Just Say Yes (Just Say Yes #2) (6 page)

“Worry,” he replied dryly. I rolled over and moved in close to him.

“
Please
, don’t,” I begged as I rested my forehead against his and closed my eyes. “This is too intense. Last night was horrible.”

Andy took in a deep breath and let it out. “I’m sorry, Zoey. I’m still freaked out after the accident, and now you’re leaving for a month. I’m afraid something is going to happen to you and I can’t touch you without hurting you—”

“Then let me touch you,” I whispered with the unwavering need to prove to him that I was okay and nothing would happen to me.

After last night, I knew he wouldn’t have sex with me, so I held his face in my hands and kissed him hard. He parted his lips, deepening our kiss, letting our love for each other take over. I slowly slipped my tongue inside his mouth to meet his, thankful when Andy
finally
wrapped his arms around me. He had barely touched me all week aside from helping me bathe. His refusal to make love to me the previous night hurt worse than the injuries. He hadn’t harmed me on purpose, but the rejection still stung.

No matter how badly I still wanted to be with him, he would refuse. However, I was still more than willing to give him what he needed. I ended our heated kiss, unbuttoned his jeans, and slid the zipper down, knowing he wouldn’t turn down what I wanted to do to him.

I tugged his pants and boxers down as he lifted his hips, freeing his erection. Wasting no time, I took him in my mouth. He groaned as I sucked, drawing him further inside. I wanted to do this to him every day. I loved the way he tasted and the way he watched me. I stroked him while I ran my tongue and lips over the head of his cock then took him deep inside my mouth.

When the tip of him hit the back of my throat, I swallowed. He took in a sharp breath, closing his eyes while he knotted his fingers in my hair. He must have liked that.
A lot.
I continued sucking him and pumping him with my hand, increasing speed and pressure until he was close to coming, then I’d back off for a bit. I wanted to prolong his experience since it was probably the last time I’d touch him until I returned from Cabo.

Looking up at him, I found he was watching me again, his eyes glazed over with lust. I ran my hand up his warm chest, and on the way back down to his muscular abs, I teased his nipple with my fingertips. He moaned quietly at my touch, so I did it again.

His breath came in rasps the closer he came to his release. His body jerked slightly and he mumbled my name as he came. I swallowed and released him, crawling back up to lie beside him. He wrapped his arm around me and we drifted off to sleep.

It was late Saturday and almost time for our dinner and karaoke night with all my friends. Andy was going to be there too so we could spend as much time together as possible. He hadn’t left my side since he’d come back in the early morning hours after our horrendous fight, and I was pretty sure he had no plans to until I was on the plane.

My hip felt better after a day of rest so I was well enough to cook dinner. Will and Justin were bringing a salad, I was making lasagna, and Jess and Sasha were bringing garlic bread and dessert. I felt a little wimpy for needing Andy to lift the pots and pans full of food for me because they were too heavy to lift with a sore shoulder.

His mood was still not right and it was obvious he was worried about me leaving because he kept asking me if I was sure that I was okay. I did everything in my power to try to get through to him so he knew I was, but it didn’t seem to help.

When my friends arrived, the six of us enjoyed dinner gathered around my dining room table. Andy finally loosened up after a few beers. I pulled out a half bottle of Johnnie Walker and the guys proceeded to knock back the rest of it. I wasn’t drinking because I didn’t know if I’d need a pain pill that night. Not to mention the fact I needed to wake up early to get to the airport.

Later on, we set up the karaoke machine. We always played a game where we took all the names of the songs, printed them out, and put them in a hat. Each person drew out a strip of paper and no matter what was on it, you had to sing it.

Andy was being shy and a bit quiet. I wasn’t too sure if he was ready to join our game or not. I’d heard him sing several times when he didn’t know I was listening. He had a great voice and I begged him on many occasions to sing me something, but he never did.

I had yet to hear him play his guitar either, for that matter.

After everyone except Andy sang a song, my turn came up again. Jess pulled out a slip of paper, handing it to me. I opened it and read the song title.

“Oh, hell no. You assholes do this to me every time. I swear I’m going to delete that song from the list.”

They started clapping and cheering for me, obviously wanting to see me make an ass out of myself. I put my hands over my face to hide my shame as I laughed hysterically. I couldn’t help it. It
was
funny.

I looked over at Andy who was waiting for someone to tell him what was going on. He was nearly drunk and seemed to be having a good time. Not wanting to ruin his night, I decided to suck it up and do the song my so-called best friends gave me.

“Let’s get on with it, bitches,” I teased.
Dear God, how am I going to get through this sober?

Jess found the song on the karaoke machine then pressed play. The music started, along with the cheers and applause. Once Andy realized what it was, he joined in with the rest of my friends. I knew the song by heart, every single word of it. Much to everyone’s amusement, I actually did a good job rapping to “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice.

While I was singing, Will and Justin thought it would be funny to hop up and do the dance routine Vanilla Ice actually did in the music video. It was hilarious to watch them and I had a hard time finishing the song without laughing.

When my torture was finally over, I was so mortified I collapsed on the couch next to Andy, burying my face in his chest. He put his arm over my shoulder, patting me lightly on the back.

