a spot on the lawn smack in the middle between the stage and bar.
I'm surprised how clean the lawn was. It was like last night's rave never happened and the decorations were changed to follow a beach theme rather than a rave. But it was the same lawn.
Once Luke and Mason are able to fight against the slight wind and place the blanket down, we all lay down our stuff and sit. The crowd around us is boisterous and I constantly glance around the entire area inspecting the partiers. Long gone the neon from last night, now the majority of people are wearing flowy... well, everything really.
There are people taking an insane amount of pictures in every angle possible and others who are just enjoying the day with their friends at the bar and around other parts of the lawn.
"Drinks??" Lexi asks me, hopefully. I laugh at her and get up, dragging her to the bar with me. Walking past Aiden, I can see he's staring at me.
The next time I went downstairs, Nina was gone and Aiden acted as if he never brought anyone home. But I made sure to bring it up.
"Where did the lovely Nina go, Aiden? Did you just hump and dump?" I asked while we were all having breakfast at the dining table. Mason spit out his coffee and looked at Aiden with wide eyes as Aiden just closed his eyes in annoyance.
"You banged a rando last night and none of us even knew?" he asked loudly before looking at me, "Except the girl you should have hidden her from???" he asks, putting both of us on blast now.
I blush as the entire table bursts out laughing, leaving Aiden and I embarrassed as hell.
And now he hasn't stopped staring at me, from the uber here, to looking around the lawn for a spot, until now. And I just need him to stop.
Moving my focus back on Lexi, we continue our passage to the bar. I order myself a 'sex on the beach', just because it sounded fitting for the occasion, and Lexi orders a margarita. The best thing about this place is that they don't card or charge for the drinks, to a certain amount. The price is already included in the ticket, which I get reminded of every time I order a drink and automatically think about my debt to Aiden. I just hope he won't hold it over my head.
This is exactly why I don't like letting people buy me things. I hate the feeling that I owe someone money and that they could possibly hold it over me. I don't think Aiden would but, now that we aren't involved, I don't know what he'll do.
Grabbing out drinks and making our way back to the blanket, only Luke and Mason were left.
"Where did Aiden and Ava go?" Lexi asks, thankfully so I don't have to. Luke looks up from his phone.
"Ava went to talk to some guy from last night and I don't know where Aiden went," I don't miss the disappointment in Luke's voice. Shit. He was supposed to talk to Ava today and now she's off talking to some other guy.
I make my way to sit beside Luke and Lexi sits beside Mason, immediately falling into a flirty conversation that I decide to tune out.
Mirroring Lukes's position on the blanket, his arms leaning against his propped up legs, I look at him sympathetically, "I know you wanted to talk to her today. I'm sorry, Luke," I whisper as he lifts his head to look at me. We are pretty close right now but I know that neither of us feels anything for the other, but if Aiden happened to come back right now, he might just believe in his theory from last night.
Luke smiles sadly at me, "Yeah well, as I said before," he starts before moving his focus back to his hands as he starts to mindlessly dig under his fingernails, "look at her and look at me. She's too good for me."
"That's not true, Luke. I hate hearing you say that. You're a great guy and I'm sure Ava sees that. She would be crazy not to, especially since she's known you forever," I nudged him with my shoulder lightly, making him chuckle.
"Thanks, Mariana. But, I think my ego was deflated enough for the time being so maybe I'll try to talk to her another day when there are... fewer distractions," he mumbles, not taking his eyes off his hands.
I know by distractions he means other guys but I decide to just try to make him feel better, "Okay, but you have to promise me to have fun today! Maybe even talk to a new girl??" I say with a grin on my face, making him laugh loudly but agree to my conditions anyway.
We were both laughing when we heard a voice behind us, "Can I talk to you, Torres?"
I turn to look at Aiden in his denim shorts and tight white button-up that clings to his muscles in the most flattering way. I roll my lips in my mouth and look at Luke, who is still intrigued by his fingernails, before getting up and walking towards Aiden.
"What do you want?" I ask. I admit it was harsh but I honestly am doing him a favor by talking to him right now. After what he accused me of last night, I didn't want to talk to him for at least a couple of days. I know I'll give in at some point, I'm not stupid.
