Down to Ride

"So when you feel alone, when you feel alone,

baby just know I got you,

When you feel alone, when you feelin' lost,

baby just know I got you.

My love, my love, my love, my love

I wouldn’t be alone, cause,

I got a girl, who’s down to ride, with me.

Damn she looks good on the passenger side, with me.

No more time to waste, thinking 'bout the past,

just that rear view got my foot on the gas.

I got a girl, who’s down to ride, with me." Down to Ride by Gary Clark Jr.

"Do you think Ethan and I are opposites?" I asked Rocky.

"What?" Rocky breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath as we laid on the floor.

I hid my smile, remembering my first boxing class with Diego and how much I struggled. It was still a struggle some days, but I amazed myself by how much my body adapted and enjoyed it now.

"Trevor said we are complete opposites. And he called Ethan grim. What do you think?" I said looking over at her.

"Are you and Trevor really doing the whole friends thing?" She huffed turning from the ceiling to glare at me

"Yeah...like you're doing with Brandon... And Forrest. And Bilal."

"Not the same. I share Ace with Brandon. Forrest and I may or may not get back together. Bilal and I are like Facebook friends- we barley talk.  I wouldn't ask any of their opinions on who I am currently dating." She grunted as she stretched out.

"I didn't ask for Trevor's opinion. He just gave it. I don't know where it's coming from- him being a friend or an ex, you know what I mean?"

"I think you should take everything Trevor says with a grain of salt." She sat up, slowly.

"Because he's salty?" I grinned at my pun as I sat up too.

Rocky rolled her eyes at me. "That and he still has feelings for you."

I froze. "What? When did he tell you that?"

"Stop asking stupid questions and get up so you can help me off this dirty ass floor." Rocky ordered me. I stood up and helped her up as she winced in pain. After a minute, she turned to me. "He didn't have to tell me. I can tell he never stopped."

"He told me just wants to be friends."

"Maybe he does but if I were you, I would hold off until he's completely over you. And vice versa."

"I am over him!" I bristled at her as we left. That decided it for me. I was over him and he was over me. I decided to continue to work on our friendship and take his comments as a concerned friend.

"Alright. Alright. Slow down." She grumbled after me. "Why would you chose that evil instructor? That boxing class made me wanna fight his ass."

I laughed. "Exactly. Use that anger to fuel your workout. Besides, you'll need more training if you're going to take him on."

"I have street training. I'll pick up a chair and hit him with it." She menaced.

"Stop. Think about this. 5 weeks until Vegas- he's gonna have you feeling and looking great." I smiled. Bianca was hosting her birthday party in Vegas and I invited Rocky along with me for her final blow out before she went back to work.

"Ok. He's got 5 weeks of this bullshit, then I'll take him out." She threatened before we split up.

After our first work out together, I went home to shower and change before heading to work. Dr. Fahri was there, confirming the skeleton crew for 4th of July. I also told him I was training Dr. Goodman to be able to close when I was on vacation.

"He should be fine. He's used to opening, it's not that different from closing." Adil said, not looking up from his cell phone.

"Right." I said, grabbing a tablet off the charger.

"In fact, it's not hard to do both. Open and close. You do it on holidays."

I nodded, not really paying attention as I read over the clients and patients for the day.

"Do you concur?" Adil asked me.

I looked up from the tablet, training my face to stay passive as his questioning. "Right. Different sides of the same coin. Excuse me, I need to speak to Clayton before he goes to lunch." I said, leaving Adil and his need for validation.

Dr. Fahri stayed most of the day working in the office. He also had a meeting with Dr. Clayton; they ended up leaving together which I took as a good sign. They were talking on the way out so I figured they must have resolved whatever it was between them. 

On my lunch, I chatted with Ethan as we finalized our plans for the week. July 4th fell on a Monday, making it a three day weekend for most people who didn't have to work, unlike me. Gary Clark Jr. was performing Sunday night at the Winstar Casino in Oklahoma so Ethan figured we could spend the weekend and come back Sunday night after the concert.

"Ok. Did you invite everyone else?" I asked.

"Everyone else?"

"Yeah. Weren't we going to make this a group thing?"

"You told me not to worry about it."

"Um, I don't remember that."

"At dinner when I asked you about it." He replied.

"If I did, I change my mind."

"It's probably too late to get tickets together."

"That's fine. We don't have to sit together."

"Alright." He said, solemn.

I frowned, not understand his grimness. "It was your idea... But if you don't want to invite them we don't have to."

"I did want to invite them, but now it's last minute. I already bought our tickets."

"It's not that big of a deal. In fact, there's plenty to do- they might not want to go to the concert. I'll figure it out. EJ doesn't have a game Saturday right?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Right. I'm going to drop him off with Megan on Saturday instead of Sunday so we can head to Oklahoma in the afternoon."

"Can EJ and I hang out Friday night?"

"Sure. What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I'll call him and ask."

"He's right here, I'll ask him."

"No. I'm going to call him." When I hung up with Ethan, I called EJ. He answered on the third ring.

"Hey EJ. What you up to?"

"On my laptop."

"Yeah? What are you doing?"

"Watching videos."

"What videos?" I prompted him.

"Nothing. YouTube videos." He replied, vaguely.

"Ok. Have you rode your hoverboard yet?"

"A little bit"

"Ok. Do you wanna come over Friday. We can ride our hoverboards together or watch a movie?"

"Did Dad say I have to?"

"No. He said you can, but only if you want to." I said, hopefully.

"Ok." He agreed lacklusteredly.

"Great!" I said, keeping my excitement up at his less than enthusiastic response. At least he agreed to come. "I'll see you Friday then."

"Ok. Bye."

I text EJ throughout the week, planning a Disney movie night once we got done hoverboarding. When I suggested Toy Story or Wreck it Ralph, he said he already seen them. I then said Beauty and the Beast, and he said princess movies were girly. I told him that was not true and I had the perfect movie to prove it to him. He said fine. My phone call and texts with EJ had me a bit discouraged, but I told myself once we talked and cleared the air things would be fine.

