Something for the Pain (Pain #2) (6 page)

“Shit, shit, shit.” I grip my hair and turn to face my door. My head is spinning. “I can’t do this anymore. No more picturing Alex,” I tell myself.

This is all hitting me so much harder now. Acting normal around Alex might be a little difficult after that. This is not cool, and definitely not what I expected. We haven’t even lived together for a day yet.

Adjusting my dress, I go back into my room to change into a pair of panties. My bikini bottoms are so damn wet that they’re bothersome; not to mention a huge reminder of how much Alex turns me on.

By the time I’m done pulling myself back together, I can hear that the party has already started and the guests are starting to pile in. We invited over two hundred guests, so I have no doubt that it will be a hit.

Making my way downstairs, I smile at a few girls that I knew from high school and follow the rest of the party out back where the bar and DJ are set up.

I instantly spot Alex by the bar, getting a drink for himself and Mel. My stomach sinks as I watch him smile at her, as if he’s enjoying her company. His smile is so damn sexy. I’m used to him being with girls, but I’m not used to witnessing it.

Handing her a cup, he wraps an arm around her tiny waist, before leaning in to whisper something in her ear. Her head tilts back as she laughs and bites her lip at whatever it is that he’s saying.

Alex is good with women. He always has been, and that’s another reason that I’ve kept my feelings to myself. There will always be someone out there that wants him. That’s probably why he has never settled down; too many to choose from.

Just as I’m about to turn away and go look for Harley, Alex spots me, and his smile lights up. I see his eyes scan me before he mouths
Firecracker
at me. I shake my head at him and mouth
Stud
back at him.

He’ll never stop teasing me with that damn name. I see him hold his finger up to Mel before he reaches for a glass and jogs over in my direction, leaving her alone by the bar. He stops right in front of me, holding his hand behind his back. “Everything okay?” He grabs my chin with his free hand and brings it up so he can look into my eyes. “You look like something’s bothering you.”

I grab his wrist and smile. “I’m fine, Alex. Why would you even think that?”

He scrunches his eyebrows at me and tilts his head. “I’m not stupid, Tripp. I’ve known you almost my whole life.” He holds my hand up and tugs on the silver ring on my right ring finger. “You’ve been standing over here spinning your ring since you’ve stepped outside.”

I look down at my ring and let out a frustrated breath before pulling my hand away. I hadn’t even realized I was playing with it. I usually don’t, since it comes so naturally. This ring is the only thing I have left of my parents. My mother left it behind when her and my father ran off when I was only seven. The same year I met Alex.

“I see you’re very observational tonight,” I mutter.

“I’m always observational,” he says with a smirk. “I notice more than you know.”

I feel my heart speed up as I watch his lips twitch. Why the hell am I so horny for him now? All I can think about is sucking his bottom lip into my mouth and biting it.
Damn you . . . and those sexy sounds from the shower.

It’s silent for a few seconds, both of us just looking at each other, before he speaks again.

“I see Lucas is already downing shots in the pool.” He shakes his head before pulling a red cup out from behind his back and handing it to me. “One strawberry daiquiri, light on the rum. Drink up and enjoy yourself, but don’t let Lucas feed you too many shots tonight. You always get sick.” He points at the daiquiri. “That shit is special.”

I can’t help but to smile as he flashes me his dimples. “Thanks for the drink.” I hold it up and take a long sip, surprised at how good it tastes. Everyone usually makes it too strong for me, but this . . . this is perfect, just how I like it. “Oh my god . . . this is so damn good, Alex.” I take another drink, gripping onto his red and gray shirt with excitement. I needed this drink right now, and the taste is almost good enough to give me a mini orgasm.

“Better be.” He grins and starts backing away. “I made that shit myself. Maybe I should become one of those shirtless bartenders on the side.”

“Maybe.” I laugh. “Thanks, Stud,” I say teasingly.

“Oh you mean this stud?” He sticks his tongue out at me and waves it, showing off his new piercing. The way he moves his tongue so sexy and seductive, it’s almost as if he’s teasing me with what I’m missing out on.

