All the Wright Moves, page 13
“Always, babe,” he said, kissing her cheek.
“Fuck off, King.” The guy behind him shoved him out of the way and then took English up in his arms and pressed a long, lingering kiss on her lips. He was also almost-unrealistically handsome. I was used to being surrounded by the Wright wealth and prestige in Texas, but this was a whole other world of beauty.
“My fiancé, Court Kensington,” English introduced to the rest of the party.
I gaped. “Wait, you’re marrying a Kensington? The Kensington?”
Court’s mother was the mayor of New York City. I’d seen their engagement photos all over. I hadn’t put together that she was that Anna English. And now, I was trying not to fangirl. This wedding was a wedding planner’s dream.
English grinned. “That’s me.”
“You’re the wedding of the season. All the magazines are talking about it.” I was gushing, and still, I couldn’t help it.
“See, love, all the magazines are talking about it,” Court said with a wink at his fiancée.
She sighed heavily. “Obviously. I know what I’m doing. That doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”
“If you say one more word about eloping,” Court warned with a note of humor.
“Please, just be more like your brother.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him.
He snagged her in for a rough kiss. “I’ll get you for that later.”
English laughed and turned back to me. “You follow weddings?”
“Oh, Nora is a wedding planner,” Blaire interjected. “She’s planning the Locke-King wedding.”
“No shit?” Gavin asked, assessing me from head to toe. “You’re planning my cousin Margaret’s wedding?”
“I am,” I said, keeping my work mask in place to deal with all of this excitement. “It should be beautiful.”
“Oh, I know Merritt Locke. I bet the wedding will be glamorous.” English assessed me for a minute. “Have you ever done anything in LA or New York?”
I gulped. “I haven’t.”
“English,” Court warned.
“I hate my wedding planner,” English said, shooting Court a look. “My future mother-in-law picked her out, and she doesn’t listen to anything I want. It’s only a few months away, and I’m pulling my hair out.”
“That’s a tough place to be in. She should always listen to you first. It’s your wedding, not your mother-in-law’s.”
English arched an eyebrow at her fiancé. “See!” English assessed me. “Do you have a card?”
I tried not to gape at her. Then, I scrambled into my purse and withdrew a business card. Was this real life? “Here you go.”
English looked at it and nodded. “I’ll be in contact.”
Then, she grabbed her fiancé and headed toward Campbell.
“Did that just happen?” I whispered to Blaire.
She laughed. “Looks like it.”
“Well, you’re going to be busy if you plan a Kensington wedding,” Gavin told me.
“Yeah, she will!” Blaire agreed.
“Are you coming to my cousin’s wedding?” Gavin asked Blaire.
She shook her head. “I’m going to be in LA. You’ll have to tell Nate that I said hi.”
“I’ll do that,” Gavin said with a smirk.
“It’ll be good to see a familiar face when I’m there,” I told him.
“Yeah, I just need a date.”
His eyes passed over Blaire to the girl who had bypassed Gavin to sit with a redhead. She was nearly as short as I was with lavender hair and an effervescent smile. Until Gavin looked at her. Then, it dropped, and she quickly averted her gaze.
There must be a story there.
“And who wouldn’t want to go with Gavin King?” Blaire asked.
The last member of their group dropped a hand on Gavin’s shoulder and laughed, overhearing our conversation. “Gavin doesn’t have a problem finding girls, just keeping them.”
Gavin clapped a hand to his chest. “Sam, you wound me.”
“Just ask Whitley to go with you,” Sam said, gesturing to the lavender-haired girl.
“In what universe would she want to go with me?”
“She was in LA for almost three years,” Sam said. “A lot can change in three years.”
Blaire and I exchanged a look. “Sounds like a story,” Blaire said.
Gavin sighed heavily, as if resigned to what was about to happen.
Sam arched an eyebrow at him and then explained, “He and Whitley had a fling a few years back when she and her boyfriend were broken up. She got back with her boyfriend, and he found out they’d hooked up. It was a huge blowup in the middle of Fashion Week.”
“I wouldn’t do that to Robert.”
“Robert is seeing someone else. Happily. And he doesn’t blame you anymore,” Sam interjected with a pointed look.
“I say, go for it,” Blaire said. “That sounds like a lot of wasted time.”
I bit my lip. I knew the feeling of betrayal in all of this. I’d experienced it myself. But three years was a long time to hold on to that feeling, and it was clear to me in Gavin’s look that he still felt something for Whitley.
“Definitely,” I agreed. “I’ll look out for you at the wedding.”
Gavin’s eyes strayed back to Whitley, as if he could will her to look at him. “We’ll see.”
That was the end of that conversation. The song shifted, and English was there, pulling everyone out onto the dance floor. I laughed as Blaire grabbed me and took me with her. I let loose in the crush of it all. I’d never been much of a dancer, but it was liberating with so many people all in one place.
Then, I felt hands on my hips. I gasped, ready to scold whoever was touching me, but a mouth was at my ear. “It’s me.”
I relaxed back against West. There were so many people, but still, not enough to completely hide that we were dancing this close. That our movements were perfectly synced, as if we’d worked overtime at night to synchronize our bodies. But no one seemed to care that we were this close. No one paid any attention at all.
