25. Audrey

CHAPTER 25

Audrey

I t’s always the quiet ones. That’s what everyone always said. But I didn’t expect him to talk so dirty. I was pretty sure I could come from that alone. How was he so good at this? He was a quiet, shy nerd, and yet he played with my body with such precision. The first time, he’d asked me to tell him what I liked. Tonight, he’d taken charge, and I liked giving him control over my body.

I liked when he praised me, too. Or called me his.

Like I really was his girlfriend.

I didn’t really know what we were doing, but I couldn’t find it in me to care. Not when it felt this good, when I was panting after crying out his name loud enough that his entire house probably had heard me.

He ran his hands through his hair as he stood up, looking at me.

My eyes narrowed on the bulge in his pants.

Parker was hard. For me . From going down on me. And I really wanted to return the favor this time. Wanted to touch him. Taste him. To make him come the way he had for me.

Sliding off the bed, I kneeled in front of him.

“Audrey,” Parker groaned. “You don’t have to?—”

“I know,” I murmured, unzipping his pants. “I want to.”

I’d never particularly enjoyed giving blowjobs before. Maybe because with Duke, it felt more transactional. Honestly, sex with him was never great. Looking back, I questioned why I even stayed with him for so long. Why I let him make me feel so small.

Parker didn’t do that, though. He made me feel like I was cherished. Valued. Appreciated. Loved.

Outside of this room, our relationship was all fake. I knew it was. And yet, I couldn’t help but wish for more. That he’d love me. That this was real.

That at the end of the day, he’d pull me into his arms and we’d dance in the cotton candy clouds until the end credits rolled. But this isn’t a fairytale.

Still, I wanted him to know how special he was. Wanted him to be cared for.

Pushing his pants and boxers down his hips in one movement, I freed his length fully. God, he was big. And the tip was glistening, a drop of pre-cum oozing out. I traced a pink nail over his cock, and Parker shivered from the motion.

“Fuck, Rosie,” he groaned. “What are you doing to me?”

Darting out my tongue, I swiped it over the head before moving my attention down the length, coating him in my saliva. I looked up at him through my eyelashes, blinking as I took the head into my mouth, running my tongue around the rim.

Wrapping my hand around his shaft, I slowly pumped him as I sucked lightly, my cheeks hollowing out.

“Harder,” he gritted out like he was trying to hold himself back.

His hand wrapped around mine as he squeezed tighter, both of us working him in tandem.

With my free hand, I ran my fingers through my folds, gathering up the wetness and rubbing it over my clit, moaning as I took him in deeper.

“Audrey.” He cursed. “Fuck.” Parker’s free hand wrapped around my ponytail, tugging it back, forcing my eyes to meet his. “That feels so good. There’s no way I’m going to last.”

I pulled off of him. “It’s okay,” I said, my voice hardly more than a rasp. “I want to make you feel good. You can come if you want.” I fluttered my eyelashes. “Let me taste you, too.”

He groaned as I sealed my mouth over him once again, flattening my tongue and breathing through my nose as I took inch after inch of his thick, hard cock.

“You’re fucking incredible,” Parker encouraged as I gagged a little, unable to take him too much deeper. Still, he took over, wrapping my ponytail around his hand as his hips started to thrust.

And I let him. Because fuck, being on my knees in front of him, watching him throw his head back in pleasure as he used my throat… I’d never felt more sexy. More desired.

Like he was losing his mind with need as much as I was.

But he was also careful not to go too deep, like he knew there was only so much I could take. Because as much as I wanted to deep throat him, there was no way I could. But Parker didn’t seem to mind.

“I’m gonna come,” he grunted, his cock swelling in my mouth. He pulled out to the tip, but I kept my lips closed around him as he spilled in my mouth, rope after rope of his cum settling onto my tongue. And the face he made as he lost it, his eyes closed in pleasure… a shiver ran down my spine.

I ran my tongue over my lip as I swallowed, making sure I got every drop.

And then Parker pulled me to my feet before kissing me, not caring that he’d just come in my mouth. That I tasted like him.

“That was—wow.” He laughed. “You okay?” He wiped his thumb under my eyes, gathering up the moisture I hadn’t even realized was pooled there.

“More than okay,” I nodded, smiling at him. “That was fun.”

He chuckled, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Want to stay tonight? We don’t have to do anything else, but?—”

Parker didn’t even need to finish the thought before I answered, “Yeah.”

Because I liked sleeping in his arms.

And because I wanted to soak up these moments for as long as I had them.

Laying across Parker’s bed days later, I twirled a strand of hair around my finger as I looked up from the notes I was studying for one of my upper division theater classes. They were written in my favorite pink sparkly pen, and I traced a manicured nail over the paper.

Parker was quiet and withdrawn tonight, and I didn’t know why. But I wanted to make it better. Wanted him to talk to me, so I could understand what was going on inside his head.

We didn’t keep secrets from each other. Not as best friends.

And not as whatever we were now , either. We still hadn’t had sex, but that hadn’t stopped us from doing other things. Including kissing a lot.

“Parker.”

“Yeah?” He looked up from his architectural textbook. We were both studying on his bed, both unable to go even five minutes without touching the other. He’d play with my hair, or I’d rest my feet in his lap.

“What’s wrong?” I poked at his arm. “And don’t tell me nothing because I know you. Something’s on your mind.”

Parker sighed. “My old team is playing us in two weeks.”

“Oh?” I frowned, sitting up against his pillows. “Shouldn’t you be excited to see your old friends? You were with those guys for three years, after all.”

