Chapter Fifty Five - Dance

"I can only imagine what you're gonna be like in college," I huffed, dropping the last of the cartons in the backyard. A beer can rolled out of it and fell into the pool, resurfacing only a second later.

"My frat's name's gonna be Soar High." Aiden winked.

"How creative." I shook my head and rolled my sleeve up to fish the can out.

"Wait! Oh my God, Becks! That is a brilliant idea." He gasped and, one by one, dropped about twenty cans in the pool from different directions. "Now this looks like a pool party."

After that, he emptied a whole carton in the pool and grinned at me, nodding. "What do you think?"

"It's... good."

"Thank you. You're a great help. Now you better head back home and change before the party starts."

I looked down at my cute black lace top and blue denims. "Change?"

"You were planning to wear that? To my party?"

"What's wrong with it?" I pouted.

"Okay. The top's alright, but can you get out of those jeans?"

I raised a brow.

His eyes widened, and he immediately held his hands out front in defense, frantically turning in random directions as if there was some unseen threat coming at him. Then, he said in a much louder voice than before, "I mean, maybe put on some shorts? That's what I meant."

When no one jumped out of nowhere to beat his ass, he turned back to me, sighing in relief. "Just in case your boyfriend heard that. I don't want him to kick my ass in front of my friends right before my party."

I chuckled. "I figured. Where is he, by the way?"

"Went out an hour ago. I don't know if he's back yet."

"He'll be at the party, right?"

"He better be. Or he should be prepared to taste ketchup in his ice cream."

I glowered. "Thanks for torture 101. I'm gonna head home and change into shorts. I feel like you're right."

"As I always am." He shrugged smugly before turning back to the cartons.

I made my way past Aiden's friends in the living room who were there to help him set up stuff. I knew most of them from class.

"Looking good, Becks," one of our classmates, who was busy arranging red party cups on the table, looked up and said as I walked by.

"Thank—"

"Knock it off, Johnny," Aiden said nonchalantly from outside, still busy adorning his pool with beer cans.

"Bye." I waved at Johnny and headed out.

My friends were on their way to my house so we could hang out for a while before the party. They made it at 5 p.m. and we spent the evening binging on Mrs. Brooke's special spaghetti and listening to crime podcasts until it was 7. That's when we decided to make our way across the street.

"Yes!" Meera punched the air once we were inside the house. "Another junior year party that I made it to without breaking any bones."

"You didn't break your ankle. You'd just injured it pretty bad." Mack smacked her shoulder before turning to high five some football dudes, unknowingly escaping Meera's smack in his head by a second.

The living room was unrecognizable. I couldn't tell I was standing in the same house I was used to visiting every day. Every single item that was pushed to the sides to remove from view and make way for dancing only added to a nice background as the party lights reflected off them.

Maybe it was the dim lighting and the colourful rotating lights up above that made everything better.

"This is what I call a party." Meera threw her arms across mine and Cheryl's shoulder. "Let's get to it." With that, she dragged us to the kitchen, grabbed three bottles, and placed one in front of each of us.

"What did you tell your parents?" Cheryl asked.

"Group study at Becks' house," she stated proudly while uncapping her bottle.

"That's not gonna be too believable when you show up at your house later drunk, will it?"

Meera narrowed her eyes. "Dammit!"

"That's what I thought." Cheryl grabbed the bottle from her hands with a chuckle and threw her head back to gulp a few sips.

"Oh, come on! One drink's not gonna hurt anyone." Meera uncapped the other one and took an urgent sip before she could change her mind. "That's it. This one is all I'm gonna have. Don't let me touch another."

"We'll try." I patted her shoulder and took a sip from my bottle.

"Hey! You guys made it!" Aiden walked into the kitchen with a big, ridiculous grin, holding a red cup in one hand and extending his other to fist bump each of us one by one.

"Thanks for inviting us," Meera said.

"Of course! Are you having fun?"

"Just fine, Aiden. Where are the strippers?"

He threw his head back and burst out laughing.

"Nice one, Meera. But if that's what you really want, I can give you a private show up in my bedroom." He winked at her, and I noticed the slur in his speech.

She tapped her chin, pretending to think. "I wonder what my boyfriend would say about that."

"You think about it and let me know, okay?" He held up his drink at her before walking away with a smirk. "See you guys around. Enjoy."

"Wait, Aiden," I called, but he didn't hear me over the loud music.

"I'll be right back," I said to my friends, quickly following after him.

Since the living room was crowded, it took me a while to spot him near the dance floor. I was going to ask him about Matt, but someone beat me to it.

"Hey, Aiden. Where's Matt?" Rebecca asked in her annoyingly honeyed voice while fixing her dress' right strap, which kept sliding down her shoulder.

"Um, Rebecca? I don't remember inviting—"

"Hey, Rebecca," I cut in, managing a fake smile towards her. "Why are you looking for my boyfriend?"

Needless to say, wiping that smile off her face was the highlight of my evening. She pressed her lips together before crossing her arms and throwing me a dirty look. "No reason. Just wanted to say hi."

