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Chapter Five
Anna helped Jenna set the cups up for the game, trying to keep her mind from wandering to the subject she just could not make her mind up about. She turned at the sound of the boat motor and watched as Macey pulled the boat into the hoist. The sun was setting and she could just make out her friend waving up to them through the glare.
She waved back and scanned the beach before she could stop herself, locating Austin who was lounging in the center of a crowd of people. She could tell they were talking about the fight from the repeated slaps on his back.
She watched as a girl from her graduating class, Gina Rollins, walked up to him and looped an arm through his, leaning up to whisper in his ear. Anna stiffened as she felt her very own first taste of jealousy. Suddenly she realized it had been a long time since she'd seen him with a girl who was not among her friends. And she definitely didn't like it.
"Anna, get your head in the game!" Jenna waved a hand in front of her face and she forced her attention back to the table, but her gaze kept getting pulled back to Gina's form draped all over Austin.
They lost the game, big surprise, and she continued watching the beach. The fact that she didn’t like the shallow little backstabber was not helping. "Who invited her," She mumbled irritably.
Jenna followed her gaze. "Smart boy."
"What?"
"You heard me. A little taste of your own medicine. Now I suggest, since the game is over..." she paused to let the double meaning sink in, "you go down there and stake your claim."
Anna hesitated, taking a deep breath, before heading down the stairs to change her life. Dramatic, yes, but that's how it felt.
She made her way over to where Austin was seated and nearly lost her nerve as she stopped in front of the campfire. The disgusting girl (pretty, yes she was pretty, but only on the outside) was in his lap and she sucked in a breath as he glanced up at her. He was extremely handsome by firelight. She mouthed “I’m sorry” and he nodded briefly before returning his attention to the kid sitting next to him. Damn, he was going to make her beg for it.
She sat down on the rocks and picked up a stick to poke at the fire. She imagined it getting nice and red and "accidentally" touching Gina's leg which was currently rubbing up and down on Austin's.
"So Anna," Gina spoke up in her fake sweet voice, "how did it feel to be the object of Leo's bet you poor thing."
Anna rolled her eyes. "Since there is no possible way he would have won that bet, despite what little faith some of my friends seem to have in me, ‘poor thing’ is a little much."
"Oh come on," Big Mouth pushed, "tell me you weren't eating right out of his hand before this guy," she patted Austin's leg, "saved the day."
"Hmm, let's see…halfway between ‘Last week I got so drunk I fucking puked in my neighbor's bird bath’ -and-‘I got some wicked stuff last night, I couldn't even tie my shoes I was so zooted’- I pretty much decided his looks can only make up for so much. So, that would be a No, no hand-eating for me."
She snuck a look at Austin, who was watching her intently. Dropping the stick in the fire, she pulled herself to her feet. "Can I talk to you?" Please don't say no, please don't…
He didn't answer right away, and she felt her stomach tighten. If he humiliated her in front of Gina... "Austin," she said quietly. "Please."
He lightly pushed Gina, who pouted but got to her feet. "I'll keep your seat warm," she sang as he walked over to Anna.
She grabbed his hand and led him farther down the beach, past the john, around the large bush that hung out over the lake, and stopped at the crumbling stone fort. No one at the party had discovered it yet for which she was exceedingly grateful. She let go of his hand and looked out over the water.
"So what is it?" He asked. He turned her to face him and she chewed on her lip not knowing how to proceed. He started to say something else, but she stopped him by reaching up and touching his cheek. She searched his eyes which were narrowed in temporary confusion and watched as they gradually widened in understanding.
“I…” she got no further. Austin took his opportunity and leaned down, pressing his lips on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer and he backed her up into the flat stone wall. His tongue darted into her mouth and she tentatively touched it with her own which seemed to set off fireworks for him. He lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist, sandwiching her between his body and the fort. It felt amazing to be this close to him, especially since the slide of his tongue was distracting her from thinking.
"Wha-whoa, what have we got here?" Geordy. Of course.
They broke the kiss but Austin kept her where she was, like he was afraid if he let her down she'd run away. Which...her heart was racing so hard she might have done just that.
"Do you need something?" Austin cocked his head at Geordy.
"Nah, I'm cool. So the two of you, huh? I guess everyone saw that coming." He was slurring a bit and holding a bottle of J.D.
Austin raised his brows, his expression clearly stating his irritation with the interruption, but Geordy wasn't reading facial expressions in his current state.
"Well, maybe not everyone," he slurred, "’cause, see I thought you guys would just stay buddies, you know, and like I really like her, Anna I really like you, it's true." He took a long drink from his bottle and Anna could feel Austin taking a deep breath, getting ready to put her down.
She gripped his arms. "He's really drunk, I don't want you to hurt him, he's harmless.”
He rolled his eyes at her and turned to the swaying Geordy. "Look G, I'm sorry she's not interested in you that way, but we're kind of in the middle of something, so can we talk about it later?"
"Oh. Yeah, sure, I mean, who cares how I'm feeling anyway, right?" He staggered and tripped over a rock landing in the lake.
"Shit," Austin said. He put her down and strode over. He frowned down at the capsized Geordy for a second before grabbing his arm and pulling him up. Geordy yanked back landing himself right back in the water.
"Dude, I'm just helping you up."
"I don't want your help. I want her help." He pointed at Anna.
