Figment of Dreams
Tree House Kisses (2)

In the morning I woke on his chest and he was already awake for a while apparently. He was staring at the suns through the opening of the roof, mindlessly letting his fingers roam through my hair and brushing my scalp. Sending delicious tingles all down my back.

We slept in later than expected. I was sore from laying in a weird angle all night. The blood on his knuckles had dried, but he was covered in it. His hair, streaks on his face, even his black shirt. I must have some on me as well. It looked like we had just killed somebody.

‘Hey…’ I croaked. Voice hoarse from all the crying. He glanced at me, slowly turning his head my way. Grey eyes boring straight to me. They were unexpectedly cold and now different kind of shivers coursed through my body.

‘Let’s go.’ He stated. Cool and distant. That was an even bigger surprise. ‘Ash, are you okay?’ concern laced my voice. He had put me aside and was walking towards the ladder. ’I said let’s go Lux!’ He used my name. Yes, he was definitely angry with me.

I sheepishly followed and he walked me back to my dorm. I opened the door and saw Skylarks happy face, which instantly dropped as she saw the state we were in. I had to tell her too. Or she would think the worst. Ash nodded at his sister, didn’t even glance my way and walked out. I guess he needed some time.

I told Skylark the entire thing, from Kai, to Otto, to my week at Maddox’s house and my Yule Break trip, to the pool sex and then my night with Ash. After we both cried so much about the near rape thing she suddenly yelled between tears.

‘He said he loved you?’ oh yeah, I had told her that part as well. ‘Of all the things and me fucking with Sebastian in a public pool, the first thing you think about is your brother saying that he loves me?’ I threw a pillow at her head.

‘I knew it!’ she sighed. ‘I knew it from the very first moment he saw you. I saw his composure change that very second!’ She was pacing around the room. ‘You remember what I told you about the mate thing right?’

‘Sky, he was acting really strange this morning. Something’s up.’

By late afternoon I got a text from Ash saying our practice was cancelled. It was getting stranger by the minute. Later that day Skylark and I were hanging with Olive at the Morninggrove, sipping on cocktails, trying to get my mind of things when Oak and Ash walked in. They were accompanied by their best friends Chris and Dean. Oak acknowledged us with a tip of his head and we waved back but Ash ignored us.

That was it. I needed to speak to him. As he was walking to the bar, I went as well. ‘Hey…’ I said happily, trying to set the mood. He just coolly glanced my way. Grabbed his beer and went back to his table. ‘Ash!’ I still yelled after him, but a pang of hurt went straight to my heart.

About five cocktails later and a whole lot of gossip as well, since Nexxar had joined our little ménage a trois earlier, I was feeling intoxicated. In my line of sight was Ash and I saw him occasionally glancing our way. Not giving a shit that I saw him looking. Was it the Sebastian thing that bothered him so much? That would be very un-Rainer like. But it could be. We had talked a lot about the Otto thing, so that was cleared I would hope.

Olive and Nexxar were completely flabbergasted by my sexual escapades with the cheeky Paramore. Nexxar even baptized it the ‘hate sex’ since he had never seen us have any decent conversation that didn’t involve bullying. I guess all the times we shared alone together in the last month were all very private and to the outside eye I could see why everyone would think differently. I don’t know what I did to that boy though, because he had been lighting up my Telvice with texts, very suggestive texts, since last night in The Dunnager. He was probably there now, that’s why we are here in the slightly more expensive and older demographic joint on campus.

‘Golden pussy I tell you.’ Said Olive so seriously I had to nearly spit out my drink.

‘Oh please! Don’t be such a prude miss public sex.’ She laughed.

I slapped her arm. ‘It was only me and Seb in there!’

‘Yeah, but it could have been that someone else was there as well.’ said Nexxar with a wink.

‘Oh god you guys are the worst!’ my cheeks turning red from all their suggestive talk.

‘No, seriously… besides Melixes. Whom you have severely pissed off, now that you are hooking up with Seb by the way, I have never seen him this obsessed with anyone before. Even with Melixes he looked bored all the time. I’ve seen him running around campus with the biggest swagger I’ve seen on him in ages.’ Added Skylark. ‘And I’ve hung with his crowd for years, I know him.’

I shrugged and downed my drink. It was getting late. ‘I’m heading back, you joining me Sky?’

‘No, I’m meeting Lenn remember?’

How could I forget… she was screwing the youngest of Jax’ twin brothers again. I had already warned her. They had been nice to me for the first few years but they had abandoned me a few years before Jax had. Even back in the days when I was Jax’ best friend and spent entire summers at their house. They always kept their distance. Maddox and Jax treated me like family, but the twins were weirdly indifferent about me and that had hurt more than them being bullies.

My Telvice pinged. Sebastian asking me for the fifth time in an hour where I was and that he wanted to see me. As I was replying a rolling eye emoticon I heard Olive yelp in surprise.

‘Found you.’ I heard his voice from behind me suddenly and I jumped. Dexar was with him. He saluted his brother. Now I remembered Nexxar’s crush on Sky, he must be devasted that she is meeting with Lenn and not him. It was obvious all night but my mind was too occupied with Ash to register it fully. That’s why he had joined our girls night. They got two chairs from another table and scooted in. His hand immediately going to my thigh. Needing to touch me.

‘That was not creepy at all though.’ I playfully hit his arm. ‘Stalker.’ I sipped from my sixth cocktail. ‘Hey, what a man got to do you know.’ he flipped at his shirt and wiped off an invisible dust speck, like he was the man. Dexar slapped him on the back and they all laughed. I caught Ash staring us down again from his table. The man could be such a brood sometimes. He continued to let his hands wander over my thighs and occasionally leaned in to whisper some very inappropriate things in my ear.

‘Ugh get a room guys.’ sighed Olive.

‘Gladly!’ Sebastian downed his entire drink in one go.

’Well I am going back now, really. But I’m not inviting you over tonight Seb.’ I darkly stated.

He pretended he had just been shot in the heart. ‘Well, I am walking you back though.’ He solemnly looked at Dexar because his best friend was shooting him daggers. I think Dexar was afraid he was going to let me walk alone, since he wasn’t getting any sex tonight.

I stood up, said my goodbyes and Sebastian did as well. He was blatantly and loudly telling the entire table goodbye. Always the biggest presence in the room. He was such a character. I passed by Ash’s table and he ignored me again, Oak said goodbye and I waved at him. ‘Bye Ash!’ I yelled at the back of his head and stomped out. Sebastian grabbed my hand and pulled me close. ‘What’s gotten into Briareve this evening? He has suddenly morphed into his stick-up his ass twin brother.’ He kissed the top of my head and pulled me close while walking back to my room.

‘I heard that Barrington.’ Came Ash’s deep voice from behind us. I rolled my eyes. I turned around and let go of Seb’s hand. ‘Where are you going?’ I asked the back of his head as he kept on walking.

‘To get some good night sleep.’ He grunted without looking at me. Auch, that was a jab at me because we had slept in that tree house last night and didn’t really sleep well.

‘Yikes…’ whistled Sebastian while grabbing my hand again. ‘That’s some awkward tension you guys got going on there.’

Understatement of the century.

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