Page 21 of Spreading Her Wings

Running my hand through my hair, I tried to steady my breathing. “I’m actually going to Vegas for a couple of days.”

“Oh my god! Auston is going to Vegas this weekend too! How funny is that?” Andy squealed, giggling at the coincidence.

My laugh was clearly forced, earning me a briefly raised eyebrow from Jules. “That’s so funny! Good thing Vegas is big. Hopefully I won’t run into him.” I winked, but a small wave of guilt flooded me.

Auston and I had been having a lot of fun in the past couple of weeks, but we hadn’t told the girls about any of it. I didn’t plan to tell them, either. Andy probably wouldn’t love the situation, and I wasn’t sure if she’d be more upset with me or her brother.

“Are you guysevergoing to get along?” she whined in defeat. How was I going to tell her we got along better now, and it wasn’t just because he made me come harder than anyone ever had in my life?

“We’ll see.” I chuckled. As I said it, a message popped up on the screen, temporarily covering their faces.

AUSTON

Don’t forget your swimsuit

AUSTON

The hotel has a great pool ;)

“Who has you smiling like that, huh?” Andy asked, reminding me my friends could see my face. They were watching my reactions.

Jules giggled next to her. “Yeah, you’re blushing!”

“It’s nobody,” I said quickly. “I actually need to get going. I’m going over to help Aunt June tonight.” I wasn’t, but I didn’t have a good excuse for why I was smiling and thinking about packing my sexiest bikini.

Their grumbles were interrupted with a quick “love you” before I ended the call. I grabbed my favorite swimsuit from the drawer, adding it to the pile of modest suits I’d already packed. Pulling up his message, I entered a quick response.

ME

Already have two ;)

Taking a deep breath, I zipped my suitcase shut, eyeing the small blue bikini on top. I knew how he would react to the suit, and it caused a swarm of butterflies in my stomach.

“Viva Las Vegas!” Jackson sang obnoxiously, practically spilling the shot of gin in his hand. Behind him, Simone was grinning but rolled her eyes.

Jackson threw his head back and laughed, slapping Logan’s back. “Alright, Elvis. Take the damn shot.”

Next to me, Katie erupted in giggles. When she weaved her fingers with mine and leaned against my shoulder, my skin tingled and my heart raced. I closed my hand around hers and squeezed, earning me a side glance. Her cheeks blushed a light pink.

“So, we’rereallynot going to go to M&M’s World while we’re there?” she whined, and Ash looked at us.

“What is it with this M&M’s World that has you, Simone, and Jackson all so desperate to go?” He raised his eyebrow, pointing a thumb between the three of them. Ash smirked when Jackson turned and wrapped his arm around him.

Katie sighed, pulling her hand from mine and lifting her fingers one at a time. “First, it’s an entire store of M&M’s.Second, M&M’s aredelicious. And third… I don’t have a third. I like M&M’s.” She giggled. “It sounds fun, okay?”

I pulled her back into my side and kissed the top of her head. “I think you just have a sweet tooth, kitten,” I murmured, pulling a laugh from her, Ash, and Jackson.

“Okay, you guys are gross,” Ash said with a wink, planting a kiss on Jackson’s cheek before whipping back to the bar and ordering another round of shots for the group.

“Are we gross?” I asked her, wiggling my brows. She nodded, still unable to control the fit of giggles that had tickled her since we walked into the building. “I guess I just don’t care.” Leaning down, I ran my tongue along the soft spot behind her ear.

She shivered. “Auston.”

“Don’t fall apart on me yet, babe. We’ve got the whole weekend ahead of us, and I’m just getting started.”

Her mouth fell open, and she just stared at me. The bartender set fresh shots in front of us. Even as she picked up the shot glass, Katie’s mouth still hung open. I ran my finger along the bottom of her chin, curling it and guiding it shut.

I winked at her, satisfied when she sucked her lip into her mouth and bit down. The way she pressed her legs together told me she was feeling the same buzz in her body that was riding through mine.

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