Seducing My Best Friend (Fated #3) (4 page)

I felt like a crazy woman.

I knew I should call a cab, especially when it started to rain.
But once my dress was soaked through, I was actually kind of relieved, cause I
didn’t have to keep yanking it down to avoid flashing people in the street.

Not that there were many people around. Except for nutcases who
ran first thing on weekend mornings even when it was raining. I mean, who does
that? Sleep the fuck in and procrastinate like a normal person.

Though I suppose the lycra donned go getters were judging me
just as harshly considering my pathetic excuse for morning running gear, and
they didn’t even know I was going commando.

Eventually I got used to them. In fact, I even started doling
out isolated head nods as they passed, wishing them well as they trained…
probably for some race that would be both their crowning glory and the catalyst
for the arthritic knees that would chase them for the rest of their life.

Mostly, though, I was hating on them to distract myself from the
fact that the warm rain was washing the smell and feeling of my best friend’s
sexual energy off me, and I couldn’t decide how I felt about it.

Of course, even when I put sleeping with Aiden out of my mind
for fleeting moments, I still couldn’t put the feeling of him inside me out of
my pussy. Cause he had made quite the impression. Perhaps a permanent one. In
fact, I feared I would never be tight or walk right again.

But I didn’t want to regret it. In fact, if I could ignore the
fact that it was Aiden for a second, I could appreciate that the sex had been
incredible. Really incredible. And I was no stranger to casual sex.

Of course, there was nothing casual about what happened between
us last night. It wasn’t funny or lighthearted or something I was looking
forward to laughing about with him. It was serious and intense. As soon as his lips
were on mine, everything went fuzzy, like my values and my ability to make
rational decisions.

As a result, things went too far. I let him explore me with his
hands, his tongue. I actually touched his penis which he’d clearly stolen from
one of his sister’s horses for the night. I mean, holy shit?! And then I let
him fuck me with his throbbing monster dick! And worse, I’d asked him to do it,
moaned his name, and come harder than I even thought was possible.

Right into his mouth.

And he had slurped me up with enthusiasm!

How could I ever look at him again?!

Everything was different now. All the barriers that made our
friendship so strong, so resilient, had been torn down in a single, crazy night,
and now I had nothing but a sore pussy and a headache.

I’d followed Fiona’s advice to do what felt good, and now I felt
like crap.

Sure, it had been great while I’d been coming like a geyser, but
when he fell asleep with his arm over me, I got this horrible feeling in the
pit of my stomach.

What if I was just his rebound girl?

He was probably so used to Chelsea putting out that he just got
backed up when he kicked her out. And I just happened to be in the right place
at the right time, or the totally wrong place depending on how I looked at it.

I mean, Aiden was experienced. Picking up women was something
that caused him zero stress. Most of the time, he could just look at a girl
funny, and she’d be ready to take off her clothes. But I was a little more of a
challenge because he never saw the goods before, and yet, I was vulnerable, too,
because deep down I loved him and wanted him to be happy.

But seducing me was probably a joke to him.

And all the lines he fed me about being sexy and my friendship
meaning so much to him made me fall right into his trap. I must have been so
excited after all these years to be the person he was spitting game at that I
forgot myself, forgot our history.

And now that I’d finally stopped shaking, it was obvious that
I’d let myself down. What’s more, I let down the little girl who got her
feelings hurt so many times, the little girl inside me that promised herself
she wouldn’t have inappropriate feelings for him because it was nothing but a
one way ticket to a broken heart. And not only had I had inappropriate feelings,
but I had acted on them, and I had only myself to blame.

After all, he was a guy. I couldn’t expect him to be the one who
exercised self-control. That was always my job. For good reason.

So why had I forgotten myself?

Was it because I really wanted to believe things could be
different if we met some other way? Did I get swept up in the fairytale of
going on a Tinder date with him? Was I that pathetic?

To be honest, that thought gave me some comfort. Maybe if I looked
at it like we were roll playing, I could push last night to one side and keep
it from interfering with the friendship I so cherished. Maybe I could pretend
the Aiden I was with last night was a different Aiden entirely.

Then again, he was a different Aiden. From the way he treated me
to the way he looked at me, there was something different in the air between
us. It was no wonder I lost the run of myself. I wasn’t out with my best friend
last night. I was out with an experienced womanizer who had one thing on his
mind.

