Just a Pucking Prank [COMPLETED]

Chapter 37 - She left

Wes

My friends mean well. They want me to celebrate finally saying no to Chloe. I was hoping they would forget, but they keep introducing puck bunnies to me.

To make them happy, I strike up a conversation with one of them. But the whole time, my attention is on Lydia. All I want to do is grab her and kiss her. I want to tear that dress off her and take her right here, right now. It's using all my willpower not to stare at her, to walk over and grab her.

The woman at my side has no idea where my thoughts are. She keeps chattering about meaningless things. Even after Lydia tries to get rid of her.

Being so close to her and not being allowed to touch her is torture. But it's what she wants. She wants sex. Secret sex. So that's what I've settled for. For a month, I've been trying to find a way to lure her out of her shell, to get her to say she wants more. But she changes the topic. She's let me know over and over that she wants nothing more.

And I can't give her up. So I take what I can get.

I watch her from afar as she dances with Jonathan. She lets him touch her and I want to punch him. I want to tear him off her and claim her. Because at some point, my feelings for her have changed. I've seen her softer side, the side she never shows anyone else. I've woken up in her bed and stared at her for hours.

The rules are clear. And apparently she doesn't want to change them. It was stupid of me to think she might want more. That she might want to actually be seen with me.

Maybe it would have been different if I had seen the real her from the start. But, at first, all I could see was a spoiled brat who took what she wanted, who slept with who she wanted and moved on.

I didn't know she had nightmares that disappear when I put my arm around her. I didn't know she was so passionate about working in media. And I didn't know she has a scar on her hip that she refuses to talk about.

And now that I do... I have to safeguard my heart. Because breaking up with Chloe was hard, but much too easy. If I fall for Lydia, I wouldn't be able to survive a breakup.

Maybe it's self-preservation that makes me follow the puck bunny upstairs. Maybe it's the looks my roommates give me when they see it. Maybe it's the alcohol I drank to keep me from throwing Lydia over my shoulder and carrying her to my bedroom.

So, I follow her up the stairs. Because Lydia is dancing with Jonathan. She's letting him touch her when I should be the only one. I follow her into a bedroom because Lydia laughed at a joke my teammate said. I even let her close the door.

But when she turns her head up, expecting a kiss, I feel sick.

"This is a bad idea," I say.

She blinks and stares at me. "What?"

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

"Now? We could do a quickie?" She slides her hand up my chest, but it's wrong. I grab it and lift it away.

"Yeah, I have to go."

I have to let Lydia know I didn't go through with it. What if she saw me go upstairs? It was a stupid thing to do.

I curse at myself as I hurry down the steps and look for her. I have to tell her I don't want to change the no flirting rule. In fact, I want to enforce it. She may not want to change the rules, but I need her to.

She's not here. I can't find her. Or Jonathan. Did she see me?

Panic rises as I push past unsuspecting people to get outside. I pull out my phone and call her. It goes to voicemail.

Did she see me go upstairs and now she wants to get even? Did she leave with Jonathan?

"Fucking damnit." I call her again. And again. Am I too late?

I'm standing in the driveway, trying to compose some sort of message to her when I spot Jonathan. He's coming out of the house. Someone high fives him and he looks awfully smug.

My brain isn't working. I fly toward him, tackling him up against the wall.

"Where the hell did you go?" I grip his shirt, pushing him back. He's about an inch taller than me, but I've taken him by surprise.

"What the hell, Wes. I took a piss. What's wrong with you?"

Not upstairs. Not a different bedroom. But if he's not with her...

"Where is she?"

"Who?"

"Lydia. You were dancing with her. Where is she?"

"Relax man, she left."

My rage dissipates slightly. "She left?"

"Yeah, she wasn't feeling well." He pushes me off him, and I stumble back, trying to process the new information. "What the hell is wrong with you? You need to chill."

I stare at him. She left. Lydia left. She saw me go upstairs, and she left.

"Fuck."

"Are you ok?"

I hide my face in my hands. Fucking hell, I messed up. She must think I cheated on her. I blink. Cheated. It's not like we're together. Except, we kind of are. I'm technically free to see other people. No. I immediately push the thought away. No. That's not how this works.

I have no fucking clue how any of this works. All I know is I fucked up and something is very wrong.