I was so wrapped up into getting things back to normal with EJ, I completely forgot about coordinating the group date to Winstar. Ethan already taken care of it. Amber, Will, Jordan, Blake, Sammy, Corey, Daniel and Staci were coming to Winstar with us. When I heard Daniel committed to going with Staci to Winstar and her relationship status changed online, I called Staci to get the details. Before I could ask her about Daniel, she asked me what I thought about Mia's and Amber's fight online.

I explained to her I had no idea. She told me she would send me screenshots. While I waited, I went on Amber's page. I didn't see anything on her Facebook or Instagram and I didn't follow Mia so I waited for Staci to come through with pictures. She did, with screenshots of Mia and Amber's back and forth. It started with a picture Mia posted on her Instagram with her and Christian.

Amber commented on it, stating: Congratulations! Y'all make a cute couple... Couple of fake hoes. Lol

Mia replied on her comment: Ain't nothing fake over here! Ask your girl about being a hoe! I've never been fucked in a strip club.

Amber replied: Ur dumb as fuck. He's only using you to get back at her! The gag is, she don't give a fuck about either one of you. FAKE HOES!

Mia: He hasn't thought of Lily at all once he started talking to me!!!

Amber then posted screenshots of Christian texting her, saying how much he missed me and how he just wanted to talk to me and make things right between us. She captioned the screenshots: 🤔 You sure?... When did y'all start talking? This wasn't that long ago.

Mia: Bout the same time I stopped talking to Quintin... You still mad? 😚😝😂

Amber posted another screenshot with a text from Quintin. The text read: Stop playing girl. She's a bird. We met and smashed the same night. If I knew you knew her, it wouldn't have happened.

Amber captioned the screenshot: LMAO. Doesn't sound like y'all talked at all. Mad about what? Him fucking an easy hoe?  @ChristianWilson Hope u strapped twice! 🔥😺🍆😷

Once I read through everything, I called Staci back.

"Mia deleted the whole post yesterday-" Staci started. "They both made themselves look stupid, not you."

"I don't even care about that. Is Quintin Q, the guy I work with? And why is he explaining to Amber who he hooked up with?!?"

"You need to ask her."

That's so dumb. Why would Amber expose herself cheating to get back at Mia?"

"You don't know if she's cheating. You need to talk her." Staci repeated.

"Why should I? She doesn't listen nor has she been telling the whole truth!" I exclaimed.

"I know but y'all are friends. Ethan and Will are friends. You gotta clear the air- especially before this weekend."

"Fuck this weekend. Ethan was right. It should have been just us two." I complained.

"Rude! Daniel and I are official. We gotta celebrate."

"That's what I called about! I want details!" I switched gears.

"Ok so a few weeks ago I went out with this guy I met on OkCupid. There was no chemistry, no sparks nothing between us. So after a drink, we both begged out of the date. I text him that same night and said thanks for the drink but I wasn't feeling it between us. This fool sent me a picture of his dick and asked if I wanted to feel it."

"Ohmygod what a pervert!"

"I know! So I don't repsond, block him and tell Daniel about it the next time we hang out. He got mad."

I gasped. "Why would you even tell him?"

"Because we talk about our dates all the time! That wasn't even the most intimate thing I told him but it was the first time he got mad. He didn't speak to me for a week! Then last weekend, he showed up with flowers, my favorite wine and a beautiful gold necklace and told me he didn't want me seeing anybody but him."

"He didn't want you seeing anybody else's dick." I giggled.

"That too!" She laughed.

"Awww, I'm so happy for you two!"

"Me too! So let's make this a great 4th of July weekend. No drama." She encouraged me.

"Sure." I said, and meant it. I was not getting caught up in whatever Amber had going on. This was clearly about her, Quintin, and Mia- I was staying out of it.

Friday, my therapist was on vacation so I didn't have an appointment. After work, Ethan dropped EJ off at my house. Ethan and I kept our greeting friendly with just a smile and a brief hug. I noticed EJ purposely not watching us so I quickly shooed Ethan out before detailing our evening to him.

"I figured we can go hooverboarding until it gets dark and watch Mulan, a Disney Princess who takes her father's place in the army. She's Chinese, so I figured we'll have Indian food." I kidded.

"Ok." He said.

"No. Not ok. She's Chinese. We're having Chinese food of course. You don't even like Indian food." When he just went on fiddling in his backpack, I asked "What do you want to eat?"

"I don't care."

"Alright. Eel and octopus it is." I said pulling out my phone and ordering a variety of food. After I ordered, we went out on the hoverboards as planned. I asked him about his basketball camp, the videos he uploaded and his new laptop. He answered all my questions, but I felt like it was out of obligation not because he wanted to talk to me. He got a GoPro with all his gift cards and birthday money so he filmed himself and ignored me.

We got back to my place and the food arrived shortly after. We put on Mulan and I sat the food out in the living room on TV trays. We settled in to eat and watch the movie. After I made him put his phone down, he picked at the food and stared blankly at the movie. I was at a lost of what to do; I didn't know if I should push the issue and try to talk to EJ myself or let him be. I pulled out my phone and text Ethan.

Me: He's barely talking or eating. I think he's mad at me.

Ethan: Why would he be mad at you?

Me: Maybe not mad, just weirded out about us dating. I think I should bring it up.

Ethan: I don't think that's necessary. I'm not sure what you mean by weirded out, but if he's disrespectful or not responding when you speak to him, call me.

"I thought you said no phones." EJ said, narrowing his eyes at me.

"You're right." I said after I text Ethan back.

Me: 👌

I put my phone down, knowing I wasn't going to call Ethan and decided to make small talk about the movie with EJ. He did talk to me, but it was harsh criticizing remarks about the movie. I got to the point I stopped talking to him so I wouldn't hear his negativity.

"That's not hard. It's like climbing rope." EJ sneered as we watched each solider in the movie struggle to retrieve the arrow from the top of the post.

"Ok. Let's put it to the test." I said, pausing the movie and standing up.

"You don't have a pole in your backyard." He smarted back, reminding me of his mom. I took a deep breath and smiled at him.

"No. I don't so put on your shoes if you think it's so easy."

He accepted the challenge and as he tied up his shoes, I looked up an indoor rock climbing facility. I found one in Plano and we drove over. When we got there, I saw a little nervousness in his eyes as we looked at the expert climb, but we went to the kid's course. It took a few attempts, but he finally made it to the top.