"Oh, that's cool. I'll tell him you said hi."

"Not if I see him first." She smiled sarcastically, eyes searching the room desperately as she skimmed past me and blended somewhere in the crowd.

"I didn't even invite her." Aiden raised his hands in surrender.

"That didn't stop her from showing up, apparently."

"I've never liked her." He huffed.

"Has anyone ever liked her?"

"Your boyfriend did."

"He really didn't." I shook my head.

"Then I feel sorry for her." He pouted. "Honestly, if she wasn't such a stuck-up bitch all the time, someone would've definitely had a thing for her. She's even got the looks."

I made a face. "Sure."

"I'm sorry if she ruined your mood, Becks. If it makes you feel any better, she isn't the only one who I didn't invite."

"Who's the other unlucky person?"

A slow grin formed on his lips. "Sean. Never liked him either."

I chuckled. "That means a lot, Aiden. But having no invite didn't stop Rebecca either. Some people are persistent."

"Oh, he's definitely not showing up. Not a chance with that other black eye."

I deadpanned. "What?"

"You know how Matt just went MIA this afternoon? He came back later with his fist all bruised up and I asked him what happened. As usual, he told me to get out of his face. So, I called up Chris just in case he knew what had happened. Apparently, Sean was hanging out with the guys at the coffeeshop when Matt showed up. They argued and then your boyfriend punched your ex-boyfriend in the face and well, that was it. I don't really know why he did it but I was so happy he did. I've never liked Sean's guts." He laughed drunkenly while I just stared at him in horror.

When he registered the look on my face and realized I hadn't found it as funny as he had, he blinked at me. All colour drained from his face. "I also just remembered that Matt told the guys you can't hear a word about this."

"He's unbelievable," I muttered under my breath, taking a step back.

"Becks, wait! Please don't tell him I told you that," his voice slowly became distant as I walked away from him in search of his brother.

After looking across the entire dance floor and deducing that he was ditching the party, I decided to make my way up to his room but just as I walked past the kitchen, I saw him sitting on the island stool, sipping from a bottle. He must've just got there because it hadn't been more than five minutes since I'd left the kitchen.

As if sensing my eyes on him, he looked up. The moment he saw me, a slow smile formed on his lips. "Hey, Becks."

Instead of greeting him back, I marched up to him, grabbed his right hand and flipped it over on the counter to find a bruise running over his knuckles. My jaw dropped. "Oh my God! It's true."

I stared up at him with wide eyes. "Are you out of your mind?"

He sighed, withdrawing his hand. "Who told you?"

"That's not important, Matt. Why are you always doing something like that? You can't keep punching Sean. It's just wrong."

He raised a brow. "Why?"

"Why? Are you kidding—because you could get expelled from school, that's why!"

"I didn't punch him at school."

I grabbed my hair in frustration, resisting the urge to pull it apart. "Well...then his parents could...I don't know sue you for assault. Or-or bullying. Do you want that?"

He shrugged. "I don't care."

Sighing out loud, I dropped my elbows to the counter and rubbed my eyes in exhaustion. "I didn't tell you I had to deal with his crap this afternoon to make you feel guilty for not being there to defend me and make up for it like that. I only wanted to make you feel guilty for not showing up."

"That's okay. He had it coming anyway."

"No, he didn't," I snapped, my voice cracking unexpectedly. I wasn't crying. It was just my frustration. "Matt, I know he can say some really provoking things but he doesn't deserve to get punched for them every other day."

He crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly and looked away with a straight face, jaw clenched tightly.

"You're better than that," I said in a much calmer tone than before.

No answer. No glance.

"Really? The silent treatment? Fine. I don't wanna talk to you either." I flipped around and left the kitchen.

As much as I appreciated him caring about me and sticking up for me, I didn't like the idea of him getting into a fight with Sean every time he said something to me. It was extremely childish of Matt to just start throwing punches at the slightest inconvenience.

I grudgingly made my way past the people to head home. I was so done with the party.

"Whoa whoa!" Chris lifted his drink in urgency before I could bump into him and spill it. Why always me, God?

"Sorry," I muttered in surprise, blinking.

"No problem, Becks." He smiled, then frowned a second later when he saw my face. "You good?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Really?"

I sighed. "You were there at the coffeeshop this afternoon. You know what happened. Just had a little disagreement with Matt about it."

"What kind of disagreement?" He swallowed his drink, placed the cup on a nearby table and folded his arms attentively.

"You know..." I shrugged. "He can't just go around hitting Sean every time he does something to piss him off. It's wrong. It's violent."

He stared at me pensively for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"I mean I just hate the fact that Sean can provoke Matt so easily. I don't want him to have so much control over us, you know? Anyway, I'm not gonna bore you with this. I was just heading home."

I walked past him to get to the front door.

"He called you a whore."

I froze in my tracks, then slowly turned around. "What?"

"Sean," he replied, suddenly a little unsure about it. Maybe because he could tell that my heart had dropped after knowing that. Sean didn't mean a thing to me and so, his opinion shouldn't either. But it just hurt.

