Man Up Party Boy (3 page)

Chapter 5

Noah

I lost her. Damn it. She already caught me staring while she talked to that ass-hat. I spotted her the second she walked through the door. She captivated me with the ocean of chocolate waves rolling down her shoulders, stopping just before those perfect, round tits, and her soft full lips that I'm yearning to feel wrapped around me. My eyes continued down her body to her too short shorts. I see the way they hug her hips, cling to her curves, and I know even though I can't see it right now they're highlighting that perfect ass. That ass I got a close up view of this morning. I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of having her catch me staring again, so I turned my whole body toward Jeannie, and now I lost Lexi. Damn it!

"There you are, party boy!"

Surprised, I turn toward the playful voice, knowing it's her. Before I can say anything or react, she pushes herself between me and the girl I've been speaking to for the last forty-five minutes and presses her lips, her whole body against mine. She has my complete attention as my hands slip to her waist, like this is the most natural thing in the world; like I've held her and kissed her a million times before. I pull her against me, afraid if I loosen my grip even a little, she's going to slip away.

"Thank you for keeping him company." She breaks away much too soon, and turns to Jeannie who's gaping at us open mouthed. "My Noah is such a flirt!" Lexi taps my nose with her pointer finger, her other hand moves up to the back of my neck. "But I wouldn't want him to change one bit. It keeps things interesting."

"Jerk," Jeannie mutters under her breath before moving away from us. I don't care because I'm floored that this beautiful, sexy creature in my arms came over out of the blue, and kissed me. It's not enough. I want more. I want to explore her mouth, take my time tasting her, touching her in places she doesn't even realize she wants me to touch.

Lexi drops her hands and turns from me.

"You can get your paws off me now," she says, rolling her eyes, all playfulness gone from her voice.

Confused, I don't let go. Instead I tighten my grip and lean toward her. I brush my nose along the side of her face, grazing her soft skin, breathing in the fresh, clean scent of watermelon. Every other girl in here smells sweet, but Lexi, she's mouthwatering.

I hear the hitch in her breath, and feel the twitch in my pants. I want to brush my lips along her jaw line, drop them behind her ear and onto her neck. I want to kiss her all over, make her moan my name, but I don't. I can't.

I'm still shocked she came to me. She kissed me. While my body is screaming for more, I'm worried if I go for too much, too fast, I'll scare her off.

"I said hands off!" She pushes at me.

I take one of her hands in mine and entwine our fingers. I can't let her go. I won't.

"First tell me why you did that," I speak directly in her ear so that only she can hear, making sure she feels my warm breath against her skin.

Her body stiffens. She's uncomfortable. I called her out, and I have no idea how she's going to react.

"You'd been talking to her for a while."

"You noticed," I say with a smile more out of surprise than cockiness. I run my free hand up her back, and under her hair. I hold her head close to mine, pinning her soft green eyes down with my own, not allowing her to pull away.

"Hard not to, you were directly in front of me. I saw you back away from her and you were tapping your glass with your finger. The tapping thing, it's what you do when you're uncomfortable."

I'm fucking floored. I can't believe she knows that. I haven't seen her in five years. Five fucking years, and she still remembers that little nuance. I didn't even realize I did it, not until she just said it, and she's right.

I meant something to her once. I must have. At some point I meant a hell of a lot if she paid that much attention. Then why turn into such a bitch? I could think of only one explanation. Without having a clue I did it at the time, I hurt her.

"You thought
she
was the reason I was uncomfortable?"

"I think she wanted to go home with you, and I don't feel like having to spend the next week getting rid of her because you're too much of a pussy to be straight and tell her you're not interested."

I hate the cold, indifferent tone she's using. How can fire burn so bright in her eyes when she's looking at me one minute, then extinguish completely the next?

"So you didn't want to help me? You were just helping yourself?"

She swallows hard and looks away as she nods. "Exactly."

She's lying. I know it. I feel it. I bring my mouth to her ear again. "I think you're lying, Lexi."

"Don't flatter yourself, party boy."

She pulls away from me hard and fast, and heads for the door. I follow on her heels and take hold of her hand.

"To keep up appearances," I say as she glares at me. It works. It keeps us connected, keeps me by her side.