"See? They had to pull their own weight plus the weight of the medals. That's a lot of upper body strength." I told him as when he came back down.

"Dad said I need to work on my  upper body strength. He makes me do push ups and planks when I don't have practice." EJ stated when he was back on he's feet.

"Yeah, that's important in basketball. You're legs are strong from soccer. You did great though. You wanna try a bigger one?"

He nodded and we went to the beginner's adult course. We made it up together and had fun helping and laughing at each other. As we walked to my car, he said next time to remind him to bring his Gopro. I grinned happily at him bringing up us hanging out again. I was glad whatever awkwardness between us was gone.

When we got back to my house, EJ eyed the food with renewed interest. "Is that really eel?" He pointed to a Styrofoam container.

"No. It's seafood delight. That sesame chicken, sweet and sour shrimp, spicy lo mein, egg rolls, dumplings and crab wantons." I pointed everything out.

"This is a lot of food. Dad would never order this much." EJ commented.

"Well, I didn't know what you wanted so I got what I liked. Besides, Chinese taste just as good the next day." I explained as I set back up the movie. He let me show him how to use chopsticks and he tore into the food enthusiastically. He was back to his normal self, cracking silly jokes and making fun of me as I sang along to the music. As we finished off the fortune cookies, I thanked him for coming over.

"Are you going to marry my dad?" He asked out of nowhere.

"I don't know EJ. It's still really early in our relationship." I said, carefully.

"I don't want you to move in and fight with dad." He declared.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

"Dave moved in and now he and mom fight. I don't want that to happen with dad and you." He responded.

I tensed at the word fight. "Everyone disagrees sometimes. That's all your mom and Dave does right? Disagree?"

He nodded and I relaxed.

"Ok. People argue. Don't you argue with your friends sometimes?" I continued.

"But it's different with your friends." EJ said, looking up, his eyes filled with concern. "Adults break up and don't want to be around each other again. Or they get back together and fight over the same stupid stuff."

"EJ, I've known your dad since you were 4 years old. We've had fights and disagreements but we always moved past them." He didn't look convinced so I continued. "I promise you, no matter what, your dad and I will always be friends. Just like you and I will always be friends even though we disagree about Disney movies being girly and you hating Indian food."

He was thoughtful for a minute before he nodded. After the movie, he showed me more YouTubers on his laptop that he watched. When I told him goodnight and went to bed, I saw Ethan texting me asking how everything went. I text him back that things were better and to call me in the morning. Early the next morning, Ethan called then came over while I was cooking breakfast. While I mixed pancake batter, I told him about my conversation with EJ.

"Dave and Megan better not be fighting in front of him." He stated, taking that from our conversation about EJ's fear that we would break up and not be friends again.

"What are you doing?" I said, putting my whisk down.

"I'm going to call her and ask." He said, tapping on his phone.

"Ethan, stop." I said, walking over to him and snatching the phone from him. "Couples argue."

Ethan frowned fiercely, looking away from his phone in my hand to my face. "So they should do it in front of my son?"

"No but you confronting her and telling her what's she better not do in front of both of your son is not right either." I paused, giving him his phone back. "Her and Dave's relationship is not something you can control but you can control your relationship with her."

He exhaled deeply and asked, "What do you mean? We don't argue in front of EJ." Ethan pointed out.

"You don't have to. He thinks you two can't stand to be around each other and I see where he's coming from. It might help if you try treating Megan like a friend and not... A subordinate who had your kid." I stated. It looked like he wanted to refute that comment, but he remained quiet so I continued.  "He's scared that we will break up and not be friends anymore. I promised him it wouldn't happen. He might believe me more if he saw you being a friend to his mom." I advised.

"Fine." He responded, pensive.

"Fine... Like good plan fine? Or fine like shut up?" I asked for clarification.

He thought about it for a moment. "Both." He said, unapologetic.

"Excuse me?" I put my hands on my hips.

"You're right about Megan and how I speak to her so I'll change that." He admitted.

"And the part about me shutting up?"

He grabbed my hands on top of my hips. "It would be nice so I can kiss you."

"Oh..." I said, grabbing his hands in response and moving closer. "I'll be quiet now."

I moaned when he pressed his lips against mine. Heat swelled between us instantly and I pushed against him to quell the fire. It did nothing but ignite the flames. He was lavishing my lips with soft, but needy kisses when we heard a "Eww gross" from the kitchen entrance way.

We pulled away and saw EJ looking at us in disgust. "You promised you wouldn't do that in front of me Dad."

"I didn't know you were up. Good morning." Ethan greeted him.

"Morning. You owe me a dollar." EJ shuffled into the kitchen and sat at the table.

"A dollar?" I asked, confused.

"Yep. Dad has to pay me one dollar every time I see y'all kiss." EJ explained while I smiled at Ethan. He left that out of our conversation.

"It doesn't count if you sneak up on me." Ethan countered.

"Hey EJ." I said. When he looked at me, I gave Ethan a peck on the lips. "I want 50 cents for ever dollar." I said, returning back to the pancake batter I neglected.

EJ laughed. "No way. I have to see it."

"But I have to kiss him." I laughed too

"How about I leave and you both get nothing?" Ethan smirked as we laughed.

After breakfast, I said goodbye to EJ as Ethan took him to his mom's house. Originally, I was going to ride along, but Ethan was going to talk to Megan. I finished packing and changed into skinny jeans and a black tank top. I was finishing my make-up when Ethan came back. Before he could grab my bag, I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a long, lingering kiss. 

"I didn't want you to think I have to get paid to kiss you." I teased him as I pulled away.

Once we were heading to Winstar, he told me he did like I suggested and actually spoke to Megan, asking how she was doing. He even causally mentioned EJ heard arguing and he wanted to make sure everything was fine.  She shared she and Dave had a disagreement when EJ was supposed to be in bed, but everything was ok between them. Ethan left them telling them both to call if they needed anything.

"Do you believe her about it being just a disagreement?" I asked.

"I don't know. I invited them to my parents' for 4th of July so we'll see what happens."