"Anna, no." Austin gave her a meaningful look and turned back to Geordy. "You're wasted numb nuts, so either you accept my help gracefully or I throw your dumb ass over my shoulder and toss you in the boathouse. Your choice." He held out a hand again and Geordy took it, grumbling under his breath.
Once on his feet he wobbled a bit but somehow managed to make it back around the bush.
"Where were we?" Austin started to pick her up again but Geordy had attracted attention and they were interrupted by a loud group.
"Hey guys, what's doin'?" Nate was among them along with Jess who was attached to his hand and giggling.
"Are we interrupting something?" Jess asked waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"Actually...
"No!" Anna jumped in.
Austin looked down at her, then gave a brief nod before walking away.
"Wait, where are you going?" She followed him making a grab for his arm.
He stopped and glared down at her, his pale green eyes narrowed, "Away from you."
"But I didn't mean it like that!"
"Then what exactly did you mean?" he demanded.
"I just didn't want to be teased, okay? It was a big moment for me, and I didn't want Jess to ruin it with…" she hand gestured in frustration, the right words eluding her.
He shook his head, folding his arms across his broad chest. "It’s inevitable that the girls will tease you."
She sighed dramatically, "I know, I know, but just not right then. Can we go upstairs or something?"
The anger faded from his expression replaced with something else, something that made her stomach flutter. His eyes traveled her body and her face flamed making him laugh. He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the throng of people and up the stairs, not stopping until they'd reached her back porch.
She unlocked the door and he practically pushed her through it, lifting her and heading to the couch. She wanted to tell him to slow down, but his mouth captured her words and she forgot everything including her name when he landed her on the cushions and pinned her beneath him. She started to think he should be heavy, but lost the thought as his hand traveled up and down her thigh.
He kissed her softly for a moment before increasing the pressure and then his lips traveled down her neck sending little shock waves of pleasure down her skin. One particular spot felt so good she barely suppressed a moan. He had one hand cradling the back of her head while the other traveled from her thigh and up the side of her body, making its way under her shirt. When she felt it skim the bottom of her bra she jumped, logic breaking through the runaway hormones.
"Austin, too fast,” she said in a small voice.
His hand stilled and he lifted off her to look at her face. He was breathing heavily and he closed his eyes for a minute. "Sorry, I know, you're right. It’s just, I've wanted you for so long..."
"And now you have me, so we can take it slow, right?"
"Do I? Do I have you?" He searched her face.
She smiled at him and ran a finger along his jaw line. "Let's just say it wasn't easy to tell you to stop."
His expression went from earnest to teasing. "Oh no?"
"What you were doing felt good."
A purely masculine smile formed on his lips. "How good?"
"You're making me blush again."
He laughed. "Like that's hard."
She giggled and he kissed her chin then sat up and pulled her into his lap, cupping her face. "I've dreamt about this moment, I know that sounds ridiculously corny, but it's true."
She was seated sideways on his legs and she looked down at her hands.
"It's okay, I know you haven't, but tell me what changed your mind." He stroked his fingers down her cheek and she shivered a little.
"I guess...Leo kept putting his hand on my butt and it made me want to slap him…"
Austin tensed. "I should not have let him walk away," he growled.
"I'm not finished."
He nodded for her to go on with narrowed eyes.
"And then his conversation was so immature and stupid…and I just kept thinking about you, comparing him to you. And he, who is supposed to be this ideal in our tiny circle of the world, fell short. Way short."
"Then why did you react like that, when I hit him? You wanted to slap him but you yelled at me for punching him?" he raised a brow.
"Because just before you came up the stairs I realized I might want something more with you, and it was a Huge realization, and I was overwhelmed, and I didn't understand what was going on...I don't know, I'm really sorry. What you did was awesome and I love you for it, even without knowing your reasons I would have known there was a reason, but I was startled....and then I saw Gina hanging on you, and I actually wanted to hurt her!"
He grinned and she smacked her hand against his shoulder. "You were trying to make me jealous," she accused.
"Maybe," he agreed, still smiling.
"I'm scared though." She looked down at her hands.
"Of what?"
"Of losing you as my friend."
He frowned. "You think we won't be friends if we're dating?"
"I think that we're young. And things happen...
He grabbed her wrists. "Stop. Don't do that, don't peer into the non-existent crystal ball. We might not work out, that's true, but if we don't try then we'll never know. I know it bugs you when the girls tell you not to think so much, but seriously Anna, sometimes you just have to go with the flow instead of analyzing everything."
She looked away from him, and he swore under his breath before wrapping his arms around her and kissing her again. When she tried to pull away he gently but firmly kept her there until she gave in and kissed him back.
He broke the kiss and grasped her arms, holding her away from him. "Do you like this?"
She nodded, swallowing hard.
"Then do me a favor, and just go with it. Pretend there is no future, that every day is your potential last, and just…
"Okay," she broke in, "okay. Let's go back to the party now, because I think too much alone time with you could be hazardous."
He laughed, "Hazardous?"
Live in the moment, huh? She smiled slyly and placed her hand on his erection.
"I've heard blue balls can be a very painful condition." She jumped up quickly and ran for the door.
He caught her just outside making her squeal as he whirled her up into his arms.
“That was bad little girl, I think you should be sent to your room. With me in it."
Ha ha, nice try. Put me down."
He dropped her on her feet and wrapped his arm around her waist.
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