Ashley shivered at his words. Dang him. Dang him and his smart mouth, which would get her in trouble with both it’s words and actions.
“You’re a pain in the butt sometimes, Lucas,” she breathed, drawing gentle, teasingly light, fingers down his chest. Shapes were drawn against his shirt with a touch that was hardly there, and she knew what it would do to him. Just as he knew what he was doing to her.
Lucas gritted his teeth at her teasing, releasing a shaky breath.
“You little…” he breathed. “Damn it, Ashley. Let me have you. We can be quiet.”
Ashley didn’t hide the shiver he sent down her spine. She smiled up at him, all innocence as she met his eyes. “Maybe we should have gone out instead of staying in… We don’t want her to hear if something slips out, so we?” she murmured, lightly pecking his lips. “Or are you absolutely sure we can be quiet?”
Lucas glared at her, his cheeks bright pink at her teasing. But she wasn’t the only one good with words.
“I don’t know, Ash,” he breathed, his hand brushing against the exposed skin of her stomach. “Can you?”
“I think— think I can,” Ashley breathed, closing her eyes again. She leaned back against the wall, his teasing touch making her heat up even more than she had been. “It’ll be a fun challenge… See who can stay the quietest…”
“Game on,” Lucas muttered before he firmly clasped their mouths together, hands already lifting her shirt up, letting go of her mouth to slip it off before capturing it again.
It had been a torturous game.
Ashley let out a slow breath as Lucas laid beside her, her eyes shut tight. That… was definitely an interesting round. She didn’t know who’d won, didn’t think they were really even keeping track after a while. All she knew was that it had been incredibly hard not to make a single sound while Eden was in the other room. It was just weird to think of her best friend being under the same roof as her when she was doing this. So… she stopped thinking about it for a while.
Lucas panted heavily, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend and pulling her closer. That was a difficult round, but definitely exciting. He didn’t know who won. He had stopped caring. He really wished his sister had been blasting music, though, because if they’d been even a little loud…
“That was fun,” Lucas breathed. “Though let’s try to not do it when Eden’s just next door.”
Ashley grunted and curled up closer to him. “Agreed. Next time she’s home, we can see if my house is empty,” she mumbled. “And then we can go there instead.”
“Deal,” Lucas chuckled. “It totally works for me.”
“Good,” Ashley murmured, kissing his jaw tiredly. “Let’s go to sleep for a bit. And then we can decide what we want to do for the rest of the day.”
Lucas tightened his hold on her.
“Sounds like a wonderful idea,” he murmured. “Sleep sounds perfect. Sleep well, Ash…”
Ashley hummed and snuggled into him further. “Night, Luca…”
[TIME SKIP: MONDAY]
Eden missed Sterling terribly. It was annoying. Usually people got a peace of mind when they slept, but not Eden. She’d fallen asleep Saturday night and woke up half an hour later due to a nightmare. It hadn’t caught the attention of her brother, but it was enough to keep her up all night. And the other night as well.
So now it was Monday and Eden was tired and exhausted and beyond annoyed. She missed Sterling, too, so there was that. But she couldn’t see him. There was nothing of hers that she could offer him. She was a useless, broken dish that couldn’t be reused. Surely Sterling wouldn’t want someone like that, however nice he was.
But then she saw him conversing with a female—though they weren’t alone, there were a few males and other females present, too. But it was the way that the girl was talking to Sterling that got her blood boiling. Standing close, making unnecessary contact, blatant flirting… Eden realized with annoyance that she was jealous.
She immediately tossed that emotion way with just as much difficulty as she had in walking past Sterling without so much as a glance.
Sterling hadn’t heard anything from Eden over the weekend. He hadn’t heard from her, or Lucas, or Ashley, either… It worried him a little, but he supposed that no news was better than bad news. If something had happened, he hoped they would have told him.
So on Monday morning, he was just taking to some friends, ignoring one of the girls’ blatant flirting. She was actually beginning to get on his nerves when he watched Eden walk by, silent and sullen. He’d blinked and stepped away, gently pushing the other girl to the side as he made his way toward Eden.
“Eden… You’re okay. I didn’t hear from you all weekend,” he greeted her softly.
Eden looked at him in surprise, though she shouldn’t have been at this point. He always managed to see her, no matter how occupied he was.
Then her eyes flickered to his mouth and remembered both instances where they touched hers. One, he wasn’t even aware of. Two, it would have continued had her trauma not kicked in. She immediately returned her eyes back to his face, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
“Yeah,” she murmured. “I needed space.”
Sterling nodded slowly. He did notice the way her eyes shifted to his lips before meeting his again, but he didn’t mention it. He wasn’t going to kiss her again. Not unless she initiated it or told him that it was okay.
“Sure. I get that,” he mused, watching her carefully. “How are Lucas and his girlfriend… Amber? Ashlynn? Ash… ley? Ashley?”
“Ashley,” Eden responded, crossing her arms around her stomach, shifting under his gaze. “They’re good.”
She wanted him to kiss her again. Hold her in his arms, not against the wall. Do it gently until she got used to his touches. But she didn’t voice that aloud. Even though want coursed through her, she kept neutral.
“Your friends are waiting for you,” she mumbled. “Don’t think it’s a good idea to keep them waiting for long. The girl seems disappointed.”
“They can wait,” Sterling said quietly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He looked over Eden’s face, his gaze gentle. “And I don’t care about the girl. I’m aware, painfully so, that she was flirting with me. And I didn’t care. Are you off to class just now?”
I cared, Eden found herself thinking. I’m hating even the thought of someone else flirting with you.
“No,” Eden tried not to melt under his gentle gaze, “Still have twenty minutes. I was going somewhere else.”
“Mind if I join you?” Sterling asked, giving her a small smile, trying not to let it form into a smirk.
“You’re still trying, huh?” Eden murmured under her breath, hands clenching. “Even after Friday.”
“Of course I am, Eden. Didn’t I tell you that I wasn’t leaving you?” Sterling murmured, his expression going serious.
“You don’t even know me,” Eden breathed, his words causing her heart to squeeze. “There’s absolutely nothing I can offer you, Sterling.”
Sterling shrugged, still looking down at her. “I would like to get to know you better. And I don’t expect anything from you, Eden.”