Playing With Fire (Sweet Secrets #3) (10 page)

Chapter 18

Shane smoothed my hair down on one side, and stared into my eyes with a slight smile on his handsome face. I slid closer, snuggling against him and reveling in the warmth from his body heat and the thick comforter that covered us. We’d been lying in this position for nearly an hour now, just staring at each other, and talking now and then. We talked about random things, like our favorite colors, shows, musicians, and anything else we could think of. I was surprised to find out that I didn’t even know his favorite color was blue. How did I go nearly six months without knowing that? It just proved I had a lot more to learn about him.

Sliding closer, I pressed my chest to his and gave him a quick peck on the lips, making him smile.

“What was that for?” he asked. “Not that I’m complaining.” His arms tightened around my body, keeping me pressed against him.

“It was just because you’re so cute,” I answered with a shrug.

He let out a breathy laugh. “Well, then in that case you deserve a million kisses because you’re way more than cute. You’re beautiful.” His words were spoken softly, and as he said the last part his gaze roamed my face. “Seriously, I could look at you all day.” His statement was filled with sincerity, and it gave me chills.

I lowered my gaze as my cheeks burned. “You’re so cheesy.”

“Cheesy and cute?”

I nodded, meeting his eyes again.

He smirked. “Well, then I’m fine with that. I think that’s a good balance of adjectives.”

“It is,” I agreed, smiling sweetly.

Shane’s gaze held mine. “Do you still not trust me?”

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. When we had our conversation a few days ago, I thought we’d cleared everything up. I was no longer going to use his past against him. We were starting our relationship over on a clean slate. I wasn’t going to not trust him because of how he treated girls in the past. It was wrong for me to use his mistakes against him when he never gave me a reason not to trust him. He was completely honest with me. If he could forgive my mistake, then how hypocritical would it be for me not to forgive his past that had nothing to do with me?

I must have taken too long to reply, because Shane spoke again. “I really hope you can trust me, because I really like you and I want this to work.”

“I do trust you,” I answered. “I really want this to work too. Also, I like you a lot, if you couldn’t tell by how persistent I was in trying to get you to forgive me.”

He cracked a smile. “I know.” He kissed my forehead. “I really like having you around, though.”

“I like having you around too,” I responded.

He shook his head. “I don’t think you get it. I’ve never felt this way about a girl before. This is all new territory for me. I think about you all the time, even when I’m with you, and I want to spend all of my time with you. I feel like I can just be myself when I’m around you, and the only other person I really feel like I can be myself with is Carter.” Shane cupped my cheek in his hand and stroked it with his thumb. “And no offense to him or anything, but you’re way more attractive.” He scrunched his nose in disgust.

Laughter bubbled up inside of me, shaking my body lightly as it broke through. “I know way too many girls who would disagree.”

“Their opinions don’t matter to me.” He continued to stroke his thumb over my cheek. “You make me happy, and that’s what matters.” His gaze lowered, and I noticed that his cheeks had blushed a tint of red. He looked kind of embarrassed, and I wondered if it was because he’d just opened up to me and expressed his feelings. I knew he didn’t do that a lot, so it had to be hard for him. He looked so vulnerable and adorable. I liked seeing this side of him. I was happy that he felt comfortable enough with me to open up and be himself.

Raising my hand to his chin, I tilted it upwards and leaned forward to connect my lips to his. He was caught off guard, but it only took him a mere second before his lips were moving against mine. The kiss was soft and passionate. Our lips locked and moved against each other’s slowly, the warmth from his mouth spreading to mine and throughout my body. When he traced his tongue along my lip, I opened my mouth instantly, allowing his to enter along with the sharp taste of spearmint.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him impossibly closer. I tossed one leg over his hips and pulled until his body was on top of mine. He balanced himself above me, our lips never disconnecting. Even with our bodies pressed together, I wanted us to be closer. I slid my hands under his shirt and traced my fingers over the hard lines of his chest. He moaned in the back of his throat, and our kiss grew deeper and more needy. Our lips only broke apart for a moment as I slid his shirt off over his head before he slammed his mouth back to mine.

I kept my legs firmly wrapped around his hips as my fingers intertwined in his hair. There was an insatiable need burning inside of me the deeper our kiss grew. In less than a few minutes, Shane had slipped my shirt and jeans off, and I was bunching his bottoms at his ankles.

Finally, as if he realized what he was doing, Shane pulled away, causing me to groan at the absence of his lips. “We can wait until you’re ready. I want you to be comfortable.”

