Penelope Douglas - Until You

I was a sick man.

I could humiliate her, isolate her, and hurt her, but sleeping in her bed while she was away was too invasive? Yeah, I couldn’t explain it, either.

She leaned in, trailing kisses along my jawline. Shivers spread out across my arms when she whispered against my neck. “I definitely want you in my bed. And I love you.”

Closing my eyes, a big, fat smile spread across my face. If only Madoc could see me now.

Or maybe not…

“Say it again.”

“I love you,” she said louder with a laugh in her voice.

“More,” I taunted.

“I love you.” She kissed my cheek. “I love you.” Another kiss. “I love you.” And she kept teasing me with her soft, wet kisses until I caught her lips and kissed her hard.

We’re never leaving this shower.

“How are you feeling?” I asked when I’d let her go.

“Good.” She nodded and wiggled her eyebrows. “Maybe we should see what it’s like in water.”

Heat and every other fucking source of energy inside of me shot downward, but the crushing disappointment hit me like a brick.

“Can’t,” I mumbled. “I don’t have any more condoms.”

Maybe Tate had some.

Wait… she fucking better not.

“Jared, I want a picture!” my loud-mouthed and unusually invasive mother shouted as I raced up the stairs.

Picture?

I shook off my annoyance as I looked for my car keys on my dresser. Tate and I were headed to Homecoming.

Scratch that—Tate, Madoc, and I were headed to Homecoming. They were both waiting outside when all I really wanted to do was punch him in the gut, send him home, and skip town with Tate for the weekend.

But…the asshole did have a hand in making me jealous, forcing me to act, and he was a good friend.

Most of all, though, Tate wanted to go. I owed her that.

“No pictures. Jesus,” I cursed, shaking my head as I snatched my keys and rushed downstairs.

But my mother was waiting at the bottom. “Oh, no you don’t.” She grabbed my arm to stop me as I tried to walk past her.

I turned, trying to appear annoyed, but I was a little amused at how naturally she wore the mother role.

Ever since our heart-to-heart at the fish pond, we’d found some common ground. We still weren’t all hugs and kisses, but we spoke gentler and showed more patience.

“What?” I couldn’t hide the smile that peeked out. “I don’t do pictures…Mom.”

Her eyes widened with a sparkle, and she cleared her throat before straightening my black tie.

“Alright, but I do have something to say, and you’re not going to like it.” She kept her eyes trained on her task of fixing my tie and steadied her voice with a firm tone. “Honey, I couldn’t be happier that you and Tate found your way back to each other—”

Oh, Christ.

I started to turn away.

“But,” she said loudly, pulling me back around to face her, “baby mommas don’t usually marry baby daddies.”

Every word was bit out like I was too stupid to understand.

I cocked my head to the side and looked down at her, indulging her need to make a point I already understood.

Don’t get Tate pregnant. Yeah, thanks. I got it!

Her eyes peered up at mine, threatening. “You’ve been over there almost every night—well, every night, actually—and if you make me a thirty-six year old grandmother, I’m going to kill you.”

She was joking.

I think.

Anyway, my mother had nothing to worry about. Tate and I were careful, and she’d been keeping me off of her all week anyway. She didn’t want to get distracted from classes, and I hadn’t been pushing it.

Tonight, though? Yeah, she was in for it.

Letting out a sigh, I gave my mother a quick peck on the cheek and slid out the front door.

Tate was standing on her front porch, looking gorgeous as hell, talking to Madoc like they were friends.

I shook my head, not believing the turn of events. She’d broken his nose, kicked him in the junk, and traded words more than once with him.

But she was like her dad. Solve the problem and move on.

And Madoc was more than ready to move on. He had been excited for the dance, and was dressed to impress. We looked almost exactly the same, but whereas I wore all black, he changed his suit up with a purple tie.

Tate still looked the same—beautiful and glowing—but a little more dangerous. I half-expected to get in a fight over someone flirting with her tonight. She was wearing a tight, nude-colored, strapless dress that fell mid-thigh. I could see so much of her skin that it was pretty clear what she looked like naked.

