Jo
THE ONLY GUY who has ever really kissed me is Craig Johnston and I used to think kissing Craig was like heaven but eventually I realized that it was more of a give and take thing. Sometimes it was a 'take' without any giving in return and it was like pushing squarely against his mouth and pulling back.
So when Flynn's lips touch mine, I expect the same thing. The same fleeting excitement that ends even before the kiss does but it doesn't happen because I've never been kissed like this before. There's a palpitation in my chest and despite the fact that his lips are cool from the soda he'd been drinking earlier, it feels like a liquid hot emotion is running through my veins.
He kisses me once and pulls away slightly and then he inches forward and kisses me again. My eyes shut immediately and I angle my chin towards him and enjoy his feather-like kisses on my mouth. He's intoxicating and smells like his cologne and I breathe him in because he's stealing mine away. I want to open my eyes and see the look on Craig's smug face and if Semia really is going to punch me in the face, but I can't. Not even if I tried. His lips are so soft and so gentle and then he squeezes my neck after he's done with his butterfly kisses and our mouths fall open together.
He kisses me properly now, all traces of vanilla kisses gone. His hand moves from my neck and his thumb hovers over my pulse point. I bring my fingers up to his hair and slide them through it. It's soft and smooth and everything I've imagined his hair to be and when I pull on it, he smiles against my mouth and kisses me a little bit harder.
His fingers splay on my jaw and he holds me in place as his mouth moves against mine. Despite my first and foremost rule, our lips part at the same time and our tongues brush. I almost don't hear anything anymore after that. Not the crashing waves or the loud music or even the distant shrieks and laughter behind us. I have one focus and for a moment, I forget it's fake because I can only think about Flynn. Flynn's lips on mine. Flynn's fingers on my skin. Flynn's smile on my lips. Flynn's cologne in my nose.
I want him to kiss me again, deeper than what he just did but he withdraws his mouth from mine and gently pulls my bottom lip with his teeth, scraping a little, before leaning away. I blink once and let out a shaky breath before untangling my fingers from his hair.
He directs his gaze to Craig and raises a challenging brow at him before picking up his soda from the ground.
I turn to Amanda and whisper, "How long was that?"
"I don't know. About a minute? But it was really hot. I think someone got it on video." She grins and I lick my lips and swallow. They're still tingling and blood is still rushing through my veins and my heart has not relaxed. This isn't good. Not at all. This isn't real.
I want to go home. I want to climb on my bed and close my eyes and wish I didn't just kiss Flynn and like it despite knowing it's all an act. I want to sleep off and wake up with no memory of me wanting to grab him and kiss him again.
Craig is not happy. If anything, he's furious. Flynn gives his turn to someone else and I glance at him. He looks okay and even though there's a slight flush on his cheeks and his lips are a little swollen, he looks completely fine. I should too because this shouldn't look like the first time we've kissed but I'm as stiff as a board, with my eyes following the spin of the bottle.
It lands on Flynn this time and the shy girl looks slightly guilty. He chooses truth this time and she shrugs.
"Sorry," she laughs after a few minutes of thinking. "I can't think of anything."
"Oh I can," Craig speaks up and Flynn narrows his eyes at him. "It's a simple yes or no question. Do you know your girlfriend is a slut?"
Oh my god. Looks of surprise are directed my way. My eyes burn at the corners and I tug on Flynn's shirt. "I want to leave."
He gets to his feet, unaffected by Craig's question and holds out a hand. I take it and attempt get to my feet but Craig is faster than I am.
"Did you know she begged me to fuck her? Did she tell you any of that? I'm just asking so you'd be prepared, just in case, she asks you to do the same. That's if she's not already done that."
Whenever Craig brings this up, I want to curl into a ball and cry. Right now, I'm weak so I don't look at his face as Flynn pulls me to my feet. Flynn has other plans though, so he turns to Craig with a menacing look on his face.
"I swear to God, Johnston, say one more thing and I will sink my fist into your fucking face."
"Oh come on," Craig spits and gets to his feet. The ocean breeze flaps his board shorts about as he stands. He's amused that he's gotten the rise he wants from Flynn but he's also annoyed that he's being spoken to like a dog. "Everyone knows how it goes."
He turns his gaze to me and grins. "He'll just fuck you and throw you away just like I did."
Flynn disentangles his hand from mine and gets closer to Craig in quick strides. He takes a hold of his shirt and tugs him towards himself harshly. The beer pong game pauses and the music lowers a bit.
