-THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SEXUAL CONTENT-
For only catching a few spare hours of rest the night before, Ana woke feeling far more energized than she could recall in recent memory. She swore her lips were still swollen with attention, the faint feeling of his pressed against her own lingering even now. Their encounter was more than she could have ever imagined, entirely uninterested in the repercussions of her decision. She didn't want to ponder what it would mean for them, if he'd treat her differently from now on, shaking her head at her own thoughts.
Grasping the hair tie on her wrist to pull her hair into a ponytail, her eyes caught sight of the angry purple contusion from the night before.
She'd almost forgotten.
The annoyance rushed back as if she were feeling it all over again, seeing Aaron's smug expression in her mind once more. Taking extra care to pull the sleeve of her jacket taught against her palm, she trapped it with her fingers to not allow the fabric to move an inch upward and expose her wrist. The very last thing she needed was more questions, more pity, more bullshit. The edge of that sleeve would be her stress ball for the day, pulling and pressing against it cruelly. Taking a breath, Ana convinced herself that it'd be simple; don't move around too much and the sleeve won't budge. Easy.
Ana's phone buzzing loudly against the wooden desk took her from her own mind, receiving a text message that the group planned on catching breakfast together. She smiled, replying that she'd be down in mere minutes.
As she'd reached for the door handle, her sleeve rose and she rolled her eyes at herself.
This might be harder than she expected after all.
Strutting down to the café she noticed that Sarah, Caleb, Kate and Pogue were already seated and waving her to their selected table, missing the two suspects that she figured might amble in late.
Kate informed her she'd graciously ordered a muffin on Ana's behalf, which she thanked her for sincerely. She was reminded that the small gestures like those were what she had missed so much about her in her years of absence. She smiled as she accepted the treat and took a bite, noticing a hickey on her friend's collarbone. She gestured to the discoloration lightly as to not draw attention, Kate's eyes becoming wide in knowing exactly what it meant and adjusting her hair accordingly.
"Hey, where'd you run off to last night?" Kate inquired, "I never saw you again after you said you were going for a drink."
Ana's stomach dropped then, unsure of what fabrication would sound the least bit convincing but honestly leaning toward the notion that anything would seem more believable than the truth. No one would believe she had been stupid enough to fall into his bed.
"Oh yeah, the liquor hit me wrong and I felt terrible so I just called it a night." Ana spoke all too easily. "Sorry for not texting." She added.
"Don't even worry, it's totally okay. When I feel like that I gotta get out of wherever I am too." Waving it off with her hand, she took a bite of her apple.
"Seems like you had a nice night, though," Ana sing-songed.
Kate's cheeks blazed scarlet with a sheepish smile as Pogue let out a laugh, nodding and offering a half-hearted "maybe".
The bell on the door happily chimed then, turning their gazes to see Reid and Tyler approaching the table, engrossed in a conversation of their own. The boys chose their seats, Reid slipping into the chair beside Ana and slinking his arm across her shoulders as if it were any other day. Though perhaps what surprised her more was how elementary it felt to do the same. The thought hadn't even crossed a single nook in her mind since she first woke until she'd seen his face approaching, the memory of him inside of her flashing a shine in her eye and yet it was entirely casual to push his arm off habitually, a faux annoyance creeping on accompanied by a grin.
Tyler sported a brief look of concern aimed toward her, clearly not about to let what he witnessed evaporate from his mind. She awarded him a light nod, genuinely smiling and at that, visually seeing him relax some.
Breathing a hefty sigh of relief, Ana asked, "So, anything interesting happen after I left?"
"Well I heard someone had some fun in Aaron's room." Sarah informed with a giggle.
"Sounds messy." Ana muttered callously, taking a sip of water.
"Sounds like what he deserves." Tyler deadpanned.
They'd all nodded in silent agreement, entirely unknowing of what he was referring to, save for Reid who she'd realized probably thought he was the only soul who knew as well.
Speak of the devil and he shall come; of all the people to see that morning, the chime of the door showed Aaron strutting past tables with a bruised eye and busted lower lip. A gasp left her lips without her consent, the first thought invading Ana's mind being when did Reid have the time to find him last night? It was already about five in the morning when she'd left his room and it didn't seem as though that left him enough time to do that. He looked an entire mess, his cheekbone having a small laceration as well. Allowing a peek at Reid's hand on her thigh, she noted his knuckles were bruised, one even having split from the force he must have been applying and gently rubbing across them with the pad of her thumb.
"Leave it to Aaron to get his ass handed to him at his own party." Pogue laughed, "Must have happened at the very end, damn. I would've paid to see that."
The group began discussing how much they'd pay exactly, even asking some nearby classmates their opinion. She was sure it seemed ridiculous to hate somebody so much but there was always an exception to the rule and that was definitely Aaron. Ana mentioned that she'd never met anyone as awful with almost zero redeeming qualities, aside from his girlfriend, of course. He would find an equally unlikable person to be with. That sparked laughter with loud agreement, Caleb saying he almost forgot about her for a second. She couldn't blame him, she was pretty forgettable.
It was then that Tyler noted the time, it being five minutes before their first class. Collecting the trash, they each began filing out of the door and discarding their containers on the way out. She'd only just made it out of the doorway before Reid appeared beside her, pulling her aside a moment.
