“Is right here. There is no one else I’d rather celebrate with tonight than you and my best friends, Mya. Congratulations, babe,” he whispered against the shell of my ear. “Tonight, we celebrate.”
Asher
“How the fuck did we get so lucky?” I asked my two best friends in the whole world.
“It’s a question I ask myself every second of every day. She’s everything I never knew I wanted.” Jase took a long pull on his beer, not taking his eyes off Felicity for even a second. The girls were dancing together, laughing and smiling, twirling around without a care in the world.
“This was a good call,” Cam added, shifting forward as he tracked Hailee’s movements. “I’m not sure I could have survived another party.”
“Hey, my parties are fucking epic.”
“Yeah, but this is a thousand times better,” he grumbled.
“You’re not wrong,” Jase agreed as the three of us sat there watching our girls. The girls who had come out of nowhere and knocked us so far on our asses I wasn’t sure we’d ever get up again.
“If I die tonight,” I proclaimed, the buzz of liquor simmering in my veins. “I’d die happy.”
“No one is dying.” Cam elbowed my ribs. “Don’t be saying that shit.”
“Sorry, man, I wasn’t thinking.” The pain in his voice sobered me. We’d all been through a lot senior year. Some happy, some not so happy, and some downright ugly. But we’d made it and now we had our whole lives ahead of us.
“It’s cool,” he said. “I just… well, I guess with college approaching, it’s…”
“We get it.” Jase glanced over at him. “But whatever comes our way, we handle it together. No amount of distance changes that. You’re still my best friends. My brothers. We’re Raiders and no matter what color jersey you wear, we’ll always be Raiders.”
“College,” I breathed. “I’m so fucking relieved Mya will be there with me.”
“Tell me about it. I thought I had it all figured out,” Jase said. “I thought I didn’t need anything except football. But that girl right there,” he tipped the neck of his bottle toward Flick, “I need her more than air, and it fucking terrifies me.”
“Never thought I’d see the day.” Cam smirked at him.
“Fuck off.”
“Nah, man, it looks good on you. She looks good on you.”
“You should see her when she’s riding my—”
“And there’s the Jase we all know and love.” Laughter rumbled in my chest. “You think we gave them enough time?”
“Yeah.” He slammed his bottle down on the coffee table. “I think they’re done.”
“Thank fuck for that,” I mumbled, need pulsing through me.
We each stood up and approached the girls. But I didn’t pay any attention to what my friends were doing. I only had eyes for Mya, for the way the black knee-length dress molded to her curves like a second skin.
“Ash?” she gazed up at me as I pulled her into my arms.
“Needed you, babe,” I whispered against her ear before flicking my tongue over her salty sweet skin. Mya curled her hands into my Henley, letting me sway us to the music. “Are you enjoying the party?”
“Yes.” She grinned at me, her eyes glassy with one too many cocktails. Mya didn’t let her guard down a lot, but tonight, with our friends, she had. It made my heart swell watching my girl let her hair down and enjoy herself. It’s all I wanted; to see her happy.
After everything, she deserved it.
I turned her in my arms, pulling her body flush to mine, letting her roll her ass against me. My hands found the swell of her hips and my lips found her shoulder. I was hardly surprised to see Jase already had Felicity pinned against the wall, kissing her like he thought she might disappear any second.
“Asher...” Mya turned into me. “I need—”
“Come on.” Taking her hand, I pulled her out of the room and into the hall. But I couldn’t wait. I needed to taste her, to feel her skin on mine. Crowding her against the wall, I leaned in, kissing her hard. Our tongues slid together, dancing to their own rhythm.
“Feel what you do to me,” I whispered against her lips. “Feel how much I want you.” Grabbing her hand, I pressed it against the growing bulge in my jeans.
“The feeling is entirely mutual,” she breathed, pupils blown with lust.
“Oh yeah, is that right?” My smile turned wicked as I dipped my hand underneath her dress, pushing the material up her thighs. Letting my fingers tease her soft skin. I moved higher and higher until I found her panties.
“Ash…” It was a needy moan.
“So wet,” I said, kissing the corner of Mya’s mouth as I rubbed her over the lacy material.
“Remember what you said to me once?” Her words surprised me and I eased back to look at her. “You said you’d chase me to the ends of the Earth before you ever gave me up.”
“I remember.” The words got stuck over the lump in my throat. It seemed like so long ago when we’d been dancing around one another.
“Prove it,” she said, and before I could register her words, Mya ducked out from between me and the wall and took off up the stairs.
“I’m coming for you,” I called after her, the soft sound of her laughter like music to my ears.
“I’m counting on it,” she said as I gave chase, the two of us running down the hall toward my bedroom. Either Mya was quick or I was more buzzed than I’d first thought, because she made it into my room before I could grab her.
The second I burst through the door, I ground to a halt, my mouth hanging open at the sight of her standing there in nothing but black lace panties and a matching bra. “I think I must have died and gone to heaven.”
“I’m real, Asher,” she smirked, toying with the strap of her bra.
“You sure, Hernandez? Because fuck… you look like an angel standing there.” I dragged a hand through my hair, trying to rein in my emotions.
“Touch me and find out.” Challenge shone in her eyes as she began to back up, stopping only when the bed hit the backs of her legs.
“Challenge accepted.” Peeling the t-shirt from my body, I quickly unbuttoned my jeans and pushed them off my hips. Mya’s hungry gaze pulled me toward her, until I was close enough to feel the heat from her body. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” I ghosted a finger down her neck and between the valley of her tits.
“Tonight was perfect,” she said.
“You are perfect.”
“We did it, we survived high school.”
I moved closer, burying a hand deep into her thick curls. “We did,” I whispered, brushing my lips against hers. “And now we get to live, Mya. We get to chase our dreams, together.”
My hand dropped to the curve of her ass, pressing her against my dick. But it wasn’t enough. In one swift motion, I picked Mya up, forcing her legs around my waist. Her shrieks of surprise filled the room but quickly turned to giggles when I turned around and dropped down on the bed with her straddling me. Her hand slid to my jaw, anchoring me in place as she kissed me. Teased me with her tongue and teeth. My fingers found the clasp of Mya’s bra, pulling it off her body while she worked a hand between us, freeing my dick from the confines of my boxer briefs. Our kisses grew frantic. Dirty wet kisses as we explored one another’s body. I would never get enough of this, of her.