I pulled him back down to me and kissed him softly on the lips for being so sweet and thoughtful. Then I stared him directly in his eyes as I whispered, “I’m ready. I trust you.”

Chapter 19

A crowd of people exited the airport all at once. Excitement coursed through my veins as I jumped up and down, scanning the crowd in hopes of getting a glimpse of Lena’s bright red hair. My heart raced in my chest at the thought of finally getting to see her after months of being separated. I had so much to say, but most of all, the first thing I wanted to do was give her a bone-crushing bear hug.

Thanks to John, Lena was coming to spend the weekend here as a surprise for my mom’s birthday tomorrow. Since everything, including Lena’s flight in to San Diego, was a surprise, I was given the task of picking her up from the airport. Grandma and Grandpa were in on the surprise, since that’s were Lena would be staying the night, so Grandpa let me borrow his car to come and get her.

As I stood by the car, waiting for Lena to come out, I watched all of the other people make their way to their taxis or family members. Those without rides stood around on their phones, while others made their way to different areas designated for metro, or car garages. Finally, after the main crowd was gone, the doors opened and out came Lena, wearing a thick sweater and pulling her bright red suitcase behind her. Her eyes scanned the Kiss and Ride area until she saw me, and when she did, she let go of her suitcase and came running.

“Ella,” she screeched, running full speed toward me.

I opened my arms just as her body slammed into mine, lifting me up and spinning me around.

“I missed you so much, you little goober,” she said, setting me back on my feet. She gripped my face in both hands and kissed my nose.

“Gross,” I groaned, wiping my nose with the back of my hand and pulling my head from her grasp, but she could tell from the smile on my face that I was only kidding. “I missed you too.”

Lena flicked her hair back and raised an eyebrow. “Of course you did. I’m your role model. You were probably lost without me.” She winked before going to retrieve her suitcase.

I laughed, and shook my head. “If anyone was lost without you, it was Carter. Poor guy was so sad when I told him I wanted to pick you up alone.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Aw, he’s so cute. I can’t wait to see him. What’s the plan for today?” she asked, pulling the back door open and placing her luggage on the backseat. “Can I drive?”

I nodded and opened the passenger door. “We’re going to meet the guys at the diner,” I answered, as she went around to the driver’s side. When we were both inside the car and buckled up, I added, “I felt bad about trying to keep you all to myself, so I told Carter we’d be there. Shane’s coming so I’m not stuck being a third wheel.”

Lena smirked as she flicked her eyes at me. “You wouldn’t be a third wheel,” she lied through her teeth. Then she started the car, checked her mirrors, and pulled out onto the main road.

“That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard.”

She laughed, and I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt. It was nice hearing her laugh, and I loved being around her again. “How are you and Shane doing?”

If it was possible, my smile stretched wider at the thought of him. We were doing amazingly well. I bit my lip and twisted my hands together on my lap. After a second, I focused my eyes on her face, wanting to see her reaction when I told her. “Actually, I have something to tell you that happened.”

Lena furrowed her eyebrows, but kept her eyes on the road.

“I had sex with Shane,” I said suddenly, the words just tumbling out of my mouth.

Lena’s mouth dropped open, and she turned for a second to look at me with wide eyes before she looked at the road again. “What?” she practically screamed. “Seriously?”

I nodded, but since she wasn’t looking at me I said, “Seriously.”

“Holy cow.” She was quiet for a moment, and I could tell from her expression that she was thinking about something. Then she said, “Was it good?”

“Yeah,” I answered, not believing that we were actually talking about this. “It was kind of mind blowing. We were so close, and it was so intimate. I was afraid he was going to change afterwards, but he’s still caring, and I’m happy I was connected with him in such an emotional way.”

“
Aw,
” she cooed, dragging the word out. “That’s really sweet.” Then she pursed her lips and frowned. “You used protection, right?”

My mouth dropped open at her question. “Of course!”

When she stopped at a red light she looked me in the eye. “Good. You better always use it too. Big sister is always watching.”

I groaned and she smirked. “You’re so embarrassing.”

“You missed me, though,” she countered, pulling off. We turned into the diner’s parking lot, and she parked in a spot close to the entrance.

“Yeah, just a little,” I responded.

She cut the engine and faced me with a smile on her pretty face. “Yeah, right. I’ll believe that when hell freezes over and pigs fly.”