Pity flashed in Chris's eyes.

"If I had a girl who I was so crazy about and there was this other guy who couldn't have her and just called her a whore out of spite, I'd probably do worse. That punch was very well deserved, Becks. Trust me. I was there."

I sucked in a breath, looking back in the direction of the kitchen.

"I'm sorry I had to tell you despite Matt telling everyone present there to not breathe a word of this to you. He knew you would feel this way. I'm so sorry, Becks. If he kicks my ass next, I'll have totally deserved it."

I shook my head. "No. You don't. And you don't owe me an apology. Not at all. Thanks for letting me know, Chris."

He managed half a smile, patted my shoulder and walked away.

I leaned against the drinks table for a moment, took in a few breaths and finally headed back towards the kitchen. I owed him an apology and a big thank you.

But unfortunately, he wasn't alone anymore. I heard her dreadful voice before I could even enter the kitchen.

"What's wrong with you? Ever since you've got with her, you've become this guy who's quietly sitting in the corner of the room at a freaking party. She's not right for you, Matt."

She was sitting next to him on a stool, resting her hand on his forearm. Her long red fingernails, which lightly stroked his arm, were adequately depicting her as the she devil she was.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance.

"Leave me alone, Rebecca." He pulled his arm away from her evil clutches.

"You know I'm not wrong."

"You are. I'm just not in one of my best moods right now so all I wanna do is finish my drink in peace and head up to my room."

"Is that an invite?" She batted her lashes.

His lips twisted with disgust. "No."

Her face dropped, but she quickly composed herself and put on her fake smile. "Are you sure?"

"Just leave me alone."

"You know that's the one thing I can't do, Matt." She smirked at him and jumped out of her seat. The next thing I knew, she was taking his arm to pull him out of his seat, too. "Let me cheer you up. One dance. Just one. Come on."

Annoyance clear on his face, he opened his mouth to protest but she beat him to it, "And maybe I can show you tonight just how wrong you were to end things with me. I'm all you need. Not her," she whispered the last part with a suggestive, devilish gleam in her eyes like she wanted him right then, right there.

Alright, that's enough.

I marched inside and grabbed Matt's arm just a little above where Rebecca's hand was gripping it.

"What are you doing, Rebecca?" I demanded.

She blinked, taken aback from being caught hitting on my boyfriend, but she quickly put on a facade like it was no big deal, and offered me a scornful smile. "I'm just asking him for a dance, Becks. Go easy on that girlfriend title and loosen up. Let him live a little."

"Is that all you're doing? Asking him for a dance?"

"Yes. You have no reason to be worried." She gave an innocent shrug and blinked like she could picture an angel halo above her head.

"Oh, I know that. Because he's never liked you, and he isn't gonna start to either," I stated.

It was so easy to get under her skin. Just pull her out of her little delusion that her and Matt could ever become a thing and bam! Her mood's in a downward spiral. All humour vanished from her face, and she swallowed hard.

"But it's your shameless advances at my boyfriend that are bothering me. We both know what you're doing, so drop the fucking act and back off. I'm asking you very nicely but I won't do it again. Next time," I paused to take a look at Matt who had a brow perked up in curiosity—not like I'd missed how fucking impressed he looked no matter how much he tried to conceal it—and then I turned back to Rebecca, leaned forward and said in a low voice, "I'll punch you in that pretty little face of yours and if you're unlucky enough, I'm gonna end up breaking that pretty little nose in the process. Get that?"

She blinked in surprise and her mouth fell open. "You...you can't—"

"Get your hand off my boyfriend," I said as a warning and she immediately withdrew her hand. I gave her an approving nod. "And keep it that way in future. I mean it."

Still a little taken aback, she turned around and sprinted out of the kitchen without a word. I knew she wanted to say so much but I'd caught her off guard and insulted her in front of the person she was obsessed with. So, she'd fled. Nice. For now.

Whew! I exhaled slowly, feeling a certain pair of eyes on me. I licked my lower lip once, preparing myself to give him the explanation I felt I owed him.

But without a word, he got up and headed out of the kitchen.

Wait, what?

"Matt, wait," I chased after him and thanks to his long legs and athletic pace, I was sprinting after him across the dance floor to catch up with his walking self.

He threw me a look over his shoulder. "That didn't sound very friendly."

"I wasn't going for friendly." I leapt forward and grabbed his arm to stop him. Thankfully, he did not resist and turned around. His brown eyes were devoid of any emotion as they bored into mine intensely. "If she thinks she can turn you against me like that and I'll just watch it happen, she's got another think coming."

The intensity in his eyes turned down a notch as if the thought of me fighting for him for once brought a sense of comfort to him but he didn't give much away as he perked a brow at me, remaining silent and ten seconds in, it was already killing me. I hated the silent treatment.

"You're not going to say anything? Really?" I lifted my hands up to my hips.

He looked me dead in the eye for another solid ten seconds, then gave me a very annoying, silent shrug.

