Chapter 16
Nova
I hear a shaky, old voice crackling over the microphone. “She’s a newly-wed, young man. Have you no shame?”
My attention moves from the conversation I’m having with my sister over to the dance floor. My grandmother is shaking her butt on Charlie like she’s forgotten she’s on the waiting list for a hip replacement. Her new groom is standing near the dj booth wearing a menacing expression. A laugh rumbles through the room and I find myself laughing too.
Charlie throws his hands up in defense and tries to take a step back but my grandma only ropes him closer. “Oh, hush, Edward! Just know you’re the lucky man I’m going home with later.” She throws him a wink and turns her attention back to Charlie.
My attention is on him, too.
The guy is handsome in that tux. And he’s charismatic and charming. He’s been making people laugh and helping little old ladies out of their seats. He’s had no trouble fitting in. Because that’s just the way he is. He’s confident, funny, engaging. It’s so easy to like him.
“Jeez,” my sister breathes out. “I’m not the only one who seems to think that you’ve got yourself one hot date.”
“Who, Charlie?” I say, throwing a nonchalant glance his way. The seven man band plays a jazzy version of Drake's Hotline Bling and I clench my hands behind my back to keep from shaking my ass because I love me some Drake.
Nadia laughs. “Yes, Charlie.” She leans an elbow on the bar and takes a sip of her dirty martini. “Have you honestly never thought of hooking up with him? In all these years?”
I try to downplay the extent of the fantasizing I’ve done about my friend over the course of our friendship. “I’ve thought about it, I guess. But he’s Charlie. C’mon!” I sip on my cocktail.
“What do you mean, ‘he’s Charlie’?”
“Ugh! You know how he is. He fucks anything in a skirt. I don’t want to be just another name in his little black book.”
Nadia clucks her tongue. “You see, that’s where you’re wrong. I’ve been watching the two of you all night. Have you seen the way he looks at you?”
I spin around on my barstool. “What way?”
“I can’t quite explain it.”
“You mean, like he wants to fuck me? Because for Charlie, that’s really nothing special.”
She shakes her head causing her chandelier earrings to bounce against her cheeks. “It’s more than that. He cares about you.”
“Well, I know that. He’s looked out for me ever since high school. It’s sort of a pity thing.”
She pushes an exasperated sigh. “Okay, well you clearly don’t want to see it so I won’t keep pressing the issue. But I’ll tell ya, sis—you have a whole lot of orgasms waiting for you the minute you decide to open up your eyes and see what’s right in front of you.”
I tip my chin at the martini glass in her hand. “It might be time to cut you off because you’re starting to sound a lot like mom.”
Her eyes roll. “Say what you like. I know I’m right.” Her eyes move to the seating area surrounding the dance floor. “And have you seen her, by the way? She’s actually behaving herself tonight.”
I look over at where my parents are sitting at a table by themselves, having a sedate, grown-up conversation instead of fighting like animals. It’s an improvement over anything I’ve seen out of them over the past 15 years.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting that. I think it helps that dad didn’t show up here tonight with a new 22-year-old girlfriend.”
“I know, right?” Nadia laughs and we clink our glasses together.
The bartender speaks over our shoulders. “Can I get you ladies a refill?” He’s a handsome guy. Especially when he flashes us a dazzling smile that is undoubtedly the reason for his overflowing tip jar. Actually, that smile is directed squarely at my sister as his eyes roam over her body. She turns to him with a sparkling gaze and now, the extent of her inebriation is starting to become clear.
“I’d love a refill,” she drawls, batting her eyes at him.
“Coming right up, lovely.” He has a British accent by the way. James Bond working the bar.
She rises from her seat as he turns toward the other end of the counter. “I’ll come with you. I want to see how you make it.”
I reach for her wrist. She’s gonna wake up with a serious hangover tomorrow. She doesn’t need a series of hickeys and a random, naked bartender in her bed to add to her list of regrets. “Hey, you’re sort of drunk. Are you sure you wanna go home with him?”
