Obey Fate: Fated Duet: Book Two, page 5
“So it’s coaching you prefer?” she asked, leaning forward in her seat and taking a sip of her wine. Her lipstick left a mark around the rim of the glass, and I couldn’t help sneer at it.
“Yeah,” I replied, I knew I needed to say something else, but I was falling flat. I wasn’t usually this bad at conversation, but apparently my body and brain refused the idea of Willow sitting opposite me. “What about you?”
Her face lit up, her smile growing even more, and I realized this was what she wanted. She wanted me to ask her questions so she could tell me all the things she could about herself. At that moment, a light bulb went off in my head—the perfect way to keep her occupied: let her talk about herself.
“Well, I went to college when I was seventeen after graduating early, but I always knew what I wanted to be.” I nodded like I understood her. “A principal.”
I blinked, not having expected her to say that. Who goes into this job not wanting to teach kids but to just run a school? “Oh, so, you never wanted to teach?”
“God, no.” She waved her hand in the air as if she was swatting away a fly. “I can’t deal with a classroom full of kids who don’t want to learn. I’d rather be in a beautifully decorated office running the entire school.”
“Right.” I tried to keep the grin off my face, but it was impossible. I was sure she thought I was grinning at her, but it was so far from the truth. I was grinning at the absurdity of it. “And you’re on track to do that?” I asked, glancing around and wondering when our food would be here. The quicker it came, the sooner I could drop her home and then go and open a six-pack of beer and watch TV.
“I was.” She sighed and took another drink of her wine, nearly emptying the glass. “Until Jasmine moved in with me.”
“Oh?” I was giving her just enough to keep her talking about herself.
“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes and looked so much like her sister doing it that I raised my brows. “She got into some trouble at home last year, so Mom and Dad kicked her out, which meant she had to come and stay with me. Not that I can control what she does—she basically uses my house as a hotel.” She blew out a breath and drank the last of her wine as our plates were set on the table in front of us. “Can I have a refill?” she asked the waiter, and he nodded in reply.
I stared down at my pasta dish, groaning at the smell of the creamy sauce and pasta combination.
“What about you?” Willow asked, impaling her fork on some lettuce leaves. “Do you have any siblings.”
I twirled my fork into my pasta. “A brother and a sister,” I told her and then filled my mouth with my food. The creamy sauce tickled my taste buds and the pasta was perfectly cooked. The food would definitely be the highlight of my evening.
“Really?” I could hear her crunching on her salad, but I didn’t take my eyes off my pasta. “I’d have pegged you for an only child.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her I’d lived the first sixteen years of my life as an only child, but that would mean giving her more information about me, and that was something I didn’t want to do. “Nope,” I said instead, and looked up at her. “My sister is eight, and my brother is four. They’re cool kids.”
Willow grimaced, and I had no doubt she didn’t think any kind of kids were cool. She hadn’t met them yet, though—and if I had my way, she never would. “That’s…nice.”
I hummed in agreement and shoveled more pasta into my mouth, trying to think of anything I could ask her to keep her talking, but I was coming up empty. I was quickly finding out that I wasn’t the best conversationalist, and it was completely fucking me over. Why the hell couldn’t I push everything aside and pretend I was on a real date?
Placing the last forkful of pasta into my mouth, I then leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. There was nothing that compared to the feeling pasta gave you. It almost always made me want to take a nap.
“You looked like you enjoyed that,” Willow commented, and when I opened my eyes, she was smiling at me. She was beautiful, there was no denying it. Her almond-shaped eyes were bright and wide, and her small straight nose led down to full lips painted red, but…she just wasn’t for me.
“I did,” I told her, smiling back. “How’s yours?”
“Delicious,” she said, and the way she said it made me wonder if she really meant it. She was staring at my empty bowl with envy. If Aria had been here, she’d have had the pasta without a second thought, and she wouldn’t have worried about the bloating sure to come afterward. Nope, she’d just eat what she wanted and not have a care in the world.
My stomach dipped, my palms starting to sweat. I shouldn’t be thinking about Aria while on a fake-date with Willow—I shouldn’t have been thinking about her period. But it was so goddamn hard to get her off my mind. An impossible task.
Willow finished off her salad while I nursed my beer, and when the waitress came back and asked if we’d like to see the dessert menu, Willow declined. I was glad she didn’t want dessert, but my stomach didn’t fully agree.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked, surprised at how short this date had been.
Her eyes hooded, and she tracked her gaze over my chest and then back to my face. “I’m ready.” Her voice was breathy, and I realized she thought we were going to be doing…something. She’d soon understand it would never happen, but for now, I paid the bill and walked us out of the restaurant.
The car ride back to her place was as quiet as it was on the way here, and when I pulled up into the same spot I had when I picked her up, I didn’t turn the engine off.
She turned in her seat and drifted closer to me, and I resisted the urge to back away. “I had fun tonight.”
“Me too.” I swallowed and hoped like hell she didn’t go in for a kiss. Instead of waiting to see if she did, I leaned forward and pressed one against her cheek.
“We should do this again,” she whispered, and I wasn’t sure if she was trying to sound sexy or shy, but neither one was working for her.