"Do you like Dave?" I asked him.

"I don't have an opinion on him either way as long as he treats EJ right."

"And Megan right."

"Of course." He agreed.

"You never tried to get to know him or anything?"

"Why? He's Megan boyfriend- and they would break up and get back together all the time."

"He's seems pretty permanent now. It might be time to start the whole blended family thing-"

"Nothing's permanent... Not even marriage, but that would start the whole blended family thing." Ethan responded.

"Being friends with Megan means being friendly with him..."

"Ok."

"Ok like I'm right or ok like shut up?" I grinned.

"No comment." He smirked.

I ended the conversation and turned on his jazz station. We got caught in a little traffic leaving Texas, and I actually dozed off. Ethan woke me up once we arrived. We walked through the massive casino to the hotel lobby to check in.  Ethan asked me to call Amber. While he checked in, I sent her a text that we made it. I wasn't too excited to talk or see Amber. Staci told me to reach out to Amber before the trip, but I never did. A few minutes later, Amber, Will, Staci and Daniel came in the lobby. I left Ethan's side to greet them.

"Hey guys!" I smiled. "Did y'all get here at the same time?" I asked, hugging everyone.

"I would hope so considering we drove together." Staci cracked.

"Thanks for the invite on the carpool." I said, pulling away to hug Amber.

"We drove. Our car didn't have enough room." Amber said, apologetically.

"I'm just kidding. It's all good. We'll have carpool karaoke some other time." I patted her on the back, awkwardly. She flashed a uncomfortable smile and took a step back.

"Speaking of which... We listened to one Gary Clark Jr song... It's a no for me dog. I might skip the concert." Staci broke the tension with a smile.

"One song? You judged him off of one song?" I cocked my head at her.

"Yep. Nobody was feeling it." Staci continued.

"Speak for yourself... It put me to sleep. I had a great nap." Daniel added with a grin.

"I put on my headphones and listened to his whole album. It was good." Will told me.

"Thank you Will. Apparently, they don't appreciate anything they can't twerk to." I said as Ethan joined us. After he said hello to everyone, we headed to our rooms. Their rooms were in a different towers so we went to check out their room before they checked out ours.

"I wished we had the pool view." Staci mentioned over our window.

"Like you're going to have time to enjoy the view." Daniel told her, with a grin.

"True." Staci smiled while I ewwed at them.

We planned to hang out in our respective rooms until Sammy, Corey, Blake and Jordan arrived. I collapsed on the king size bed with the remote. I watched as Ethan put his clothes away, hanging up a few items before putting the rest in the top drawer.

"You're making me feel like a slob." I complained.

"Do you want me to put your things away?" He offered.

"No, then I'll feel lazy. Come lay down with me."

"In a moment."

He was putting his toiletries away when Sammy called and let me know they made it to the hotel. Jordan, Blake, Sammy and Corey drove separate vehicles, but trailed each other so they arrived together. We all went to the lobby to meet them and make plans for the evening. Ethan made dinner reservation, but other than that we were open. We decided after dinner to do drinks and gambling and maybe the night club.

"Are we coordinating our outfits like last time?" Amber asked me.

"I don't know. We didn't plan like last time." I shrugged, not interested and already having the dress I wanted to wear in mind.

"Everyone brought something black right?" Jordan asked.

"No. It's summer. I like colors." Staci chimed in.

"Let's all dress up. The theme is high rollers." Sammy suggested.

We agreed to dress up and get ready together in Amber's room.

"Fellas, we gotta coordinate too." Blake said, mockingly. "What do we all have?"

"Pants?" Ethan stated sarcastically.

"No. It's summer. I only brought shorts." Daniel teased.

"Shirts? Everyone good on shirts?" Will added.

"I was planning to go shirtless, but if everyone is wearing shirts..." Corey joked.

"Nobody wants to see you shirtless." Sammy shot him down, ruthlessly.

"I might..." I kidded.

"Shut up Lily." Sammy laughed with everyone else as Ethan raised an eyebrow at me.

"Just to see his tattoos. That it." I smiled, innocently as I wrapped my arms around him.

We went back to our room and I took a quick shower before grabbing my clothes and make-up and heading to Amber's room. I chose a green striped dress and nude heels. I planned to straighten my hair and do a classic smokey eye with red lipstick. As we got ready in Amber's room, I faced time Rocky to see how she was doing.

"What are you eating?" I asked her as she put down a green burrito.

"Veggie wrap." She said, making a face.

"What did I tell you about diets?"

"It's just until Vegas." She told me.

"Vegas?" Staci asked us.

"Yeah. My cousin is hosting her birthday bash in Vegas so we're going."

"Thanks for the invite." Sammy snorted.

"Ok. Here it is. You're all welcomed to come. It's last minute and the only thing I'm planning is where I'm eating." I told them.

"As cool as that sounds, I'll pass." Jordan laughed. Once we were all ready, we said our goodbyes to Rocky.

"Y'all look great." Rocky smiled and waved at everyone.

"We wish you came!" Amber shouted to her over my shoulder.

"On a couples weekend? With who? Ace?" Rocky chuckled.

"You could have left Ace with his dad and came with Forrest..." Jordan mentioned.

"Is Forrest back in Texas yet?" I asked.

"He's been back in Texas." Rocky nodded.

"I feel like I'm gonna have to just pop up on him one day..." I plotted.

"He's going to be at Gabriel's 4th of July party. You and Ethan should come." Jordan told me.

"I'm working and going over to Ethan's parents' house after." I declined.

"Meeting the family..." Staci awwed.

"I've already met them. They love me." I smiled at her before turning back to Rocky.

"Alright ladies. Y'all have a good time." She waved at us.

"Bye Rocky..." We all chorused to her.

We met the guys at the restaurant waiting for us to be seated. They all looked great, but my attention was solely on Ethan. He looked incredible in black fitted slacks, black Henley and a black coat.

"You look sexy." I said, giving him a hug and kissing his lips gently to not smudge my lipstick.

"So do you." He said, looking me over slowly. Twice. He kept his arm around my waist as we checked in with the hostess and was led to our table. He pulled my chair out for me and we sat, holding hands under the table. Sammy ordered shots for the table and we were perusing the menu together when Daniel pointed out some columns to Ethan. Staci looked at me in sympathy when Daniel and Ethan began to discuss the architecture.