She narrows her eyes at me like I’m crazy. “Thanks for your concern, mother, but I’m just going to watch the guy sling a few drinks ten feet away. I’m not about to slip behind the bar and give him a blowjob while he’s mixing gin and tonics for these old people.”
“Sorry, sorry,” I say, recoiling and throwing up my hands in surrender.
I settle into my seat, spinning left to right as I begin texting back and forth with Reese, telling her about the beautiful ceremony and sending her a few of the snaps I took when granny and Edward were making their grand entrance into the ballroom.
I look up from my phone just as a yawn comes barreling out of my mouth. I find Charlie dancing his way through the crowd. His eyes are on me and he’s grinning wide, doing a Frank-Sinatra-meets-Usher tap dance/hip hop jive thingy.
He does a fast-paced toe-heel combination that leads into a spin and comes to an abrupt stop just inches in front of me.
He spreads his arms wide for my review. I erupt into applause. “Not bad, huh?”
Still laughing, I pat him on the chest. “Not bad at all. Five stars!”
Our laughter fades but our eyes hold. I feel something strong and urging in my belly. God—he’s handsome.
In his satin detail, slim fit tuxedo. The faintest shadow of stubble on his chin. The playful glint in his eye. He looks hella good tonight. Tempting. Very tempting. I set a palm on my stomach to keep my nerves under control.
Charlie’s hands come down on my shoulders and he bends to look me in the eyes. Concern shines through his expression. “You okay?”
Warmth runs down my shoulders all the way to my elbows and my nipples start to tingle. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I push the words past the strangling knot in my throat.
He smells like heaven—testosterone and musk and whiskey mixing with naturally intoxicating scent of his skin. His gaze is so intense right now. I don’t even feel like myself. I’m usually snarky, smart-mouthed Nova but right now, I feel shy, vulnerable. The way he’s looking at me…I feel completely exposed. My eyes drop as I look away from him.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always dreamed that he’d look at me this way one day, that he’d look at me like he really sees me. But now that I’m here under the weight of his gaze, it’s a little bit hard to breathe.
Thankfully, right then, my grandmother comes hobbling over, Edward’s arm hooked through hers. “Kids—me and the hubby are about to turn in."
Edward focuses his glare on Charlie. "Yes, my bride just overexerted herself on the dance floor."
Granny pinches his cheek. "Eddie, your jealousy is almost cute. Almost.” Chuckling, she brings her focus back to me. "It’s been a long day and if we stay up past 10:00, we’ll pay for it for a week.”
“Yes, the bus is here to take our friends back to the nursing home. We’ve got to get going,” Edward adds.
“Already?” I ask. “The night passed quickly. Too quickly.”
Lost in Charlie’s eyes, I hadn’t even noticed that people had started to leave. The reception hall is almost empty now. Even Nadia has disappeared and the bartender is nowhere to be found.
My grandmother laughs. “You’ve heard the old saying—time flies when there’s an open bar.”
“Well, it was an amazing evening,” I say as I lean in and hug her before moving on to Edward.
“It was lovely having the two of you,” she says, turning her hugs to Charlie. “I’ll see you next week?” she asks.
“Sure thing,” he tells her as he shakes a reluctant Edward’s hand.
“Next week?” I feel totally out of the loop.
“Charlie’s helping Edward and me install some shelves in our new place,” my grandmother tells me.
With a hiked brow, I glance off in Charlie’s direction. Wearing a crooked smirk, he nods.
“Anyway, thank you for coming.” Edward tightens his grip on his new wife’s arm. “What’d you say we go consummate this marriage, honey?”
Granny rolls her eyes and then brings her laughing gaze to us. “He’s all talk. He’s about to go fall asleep on the toilet before he even manages to take his dentures off.”
Cringing at it all, I close my eyes and nod. “Thank you for that glimpse into your domestic situation. Appreciate it.”
The newlyweds giggle to themselves as they walk away, hand in hand.