"Matt," I sighed in frustration. "I know you love rubbing it in my face when I'm wrong and I did say I don't wanna talk to you but can you please—"

"Hey, lovebirds. Wanna play truth or dare?"

Our heads snapped to the source of voice at the same time. It was Aiden, drunkenly sauntering towards us with an excited gleam in his eyes.

"No," Matt replied curtly, making him pout.

Oh, he speaks.

I rolled my eyes, turning to Aiden with a smile. "I'm in."

"I knew I could always count on you, Becks." He threw his arm across my shoulders and started pulling me away from the dance floor. Once we'd made a few feet, I subtly looked behind and found Matt following us grudgingly while shooting daggers at his brother.

Aiden noticed it too and let out a laugh. "Looks like somebody changed their mind and decided to play my stupid party games after all."

"Will you shut it?" came my boyfriend's response, and I chuckled lowly to myself.

We walked past the kitchen and entered a room where a few people had already gathered to play the game. They were sitting in a messy circle on the floor with an empty bottle of beer lying right in the middle, waiting to be spun.

I sat down and felt a rush of approval in my veins when my boyfriend took the spot right next to me on the floor, still looking annoyed. If he wasn't lowkey mad at me, I would've squished his cheeks. I really, really wanted to.

I looked around us, hoping for someone to spin the bottle and begin the game, but all my enthusiasm vanished when a particular someone joined us.

"Hope I'm not late." Rebecca smiled sweetly at everyone and scooted two people aside to settle between them, so she was sitting right across Matt.

Aiden, who was sitting three places to my right, buried his fingers in his hair and pulled. "Suddenly, I'm in no mood to play."

"What? Don't be such a buzzkill," Steve said as he threw his head back to swallow his remaining beer. "Who's going first—oh we have to spin the bottle."

Laughing in his daze, he grabbed the bottle, but Rebecca put her hand over his to stop him. "Before we start, let's alter one tiny rule. No truth. Just dare."

"Oh, for the love of God!" Aiden groaned. "No thanks, Rebecca—"

"I mean, what could you possibly ask someone that hasn't already been asked a hundred times before? Tell us about your first crush, your first time having sex and blah blah blah. Besides, no one actually picks dare willingly, so let's just eliminate the truth option."

"I like that idea." Steve nodded, and a few others hummed to show approval.

Aiden threw him a death glare, but he was too drunk to notice.

"Okay then." Rebecca rubbed her hands and spun the bottle.

As the game progressed, I could tell her growing frustration with every single time the bottle didn't point at Matt after stopping.

Until it finally did.

Her eyes lit up while I balled my fists, ready to throw hands if she'd dared him to make out with her or something.

"Okay, Matt," she said his name slowly and teasingly. "Are you ready?"

My chest tightened.

"I dare you to..." She smirked at me before turning back to him. "...throw your girlfriend in the pool."

This bitch!

"What are you, three?" Matt rolled his eyes. "That's not happening."

She pursed her lips, annoyed. "But—"

"You know, if you look at the bottle carefully, it's pointing between us and it's a little more inclined towards me," I pointed out, looking down. It was true.

She scoffed. "Nice way to save yourself—"

"Actually," Aiden cut in. "Becks is right."

The others agreed with another hmm.

I smiled sardonically at her. "See? Everyone agrees."

"Okay, then." Her eyes narrowed at me and then lit up with a diabolic gleam only a second later. I don't know why I gulped.

"Becks..." She smiled and exhaled like she'd won already. "I dare you to straddle Steve for a whole minute."

"Oh yeah!" It was like Steve had suddenly woken up from his nap as his eyes widened and he barked out a laugh, cheering for me. "Come on, Becks."

Matt stiffened next to me, glaring at Rebecca.

"Come on! Don't be such a wuss, guys. A dare's a dare." She smirked. "Since you both like to share your dares, this is it. Either you throw her in the pool or she has to straddle Steve."

Steve uncrossed his legs, stretching them ahead and patted on his thigh. "I'm ready whenever you are, Becks."

I gave him a forced smile and turned to Matt, who had murder in his eyes as he now glared at Steve. I was about to tell him to 'toss me right in that pool' but a realization made me stop—I hadn't had any fun at all.

It also seemed like a nice opportunity to get him to break his silent treatment with me and also, kind of playfully punish him for it.

Acting on my evil little idea, I turned towards Steve and sighed. "Oh, well."

Right on cue, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a certain head snap in my direction. A smile formed on my lips and I directed it towards Steve as I got to my feet.

Creepy Steve gave me a toothy grin as he leaned back a bit to accommodate me on his lap. Yeah, right.

I knew I wouldn't even get to touch him. Just as I was about an inch away from him, I felt a hand close around my wrist and tug me back. Then, I saw my boyfriend double over in front of me and the next thing I knew, he'd wrapped his arm around the back of my knees, lifted me up and thrown me over his shoulder before he started walking.

"Matt," I gasped, barely able to register what he was doing or where he was taking me until he stepped out into the backyard.

