Page 22 of My Kind of Trouble
Noa had definitely grown into her own person, she was eighteen now and had plans to go off to university in the next couple of years. And, as much as Alex loathed that it wasn’t him, he knew she was capable of making her own decisions and would date whoever she wanted. He just preferred not to think about that.
‘He’s pretty much dated the entire netball team and jumps from girl to girl. A bit like you, actually’, Ryan said.
Okay, ouch.
Ryan must have sensed that his words hadn’t landed how he’d intended them to, so he was quick to speak again.
‘No, shit. It’s not just that. He even tried it on with Melody once. The guy’s a snake, and I just don’t like him or want him near my sister.’
Melody had been Ryan’s on-and-off-again girlfriend since school and, even though Alex wanted to focus on that, the idea of Ryan disapproving a guy for showing similar traits as him made his beer feel like it was starting to curdle in his stomach.
To add insult to injury, the next words he spoke felt like a fist in the gut and a knee to the balls all wrapped in one.
‘Not to mention his dad has always been a womaniser. Cheating on his mum for years. The whole town knows it. I don’t think Noa should be getting wrapped up in a family like that. The apple doesn’t fall so far from the tree.’
Alex knew Ryan didn’t know what he just said or why it would hurt. He was Alex’s best friend in every sense of the word, but he didn’t know how deep the cuts ran. Only one person did.And this conversation had just made it clear that she was even more off-limits than he had ever imagined.
Ryan had, within seconds, fed into Alex’s biggest fear that he would turn into the man his dad was just by sharing blood with him. The only person that had ever shown him he was more than that was Noa, and now Alex didn’t know what to do with that.
The sound of hooting and cheers coming from the dance floor as the song ‘Pink Pony Club’ started to fill the room brought Alex back to the present. The reminder of why Noa had always been his greatest desire, and yet completely out of reach, felt like he’d just ripped the scab off a cut that had just started healing, and he cursed himself for ever thinking this trip was a good idea.
It was just past midnight when Alex stepped away from the hostel bar and toward the dance floor where Noa immediately had his attention, as she always did. The way her hourglass figure was currently being hugged by that black and white flowery dress should be illegal. Her shoulders had the softest glow, the light sheen of sweat-coated skin from hours spent on the dance floor.
She looked so much more relaxed than when he last saw her. His eyes skimmed over her body, and he was drawn to her pink painted toenails. They looked so dainty and as perfect as her, sticking out of her little black sandals. She swayed her hips, drawing his attention to her toned ass, but when she threw her hair back with a laugh, he was frozen and completely captivated. Her smile really did light up the whole room, as the saying went, and he truly understood what people meant whenthey said that now. She was still that beacon of light she had always been, and that meant that he was in trouble.
It wasn’t lost on him that ‘Trouble’ was the name he had always called her growing up. Part of him just loved to see her cheeks flush with annoyance every time he used it, but the other part of him used it as a reminder that he couldn’t cross that line.
He’d first used it after Noa had gotten between him and Joe Rigby, who’d been goading Alex with ‘dad jokes’ until he snapped. Joe’s dad worked with Noa’s, and she’d held Alex back whilst scowling at Joe with a warning, threatening to tell his dad if he didn’t walk away immediately.
The way she’d jumped to Alex’s defence and then looked after him afterwards by helping him get cleaned up at her house so he wouldn’t have to face his mum’s questions had made him want to kiss her more than he ever had.
The way she’d shyly whispered, ‘I hate him,’ as she dabbed his nose. The silent understanding between them that the ‘him’ she was referring to was Joe made Alex want to wrap her up in his arms.
No one had ever made him feel as validated as she did. And that need to kiss her and hold her had only grown with every passing year, until her twentieth birthday when he’d lost the ability to hold himself back anymore. One lust-filled look from her, and he’d been a goner.
Now, as she swayed in time with the music, carefree and beautiful, he couldn’t help but think that maybe that would still be all it took. He’d hoped she would’ve lost her allure over the last eight years. But she was a seductress, and she didn’t even know it. She didn’t need to flaunt her perfect body or use flirtatious words, because her smile was the sexiest thing he had ever seen and watching her laugh made his dick come alive.
He wanted to be the reason she laughed like that, and the thought sparked a feeling of jealousy in him that he could not explain. Right now, though, she was not with him. She was on the dance floor with a bunch of hungry pricks who did not deserve to be in her orbit. Because, as beautiful and mesmerising as she was, he was not the only one who’d noticed. How could he be?
That thought woke him up from the trance she had him in and his feet moved toward her in an instant. Because Ryan had asked him to protect her, right? That was the only reason he was there, and if he was going to do a job then he was going to do it well. That was the only reason he grabbed her hand and pulled her off the dance floor to a dark corner of the club.
He instantly knew that was a mistake the moment they faced each other. Noa was breathless from dancing and, for a moment, all he could focus on was the rise and fall of her chest, the swell of her perfect breasts. She wasn’t wearing a bra, he noticed, and he couldn’t miss how her nipples pebbled from his attention alone.
He mentally scolded himself for noticing and recited the line, ‘This is your best friend’s little sister,’ in his head five times before shaking his head and raising his eyes. He couldn’t be distracted from the reason he came here. When he looked up, she was beaming at him, the rosy hue of her flushed cheeks giving away that she was slightly buzzed. Still, even in her inebriated state, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious at her sudden change in demeanour. All he’d been afforded earlier was a frown. Now she looked almost happy to see him.
He decided to ignore his scepticism, focussing on what he’d come here to do. He lowered his lips and spoke in her ear, telling himself that the closeness was so that he could be heard over the music, not an excuse to get closer to her.
‘You’re drunk,’ he whispered.
She giggled some more, so close he could feel her breath on his cheek, and she put her delicate hand on his chest. He focused on the contact that felt far more intimate than it should have, and his own breath hitched.
‘Thank you, Captain Obvious. What do you want? A prize? I’m allowed to let loose and have a good time you know! Or did my brother give you strict orders otherwise?’ she pouted.
Alex swallowed hard, fighting against the thoughts of what kind of prize she could offer him. He could’ve sworn he watched her eyes trace the bob of his Adam’s apple. The air in their little corner seemed to suddenly change, feeling charged, and he cleared his throat, trying to stay on course. She’d been so angry to see him less than forty-eight hours ago, and now this almost felt like flirting. What was going on? He concluded that she must’ve had far more alcohol than he’d realised. Though he’d found it hard to take his eyes off her all night, so he wasn’t sure how.
‘You should go back to your room. It’s late, and you should get to bed before you get yourself into trouble, Noa,’ Alex tried to say, but it came out as more of a rasp.
Even knowing that she was drunk, he couldn’t help the natural desire that he felt for her, and he could only hope that she didn’t notice.
