Page 91 of The Naughty List

I shake the dirty thoughts from my head and say, “Alright, we’ll go for a little bit. And no drinking!” I tell her as I point my finger in her direction.

“Fine,” she agrees, showing me her palms.

A little while later, we walk into the party and it seems like every guy here has his sights set on her. “Hey, Carson. Who’s your friend?” Dan asks, motioning toward Felicity.

I wrap my arm around her and pull her to my side. “This is my friend from back home. Her name is Felicity.”

“Nice to meet you. Can I get you a drink?” he asks her.

“No,” I jump in and answer for her.

Her eyes cut toward me, but I narrow mine on her and she backs down.

This seems to be the pattern for the evening. Guys come up to her and I chase them off. She seems annoyed at first, then just learns to accept it. I have a few drinks and start hanging out and talking with the guys. That’s when she decides to go off in search of a bathroom. I let her go, thinking she can’t get into much trouble in there, but about forty-five minutes later, I remember that I’m supposed to be watching her and she still isn’t back.

I break away from the guys and go in search of her. After checking out most of the rooms, I find her in the kitchen with another guy. I don’t know him but they’re standing awfully close to one another and they both have a shot glass in their hands. She’s laughing at something he’s saying and he’s eating it up.

I grab ahold of her arm and pull her toward me. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What? I was just talking with Chris,” she says, lifting her shot glass up and swallowing back the liquid.

“You’re not supposed to be drinking. You’re under age,” I point out.

She rolls her green eyes. “Oh, like you didn’t drink before you turned twenty-one?”

I shake my head. “This isn’t about me. I’m responsible for you this weekend. If your mom finds out, she’ll have my balls. And what the hell has gotten into you?”

She giggles. “Look, the damage is done. Can’t we just relax and have some fun?”

I shoot her a glare, but she bats those fucking lashes at me again and I can’t say no.

“Please? Just a little longer and you can drag me out of here if you want.”

“Only if you promise me one thing,” I say.

“Anything. Name it!”

“No guys. You can drink and hang out, but no guys. No making out. No going upstairs. Got it?” I ask, giving her my death glare. “If you end up knocked up, it’s not going to get traced back to this weekend.”

She flinches at the harsh words, but I didn’t know how else to put it. Clearly her hooking up with someone would anger me, but it’s not for the reasons she thinks. She thinks I’m just looking out for her. But really, I can’t stand to think of another man touching her. She’s mine and always has been.

“Deal,” she agrees, and I release her arm.

That seems like so long ago. I feel like I’m a completely different person now. In a way, I guess I am. I’m no longer a college student who is desperately working to get a degree to get a job to support myself. Back then, I knew that there would be no help for me, so I made sure I put forth the effort I needed to do what I needed to do. Now, I’m set. I did the work, I got the degree, I landed the job, I got the life I wanted. But something is missing. It’s her. She’s always been by my side before. These last few years of living separately haven’t been easy. I find myself constantly thinking of her, trying to replace her in some way. All the women I date somehow seem to remind me of her—I know, it’s fucked up and my therapist would agree. Things could have been so much different if I wasn’t so damn stupid. But I pushed her away that night, the night of the party.

I never should have made that deal with her. Now she’s wasted and even though she’s holding up her end of the bargain, that doesn’t mean that the guys haven’t stopped coming up to her. Jealously is eating me alive as I watch her talk with guy after guy.

Her long cinnamon-brown hair is in bouncy curls and her green eyes that can light up a room are bloodshot. She’s happy and smiling, laughing at all the stupid shit these guys are saying, and here I am, drunk, alone, and jealous.

Tired of throwing my own pity party, I get up and walk up to her. “Are you ready to go? It’s getting late and I think we’re both pretty hammered.”

Her green eyes, that remind me so much of glowing emeralds, land on mine. Her thick, glistening lips turn up in a smile. “Well, I am having a lot of fun with your friends here, but I think I could have just as much fun with you alone at your place.”

I get the double meaning there and it makes my dick twitch with excitement, even though I would never allow it. “Alright, sweetheart. Let’s get out of here then.” I hold out my arm and she laces hers through it. I lead us out of the party and out of the house. Luckily, the party isn’t a far walk from my place so we pass by my car and instead opt to walk for a safer option.

The night is warm for being early fall and the leaves on the trees are falling and bunch up on the sides of the sidewalk. Every few steps, I hear the crunch under our feet, and it reminds me of raking the leaves together as kids, only to jump in them.

“Thanks for showing me a good time,” she says, stealing me from my thoughts.

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