Ashley

This wasn't what I had in my mind when I agreed to be Tinker Bell for Halloween. This was Rated R Tinker Bell.

"April, I think I should go back and change. This isn't the right Tinker Bell dress," I said when I noticed a random guy in a skeleton costume across the street checking me out.

Hockey house was hosting a Halloween party and Dylan had asked everyone to wear costumes. April had jumped at the opportunity to dress us all up as Disney fairies. Rosetta for April, Silvermist for Nicole, and Tinker Bell for me.

I had never seen her so pumped for anything, so I foolishly let her take charge. If only I'd known she'd put a sexy spin on the original costume.

"It is. It's just slutty Tinker Bell," she said.

Slutty was an understatement. The sparkly green bodice of my dress had strategic cuts in several places, so the entire fabric looked crisscrossed. A rather large cut in the front exposed my belly and my breasts were nearly spilling over the heart shaped neckline. Not to mention the skirt that seemed to end right where it began.

A few heads turned in our direction, and I got the sudden urge to cover myself. Maybe I should have worn my long winter coat over this.

"You're looking great, Ash," April said, squeezing my hand. "Absolutely stunning."

"Yeah," Nicole agreed and bumped her shoulder with mine. "Kris is going to have a hard time. Literally."

My cheeks flamed at the prospect of Kris seeing me in this, and both my roommates cackled at my misery. I couldn't wait for them to get boyfriends so I could return the favor tenfold.

Even though we were early, the street outside the hockey house was already lined with cars and people milling about. Seeing others wearing similar costumes made me feel a little comfortable. But the feeling that everyone was judging me remained.

Kris's teammate, Bennett, greeted us at the door in a sailor's costume. "Looking good, ladies. In you go," he said, tipping his hat toward us. "Everyone should be in the living room."

The air seemed to change as soon as we stepped inside. The music was low enough to avoid noise complaints, but I could still feel the thrum of the bass. Artificial smoke covered the floor while Halloween decorations hung from the walls and furniture.

The boys had really gone all out.

Dylan spotted us as we entered the living room and waved us over. At first I wasn't sure what his costume was from his black V-neck shirt and trousers, but then I saw the gold leaf crown on his head and the pointy elf ears. He was the fae king.

My lips quirked up at the thought of Dylan being a reader.

"Oh my God, you are dressed as Disney fairies!" Dylan exclaimed. "Rosetta, Silvermist, and Tinker Bell. Now that's what I call a great theme."

"I'm surprised that you know the names," Andre commented. He was dressed as a Mummy with gauze bandages covering from head to toe.

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Who doesn't know Disney fairies?"

From the looks of it, most of the guys. However, Dylan's acknowledgment was enough to light up April's face. As she and Dylan gushed about each other's costumes, I scanned the crowd for Kris.

My heart fell when I couldn't find him anywhere.

My disappointment must have been evident, because Ethan offered me a smile. "Kris went out with Atlas to get more beer and fruit punch. They'll be here soon."

"Oh," I said, smiling sheepishly. I was so whipped. It was becoming painfully obvious now.

Not wanting to look like I only cared for Kris, I tried to make small talk with his friends. "What are you dressed as?" I asked Ethan who seemed to be wearing his usual clothes.

"I'm a side character," he replied with a straight face.

Okay... That was an interesting idea.

"Please, that's his excuse for laziness. Even Andre put in more effort," Dylan said.

"Yo man, I'm the only one who's put in effort here," Andre quipped. "Do you know how long it took to wrap all these bandages?"

Dylan snorted. "I've been preparing for this since last month. It took me weeks to make this gold leaf crown."

While Dylan and Andre bickered, Holden joined us with a tray of drinks, passing the disposable cups out. He was in a Dracula costume—long cape, fake blood on mouth, pasty white makeup.

Watching April and Nicole mingle with their friends from their respective classes, I stepped away and sat on the couch in the corner. At times like these, I felt like a loner.

I hadn't made many friends at college yet. Sure I knew some people from my classes, but they were just acquaintances.

April and Nicole were the only people I considered my friends. And I wouldn't have been friends with them either if I didn't share a dorm room with them.