"Camila was part of the redesign?" Daniel asked Ethan. When he nodded, my ears perked up.

"Camila?" I asked.

"She was someone I went to school with." Ethan explained.

"Oh. Like classmate or girlfriend?" I questioned after we ordered our food.

"Real subtle Lily." Jordan laughed at me as Staci shook her head.

"What? I'm just curious." I defended myself.

"What if he was curious about all the guys you dated in college? Is it up for discussion?" Staci questioned me.

"Sure. It would be a short discussion because I didn't date anyone." I answered.

"No one?" Jordan gasped.

"No one." I confirmed.

"Why?" Daniel asked me.

"Probably because I was overweight and guys suck!" I exclaimed.

The girls laughed but the boys said nothing.

"No comments guys?" Jordan chuckled.

"No. When women start talking about weight and guys sucking-" Blake shook his head.

"It's time to shut up." Corey finished for him.

"Or change the subject." Will agreed.

The starters and drinks came out and the subject changed to food and plans for the rest of the weekend. Will, Daniel and Ethan made plans to golf in the morning while Sammy, Blake, Jordan and Corey were going to hang out at the pool. Staci invited me to go to the spa for facials with her and Amber. I agreed to go, knowing Staci wanted us to talk.

After dinner and another rounds of shots, we walked around the casino, gambling a little bit. Our group split up as we played different games. Ethan and I didn't gamble at all, mostly walked around. I people watched while he checked out the design and structures of the different gaming areas based of popular cities.

We eventually sat down at a bar in the New York City section. Ethan led me to a booth before getting my drink order. When he returned with a bourbon for himself and a whiskey sour for me, he sat in the booth next to me. I crossed my legs towards him, sipping my drink.

"Can I ask you a question?" He started, scooting closer to me and resting his hand on my crossed leg.

"Always." I said, his light cologne and touch enticing me.

"When did you start dating?" He asked me.

"Oh- grad school. A lot of first dates and no boyfriends." I smiled.

"Follow up?" He asked.

I nodded, putting my drink down, intrigued.

"Was I your first time?" He asked me.

I nodded again. "How could you tell?"

"I couldn't back then. I thought you were shy, but I didn't think anything of it. Now that I know you, things are starting to make more sense to me." He said, holding my hand.

I looked down at our hands. "It took therapy for me to see what happened before you wasn't consensual. It's weird. At the time, I didn't think of you as my first time."

"I'm sorry he hurt you. I wish the circumstances of us being together were different."

I shook my head. "If the circumstances were different, it wouldn't have happened with you. My feelings with love and affection were tied to sex and I couldn't... handle it back then. That's why I agreed to no strings attached sex. I still struggle with sex and intimacy, which explains my need to take things slow with you now so I don't confuse sex with love." I finished, fidgeting with his fingers. "My therapist is on vacation this week so I guess I'm analyzing myself with you. I'm sorry. "

He stilled my hand in both of his. "Don't be sorry. This is one of the things I like about you."

"How fucked up I am?" I flashed him a nervous smile.

"How open you are. It's something I struggle with so I admire it about you."

"Right. We're kinda opposite, but we go together."

"Opposite?" He sat back, puzzled.

"Yes. Like... Peanut butter and jelly."

"Peanut butter and jelly?" Ethan repeated, even more confused.

"Yes. Completely different- but perfect together." I leaned closer to him, drawn in by the way his dark brown eyes bore into mine. He suddenly pushed his lips into mine. I tasted the bourbon on his lips and knew that the drinks had to be the cause of this public display of affection. He was normally pretty private.

I had no complaints as I kissed him back. His hands moved over my knee, rubbing up my thigh before repeating the motion all over again, driving me crazy. We kissed for a good 5 minutes before Ethan caught himself, pulling back with an adorable sheepishly look on his face.

"Can we discuss it some more upstairs?" He grabbed my hand again.

"Discuss what?" I said, grabbing my drink with a sly smile.

"Us being perfect together."

"There's not anything to discuss. I'm peanut butter, you're jelly." I said before sipping my drink.

"There's plenty to discuss." He persuaded me. "Why peanut butter and jelly? Why do you get to be peanut butter. If you're peanut butter, why can't I be something else? Like chocolate? Or celery."

I giggled. "You're thinking too much about this. You want to be celery?"

"No particularly, but these are all things we can discuss upstairs."

I nodded and we both downed our drinks before we left the bar. When we got back to the room, he headed straight for the bed this time. He sat down before sitting me next to him. He ran his fingers through my hair, resting it on the back of my neck before moving in for a kiss. It was languid but just as passionate as our kiss at the bar.

"Can I take your dress off?" He asked when we pulled back to catch our breath.

"Only if we keep it just kissing." I bargained.

"Of course." he said, guiding me up so I was facing away from him. He pulled the zipper down before turning me back around. His eyes were glued on my face as he pulled the dress off me. I held his glaze as I stepped out of the dress, kicking it away as I stood before him in demi cup red bra and a matching red boyshorts.

I straddled his lap, slipping off his coat before tugging off his shirt. "Still think I'm shy?" I asked, running my hands over his bare chest.

"No." He said, sliding his hands over my hips as he tilted his lips to mine. I closed the gap between us and kissed him, hungrily. We stayed like that, lips locked and feeling over each other's body until he laid me back on the bed.

"Ethan, we said just kissing-" I started as he pulled me against him, his erection rubbing against me through his pants.

"That's all I'm going to do. We can stop right now if you want." He assured me, pulling back.

"No." I said, inhaling deeply. "I mean, we said just kissing. Will you kiss me, down here?" I motioned down my body, seductively. His eyes followed my hand down my chest, over my stomach, pass my navel until it rested on top of my panties.

"Where? Here?" He asked, kissing my breasts that was exposed by my bra.

"Lower." I moaned at his mouth moving over my skin.

He kissed my stomach next, nibbling on me, causing me to shiver. "Right here?"

I shook my head wildly, thrusting my hips up into him. He looked at me, a sexy gleam in his eyes. "Show me baby."