And that thing was getting me out of my clothes and fucking me
senseless, which he did. Except he didn’t start by fucking me senseless. If it
had only been about that, maybe I could’ve separated myself from it better like
I usually did when a relationship was just about sex.

But he went down on me.

Which changed everything. Because as open minded as I was about
casual sex, I wasn’t the kind of person that engaged in casual oral sex. As far
as I was concerned, there was only one arena where oral sex was appropriate and
that was in the context of a committed relationship.

But Aiden hadn’t even given me a chance to opt out. He was too
enthusiastic, too sexy for me to stop him from crossing that line. And as soon
as I felt his strong fingers and his warm breath between my thighs, I might as
well have been strapped down.

I let him have his way with me because there was no one in the
world that it was harder for me to say no to. Because as I lied exposed on his
bed with his hypnotic dick straining over me, I couldn’t think of a single
reason not to seize the day.

And my giving in had made him happy.

I just couldn’t tell yet whether it had done the same for me.

When I hadn’t heard from her by noon, I started to go a little
crazy. In any other situation, I would’ve texted her first thing after a night out.
Typically it would be something clever about some hilarious thing someone did
or something decent just to gauge the severity of her hangover.

But today I just stared at my phone, not knowing what to say.

I must have typed a dozen different messages and deleted them.

“Had a great time last night. And I know you did.”

Too cocky.

“Had a great time last night. U?”

Too sad.

“Went on the best date last night. Call me and I’ll tell you all
about it.”

Too cheesy.

“Brunch?”

Too eager.

“You forgot your panties. Or were those a gift?”

Too sleazy.

“Call me.”

Too desperate.

“WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?”

Too parental.

Finally I went with, “Did you get home okay?”

I figured that let me keep my cards close to my chest for the
minute. Not that I cared if she knew I had a great time. After all, she must’ve
known I did. My good time was probably still dripping down her leg.

Still, I didn’t want to come on way stronger than she was
feeling. Maybe she wasn’t as excited about hooking up as I was. Or maybe she
was freaked out because now that I’d had her, she was so in love with me she
couldn’t verbalize her thoughts yet.

It was a possibility anyway.

I thought about going for a run so I wouldn’t just lounge around
and stare at my phone, but it was raining outside, and the lazy summer shower
rubbed off on me.

I poured some milk over a bowl of frosted mini wheats and crashed
on the couch. I was about to turn on the TV when my eyes drifted towards the
balcony. I could picture Lucy there last night with her bare legs sticking out
of her short dress, the warm evening breeze blowing through her hair. The image
was so clear I felt a pain in my chest.

Why hadn’t she stuck around this morning? We could’ve gone for
breakfast at the run down breakfast dive we used to frequent in high school and
shared some bacon sandwiches and cheesy hashbrowns. It would’ve been the
perfect end to the perfect date.

Instead, I was eating mini wheats all alone and staring at my
phone. And then it rang.

“Hey,” I said, trying not to let milk spill out of my mouth.

“Hey, big guy,” my sister said. She’d been calling me big guy
ever since I was a little guy.

I finished chewing and swallowed my bite.

“Whatcha eating?” she asked.

“Cereal.”

“Want me to call you back?”

“No, it’s cool. What’s up?”

“I was calling to ask you the same question.”

I furrowed my brow. “Oh?”

“You weren’t in the mood for a family dinner last night, huh?”

“Definitely not.”

“Well, thanks for the heads up. I was stranded by myself with
all of Mom’s tennis buddies.”

“Dave wasn’t there?”

“No, he’s in Austin on business.”

I laughed. “The business of visiting micro-breweries.”

“No shit. He sent me a picture of him and one of the guys he
works with drinking stout halfway through my third wine spritzer. I nearly
forked my own eyes out.”

“Sorry to leave you hanging like that.”

“I forgive you.”

“And Mom?”

“Mortally wounded. Practically ready to disown you.”

“Oh god. Do you think I need to call her and apologize?”

“That’s up to you. I don’t really care since I left this morning.
So I don’t have to listen to her talk about how her own son can’t make time for
her, but if you feel like sparing Dad…”

“I told her I wasn’t coming.”

“To be honest, I think you did her a favor. Your absence really
helped her build rapport with her bitter friends.”

I rolled my eyes. “What a drama queen.”

“Yes. That was the theme of the evening.”

“Sorry I missed it.”

“No you’re not, but that’s okay.”

“Thanks.”

“Assuming you don’t miss my wedding.”