I knew I needed to put myself out there and not stay attached at the hip to my roommates. But after everything that happened in high school, I had a hard time trusting people.

Kris was the only exception. We'd gone from complete strangers to friends. And now maybe something more? A girl could hope.

My gaze flitted toward the door at the thought of Kris, but there was still no sign of him. Heaving a sigh, I stared at my empty cup which started to feel like the metaphor for my life.

"Oh, thank God you guys are here!" someone yelled.

When I looked up, my eyes landed on Kris. Hewalked in carrying two big packs of beer in his arms. Atlas was right behind him, holding another pack of cans and a paper bag.

"What took you so long?" Dylan asked.

"Kris and his chick magnet costume," Atlas grumbled as he placed everything on the drinks table. "We were stopped at least six times at the store so kids and their moms could take a picture with him."

Chick magnet?

Kris dropped the packs on the table as I examined his costume. Oh. Kris was dressed as Flynn Rider.

Dear Lord!

The dark green vest that fit snugly over his white shirt accentuated Kris's wide shoulders and his bulging biceps. With his sleeves rolled up and the top two buttons of the shirt open... I was about to develop respiratory problems along with heart issues.

His usually silky hair was styled to perfection and he's grown out light stubble over his jaw to match the character, turning his usual boyish charm into pure, masculine hotness.

I wanted to scream and run away, but also throw myself at him.

A few women also stopped in their tracks to stare at Kris and an ugly feeling bloomed in my chest. It was so visceral that I crumpled the disposable cup in my hand while glaring at them.

Mine!

"Go get your man," April said from beside me.

"Yeah. Stake your claim," Nicole added.

When did they sit beside me? Maybe I was too engrossed ogling Kris.

"Go, go, go!" Nicole chanted while April pinched my thigh to make me stand up.

I glared at my two roommates before heading toward Kris.

With his back facing me, he had yet to notice me. The closer I got, the faster my heart raced. Sweat collected in my palms as I stopped behind him, tapping him on the shoulder.

Kris spun, and a bright smile graced his lips.

"Hey," he said as he engulfed me in a hug and pressed a kiss to my temple. "When did you get here?"

I relished in the warmth of his arms, settling my head on his shoulder. "A while ago."

He pulled away and his eyes did a slow perusal of my costume. Flames danced on my skin wherever his gaze touched, making me shift from foot to foot. Not because I was nervous. But because of how much I liked having his eyes on me.

"You look... Wow," Kris said, his eyes hooded. "Tinker Bell?"

I nodded shyly. "Of sorts. It's not really the traditional Tinker Bell dress."

"It's beautiful. You're beautiful," he said in a hushed tone as he swiped a stray strand of hair from my face.

"Thanks," I said, my face heating. "You look pretty handsome yourself."

"The costume was Lily's idea. I tried my best to look the part," he said.

He totally knocked it out of the park. I was already plotting a way to secretly click a picture of him so I could stare at it every night.

Gosh, I was turning into a creep.

I reached out and cupped his face, running my fingers over his stubbled jaw. "The stubble looks good on you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe I should keep it," he said and kissed the inside of my palm. "Seeing how much you like it."

I sucked in a breath at the sudden kiss, my heart thudding wildly against my ribcage. Things were getting out of hand. Kris should be banned from saying and doing stuff like that when he looked like that.

My poor, poor heart never stood a chance.

"Kris!" someone called over the music, saving me from saying something stupid. We both turned in the to see Dylan waving us over. "We're starting the game. Get your pretty asses here!"

Kris raised a brow at me as if asking if I wanted to play and I shrugged. Party games were always fun. What could go wrong?

But as soon as I saw the empty bottle placed on the table, I realized I spoke too soon. I'd grossly underestimated Dylan's love for stirring shit up too.

By the fifth round of Spin the Bottle, everyone was slightly buzzed and at least two people had done something they would most probably regret come tomorrow.

Thankfully, the bottle was yet to land on me and Kris had smuggled me some un-spiked fruit punch from the kitchen, so I was the only sober person in the lot.

