Saturday: Distractions Who: Cian and Ava When: Late Where: Cian's house Warnings: NSFW
Most of the people had left the party by now, using Cian's unfortunate car fire as an excuse to hurry on their way. A car fire meant authorities, and given the fact that there was underage drinking going on, Ava couldn't really blame them all. She stayed behind, of course, and did her best to pick up the empty cups and trash while Cian stood outside and talked to the cops regarding the car. She didn't really know what to take from it, other than someone set it on fire deliberately, because really, how else would it have happened? Her first thought was fire elementals, duh. And gee, which fire elementals did they know? Only Ava wasn't sure Jessica and or Jordan was really that bitter and insane to do something so... damaging? She had no idea, but she'd definitely be finding out.
Ava tried to stay out of the way, tying trash bag after trash bag of garbage and setting them in the back of the house, out of sight for now. The headache she'd started to have from all the thoughts earlier had dulled, though it still throbbed annoyingly at her temple. The smell of smoke drifting about the air now didn't help anything. Eventually Ava wandered into the house and down into the basement to look for any lingering cups or trash when she was thrown into pitch black darkness. It had her pausing on the steps and blinking rapidly as her eyes tried to adjust. "Cian?" Turning, Ava felt her way back up the stairs, keeping her hand pressed against the wall to keep from tripping or falling. When she reached the top, she noticed the entire house was dark. With the wind storm outside, a blackout wasn't surprising. Muttering under her breath, Ava somehow managed to get to the front door without hurting any appendages, and she stepped outside to see if Cian was still talking to the police.
Cian almost hadn't believed it when someone had yelled that a car was on fire, and running around from the backyard to the street only to see that it was his car... well, that had sucked. They had a three-car garage, but his mom's car and both of his dad's were taking up all the room, since they were out of town and had had a taxi take them to the airport. So his own car had been parked out on the street, across from the house, surrounded by cars belonging to people who'd come to the party. Someone had lit his fucking car on fire. He didn't really have any illusions about who it might have been, because he knew very well that the Delaney twins were both fucking psychos. One of the neighbors further down had called the police; it didn't take them but ten minutes or so to show up. Then, of course, he had to answer their questions about if he had any enemies, if anyone in particular was angry with him. He'd told the truth, although he didn't know if anything would come of it considering how high up the Delaney girls' dad was in the police force on Darkwater. He knew they'd done it. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind.
Fortunately, he was too preoccupied about what had happened to his car-- he'd loved that damn car, and the fact that insurance would cover it didn't help at all right then-- to think about all the booze that was in the house and what might happen if the officers asked to come inside. Luckily they didn't. Somebody had thought to turn the music down, and people had started leaving as soon as they realized that the police would be on their way. There were still people there, but not anywhere near as many as there had been. Finally he was done giving his report, and he turned back toward the house, now worrying about how pissed off his dad was going to be. There'd be no way to hide that he'd had a party now. As he got closer to the porch, he noticed that the music was completely silent now and that all the windows were dark. "The power's gone?" he said, stepping up onto the porch to join Ava. "Nice." His tone was completely discouraged. Great fucking end to the night, huh?
"The storm," Ava explained, although that much was pretty obvious. A few more people piled out from the back and Ava was sure the house would be completely empty within minutes. No lights, no music and police officers. Talk about a party downer. "We can light some candles," she suggested, taking his hand to lead him inside. He was pissed off, which was understandable. Thankfully it seemed like almost everyone was gone, so she could deal with him herself. She'd managed to get most of the crap cleaned up, though she knew there was probably a few things she had missed. "Did the police say anything useful? Are they going to do an investigation or something?" Likely he'd just have to submit stuff to his insurance and get a new car, but still. Ava was hoping whoever did it would get caught. Even if the police weren't going to try and figure it out, Ava would. One of the benefits to being a telepath and no one really knowing about it.
Cian was a little overly tense, needless to say, and he had to be careful not to make his grip on Ava's hand too tight. "I can't believe those fucking bitches torched my car," he mumbled, shaking his head and letting Ava lead him into the house. He took a deep breath and then exhaled as they moved through the dark foyer, trying to gather himself a little. The party had gone well up until that moment, so he guessed that was good. "They'll investigate," he said, "but I dunno how much good it'll do." Ava knew as well as he did what they were up against with hoping the Delaneys would actually get caught at some of the shit they did. Dad a police bigwig, mom a high-powered lawyer, neither inclined to believe that their precious angel daughters would ever do anything bad. Yeah. "I fucking hate them." As he stepped forward, his foot hit a can and sent it flying against the baseboard. "I wonder who's even still here," he said, trying to distract himself. "I think Liam was gonna stay, him and Ashley." He didn't know if Ava knew about Liam's issues with the dark, but he knew good and well the guy wouldn't try to take off from here in a windstorm.