And for this night, I forgot about the potential consequences to our entanglement and let myself pretend that this was forever. It was a dangerous thought. A thrilling idea. One I shouldn’t want this bad.
Yet I couldn’t lie to myself and say I didn’t want Weston Wright.
21
Weston
We closed the bar down with English’s friends.
I was just past tipsy, but Campbell was as drunk as I’d ever seen him. It was only because of Blaire all but holding him up that he made it back to his room at all. The rest of the band headed to our rooms in Percy Tower.
Nora waved at us. She’d stopped drinking hours ago, and she was the steadiest on her feet compared to everyone else. “Night, y’all.”
“Night, Nora,” Viv said, blowing her a kiss as Nora opened her door.
Nora’s gaze shifted to me before she disappeared into the room.
Viv wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Hey now, don’t let Campbell see you doing that.”
“Doing what?” I asked, suddenly nervous.
“Looking at his sister like she’s a tasty snack.”
Santi laughed. “She is though. I’d hit that if I didn’t think Campbell would skewer me.”
“Hey,” a girl said on Santi’s arm.
“I mean that in the best way, babe,” Santi said.
Yorke snorted. “Yeah.”
Santi opened the door for the girl to go in with him, which she did despite his stupidity. Viv winked at me as she got to her room. Yorke held up two fingers in good-bye. Both of them disappeared, and then it was just me. I could go back into my room at the end of the hall if I wanted.
Or…
I took two steps backward and crept back to Nora’s room. I knocked twice gently.
She cracked the door open. “About time.”
Her hand fell onto the front my shirt, yanking me inside. The door crashed closed behind me, my hands tangled in her hair, and our mouths collided.
“Fuck,” I groaned, tasting this fucking girl.
“You are such a tease.” She kissed me harder, deeper. “Your hands on me all night. Your hips against mine. Your body so hot.”
My hands moved exactly where she’d mentioned, tugging her harder against me. “I wanted you.”
“It’s hard to stay away.”
“So hard,” I said, thrusting forward.
Her fingers deftly moved down the buttons of my shirt, pulling the bottom loose from my pants.
“Not fair,” she said, running her nails down my abs. “Not fair at all.”
Then, she was removing my belt, dragging the zipper down low, and dropping to her knees before me. I went utterly still as I watched her yank my pants down my hips and remove my cock from my boxers.
She stroked me up and down in her hand. Gone was the girl uncertain with herself. Here she was, the firecracker I’d always seen her as. The girl she’d been before someone tried to blow out her flame. Two weeks of incredible sex later, and no longer would I hear her say that she couldn’t come from sex, that she was difficult, or any of those other ridiculous things.
Only the heartthrob I’d known was in there.
“Now, who isn’t being fair?” I groaned as she licked up the seam at the head.
She grinned devilishly. “Oh, did you want something?”
Before I could answer, she took my cock in her mouth. I moaned, pushing my fingers into her hair as she took me in deeper.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I muttered.
Then, she moved, dragging out and bobbing back down on me. I watched her enjoyment as she sucked me. She’d been hesitant about this, too. It had only been used as a guilt trip in the past, and now, she was here, offering it to me on her knees. She had come a long way. And I fucking adored it.
She worked more vigorously at my cock, sliding her hand up and down the shaft. Most of the time, I’d let her get me off like this, but not tonight. I needed to be inside of her. I needed her little body.
“Snickers,” I said, drawing her back off me.
“I wasn’t finished.”
“You said you’d crawl for me.”
Her eyes widened. She’d said it in jest, and I thought she might tell me to go fuck myself. But then, to my amazement, she dropped to her hands, gave me a filthy look as she glanced back at me, and then crawled toward the bed. Her skirt this evening was not flouncy, as it had been that first night. And as she moved away from me, it rode up her hips and exposed every inch of her ass, including the bright red thong.
“God, that’s a sight.”
She made it onto the bed and flopped backward, not bothering to tug down her dress. “Well, you looked. Are you going to come touch?”
“Fuck yes.”
I ripped off my pants as she removed her dress and thong. Then, I snagged her hips and wrenched her down on the bed toward me. She squeaked and then laughed softly. I flipped her over onto all fours.
She pushed her ass back toward me. “Please.”
The word undid me. I hastily sheathed myself before plunging deep inside of her. She gasped and reached back to grab my hand.
“So full,” she murmured.
“Take me all the way,” I encouraged, pulling out and thrusting again. It took a few thrusts before she opened fully enough for me to seat myself inside of her.
I took the one hand she’d offered, her face pressing into the comforter, and then I grabbed the other. I drew her wrists together into one hand to use as leverage as I withdrew and then shot back inside of her.
She gasped. “Fuck.”
“Yes,” I cried out.
I’d been close with her lips wrapped around my cock. I’d been so close that it was almost painful to stop. But I wanted to finish inside of her. Her moans of pleasure as I kept up a fast rhythm told me all I needed to know about what she wanted, too.
“Come with me,” I commanded.