“Sure,” I replied, being noncommittal.
Her lips spread into the widest grin. “Next Saturday then?”
“Ahhh.” I gripped my steering wheel harder, trying to keep all my emotions at bay. “I have a family cookout next Saturday at my dad’s place.”
“Awesome!” She pushed the door open and got out. “I can’t wait to meet your family.” She slammed the door shut and left me staring after her, wondering what the hell had happened. Did she just invite herself to meet my family?
* * *
ARIA
“And he took me for pizza and then we walked and talked for hours. I swear to god, Aria, it was perfect. Just…perfect.” Hope sighed and leaned against the locker next to mine. Her arms wrapped around the books she held to her chest as she stared upward, in a world of her own. She’d been telling me bits and pieces about her date throughout the day at every opportunity she had. “I think I’m in lust.”
I raised my brows and shut my locker. “In lust?” I asked, sure she was making the statement up.
“Yep.” She nodded repeatedly as she stared at me. “It’s not quite love yet, but it could turn into it, and it’s more than just liking someone. I’m in lust, dammit, Aria. Just be happy for me.” The grin on her face was a complete contradiction to the words she was saying.
I held my hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. You’re in lust.”
“Damn straight, I am.” She pushed off the locker as the first bell rang for our last class of the day. “We’re going out again this Saturday, but in a group. Want to come?”
I winced, thinking about what I had to do this weekend. “Can’t. Family cookout.”
Hope’s eyes widened. “As in…” She lowered her voice and moved closer to me. “Cade’s family?”
“Yep.” I glanced over at his classroom door in time to see him pull it open and stand to the side as pupils filed in. “I gotta get to class. I’ll message you after school.”
I hurried away from her and tried to keep my gaze off Cade as she shouted, “You better, ho!”
I groaned and rolled my eyes at her words, waving at her in acknowledgment, and then entered the classroom. Cade’s cologne wrapped around me, warming me in the same way a hug from him would, and I couldn’t stop my lips from lifting. I may have been keeping my distance and trying to successfully put a front on for everyone I could, but I couldn’t deny the way I felt when I was around him.
Slipping into my seat, I pulled out my notepad and stared at the front of the classroom. Since everything had happened, this was my favorite class. Not track where I had to concentrate on my running, and not PE where we were surrounded by so many students, but my world history class.
Here, I could stare at him and have an excuse. Here, I could remember the way he’d crouched down in front of me and kissed me. Here, I could live in a fantasy land where everything was perfect. The hour class was my own slice of heaven, and no one could take it away from me.
I watched as Cade strolled up the aisles between the desks. I didn’t look away when he turned to write something on the board attached to the wall near his desk, and I kept staring as he paced in front of the class and talked nonstop about the subject we were learning.
I made extensive notes, wanting to soak in each of his words, knowing this would soon be over. I’d be back to what my life now was, diving into the darkness with only a small light to keep it illuminated. Cade was that light, one I drifted toward but didn’t get too close, afraid it would burn me.
In the space of such a small amount of time, we had been through so much, and yet, it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.
As if he could hear my thoughts, his stare met mine. At first, he moved his gaze past me but then swung it back, almost as if he was surprised I was staring at him. I hadn’t allowed myself to really look into his eyes, not since we’d been caught, but weeks had passed, and things were getting worse without him in my life.
I needed his salvation, even if it was only his eyes focused on me.
From here, I could see the green specks sparking inside his dark-blue orbs. I could tell from the way they widened that he was shocked I didn’t look away, and when he stumbled on his words a little, I couldn’t help but smile. I was affecting him, just like he did to me.
“Open up your books to page two hundred and two,” his gruff voice demanded, and murmurs spread around the room as everyone did. I had to look away to open up my book, and when I looked at the title, I realized we were about to have to read. “Josh?” I heard him say, but I was now focused on his voice instead of his face. “Read those two pages.”
Josh was two seats in front of me, and cleared his throat then started to talk. I looked up, expecting to see Cade standing where he was before I’d looked down, but he wasn’t there. I frowned but didn’t have to look far. He was leaning against his desk, his arms crossed over his chest, and his attention fully focused on me.
My breath caught in my throat at the intensity showcased in his eyes, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to breathe if he kept staring at me like that. But I couldn’t turn away. I couldn’t bring myself to look anywhere but at him, and when his lips pulled up into the smile I’d only ever seen given to me, butterflies swarmed in my stomach.
He was making me feel things again—things I had no right to feel—but I didn’t have any control. I never had control when it came to Cade, and I was slowly starting to realize that.
I shuffled in my seat, but it wasn’t like the last time I’d done it in here. I wasn’t trying to feel the sharpness from another one of my cuts. I was turned on. Turned on and needing his touch like I needed my next breath.
My lips parted, a small gasp leaving them. His nostrils flared, a muscle ticking in his jaw, but it was his hooded eyes that told me he was turned on too. He was feeling the air swirling between us as well. My body begged me to stand and saunter toward him. It craved his touch more than anything else it ever had, but there was nothing I could do. Nothing I could say. Unless…
I pulled my hand across my chest, my palms connecting with my erect nipples, but I didn’t take my gaze off his, not even when he looked down and saw the outline through my T-shirt. He stood suddenly, but I didn’t stop.