Everyone cheered and clapped as Holden got down from the table after his riveting belly dancing performance. He took a dramatic bow before chugging the remaining beer from his bottle.

"Bravo!" Dylan exclaimed, clapping his hands as he took his position at the head of the table. "It's time to spin the bottle again."

He spun the bottle and I prayed for it to not land on me. When the bottle stopped on Atlas, I heaved a sigh. Saved.

Dylan cheered. "Oh, I know exactly what Captain needs to do," he said, a devilish smirk on his face. "Captain has to take a body shot off the person the bottle stops on next. Do you agree? Or would you rather answer a question?"

Dylan's eyes jumped from him to Evelyn who was struggling to keep the horns of her she-devil costume on her head. Damn, Dylan liked to play dirty.

Atlas grunted and took off his Godfather costume suit jacket. "Fine. I'll do the body shot."

"Good choice," Dylan quipped before spinning the bottle again.

The bottle spun for a few seconds and just as I thought it would stop on Kris who was standing beside me, it moved forward and stopped on me. Fuck.

"Me?" I squeaked. In a lame attempt to avoid it, I blurted the first thing that came to mind. "I-I have a boyfriend."

"Fair point. So how about we switch Captain with Kris?" Dylan asked. "What do you say, Kris?"

"You okay with this?" Kris asked, meeting my gaze.

The carnal look in his eyes made my stomach flip. He wasn't even pretending to be hesitant. Kris wanted to do this.

Heat pooled between my legs at the thought of having Kris's lips on my skin, licking and sucking his way up my body. Or maybe he would go down, torturing me with those sinful lips. I already knew he was a great kisser and the idea of having those kisses elsewhere on my body made my head spin.

"Ashely?" he prompted, his thumb drawing patterns between my shoulder blades and making it harder to think. His tongue darted out to wet his lips at the same time and another vivid image of his tongue doing the same thing on my skin flashed in my mind, making me lose any reservations I might have had.

I nodded. "Okay."

The answering smirk that curved Kris's lips made my heart flutter in anticipation.

I wasn't going to get out of this unscathed, was I?

Loud cheers erupted as the table was cleared to make space for me. Someone handed me a pack of wet wipes and I pulled one out before turning to Kris.

"Where do you want..." I trailed off, not knowing how to phrase that question. My face probably was bright red and it had nothing to do with the few sips of alcohol I had consumed.

Kris's eyes roamed my costume, homing in on every bit of exposed skin. He took the wipe from my hand and gently dragged it over my collarbones. My breath hitched as his hand lowered to the top of my breasts and he stopped, handing the wipe back.

"Here," he whispered and trailed his hand down, brushing his fingers on my exposed stomach. "And here."

His gaze locked with mine for a hot second before he looked away. My face heated up further. Kris doing a body shot off my chest wasn't how I'd expected things to go tonight.

As I laid down flat on the table and watched Kris get everything, my nerves kicked in and I started to question my judgment. Why else would I put myself through this torture?

However, the moment I saw the look of pure desire in his eyes, my concerns fell away. It was scary what I was willing to do just to have him look at me like that.

Like I was the only thing he desired.

"Open," Kris said as he brought a tiny wedge of lime near my mouth.

I did as he asked and he placed the wedge between my lips. Smiling, he pressed a kiss to my forehead and whispered, "You can still say no, you know that right? No one will say anything."

I knew that, but did I want to stop? This thing between us was all an act. But here, in front of everyone, I was his girlfriend. I might as well enjoy it while it lasted. Give into my feelings under the label of the act.

When I nodded my assent, Kris smiled at me and placed the tequila bottle beside my head before making a salt line on my stomach. His rough hands gripped my waist to hold me in place and he brought his face close to my stomach. Our gazes locked as his tongue darted out and touched my skin. I inhaled sharply and gripped the table for dear life when he pressed his tongue flat on my stomach and licked the salt off in one go.

Kris pressed a kiss to my belly and moved up. Without breaking eye contact, he uncapped the bottle and poured the tequila between my breasts. His mouth followed suit, licking and sucking on my skin like a starved man. It took everything in me to not moan and bury my fingers in his hair to hold him in place.