I give my attention to Charlie. Tonight, I’m seeing him in a whole new light. Yes, I’ve always been attracted to him. Lusting over him was sort of a fanciful daydream that I never had any real intention of acting on. But this is something different. Something that’s currently causing my lady bits to experience epileptic shock. Wouldn’t it be inhumane to leave the condition untreated?
I’m sure that everything I’m thinking is showing on my face. I hardly care. This night was beyond all my expectations. He was absolutely perfect. He made it almost feel real. Like I might be living inside of a fairytale with a real-life prince.
I try to rationalize what's going on. Maybe just for tonight, he doesn’t have to be Charlie—My good friend. Reese’s brother. The unapologetic playboy—Maybe just for tonight, he can be Prince Charming. And I can be Cinderella. I can let him sweep me off my feet and not care what happens when I open my eyes tomorrow.
A tiny smile plays on his lips. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I shrug, unable to tear myself away from the magnetic pull of his stare. One corner of my mouth curls up. “I thought I knew you,” I say in a near whisper, eyes still transfixed to his. “But lately, it feels like I’m learning so much more about you.”
He gives me a meek expression. “What can I say? I’m a complicated guy.”
My shoulders hunch up and shake when I laugh. “God, I was trying to be genuine with you for just one minute and you had to go ruin it with your bullshittery.”
His features go serious. “Okay, since we’re being genuine, I'll say this—I had a really good time tonight.”
“Thank you for coming with me, Charlie,” I breathe out. “It was so much fun.”
His arrogant grin lights up his face. “Well, it was my pleasure. It was perfect...Except for one thing.” He takes a step closer and my skin tightens. His appreciative glance fans across my face and down over my body.
“What’s that?” I question, trying my darnedest to keep my voice from squeaking.
He bends close, his lips brushing the lobe of my ear. “I didn’t get to dance with the second prettiest girl in the room…”
My eyes go wide and I shove him back with a laugh. “The second prettiest girl in the room?”
His shoulder hikes up before it drops. “No one upstages the bride. That’s common knowledge.”
“I guess you’re right.” I giggle.
His jaw twitches as his lustful gaze slowly works its way down my body again. Oh my god. He's totally picturing me naked right now…
There used to be a line in the sand. It used to be clear. Charlie was off-limits and I’d never challenge that.
But tonight…
It might just be the alcohol. Or the way that he laughed with my grandmother like they were dear old friends. Or it might be the smoldering heat of his undivided attention as he stares at me. Anyway, the line isn’t so clear tonight. It’s downright blurry.
“So, are you gonna dance with me or what?” His voice is low. Soft. Intimate. It floats across my skin, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up.
“I don’t dance,” I whisper back, wishing I didn’t feel so dizzy right now. It’s just the alcohol getting to my head. That’s all it is.
“That’s a shame.” His eyes take another leisurely journey down my body.
"Oh my god, Charlie…Can you please not look at me like that?" I’m nearly breathless.
His eyes hitch onto mine and a hint of a smirk touches his lips. "Why not?"
"Because…because I'm your sister's best friend."
"Oh, your relationship to my sister is the source of your identity? Wouldn't have thunk it…" His tongue moves across his lips as his gaze settles on my mouth. The seizures in my pussy intensify.
It’s all beginning to rise to the surface. All the lust I’ve felt for him and kept buried for years, it’s sitting out in the open now.
I lean back against the bar, elbows on the counter, drink dangling from my fingertips and I grin sloppily. My head tilts to the side and a tuft of my frizzy hair covers my eye. One corner of my mouth raised lazily, I check him the fuck out. I let my gaze travel slowly from his shoes all the way up to the glimmer in his eyes. He's handsome in a crude, harsh, breathtaking way that's hard to describe.
The responsible version of Nova knows that I should be pushing him away, reminding him of the line in the sand we should never cross. But my delinquent side is acting up. Curious, hungry, decidedly drunk.
I never liked Responsible Nova anyway.