“Of course not,” I said. “Are you kidding? I’ve already started
working on my speech.”

“Don’t feel like you have to embarrass me. You could always
surprise everyone and make me look good.”

“Yeah, right,” I said. “If there’s any day you’re going to need
taken down a peg or two, it’s going to be on the happiest day of your life.”

“Jesus, please don’t hype it up anymore. Mom’s making me so
crazy. I’m surprised she hasn’t tried on my dress.”

“That you know of.”

“Right.”

“Didn’t she always want to renew her vows with Dad? She’s probably
just jealous.”

“Honestly, I don’t even have the energy to argue with her.”

“That’s not what I heard,” I said.

“Fine. I admit I was a little bridzilla about my dress and the
venue, but I swear to god the rest has been all her.”

“Look at the bright side though. She’s far more invested than
any maid of honor could ever be.”

“True. I just hope she stops herself before she plans my
bachelorette party.”

“You’re having one of those?”

“Yeah. Not cause I’m really dying to treat my friends to a male
stripper, but if Dave’s going to have a big dirty party, I’m not going to sit
around on my thumbs.”

“Fair enough.”

“Anyway, Mom told me last night that you broke up with Chelsea.”

“Yeah,” I said. “What version of events did she tell you?”

“That you didn’t love her and that she was a money hungry bitch.
Not in those words.”

“Oh okay, good. Cause I never really spelled it out like that.”

“Sorry bro.”

“It’s cool. We had fun while it lasted.”

“She wasn’t smart enough for you anyway.”

“And I wasn’t rich or famous enough for her so I guess we’re
even.”

“So who are you bringing to the wedding?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it since Chelsea and I broke up.”

“Well, you have to bring someone because all my bridesmaids have
significant others.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Nothing. It’s just… I know how you are.”

“How’s that?”

“You’re a humongous flirt. I don’t want you breaking up
relationships on a day that’s all about love.”

“I would never-”

“I’ve seen you do it on accident!”

“I can’t help it if the girls want a piece-”

“Shut up. Seriously, who are you bringing?”

“Why does it matter?”

“I’m curious. Plus, I need to know if she’s a vegetarian.”

“She’s not.”

“So you have someone in mind?”

“No, but whoever I bring won’t be a vegetarian.”

“Or a pescetarian?”

“What?”

“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t even know why I asked you that. I can’t
remember the last time I met a girlfriend of yours that was even interested in
food.”

I sighed.

“Why don’t you bring Lucy?”

“What?”

“Lucy Ryan.”

“What made you say that?”

“Cause I would love to see her, and then I wouldn’t have to
worry about you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Cause you’re always better behaved when she’s around.”

“Maybe I don’t want to behave at your wedding.”

“Pleease.”

“When was the last time you even saw her? Not that it matters. It’s
just kind of random that you mentioned her.”

“I don’t know. She’s the only girlfriend of yours I could think
of that I actually like.”

“Wow.”

“Just saying. Plus, she knows the family and stuff so you’d be
able to relax and focus on what’s really important.”

“What’s that?”

“Making me look good in your speech.”

“I guess you’re right. That will take all of my creative
attention.”

“Ha Ha,” she said. “Seriously, though, I think it’s a great
idea. Probably the best I’ve had all day.”

“Did Mom put you up to this?”

“Honestly?” 

“Of course.”

“She did ask me to find out who you were going to bring, but
Lucy was all my idea.”

“Yeah, Mom would never suggest that.”

“Actually, she said if you didn’t have someone in mind, she was
going to match you up with some girl from the club.”

“What the fuck?!”

“I know. She’s delusional.”

“Why would she think that was appropriate on your freaking
wedding day?”

“Cause she’s sick.”

“Well, tell her I have someone in mind and that I don’t need her
help.”

“Is it Lucy?”

“Maybe.”

“Pleease. She’s so fun.”

“I can’t make her go, but I can ask her.”

“You’re the best.”

“Thanks. I try.”

“Please tell her I want her to come, too. So she knows she’s
properly invited.”

“I’ll mention it. She probably would be a great date.”

“You’re welcome,” she said.

“What?”

“For saving you from Mom’s cupidity.”

“Good one.”

“Thanks. Anyway, I gotta run, but I’ll see you soon, bro.”

“Bye, Claire.”

“Let me know if Lucy can’t come.”

“Will do.”

“Don’t forget.”

“I won’t,” I said. After all, Lucy’s coming was all I could
think about.