She sighed, a nagging feeling rearing its ugly head telling her that she already knew where he was going with this. He'd explained he wanted to talk to her and make sure she didn't have the wrong idea about the previous night's activities, feeling a strange need to hear that she was aware. Sighing yet again, she clarified that she very much knew it hadn't meant they were a couple, replying that she was perfectly wise to his ways. He'd asked her as if it were only routine, nothing personal, which at this point she was almost sure it was but that didn't prevent it from stinging all the same.
Did he really think so little of her?
"You have a good day, Reid." She stated blankly, turning on her heel in the opposite direction.
Reid couldn't get the morning out of his mind. Why did he have to ask her that? He could see she was upset by it, he could see that she was already acting normally with him, why did he have to ruin everything?
Maybe it was just in his DNA.
Maybe that was just what he did. Ruin every damn thing.
He was determined to fix it.
He entered the library with a whistle and a swagger in his step, only a single goal in mind, really. He was told by a little bird that he'd find Ana there and he'd recently become quite fond of the place. The quiet, the seclusion; it made for a good time in his eyes now, wondering why he'd never realized before all the possibilities it held. Scanning the rows of books, he read the clearly labeled headings quickly. Non-fiction, science, culinary, history, fiction. Bingo. If his memory served correctly, that happened to be her favorite.
The fiction section was quite massive if he was honest, probably why she liked it so much. Glancing down the many rows dedicated to the genre, he had to back up a tier as he was passing much too rapidly. Spotting a head of golden, silky locks, he took faint steps toward her at the end of the aisle, standing expectantly behind her.
She'd turned when she heard him clear his throat, raising an eyebrow, obviously perplexed at seeing him inside the library for a second time.
"Can I help you?" Ana asked, sorting through a small pile of books she collected.
She was so beautiful.
"Tyler's here doing extra credit," Reid began, taking another step closer, "Wanna come up to the room?"
"I'm not just some booty call now, I hope you know." She retorted, returning a book back to its respective home.
She had to rise to her tip toes to place it back where it belonged, her long legs once again not being quite long enough, her shirt rising to where it was practically untucked. He licked his lips in anticipation, wanting nothing more than to unbutton the pristine dress shirt and reveal the perfect skin beneath, teeth sinking lower into his lip at the thought.
"Of course you aren't, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun, right?" He questioned, placing a hand to her hip.
"I'm not doing this with you, Reid." She whispered hastily, throwing his hand off. "I'm not like those desperate girls you've fucked, okay?"
"Never said you were." He stated, hands held up in defense.
She sighed, looking back at him, "When did you have time to find Aaron last night?"
He got the feeling she'd had this question on her mind all day.
"Not long after you left I went back to his house. Party was wrapping up, wasn't hard to find him."
"You didn't have to do that." She shook her head.
"Oh, but I did."
Dropping them back to his sides, he approached her methodically, trapping her against a bookshelf roughly, the contents shaking slightly. The specific predicament seemed to be one she'd encounter a lot from here on out, courtesy of him. He could see the internal battle happening behind those green eyes, deciding whether to give in or do whatever she thought was the "right" thing to do.
He didn't want to allow her to think, just work on an impulse, an instinct. It had gotten him this far in life, how could it be wrong?
His eyes lowered, lids feeling heavy with lust, with longing. Lips trailing along her jawbone lightly, he felt her breath catch in her throat, smiling against the delicate flesh of her neck. Feeling her lean back, he lifted her by her thighs, pressing her into the shelf and holding her there. The friction was unbearable, far too many clothes between their bodies for his liking.
Slipping a hand between her thighs, she tried to resist a moan, it coming out as low as she could muster. His fingers danced up the skin there, silky smooth and teasing mercilessly at the edge of her panties, playing with the lace fabric. Ana's thighs were shaking now, his smile wide and dazzling at the reaction he desired. Inserting two fingers, Reid covered her moans with his hand, a deep chuckle resonating from within his chest.
"Somebody's gon- gonna hear us." She breathed.
"Not if you're quiet." He smirked, watching as her head fell back with lips shut tightly.
She definitely wasn't upset anymore.
Throwing the pencil down onto the book, Ana sighed, running her hands through her hair, unable to focus on homework.
What the hell was she doing?
She asked herself if it was a good idea, as if she had a choice, humoring herself with the thought of quitting him. It wasn't going to happen and they both knew it. She was in too deep. There was no going without his eyes looking into hers, the feel of his skin, his lips pressed against her own. It was different. He was different.
He was nothing she'd ever experienced, heart racing whenever he's around, before he even touches her.
Absolutely nothing was ever going to be the same and you know what?
She didn't want it to.
"You alright?" Kate questioned, her brows furrowing.
"Yeah, just worried for this test is all." Ana brushed off, biting her lip in concentration.
Kate expression relaxed, smiling now, "I can still hook you up with Chase if you want, you know. He's cute!"
Ana rolled her eyes.
"I'm good, really."
Kate sighed. "I'm serious, it could help! You need to unwind, you're way too wound up."
She shook her head, placing a hand to her forehead.
"You have no idea."
Another chapter down! I'm really hoping y'all are still interested even though these chapters are coming too slow for my liking. We moved, I had my second son August 15th and life has been crazy! As always, please be sure to follow and favorite if you enjoyed reading and pretty please leave me a review down below. I live for your thoughts and feedback and I'd really appreciate it! xx (Specifically how often for sex scenes, would you rather have longer ones so they don't happen as often or would you rather shorter ones sprinkled in more often?)