Top Love: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (Young Adult Stepbrother and Billionaire Romance Stories) (20 page)

“I’ll take what I can get. Isn’t southern cooking supposed to be good?”

She smiled and said, “Depends on where it comes from.”

“We’ll see,” he said, removing his shirt as he headed for the bathroom.

“You want some company in there?” she asked.

She regretted asking him the question as soon as she asked it. She was definitely the more sexually aggressive one in the relationship. She’s only had two partners before him and none of them had come remotely close to his physical attractiveness and his raw energy and prowess in the bedroom. They’d been dating for more than seven months now and it was still rare that two days passed without them making love. Usually, she was the instigator and even when he was tired from a fifteen or sixteen hour day at work, he always obliged.

And now was no different. “Of course,” he said, unbuttoning his pants to emphasize the point.

She grinned and got up from the bed, following him. He was naked by the time she reached the bathroom, already turning the shower on. The shower was small and she instantly felt big. She had lost a little weight since they had become an item, but not much. She was down to two hundred and ten pounds and the little bit of weight she had lost had not been on purpose. She figured it was the hectic lifestyle and crazy job she now had.

She almost turned away, thinking of playfully taking her invitation back. But by then, he was reaching out to her and wrapping his arms around her. And by that point, it was too late. She felt his naked body pressed against her and she couldn’t get out of her clothes fast enough. He assisted her and they were under the water within a minute.

They were playful as everything played out. They got risqué with soap and there was a lot of giggling and nearly juvenile groping. But that slowly dissolved into a heat that existed between them that Lauren still found almost supernatural. Their bodies were slick with soap and water and there was something about this that made him even sexier to her.

They did not leave the shower until they had exhausted the hot water and by then, her knees were weak—not just from what they had done, but from the inventive positions they had found themselves in. In the afterglow of it, they dressed slowly in the small motel room. Lauren tried to pretend that she really didn’t care how she looked. Who the hell was she trying to impress?

You know the answer to that, she thought to herself. Everyone. You want some sort of do-over or repentance for those miserable last few years of high school.

It was an ugly truth, but it was still the truth. As she fussed over her hair, she saw Riley peeking at her. He was already dressed and, of course, looked flawless. He was wearing a simple button-down shirt and a pair of casual khakis. The shirt was unbuttoned just enough at the top to give an indication of what the rest looked like.

“You look beautiful,” he said. “And, if I can be so bold, I think you’re trying too hard.”

“I know,” she said. “I hate that this is such a big deal to me.”

“It’s going to be okay,” he said. “You’re strong as hell for doing this. One night…and no matter how it goes, are you really even going to remember it a year from now?”

It was a good point. She looked herself over one more time and shrugged. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”

They walked out into the parking lot, where dusk had fallen. The parking lot was nearly full now as other guests had come to check in for the reunion. She looked to the man at her side and felt a bit more confident. Even if the people she had once known still saw her as the fattening and awkward Lauren that had finished out high school here, the man on her arm was sure to make up for something.

Give yourself some credit, she thought. You’ve done so much in the last year of your life. Face it girl…you might be a little big, but you kick some serious ass.

She nearly giggled at that thought as she got into Riley’s car.

“What’s that for?” Riley asked.

“What?”

“That smile,” he said.

“Nothing,” she said. “Just talking to myself.”

“You might want to get that out of your system before you get back around all of the people you went to high school with.”

“Ah, shut up,” she said, giving him a playful nudge.

“Hey,” he said.

“What?”

“I love you.”

It wasn’t the first time he had said it to her, but it still had the same electrifying effect.

“I love you, too,” she said. “Now let’s go own this high school reunion.”

He gave her a nod and pulled out of the Sunshine Lodge parking lot, headed down a road that Lauren hadn’t thought of much over the last ten years.

***

Brenton-Campbell High School was actually a fairly beautiful building. It had been built in the early 1900s and when Lauren had attended, the building had been billed as one of the county’s premiere attractions. The exterior of the building and the well-build hallways was about where all of the greatness ended, though.

The high school had never produced a football team that had made it to the playoffs and the soccer teams had stopped participating in the state league altogether in the late 90s because they never got enough students to fill a team. The drop-out rate was a little above the state average, as was teen-pregnancy and drug use. Of those that graduated from Brenton-Campbell, about fifty percent of them never pursued any form of higher education; about seventy percent that did settle for two years at the community college and that was it.

“I won’t lie,” Riley said. “This looks more like some building out of a horror movie rather than a high school.”

She nodded. “It sort of does. But it was always heralded as this really beautiful building. This is southern Virginia. Architecture from the old days is a big deal.”

“Ah,” he said. “It does have its charm. I was just trying to break the ice.”

“No need,” she said. “I think I’m going to be okay.”

“Good,” he said, reaching over to give her hand a squeeze.

They parked in the back lot, where the seniors and the faculty parked during the school year. There were a few people making the small walk between the parking lot and the school’s front entrance. Lauren tried to see if she knew any of the faces and while a few did look familiar, she was having a hard time thinking of any names.

They got out of the car and followed the thin trail of people that were headed inside. Some of them were dressed to the nines while others had felt that a tee shirt and jeans were appropriate. As for Lauren, she was wearing a low-cut dress that went down to her knees. It was a cute blue and white number that she had purchased with her first paycheck from her new job. She’s bought just a bit too small, promising herself that she’d be able to fit into it within a few weeks.