My breathing turned ragged as Kris peppered kisses on my cleavage before trailing his nose up the arch of my neck and kissing my jaw. He pulled back to meet my gaze for a second and then leaned down to kiss my mole. In the next minute, his hand curved around my neck and my eyes fell shut as he lifted my head a little up to suck on the wedge of lime between my lips.

I could feel his breath on my face, his lips hovering over mine and yet, they were so far. It was pure torture to not remove the lime from between us and slam my lips against his. Because damn if I didn't want to.

Kris pulled away after a few seconds that felt like an eternity and pressed a kiss to my forehead again. I opened my eyes to see his face mere inches away from mine, smiling down at me. If I just lifted myself up a little, I could—

Cheers and wolf whistles surrounded us, breaking my chain of thoughts. In the haze of the moment, I'd completely forgotten that we'd an audience.

"Damn that was hot," Nicole commented, fanning her face. "Get a room, you two."

"I feel so single," Holden whined and chugged some more beer.

Dylan clapped his hands to get the uproar under control as Kris helped me off the table and my wobbly feet.

I turned to Kris. "Uh...I'm going to go clean myself up. The tequila, I mean."

Kris nodded and I dashed out of the room and headed to the upstairs bathroom. There was more cleaning up to do than just the tequila that trickled down my bodice.

Locking myself in the bathroom, I slumped against the door to catch my breath. Whatever happened in the room downstairs was definitely going to be the center of my dreams for the foreseeable future.

I was so damn screwed.

I spent a good fifteen minutes in the bathroom to wipe off the remains of tequila from my skin and compose myself. Once I was sure that I was ready to face Kris and everyone again, I stepped out of the bathroom. I was about to head downstairs when I saw Shane leaning against one of the doors.

My mood soured instantly. What was he doing here? Hadn't he learned his lesson that sucking up to the hockey team wasn't going to work?

I fully intended to walk past him, but he grabbed my hand, stopping me. I looked at his hand holding my wrist and then up at him, raising a brow.

"What do you want now?" I asked through gritted teeth. "For wanting nothing to do with me, you're acting a little too obsessed."

Shane scowled. "Why won't you pick up my calls?"

Irritation flared in my chest at his demanding tone. After the way he'd been acting, I hadn't bothered to save his number and I didn't answer unknown callers.

"Because I don't want to talk to you?" I said instead.

His grip tightened on my wrist. "Did you cheat on me in high school?"

The question was so unexpected that for a second, I couldn't wrap my head around it. Was he being serious right now? After all this time, he wanted to talk about our relationship?

"Answer me," he said when I didn't respond. "Did you sleep with McGregor? He hit on you, didn't he?"

Steven McGregor was the quarterback of our high school football team. He was also the biggest playboy and a jerk. I'd always been cordial with him because he was Shane's friend.

"Didn't he?" Shane repeated, shaking me a little.

I snatched my wrist out of his grip and glared at him. He had no right to treat me like this. I'd looked past his behavior when I was dating him, but not anymore.

"He did and I'd told him to fuck off," I yelled. "Now, get away from me."

"You didn't sleep with him?" Shane asked, his brows furrowed.

"God, no!" I scowled at him. "My standards might have been pretty low back then, but even then I wouldn't stoop as low as McGregor."

"And you are accusing me of cheating?" I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "The audacity to spew this nonsense after what you did to me. I'm not like you Shane."

However, my insults didn't affect him like I'd expected them to. In fact, it didn't seem like Shane registered what I was saying at all. There was this faraway look on his face that concerned me a little.

"I-I have to go," Shane said suddenly and took a step away from me, but then thought otherwise and grabbed me by my arms. "Meet me once. Just once. There's something I need to tell you. But before that, I need to confirm a few things. I'll text you the place and time."

I stared at him dumbfounded as Shane rushed down the hallway and climbed downstairs without a second glance in my direction. Whether this was about what he'd said in the library the other day or something completely different, I wasn't sure.

A sudden feeling of dread settled in my gut at his words.

Was it wise of me to keep ignoring Shane?