I desperately moved his head down between my legs and used my other hand to move my panties to the side.

"Right here Ethan. Kiss my pussy."

His lips quirked into a smile as he pulled my panties down my legs. "Definitely not shy."

The smart response I had on my lips turned into a cry as he tongue kissed me between my legs. He swirled his tongue, sucking greedily as he moaned against me. It was incredible. There was no rhyme or reason to his mouth. He didn't eat me out like he knew how to get me off, but like he loved it as much as I did. I was coming in record time, as he continued to kiss me.

I was still spasming when he finally pulled back. I knew what I just said about sex and love and wanting to take it slow, but at that moment, I wanted him more than anything. I could tell he felt the same way about me. He looked starved, barely in control as his eyes racked over my body.

He got up without a word, heading to the bathroom. I took of my bra as I waited for him to return. A few minutes turned into 5, then almost 10 minutes passed before he returned back to the bed. He lost his pants, and his erection was gone too.

"Did you jack off?" I accused him, sitting up.

"How did I ever think you where shy." He said, laying me back down.

"Did you?" I repeated.

"Yes." He said, pulling the sheets and comforter over us.

"Why? I would have taken care of you." I pouted.

"You don't have too." He tucked me in his arms.

"I wanted to." I laid against his chest.

"Next time." He kissed my forehead.

"Ok. Is it next time yet?" I yawned, looking up at him.

"No. It's sleep time."

"You coulda at least let me watch." I murmured against his chest.

"Not shy and a voyeur. What else don't I know about you?"

I giggled. "I'm Smooth... And nutty... Like peanut butter."

"Go to sleep." He said. I could hear the smile in his voice as I did just that.

The next morning, I woke up to the bathroom door closing and the shower running. I got up, brushed my teeth and ran my fingers through my hair before opening the door to join Ethan.

"I'll be out in 5 minutes." Ethan told me.

"I want to join you." I said, stepping over to watch him. Ethan wasn't lying when he said I was shy when we first started hooking up. I was too shy to appreciate how amazing his body was back when we first started hooking up. I was appreciating it now as he ran a soapy towel over his flat stomach, defined arms and powerful legs. I smiled to myself as he harden as I watched him. I looked back up at Ethan's face to see he was checking me out as well.

"Tee time is in 30 minutes." He said, regretfully, when he looked back up at me.

"Cancel." I urged him.

"I can't."

"Be late."

"No." He said, turning off the shower and wrapping a towel around his waist before stepping out.

"What if I told you all the things I want to do in the shower with you?" I said, lecherously.

"Make a list. We'll have some time before the concert tonight. We can do them then." He said, walking past me.

I got back in bed, sprawled out naked. I watched him as he brushed and flossed his teeth, trimmed up his goatee, moisturized his skin, brushed his hair, applied some cream to his facial hair and another one on his head, put on deodorant, and spray on cologne. I smiled as I watched him, now knowing his effortlessly good looks weren't so effortless.

"What are you smiling about?" Ethan asked me as he got dressed in gray Nike golf pants, a blue Nike long sleeve collared pullover and matching golf shoes.

"Nothing. Just compiling my list. After watching you get ready, I think I want to ride your face first." I said, casually.

His eyes darkened with desire, but he maintained withdrawn as he put on a gray Nike cap. "Put that on the top of your list."

"I already having sucking you off on the top of my list. If I do it now, I can cross it off all together." I said, seductively.

For a brief moment, I thought he would take me up on my offer as he came over to me. He leaned over, kissing me on the lips. "Later." He said before heading to the door.

"I might not be in the mood before the concert." I warned him as he left. He just waved as he left.

Once he was gone, I laid back in bed, contemplating getting myself off but deciding to go exercise instead. I was surprised to see Sammy already there, pounding it out on the treadmill.

"Richard introduced me to an everyday challenge. 100 squats, 100 sit ups, 100 push ups and 10 km everyday." Sammy explained as she took a break.

"That's awesome. Is Amanda doing it too?" I asked.

Sammy pshed. "She quit being my workout partner once she hooked up with Alvarez."

"Really? They're together?" I asked, surprised.

"They're sleeping together.  She said she's keeping it causal, but she doesn't seem like the type."

"Her heart is in her vagina?" I smirked, remembering how she insulted me with the line the last time we were at Winstar.

Sammy grinned. "Exactly."

"How's Corey doing?"

"He's good. Works good. He's taking an online class so that's good too." She replied.

"Good. You know you two have been together the longest-"

"Cut the shit. We're not moving in, getting married or having kids." She snapped at me.

"Damn!" I said, holding my hands up in surrender. "I just wanted the secret of staying together that long. I'm trying to make this last with Ethan."

"Ohh. We just work." Sammy shrugged.

I laughed. "Yeah... I know we're different, but we work too. Kinda like peanut butter and jelly. I'm peanut butter."

"Don't ever tell him that." Sammy snickered at me.

"Why not?"

"Because that is the secret to a long lasing relationship- not jinxing yourself with corny bullshit like that." Sammy laughed at me.

I laughed too. "Fuck. I already told him."

"Yep, it's over." She joked, dryly as we continued our workout.

I was feeling wonderfully sore after we worked out and went back to my room to shower and change for breakfast. I met Amber and Staci for breakfast before we headed to the spa. We got manicures and pedicures before we sat with facial mask.

"I'm sorry Mia and I dragged you into our fight. It's over. I'm moving forward and not speaking to Mia anymore." Amber said after we were left alone in the relaxation room.

"Who were y'all fighting over? Quintin? The guy I worked with?" I question her since she brought it up.

She fidget with her hands. "Not really."

"Not really how?"

"Quintin and I just talk. I guess Mia thought I would be jealous that she hooked up with him."

"How long have you and Quintin been talking?" I questioned here.

"Maybe a couple years."

My mouth dropped open.

"I'm not going to say I didn't entertain the idea of something happening with him, but at the end of the day, nothing happened. It was just talk." Amber said, vehemently.

"Does Will know?"

"No." 

"And you still talk to Q?" I said, shocked.

"Not really."

I still was confused, not understanding how you can talk to someone else, entertain the idea of an affair, but not consider that cheating. I really didn't want to know, so I left it at that. That way, I could play ignorant to whatever was going on between them when it came out like these things always did.