They walked into the school and came to a table that was set up just inside the front doors. Two people were sitting at the table, offering those that came in sticker name tags and a Sharpie. Lauren and Riley filled theirs out and walked past the table, towards the gymnasium—where the reunion was being held. As they made their way down the hall, Lauren saw a few people here and there but didn’t recognize any of them.

But then as they were about to head into the gym, a screeching woman’s voice from behind her nearly made Lauren shout out in surprise.

“Lauren?” the voice asked, nearly in a scream.

Lauren turned around and saw a tall slender woman coming out of the women’s bathroom. Lauren recognized the woman right away as one of the few true friends she’d had in high school. Sadly, Lauren hadn’t thought of her recently.

“Missy Tanner!” Lauren yelled.

The two women went running for one another and embraced in the hallway. “How have you been?” Missy asked.

“Pretty good,” Lauren said. “You?”

“Great! I’m dateless tonight and I’m surprisingly okay with it. And I haven’t been able to say that in a long time!”

“Where are you living now?” Lauren asked.

“Roanoke.  A nice little three-hour jaunt away.”

“A safe distance, then,” Lauren said.

The women laughed for a moment before Lauren turned her towards Riley. “Well, I’m the opposite of you,” she said. “I rarely have dates, but this is mine for the night.”

Missy did a poor job of hiding her surprise. She stared at Riley for a moment, her eyes wide and impressed. “Good grief,” Missy said. “Forgive for saying so, Lauren…but damn. Way to go!”

Riley smiled at her and offered her hand. “Riley Thomson,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same here,” Missy said. “So are you two dating or just together for the night.”

“We’re dating,” Lauren said proudly.

“I’d say we’re doing a little more than dating,” Riley said.

Lauren blushed and this and added, “We’ve been living together for a few months.”

Missy still looked perplexed but genuinely happy for her old friend. “Well let’s get in there right away,” Missy said. “With something like him on your arm, you shouldn’t waste any time showing him off!”

Missy led them into the gymnasium where about sixty other people were already gathered. A DJ was set up in the corner, playing hits from the early 90s. Currently, “Santa Monica” by Everclear was playing. On the opposite side of the gym, a large folding table had been set up and served as the bat area. A woman stood behind it, currently mixing a drink from the numerous liquor bottles that rested on a smaller table behind her.

As they stepped further inside, Lauren started to see a few faces that looked familiar. There was Amy Pascal, the head cheerleader. There was Malcolm Highsdale, the star basketball player. She took in these older faces from the past and realized how surreal it was. Why the hell did people join together for reunions, anyway? To compare themselves to those they grew up with? To non-vocally describe how much better their lives were than their peers?

It seemed very sad. And as she came to this realization, she saw a face in the crowd that she had nearly forgotten. And as she recognized it, she wished she had forgotten it entirely.

Jason Gellman looked just about the same as he had when he had graduated. The last Lauren had heard—when she had still been in college—Jason had made it to UNC on a football scholarship but then got kicked out on drug charges.  The woman that was with him looked bored and maybe even a bit angry that she was being forced to endure this reunion.

Jason caught Lauren looking and gave her a devious grin. She looked away quickly, fuming and uncomfortable. During their senior year of high school, Jason had come to a party that Lauren had been attending which was odd because they did not hang out in the same crowds. Before the night was over, he’d flirted with her and they’d ended up in the back of his car. The most that happened was that she had gotten a hickey and he had been awarded with her hands down his pants. The following Monday at school, Jason had explained the situation away by saying that Lauren was drunk and assaulted him. Because she was much heavier than he was, he hadn’t been able to fight her off and since he wasn’t the sort to hit a woman, what was he supposed to do? Besides, he had quipped, the poor big girl needs some love, right?

The ridicule had lasted about six weeks but had died down by the time they graduated. Lauren rarely thought about Jason and the troubles he had caused. It just wasn’t worth it. But here he was, leering at her from across the same gym she had once played volleyball in, becoming increasingly aware that she was slowly getting bigger than the other girls in her class.

“You okay?” Riley asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “Just saw a face that brought up some bad memories.”

“So let’s stay away from crap like that,” he said, pulling her close and kissing her.

From beside them, Missy said, “Get a room already!”

“We have one,” Lauren said.

“I bet you do!”

This helped erase the tension of seeing Jason and Lauren was able to make it through the next hour or so without feeling awkward or uneasy. She even had a great time, something she had not been expecting at all.

She saw several old friends that seemed thrilled that she had showed up. They shared updates on their lives and Lauren was very glad to see that a lot of them had managed to make it out of Brenton. Also, whenever she glossed over her job, Riley was there, sure to make sure to claim all of the credit that she deserved. Through it all, unsurprisingly, Lauren saw that just about everyone did a double take when they say her and Riley together. One man that she saw even knew who Riley was, as he was big into the stock market and kept up with financial news. By the time the first hour of the reunion had passed, the news of Lauren’s success and her semi-famous date and made the rounds through the gym and was the talk of the party.

She took all of the attention as well as she could glad that the gym was slightly darkened so everyone wouldn’t see her blush.

“You’re so popular,” Missy said, feigning the tone and attitude of a snobby teenage girl. “I bet you’re really such a bitch.”

“I’ve been called worse,” Lauren said, and the two women laughed.

The party was in full swing and she was rather glad that she and Riley were comfortable enough to not have to be stuck to one another (even though she had made the Velcro joke earlier). She spent time bouncing back and forth from friend to friend, getting re-acquainted while Riley was trapped in a corner, speaking to several people that were asking him for financial advice. He had given her a thumbs up when she had peeked in on him, and she was happy that he seemed to be enjoying it.