Ava nearly pointed out that he didn't know for sure that it was Jessica and Jordan, but Ava knew that would be a bad idea. Besides, Ava's instincts told her that it was the Delaneys too. Not that it would do much good if it was proven to be them. Their parents had too much influence. It'd be like Torin Spencer getting in trouble... just not happening, she supposed. But that didn't mean Ava couldn't get back at the Delaneys on her own. There was plenty Ava could do, she was just usually too nice to do it. Not anymore though. "I don't know. Most people disappeared. I got a couple people to leave just by mentioning the police were here. I haven't seen Liam though. He could be in a guest room or something with Ashley." Ava had been too preoccupied with cleaning up than to really take note of who was sticking around and who wasn't. "I can't believe that they'd actually do something like that. I mean, I can believe it, but wow... they could have damaged more cars, or worse... especially with the wind blowing the way it is. She looked up at him in the dark. "You know, I have absolutely no problem with doing whatever I can to get back at them."
"Man, I'm glad they didn't wanna come in. I didn't even think about that when I went over to talk to them." He'd dodged a bullet with that; he didn't have connections on the police force to make that go away like the twins did. He sighed. "There's room for people to crash if they want to. Some people might not wanna ride back over to town in a storm like this." He didn't, of course, know that ferry service had been completely suspended for the night anyway. He leaned against the wall near the foot of the stairs, pulling Ava closer to him so he could see her in the almost complete absence of light. "I think they'd do anything," he said. And he thought they'd done this, but that was pretty clear and didn't need repeating again. When she said she didn't have a problem with retaliation, he cracked a faint smile. "Long as it doesn't get you in trouble, I'm fine with anything you wanna do to them. Maybe we can put our heads together and think of some stuff." So much for leaving each other alone, he thought wryly. He hugged Ava, resting his chin on her shoulder, glad that she was there with him. He'd get so pissed he might implode if he had to be alone tonight. "C'mon, I wanna change my shirt," he said, pulling away a little. "I feel like I smell like smoke."
Ava knew how pissed she would be if it had been her car. Right now, hers was parked a couple houses down on the curb. Cian could get a new car. Insurance would pay for it, and if there was some problem, his parents certainly had the money to get him a new one anyway. Ava's car wasn't all that great, but it worked. Her mom would probably flip out and force Ava back on her bicycle if her car had been the one to get torched. "I can hear every thought they have," she reminded him, slipping her arms around him tightly. "So I'll find out what happened... and if I'm lucky, I'll get to hear more than that. You never know what you might pick up from people, and what you can use against them if you have to." Ava hated hearing thoughts generally, but sometimes it worked in her benefit. Ava might not be popular, or very threatening, but she had a temper when it came to people messing with her friends. Cian, especially and Jessica and Jordan would figure that out soon enough. If Ava had to turn into Uber Bitch, so be it. She pulled back to let him lead her up the stairs. "You smell better than pot," she teased, lacing her fingers through his with a small squeeze.
Strangely enough, the reminder that Ava could know for sure what had gone on made him feel a little bit better. His dad might bitch at him until the end of time and fuss about replacing the car-- it didn't matter that he could afford it; the man was very frugal anyway-- the police might do diddly shit as far as catching the twins... but he'd know. That mattered a lot. "I'd hate to have you for an enemy," Cian said when she talked about using people's thoughts against them. He knew that wouldn't happen, and he also knew how fiercely Ava would defend anyone she cared about. That was pretty awesome. He started up the stairs, one hand in hers and the other on the rail so he wouldn't lose his balance in the darkness. "No way," he said. "I think pot would smell better than this combination of chlorine, beer and smoke I've got going on right now." It took longer than usual because he was walking slow up the steps, but they reached the hallway at the top and headed for his room. His nose wrinkled as he heard faint but unmistakable sounds coming from the guest room across the hall from his. "I think we found Liam and Ashley," he whispered, unable to help being a little bit amused by that. He took the key out of his pocket and unlocked his door so they could go inside, pushing the door open so she could go in first.
"I already have an enemy," Ava said dryly, thinking about Jessica and the hair pulling incident. "Actually, I think I have three... Jessica, Jordan and Torin. Not that I care at all... they're all annoying." Throwing iced tea at Torin had been incredibly satisfying, even if it made the guy hate her. He was a creep anyway, with creepy thoughts. "Besides, if they think they can treat you like that, and you'll just sit around and be pissy rather than doing anything in return, then they're morons. I know I told you to let it go, but scorching your car? That's beyond break up bitterness, if you ask me." Once they reached the top, Ava paused and stared at Cian. It took her a couple of seconds to realize what they were hearing. "Oh!" Okay then... she didn't know whether to laugh or say 'ew!'. "Please open your door before I start hearing anything resembling a thought from them." That had reminded her of earlier, when for at least a half an hour it felt as though she heard everyone's thoughts within a two freaking mile radius. That had been horrifically bad. Ava bounced impatiently on her heels before he finally opened the door. Moving inside, she toed off her sandals and walked over to plop down on the bed. She still had on her t-shirt and shorts, but her red bikini was hiding underneath. She'd been too embarrassed by it to actually take off her clothes and swim earlier, but people had kept her busy for the most part, so it didn't seem to matter. "I smell like beer and smoke," Ava pointed out. "You're going to change and smell better and I'm still going to stink!"