He turns around and starts walking away, which I assume is my cue to follow him. And I do.
Aiden guides us to a bench that's overlooking the beach below us. It's overcrowded like most LA beaches, but the water looks as blue as the clear sky and alluring as hell.
He sits down on the bench and I slide in next to him, keeping my eyes on the people walking along the sand, hand in hand. Some kids were having mini swimming competitions in the ocean and others were building horrible looking sandcastles.
"Can you look at me at least, Torres?"
"I really don't think you want that."
"I do."
I turn to look at Aiden, prepared to death glare him into an early grave but I'm not prepared for the way he's looking at me. He's looking at me like I'm the only thing he sees. And of course with complete and utter guilt for being a world-class a-hole.
"Okay, fine. Talk," I say, giving in and sinking into the bench a little further. He looks a little surprised that I gave in so fast but he takes the opportunity and shifts his body to face mine.
"I'm so sorry, Torres. I should have never ambushed you last night and that is not how I wanted to handle things. I was drinking and upset and I wasn't thinking clearly. I don't think that you are screwing my friends. I know that's not you," he declares quickly, barely breathing between sentences.
I sigh deeply, "I know you're sorry. But you have to understand how fucking shitty I felt last night. You basically called me a homie hopper."
He chuckles softly before cutting himself off, "You're not a homie hopper, Torres. I know that... I just got stupid and childish and insecure for some strange reason," he isn't looking at me anymore. I started to get a bit nervous about where this conversation was going. It felt like a confession was coming. One that I was not ready to hear.
"You aren't– I mean, you d-don't have feelings for me... right, Grey?" I ask nervously. Knowing that his answer could end things indefinitely between us. I know I said they were over before, but I'm weak and people make mistakes. At least he apologized.
His eyes widen and panic flashes within them, "NO. I m-mean, n-no. I don't. I promise. I only see you as my attractive lady friend that I would really like to bang."
I laugh loudly at that, not being able to control myself, "Oh God, Grey! Your lady friend that you want to bang? Wow thanks, bud," I punch his arm lightly and I could tell it made him feel awkward.
Which in turn made me feel awkward.
Which brought out my nervous chuckles
"So... can we go back to what we were doing before?" he asks hopefully, biting his lip in anticipation. I smile slightly at him, holding back a grin.
"Sure," I squeak out. I have never squeaked in my life and I really wish I never had. Aiden chuckles at my voice before getting serious again. Oh no.
"I just have to ask... is anything going on between you and Luke?" he asks cautiously. This is actually bothering him.
"No, of course not. He's like one of my best friends now," I smile at Aiden, trying to settle his nerves. I don't think it works though.
"You may not be into him but I still think he's into you," he says, not making eye contact with me. Oh, if only he knew. Boys really are stupid, huh?
I laugh slightly, "Trust me, he's not."
I can tell he doesn't believe me but he lets it go, thankfully. He shakes off his negative thought about Luke and I and turns to me with a brilliant grin, the one that always manages to warm my insides, "How about we start partying now, Torres?"
❀❀❀
Dancing with Aiden has been my favorite part of the entire weekend.
Once we made up, we scoped the lawn to find our friends dancing along to the first artist of the day, Lauv. I even spotted Luke dancing with Ava, who was not with another guy anymore. When Lexi saw me, she grabbed my arm and dragged me away from Aiden so that we could dance.
But of course, at some point, I made my way back to him.
I really only had the 'sex on the beach' earlier and called it because I just can't drink so many times in a row. I can't handle it.
When Aiden saw me dancing my way back to him while an artist that I could not recognize performed another pop song, he had the biggest smile on his face. There were people jumping all around us, but all I could really see was him.
He latched himself onto my waist and pulled me to him, leaving no space between us and leaving me breathless. I can feel the atmosphere shifting between us, from lighthearted to tense. In a matter of seconds. We weren't smiling anymore, but rather analyzing the other, inches apart.
