Page 52 of Completely Captivated
Then his face split in two with a bright, handsome smile.“Hello, Allie.Who do you have with you?”
“This is my friend Christa.She needs to get shit-faced tonight.Christa, this is Rory Shields.”
“You’re Rory?”The inflection in my tone was impossible to miss.In my defense, that name was impossible to mistake.
“Yeah.Do I know you?”He narrowed his eyes, furrowed his brow, and studied my face intently.
“Not me.But I’ve heard all about you from Jen Miller.”
“Oh, really?”His smile was even bigger at the mention of her name.Interesting.“You’re friends with Jen?”
“Yes, she’s one of my closest friends.”My eyes darted between Rory and Allie.“How do you two know each other?”
“Rory is my cousin.You’ll have to tell me everything Jen has said about him.Give me all the dirt.”
I smirked at her.“I know he’s good friends with Jared.”
“Ugh.”Allie rolled her eyes in disgust.“You could’ve left that part out.All right, Rory, we’re going in to party now.Thanks for having our backs.”
“If you drink, you’d better take a cab home, or I’ll have your ass.”
“I’m designated driver and party master tonight.Christa is the one who needs to get drunk.”
Rory opened the velvet rope and allowed us to enter.The throngs of people waiting at the entrance grumbled, but he ignored them.Allie steered me through the packed club and stopped only for a moment until she spied an open table.She made a beeline directly for it, with me in close tow behind her, and we snagged it just in time.The waitress appeared almost as soon as we were seated, and Allie ordered for both of us.
Water for her.A continuous flow of Mind Eraser shots and beer chasers for me.Any thought that the energy we exerted with all the songs we danced to would counter the amount of alcohol I’d consumed flew out the door with all my cares.I was officially numb and carefree.
And I felt young and entitled to do something utterly stupid and immature for the first time in my life.But I was too drunk to care what anyone thought about it.Or maybe that was my excuse, since I was justifying it while drunk.
Either way…I had to know.
Aaron
My phone rang, forcing me to move my arm that was draped over my eyes and look at the clock.I’d had another sleepless night, but a phone call at a quarter after one in the morning was rarely a good sign.One look at the screen sent my blood racing and gave my heart palpitations.Christa.
I snatched my phone off the nightstand and bolted straight up in the bed.“Christa?Baby, are you okay?”
There was no response, but the call was still connected.I heard muffled noises at first then the line suddenly became clear.I imagined her phone rolling around in her huge bag, accidentally dialing my number, but she hadn’t disconnected yet.
“Baby, please say something.I miss you so much.I love you, Christa.With everything I am, I love you.”I begged her to answer me, just to say something.Anything.
“Aaron,” she finally choked out.That was all the encouragement I needed.
“I’m on my way, baby.”I didn’t wait for her to object.I was taking a chance I might later regret.But I wasn’t missing it for my life.I threw my shorts on and drove like a bat out of hell to get to her apartment as fast as I possibly could.
I called her back as I climbed the stairs two and three at a time to get to her door.She picked up the phone but didn’t say anything.
“Baby, open the door.It’s me,” I told her before I knocked softly.I waited, my lungs burning from the breath held in my chest.Waiting to see if she’d actually let me in.
After a few anxious seconds, the lock turned, and I waited to see her beautiful face.The door slowly opened, and she stepped back with it.Then she motioned for me to enter with a slight nod of her head.Once I was well inside the room, she closed the door, walking slowly with it to keep her back toward me.She was freshly showered—her hair was still wet, and the sweet aroma of her bath gel was still strong.She wore a T-shirt that swallowed her whole, giving me a peek of her toned legs sticking out from underneath.
Not being able to see her face was killing me.She intentionally kept it hidden from me.I didn’t move from my spot, giving her time to adjust to my being there with her again.I’d put her through hell, and I’d been through my own tour of duty in hell without her.
“Baby, are you all right?”I couldn’t hide the concern for her in my voice.She was too quiet, and I was too impatient.All I wanted was a second chance.All I wanted was to be hers forever.
Christa turned and raised her eyes to mine.They were red-rimmed, bloodshot, and puffy from a deficit of sleep and an abundance of crying.All because of me.The second our eyes collided, she flew across the room and straight into my waiting arms.No longer able to resist, unable to take another second of not being able to touch each other, the consequences and regrets of tomorrow be damned.We were together, and that was all we needed to know.
My arms folded around her, crushing her small frame to me as I buried my face in her hair.Her scent stayed with me, taunting me, creating a void nothing and no one else would ever be able to fill.I went from ice-cold to scorching hot in a millisecond, and my arms wrapped under her ass and pulled her up, sliding her body against mine.Her legs automatically encircled my waist.Her mouth searched for mine, kissing along my jaw before finding my lips then moving along the other side.I carried her, kissing her neck and pulling her earlobe between my teeth, to her bedroom without asking permission.There was no doubt she wanted me as much as I wanted her.
