Park Avenue Player by Vi Keeland
Chapter 28
Elodie
My lips were still sore from our closet kiss. Hollis was so hot for me tonight—it was driving me absolutely insane.
“Can we make popcorn?” Hailey asked.
“What’s a movie without popcorn?” I smiled. “I’ll get it started.”
A few minutes later, Hailey shut off the lights in the living room. I placed the gigantic bowl of popcorn in my lap. Hailey sat on one side of me. It surprised me that Hollis chose to sit on the other side of me rather than next to Hailey. That might have made her suspicious. But honestly, I was glad he’d taken the risk. If I couldn’t touch him and kiss him tonight, I at least wanted to be near him.
The side of his leg was right up against mine. The heat from his body penetrated my clothing. I could feel his desire without him having to say or do anything beyond this subtle contact.
I was dying inside, wishing he could just take me to his room and ravage me. I tried to focus on the movie, but it was hard when all I could think about was when I’d get to feel his mouth on me again.
Our hands brushed against each other in the popcorn bowl. From time to time, I’d catch him looking at me instead of the movie. And I could feel him slowly inching closer to me, if that was even possible. I knew neither of us was really focused on the television.
Hailey suddenly stood up. “Can you pause it so I can go pee?”
“Sure,” Hollis said as he grabbed the remote. His eyes followed her down the hall.
When the bathroom door shut, Hollis placed his hand on my thigh and nudged me toward him as he enveloped my mouth in his. He groaned into my lips, the sound of starvation satisfied. His tongue against mine made the muscles between my legs contract.
In the distance, the toilet flushed. He ripped himself away from me before grabbing a throw pillow and placing it over his crotch. He laid his head back as if nothing had happened and tried to act casual as Hailey returned to her spot.
She plopped down on the couch. “Okay. Press play.”
Hollis did as she asked. We went back to watching the movie as if he hadn’t just rocked my world with those ten seconds of fucking my mouth with his tongue. I seriously wanted to escape to the bathroom and relieve the ache between my legs. It wasn’t going to be satisfied any other way tonight, because as soon as this movie ended, Hollis would have to drive me home. I wondered if the batteries in my vibrator still worked. I hadn’t used my little friend for some time, but tonight I might need it.
When the movie ended, Hailey turned to me.
“It’s kind of dumb for us to take you all the way home when you have to come back early in the morning. Why don’t you just spend the night?”
I turned to Hollis. “I’m not sure your uncle is comfortable with that.”
“I’m happy to drive you home if you’d prefer to sleep in your own bed, but we do have a guest room. You’re welcome to stay.”
Hailey got up to grab a drink and Hollis mouthed, “Say yes.”
I chuckled.
When Hailey returned, I said, “You know what? It’s late. I think I’ll take you up on your offer. I’ll just wear the same clothes tomorrow.”
“I’m sure Uncle Hollis has a T-shirt you can sleep in.” Hailey bounced. “This is so cool. We’re having a sleepover with Elodie!”
Hollis flashed me a quick, mischievous smile.
Excited about my spending the night, Hailey insisted we paint our nails before bed. She also asked Hollis again for a T-shirt I could borrow. When I put it on, it went to the middle of my thighs. It was basically a dress.
I didn’t want her to sense anything strange—namely that I was anxious to get back to Hollis—so I took my time hanging out with her and acted as normal as possible. She finally yawned and announced she was turning in.
I gave her a hug. “I’ll see you in the morning, kiddo.”
I’m sure Hailey assumed I was walking down the hall to the guest bedroom. Instead, in my long T-shirt and bare feet, I searched the apartment for Hollis. The kitchen was empty, and he wasn’t in the living room.
I peeked into his bedroom and saw he was just emerging from the bathroom. He’d changed into a fitted, white T-shirt and sleep pants. His feet were bare.
He spotted me in the doorway.
Wiping the moisture out of his hair with a towel, he said, “Come here, you.”
Hollis took me into his arms, and I became completely lost in him. Straight out of the shower with a fresh coating of aftershave, he smelled so damn good. That was to be expected. What wasn’t to be expected was the rampant beat of his heart.
I still wasn’t sure what Hollis was doing with me, what his intentions were. But his heartbeat may have been my first real clue that this wasn’t a game to him anymore.
“How come you showered? I feel dirty now.”
“I had to...relieve some tension. But to be honest, I don’t feel like it did much.”
Hollis definitely still seemed tense. We both clearly wanted the same thing on a physical level, but we couldn’t go there tonight.
That left us not really knowing what to do with each other.
“I love you in my shirt,” he said.
I rubbed my arms. “Thank you for letting me borrow it. It’s so soft.”
He stepped back. “That reminds me. I bought you something.”
My brow lifted. “Yeah?”
He reached under his bed and took out a pink bag. I recognized that it was from La Vivienne, a pricey lingerie store. He looked uncharacteristically shy as he watched me open it.
Inside were silk thongs in a rainbow of colors.
“Hollis, these are so...expensive.”
“The woman at the store swore they were the softest.”
“Yeah, but you must’ve paid three hundred dollars for undies you’re just gonna end up wrecking.”
“It’ll be worth it.” He winked.
“Want me to try one of them on?”
“You don’t have to.”
“But do you want me to?”
“Fuck, yes,” he said immediately.
I slipped out of the red lace ones I was wearing, leaving them on the floor. Hollis stared down at them.
Then I carefully ripped the tag off a pair of cream-colored panties and slipped them on.
“These feel amazing.”
Hollis’s pupils were dilating. I knew he wanted to see them on me, but his long T-shirt was covering my bum.
“You wanna see?”
His chest rose and fell. “Yes.”
I slowly lifted the T-shirt and turned around, exposing my backside. “How do they look?”
He didn’t say anything. I couldn’t see his face, but I could hear his breathing become even more labored.
He cleared his throat. “Worth every penny.”
“You like them?”
“Like? Like is not a strong enough word, Elodie.”
I turned around to the sight of him with an erection. I inched closer and wrapped my arms around him, pressing my abdomen against the hot bulge in his pants.
Running my fingers through his damp, lustrous hair, I said, “You’re a beautiful man.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“I’ve always thought so.”
I loved being able to touch him like this. I knew there was so much more to Hollis than his physical beauty. He was complex. I so wanted to know more about his past but was always afraid to broach that subject for fear of upsetting him.
Still, a huge part of me was terrified to take the next step without knowing the story of what had made him so guarded when it came to love. It seemed like necessary information at this point.
I took a chance and asked, “Will you tell me what happened with Anna?”
Hollis’s jaw flexed. Our eyes met, and he seemed to be searching for the answer to my question.
Eventually, he nodded. “Why don’t we go out to the living room? If we stay in here, I won’t be able to focus on anything but your ass in that underwear.”
I smiled. “Okay.”