We keep one another's gaze for a long, pulsating moment and I light up on the inside, my heartbeats faltering, my stomach clenching. "What are we doing?" I say in a breathy whisper. I sway a little, feeling woozy.
His fingertips brush my skin when he reaches out to play with the pendant of the necklace around my throat. His voice is like silk against the shell of my ear. "I don't know about you but I'm working up the courage to lean in and kiss you.”
My stomach knots tighter. My tongue runs over my bottom lip. Oh, god. I wasn’t imagining it. He wants me. "Five bucks says you chicken out."
He chuckles deep in his chest. It’s an arrogant sound. The bass of it reverberates between my thighs. "Five bucks says I blow your mind."
I chuff and my voice drops dangerously low. "I dare you.”
For the sake of my ego, I’d like to believe that I’m cool, composed and collected on the outside but my insides are a pulsing, throbbing, lusting mess. I know for sure that I’ve never wanted anyone’s lips on me the way I want Charlie’s.
The energy between us scorches. An electric charge clips and sputters all around us. His massive hands fall on my waist, fingers flexing into my skin. They drag roughly up my back, rumpling the shimmery fabric of my dress. I keen into his crude touch, curving my back, pressing my breasts into him. I chew down on the inside of my mouth to keep from groaning.
He palms the back of my head, his fingers getting lost in my hair and he tilts my head as he moves closer to me. His lips are full and dewy and the feel of his breath fanning over my mouth is enough to make me lose my mind. He’s hesitating, weighing the pros and cons of doing this. He may be right to waver. Even in my drunken haze, I’m aware that doing this could change things. But all I really care about is the here and now. Nothing else matters until I’m tasting him, my tongue licking into his mouth, his teeth sinking into my lip.
Slowly, I lean forward, angling my face until our lips touch. “Chicken…”
The power of the contact is a shock to my system. I feel the fire of it coursing through my blood.
Growling, he presses his body closer, trapping me against the edge of the bar. He chuffs. “There’s no way I’m leaving my five bucks on the table.” Big, warm hands come up, cradling my cheeks as his lips close over mine. I open my mouth to groan.
That’s when his tongue slips inside. Wet, soft, hot, it strokes against mine. Fucking my mouth with his. My hands go around his waist. Each jab of his tongue is like a cattle prod, sending bolts of pleasure through my system. I’m boneless, senseless, thoughtless, surrendering completely to this moment.
He’s making it so easy to forget that we’re nothing more than friends. Right now, he’s just the tall, handsome man in the well-fitted tux. The man who’s kissing me, who’s making my knees weak, who’s making me lose my sanity.
I tilt my head to the side and his arms band around my body, holding me so close, so tight that I can feel his heart rattling his ribcage. I can feel his erection, concrete against my quivering belly. And now, he’s moving, rubbing, thrusting ever so slightly against me in a way that’s driving me mad. Adrift in the ocean of his kiss, I lose track of time and space and everything other than the feel of him against me.
He’s the one to pull away. “We should, uh…we should…” He hooks a thumb over his shoulder, pointing toward the door.
“Yeah, we should go. Yeah.”
Eyes half-lidded, he nods. “Yeah.”
“Okay.” In a mental fog of horniness, I move for the door. All I hear is my pulse roaring in my ears and the conflicting thoughts screaming in my head.
How could I kiss him like that? How could I let him shove me up against the side of the bar and run his hands all over my curves?
But when I replay the look of absolute lust and fire in his eyes…
How could I not?
“Here…” Charlie catches up to me and slides my purse into my hand.
“Oh, right. Thanks.” We freeze and stare at each other. Falling back into the same pattern of thought that had us humping all over each other to begin with.
Snap out of it.
I take a step. So does he. Somehow, we end up walking right into each other. “Sorry.”
“Um, yeah. Sorry.” He stretches a hand out gallantly, motioning for me to lead the way. “After you.”
With a curt nod, we resume the journey toward the door.
Awkward. Dazed. Horny.
Such is the current state of affairs.
The ride home is going to be interesting.