Once we're far enough away from the bar and the overspill of people on the boardwalk she stops and looks at me.

"You can let go now."

Her attitude is back at full force. Looking at the moonlight reflected in her hair, I can't believe what a beautiful woman she grew up to be. She looks like perfection, my idea of it anyway. She looks like a girl I could fall for. A girl I'm already falling for. My mouth goes dry as I realize what's happening.

"What if I don't want to?"

"Listen, party boy--"

I stop and snake my arms around her waist, pulling her up against my body. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

She pushes against me, trying to break my hold and create distance.

"I know you, Noah York. I know who and what you are. On the beach this morning and in the bar just now you proved I'm right. You're still the same shallow bastard that used to drag my brother to parties every weekend so you could go get laid. You're the same jackass looking to sweet talk a smooth path to your next piece of ass."

"No." Her tone is sharp, cutting. It tells me she means every word she just said. But why? "You've got it wrong, Lexi. That's Cooper. Not me. The parties were his idea. I would've been just as happy staying home and playing video games.
He
dragged
me
."

"I know my brother's no angel," she said still struggling to break my hold on her. "But he had no reason to lie to me. Not about you. Not about this."

"Alexis." My voice comes out sharper, sterner than I mean it to. But I'm angry that she thinks I'm such a douche. If this is the image I'm up against, I'm not sure a week is long enough to convince her otherwise.

"Why do you think you're here instead of Cooper? Where do you think he is right now? In Italy enjoying sex-a-palooza. Selene's not his girlfriend. Not in the conventional sense. Meanwhile I'm not just here. I'm here with you."

"I know. And I know if you had your way you'd be here with some hot . . ."

I can't hear this coming from her anymore. She misunderstands, and words are failing me. I can think of only one way to show her what I mean. I bring my mouth down hard against hers. This isn't at all like the quick sweet kiss she initiated at the bar. This one is meant to ignite the passion I see in her eyes when she looks at me, and keep it burning in her belly. This one is meant to communicate how much I want her right now. Her hands push against my chest as she struggles to break free, but I hold her tighter. My tongue pushes between her lips, demanding its way into her mouth.

Her hands move from my chest up, over my shoulders. She's holding me, pulling me to her with the same urgency my tongue has as it dances around her mouth. I cup her face in my hands as I pull back, certain I've melted at least a thin layer of ice between us. She may not trust me, but the way she reacted to that kiss tells me she wants me.

It's a start.

Chapter 6

Lexi

"Fuck you, Noah!" I say pulling away from him, my voice threatening to break just the way my will did in his arms. "I hate you!"

He releases me and I step back, out of his reach. He looks like I just slapped him across the face. Good. I need some way to counter what he just did to me, some way to slow down my racing heart, and excuse my trembling hands.

"Lexi . . ."

"I'm sorry you're not here with Cooper. I'm sorry I screwed things up with that girl. Next time I'll keep my distance."

"No." He reaches his hand up toward my face. I'm guessing it's to brush away the hair that's fallen into my eyes, but I won't let him touch me. I swat him away.

"I'm not your consolation prize."

"Consolation prize? How can you say that?"

"Don't play your stupid games with me."

"Give me a chance, Lexi. I'm not the guy you think I am."

"Oh yeah? Tell me, the last girl you fucked, how long were you going out with her?"

His eyes dart to the side, as his lips press together in a thin line. "That's not fair."

"That's what I thought."

The air seeps out of my lungs. As much as I know he's an ass, there's a part of me, a small hope-filled part he woke, that wants to be wrong about him. The problem is, once again, he just proved I'm not.

I take a few steps toward the house and realize I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I get there. Maybe I should pack my shit up and leave. Not even twenty four hours have passed since I got here and it feels like every minute has revolved around Noah. I can't have a full week of this. I don't think I can make it even two days because if I let him under my skin or into my heart, I'll further betray the fat girl inside me. The girl I've been starving and trying to kill off because she repulsed Noah York.

"Lexi." He's next to me, matching my strides. "Give me a chance."

"No."

"I don't understand.
You
kissed
me
in the bar,
you
started it."

"This isn't the schoolyard, ass-wipe."

We're close to the house. Once we get there, I can run in my room and lock the door. I just need to be strong and hold steadfast a little longer.

