“I hate you for this, you know that right.”
“Oh, sweetie. You won’t when he locks eyes on you. You’ll be thanking her. Now, get your ass in the shower then we’ve got work to do.”
With a huff, I follow orders and make quick work of scrubbing and shaving my body, ready for my man’s big night.
“Holy shit,” I mutter, staring at myself in the mirror. This isn’t the first time that Harley and Ruby have given me a makeover, but this is the first time I’ve ever looked quite like this.
“You like?”
“I... I... yeah. I look... wow.”
“Exactly. Zayn is going to lose his mind.”
I stare at my dark smoky eyes before dropping my gaze to my dark lips, the low cut of the strapless dress, and my cleavage that’s on show above and down to my almost fully exposed legs.
A tingle of excitement races through me and pushes away my nerves about other people seeing this much of me. I don’t care about them, but I sure as hell want Zayn to look at me because what Ruby said is right. He is going to lose his mind.
“I need your help with something tonight,” I tell them both. They lean in and listen to my plan before smiles form on their lips and they eagerly agree.
After sucking in a deep breath, I hold my head up high and pull open Harley’s door.
The party is already in full swing downstairs and has been for quite some time while we had our own little party for three in Harley’s room along with a bottle of vodka or two.
Ruby can barely walk in a straight line with the amount she’s drunk already. Harley and I share a concerned look. This is becoming more and more of a habit for her, and I’m beginning to worry that she’s relying on it too much to deal with everything that happened over Halloween with her stepbrother. I hate that she’s still dwelling on it all this time later.
Harley falls back, supporting Ruby so she doesn’t go crashing down the stairs as we make our way to join the party.
All eyes turn on us as we emerge, or should I say, eyes turn on me.
My skin tingles as everyone stares at me, their chins drop and their eyes almost pop out of their heads.
“Uh... Zayn,” Justin calls. “You need to get out here, man.”
A weird silence falls over the house for a beat before Zayn emerges from his den.
“Yeah, what... fuuuuuck,” he groans when his eyes fall on me. “All right, party’s over. You all know where the door is,” he calls, marching straight over to me.
“Pops, you look... wow.”
“I got attacked by your sister,” I say with a shrug.
His hand grazes along my jaw before his fingers grip on to the back of my neck.
Our eyes lock and everyone around us disappears as if they don’t exist.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.”
His lips brush against mine gently before his tongue sweeps into my mouth.
My body sags against his as his arms wrap around my body, holding me up.
“My bedroom. Now,” he grates, his breath hitting my ear and sending a shudder through my entire body.
My core aches to do exactly what he just suggested, but it’s his birthday party. Plus, I’ve got a plan.
“Later,” I say, pressing my palms against his chest in an attempt to push him back.
“But...”
“I’ll make sure it’s worth your while later.”
He finally pulls his face from my neck and looks into my eyes.
“You can’t hang out down here dressed like that.”
“Sure I can,” I sass, walking around him, making sure I put as much sway as possible into my hips. “Come dance with me?” I hold my hand out as I walk toward the living room where the speakers have been set up.
In a heartbeat, his hand is slipping into mine and we’re joining the crowd who are already grinding away to the beat of the music.
He keeps my back to his front, wraps his arms around my waist, and pulls me back against him. His length presses against my ass and I can’t help but grind against him, teasing him.
“You’re such trouble,” he groans in my ear as his hand splays across my stomach.
“You love it.”
“I love you.”
A wide smile spreads across my face as I continue moving. After a few minutes, I turn to look back at him, only for him to capture my lips with a knee-weakening kiss.
I spin in his arms and throw mine over his shoulders, teasing his hairline with my nails. I smile into our kiss as he shudders under my touch.
I have no idea how many songs play or how much time passes, but then equally I don’t care either. All I do know is that when Harley calls my name, it’s way before I’m ready to release him.
“Pops. Now would be a really great time,” she says, reminding me that I asked her to help out with something earlier. I’m surprised she agreed knowing where it’s probably going to lead, but I know she’s a romantic at heart and couldn’t really refuse.
“Oh yeah. Sorry, I need to...” I point to Harley with a wince.
“But—” he starts to argue, but I cut him off.
“We’ve got all night. Enjoy your party. Go smoke a blunt with the guys and relax a little.”
“While you’re walking around in that dress? Not a chance.”
I laugh at him as I walk toward Harley and leave Zayn behind.
39
Zayn
I bite down on the inside of my cheek, watching Poppy’s ass sway in that sinful fucking dress as she walks over to my sister.
Fucking cockblock.
Leaving the makeshift dance floor behind, I head out to the garden to do as she just suggested.
I find most of the guys out here passing a blunt around that Ethan probably supplied them with.
I drop down onto one between Justin and Jake and Amalie.
“You let her up for air, huh?” Justin asks, his voice full of amusement.
“Sadly,” I mutter, snatching the joint from his fingers.
“She looks hot,” Amalie points out, making Jake growl. “Oh calm down, caveman. She’s almost eighteen, you can’t keep up the protective big brother routine forever.”
“Try me,” he mutters. “What did she get you for your birthday?” Jake asks, trying to change the subject.
“Uh...” I hesitate, my cock swelling once more as I think about the wake-up call I had from her this morning. “N-nothing yet.”
Amalie chuckles, giving me a knowing wink before she kisses Jake on the cheek and climbs from the lounger, heading inside.
“I can’t believe this is all going to be over soon,” Jake says, looking around at all the people in my backyard and spilling out from inside the house. I swallow harshly at the reality of what’s coming for all of us. High school is almost done and we’re all going to be heading off around the country as we start the rest of our lives. It doesn’t seem all that long ago we started at Rosewood High thinking it would last forever.
We’ve achieved everything we dreamed of this year by winning the division and the state championships, but it’s almost time to move on to new teams, new friends, new futures.
UCLA has always been my dream. I remember Mom showing me images of the campus when I was a kid. It was where she always wanted to go, and I’ve wanted it ever since. Only, the past few weeks, everything’s changed for me. My vision for the future is suddenly totally different. I’ve just no idea what everyone else is going to think about it, but then, it’s not their life, it’s mine.