Bitter

There’s only one spot left at the table when I get out there, and it’s right next to Reed. He winks at me. “Saved you a seat.”

“Gee. Thanks,” I say dryly as I sit next to him. His mom ordered breakfast catered in, so there’s pancakes, waffles, fruit, and juice all spread out on the table.

I dig right in. I keep food in my mouth as much as possible so people don’t try to talk to me. Reed seems to notice and laughs at me. “There’ll be food at the wedding, Wren. You don’t have to inhale that.”

“Hm?” I say innocently. “I must’ve burned a lot of calories last night.”

He sticks his tongue in the side of his mouth and smiles. He shakes his head as he leans forward toward the table. He grabs his fork with his right hand, but his left hand falls down next to my thigh.

His finger runs slowly up and down my leg. My whole body ignites. I clear my throat and scooch my own chair closer to the table in fear that someone is going to see. We are at the end of the table, but there are still people all around us. I still don’t push him away though.

His mom starts talking to me, but I can barely tell what she’s saying. Lucky for me, she likes to talk all about herself, so I can nod every now and then and pretend I’m paying attention.

Reed’s hand slides up my thigh, and his fingers clamp down on my leg. I glance at him without turning my head. His face is neutral, but his hand slides down to the middle of my thigh in between my legs.

I reach for my orange juice and gulp some down. His mom turns to Reed. “Why isn’t Katie here this morning?” she asks.

I turn and smile really big at him. “Yeah, Reed. Why isn’t she?”

He gives me a snarl and then turns to his mom. “She’s meeting me at the wedding.”

She raises her eyebrows all the way up. “You aren’t picking her up?” she asks, sounding offended herself.

He rolls his eyes. “No, Mom.”

“Reed. You could at least try. How do you expect to win her over like this?” She sounds exasperated.

His hand slides further up my thigh. His finger dips into my shorts and runs along the edge of my panties. “I’m not trying to win her over. We’re only friends.”

She sighs. “Oh, c’mon, Reed. You’re getting too old to be dating around still. It’s time you settled down.”

He lets out a sarcastic laugh. “Is that so? What’s the matter, Mom? Afraid you won’t have any heirs now that the golden boy can’t give you that perfect grandchild?”

His finger slides under my panties, and he lightly brushes the skin. My body tenses, and I glance down to my plate to hide my face. His mom’s voice lowers so people around us won’t hear. “Give it a rest, Reed.”

His finger runs up and down right at the seam of where I want him to touch, but he doesn’t push it in. It seems like he’s waiting for me to do something, but I’m not exactly sure what. The only thing I can think to do is to stroke his ego.

I give a small laugh. “Oh no. There was definitely no golden boy child coming. Jake made sure I never missed my pill.”

He smiles at me with his eyes. I’ve never seen him do that before. I don’t exactly know what he’s feeling. It looks like a mixture of happiness and lust. He doesn’t hesitate to show his appreciation. His finger spreads me apart as he slides it up and down and around my clit.

His mom looks at me shocked. I guess because I never really spoke up much before. Now though, I don’t really care what she thinks. I’m not trying to end our relationship, but I also am not going to take any more of her shit. She’s not going to get away with talking down on me, and I sure as fuck am not going to let her talk bad about Reed.

She changes the conversation to a safer topic and then turns and starts talking with some of the other relatives. Reed leans over and presses his finger against me harder as he whispers in my ear, “A fingerfuck is still a fuck, and if I remember correctly, I made a promise about the next time I fucked you.”

He pulls back and pulls his hand away at the same time, leaving me desperate for more. I feel my face heat, and I glare at him as he smiles at me. I take one last bite of food and then scooch my chair back. “I better go get ready.”

Reed gets up and follows me back toward the hall. “You can’t leave me alone with them.”

I turn my head over my shoulder. “It’s your family,” I laugh.

I walk into my room, and he leans his hands on my door frame. “Yeah, but you’re always my buffer.”

I cock an eyebrow at him. “Well, you can’t come in here.”

He frowns. “Why not?”

I roll my eyes. “Because I have to get dressed.”