"They're all ridiculous," Cian scoffed when she mentioned Jess, Jordan and their evil minion Torin Spencer. "And yeah, that's like, major vandalism. Nobody'd expect me to just let that shit go." He'd feel even more justified when Ava found out for certain sure that they'd done it by reading their thoughts. He smirked at her reaction to the sexfest evidently going on across the hall. Hell, he figured Ashley'd had to distract Liam somehow, and that'd be a surefire way. He didn't want to hear it either, though, so he was happy to close the door behind them and then lock it. No telling who might wander in if he didn't. He didn't care if people were crashing at his house-- hopefully they wouldn't destroy anything-- but he was done with them for the night, all except for Ava, of course. Once inside his room, it was dark but there was enough light to see a little bit; he'd left his curtains open and they were letting in at least some ambient light from outside. He yanked his shirt over his head and tossed it into the corner. "No, no, I'm not gonna smell much better until I take a shower. Taking off the shirt'll just get rid of the worst of the smoke smell. You always smell good to me, anyway." He was distracted from finding a different shirt by the thought of what had happened up here earlier, something he thought of then both at the mention of Torin Spencer and of shirts. He moved over to sit down next to Ava, saying, "You're never gonna believe who tried to get all up on me earlier." Hopefully Ava would find it amusing; now that it was over with, he certainly did.
"And you shouldn't let it go," Ava agreed. "I can't believe I'm actually encouraging retaliation, but whatever! They'll get away with it and that'll piss me off." It already pissed her off! "Seriously, she accuses you of cheating, you break up with her, and she torches your car? Psycho." She was scowling now, since the more she thought about it, the pissier she was getting. Best to try and forget it for now, since she didn't want to get Cian all worked up again. While she was steaming over it, Cian was taking off his shirt, which sort of distracted her from her vengeance filled thoughts. It was like an instant reaction, admiring him whenever he was shirtless. She did it before they were dating, but now she could gape and not feel stupid about it. She especially liked the way his shorts sort of hung on his hips like that. Stupid hormones. She still had to get used to the fact that she didn't have to be embarrassed by the way her body seemed to 'wake up' when he was half naked. Ava forced herself to focus on what he was saying when he sat down beside her and mentioned someone trying to 'get all up on' him. Both eyebrows lifted in curiosity and amusement was the first reaction to actually kick in. "God, do I want to know? I could believe just about anyone... does that mean it was a guy or something?"
Cian was trying to not dwell on the loss of his car-- his beloved, classic green Fiat that was now a heap of scorched metal and ash outside-- but at the same time he'd have to admit that it was nice to have someone feel indignant on his behalf. The car wasn't even the main thing; he knew there'd be people who'd just roll their eyes because his family had money and it wasn't like he'd have to go without a car. The point was that Jordan and Jessica Delaney thought they could do anything they fucking wanted to and never get paid back, and Ava seemed to agree with him that that couldn't happen. He didn't want to think about the Psycho Sisters right now, either, though. There wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment, and he needed to try to calm down. "Ew, no, it wasn't a guy," he said, his expression a touch disgusted. He might never get over it if a guy hit on him. He didn't care what some guys might want to do with each other as long as he was completely left out of it, thanks. "Do you know Torin the douchebag's sister? She was here, and she asked me if she could borrow a shirt because she was cold." He rolled his eyes. "There I was being stupid, not thinking she wanted anything except a shirt. She was totally hitting on me."
The Psycho sisters were definitely people she wanted to push out of her brain for the moment. Otherwise she would get steamed, and more steamed, and she would want to grab a pitchfork and go to the mainland and hunt them down. Not very rational, or logical, especially in this weather. Ava had been pretty nice, but for the hair pulling and iced tea throwing. She put up with Jessica when she'd dated Cian, and she'd tried to take the high road. Whatever. Ava could have a vindictive side if she really wanted one. And now she wanted one. "Hey, be flattered if a guy wants to do naughty things to you." She snickered, knowing that Cian would likely get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. "Torin's sister... Taryn?" Ava knew of her, but she didn't know her at all other than what she heard around school or whatever. Grinning, Ava shook her head. "You're totally dense. Asking for your clothes? Why wouldn't she just ask someone outside, or one of her actual friends? I bet you gave her a shirt too, didn't you? She's probably out parading around in it, showing off her Cian conquery!" Not that Ava thought for a second that anything happened, but it was fun to tease him. Sure, maybe there was some kind of jealousy trying to force its way to the surface, but Ava was not going to be one of those girls who got crazy possessive over her boyfriend. So what if Taryn was pretty and popular and rich? Pfft. "Did you let her down gently?"
Cian scowled at her, knowing she was teasing but unable to resist taking the bait, anyway. "There's nothing flattering about that. That's just gross." Not the most politically correct opinion around, but there it was. He bumped his shoulder against Ava's. "Bad enough that my car got exploded, but you have to traumatize me too?" He pretended to pout at her, but he couldn't hold the expression. He rolled his eyes a little. "Yeah, Taryn. It took me ages to think of her name, too. I just wasn't thinking about someone trying to hit on me, I guess. She might've been cold. Sure as hell wasn't much to her top." He shrugged. "Not that I was staring." It was a little weird sometimes to say things like that to Ava now that she was his girlfriend, but she was still his best friend, too. "She was all, isn't it fun to sneak around and do things?'" He made his voice breathy and seductive, exaggerating the effect just for fun. "Yeah, I was nice. I didn't go for it, she said she thought I didn't have a girlfriend and I said I did. I don't really know her, but she seems okay." Despite being Torin's sister.