I can tell his breathing is picking up from the heaving of his chest and the scent of mint, chocolate, and beer that continuously hits my face. He places his forehead on mine and stares down at my lips, waiting for me to make the first move this time.
And I happily oblige.
Lifting my lips to meet his was relieving. It's all I've been wanting to do all weekend and we constantly let our bickering and stupidity get in the way of this phenomenal feeling that courses through us every time we kiss. His fingers attach to my jaw, pushing me close to him and melting our lips further into each other.
This kiss was slow and sensual. It was a bit too real and had way too many emotions for me to handle. I didn't want the emotions, I just wanted the sexual passion and intensity to overcome it. I place my hands on his chest and slowly run my hands down to the waistline of his shorts, earning a throaty moan from him in response.
Okay, that's it.
"Do you wanna leave?" I ask after detaching myself from him to see his eyes still closed. He opens them slowly and gulps down harshly, shifting his gaze down my body and back up to my eyes.
"Hell yes."
That affirmation was all it took from me to grab his hand and make our way to the numerous ubers waiting for drunken partiers to ask for rides home. I barely remember the ride home because all I could think about was Aiden's hands that were progressing their way up my legs and into my shorts, but not going to where I wanted them to.
Once reaching the house, I fell out of the uber. Literally, fell out of the Uber. Aiden burst out laughing at how smooth and sexy I looked rolling out of the Uber and onto the floor, "Smooth, Torres," he chokes out between waves of laughter before helping me up. I glare at him before brushing off the front of my grass-stained shorts.
"Ugh, now they're covered in dirt and this isn't sexy," I grumble in frustration and behind walking, slower, to the door. Of course, I would be the one to kill the mood. I hear Aiden chuckling behind me before wrapping his arms around my waist and bringing his face to the crook of my neck.
"They're coming off anyway so don't worry about it."
My eyes widen slightly and a shiver runs down my spine and the comment of what's to come.
The mood is back, people.
I chuckle lightly before turning to look at him again, still wrapped in his arms, "Then let's hurry this up, Grey." I can see his eyes darken. There is nothing stopping us from going all the way now and I don't think either of us would even want there to be.
This time it's Aiden who grabs my arm and pulls me toward the front door of the house, making me giggle at how excited he is right now. Once inside, he wastes no time pushing me against the door and attacking my lips. The desperate kiss was back and I couldn't be happier.
Placing my hands where they stopped at the festival, I push him closer to me by lopping my fingers in his belt loops. He groans into my mouth at the movement before bringing his hand to slide up the side of my body and into my sorry excuse of a shirt, stopping at my breasts and dipping his finger into my lace bra.
I discontent from his lips and try to breathe as he takes the opportunity to trail kisses down my neck instead, "let's go upstairs. Now," I manage to demand through my insistent moans. Aiden brought his hands to the bottom of my knee and pushed me up to wrap my legs around him. He somehow manages to get us up the stairs and into his room without falling and he throws me onto the bed, causing me to gasp, "That was rough, Grey," I say about the impact, glaring at him playfully.
I could have injured myself and that would actually kill the mood.
He smirks at me and I already know what he's going to say, "Oh that's nothing compared to what's about to happen, Torres."
I lift myself from the bed and stand on my knees at the end of it, coming face to face with him. Instead of answering, I start to slowly undo the buttons of his white shirt, sliding it off once I finish. Aiden watches me the entire time before I shift my eyes back to his.
I take his tattooed hand and bring it up to my chest, setting it down in the valley of my breast and running it down my body to the waistline of my short, my breath picking up from my own movement of his hand. It still leaves the familiar burn in its wake.
Aiden snaps back into the moment, obviously in some kind of trance as he watched his hand run down me, and he lifts my shirt off my body and starts to unbuckle my brown belt. I just look down at him the entire time until it's just his fingers on my silver button. He pauses and looks up at me, "You sure?" he asks.
I give him a deadpanned look and take matters into my own hands. I unbutton my denims but don't take my eyes off him as I slide them off my body. I mentally high five myself for wearing the infamous black lace panties that Aiden forced me to bring from home. It's like deep down I knew we would makeup and I would end up in his bed. Weak.