Oh god. I've never wanted to go back to my bed as much as I want to now. Amanda gets to her feet and wraps an arm around my shoulder, apologizing for Craig's behavior like she said those words herself.
"I'm warning you," Flynn says in his face. His jaw is as hard as stone. Craig is grinning widely and then he shoves Flynn's arms away from his shirt.
"Fuck you, Cauley. You're just mad I'm captain and you can't get your own girl, so of course, you had to go for my sloppy seconds. Sounds fucking pathetic."
The swim captain comment is a flame to gasoline because every ounce of self-control in Flynn's body leaves after that and he swings a resounding punch against Craig's jaw. All hell breaks loose after that.
Flynn doesn't waste a second and he definitely doesn't give Craig any time to come back from his crouched state because he's grabbing him by the collar and punching his nose repeatedly. People surround them now and someone in the crowd unabashedly chants, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" The party shatters completely and everyone is interested in the brawl going on between them.
"I hope Craig gets his ass kicked. He's such a dick," Cass spits next to me and I'm surprised to see her and Khalid standing next to us with wet hair and large towels wrapped around their bodies.
"Someone needs to stop them," Khalid says and I stand there, motionless on the sand. I fold my arms across my chest and bite my lip because I feel it tremble as I watch them. A couple of guys are trying to intervene but Craig shoves one away and lands a punch on Flynn's nose.
I'm not stupid enough to walk into a fight but my heart drops to my feet when I see Flynn rub the blood away from his nose with the back of his palm.
"This is all your fault," Semia suddenly appears in my vision, gritting in my face. "They're fighting because of you."
I shoot her a glare. "What the fuck did I do?"
She fumes and glances at them again before redirecting her glare to me. She takes a step forward but Amanda eyes her down and blocks her way.
"He better not get hurt because of you, Jo." She tells me, like she really does care about Flynn and she storms off.
"What the hell is her problem?" Amanda questions annoyed and I unfold my arms and breathe a sigh of relief when I see Carter holding Flynn back.
"Enough," Carter shouts. He shoves Flynn on the chest. "Get a hold of yourself, man. This is exactly what he wants. Johnston ain't worth this shit."
Flynn glares at him, his eyes ablaze but he slowly comes into focus and shoves Carter away. Craig sees that as an opportunity and since he doesn't give up, he sneaks in and knocks a terrible punch on Flynn's bad shoulder.
Flynn winces, the pain spreading across his face is unbearable and he stumbles back.
"Oh my god," Amanda gasps next to me and I try to move a little bit closer but Semia hurries over like a bird learning how to fly.
"What the fuck was that?" Carter shoves Craig back and pushes him so hard that his breath leaves him in a gust of air. "What'd you do that for?"
I turn to Amanda, Cass and Khalid and give them a strained smile. "See you guys."
They wave back and I stomp towards Flynn's figure and narrow my eyes at him. His nose is still bleeding so he's tilting his head back to try and stop it and those soft lips that were on mine moments ago are bruised in the corners. He holds his shoulder and Semia constantly asks if he's okay.
He looks at me and grins boyishly despite his physical state and my heart lifts, but I don't let that show. Instead, I frown and hold out my hand.
"Keys."
It's the first time we've made proper eye contact after the kiss so his gaze bores into mine and I try very hard to ignore the heat that wraps around me in a strong grip.
He smiles. "You wanna drive?"
"Are you going to drive with that hand?"
"No," he grumbles and grimaces like he just remembered the ache in his shoulder and Semia speaks up.
"I could take him home. It won't be a bother."
"No, thanks," I smile, grabbing the keys to Flynn's car from his hand and feeling possessive for some reason. "He's kind of like my boyfriend now, so I'll do that instead."
I grab the bicep of his good arm, ignoring the way the muscle tenses and flexes in my grip and I tug him towards the parking lot without waiting for Semia's response. When I glance back at him, he's grinning from ear to ear.
"What's so funny?"
"I don't know," he shrugs one shoulder. "You're not going to kiss me or anything to make sure she gets it?"
I look away from him and swallow. "I don't like the taste of blood." My tone is hard as I speak and he notices because he's silent for a moment and then he says, "You sound mad."
"I am mad."
"What for?" He asks. "I'm the one who got punched in the shoulder, not you."
"I know that. Of course, I know that and that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't punched him in the first place. He wanted you to make the first move and you fell into his trap. Just like that."
We're getting closer and closer to his car but my voice keeps rising. "You should have ignored him. I always do."
"He was calling you names, Jo. Surely, you didn't expect me to sit down and just let that slide, did you?"