"Yeah, yeah, I think we've had the 'gross' discussion before," Ava said with a playful roll of her eyes. It was just fun to tease Cian, regardless. She bumped him back and took his hand quickly after. At least he wasn't scowling or still steaming about his car. She would have been probably... but then again, she had Cian and he would have tried to do what she was doing - make her feel better. "Taryn's okay I guess. I don't know her very well, since she's a grade beneath us. She doesn't seem as snooty as Torin is, but that doesn't mean anything." Grinning, Ava eyed Cian with mock suspicion. "I bet you were doing everything you could not to stare, so you wouldn't feel guilty about it. And if she stopped trying to mack on you, yes I just said the word 'mack', after you told her you had a girlfriend--" Which was still odd to think about, since it was her. "-- then she must not be a total skank, right." Ava bit the inside of her cheek before she released Cian's hand and went for the hem of her t-shirt. Screw it. She bought this bathing suit just to get his attention before she actually had his attention... she felt like she ought to show it off a little. "Do you try not to stare at every girl in a bathing suit top, or just when you have someone who might beat you over the head if you're caught doing it?"
Cian squeezed her fingers when she laced them through his, smiling at her and then lifting his eyebrows as he said, "Nobody's as snooty as Torin is." The guy was such a tool, but luckily he wasn't someone Cian had to hang around with anymore, and he hoped to keep it that way. Jessica, Jordan and Chrissy could have him; it had to say something about them that they were that crazy about him, anyway. He eyed her right back when she said she bet he was doing everything he could not to stare. "Well, yeah. Why would I want to offend my new and very sexy girlfriend by having Taryn go around telling people I was staring at her tits?" He winked at her. "'Cause I totally wasn't, and nah, I don't think she's a skank. I never hear any real gossip about her or whatever." It could have been really uncomfortable for him if Taryn had persisted, but luckily she hadn't. She let go of his hand, and he sat back on the bed slightly, propping himself on his hands, interested by the fact that she had the hem of her shirt in both hands. "C'mon, I'm a guy. Guys always notice when girls're wearin' bikini tops. But I'd rather stare at your bikini top." Which, come to think of it, he hadn't seen whatever Ava had on under that shirt and shorts. Did she even swim?
"I guess some people think because they have money they're above others." Ava shrugged. Cian had money but thankfully he wasn't egotistical or conceited. Okay, so he was sort of, but in a non-offensive way. It was a trait she actually liked, only because she had no problem making fun of him for it. Ava snorted when he called her 'sexy', but she resisted punching him in the arm. Yes, it would take some getting used to, knowing he was serious, but Ava had a feeling her natural reactions for awhile would be to laugh or blush. Hopefully she could get past them and just appreciate the compliment. She didn't think she was sexy at all, and she'd never tried to be sexy - except when she bought this stupid barely there bikini. Taryn Spencer had apparently tried to show hers off first. Pfft. "Maybe she'll go around telling people you did anyway. Like anyone would refuse to believe a guy your age wasn't checking out a pair of boobs." She was more or less over talking about Taryn at this point, because she kind of wanted Cian not thinking about Taryn, or her boobs. "You've seen my bikini top before," Ava pointed out with a grin. There was no denying that she was pretty damn bad at flirting and everything, but she was starting to feel more comfortable being physically affectionate - in a more than platonic way - with Cian. Not that it was uncomfortable, but again, it took some getting used to. This was her best friend of like seven years... he'd always been nothing but a boy to her for six or so of those years and now everything was completely different. Standing up, Ava turned to stand at the edge of his bed, wedged a bit between his legs when he leaned back. Before she lost her nerve, Ava tugged her shirt up and over her head. She kept the shirt in one hand, down by her side, doing her best not to look embarrassed. "I didn't have time to actually swim. I just..." Okay, cue reddening cheeks. "This was actually my sort of plan for getting you to notice me." Buying a skanky bikini. Nice one.
Ava would probably be perplexed if she knew that Cian found her so sexy because she didn't try to be. It was as if now that they'd breached the 'just friends' barrier, the way she looked at him, the way she moved, even sometimes the most random things she said to him got his interest in completely new ways. "Hell, she probably will," Cian said, rolling his eyes a little. He just hoped the girl wouldn't go around saying she blew him or some other random rumor that completely wasn't true. She didn't seem like the type, but you never knew about people. "Whatever, long as you know I didn't." He didn't expect to have any problems with Ava trusting him, but he thought it best not to take chances. He'd seen too many people's relationships get messed up by rumors and outright lies sometimes. He smiled at her when she said he'd seen her bikini top before. "Sure I have," he agreed. "Doesn't mean I don't wanna see it again." His eyes followed her movements as she got up, and he automatically spread his knees a little when she nudged herself between them; she couldn't have planned a better way to get every bit of his attention, particularly when she pulled her shirt over her head. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen Ava in a bikini top with ties, and especially not a bikini that was quite that small. He couldn't seem to come up with words for twenty seconds or so, because he was busy eying her and then swiftly tugging the shirt out of her hand to drop onto the carpet. "You had a plan for me noticing you?" he asked. "I think it would've worked pretty well, 'specially with that top wet." She might hit him for being gross, but it was true! The thought of her in that bikini top, dripping with water, nipples standing at attention, made him feel kind of warm.