Annoyingly enough, Rebecca trailed right behind us while laughing in victory all the way to the swimming pool. I was just about to tell her to fuck off but my words were cut short when I felt myself being taken off Matt's shoulder, launched in the air like a baseball and in the very next second, dropped into the water with a loud splash.

Everything went silent for a few seconds until I resurfaced with a gasp and the air around me forced a connection between my ears and Rebecca's annoying laugh.

"Caption: This is what happens when you put your boyfriend on a leash at a party."

That was when I noticed the phone in her hands. She'd recorded the whole thing.

"I'm so gonna upload this, Becks—"

"Whoops!" Aiden's shoulder accidentally bumped into Rebecca's and she lost her grip on her phone, dropping it into the water.

Her mouth fell open, and she snapped around furiously.

"My bad!" Aiden raised his hands in surrender, and she turned back to the pool with an open mouth. One of the guys who were hanging out in the pool nearby fetched her phone from the bottom and handed it to her.

She stared at it in horror, then at Aiden and screamed like the dramatic bitch she was who perfectly knew how to throw a tantrum, and finally, stomped back into the house.

I chuckled.

Aiden wiggled his brows at us and probably for the first time, I saw Matt actually laugh at something his brother did before he rolled his eyes at him and shook his head.

"You're welcome," Aiden called out loud on his way inside.

I swam towards the edge, staring up at Matt. "You took the 'throwing' part way too seriously, huh?"

"That was the dare, wasn't it?"

His words and especially his calm demeanour like he hadn't just tossed his girlfriend in the pool ticked me off. But then I reminded myself I'd given him a very valid reason to do it and I would've been disappointed if he hadn't actually gone through with it. It was exactly what I'd been expecting him to do, just not so keenly.

"You could've just dropped me. But no! You had to launch me in the air, the whole projectile thing."

"I didn't want you to even accidentally bump your head into the edge."

"Sure."

He leaned over and offered me his hand, a spark dancing in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

I grabbed it and smiled up at him. "Not forgiven."

I pulled him into the water with me.

He landed right next to me with a splash and resurfaced a few seconds later, surprise written all over his face as he pushed his hair back and narrowed his eyes at me.

I burst out laughing. "Really? It's like you don't know me at all."

He charged at me. "You..."

I knew that there was no way I could make it out of the pool but I still gave it a shot. I'd just lifted myself to the edge and was about to swing one leg over and crawl out when he grabbed my ankle and pulled me right back in.

"Oh my God!" I screamed while laughing loudly. The moment I was in the water again, I tried to swim away from him but he grabbed my waist and pinned me to the side, hovering over me. His hot breath brushed against my lips and I sucked in a breath the moment I stared up into his dark eyes.

Slowly, he leaned down to my ear and whispered huskily, "You're not getting away, Becks."

My hands lifted to his chest as my eyes dropped down to his wet lips, which looked so tempting that I found myself licking mine.

"I don't wanna get away, Matt," I whispered back.

One of his hands came above the surface and he ran his thumb across my lower lip in one sensual sweep. My heart raced at his touch and I found my toes curling with anticipation but there was something in the back of my mind that was keeping me from being in the moment completely. Something I needed to say.

"Look. Earlier," I started unsurely. "All that stuff that I said instead of saying a thank you...is exactly the kind of thing that makes me realize how big of an idiot I am."

He remained silent for a couple of seconds, registering my words. "So, is this you thanking me?"

I nodded. "Yes. Thank you so much for defending me today. And I'm sorry for not saying this before and snapping at you instead."

"It's alright."

"So," I started with an unsure smile. "...if I haven't already spoiled your party mood beyond repair, do you feel like having some fun?"

"Define fun."

"Dance? We could dance!"

"Ask me nicely, Andrews."

A chuckle escaped my mouth which only made him raise a brow again so I bit down on my lip to stop laughing.

"Sorry. Will you dance with me, Matt? Pretty please?"

I pouted, holding up my hand. He was quick to grab it and take me by surprise when he briskly pulled me into him, leaving no space between us. A little gasp escaped my mouth and my other hand flew up to his chest for support as my body pressed up against his.

When I looked into his eyes questioningly, I stopped breathing. The look in them was one of utter devotion; slowly becoming just as intense as it was devout and I was so thankful for his arm around my waist because it was the only thing stopping me from melting in the pool.

"On one condition," he said.

"What?"

"Tell me what made you change your mind."

"Huh?" I blinked.

"The way you stomped off earlier, I was convinced I was climbing up to your window later to make up. But you just came right back and now you've apologized to me. You don't cool off that easy," he pointed out.

"Oh." I chuckled nervously. "You're right but I realized you were only defending me. There was no reason I had to be a bitch about it."

He narrowed his eyes, barely hiding the amusement in them. "Who told you?"

"Told me what?"

"About what Sean said about you."

"Sean said something about me? What did he say?" I blinked, acting surprised. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He shook his head to himself. "It was Aiden, wasn't it?"

"No Aiden didn't know himself—"

I shut my eyes and cringed, clicking my tongue in disbelief.

Matt smirked. "Didn't know what?"

"Fine." I sighed. "I know. And no, I'm not telling you who spilled the beans."

