I push my body away from the pole, my eyes searching the crowd until I find the ones I’m looking for. I wouldn’t let myself look at him the entire time I danced because I was afraid it would make me nervous. But now that I’m finished, all I want to do is jump down off this stage and throw myself into his arms.
When I see Eric pushing his way through the crowd of people still whistling and cheering for me, with nothing but pride on his face as he looks at me, I do just that. Instead of disappearing back behind the curtain, I strut across the stage and meet him at the edge of it, jumping right off and into his awaiting arms.
He grabs onto me tightly, and I wrap my legs around his waist and bury my face into the side of his neck as he spins me around, making me laugh and smile as I cling to him.
When he finally stops spinning us, I pull my head back and look at him.
“I just want you to know, I don’t regret what I said to you out in that parking lot. I fucking love the shit out of you, and I don’t care if you don’t feel the same way because—”
Eric cuts off my declaration by pressing his lips to mine. He kisses me hard, and he kisses me with purpose, and I know in that moment I don’t regret anything about the way I feel, because he deserves to hear it.
Ending the kiss and pulling his head back, I unwrap my legs from around his waist and he slowly lowers me until my feet are on the floor, then brings a hand up to cup my cheek.
“I just want you to know, I fucking love the shit out of you too, Ariel Waters,” he tells me with a smile as he stares down into my eyes.
I gasp in surprise as I look at him, wondering if it’s possible to die from happiness.
“Yeah, well, just remember who said it first, buddy,” I tell him with a smirk.
His chest against mine rumbles with laughter, and I grab the back of his head, yanking him to me for another kiss.
Chapter 22: Dickless, Spineless Pieces of Shit
“So, how did it go when you guys got home last night?” Cindy asks as I hold the phone against my ear and stretch, smiling up at the ceiling when I feel aches in places I didn’t even know could ache.
“Eric and I celebrated our heartfelt declarations when we got home from Charming’s last night by gently and sweetly making love on a bed of rose petals, by the glow of candlelight, with Marvin Gaye playing softly through my boat’s sound system.”
Oh, Jesus. I can’t even say that with a straight face. I immediately bust out laughing, switching my phone to speaker as I climb out of bed and take a minute to stare down at the rumpled sheets.
“Just kidding. He made me keep on the garters and thigh highs, and the purple stilettos. We broke a kitchen chair and a barstool, and then he punched a hole in the wall in the hallway when I put his dick in my mouth, followed up by him bending me over the end of the bed where he fucked me until I passed out. While Nine Inch Nails blasted through the speakers,” I tell her, smiling down at the bed, wishing he hadn’t had to rush off to work early this morning.
“Sweet Jesus, I think I just came,” she mutters.
“Don’t tell me you and PJ are already past the honeymoon phase. You guys just started living together,” I remind her, tossing the phone onto the bed and grabbing a pair of cotton shorts from the bottom drawer. I pull them on, as well as the sample of a brand-new tank top for the Naughty Princess Club, which I designed and was delivered yesterday.
“Oh hell no. It’s amazing. It feels like we’ve been living together forever. But you know, I have a teenager. We can’t exactly break furniture when she’s home,” Cindy explains as I pick up my phone and head to the kitchen to make some coffee.
“Eric’s mom wants to meet me tomorrow. He asked me if I’d go to brunch with him,” I suddenly blurt out as I flip the switch on the coffeepot, which Eric had prepared for me before he left.
“Holy shit, and you’re just now telling me this?!” she screeches through the phone.
“We’ve been on the phone for ten seconds, asshole, not two hours. And chill out with the screaming. I’m not awake yet,” I complain, tapping my fingers against the counter while I wait for the coffee to brew.
“Next time, lead with that. I mean, the sex recap was nice, but holy hell this is huge. HUGE!” she shouts.