"I know you didn't," Ava said with a grin. It was kind of cute that he was making sure she knew he hadn't been checking out Taryn Spencer. It made her feel kind of good, actually. It was just another thing she wasn't used to. Honestly, she needed to stop thinking so much and just go with it. But her first real boyfriend being Cian was just something that continually blew her mind. Ava lifted her hands to his shoulders when he took the shirt from her. "It was a sort of plan," she corrected with another smile. "I kept telling myself it wasn't to get your attention, but it was. I figured skimpy bathing suits always got guys' attentions. Although obviously I couldn't bring myself to actually showing it off for whatever reason, so I guess it's good that I got your attention without it. Who knew that all I needed was pot?" Thank god for the two beers she managed to get down earlier, otherwise she'd be standing there as red as the bathing suit she was wearing. "I guess I could jump in the shower," she teased. "Or go outside and wait for it to start raining or something."
"You didn't know you had my attention already," Cian corrected her, sitting up a little when she put her hands on his shoulders and putting his hands on her waist, just above the waistband of her shorts. "I didn't know you had my attention. I'm not that bright, I guess." If only she knew how literally he meant that. But now wasn't the time to think about depressing things; there was enough depression in the evening considering what had happened to his car, something he didn't want to think about right then, either. He was completely ready to be distracted. This was a nice angle, he thought as he gazed up at her, up close and personal with the bikini top in question. His hands wandered to the spot where the string tied across her back, and he smirked as he pretended to consider her options for getting the bathing suit wet. "No goin' outside," he said. "It might be hours 'til it rains." It sounded like the sky was going to open up any second, but he knew that might not be the case. "You could get in the shower, but then you'd have to take your shorts off, too. That could be a good plan, 'cause then I could see the rest of it."
Ava shook her head slightly. "No, I didn't know. You were pretty good about keeping it a secret, other than being pissy about Liam." Who was getting busy in another room in the house, which was kind of funny. She supposed she did owe him for putting thoughts about Cian in her head. Or rather, bringing those thoughts back to the surface after she had buried them when he started dating Jessica. "And you're plenty bright... and considering how you reacted to Liam, you probably knew too, it was just... weird to think about." Ava was completely guessing at this point, just to keep rambling since she was becoming pretty distracted by his hands. Smiling at his suggestion about the shower, Ava let her hands wander up to the hair at the nape of his neck. "I could just take off my shorts here. Unless you're pretty set on me being wet." Which wow, had so many possible meanings. She wanted to laugh at herself and point out the joke, but she resisted. "Although," she continued, glancing down at his lap. "I don't think it's entirely fair, since I don't think you're wearing your trunks anymore."
She was totally rambling, and Cian realized that he was going to have to try harder to be attentive when she was talking to him while wearing something like that. That red bikini top was really kind of amazing; he couldn't see how it held her in at all. Knowing Ava as he did, he knew she would have been fiercely uncomfortable wearing that in the pool, probably worrying that she'd fall out of it the whole time. Having a private viewing of it was pretty damned great, he thought. His interest was captured again when she said she could just take her shorts off here; he snickered at her remark about being wet but didn't comment on it. There was no need to. He could see from her expression that she realized what she'd just said. "You could," he agreed. "That'd work pretty well for me." Because now he couldn't stop wondering if the bottom was as brief as the top. He set his hands on her waist again and leaned forward to plant a kiss on the expanse of skin just above her breasts, because he was at the perfect height for that. Then he sat back again and said, "Nah, I'm not, but I'll show you my boxers if you want." His tone was ultra casual, but his eyes gleamed with mischief. "I wouldn't wanna be unfair or anything."
His lips touched her skin and she wondered if he felt her heart jackhammer in her chest from the gesture. Okay! So no one had ever done that before. It got her blood pumping a bit hotter, and she found it was almost as nice as when he touched her breast before in his room, that first night they kissed. A part of her wished she'd done all this stuff already with someone else, because then at least she would know what she was doing, or should be doing. Ava was not a delicate flower, or even a blushing virgin really. She was just a normal virgin, and she hated that she didn't know the things most girls her age knew. She could best Cian in air hockey, wrestle with him, joke around, and even tell him he's being an asshole from time to time. But when it came to this stuff, she felt sort of paralyzed. Gah. Her brief foray into flirting with Liam had had decent results, but nothing Liam had done to her had made her feel all hot and gushy inside. Licking her lips, Ava's eyes traveled back down to his lap briefly before she smirked. "I bet you I've seen whatever boxers you're wearing before. But you're right, I think it's only fair..." Her hands went to the button of her shorts and popped it open, but she paused, eying him expectantly. "You first."
Ava smelled good, and he'd had to resist the urge to linger there, kind of nuzzle his face against her skin. Cian hadn't noticed her heartbeat picking up significantly, but then the quick kiss hadn't lasted long enough for that. He didn't have any clue that she was wishing she had more experience right then; he actually thought it was pretty cool that she didn't. But even if he had known what she was thinking, he wouldn't have been concentrating on it as he waited in anticipation to see if she was actually going to show him her bikini bottom. She'd said she was, but that didn't mean she'd follow through with it. He watched every motion of her fingers as she popped the button on her shorts open... then exhaled an involuntary sigh when she said he should go first. "Tease," he accused her, but he was smiling as he said it. He pushed up from the bed, his hands going first to her shoulders as he stood to make sure she didn't stumble, since there wasn't a lot of space between them. Then he unbuttoned and unzipped his shorts and pushed them down, letting them fall to the carpet and then kicking them away with one foot. He had on a pair of dark-blue cotton boxers, pretty standard, and he spared them a quick glance to make sure he wasn't poking out the fly before looking back at her again. "How's that?" he asked, smirking at her and then seating himself on the bed again.