“It’s over, Beautiful. Can you do it again?”

“Very funny. You get up and do it now,” I joked.

Still laughing, he picked up his glass of Johnnie Walker from the table. “I’d need about ten more of these before you could get me to even attempt
any
song.”

He finished his drink and set the empty glass back on the table, then reached over and hoisted me onto his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around me. I was surprised at his actions to say the least.

“I love you so much, Zoey.” He sighed, then buried his face in my hair. His warm breath tickled my neck, and the sadness in his voice broke my heart.

I was so relieved that he’d finally chosen to touch me I couldn’t let the moment pass by. I wrapped my arms around his neck, rested my cheek on his head, and sat there, unmoving. I didn’t know what else to do. He wanted to hold me and I was damn sure going to let him because I needed it as much as he did.

Justin cleared his throat. “Hey, party people, we better get home and let these two lovers be alone.”

Andy and I sat there while everyone packed up to leave. I didn’t get up from his lap and neither of us broke our hold on each other.

“Don’t forget, our flight leaves at twelve-thirty, Z,” Sasha called over her shoulder.

“I’ll see you girls tomorrow at ten then,” I answered quietly as everyone made their way out my door.

Once everyone left, I decided to give Andy the gift I’d bought him. While I was away, I didn’t want him to forget about everything we’d begun to build together.

“Andy, I have something for you. Wait here. I’ll go get it.”

Since I was going to be away on Valentine’s Day, I bought an iPod for him as a gift. Of course, the stores started selling Valentine’s cards before Christmas, so I picked one up after an appointment with Dr. Jensen.

I gave him a kiss on the lips, went into my closet, and pulled the little black gift bag out from behind a stack of shoeboxes.

During the week while he was at work, I worked on getting his new iPod set up. The doctor said no work for me so I would heal faster for my trip, which left me to find things to do around my apartment.

Fuck, I even went over to the shop and sat in the lounge to read the new magazines that came in the mail because I was so bored. That was after I attempted to play a few songs on my guitar, but couldn’t get it situated on my lap comfortably enough to play it without some body part hurting. The entire week had been pure hell.

I added music to the iPod I bought him on the day we went shopping for his laptop so we could Skype while I was on vacation. I made him several playlists of songs that were special to me, and songs that reminded me of him.

Back in the living room, I resumed my favorite spot on his lap.

“I know it’s not Valentine’s Day yet, but since I won’t be here…I bought this for you.” I handed him the card first. It was one of the mushy cards and it actually made me tear up when I picked it out.

He opened the card and read it as a genuine smile spread over his entire face. “Thank you. I love it,” he whispered, wrapping his muscular arms around me.

“I have a present for you too,” I said, handing him the tiny bag.

“Zoey, I didn’t get you anything.”

“You don’t need to get me anything. Open it.” I was anxious to see if he liked it.

He pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and took out the box containing the iPod. I’d wrapped it in black paper and tied it with a silver bow. He pulled off the ribbon, then the paper.

“You bought me an iPod?” he asked, as he looked it over. “No, you bought me the most
expensive
iPod. You shouldn’t have spent so much money on me.”

I looked him in the eyes. “Don’t worry about my money, okay? I did it because I love you and wanted to get you something nice, but that’s not the best part.” I took the box from him, opened it, and pulled out the black iPod. I chose the black one for him because it reminded me of the black paint on his Camaro.

After I powered it on, I scrolled to the song menu. “Look, I preloaded it with music for you.” I moved on to the playlists I’d made for him. “All the songs on this list remind me of you. They’re special to me and I want you to listen to them while I’m away. I made this one with some of your favorites too.”

He sat in silence for a minute after I handed the iPod to him. “It’s perfect, Zoey. Thank you.”

“Turn it over,” I said.

Earlier in the week, I’d taken the iPod to a local store that engraved items. I wanted him to remember the night of my birthday when we danced in my apartment. The night the walls I’d built around me briefly crumbled. The night I realized I loved him. He turned it over and read the back, a look of confusion washing over his face. “It’s a lyric from the song that was playing when I realized I was falling in love with you,” I admitted.

It was also the very same song he unknowingly quoted the line:
Just let me love you.
He put the iPod aside and we sat and held each other for what seemed like hours. Unfortunately, it was getting late and I needed to be up early in the morning for our flight.

“Let’s go to bed before you pass out on the couch. I can’t carry you,” I teased, because his eyes were as sleepy as mine were.

“Very funny,” he replied dryly. I was still sitting on his lap, but in one quick movement, he was standing upright with me still in his arms. He walked down the hall to my bedroom and laid me down on the bed. “I’ll be back after I lock up.”

By the time I was ready for bed, Andy was back, wearing only boxer briefs. I was going to miss seeing him in those every night. Well, I would mostly miss seeing him
out
of them. Lying on his back with his fingers entwined together behind his head, he stared at the ceiling. I hated that he was still being so distant and quiet.

I rolled over to him, laid my head on his chest, and began tracing his tattoos with my fingertip. “Please don’t be mad at me. If I’d known I was going to meet you, I would have never planned this trip. You know that, right?”