"I don't care. All I need to know is that you're okay." His eyes searched mine with concern and I felt my heart swell.

"Honestly, I was a bit taken aback when I learnt about it and felt this little...pinch. But I'm fine now. Sean's an asshole and he can go to hell. I'm not letting him ruin my mood. Not for a second."

He nodded, eyes gleaming with pride. "Good to hear. And I owe you a thanks too."

"For what?"

"For saving me from Rebecca earlier."

He pressed a kiss at the corner of my mouth, intentionally lurking over my lips before he pulled away. My jaw slackened for a moment and I chuckled like some demented hyena on crack. "No problem. You were right. She is one crazy broad."

Blushing like an idiot, I threw my arms around his neck and stared up at him. "Now what about that dance?"

"We can dance here."

"In the pool?" I raised a brow.

"I'll dance with you anywhere."

"Anywhere?" I challenged, making him nod. "What about in the school cafeteria?"

"I don't see the problem."

"In class?"

"Why not?"

"Say, I'm in the middle of class and the teacher is teaching and you burst through the door and ask for my hand and we start dancing?" I had to stifle a laugh at the image as I made it up.

"I'm game if you are." He shrugged like it was no big deal but I could see his smirk behind it.

"Shut up." I burst out laughing. "The only reason why you're so confident is because you know I'll never be up for it myself. Sometimes, I think you test my limits because a part of you knows I don't have the guts to do something spontaneous or crazy like that. It's like when you suggest something crazy and your partner endorses it instead of knocking some sense into you because they know you'll never actually go through with it and they love messing with you. That's what you love doing, don't you? You just love—"

I was cut off when his lips fell on mine. His hand curled around the nape of my neck to keep my head in place as he spoiled me with the sweetest, gentlest kiss he'd ever given me.

My surprise quickly moulded into pleasure; the fluttering butterflies in the pit of my stomach becoming a telltale sign of my bliss. I brought my hands up to grab his face, kissing him back leisurely.

"One hell of a way to shut me up, Williams," I said between kisses, then shivered when his hands skimmed down my back and squeezed my waist.

I locked my arms behind his neck again and tilted my head to deepen the kiss. His tongue sensually swept across my lower lip and in a clever play, he bit and sucked on it, making me gasp. The moment I parted my lips, he drove his tongue inside my mouth.

That's when I completely lost it and groaned into his mouth, surprising myself. He really, really seemed to like that because I could feel his smile against my lips.

We broke apart, breathing heavily and yet, it felt unfinished. Swallowing, I licked my lips. "What about your room?"

"What?"

What if we danced in your room?

Instead, all I could breathe out was a single word. "Dance."

No more than two seconds passed in a silence of comprehension before he angled my face up with his index finger to gaze into my eyes deeply.

I don't know how he could read me so easily but I could tell he had when his eyes darkened.

His hands slipped under the water and gripped my waist. In one swift move, he hauled me up to the edge and as I stood up, he got out himself and grabbed my hand. I could sense his haste yet his movements remained serene and collected as he directed me up to his room.

Our steps were long but calm. The kind of calm that happened before a storm—an exciting storm awaiting to be let loose.

The moment we'd made it to his room and he'd locked the door, I pushed him against it, catching him by surprise but that fleeting emotion was left hanging between us because I gave him no time to recover. I quickly put my lips back on his and this time, I invaded his mouth with my tongue.

"Fuck, Rebekah!" he groaned.

Now that gratified me.

A wave of heat surged through my body and without any hesitation, I grasped the hem of his t-shirt and started to pull it up.

I'd just made it a few inches when he grabbed my hand and pulled back to stare at me. His pupils were dilated as if he were in a daze as he asked breathlessly, "I hate to ask this when it couldn't be more obvious but are you sure you—"

"I want you, Matt. Now."

In one swift action, he spun us around so I was the one pinned against the door. And I couldn't move. Because he was holding me in place with those intense eyes. The way they darkened like he was already playing in his head what was going to happen between us, the way they dictated it all to me with just one promising glance, then swept down to my lips and slowly ran across my entire body. There was only one emotion flashing in them—want.

His hand gripped the nape of my neck and pulled me towards him just as his lips hungrily claimed mine. But he didn't just stop there. He started leaving open mouth kisses across my jaw and I shut my eyes, angling my face up. My legs almost turned to jelly and I would've crumpled if he wasn't holding me so firmly.

"You want me?" he whispered against my skin, burying his face in the crook of my neck. His tongue started teasing a delicate spot before he grabbed it between his teeth and sucked. I gasped.

"I do. I really do."

I grabbed his face rather roughly and crashed my lips against his once again. What could I say? I was addicted to them. And he let me. Without breaking the kiss for a second, he ducked down and lifted my legs to wrap around his waist as he carried me to his bed.

The moment my back touched the soft mattress, I opened my eyes to stare up at him. I'd been shivering earlier partly from the cold and wet clothes and partly from his touch, but now all I could feel was the heat of his gaze as he beheld the sight of me on his bed, under him.