"You weren't going to have to sit and let anything slide. I already told you I wanted to leave. You could have let it go. There wasn't any need to pull off a knight in shining armor move on him."
When a few heads turn to us, that's when I remember that we aren't the only ones here as well. I lower my voice and open his car door for him. "Get in."
His eyes dart from me to the opened door and he kicks it shut with his foot and pins me against it.
"What is wrong with you?" He asks me genuinely. He looks concerned and annoyed at the same time. "I was trying to help."
I glare at him. "Help me do what? Stop him from talking? Because you only made it worse."
He clenches his jaw and narrows his eyes at me. "So what? It's my fault now? It's my fault that I tried to put your fucking ex in his place?"
"I don't need any help from you."
"That's the fucking problem isn't it? You don't want any help from anyone. You think you can do it all by yourself."
I shove him lightly on the chest but he doesn't budge. "I've been doing it all by myself without help from anyone and I've been doing perfectly fine, Flynn. I've been ignoring Craig's harassment and bullying because I can take care of myself. I'm not a baby. I don't need anyone to look out for me. I don't need to pester anyone about my problems. I'm notâI'm not a fucking pest. I'm fine and I don't need you thinking you can fight my battles for me or some shit."
"I don't think you're any of those things, Jo," he says and then just like that, he reads me like a book. "Did your brother tell you all of this yesterday?"
I look away from him and then a tear slips and after that, a dam breaks. I've never cried in front of Flynn before so this is definitely a first. A pathetic whimper forces its way out of my throat and I desperately wish I can take it back. But I can't. So I cover my face with my hands and cry like a baby.
Flynn's good arm comes around my back and I hide my face in his shoulder and cry a little more.
"I'm pathetic." I say, my voice muffled because of the tears and the fact that my face is buried in his neck.
"I don't think you're pathetic," he says. "I'd hug you properly but I'm kind of in a fix right now, so I'm a one-handed knight."
I smile a little despite my mood and then I ask, "How bad is it?"
"I don't know," he groans. "But I'm positive it might be partially dislocated."
I lean away from his one-handed hug and glance at his shoulder. "I'm sorry." I tell him because I am. For everything.
"You don't need to be," he says and his hand leaves my back and raises to stroke my cheek with his thumb. He collects the last drops of tears away and then very slowly, he grabs my chin, leans down and connects his mouth with mine. He kisses me only once but it's soft and sweet and agonizingly slow and even though my heart is beating like a stampede of elephants, a foreign sense of tranquility sets in when our breaths become one.
He pulls away all too quickly and I fist his shirt in my hands and then I freeze, because I realize what we just did but then he shakes his head.
"Relax," he says, slightly nudging his head to the onlookers beside us. "This is the first time we were seen together. I don't need anyone thinking we had a fight and I made you cry."
"Right." I nod and breathe out slowly. This is way harder than I thought. From a distance, I can already see that the party is back in full swing, so I say, "I should take you to a hospital."
"No, I'll be fine. I just need to make sure you get home safe."
"And how will you get home?"
"I can drive with a single hand."
I open the door now and tilt my head towards it. "Get in."
He smirks. "It's kind of hot when you boss me around, Pryce."
Heat flares in my cheeks. "Just get in already."
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"WELL, THIS WAS fun," Flynn grimly says as soon as I hit the brakes in front of my porch. The lights are off which means mum must have gotten home and she and grandma are already fast asleep.
He turns to look at me and parts his lips to speak. He's still leaning heavily against the chair and he's still cradling his shoulder with his second arm. "I'm sorry about tonight."
"Don't be," I say and then I wiggle his keys in my hand. "I got to drive your car. Worth it."
"I thought you didn't like my car."
"Well, I used to hate it because you always wanted to kill me with it but we're cool now." I look at his shoulder again and sigh. "Can you drive with your left arm?"
He nods. "Sure." But I get a feeling he's saying that just to make me feel better. Then with a tiny smile, he adds, "You don't need to worry about me."
I lick my lips together and then I look away before getting out of the car. I walk round the hood just in time to see him coming out of the passenger's seat with a difficulty he tries to hide with a locked jaw, so I go to stand in front of him.
"You may not have noticed earlier but the fifth and sixth steps on the staircase that leads upstairs, creak if you apply too much force on it." I say and he raises his brows, confused.
"Everyone is asleep, including my dog and most of the time, he sleeps in the living room. He has sensitive ears so if the steps creak more than once, he wakes up and wakes every other person with his barks. It's like an alarm, really."
"Okay," he hesitates. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
"Because you're sleeping in my room tonight."