Read Burning Attraction Online
Authors: Ashley Beale
I jump when I hear a way-too-sexy of voice behind me, "I'll keep an eye on her for you." Pierce comes up behind me and puts his arm over my shoulder. I'm so shocked by his actions that I just stand there, unsure of what I can or should do.
The look on Avery's face is harsh, I really think he may kill Pierce in a moment. To stop him, I move from Pierce's arm and shove at him. "Don't touch me," I say with as much attitude as I can.
When I look up at his face, he has the most amusing smirk. I want to smack it right off from him, but I know it'll turn us both on, so I don't. "Oh Cassie, you know you want me. Stop playing hard to get."
"I'm not playing shit," I snap at him, rolling my eyes. I hope it doesn't seem obvious to anyone else. I would die.
Avery seethes out through his teeth, "get the fuck away from her. Don't fuckin' put your hand near her again either."
I'd feel bad for Pierce, since everyone is ganging up on him now, but he did it to himself. He should have known better than to approach me while I was near Avery. A laugh escapes Pierce's lips, "dude, don't worry, if I wanted Cassie for real, I'm sure I'd get her. I just like pressing your buttons." He winks at me and walks off. My face is beat red, but thankfully no one says anything. I'm sure they all think I'm just pissed off.
I turn to Avery and give him a huge hug. "Don't worry about me, Mason will keep an eye out for me. I can take care of myself too. These heels will do some serious damage if someone attempts anything. You go kick some ass, then we can celebrate after," I whisper in his ear before kissing his cheek. When I pull back I smile at him. "Good luck Avery. You'll win, I know it."
He still looks frustrated but manages to smile at me in that boyish way that causes me to nearly swoon. "Sounds like a plan Angel. You need to stand between Aubrey and Mason though, or I'll never be able to fight." We both look towards Mason and Aubrey who agree that it's fine.
Mouse enters the room and tells us to leave so he can talk with Avery. We get to the same spot we always seem to get at the edge of the makeshift ring. I feel someone staring at me, so I glance around at the people who are also making their way towards the circle. My heart pounds when I spot Carson giving me a sheepish look. He takes in my outfit, smirking sadly at me before he turns his head. That is when I notice he is holding hands with another girl. What? When the hell did that happen? He didn't tell me.
I continue to stare at him until he looks back at me. I raise both eyebrows, my eyes shooting from his, down to their intertwined fingers, and back up to his face. He knows exactly what I'm asking without me needing to say a word. He shrugs his shoulder and shakes his head no, then looks away. I can feel my blood boiling but I don't say anything. Then reality hits in, I'm in the same place as Avery, Pierce and Carson. Carson has obviously moved on, Pierce I just dumped from being my fuck buddy this morning, and I'm here cheering on Avery, dressed "too sexy" for him. My awesome day, and night, has just turned upside down.
Mouse gets on his little soapbox, yelling out his little speech for all of us to obey his rules and so on. "And now, let’s welcome our boy, Scooottttt "Vortex" Blacckkmoooreee!" Most of the crowd erupts into cheers, some others boo. I just stand there, all annoyed with myself and everyone else. "And for our returning champ, gents, hate yourself, ladies, take off those shirts to welcome out the one, the only, Avverrryyyy "Kill Switch" Maannniingggg!" I jump up and down with as much excitement as I allow myself to have, clapping and yelling out Avery's name.
Avery looks in my direction before he starts the fight. I yell out to him several times, and shriek with excitement every time he gets a good punch in. My phone vibrates and I pull it out of my pocket to see I have a message.
D.L.S.:
u look fuckin hot jumpin up n down. reminds me when u ride my dick ;-)
I shove the phone back in my pocket and look around. Pierce is nearly across from me. I flip him off with a small smile, then continue cheering on for Avery. When he finally knocks out his contender, Mouse jumps down from his soapbox, throwing the towel on Scott. "And the winner tonight my folks, is no other than our Kill Switch!" Mouse roars.
The entire crowd erupts in approval for Avery. He looks my way and smiles large, then strides over to me. I jump up into his sweaty, bloody embrace. "You did amazing!"
He kisses me on the lips, claiming me in front of everyone. "Only because of you Angel." After he sets me back down, he gives out a few high fives to people before following Mouse into the back room.
I tell Aubrey I'll be right back, I want to see Carson for a minute. She is skeptical of me walking away, but allows me to go anyways. Mason lets out a grunt but doesn't say anything. I see Carson and walk up to him. He isn't holding hands with the girl but she is standing close. "Hey there, friend," I say with a sympathetic smile.
"Uh, hi Cassie. How are you?"
"Oh, you know, I'm good, I suppose. I'd ask the same but you look pretty happy." I flick my eyes over to the girl and back to Carson.
He itches at his arm in a sheepish way. "I was going to talk to you about that this week. I, er," he stumbles on his words, "I met someone else. I couldn't wait, I'm sorry."
A dry laugh escapes my lips, "yeah, well, I tried. But I guess shit happens. I can't get mad at you. Good luck with her though, really Carson. You deserve to be happy."
He smiles at me. "You too beautiful." I lean in and give him a small hug, kissing his cheek as I pull away, making sure his little girlfriend there isn't watching.