Damn . . . he just had to add that to his sexiness.

“Put that tongue away before I bite it, Carter. I only need a few more of these to do it.” I hold up my drink and smile.

Laughing, he waves his tongue one more time, before making his way over to Ace, who is now chatting with Mel. Alex stands to the side, chill, as if it doesn’t bother him. Why should it? Alex doesn’t have much competition anywhere he goes. If he wants to fuck you . . . he will, plain and simple.

I feel a slap on my shoulder, pulling me away from Alex. “Tripp. What the hell took you so long? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Turning beside me, I notice Harley standing there, wearing a long white dress with her bright pink bikini beneath it. Her long, blonde curls are pulled back into a ponytail and she’s sporting a bright pink lip ring to match her bikini. Harley and I have been friends since we were both twelve. She’s my only true female friend. All the other ones proved to be fake or too jealous over mine and Alex’s friendship.

“Hey, sweets. Love the new ring.” I reach out and gently tug on her lip ring as she laughs.

“Thanks, love.” She takes a sip of her drink and eagerly looks around. “I’ve been waiting for Ace’s sexy ass to show up. I had to make sure to see you first though so I didn’t look like a shitty friend.”

I give her a stupefied look. “Ace? Really, Harley? That guy can’t keep his dick in his pants for longer than ten minutes.”

She smirks at me and raises an eyebrow. “That’s what I’m counting on. It’s been six months since I caught Jason fucking Izzy and I’ve had a lot of frustration to take out. My hand’s getting tired, honey.”

I take a sip of my drink and nod behind her toward the bar, where Ace already has a few girls hanging close by. “Well you better hurry up before someone else snags his ass up. He’s behind you at the bar, chatting it up with Alex and his date.”

She hurries up and downs her drink, before wiping her mouth off. “Perfect timing. I’ll be back. Just don’t expect it to be anytime soon.”

“Yeah,” I say as she starts walking away. “Sure you will.”

There’s no way that girl is coming back. She’s absolutely gorgeous and there’s no way Ace will turn her down for someone else. Hell, I even kissed her one night when I was drunk. First time I had ever kissed a girl, and I have to admit that I definitely didn’t dislike it.

I hear my name, followed by a whistle, so I turn behind me to see Lucas with a few of his guy friends chilling in the pool, along with about ten other random people partying it up. Must be friends of friends because I have never met any of these people.

“Over here, Tripp.”

Smiling at him and his crazy friends that are now whistling at me and calling me over, I flip them all the middle finger and make my way over to them.

I stop in front of the pool and smile down at the guys, trying to decide if I want to get in or not. “Boys.”

I jump back when Myles splashes me. “Hey, gorgeous.” He looks me up and down and hits Lucas’ shoulder. “Hot fucking dress. What’s underneath?”

Placing my foot on his shoulder, I push him under the water before taking a seat on the edge of the pool and kicking him with some water to the face.

“Something you’ll dream about later.” I joke.

He places his hand to his scrawny chest. “Ouch! That hurt. Why can’t I get in on some action?”

“Get in, baby.” Lucas swims over right in front of me and starts lifting my dress up my legs, not caring that all of his friends are eyeing me up. “Take this damn thing off and put that drink down.”

I push his hand away and pull my dress back down my legs. “I’m not wearing my bikini yet. I’ll get in later. We have all night.”

He laughs as if I’ve just said something really stupid. “Your underwear is the same damn thing.” He lifts his arms up and spins around. “Look around you. This is a party. No one gives a shit. You wanted to have fun. What are you waiting for? It’s our first house party.”

He goes to lift my dress up again, but I tug on it, still hesitant to strip down to my panties.

“Is there a problem?” Alex stops and asks on his way past. Releasing Mel’s waist, he pushes his way through Lucas’ friends and pulls me aside, his face not hiding his concern for me. “Tripp?”

