Page 15 of Poke the Bear

Jack was called away on another PR emergency. Apparently some of the guys were threatening to moon the cameras, which wasn’t likely to happen, and was probably just them baiting my bestie, but she had to go and check it out, which left me to do my business in peace.

“I’ve never seen her before,” another girl said.

“And won’t again after tonight? Did you see that dress? It was like a ballgown or something.”

My cheeks flushed hot. I had a love-hate relationship with fashion, loving it for other people and hating it for myself for exactly this reason. It drew attention to stuff I didn’t want me to look at.

“I don’t know what she thinks is gonna happen though. Adam’s totally gay.”

“And she doesn’t even realise she’s his fag hag.”

The two of them cackled as I flushed the toilet and then emerged from the cubicle. I didn’t want to stand tall or stare the two of them in the eye, but I did, catching the moment their faces fell.

“The dress was Jack’s idea,” I said as I bent over to wash my hands. “It’s ridiculously dramatic but…” I pushed my shoe out from under the hem. “I can’t wear heels, so this was the alternative. You ladies look amazing though.”

I smiled, refusing to stoop to their level as I swept past, not even bothering to dry my hands. But when I emerged, I saw that I had someone waiting for me, and so did the women, because there he was.

“You were gone for a while,” Adam said, his voice low and throaty. He smiled, then shook his head. “I came to see if you fell in.”

I couldn’t help but smile in response. The women had something to say, but I didn’t hear it, couldn’t, when he drew closer. His hands went to my waist, then he tugged me towards him, his strength obvious.

“You’re my fake date.” His head dropped lower and lower. “I need you beside me.”

We’d shared a tiny little butterfly kiss before, but as he drew closer, I didn’t think that was how this would go. The room, the award ceremony, everything dropped away for this.

His breath was coming in fast and ragged, as if he was back out on the footy field, and I knew the feeling. Mine matched his in pace. We were rushing towards something, but it was each other, not the ball. I followed his trajectory, leaning into it, matching him in speed. “Freya…” he hissed, saying my name in an entirely different way, like it was a prayer, not because he was irritated by me. “Freya, I need—”

That’s what I had to hear. I couldn’t do this for myself, take him, claim his mouth, but when he made it clear how much he needed this, my hands went up and around his neck, drawing his head down to mine.

Fuck.

His lips were so soft, but he took over quickly, slamming me tight against his body, then holding me in an iron grip, rocking me against his body and that’s when it became clear just how much he was into this. I hadn’t had sex with someone else, but I knew how this worked, that the solid lump in his pants was all for me, but if I needed more of a confirmation, I got it. He pressed me against the wall, kissing me harder, longer, deeper, my eyelids fluttering when he slid his tongue along the seam of my lips.

I opened them. Somehow that felt right, fated. Like he was always going to be the one, because with anyone else, it wouldn’t feel this way. His groan and mine, the way our hands clawed at each other, as if to stop the other person from getting away when all we wanted to do was get closer. My tongue tangled with his, tasting him, feeling him, my lungs burning with the need to take a breath until I could ignore it no more, and was forced to pull away.

“Fuck…” The reverence in Adam’s voice was everything. His hand went to the wall above my head. “That was… fuck.” He grabbed my hand then, smiling as we both fought to catch our breath. “Freya, we’ve only just met, but I need you to—”

“Yes.”

Where the fuck did that come from? The word sprang unbidden from my lips, but I meant it. Whatever he wanted, whatever he needed, I needed it to. He nodded slowly in acknowledgement, then kissed me much more slowly.

“I want to take you out on a date,” he said between kisses. “I wanted to take my time.”

“We can do that.” My voice was ridiculously high and breathy right now.

“But can we do it afterwards?” He frowned slightly as if realising what he was saying. “Like I’m in, one hundred percent in. I’ll take you anywhere, Freya.”

I was being a fucking idiot. Dickheads smooth talked their way into women’s undies every damn day and there was every chance Adam was doing the same. No matter what Jack had to say, that was the only likely scenario here, but… Something inside me made me think that this was more. That desperate look in his eyes, the way he gazed down at me, even as the compere talked about what Adam had achieved in the next round, it was everything. Right now it felt like it was a twin to the same intensity that lived inside my heart and for one night, it’d be nice to pretend that was true.

“So what did you—?” I started to say.

“Be with me, tonight.” His hands moved restively, tracing the shape of my body. “I’ve got a hotel room.”

“So do I. Shit! I’m sharing it with Jack, but—”

“Come to my room,” he said, much more seriously, watching for my response. “I’ve never… I’ve never done anything like this before, ever. I know I’m moving too fast.”

“Like never?” I asked, my eyes dropping down to the sizable tent in his pants. “Never ever?”

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