As I make my way back towards where Aubrey and Mason were standing, I don't see them. Not anywhere. I assume they must be with Avery, so I head that way. When I enter the room that they're normally waiting in, it's empty. I turn around to head back out but Pierce is standing in the door way, smiling smugly at me. "You just don't give up," I state.
"Not when it comes to you. You know when you ignore me or are a bitch, it turns me on." He grabs at his erection pushing through his jeans and I'm highly aware of how much it turns him on. Almost as much as it turns me on.
I have to take a deep breath. "Well, as nice as it would be right now, Avery is outside this room somewhere, and I have a feeling there will be a massive war if the two of us are missing at the same time."
He shakes his head. "I can be quick."
"I know," I say breathless. I can hear the sexual tension in my voice, so I clear it before continuing. "Not today Pierce. Please. I'll come over tomorrow."
"Oh, so tomorrow you won't be too good for me?"
"I can promise you Cassie will always be too good for you," I hear Avery's voice echo behind Pierce. My eyes widen and my heart starts pounding. How much has he heard? What does he know? I tried to end this shit for this reason! I didn't want Avery to get hurt.
Pierce's face lights up in amusement. He adjusts his boner as he turns his head over his shoulder to speak with Avery. "Oh I know that Manning, but do you?"
I walk towards the entrance. "Move," I snap at Pierce, who surprisingly does without putting up a fight. "Thanks," I murmur, walking past him.
Avery looks ready to snap Pierce's neck. His eyes are bloodshot, his veins are popping out of his neck, and his knuckles are white in the fists at his side. "We'll finish this later Danielson. I'm setting shit up with Mouse as soon as possible. You're fuckin' dead!" He spits at Pierce's feet. I feel like a bitch because I'm the reason he is so angry. Well, at least a big part of the reason. I should have never slept with Pierce, not even once. Especially not over and over.
I hear Pierce laugh at Avery, not giving him an ounce of anger in return, and I know it's frustrating Avery even more. Mason is behind him, trying to get Avery to leave it all alone. "Come on man, it isn't worth being kicked out of the ring over this douche. You'll murder him soon enough."
"Fuck off," Avery snaps at him. His stare never leaving Pierce as his nostrils flare out. I've never seen him look so angry, not even while he is fighting, and it’s starting to scare me.
"Well I'm leaving, so you coming or what?" I question Avery.
He turns his head to face me, then closes his eyes as he inhales a deep breathe. When his eyes open, I see the disappointment in them. I know he heard more of that conversation then I was hoping for. "Let's go," he says stepping towards me. His arm goes around my waist and I don't glance in Pierce's direction at all, too nervous to see his reaction.
We walk away from the room, towards the exit. I hear Pierce let out a laugh, but I just ignore it completely. Aubrey and Mason follow behind us until we're all outside. Avery turns and looks at me, running his hand over the top of his head. "Mason will bring you home. Thanks for coming out tonight." He starts walking away from me and my heart shatters.
"Avery, wait!" He pauses but doesn't turn around. I walk to him, and pull on his shoulder, forcing him to face me again. He looks ready to cry for a moment before he slowly smirks at me. "Are you mad at me?"
His eyebrows raise and he lets out a dry laugh, "why would I be mad Cassandra?" He is calling me my full name instead of my nickname, so I know he really is. And I know why he is too. I shouldn't have even asked him, I just didn't know what else to say.
"I ended things with him Avery. It wasn't like that. I'm not explaining it here though. Can we please just go back to my place or something so we can talk?" I bite down on my lip, waiting for an answer.
"And if I say no, then what? You going to run back in there and fuck Pierce again?" He doesn't even try to hide his anger now. I can feel my face redden and my eyes start to water. I try to blink back the tears but it's nearly impossible.
Mason pulls on Avery's arm. "Man, come on. Not right here. I'll bring her home, you need to-"
Avery rips his arm away from Mason, but he doesn't take his eyes off mine as he answers back to Mason, cutting him off mid-sentence. "I don't need to do shit besides wreck that fuckers face. And trust me I will." His breathing starts getting heavier as his green eyes glow into mine. "I cannot believe you did that to me Angel. You can go fuck off. I thought you were better than that, but you're nothing more than a dirty little whore."
Tears spring from my face as the words leave his mouth. I don't argue, it's the truth and I know it. He just shakes his head at me and turns, walking away from me, probably for the last time. Aubrey puts her arms around me, hugging me close to her. "Oh Cassie, why didn't you tell me?" she whispers in my ear.
I start sobbing uncontrollably before I can even get an answer out. Once I'm able to control my breath again I finally answer her back, my voice sounding hoarse. "I was embarrassed. I knew you'd be upset with me. It was only a couple times but I ended it. I want Avery, I want him so bad."
She rubs my back, giving me the best comfort my best friend can. "Give him time Cass, just give him time."
Chapter 13: Apologies
I hear nothing from Avery for weeks. Christmas comes and goes, and although his parents came to my parents’ house over the holidays, Avery was apparently too busy. Before winter break, I saw him around campus but he made sure to look in the opposite direction. I've texted him, tried to call him, left him voicemails apologizing. Nothing back. No answer, not once. I gave up on trying to get ahold of him yesterday. We return back to school in two more days for the spring semester and I will have to try to find a way to get him to at least look at me.