I thrust harder, the sounds of wet skin smacking together over and over. She shouted her orgasm into the mattress. With her pussy tight around me, I came hard, roaring into the bedroom. Heedless of who heard.
“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” she said. “Wow.”
I released her arms and rubbed an encouraging hand down her spine. “You were perfect.”
She shivered as I pulled out of her, collapsing into a heap on the bed. I discarded the condom into a trash bin. Then, I wrapped myself around her.
“West,” she whispered.
“Hmm?”
She yawned. “You probably can’t sleep here.”
“I won’t,” I told her.
“But I want you to.”
“I know.” I kissed her shoulder and banded my arm across her stomach to pull her in closer. “I don’t have to leave yet.”
She yawned again. “Okay.”
I held her in my arms as my mind began to drift. Tonight had been incredible. Easily one of the best nights of my life. I’d never thought I’d get to play that sort of venue where millions watched on. And then to end it here, like this. It was more than I could have dreamed. In fact, I imagined for a second what it would be like to have Nora with me all the time in LA.
Except it was a fantasy, not reality. Because Campbell would never be okay with this. And Nora couldn’t just leave Lubbock. Her entire life was there. We were lucky that she hadn’t already had a wedding this weekend.
And with that bout of disappointment, I circled back to what had been bugging me all night—my dad.
He’d called. He was proud of me. And yet…and yet…he was a supreme asshole. How could I reconcile wanting his approval and despising him for everything he’d done to me?
Nora’s breathing began to slow, and I could feel her slipping toward unconsciousness. “Nora?”
She startled at my voice. “Hmm?”
I didn’t know how to bring this up. I’d never talked about the complications with my dad with anyone but my siblings. People who understood. Even Jordan and Julian didn’t really understand. How could they?
“My dad called before the show.”
She slowly rolled over and looked up into my eyes. “I didn’t think y’all were talking.”
“We’re not. Well, Whitt told me that he wanted to congratulate me.”
“And did he?”
“Yeah, he did.” I sighed. “Which is all I ever wanted from him.”
“But?” she asked, as if hearing the hesitation in my voice.
“I don’t trust him. I don’t believe him. Is he really happy for me, or is he going to use it as an excuse to get back in and hurt me?”
“I don’t know,” she said softly. “I’m not sure you’d know without talking to him, but for what it’s worth, I think he is proud of you.”
“Yeah? Why is that?”
“Because look at you,” she said. “You’re taking over the world. You played The Tonight Show. It’s a lot. I’m proud of you.”
Her words had the desired effect of making my chest warm. Her approval made me nearly as happy as my father’s.
“Thank you.”
She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my lips. “What are you afraid of?”
I closed my eyes. “That I’m just like him.”
“You’re not…”
“You’re a secret,” I blurted out.
She put her hands on my face. “Look at me.”
I did as she’d asked. I hated comparing myself to him. But how could I not? Was I doing the same shit he had, so I could get what I wanted?
“It’s not the same,” she said.
“Isn’t it?”
She laughed and shook her head. “You’re not hiding me because you’re married to someone else. Wait, are you?”
I laughed and shook my head. “But…”
“We agreed to this.”
“My mom must have agreed, too.”
“West, you’re leaving after all of this. You’re going back to LA, permanently. This isn’t a way for you to have your cake and eat it too. If you were doing that, you’d string me along. You’d make me believe that this could work when you were gone. You’d get to have me when you could have me, and you’d have whoever you wanted in LA, too.”
I cringed at that thought. “I’d never do that,” I said with vehemence.
She smiled. “I know. That’s the point. You’re not like him.” She threaded our fingers together. “It’s hard. All of it is hard. I know all about hard. I lost my mom when I was fourteen. Then, Campbell left for LA the following year. Hollin was in college. It was just me and Dad, and he was grieving. So, it felt like it was I was all alone. We’re all close now, but we’re still recovering from the wound that her absence left behind.”
“Growing up like that must have been difficult,.”
“It was isolating. My brothers weren’t around much, but just enough to scare off any boys who might have shown interest. My dad was a shell for the first year, and by the time he started noticing me again, he became super protective as well. I wasn’t always close with my mom, but life would have been different with her still here. Sometimes, I feel guilty, thinking life would have been better. That I would have had some defense against everyone’s protective instincts.”
“You shouldn’t feel guilty about that. Of course you want your mom back.”
She pressed a kiss to my lips. “We’re both a little fucked up, aren’t we?”
I chuckled. “Did you have a childhood if you aren’t?”
“Fair. What are you going to do about your dad?”
I sighed heavily and rolled onto my back. She snuggled in close, laying her head on my chest.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to decide today. Just leave the door open. You’ll know what to do when the time is right.”
“Thanks, Nor,” I said, running my fingers back through her hair.
“Of course.”
Her breathing slowed again, and then when I was sure that she was asleep, I reluctantly withdrew. I looked down at this beautiful girl and wondered if she was right. Was I really nothing like my dad? Because at times, I felt like I was following in his footsteps, and I hated myself for it.
I headed back to my room alone. I’d almost fallen asleep when I’d been at Nora’s side. Now, I stared up at the ceiling, wishing for that same comfort and finding none of it.
