Always With You - A Best Friends To Lovers Novel

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

River

Bowie was not too happy about Loren acting as if I was her property. Her hugs and kisses were annoying, yes...but I wasn't going to deny the fact that fucking her was incredibly hot. She was rough in bed, clawing at my back like a tiger. She was in her senior year, and since the day I got to Blue Oak, she had always been a pastime to me. I called her up once I was bored or didn't get a chance to pick up a girl, and she was always there whenever I needed to get off. I respected her, but she made it easy for other guys not to.

I was searching the crowd to find Bowie, but since she had left the table, she was nowhere to be found. I made Aiden and Whitley look for her too but quickly decided that Bowie was okay, probably just getting another drink or going to the toilet. They disappeared in the dancing crowd, and I went back inside.

I had sent Loren away from our table, but it was already too late. I didn't see Bowie leave, and I hated myself for not keeping an eye on her while Loren ran her pointed fingernails along my neck and cheeks.

Finally, I got a glimpse of that fiery red hair I loved so much. Bowie was standing in the now almost empty sitting room, where there were couches and some bookshelves. She was facing away from me, so I moved closer, smiling at what she was looking at.

"Did you bring your record player and vinyl's?" I asked, slowly wrapping my arms around her waist from behind. She wasn't startled one bit, and although I knew she was mad at me, she leaned back against me and shook her head.

I looked over her shoulder down to the record player and the LP she was holding in her hands. It was Bon Jovi's Cross Road, one of her favorite albums to listen to. These frat guys had great taste in music, I thought.

Turning my head, I kissed the side of her neck and brushed my thumb over her stomach, wishing there was no fabric between us. "Remember the night we first listened to this record? We were just staring at each other, holding each other's hand while lying in bed silently." I left another kiss on underneath her ear, feeling her shiver in my arms.

She didn't speak, and I knew I still had to make up for what I did some minutes ago. "I didn't mean to upset you, Bow," I whispered, and she slowly started to relax. The tension was still there, but I could tell it wouldn't take much longer for her to talk to me again.

"You never acted like this before. And I gotta be honest with you..." I said, holding her tighter against my body. Her hands came up to cover my arms, and her thumb brushed over my skin the same way mine brushed over her stomach.

"I kinda liked the way you got jealous back there. I have no idea what's happening between us...but I'm glad you're close to me again. I wanna keep it that way. Like when we were kids." No clue why I was somehow getting my own hopes up at a chance with her, and at the same time, making me feel like shit for mentioning us being just friends.

I gave her a second to think about my words, and then, after putting down the record, she slowly turned in my arms. I kept them around her, putting one hand on her lower back and the other resting on her hip.

She studied my face, watching me very closely. She was figuring out what to say, but no words came out of her pretty mouth.

I tilted my head to the side, lifting one hand and cupping her face. "Talk to me, Bowie. You know it's best to talk then keeping your frustration in."

I've learned a lot about mental health in the past two years. And even if we talked a lot before, I had so much more advice to give. Not only Bowie but also other people who were struggling with mental health issues.

"I'm scared to say too much. I don't wanna hurt anyone's feelings," she muttered, and I knew she wanted to tell me about her opinion on Loren.

A smirk touched my lips, and I shrugged. "Better to say too much, than never saying what you need to get off your mind," I told her. She narrowed her eyes at me, puckering her lips and breathing in deeply.

"I didn't like the way she hugged and kissed you. I didn't like how long her nails were. They could've cut you easily. And I hated how she called you River-bear."

She crossed her arms, her frown deepening. "What kind of nickname is that, anyway," she added in a murmur. I couldn't help but laugh. "You're fucking adorable," I said, leaning in to kiss her forehead.

"Loren is all over every single guy on campus. She doesn't have much in that brain of hers, and I still wonder to this day how she's studying the human body and remembering every single body part by its Latin name." I was trying to lighten her mood, but she didn't take me up on my attempt.

"You fucked her," she whispered, scared to let anyone hear her say that word. Quite honestly, I was surprised myself by her saying it out loud. Bowie was innocent and hearing her say "fucked" was somewhat amusing.

"I did," I said honestly, puckering my lips and carefully choosing my next words. I decided to go the safe route, twisting one strand of her hair around my finger. "I had my fun. I told you before. I want to spend more time with you. Now that you're only ten minutes away, I'm taking every chance I get to see you as much as possible. You call me, and I fall to your feet. You know that."

Her gaze fell to my chest, and her arms loosened, letting her hands fall to my stomach. "Okay," was her only response, and I smiled, knowing that I had gained her trust back again.

Her fingers gripped my shirt again, and I gave her a moment to get lost in her thoughts the way she did oh so often. I loved watching her while that happened, and the small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth told me that she was at a happy place right now, thinking only good thought.

I couldn't wait for her to snap out of it, so I leaned in again to kiss her forehead. I let the strand of hair fall out of my hair and cupped her cheek again as I did before. Bending down a little more and tilting her head slightly to the side, I kissed her neck softly and nibbled on her warm skin.

She didn't move, but from the tight grip on my shirt, I could tell she was liking this. I was too. A little too much. I had to stop because I was already getting worked up.

"Dance with me," I whispered against her skin, and she quickly nodded, softly pushing me off her. I stepped away, taking a deep breath, and running my hand through my hair.

Fuck me. I needed more of her.

She gave me that sweet smile of hers then took my hand and pulled me outside to where the crowd was still dancing. I pulled Bowie to me, lifting her arms, and draping them over my shoulders and holding on to her waist while we moved to the music.

We had our own way of dancing, but this time, it was different. I wanted her close, her body rubbing against mine and her hands holding on tight to me. I pushed my knee between her legs, keeping her close with one hand on her lower back.

She had her eyes closed while she enjoyed the music, and every time she threw her head back, I wanted to kiss every single spot on her neck. I couldn't. Not with everyone watching and not with my dick already growing with each rubbing of her against me.

Having her this close again had an effect on me I never thought I would have because of her. We were slowly crossing the border between being very close friends and dating each other. Either way, I had to be careful.

I knew if I tried not to love her more, it would only tear me apart. And If I moved too quickly, I might mess up and ruin everything we built from a young age on.