The Wrong Move

Ella

Thankfully, the next morning was Sunday. I woke up mad at the world. I slipped into some shorts and an old T-shirt before heading into the kitchen.

I pulled my hair into a messy top bun and began pulling out pots and pans to reorganize.

The night before, I had stormed home and taken a long, steaming hot shower before bundling myself into bed to watch rom coms all night until I’d fallen asleep. Now I’d woken up still pretty pissed off.

I’d ignored calls and texts from Adam all night.

Luckily, whenever I was in a bad mood, cleaning and reorganizing seemed to take my mind off of it.

I turned Spotify on my phone, and as some fun pop music played, I danced around the kitchen, moving around all my pots, pans, plates, and canned goods.

Even with my kitchen being small, I took everything out. I scrubbed every cabinet. I spent a few hours working through the kitchen.

Suddenly, my doorbell rang. I froze, scared it was Adam come to confront me about my behavior the other day. I didn’t know if I had the heart to tell him about my complicated past with Delia.

Maybe if he had come to find me yesterday, instead of Zane, I would have told him. I was feeling vulnerable. Come to think of it, why was it Zane and not Adam who came to comfort me?

My brows furrowed as I heard furious knocking beginning at my front door. It seemed like time to face the music. After all, I needed answers too.

I stood and headed for the door when I heard someone yell out, “El, you better be in there!” Thank goodness it was Olivia.

I opened the door to a furious-looking Liv. “What the hell, you don’t answer your phone anymore?” Liv glided past me and into the living room.

She glanced through the cutout to the kitchen, seeing the disheveled mess that came from my reorganizing, and stopped in her tracks.

“Oh no, what’s happened?”

I stood by the door still, my body beginning to tremble with all the emotions that had gone through me yesterday that I’d barely had time to register.

My happiness, then my frustration, followed by hurt, then lust, and ending in so much anger. Anger at Delia, anger at Adam, anger at Zane, and especially anger at myself.

Olivia came over to me and wrapped me in a tight hug. I felt tears prickling my eyes as I returned my sister's embrace. She led me over to the couch and set me down.

I watched as she rummaged in the kitchen and came out with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” she said in a singsong voice.

I paused and then began laughing hysterically. Olivia looked at me crazy for a few moments before she too began to laugh.

The tension was broken, and I began spilling everything about the picnic to her. She listened quietly, taking in every detail. Waiting for me to finish.

When I was done, she took a gulp of her wine and pulled her glasses off, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Fucking Delia Lawrence,” was all she said.

“I don’t even know where to begin, Ollie.” I sipped my wine too, my brows creased in worry.

“I think you need to call Adam. He owes you an apology, but you do owe him an explanation.” I groaned loudly as I dropped my head in my hands.

“I don’t want to show him the nutcase he’s gotten himself involved with just yet.”

“You have to talk to him, El.” Liv went to the kitchen to grab my phone from amongst the debris and set it on my coffee table. “Call.” She stood up and stretched.

“Oh, I came to tell you about next weekend! The girls want to do a girls' night. After hearing about this past weekend, I’m putting you down for definitely in.”

Liv patted my shoulder before grabbing her bag and heading out the door. I stared at my phone grumpily before downing my wine and picking it up.

Before I could change my mind, I hit Adam’s name and called him.

He answered almost immediately. “Hey,” he sounded upset still, which was understandable. I took a deep breath.

“I’m going to talk, and I just need you to listen for a minute. I know you’re mad. I can’t undo it, but I owe you an explanation. Delia and I know each other, which you’ve probably gathered.

“We didn’t part on such good terms. She’s done some things to me in my past that I let get the better of me yesterday. I wasn’t thinking about how we were at a company event and I was representing you.

“I’m sorry for that. I know I owed you an explanation, so there it is.” I quit talking and felt my cheeks redden as I waited for a response.

I could hear Adam breathing, so I knew he was listening. Finally, he said, “I wish you could have just told me you were feeling uncomfortable. Given me any hint.”

“I tried to convince you to leave.”

“Don’t put this on me, El. You know you were in the wrong!” I bristled at his accusing tone. He owed me an apology too. Seemed I wasn’t getting it.

“Call back when you’ve realized what an ass you’re being and want to talk this out,” I said calmly before hanging up. I stood up and headed straight back to my kitchen.

I didn’t hear from Adam for the rest of the week. I threw myself into work. I was two weeks ahead in lesson planning, and all the homework and tests had been graded by Friday evening.

By Saturday, I was grateful for a chance to get out and take my mind off everything I had been worrying about all week. I didn’t understand why Adam was still so angry with me.

I was also still wondering why Zane had come to find me that day. I was ready to let loose for girls' night.

I searched my closet for just the right thing, and my eyes landed on the perfect outfit. I slipped into a curve-hugging dark blue dress with beautiful baby blue and white flowers on it.

The back laced up, exposing some skin, and it left my shoulders bare. I put on some relatively short silver high heels and left my wavy hair free for the night.

Girls' night usually happened once every three months. It consisted of six of us getting together to hit up a hot nightclub and drink ourselves silly. I was the last to arrive.

“You’re finally here!” An already intoxicated Adrienne yelled, kissing my cheek. “Come dance with me!”

“Give a girl a drink first,” I laughed. Adrienne pouted and thrust her glass in my face. Without looking, I threw the drink back, the liquid burning down my throat.

