Page 120 of Now and Forever

“Sit still while I get some ice,” Drew tersely commanded. It didn’t take him long to come back with a bag of frozen mangos in his hand. “It’d take longer to put ice in a bag. This is faster and works just as well,” he argued before situating himself by my foot, carefully placing it on his thigh before setting the icepack on it.

It throbbed so badly the immediate impact of cold against my skin made me hiss. “Careful. Be careful. Don’t press too hard please.” Tonight surely wasn’t my night. Whenever Drew was involved, some mishap tended to happen.

I was about to spout out a thank you when I caught him intensely looking at my leg. I was so caught up I hadn’t taken into account that I was wearing a skirt yet again. Although it wasn’t as short as the last one, it was a pink and white plaid that reminded me of the movie Clueless. It was one of the things I had that wasn’t black or white. Clothes shopping should be on top of my list since I needed more variety in my closet.

Pondering my wardrobe came to a screeching halt when I felt him begin to massage my ankle before kneading where the ankle and foot connected, the sensitive part where, if you pinched it a little, you would scream like a little bitch in the manger because it was so excruciating it was foul.

“You look on the verge of tears,” he mused before grinning.

Before I had the chance to argue with him, he easily shut me up by using that blasted hand of his and proceeding to massage my calves in such a slow, unhurried manner that it was borderline sexual.

His ministrations infused my cheeks with pink as he carried on upward in that same hypnotic manner that almost short-circuited my brain. When those damn fingers reached the inside part of my thigh, I had to bite my bottom lip as hard as I could to refrain from moaning his name. Was I overreacting, or was I sexually frustrated? It was getting ridiculous to the point of being overbearing.

“How’s the toe?” he asked, unlatching his fingers from my inner thigh before gradually removing the icepack.

“It’s feeling much—” I was in the middle of my speech when he robbed me of words. I was thunderstruck from witnessing the tip of his tongue emerge from those lips, licking the tip of my toe, and then he began sucking it. “Drew …” I breathlessly moaned his name while I dug my nails into the couch.

“Does it feel better?” He looked up from his bent head while he playfully teased the pad of my toe with his tongue. Never had anything so odd and nasty looked inconceivably sexy in my eyes.

I shifted uncomfortably, aroused beyond comprehension. “Yes …”

Was it so bad that I wanted him to keep going? The very image of him gazing upon me with those lascivious eyes almost undid me. “Please stop.” I begged, though my body thought otherwise.

He paused as those piercing eyes caught me once again. He gently kissed the tip of my toe and sent me a lazy, devil-may-care smile. “I’m sorry. I got caught up. That vision of you aroused … It used to keep me up at night.”

He used to think about me at night? Even if it were sexual, it somehow gave me a glimpse of where his thoughts resided when it came to me.

“You just said you’re not the man for me, yet you pull something like this?”

“Even a strong man can have a few weaknesses. You’re one of them.” He stated it in a way that could only be perceived as though he despised the very idea.

All that high my body had received from his ministrations immediately vanished as I gazed upon his chiseled face. “You don’t like that you want me against your better judgment.”

“How could any man withstand it? Your body is made to stir up a saint.”

“Is that why you took my virginity? I mean, I threw myself at you so many times I lost count, but that night … That night, you gave in.”

“It’s hard to control it when I’m drunk.”

He had been drunk. Great. How convenient an excuse.

“Well, control no more. I’m not that naive virgin anymore, and I can guarantee you that I won’t beg you for anything. Not now, not ever. You’re the last man I’d sleep with, so help me God.”

“Seeing how you let Spencer’s hands all over you, there’s no denying how much you’ve changed when it comes to men.” His snarky retort merely egged me on.

My chest heaved as I carefully stood up.

I’d had enough of these confrontations. The more I had them with him, the more I realized how wretched he was.

“Thank you for clearing up everything, Drew. You can keep your sorry cupcakes along with your sorry dick.”

He instantly stood up, stopping me with his hand. “Chloe—”

My eyes lasered in on his fingers wrapped around my arm. His confessions did nothing but damage my confidence. Clearly, I could do without any of it.

“If you’re not careful, I might think you’re drunk enough to fuck me again, Drew.”

He released me so fast it was laughable. “I’ll be out if you need anything. Are you sure you don’t need me to help you get to your room?”

“I’ll manage fine.” I couldn’t get away from him fast enough, limping my way into my comfort zone.

He was such a confusing puzzle that I wanted to scream at him for royally mind-fucking me so well I wasn’t sure which was which. He was sexually attracted to me, but loathed the very idea of it. So what did that entail? Should I delve deep into his psyche and analyze his polarized mentality? It would be a waste of effort. Maybe it was due to the fact that I wasn’t his type. It was pretty common for people to be sexually attracted to the opposite sex without finding them particularly attractive. Supposedly, that was my case, and if so, then there was nothing I could do about it.

Besides, we were better off not being friends. We were civilized when the situation called for it, but apart from that, it was better this way.

If every night ended like this, I wouldn’t fucking survive. There was no way in hell a person could withstand feeling as though they were getting stomped on by a thousand people on a nightly basis and come out mentally stable.

Truly, I’d had enough of this draining energy.

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