Audre & Bash Are Just Friends(78)

“Am I crazy, or was that… you, tattooing me… the hottest thing that’s ever happened.”

“Why do you think I’ve been fantasizing about it?” His voice was a low rumble.

“Bash…”

“Yeah…”

“What did you… fantasize about?”

His mouth curved into a sly smile. “You want me to describe it.”

She nodded, heart pounding.

“No.”

“No?”

“I’ll show you instead.”

He lowered his strong body on top of hers, gently placing her tattooed arm up by her head (Audre melted, realizing that he was concerned about protecting her at a time like this). She almost said this out loud. But then she couldn’t form words at all because he slid his palm up under her shirt, lightly dragging his fingertips along her belly. His touch was scorching. Audre arched into him, plunging her hand in his hair. And then he planted an open-mouthed kiss on her throat. A rush of pleasure skated through her. Bash kept teasing her with light, searching touches under her shirt, and his breath was coming fast, and Audre had started to tremble—and soon, it wasn’t going to be enough. God, how did things get so intense, so fast?

With a hungry moan, she hooked her legs around him, desperate to get closer. And he dragged his hot, luscious mouth to her ear.

“Did you really freestyle, ‘hot like fire yo he gives me heat rash’?”

Audre’s eyes flew open. “PROMISE ME WE’LL NEVER SPEAK OF THAT AGA—”

Bash quieted her with a blazing kiss. The night before, their kisses had been soft and searching. But this one was dirtier, wetter, wilder. He kissed her like he’d never get to do it again—like he wanted her to remember it forever.

He grinded against her, making her gasp into his mouth. Slowly, he trailed his hand further up her shirt, sliding over the cup of her bra. Bash, she whimpered. With one hand, he unhooked her bra, and then…

… Audre’s phone went off in her pocket. Three rings, and one buzz. Finally, Audre pulled away. Which, along with her AP Biology final, was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do.

Eva had called three times, and then texted. Audre read the message—and wished she could collapse in on herself, like a dying star.


Did you read my manuscript?





Chapter 33


Outside, the late afternoon rain had finally stopped. The sun was shining, but a mossy-green, damp scent hung in the air. Gone was the dreamlike, make-believe quality of Bash’s little studio. The cars sloshing by, shoppers remerging after taking cover in cafés, the wet sheen of the street—the world looked glaringly real.

And Audre and Bash were in real turmoil.

The second her mom’s text came through, the spell was broken. With a yelp, Audre disentangled herself from Bash, grabbed her tote, and ran out. He was right on her heels, though. And now, the two were standing under the JUST BECAUSE neon sign, caught in a heated back-and-forth neither wanted to have.

“I have to go.” For the first time, she really felt her tattoo. Now, it did kinda hurt. It burned like crazy.

“I know you do—go make everything right with your mom. But can I just get five minutes? I didn’t get a chance to explain how to clean the tattoo, bandage it up…”

Audre was frantically trying to order an Uber. “Can you text it to me?”

“Are we going to talk about what happened in there?” asked Bash, his eyes pleading. “Look at me.”

With an overwhelmed exhale, she glanced his way. He looked so tender, so fucking hot, with his kiss-puffy lips and impassioned eyes. He looked like hers. She felt like if she stared at him for too long, she’d projectile-launch herself at him, clinging onto his body like one of those oversized Tasmanian giant crabs. And then she’d never do what she needed to do, which was get the hell home to get answers from Eva.

“We were vulnerable in there,” she said softly. “We finally let down our guard and just kind of…”

“… did what we’ve been wanting to do all summer.”

She nodded, biting her bottom lip. His mouth curved into a satisfied smile. And then he kissed her again—a tender, lingering peck. When he pulled away, she breathily whispered, “Did I really just briefly consider losing my virginity on a tattoo chair behind a gift shop that sells ass-shaped stress balls?”

He took a step back and burst out laughing. “You briefly considered what?”

“You heard me!” she giggled, and then gently touched her tingling lips with her fingertips. “What took us so long to get here?”

Bash ran his hand through his wild hair, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He lightly shrugged at her, his eyes ablaze. God, he was irresistible. “What was I supposed to say to you? That not being near you feels pointless, like wasted time? That every kiss I don’t give you burns a fucking hole in me?”

Audre’s mouth dropped open in shock. She was hit with a rush of feeling so strong, she couldn’t find the words to respond.

“Bash, you really felt—”

“I’m not done,” he said. “Those were rhetorical questions. Here’s a real one. Will you be my girlfriend, A?”

Audre blinked several times. Died a thousand deaths. Felt her heart in her throat. And then, in a croaky voice, she responded, “Yes, B.”