"There's something between us, Lexi." He grabs my arm and stops me. "I felt it from the minute I saw you out on the beach this morning. There's something pulling me to you. I know you feel it, too. You owe it to yourself to find out what it is."

I ignore the tingling of my skin beneath his hand, the tumbling of my belly, and the passion that shot through my body when he kissed me. I ignore it all because it's dangerous not to; because I'm afraid getting too close to Noah will be lethal to my heart and I can't chance it.

"The only thing I owe myself is a good night's sleep. Goodnight, party boy."

I force one foot in front of the other over and over. I don't stop because I know if I do I won't find this strength to walk away again. I just keep pushing forward. I keep moving ahead. I don't have to look back to know he's not following me. I feel it from the chill in the air.

I don't allow the let down to settle over me, not yet. I hoped, I wished he'd know enough, care enough to follow me. That he'd do anything he could not to let me go. More than anything right now, I want Noah to sweep me up into his arms, lay me on his bed and make love to me. But it will never happen. It can't ever happen. I'll keep pushing him away, and he'll never hang around long enough to fight for me. He'll always go off and look for a convenient fuck. One with no strings or commitments, because he's a player at heart, always thinking with the wrong head.

*

Back at the house, I can't help myself from looking out the window. I'm guessing he went back to the bar, picked up where he left off with the blonde. My heart skips a beat; a little, tiny beat as I see him on the beach walking towards the water. I hate that I'm relieved he's alone. I'm going to lose it in a big way if he brings a girl back here. That's the real reason I kissed him.

I didn't want to lie in bed listening to the sounds of him fucking her. I have no doubt he'd work her over so that she'd be moaning and shouting his name. I'm sure the furniture here is crappy and cheap. The last sound I need to hear before I close my eyes tonight is the screeching of bed springs.

When my brother asked if I'd be interested in spending a week on the beach I jumped at the chance. Not because I love the beach so much, but because of Noah. Somehow I saw it as vindication. Proof to myself that I'd grown up and left my insecurities behind. Proof that a random jackass would never hurt me, never make me feel like I wasn't good enough for him. I thought I could pull it off, but I'm realizing that I can't. Because for every bit of me that hates him, there's another two that wants him.

I pull my phone from my pocket, staring at his silhouette on the beach, and call my best friend Allie.

"Are you having fun yet?" she asks.

"Remind me again why I'm here."

"You're there to have the time of your life while putting that prick in his place."

"I can't do this, Allie. I'm not strong enough."

"Yes, you are. You're one of the strongest people I know."

"This was a dumb idea." I sniffle and close my eyes, pulling myself back together.

"Lexie, what happened? Did he say something to hurt you?"

I shake my head like she could see me. "No. He's been," I search for words as I run my finger along the edge of the window. "He's been infuriatingly sweet. Polite. A perfect gentleman, offering to help me with my bags and to make me pancakes."

"This is Noah, right? The same jerk you've been avoiding every time you and Cooper are home together for the holidays."

I have a funny tightening in my chest as she says his name. This is bad. No, it's beyond bad, it's downright terrifying. "He kissed me." I'm embarrassed to admit I kissed him first. I can't tell anyone that, not even my best friend.

"He did?" I could hear her mouth hit the floor. "How? When? Was it good?"

"It's a long story, but it happened a little while ago. And Allie, it was the best kiss of my life. I swear I wanted to take my clothes off and fuck him right then and there." I close my eyes, and touch my free hand to my lips reliving the moment. I bring back to mind the details of how warm and strong his arms felt wrapped around me.

"Do you think you will?"

"What? Fuck him? Are you kidding me? You know how I feel about Noah. All I want is to forget it, forget him." I swallow hard.

"Lexi, don't take this the wrong way, you know I love you, but maybe you need to get your head out of the past? Maybe at the time, his raging hormones turned his brain to mush the way they do with most teenage boys, but a lot of time has passed since then. Maybe he's changed? And maybe the reason you're so upset right now is because you know if this is your first night together and you already kissed, you're going to give in to him."

"Thanks for nothing."

"I'm just telling you like it is, because I love you. And you wouldn't want me any other way."

I hang up with my friend annoyed with her, more annoyed because she's right. Satisfied that Noah's alone for the night, I pull my gaze off him and head up to my room.