I traced a finger from his forehead, down his nose, his lips, his throat, and finally stopped at his chest. "What's going on in your mind right now?"

"I'd sugarcoat it for you..." His hand fell around my throat, not squeezing, just making me feel all kinds of raw emotions when it slowly trailed down, over the curve of my breasts, further down across my belly and finally stopped at the waistband of my shorts as he hooked one finger in it and started playing with its button. "...but all I can think about right now is fucking you senseless."

Ah fuck! The butterflies!

My fingers gripped the hem of his t-shirt and I finally lifted it over his head, tossing it somewhere next to us carelessly. I took a moment to stare at the work of art towering over me.

I ran my finger across his hard torso and traced the lines of his crazy abs with my index, too busy to notice the effect I was having on him.

He was practically struggling on top of me. His eyes were gleaming with pure lust and I felt my breath hitch when those dangerous deep browns locked with mine.

He slipped a hand under my top and caressed my skin and I instantly came alive under his touch.

"Matt," I begged, not sure of what. But he seemed to know exactly what I wanted as he took off my top in one swift move and brought his mouth to the base of my neck, biting and kissing as he made his way lower.

His eyes met mine briefly and I was knocked breathless. His emotions were so raw, so clear. I'd never seen him so...unguarded. It felt like despite knowing him for years and a bit too well since the past few months, I was just meeting a completely new side of him.

I caught his eyes in a daze and they were silently asking for permission. I nodded.

He unclasped my bra, slid it off my arms and threw it over his shoulder somewhere behind him. Then he dipped his head between my breasts. His hair tickled my skin, leaving tingles while his mouth licked and sucked on my breasts, making me groan with pleasure.

Sounds that I didn't even know I was capable of making, escaped my mouth as I threw my head back into the mattress and buried my fingers in his hair.

"Oh my God, Matt!"

I wrapped my legs around his waist, and as if I wasn't already on the edge, I felt him harden against my thigh, and my face flushed hot, knowing I was responsible for that. That's when I lost all sense and patience and started unbuttoning his jeans.

But he grabbed my hand.

"Not yet, baby." He brought my hands above my head to stop me and I felt my heart skip a beat at what he'd just called me. "Don't make this about me when I'm trying so hard to keep it together to make this about you."

"Why can't it be about both of us?"

Ever so slowly, he released my hands and his fingers reached my shorts and unbuttoned them, and then his deep brown eyes flicked back to mine. "Not today."

His rough hands grazed down my legs as he rolled my shorts off them, followed by my panties. I felt my cheeks heating up from being exposed, but when I saw the way his eyes darkened with want at the sight in front of him, I lost all my inhibitions. I wanted to take off his clothes too, but I wasn't in the position to demand a fair game. I was only taking—no, snatching—whatever he was holding out for me.

With his eyes holding mine, he grabbed my thighs and pulled them apart. I felt all air leave my lungs and had to suck in a breath to keep functioning, which he noticed. And with a smirk that I knew was going to be my undoing, he dipped his head between my legs.

I gasped, then bit down on my lower lip to stifle a moan. His mouth did wonders down there while his hands touched and caressed me until I was writhing under him for release.

"Please," I begged, clutching the sheets. His mouth was my ruin. I should've known it the moment I'd first kissed it at the kiss cam. There was no coming back from that.

He finally seemed to have taken mercy on me because the moment I got my chance, I started to take off his jeans, and he didn't stop me. He wasn't in the position to stop me anymore. So, all he did while I stripped him naked was watch me, bewitched with wonder like I was an object of fascination. I couldn't believe that I'd just taken off his boxers without hesitation. What followed, though, did put me under his spell for a moment.

He leaned over me to fetch protection from his drawer while I bit my lip and looked away, embarrassed.

He gently grabbed my chin and turned my face to look me square in the eyes. A knowing smile was sitting on his lips. "Don't get all shy on me now, Andrews."

My embarrassment vanished in a puff of smoke, and I was back to aching with need for him. I swallowed with resolve. "I won't."

In a daring move, my fingers brushed over him, and he stiffened.

"Becks," he murmured, bringing his mouth down to my ear and leaving small bites on my earlobe. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"You're killing me first."

He pressed a kiss on my temple. "I know. I've got you."

"I know," I whimpered against his shoulder, our bodies skin to skin as he intertwined our fingers beside us.

I squeezed his hand and groaned loudly when he slipped right in. He clamped his free hand over my mouth, subsiding my moans and bringing our intertwined ones above our heads. With each thrust, I found myself slowly giving in. I threw my head back into the mattress for a zillionth time, breathing heavily with stifled groans until I came around and started moving with him in sync.

Earlier, I'd said that ruining Rebecca's mood was the highlight of my evening. Obviously, I hadn't been in bed with Matthew Williams yet.

So, scratch that.

Sleeping with my boyfriend for the very first time was the highlight of my evening.

After about an hour of us working each other up, him getting foreign sounds and screams of his name out of me, him coaxing and whispering to me things sweet enough to give me butterflies in the stomach and hot and dirty enough to make me feel a thousand emotions in a single moment, I was lying next to him, gazing up at the ceiling with a smile. I could feel his eyes on me.