"Oh, that's the first time I've ever been called a tease," Ava joked. "I feel so deliciously skanky for it." Even though she liked being able to tease him, even if she hadn't deliberately meant to at that moment. Or maybe a tiny part of her had. Apparently teasing a boy you liked was a little bit empowering! When he stood up, she stayed put rather than stepping back to give him room. Ava liked being close to him, and sure, she could smell some of the smoke from his car, and chlorine from the pool, but it didn't put her off at all. Plus, he had a really nice body. Which was now half naked, as his shorts fell to the floor. She'd seen him in boxers before and never thought twice about it. Now she was well aware of the fact that she could slip her hand into his shorts, through that nice, easy access fly, or from his waistband. Her throat was suddenly dry again, but she pushed past it and smiled at him when he sat again. "That's better. Definitely fair." She unzipped her shorts and pushed them down before she lost her nerve. Why had she bought this thing again? Ava was totally set to blame it all on Rhiannon for encouraging her. Although Ava had really encouraged Rhiannon but that was neither here nor there. Kicking them away from underneath her feet, Ava moved forward again to place her hands back on his shoulders. Using them as leverage, she moved to sit on the bed, although she straddled his lap rather than moving anywhere else. "Blue is a good color on you."
"Your first skank moment," Cian joked right back. "Your mom'll be so proud." He didn't mind being teased like this. It was actually kind of fun, not knowing for sure what would end up happening. He took in the red bikini bottom once she finally pushed her shorts down, noticing that it had ties, too, and it was as small as the top was. He'd never seen this much bare skin on Ava, even though they'd swam together before. He didn't think she'd ever owned a bathing suit this tiny before, and if she had, she hadn't shown it to him. "That's an awesome bikini," he told her. "I think it's my favorite one ever, in the history of the world." He was being a little bit silly, but he wasn't entirely joking, either. He could feel his own heartbeat picking up, especially when she took hold of his shoulders again and arranged herself on his lap. "I like blue," he said when she told him it was a good color for him. Now that she was this close, face to face, he took the opportunity to slide his hands down her back again, finding the fact that the only covering it had was a tied string very exciting. "And you should wear red more. You should wear this bikini more, too. Maybe on our next date?" His fingers explored the top of her bikini bottom, skimming over her lower back to trace the edges of it.
"I know. She'll probably want to do something ridiculous to commemorate the moment, like taking me shopping, or out for ice cream or something." She hadn't even shown her mom the bathing suit she had bought. Ava could only imagine the horror her mom would express, either in her facial expression, or her thoughts. Ava smiled and rested her hands lightly on his shoulders. She was comfortable there on his lap, and she had been in that position before, the night they smoked pot. Only they had been more fully clothed then. "Your most favorite ever? That's a pretty big compliment from Cian Andersen. I want to tell all the other girls to suck it." Ava kept talking, mostly because if she didn't, she would start focusing more and more on the way his hands were tracing over her skin. And they were incredibly close to the string tied behind her back. It was kind of interesting, how he was paying so much attention to her bikini now, instead of the fact that his car was sitting outside, completely scorched and ruined. Ava felt pretty damn good about herself, that she could be the reason he was so distracted from it. "Our next date?" Her fingers slipped down over his collar bones and to his chest. "Will that include swimming of some kind then?"
Cian was definitely comfortable with her there, close enough to touch, although he suspected he didn't have long before her position in his lap was going to noticeably affect him. Not much he could do about that, so he decided not to worry about it. "My most favorite ever," he confirmed. "Because you're wearing it, and it looks totally hot." Admittedly, it was relatively dark in his bedroom, but he could see well enough to know that. His hands dropped to her hips and then slowly slid down her thighs, braced on either side of him, and he was only stopped from kissing her right then by her asking him a question. "Well, it could," he said when she wanted to know if their next date would include swimming. "But it doesn't have to. It's summer. It'd be kinda hot if we went to play mini-golf or to the movies and you wore that." He wasn't really being serious; he just wanted to see what she'd say. And yeah, a mostly naked girl straddling his lap was going to distract him from just about anything except possibly the death of a family member. He'd brood some more about the car when he didn't have Ava in his lap, warm and soft and smelling as good as she did.
Ava laughed. "I don't know how well I would do mini golfing in nothing but a bikini. And I think a movie theater might be a bit too cold, plus I think people would stare at me if I went around town like this." If he liked skimpy things, maybe she could always find 'under things' to wear that were skimpy. She'd rather only Cian see things like this on her anyway. Cian made her feel good about herself when he looked at her the way he was looking at her, but other people might make fun or make her feel stupid. She could hear their thoughts, but she couldn't hear Cian's... although right now she sort of wished she could. Leaning forward, Ava pressed her lips to his, her fingers pressing gently against his chest. They'd only snuck a few kisses in here and there over the course of the night, so it was kind of nice now having him all to herself. Even though there had been a fire earlier, and a blackout now with the wind raging outside... right now none of that really mattered.