Walking up to Tate, I kissed the soft spot under her ear. “Sorry that took so long. My mom was giving me a talk.”

“About?” she pressed, as Madoc came over and took her other arm.

“About not getting you pregnant,” I whispered out of the corner of my mouth but kept my eyes forward.

Even though I wasn’t looking at her, though, I could see her stiffen, and I heard her clear her throat.

And I shouldn’t have told her that.

I really needed to put a halt to my honesty streak, but there was still something I needed to tell her, and I’d been on too much of a high the last week to face it.

Later, I told myself.

“Are we ready?” Madoc asked from her other side.

Her clutch on my arm relaxed, and I felt her exhale a breath.

“Totally,” she nodded at Madoc. “This is the start of a great friendship.”

“It could be the start of a great porno, too,” Madoc shot back, and I clenched my fists.

“Son of a bitch!” I yelled, half-annoyed and half-joking. “You’re going to get it tonight,” I warned, but they both just laughed.

The Homecoming dance was exactly what I thought it would be. Pictures, punch, and poor-ass music. The gym had been decorated in a New York theme, which Tate loved, and I was extremely fucking delighted that Madoc had joined us, after all.

He filled in where I failed.

Dancing in public? Check.

Cutsie pictures with loving poses? Check.

Polite, futile, nonsensical chatter? Check.

I played along, but situations like this were like eating a mouthful of lemons. Madoc made it more fun for Tate at least.

And her?

She read me like a book.

She was light on the public displays of affection and heavy on the eye fucking.

I couldn’t wait to get her home.

But we had another appearance to put in first.

“Are you sure you want to go?” I asked her as we walked hand-in-hand up the Beckman’s driveway.

Tori and Bryan Beckman, twins and our classmates, were having an after party, and Madoc insisted that we get our thumbs out of our asses and get crazy.

“I’m fine,” she whispered. “Not tired at all.”

I raised my eyebrows and shook my head. I wasn’t worried about her being tired, but I didn’t want to bring up last year’s incident, either. That’s what I was really worried about.

A year ago, before Tate had left for France, I’d let Madoc dump her car keys in the pool here and watched as she dived in to fish them out.

She’d been humiliated, and I figured this was the last place she’d want to be.

In fact, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be here myself.

Not only did I have our own after-party planned, but the longer I waited to come clean about the rest of the story, the more it was the only thing I thought about. I’d been sitting on it all week, and it was time to bite the fucking bullet.

I needed to tell her about Jax.

Walking through the ceramic-tiled foyer, we followed Madoc down the carpeted stairs into the huge dipped living room.

The big room already bustled with at least sixty or seventy of our classmates, and the music pounded so hard, I could feel it through my shoes.

My arm stretched behind me, and I looked back, noticing that Tate had come to a complete halt.

I let out a sigh. Shit.

Her chest rose and fell quickly, and she swallowed, clearly nervous. Like a deer in headlights.

My stomach tightened, and I just wanted to take her out of there now. This was a bad idea.

“Tate, are you okay?” I kept my voice soft, but I was afraid she’d haul off and break my nose this time instead of Madoc’s like she did here a year ago.

She narrowed her eyes as she looked around, and then she just shook her head. “Yeah, I need a drink.”

I didn’t believe her, but the corners of my mouth turned up anyway.

Tough girl.

We squeezed through a throng of people coming out of the kitchen as Adrenalize by In This Moment blasted throughout the house. Madoc was already making drinks, and I watched as Tate took the one he offered.

I was the designated driver tonight—well, pretty much any night, since I barely drank in public—and I definitely didn’t plan on staying here long anyway. I just stood there, trying not to laugh as she choked down the dark liquid.

Madoc grinned from ear to ear as she tipped her chin up, swallowed the last of her drink and then threw the cup into the sink.

She coughed into her hand, and all I could do was hold her waist, letting her get comfortable.

She should have fun. I didn’t want her nervous or scared that a prank was going to go down.

And that’s why she was drinking, so I just let it be.

“Aw, she’s as red as a tomato,” Madoc joked.