"Wow," I muttered, still a little breathless.

He chuckled softly and leaned forward to place his lips against my bare shoulder. I didn't think my smile could get any wider. I clutched the sheets covering my body and turned on my side to face him.

"I can't believe I would've missed this because of you."

"What do you mean?" He looked baffled.

"You didn't want me to show up at the party earlier when Aiden told me about it." I pouted.

"You ever think that maybe I didn't wanna show up, but now since you were going to, I'd definitely had to?"

"Why didn't you wanna show up?"

"I had plans..." He raised a suggestive brow. "...with you."

"With me?"

"I had the evening planned out. A nice restaurant. Ice cream in that parlour later. And then we'd do whatever you wanted to. Most probably, head over to the coffeeshop for your strawberry milkshake."

My mouth fell open. "No way! You were planning our first date?"

His eyes raked over my face softly. "This beats everything."

"Yeah." I grinned. "But for next time, how about let's ditch this party, Becks. I wanna make you feel special tonight?"

He nodded, a slow smile appearing on his lips. "I'll keep that in mind."

"But then again, if this is what we end up doing instead, it's totally acceptable. It's way past acceptable. It's encouraged." I held up finger guns at him.

He crossed his arms in front of himself and just gazed at me like a puppy, inhaling deeply. "Is this real? I still can't believe it."

"You can't believe it? I should be the one saying that. You've been with many girls before."

"What can I say, Becks? Never found a girl like you before."

I blushed. "Do you use that line on everyone?"

"Maybe," he answered playfully.

My jaw dropped, and I narrowed my eyes at him. Letting out a laugh, he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me on top of him like I weighed nothing and stroked my face. "How did I get so lucky, Becks?"

I crossed my arms on his chest, not bothering to hold the sheets in place anymore and shrugged. "I don't know, Matt. You must have been a good boy this year, so Santa was extra nice."

He grinned, and I ducked my head down to kiss him again. He'd just started to respond when I pulled back with a gasp, realizing something.

"Oh my God! Bella!"

I sat up on the bed, looking around the room, especially under the study table.

"What?" Matt asked.

"Where's Bella?"

"She's in my parents' room with the kittens."

"Oh! Thank God!" I let out the biggest sigh and fell back on the bed, laughing. "She's usually in your room, and I thought she was here the whole time. God!"

"Would that have been so bad?" He raised a brow.

"Yes, Matt! It would've been so weird. Don't tell me you've done it in front of one of your cats before."

"Not that I know of."

"It's good to know none of them have had to sit through that. It really would've scarred them."

"I think they wouldn't care and just go to sleep. They'd probably hiss at the noises once or twice or maybe scratch one of us in annoyance while we—oh yes, I see your point now. I'm gonna be more careful next time."

I bit down on my lip to hold back a smile. "Next time?"

"Yeah?" Suddenly, there was a hint of panic in his eyes. "Are you saying there won't be... wait, Becks—"

"Oh my God, relax!" I squished his cheeks with a chuckle. I really loved watching his lips pucker out like that. "I was just messing with you."

He sighed in relief but frowned a moment later when I got out of bed and started collecting my clothes from the floor.

"You're leaving already?"

"Already? It's way past dinner time. I'm late."

He nodded and fell back against the pillow, just watching me with a little smirk.

I blushed slightly, and right after I clasped my bra, I grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it on his face. "Don't be a creep, Williams."

He laughed and pulled the pillow away, puckering his lips like a child. "I'm gonna miss you."

I felt my heart swell. "You say all this stuff that I'm too shy to say, thinking I'll sound like some clingy girlfriend, but when you say it, I feel like I could hear it all day. So, screw it. I'm gonna miss you too, Matt. Can't wait to see you tomorrow morning."

I leaned over him and pecked his lips. He grabbed my arms before I could pull away completely and rubbed circles on them. "You can say anything you want to me."

"I know."

He let go of me reluctantly, and when I turned around to grab my shorts from the floor, I noticed something familiar on his study table. It was the red rose I'd left him with the note. He'd placed it in a glass of water to keep it alive for as long as possible.

Another round of butterflies in my stomach.

"Your clothes are wet. Let me give you something of mine." He started to get out of bed, but I stopped him.

"No. I can't show up at my house in your clothes. It's fine. I'll just go and change quickly. It's right across the street."

"Okay."

"Bye."

He held my gaze for a moment longer, then gave out another reluctant sigh. "Bye."

I made my way to the door and stepped out with a blush. The party was almost over. Most of the people had already left. My friends, too. They'd left me a text to let me know.

I couldn't wipe the ridiculous grin off my face all the way to my house and just hoped my parents wouldn't be home yet to see me like that.

I quietly opened the front door, hoping Mrs. Brooke would be the only person I would run into, but a voice startled me.

"Surprise!"

I stopped dead in my tracks and faced the person in the living room, then let out a laugh full of surprise and excitement at the sight of my older brother.

"Blake?"