I shake my head, feeling bad for the small scene. I never meant to get Alex worked up by thinking Lucas is a threat. “I’m fine.” I pinch his cheek and smile. “Go have fun, Stud. We were just playing. I promise.”

Alex turns from me to look over at Lucas and his friends. He takes a second to size them all up before turning back to me. “Better be.” His jaw steels as his eyes meet mine. “Come find me if you need me.”

“I always do,” I say truthfully. “Better hurry before your date leaves.”

He looks over his shoulder at Mel, nods his head, and starts backing up. I see a small smile take over his face and I can’t help but to full on grin at him.

Guess I’m going in the pool now. Tilting my drink back, I down the rest of it, before standing up. “Time to get wet.” Without much thought, I rip my dress over my head, stripping down to my red bikini top and black panties.

I hear whistles coming from all directions before I dive into the pool, sinking to the bottom. The water feels so good; almost like an escape away from everything and everyone, at least for this short moment.

Relaxing under the water for a second, I grip onto my hair before pushing my way back up to the top.

Lucas immediately comes up behind me and pulls me into his arms. “Hand me that shot, dude.”

One of his friends grabs for one of the shots lined up by the pool and hands it to him. Smiling, he holds it up to my lips. “You deserve this after all that hotness. Drink up.”

Feeling a bit more relaxed now that I’ve already downed my first drink I part my lips and let him tilt the glass, allowing the liquid to run down my throat.

The DJ is playing music, people are getting wasted and having fun. This is exactly what I wanted—A little fun and freedom. Might as well live it up a little. A little celebration for having Alex here is how I view it. I couldn’t ask for more.

IT’S GETTING DARK NOW, BUT everyone still seems to be having the time of their lives. I haven’t seen Alex much since before I got into the pool, but maybe that’s because I’ve been trying to avoid seeing him with Mel. It makes my chest hurt too much. I really haven’t seen much of Harley either, now that I think about it.

I’m probably up to my fifth drink and fourth shot by now. Once I get enough liquor inside of me, it becomes a little harder to say no. Especially when you’re just having fun and trying to keep your head clear of certain unwanted thoughts.

I’m in the middle of everyone, just dancing and having a good time, and Lucas is surprisingly still beside me instead of off having fun. He shouts over the loud music and holds up two more shots before handing one of them to me.

I get ready to tilt it back, but I feel a hand reach out and snatch it away. It’s Alex. It wouldn’t be anyone else. Everyone else is too wasted to care about anyone else.

He steps in between Lucas and I and hands the shot back to Lucas. “She’s done with shots, Lucas. Give that shit to someone else.”

Before Lucas can say anything, Alex walks me out of the dancing crowd and over to the fire pit where it’s a bit quieter. He pulls one of the chairs up behind me and helps me sit down.

I look up to see Lucas watching us, but then he just shrugs and hands the shot to a random guy close to him, going back into his party mode.

“I told you to be careful with shots, Tripp. I don’t want to be cleaning puke off of you tonight. I will, trust me, but I’d rather not.”

One look into his eyes and I can’t argue with him. He always has a way of sobering me up. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. I am too. I hate upsetting Alex.

“Don’t be.” He smiles and hands me a cup of water that Mel passes to him. “Drink this.”

I can’t help but to smile up at him. “I will if you do something for me.”

He smiles. “You know I’ll do whatever, Tripp. Don’t I always?”

I nod my head. “Play your guitar for us,” I whisper. “Please. Please. Please.”

His lips turn up into a smile, but he doesn’t respond. He looks around the crowd full of people, before bringing his attention back to me.

“Please. It will help relax me.”

He lets out a huff. “You’re so damn lucky that I can’t say no to you. You have no idea.” He turns to Mel. “I’ll be back.”

Mel looks at me, and smiles awkwardly, but doesn’t say a word. She almost looks . . . jealous.
Of me? Ha! That’s funny.

Alex is inside for about ten minutes before I notice him come back outside. Everyone clears a path for Alex, as he walks confidently with his guitar. He doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. He’s about to own this party and he knows it. I know it. He’s owned me for years with that guitar.