Cian just grinned at her, because he knew she realized he was messing with her. Actually, he wasn't really keen on a bunch of people staring at her in that bikini, either, to be completely truthful. It was clear that he had a jealous streak from the way he'd gotten so pissed over the thought of Liam taking Ava out, kissing her, whatever. He was glad to have her to himself now, too, and to have such a wonderful distraction from the fucked-up way the night had ended. When she kissed him, he tugged her against him, his hands rubbing her back to keep her pressed to his bare chest as he kissed her back. At first it was a soft kiss, a repeated brushing of his lips against hers, and then he deepened it, his tongue dipping into the well of her mouth as the wind howled outside. She made him feel as if the whole house could blow in around them and he might not even notice, just as long as she'd keep kissing him like that.
Cian! She was kissing Cian. Again! That thought was going to take awhile to go away completely whenever their mouths met. He was such a great kisser, Ava couldn't help but wonder what took her so long to realize that. She'd long ago stopped wondering when she started seeing him as a boy and not just her best friend. When had she stopped wrinkling her nose at the mere thought of kissing him? Now it felt like it was all she wanted to do. A tiny sound of approval muffled against their mouths when his tongue stroked against hers and she shifted on his lap, not wanting to start writhing like a moron but it was hard to keep still when her entire body was growing hot and needy. Her hands lifted to the sides of his face and she kissed him until she felt like her lungs might burst from the lack of oxygen. It was only then that she pulled back half an inch and inhaled audibly. "You're really good at that," she breathed lamely, wishing she could stop herself from saying stupid things in such heated moments, but it was hard.
Cian wasn't really thinking about how this was his best friend whom he now saw as a girl. He was too busy enjoying the feel of her body against his with even fewer clothes than the last time they'd done this and the feel of their mouths locked together. The little sound she made was incredibly hot, and it prompted him to kiss her harder as if he'd suck the very breath from her lungs. By the time she pulled back a little, he was breathing heavily, his hands running over her nearly bare back more urgently. "Glad you think so," he managed to say, his mouth almost brushing hers still. "It'd suck if you thought I was a horrible kisser." He shifted a little on the bed, resisting the urge to take her hips and pull her against him; predictably, her weight on him at a strategic place was getting him hard about as fast as he'd thought it would. Well, that and the enthusiastic kisses. "You're pretty good at it too," he told her, then licked at her bottom lip, because he liked how she tasted.
"I guess I'm okay at it," Ava said dumbly, wishing for more coherent thoughts in her hazy addled brain. "But you're really good." Fingers slid back over his jaw and into his hair and Ava blinked before smirking softly. "I don't think I'm helping your ego any... I have to stop giving you so many compliments before I transition completely into one of your annoying fangirls." She could definitely feel the changes in his lap, and it felt good. She wanted to touch him and push against him, but she was still gathering that bit of courage. Dipping her head down again, Ava captured his lips again, slipping her tongue into his mouth eagerly. She would kiss him all night if she could, just to see what it would do to him. Or her. Because she was able to, Ava pressed against him, shifting her hips into a soft, subtle roll. It wasn't like they hadn't done this before, because they had. Only with a lot more clothes. This was much more exciting, and there was less hesitation on Ava's part.
"Don't worry about it," Cian said, a half-smile tugging one corner of his mouth upward. "The annoying fangirls would never tell me when I'm being an ass, and you do." He'd never want to feel like Ava was flattering him and stroking his ego just to be doing it, and he didn't think she would even though they were dating now. They had too many years of being best friends behind them for that. She kissed him again, and he forgot about talking. All he wanted to do was kiss her and catch her hips with both of his hands as she rubbed against him so he could guide her movements a little. It felt so good, but at the same time it made him feel almost crazed to touch her more intimately, for her to touch him. He leaned back very slightly, pondering lying down to get her into a more touchable position, his hands sliding up from her hips and stroking over the bare skin of her back again as he kissed her and kissed her some more, finally having to break from her mouth to gasp for air.
Ava really didn't think she could shift from being his best friend to solely being his girlfriend. She'd always told Cian what she thought, whether she was complimenting him on something, or calling him out on his occasional jerkiness or arrogance. She'd always hated it when girls flattered him, or batted their eyelashes and did or said anything they could to agree with him. That seemed incredibly boring to Ava, and she highly doubted she'd be able to keep her mouth shut if he did something stupid, even now. None of that really mattered now. She was currently completely focused on Cian's mouth, and the fact that his hands were touching her skin. Again, she was simply amazed at how a little kiss could fire her up. Okay, so it wasn't really a little kiss, but she didn't know simply mouth on mouth contact would do so much to her body. Ava let her hands wander over his bare chest before he pulled away for more air. She inhaled deeply, but pressed her face against the curve of his neck as she worked on getting oxygen back into her lungs. She was feeling hot, bothered and wet. And a lot more bold than she had been when she took her shirt off. Maybe it was all the hormones and horniness. Ava reached behind her to where the red strings were tied together at her back and neck. Keeping her mouth pressed against his throat, Ava tugged at one of the strings, feeling the rest of the tie fall apart and her top loosen.