After the spa treatments, we put on our bikinis and joined everyone at the pool. Ethan, Will, and Daniel already returned from golfing and were at the pool lounging. I made a show of removing the matching cover up I wore over a peach string bikini Noelle gifted me in front of Ethan. After I adjusted my bottoms, I stretched out on a pool chair beside him, thrusting my boobs out when I asked him to help me put sunblock on my back.

"Damn..." Blake said, turning away from us when Ethan threw his shirt over my cleavage. "Sweetheart, do you need some sunblock?" He asked Jordan.

"No. I'm good." Jordan smiled.

"You sure? You got your back and everything?"

"Yes I did. Geez, what are you? Sunblock patrol? You burn worse than I do!"

I laughed and tossed Ethan's shirt off me as soon as he was done. I toned down my teasing to just flirty smiles and occasional touches for the remainder of our time at the pool. When a waitress came by and asked if we needed anything, we all ordered beer, margaritas and a round of shots. I laughed at Will's and Ethan's outrage out how much the drinks were overpriced at the outside bar.

"Guess y'all haven't been out clubbing in a long ass time." Daniel laughed.

"You won't be either." Staci said as she lounged beside him.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much money I'll be saving." Daniel boasted.

"That's what you think." Staci muttered, playfully.

"It might have made more sense to buy a bottle." Ethan said, still caught up by the shots prices.

"They don't sell bottles at the pool. How much do you think they are at the club Sammy?" I asked. Sammy looked away from her phone and broke down the mark up of wells and premiums alcohols at bars. When she started to get into bottle service and table fees, Blake whistled and Ethan shock his head.  

"Who would pay for that?" He pondered, flabbergasted.

"I have." I grinned.

"Why?"

"For the reserved table sign and the pleasure of knowing I can do it!" I laughed. He made me laugh harder when he started listing off better ways to invest my money. I gave him a kiss and order another round of shots just to taunt him.

Afterward, we went up to our respective rooms to get ready for the lunch reservation Blake made. Ethan and I took a shower together. He was all business, washing up quickly before rinsing off. He even moved my hands away when they lingered too long on his body. He left me in the shower alone once he was done.

I was leaving the bathroom wrapped in a towel, a little tipsy, still horny and extremely disappointed when he asked me if I had lotion. I got my body butter out of my bag and handed it to him, confused because his lotion was sitting neatly on the counter. I quickly caught on when he started to rub the cream on my arms.

"I like this scent." Ethan commented, his hands working to my shoulders.

"Me too." I breathed, as he massaged my shoulders turning me around to face the mirror. "I got it from a stripper." I ended on a gasp as he removed my towel to rub the cream on my breasts.

"Tell me about that." He said, focusing on my nipples and moving his mouth to my neck.

"I... Was at... A strip... Club. I.... Got a private dance.... She...ohh...she smelled amazing... I asked... Asked what she used... This was it." I panted watching him in the mirror kiss my neck, fondle my breasts and tease and prod my nipples.

He looked up from my neck and into my eyes in the mirror as his hands began to caress lower. "A private dance? Did you enjoy it?" He said, stopping over my navel.

"I enjoy you more." I moaned, widening my stance so he had access between my legs. He read my mind, sliding his fingers over my slit. My knees weakened, and I gripped the counter in support, looking down.

"I thought you liked to watch." Ethan commented.

I looked up and caught his eyes in the mirror, him watching me as I watched him. Impatient and desperate, I guided him straight to my clitoris, trying to show him how to get me off.

"I remember." He nibbled on my ear as he rubbed me in tight circles. One of his hands stayed between my legs while the other tugged on my nipples. His touch, his scent, the sound of his breathing in my ear, his eyes drinking me in, it was sensory overload. I watched until I came, moaning my pleasure as I threw my head back against him. He held me, kissing my shoulder softly.

"You ok baby?" He asked me.

"I'm great." I looked up at him, giving him a satisfied smile. I turned around and kissed him deeply on the mouth, sliding my hands between our bodies to cup his erection.

"How are you?" I asked, pulling back and stroking him.

He stiffened. "Good."

I then dropped to my knees. I took him in my mouth and tasted him for the first time. He let me explore him with my tongue for a few minutes before he buried his fingers in my hair. I let him take control as he thrust in and out. I followed his motions, sucking him deeply in my mouth.

"I'm close." He groaned. I nodded my consent at him and continued sucking. A few moments later, he came. I swallowed, running my tongue over him.

"Still just good?" I asked him as he gave me a hand up.

"No. Great. Perfect." He pulled me in, holding me by the waist.

"As perfect as peanut butter and jelly?" I said with a teasing smile.

He smiled. "You're not going to let that go are you?"

"Not until you agree with it."

After we got cleaned up and dressed, we headed down to the casino to meet everyone. Blake led us to Toby Keith's Bar and Grill.

"Great food, better music..." Blake boosted as we sat down.

"Why am I not surprised?" I rolled my eyes as the waitress handed me my menu.

"Why am I not surprised you have a problem?" Blake asked me.

"I will always have a problem with music snobs like yourself." I clarified.

"Oh no." Jordan shook her head.

"Here we go again." Corey muttered while Sammy grinned.

"Yes. Here we go again. Why am I a snob because I like what I like?" Blake asked.

"Because you talk shit about everything else." Sammy spoke up.

"Exactly." I exclaimed.

"I don't put down everything. I only hate rap. It's all profane and  sex and money and guns." He said.

"He's right about that." Will piped up.

"No he's not. That's not all rap." Amber argued.

"Name someone who's not." Blake challenged us.

Sammy, Amber and I were silent.

"Exactly." Blake clapped, cheering himself on.

"It's out there, we just don't listen to it." Staci laughed.

"Common. The Roots. De La Soul." Ethan helped me out.

"Thank you." I smiled at him.

"You have no idea who they are." Daniel laughed.

"That's not the point. The point is you can't judge a whole genre of music based on what's popular. That's like me saying I don't like country because I don't like Taylor Swift or Sam Hunt." I declared.

"You don't like Sam Hunt?" Jordan gasped.