“Another!” Adrienne shouted, bursting out in giggles after.

We made our way to the bar and both got drinks. We shimmied our way to the dance floor, joining Liv and our other three friends, Tara, Regan, and Emily.

We all danced to the beat of the music, drinks in hand, and heads thrown back.

The club was dark, and one whole side was dedicated to privacy spaces.

They were raised above the floor and had couches and tables that were surrounded by curtains that you could use to either hide behind or open up to watch the dance floor.

There was a huge glass bar along the other side, packed full of people waiting for their drinks.

I made multiple trips from the floor to the bar, helping me wipe away all memory of last week. I was shifting around the dance floor, my hands in the air and my hips grinding to the music.

Suddenly, I felt a very tense body behind me. Before I could look, a hand snaked around my waist and pulled me flush to a very hard male front.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing, princess?” came the smooth, cool, and completely unforgettable voice from behind me. My body froze instantly.

I turned my head to see those beautiful green eyes staring at me angrily. Before I could get a word out, he grabbed my wrist and tugged me across the floor, up the stairs, and into a privacy room.

He let me go as he jerked the curtains closed.

My eyes were wide and confused. I’d had a significant number of drinks, and I found myself swaying dangerously, unable to maintain my balance.

Before I could fall, Zane’s arms slipped around my waist, holding me upright and pressed flush to his torso.

“What are you doing?” I slurred a bit, looking into those eyes that had seemed to haunt my dreams all week.

“The real question is, what are you doing? You were all over the place, shaking your assets around in your very revealing dress.

“I seem to remember last time we saw one another you reminded me you had a boyfriend. So why are you here?”

The world felt like it was moving even though I was pressed hard to Zane’s front, his arms holding me steady. “We’ve been fighting,” I finally managed to croak out. “We haven’t spoken all week.

“Stress relief.” I gestured toward the dance floor, my eyes never leaving his.

Zane’s expression never changed as he continued to stare at me for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, I felt his hand enclose the nape of my neck and his delicious lips settled over mine.

I groaned into his mouth as I tasted him. My hands fisted his hair almost instantly, wanting to remember the silky feel of it. His hands remained wound around my waist as he held me close.

I felt the pressure of his erect cock poking me, and it just made me moan. I slid my hand down his chest until I was able to grasp his length through his pants.

Every thought of why I shouldn’t be doing this flew out of my head. I was very drunk and very sexually frustrated.

I rubbed Zane through his pants, relishing his length and the groan he let out into my mouth. One of his hands tugged my hair, still resting at the base of my neck.

His other hand had managed to find my nipple through my dress, and he was giving it very slow strokes. I shivered as pure desire pooled in my underwear, and I felt a knot tighten in my lower abdomen.

Our kiss continued as did our fondling. Zane walked me back slowly until my back hit the wall at the back of the privacy room. One of my legs wrapped around his, trying to pull him close.

He lifted me easily, and my other leg wrapped around him as the shaft I had been fondling rubbed enticingly against my sex.

I moaned as I thrust my tongue into Zane’s mouth, pulling his head harder against mine with my hands. I wanted to devour him. He continued to rub his thick length against me, making me hopelessly wet.

He broke away from our kiss and rested his forehead against mine, closing his beautiful eyes. “Why do you do this to me?” he sighed quietly.

“You do it to me too,” I whispered back. The music pulsed around us as we stood completely still, my back against the wall.

I felt myself sobering slightly, and I lifted my head and released his hair from my grasp. He must have sensed the change in me because he set me down gently and took a small step away.

I looked up at him slightly and felt the world tip on its axis.

I definitely had had too much to drink. I felt myself sway and saw the brief look of concern on Zane’s face before I turned and vomited all over the floor.

After emptying my stomach of the alcohol, I felt Zane sweep me up in his arms. I buried my head in his neck.

He sat with me in a cab, I was draped over his lap. He asked me my address and I mumbled it into his smooth skin. I was feeling incredibly sleepy now that I had purged all the alcohol.

My body was curved perfectly into his, I felt comfortable and safe.

“Why were you at the club?” I mumbled, nuzzling deeper into his neck.

“I had some business matters I was attending to.”

“Won’t they miss you?”

“They’ll make do.”

When we got to my apartment, he carried me upstairs and placed me on my bed. He grabbed the trash can from my bathroom and placed it beside my bed. He placed a bottle of water on my nightstand.

My phone was tucked into a small pocket hidden in my dress and he pulled it out deftly.

“Who do I need to let know you are safe?” He asked calmly.

“Ollie.” He fired off a quick text. Then he started unstrapping my shoes, and I couldn’t stay quiet any longer. “Why are you doing this?” I asked.

He paused, “Because you need help.”

“No, why are you such an ass to me? And why do you kiss me like that? Why did you chase me that day at the picnic? Why do you run so hot and cold with me? Why are you here?”

I lay on my bed looking down at him by my feet. He crouched there with his hands on the straps of my shoes, not saying anything.

With a quick motion, he pulled off my shoes, turned his back to me, and as he walked out the door, he said with authority, “Get some rest, you look like shit.”

The door to my bedroom was slammed abruptly, followed quickly by my front door.

I felt warm tears tickling my eyes, but I laid my pounding head down and, trying to forget the whole scene, quickly fell asleep.