“Read the next two pages, Josh,” Cade demanded as he strolled around to his desk and sat on his chair. He pushed it under so I could only see his chest and one of his hands. His other arm disappeared under his desk, and I bit down on my bottom lip at the thoughts running through my head. Was he touching himself while staring at me? Was he thinking about the only night we’d had together? Did he remember the way his cock felt inside me?
I was turning myself on even more with each one of my thoughts, and before I knew it, my hand was between my legs over my jeans. I needed some relief from the tension building between us, and when he mouthed, “Touch yourself,” I couldn’t deny him.
My lashes fluttered, and it was a chore to keep my eyes open, but I managed to keep my stare connected with his. My gaze flicked to his shoulder that was moving ever so slightly, and I realized he was touching himself too.
We were surrounded by a class full of students, and yet, it didn’t matter.
I pressed harder between my legs and moved my hand, the material rubbing me in just the right way. It wouldn’t take long for me to lose myself completely, not while he was staring at me. My imagination was running away with me, envisioning what he was doing under his desk. Had he unzipped his pants and pulled his cock out, or was his hand down his pants as he rubbed himself up and down?
My breath caught and then left my mouth on a loud gasp, but I had no idea if anyone noticed, not when I couldn’t look away from the stare Cade had locked me in. He’d let me go several times, but in the silence surrounding us, he wasn’t prepared to do it this time.
I moved my hand faster, feeling like I was on the edge of a cliff, teetering and trying to keep myself upright, but I didn’t want that. I wanted to fall. I wanted to experience the high only this could give me, but it was hard. It was hard to keep control and not shout out his name, especially when the burn started low in my stomach.
I dipped my head back and licked my lips, all the while not looking away, and then finally it hit me. Keeping my moan inside was a harder task than I’d thought it would be, but biting down on my lip as hard as I could kept it at bay.
“After the Mycenaean age ended in about 1100BC, Greece entered a Dark Age. It is known as a dark age because nobody knows much about what happened—all written language and art disappeared,” Josh’s voice pushed through my haze.
My body vibrated, still not fully down from the high as Cade’s mouth parted, his body stilling, and I knew what he’d done too.
We’d not crossed the line I’d drawn, but we’d smudged it a little, and I couldn’t bring myself to care one bit.
Chapter Five
ARIA
I pumped my arms harder, trying to even my breaths out as I prepared for the last lap. Since Cade had added a Friday practice to our schedules, he’d upped the amount of running we did, and it had helped me more than I ever thought possible.
My times were better, but more importantly, I wasn’t nearly dead after each practice. I still had energy left. I still had more gas in the tank, which meant I was building up my stamina.
I could see Reagan a half a lap ahead of me, which meant I was technically overtaking her by half a lap. She’d started a lap before me, and I never beat her times, but if I nailed this last one, I would for the first time.
Tightening my core, I put more speed into my legs and went for it. Everything tunneled, and all I could see was the lines on the track and the finish line in sight. No noises appeared, nothing cut through to me, and it was bliss. A bliss I hadn’t felt for what felt like months. It was quiet, with no thoughts racing through my head.
My quads burned, my chest heaved, but I kept going until I crossed the finish line Cade was standing next to with Reagan, who had just finished. I slowed down, and everything came pounding back. The cheers ringing out, the smell of freshly cut grass in the air, and most importantly, my thoughts. They slung at me like an arrow at a target, and I stumbled from the impact.
I’d not been able to stop thinking about what I’d done in class yesterday. I’d leaped out of my chair and practically ran out of the school afterward, and I hadn’t seen Cade until our PE class before track practice. But now we were nearing the end of practice, and I knew I’d have to look at him again.
I wasn’t embarrassed by what I’d done, in fact, I craved to do it again, which was the problem. I couldn’t allow myself to fall into the same space as before with Cade, not after what had happened. It felt like an impossible task, though.
“Hell yeah! You better run, girl!” Hope shouted, and I spun around, spotting her running down the bleachers. She didn’t stop until she was on the track and wrapping her arms around me. “How did I not know you could run like that?”
My cheeks burned from her attention, and I shrugged. “You know I like to run.”
“Not like that!” She raised her brows and widened her eyes. “What are you? Usain Bolt?”
“He’s not a long-distance runner—”
She rolled her eyes and waved her hand in my face. “I know that, duh.”
I grinned at her and shook my head. “What are you even doing here?”
She turned, and I followed her lead, spotting Reagan and Cade as they strolled toward us. “I wanted to see the two of you together in practice.”
My eyes widened and I grabbed her arm. “He can’t know you know, Hope,” I whispered. I hadn’t told her anything else since the day under the bleachers. She’d tried to get me to tell her stories and get information out of me about what he was like, but I kept my lips zipped. The less she knew about everything, the better.
“That was your best time yet, Aria.” Cade grinned down at me, his face beaming with pride. “The extra work is paying off.”