"No. I love Sam Hunt." I told her.

"Me too! He's so sexy." Jordan gushed.

"Ohmygod yes. Country and built. My two favorite things..." I agreed.

"Wait a minute." Blake looked at Jordan. "He's sexy? Is that why you wanted to go to the concert?"

"Yes!!!" I burst out laughing when Ethan turned to me.

"What's so funny? I thought you were talking about music, not who you're attracted to." He asked me.

"Same thing. It's not like you like Beyoncé just for her vocals." I deflected.

"I don't even like Beyoncé-" Ethan stated.

Amber, Staci, Jordan and Sammy gasped.

"See, now I'm mad at you!!! Not like Beyoncé? What the hell is wrong with you?!?! Boy, bye!" I said, dramatically, waving my hand at him as we all laughed again.

In the end, Blake chose a great restaurant. The causal atmosphere and drink specials made for a fun, laugh filled lunch. A Sam Hunt song came on in the restaurant so Jordan and I sang it to each other, at the amusement of most people sitting around us. I sang it to Ethan too, he gave me a smirk before ignoring me, thinking I would stop. I didn't.

After lunch, we hit the casino together. Sammy wanted to show me what game she hit on the night before, so I went with her to check out a slot machine while Ethan told me he was going to step outside to make a phone call. I played the slot next to Sammy for a few minutes and ended up hitting a bonus for $200. I took a video on snapchat and quickly cashed out and went outside to show Ethan.

"Ethan! I hit a bonus!!!" I squealed happily when I saw him sitting out by the pool.

"One second Lily." He told me, motioning to his phone. "EJ says hi."

"Tell him I said wassup. And I won $200." I sat besides him.

"Did you hear Lily? She won on a casino game out here." Ethan said, putting it on speaker.

"Yeah, what game did you play? Poker? Black jack?" EJ asked me.

"It was a Willy Wonka machine. What do you know about gambling?" I replied.

"My mom used to let me play those games on her phone and I play Blackjack with my grandpa. You played a candy game?" EJ asked.

"Willy Wonka is a movie and our next movie night. And I won 200 dollars. I was thinking we should plan a trip to a real mountain while you're out of school so we can climb it!" I suggested.

"You could barely get up the fake mountain." EJ burned me.

"Fake mountain?" Ethan asked.

"We went indoor rock climbing." I explained to Ethan. "I was wearing the wrong shoes. I'm going to get some Jordan's just like yours so I can jump over the mountain." I told EJ.

"Good luck Lily." He laughed at me.

"Thank you!" I laughed too when I heard Megan in the background tell EJ to finish up his phone call.

"Ok. Mom said we need to go. Bye Dad. Bye Lily."

"Bye."

"Bye EJ."

"When did you go rock climbing with EJ?" Ethan asked me.

"Friday night. Give me your phone." I requested. He handed it over no questions asked and I went to his Apple store to download Snapchat.

"You and EJ are not climbing a mountain. You know that right?" He informed me.

"Why not? Are you planning to take EJ anywhere over the summer?" I said, looking up from creating Ethan a Snapchat account.

"The summer is my busiest time but Megan is taking him to Florida. I'm sure there will be no mountain climbing."

"Not a real mountain. Maybe on of those outdoor parks that have rock climbing, zip lines and ATVs. It can be a weekend road trip somewhere close so you don't have to take time off." I suggested as I requested his friends and family contacts on his phone.

"We'll see. What are you doing?" He finally asked me.

"Making you a Snapchat account. If you would have had it, you would've seen that EJ and I went rock climbing."

"Or you could just tell me and send me the pictures."

"It's not the same. Snapchat has all the cute filters."

"What?"

I turned the app over to him. "See? Now you can be a puppy. Or wear a flower crown."

"I'm never going to use this."

"Yes you are. I will send you pictures and tag you on my postings. You need to snap me something everyday."

"Snap?"

"Send me pictures or videos."

"Why?"

"Because it's boyfriend/girlfriend law." I lied. "Come here."

I posed and took a selfie of us together. I captioned it: Thx @Lily for introducing me to Snapchat 😍

I showed it to him before handing him back his phone.

"Did you really thank yourself?" He asked, putting his phone away.

"No. You thanked me." I grabbed his hand. "And you're welcome."

We headed to the theatre for the concert. We were the first ones there and Ethan pulled out our tickets so we could scope out our seats. Ethan original got us tickets in the back of section A, now we were in the middle of section C to sit with everyone. By the time we came back out, everyone was outside waiting. We took pictures before we went inside to our seats.

I absolutely loved the show. I was afraid no one else would enjoy it, but Corey, Jordan, and Will were familiar with Gary Clark Jr. and Blake became a fan. Once Staci and Amber had a few drinks, they were dancing on Daniel and Will and trying to sing along. Sammy stayed seated playing on her phone even when Corey tried to get her to listen to a few songs. Ethan was seated for the most part too, listening to the music unless I forced him to dance with me.

When Gary Clark Jr. started to play "Down to Ride", I sat in Ethan's lap.

"I love this song!" I said, loudly in his ear.

"You want to dance?" He asked.

"No. I want to sit here and listen."

I leaned against him, listening to the chill, soulful love song. His seductive guitar paired beautifully with the sweet lyrics he sang in falsetto. I closed my eyes, vibing to the song and singing to myself.

"Baby I want your love
Baby I need your love
Baby I want your love
From the first moment I knew
I really want to know you
I ain't never met nobody like you
You make me want to show you, the world"

As the music faded out, I opened my eyes to see Ethan staring at me. My stomach flipped violently when I saw the admiration and desire in his eyes. I struggled to maintain eye contact with him as my heart raced in my chest.

"It's a great song." He said, breaking eye contact to look at the stage, but at the same time holding me closer.

"Yeah? You liked it? I didn't ruin it with my singing?" I joked to relieve the tension as I caught the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Not at all." He said, rubbing my back.

I nuzzled up against him. "Well, it can be our second song."

"What's our first song?"

"It's peanut butter jelly time!" I sang in his ear.

He chuckled at me. "Whatever you want Lily."

"Really?"

"Really."

I tilted my head to give him a kiss, showing him what I wanted.