“Yeah.” Parker shut his eyes, dropping his head to my lap. “I was. But…”

Running my fingers through Parker’s hair, I massaged his scalp. He hummed, his eyes closed like he was enjoying my hands on him.

“Parker,” I murmured, keeping my voice low, like I was trying not to spook a horse. “What happened?” I’d suspected there was something, but he’d never told me. Even when I’d asked about his reason for transferring, he’d avoided the subject.

Was he… embarrassed? Because he didn’t need to be. I knew that whatever the situation was, he hadn’t told me for a reason.

He took a deep breath, his amber eyes blinking open to look into mine. “My ex-girlfriend cheated on me.”

“The fuck? She cheated on you?” God, that fucking sucked. I’d been there, and it was the worst feeling in the world. But also on him ? He was the biggest cinnamon roll boyfriend on the planet. I couldn’t imagine why anyone could have him and look elsewhere for more.

He chuckled. “Yeah. But that wasn’t even the worst part. It was who she cheated on me with.” His eyes were glued to the ceiling instead of on me.

“Who?” I hated to ask, having a bad feeling I knew exactly what he was going to say, but I wanted to keep him talking, so I just kept running my hands through his silky soft light brown strands.

“My teammate. We were close. Like brothers. And, fuck, I wasn’t even upset that she cheated.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “How fucked up is that? I was—still am, actually—upset that he’d broken my trust. We got into a fight on the field. Lost the game because of it. I cost our team the championship, Audrey.” He was choked up. “Because she wasn’t getting enough attention from me, so she turned to him, and I?—”

“Hey,” I reassured him. “It’s okay.”

Parker frowned up at me. “It’s not. I never should have let that happen. I should have?—”

I stopped petting his hair. “Parker, have you talked to anyone about this?”

His cheeks were dotted with pink. “I’m talking to you, aren’t I?”

“I mean like… a therapist, babe. Someone who can help you work through all your feelings.” I gave him a sad smile.

He shook his head. “No.” Parker sighed. “I know I should. I just…”

“I know.” Slinging an arm around his shoulder, I leaned my head against his. “But I’m here whenever you want to talk.”

“Thank you, Audrey,” he said, closing his eyes. “You have no idea how much I appreciate that you’re in my life.”

“Always,” I responded, meaning it. “No matter what happens, I’ll always be here for you, Parker.”

We sat in silence for a while after that, just holding each other on his bed. Words weren’t needed, not when we had each other.

Running my fingers through my curls, I separated out the ringlets, making them look like pretty waves. I’d finished Ella’s hair and makeup already, sending her back to the event—though I suspected she’d end up making a pit stop at Cam’s first, with the amount of texts they’d been sending back and forth.

It was officially the date of the spring formal, and with the way everything had been developing between Parker and me over the last week, it felt so much more real.

Like this really was a date.

We were still pretending to be in a relationship, and yet it was so much more.

Parker was picking me up at the sorority house, and then we were driving over together.

A lot of the girls had already left the house, leaving it much quieter than it had been an hour ago. I slipped my heels on, looking at my outfit in the mirror.

My floor-length gown was a dusty rose color, adorned with sparkles, and the neckline of the dress had roses that went all the way around. I’d fallen in love with it when I saw it, and it had been an obvious choice.

I got little butterflies as Parker’s text came in, letting me know he had arrived.

Heading downstairs, I opened the front door, seeing him standing on the stoop in a suit and tie. Damn, he looked good.

And his tie… It was the color of my dress. He had matched me.

“Hi.” He stepped in, pressing a soft kiss against my cheek.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Hey.”

“Wow.” Parker’s jaw dropped open. “You look…”

“Good, right?” I did a little spin for him, loving the way my pink formal dress rippled around me. “Does it get the fake boyfriend stamp of approval?”

He made a show of looking me up and down, and then nodded. “It’s beautiful, Rosie.”

My cheeks warmed. I like that he called me that. Not Aud. I always hated when people shortened Audrey. Ella called me Ro, short for my middle name, Rose. And Parker… Parker had always called me Rosie. His childhood nickname for me somehow held more meaning now.

“Thank you. You look very handsome yourself.”

He adjusted his lapel. “Have to look good as your boyfriend, don’t I?”

I giggled as he held out a hand, placing mine in his. Parker kissed the top of my hand. “Shall we?”

Nodding, he interlaced our fingers together, the two of us walking hand in hand to his car.

There was a giddy excitement I felt holding his hand like this, one that I tried to ignore before. But I couldn’t ignore how much I liked it when he called himself my boyfriend, how much I liked him being the one by my side in everything I did.

Instead of Parker moving to open the car door for me, the way he always did, we stood facing each other, his eyes sweeping over my face like he was taking all of me in.

I couldn’t help but do the same, studying his face. Those beautiful amber eyes, the streaks of gold in them even more apparent this close up. His long eyelashes, those cheekbones that anyone would be jealous of. His strong jaw. Those soft, kissable lips.

He was gorgeous.

And he was mine. My best friend. My everything.

“Audrey.”

“Hmm?” I tried to ignore the butterflies as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

He smiled. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

“O-okay,” I whispered, tilting up my face as he cupped my cheeks, bringing his down to meet me.

We’d kissed so many times, and yet, losing myself in this one was easy. Because it felt different.

There was a gravity here that I’d never felt before. Like maybe all this time, we’d just been circling around this. As if whatever trajectory we’d been on had been leading us here.

And I never wanted it to end.