I rolled my eyes and undid my belt. Once we were both out of the car, Lena ran around and hugged me again, kissing my cheek before tossing her arm over my shoulder and pulling me toward the front door of the diner.

“Oh my gosh,” she said when we got to the front door. Her hand gripped the handle, and we were seconds from entering. “I’m about to see Carter. What if he looks different?”

I frowned at the back of her head. “He looks the same. Didn’t you two video-chat with each other?”

“Yeah, but what if he got taller or something.”

“He didn’t.”

She turned her head back and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I answered, rolling my eyes. “Let’s just go inside.”

Lena stood up straighter and took a deep breath. She straightened out her sweater, pushing the sleeves up a quarter of the way, and then adjusted her jeans. “Do I look okay?”

“You look fine.”

She frowned at me.

I groaned. “You look perfect. Carter’s going to freak when he sees you,” I reassured her. “
Now
, can we go in?”

She nodded. “Okay.” Then she pulled the door open, and a bell dinged as we entered. I spotted the guys instantly, sitting at our usual table. Both of the guys’ heads snapped up at the sound of the bell, and Carter stood up from the table instantly, a huge smile stretched across his face. Next to me, Lena let out a little squealing noise before she began to speed walk through the diner, weaving in and out of the tables faster than I’d ever seen before. When she reached Carter, he pulled her in for a tight hug and ran his hand through her hair.

When I got to the table, I slid in next to Shane and gave him a light kiss on the lips before I looked back up at Lena and Carter. They were so cute, just standing there, hugging each other tightly. They stayed in that embrace for a while, pulling back afterwards to smile giddily and kiss.

After they finally sat down in the booth across from us, they still continued to stare at each other. Shane and I tried to make small conversation with them, but it was like they were in their own little world. The only time they looked away from each other was when they ordered their food. Even then Carter didn’t go a second without touching Lena. He held her hand, tucked her hair behind her ear, kissed her cheek, draped his arm over her shoulder, and anything else he could do to find an excuse to be near her. It went on like that for a while before Shane and I just decided to talk on our own.

We were there for an hour and a half just eating and talking before Lena yawned loudly, and told me she was ready to get some rest. It was a quarter to eight, but knowing her, she probably didn’t sleep a wink while she was on the plane.

Carter groaned and pouted. “Already?”

Lena looked sad, but she nodded nonetheless. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I’m just really tired.” She leaned into his side and laid her head on his shoulder. “You can come over tomorrow and we can spend the day together. John said you’re invited to my mom’s party.”

Carter’s expression brightened up. “Really? He did?”

Lena nodded. “I asked if you could come and he said, ‘The more the merrier,’” she said, deepening her voice drastically as she imitated John.

Carter smiled, then held Lena’s head in both hands and kissed her forehead.

“Am I invited?” Shane asked me.

“Of course,” I answered. “As long as you don’t mind seeing my mom and John again.” I raised an eyebrow. I did my best to keep Shane away from the house after we got caught together, but my mom expressed that she wanted to meet him properly, so this was her chance. She knew we were dating now, but that’s as far as her information went.

Shane chuckled and shrugged. “As long as it’s under better circumstances this time, I think I’ll be fine.”

We paid, and then the guys walked us to the car. Shane wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder as we waited for Carter and Lena to say their goodbyes. They acted like they weren’t ever going to see each other again. They kissed and hugged, and every time one of them was ready to go the other would pull them back in.

Shane laughed lightly in my ear. “This is going to take forever,” he said after a moment.

“They’re so cute,” I cooed.

Shane’s arms wrapped around me tighter and he kissed the side of my neck. Tingles ran down my spine from his touch. “Maybe, but we’re cuter,” he countered.

Finally after Lena and Carter were able to pry themselves away from each other, I kissed Shane goodbye, and we headed back to our grandparents’ house. The ride was short, and we talked about how sweet it was that John paid for a flight for her to come here for Mom’s birthday.

As soon as we entered the house, our grandparents swooped in on us, hugging Lena and asking her question after question. Lena looked so excited to see them, but when she let her first yawn slip out, Grandma offered to make up the bed for her.

“Can we both sleep in the guest room?” Lena asked.

Grandma nodded, and went to get the bed ready for us while we went up to get ready for bed. Once our bed was ready, we both climbed in and got comfortable. For a while we carried on a conversation about how she was excited to see Mom and the twins, and even John, tomorrow. Lena didn’t make it half an hour before falling asleep. She was out cold before we even finished talking, and afterwards I fell asleep to the sound of her breathing, just happy to have my sister around.