His analyzing gaze sends my body into a frenzy, especially when he groans loudly after seeing my choice of underwear today, "You're killing me," his eyes are still on my body as mine are on his face, taking the chance to examine it.
"Touch me, Grey."
I'm basically pleading at this point and Aiden snaps his eyes back to mine before gripping my waist, sending an abundance of tingles to all the right places, and laying me down on the bed once again but more gently this time. Thank you very much.
He's not kissing me though, he's just... staring. Like he's trying to memorize every square inch of my face and it's too much tension for me, "Stop looking at me like that and fuck me," I beg. I can't have him look at me like that because it makes this more than what it is and that can't happen. He's obviously surprised by my crude remark but follows orders.
Reattaching his lips to mine feverishly, he slips his fingers into my panties and goes right to the place I want him to be, slipping a finger into me and wasting no time like I asked.
I gasp at feeling and he moves in and out of me at the perfect pace as he gazes at me with hooded eyes, "That good enough for you, Torres," he asks and I can't answer because he slips another finger into me and I almost forget my own name at that point.
"Don't stop," I moan out because I'm so scared he'll pull away just to mess with me. It's something he would do. But he doesn't, he just picks up the pace and sends me over the edge.
"That's officially my favorite sound," he mumbled quietly before taking his hand out and slipping my underwear down my legs and throwing them to the side. Still coming down from the high, Aiden moves fast as he shifts his lips' attention to my breast, not before lifting my lace bra over my head and discarding it.
My breath picks up all over again as he licks and bites in all the right places. I run my fingers through his hair and tug at it, the only way to release some of the tension that was building back up between my thighs.
Not being able to wait anymore, I push him back slightly and move my hands to undo the button of his shorts. He watches me as I slide the denim off of him, with his help, and then focus back to the waistband of his boxers. He lets out a loud throaty moan when I slide my hands past the boundary and move my hand up and down his length.
"Fuck that feels amazing," his eyes are closed as he bites his lips from the sensation. I smile slightly, proud that I made him feel like that. More power to me. He takes back control, pushing me back on the bed roughly and attacking my lips as he grinds his boxers against me. There isn't much separating us at this point and I just want to get to it.
"Condom?" I breathe out and he quickly reaches past me, opening his drawer and ripping open the package with his teeth. He watched me as he took off his boxers and slid it onto himself. I look down between us and my eyes widen slightly. Okay, no wonder Summer was screaming.
"You sure?" he asks again as if he's worried he's crossing a line even though this is the line we have both been waiting to cross, according to our agreement. I don't answer, but rather reach down and grab him, bring him to me. He wastes no time pushing himself in as if being that close shattered any doubts he was having.
Our eyes widen at this feeling and the moans get louder as he moves. Sweat starts to glisten our bodies as Aiden shoves his head into the crook of my neck like the feeling was too overwhelming to keep himself propped up, "God. Mari," he moans out my actual name and I don't know why but that turns me on even more.
I know I'm close when he starts nibbling at my neck, leaving marks that I know I'll have to cover up later. He speeds up and sends us both into ecstasy and relief. Relief that we finally did what we have been aching to do for weeks. He slides out of me when we both finish and falls to my side like a sack of potatoes.
A sweaty sack of potatoes.
"So that happened," he breaths out slowly before turning his head slightly to look at me.
I probably looked like a sweaty mess, "Good?" he asks hopefully and I laugh at his question, letting out a small snort as well. Really? He's asking about my performance evaluation seconds after we finish. Deciding to mess with him, I shrug.
"I've had better."
Here is chapter TWENTY-SEVEN of "Because Of You"!!!
*Cringe* I was nervous to write this chapter but like Mrs. Casey says, "it adds a little fire" but it sure is weird to write... I hope y'all enjoyed it anyway hehe.
Also, I love TVD so enjoy the Delena gif :)
VOTE AND COMMENT reactions, predictions, questions, ANYTHING!! Thank you for reading, voting, and adding this book to your reading lists, much appreciated! *Kisses*
Be back tomorrow with moreee, get EXCITED.
A million thanks,
Leticia ❀