It was amazing how different her touch felt in a situation like this. Ava had touched him numerous times during the course of their friendship, and he'd touched her, but her fingers sliding over his chest left goosebumps in their wake. He was fully hard and each shift of her weight against him was the sweetest torture, making him think again of that intense, insanely erotic dream where she'd ridden him mercilessly, rising and falling on him until they'd both exploded. He could feel his heart pounding as her cheek brushed his neck, as her breath washed over the curve of his shoulder, and he was distracted from his thoughts of lying down with her when he caught the movement of her hand out of the corner of his eye and realized that she was untying one of the strings that held her top on. Instantly, one of his hands moved up her back to investigate that, and he whispered, "Need any help with that?" Because the thought of her bare chest pressed to his inflamed him all over again, and he bit at one corner of his lip as he waited to see what she'd say or do next.
Ava pulled back just enough to be able to look at him under heavy lidded eyes. She nodded at his question, hoping he'd get the tie around her neck. She thought maybe she ought to be blushing, or giggling over the fact that Cian would see her breasts, but she found no amusement in it at the moment because everything was just so wonderfully hazy and hot. She wanted to do so many things to him and had no idea where to start. All she knew was that every time she rocked over his hips it felt like sparks shooting through her body. There was a delicious, unexplainable ache she felt deep inside and all she really wanted to do was continue rocking over him like she had before until it all exploded within her. Ava kissed him again, biting gently at his lower lip. There was a lot of anticipation and excitement rushing through her, thinking about the fact that they could both potentially be halfway naked in a few seconds. She didn't think she was ready to have sex with him yet, but that didn't mean she couldn't touch him, or he couldn't touch her, right?
Ava was as in the moment as he was. Cian could see that in her eyes when she lifted her head to look at him. Given permission by her nod, he tugged at the end of the bow she'd tied around her neck, feeling it loosen and then fall free. He kept hold of it so he could tug the (very small) bits of cloth away from her body, and once he had... there she was. She kissed him before he could really look at her, and he shuddered as she bit his lip, tilting his head to swipe his tongue into her mouth and putting his hands on her back to pull her fully against him. He breathed a soft sound into the kiss and pushed his hips up into hers, almost painfully excited by the feel of her breasts against his chest with nothing between. He kissed her hungrily until he had to pause for breath and then lay back with her and twisted to the side, one of his hands traveling up her body to-- finally!-- caress one breast with its hardened pink nipple.
A pleasurable sound rose up in her throat when he pressed his chest to hers. Really, Cian should always be shirtless, and preferably with her. It felt so good, and just the mere sensation of being topless with him added to the excitement she was already feeling. Ava held onto him as he moved them both to lay down. Her heart was definitely a jackhammer in her chest and it was so easy to completely forget that there had been a party here tonight, and a car on fire, and a horrible wind storm... oh right, and a black out. She had forgotten all of those things thanks to Cian. Ava was finding he was the best kind of distraction. When his hand found her breast, Ava sucked in a breath, arching instinctively into his touch. Her nipples were already taut and aching, and Ava suddenly thought maybe it was a bad idea they were both wearing next to nothing. He was in his boxers and she was in a tiny bikini bottom. It would be really easy just to strip those away too, but then she didn't think she'd be able to stop if she did. Ava licked her dry lips and swallowed hard before she let her hand press to his chest and slide down to his stomach, her fingers resting just above the waistband of his boxers. She wanted to touch him, but felt hesitant since she wasn't sure if he'd want her to or not.
Cian had forgotten all those things for the moment. Party, possible parental wrath, the weather and even the car didn't matter to him at all right then. What mattered was that touching her felt incredible, holding her and kissing her and getting warm and aroused. He sometimes had trouble remembering that all this was new to her. She seemed to enjoy it all every bit as much as he did, and he wasn't thinking that they should have kept more clothes on. Of course, the majority of his blood wasn't in his brain at the moment, either. "You're so gorgeous like this," he breathed, smiling at her and wishing the damned lights were working so he could see better. It occurred to him that she might not like that, but he hoped that eventually she'd get over feeling self-conscious, if she was indeed feeling that way. He figured she might be. His stomach muscles tensed as her fingers traveled over them, and he was actually wondering if she was going to touch him. He didn't want to push her to do something she didn't want to do, but clearly he'd be thrilled if she wanted to fool around some more. He was pretty keen on touching her, too, more than he was already doing, and he figured maybe he could take his cues from her.
It wasn't so much that Ava was self conscious... she was, a little bit, but more so she just felt inexperienced which fueled her uncertainty. Maybe if she had been doing this with someone else, it wouldn't have been so bad, but it was Cian. She would have been lying if she said she didn't feel the need to measure up to Jessica, or any of the other girls he'd slept with. She didn't want to be awkward and bad at this. She wanted to be graceful and confident! Which was difficult when you'd never actually touched a guy like that before, or even had him touch you. When he complimented her, Ava lifted her eyes to his face and smiled, clearly pleased. She definitely would never get tired of hearing him say things like that to her. And because it seemed clear that he was enjoying whatever it was they were doing, Ava sucked in a tiny breath and found the courage to slip her fingers under the waistband of his shorts. Her tentative fingers found him and she marveled at how it felt. Hot, hard and smooth at the same time.