Such a Tease

Tara.

Tara.

My body jolts awake in the middle of the night to a startled Brian, his face full of worry.

"Tara." My vision is blurred from the tears forming.

"What happened? Why were you calling me in your sleep?" I didn't know I was actually doing that.

"Was it a nightmare?"

"Y-yes." He pulls me into his chest.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"You weren't there to save me from him."

"I'm sorry, Tara. I really am," he murmurs.

~

I wake up lacking the heat of Brian holding me in his arms. I get out of bed, holding my sore neck. I open my door and I'm immediately hit by a rush of the smell of breakfast. As I start to walk to the kitchen, I see Brian and my dad on the couch, watching TV.

"Are you feeling better, baby?" My dad asks. Brian turns around and smiles.

"Um, yeah. Kind of. My neck still hurts a little." I say, walking over to hug him.

"After breakfast, your mother and I are going to spend some time together for a while before we go home tomorrow. Brian's going to be here with you to look after you." Bruh, I don't need a f****** babysitter. But since it's just him, then we're going to be f******. So I guess that isn't bad.

"Okay." I wave at Brian and go to the kitchen.

"Good morning, honey."

"Morning."

"How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess, it's just that my neck still kind of hurts. But I'm fine."

"Well that's good." I sit down at a stool while I wait for breakfast.

As soon as breakfast is ready, everyone gets up to get a plate and we all eat at the kitchen table. My parents leave a few hours later, leaving me with this incredibly sexy Brian.

His lips are against mine in an instant, bringing my hips to his.

"So much for looking after me," I murmur against his lips. He chuckles as he picks me up, taking me to his room. He lays me down on the bed and pulls back just to eye me while getting all his clothes off. He comes back, pulling off my shirt and shorts, roaming my body with his hands. He starts to press kisses on my neck, making me hiss.

"S***, sorry. Forgot."

"It's okay. Keep going."

*

"You wanna get out of the house for a while? Since it's our last day here?" Oh, crap I forgot. We really have been here for a week. And it's almost over. I haven't even packed my stuff up.

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know, let's walk around and see what's here."

We get dressed and head out before sending a text to my parents, telling them we got out of the house as well. He turns the GPS on his phone as we walk down the sidewalk.

"Okay, so there's a mall a couple blocks from here. You wanna go?"

"Sure. We're walking, right?"

"Nah, we're riding in my luxury convertible, sweetheart," he says, sarcastically. Ah, back to the Brian that calls me sweetheart. I can't lie, I missed that. He was starting to be too nice.

"Shut the f*** up." He laughs and we keep walking.

After a while, we get to the mall and let me tell you, it's huge. No pun intended.

"Why the f*** is it so big?" I ask, not thinking twice about what words I just said out loud.

"That's what you said," he mutters as we walk inside. I hit his shoulder.

"Dude, I never said that."

"You thought you didn't, but you did."

"Nope, you're delusional."

"You're the one that's delusional, sweetheart." I sigh and roll my eyes, knowing this isn't going anywhere.

"Whatever." We look inside some shops and every time I was tempted to buy something cute, Brian would ask, 'You want me to buy that for you?' Like bruh, I don't need you to do anything right now. I get that he wants to help because of yesterday, but honestly, I dont need him to help. Just stand there, and,

"Stop staring at my a**, Brian." He gasps, dramatically.

"I would never do such a thing!"

"Yeah f****** right, you perv."

"When have I ever?" I smirk the remembrance of that day. The first day we became FWB and almost got caught.

"You know exactly when."

"I don't recall." I can't help but laugh at him. He's so dumb, I can't. We leave that shop and he looks in the Van's store and I literally die inside because this is like, the only place f***boys shop. Hell, they all probably live in here bragging about how many girls they f***** or how many nudes they got.

Disgusting.

I look around me and all I see are blonde guys with light eyes and the haircut. You know the haircut, we all know it. Brian is no exception to it. Great, one of them is looking at me.

Go away. I already have one of your kind. That's more than enough.

"Brian, can we leave? I don't like it in here." He looks around and locks eyes with the guy that was looking at me. Brian gives him a warning look and pulls me with him to the next store.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah. We only left because he wouldn't stop looking at you." I think about what he just said long and hard before taking a shirt to the dressing room to try it on. As expected, he follows me into the stall.

"Are you like that with every guy now?" The words are out before I have a chance to do anything else. I've noticed he's being more protective over me. Ever since Luke even started talking to me.

"What?" He asks, dumbfounded.

"As soon as I said I was uncomfortable, we left. You don't want him looking at what you think is yours?" He stays silent.

"Oh, that's it. You think I'm yours and no guy is supposed to look at me or else you get super jealous." He's still not saying anything. I sigh.

"Look, I don't want to ruin our day, but lighten up. And I know you're being more protective over me because of what happened with Luke. But please, for my sake, chill. Don't let him make you all crazy. He's in the past." He runs a hand through his hair and then nods.

"Okay."

"Thank you." He forces a smile and nods again. I roll my eyes and lean in to kiss him. He was at first caught off guard, but then he melts into it, holding my waist. I pull away.

"We good?" He chuckles.

"Really good. Maybe even better when we get back to the villa."

"How do you know you're even getting any when we get back?" I challenge, raising an eyebrow. All he does is give me a smug grin and a wink. He laughs.

"Okay Tara, just try on your shirt so we can leave." I forgot I even brought a shirt in here. I take a moment to catch my breath before taking my shirt off. I don't even have to look at him to know he's staring.

"Don't look."

"Aw, what's the fun if I can't?" I don't know what to do with this guy.

"Don't. Look." I quickly put on the shirt and check myself out in the mirror.

"Do you like it?" He shrugs.

"Giving advice on clothes isn't my thing." I roll my eyes.

"I didn't ask for advice, just if you like it."

"Yeah, I guess. Do you?" I nod.

"I think it looks good on me."

"Do you need me to buy it for you?"

"No, it's fine, I have my own money," I state, before putting my original shirt back on and going to pay for the shirt I picked out.

We've been in many stores before I suggest going to a photo booth.

"Come on, we need something to remind us of this trip. And it's only $4," I say, pulling him in with me. He groans loudly.

"Fine." I squeal with joy, biting my lip as I put in $4. I sit my bags down, looking at the screen.

"Color or Black and White?"

"Color." I press the button for color. The countdown starts for the first picture.

"Normal for this one," I say, quickly. He puts an arm around my shoulder and we smile for the camera. The picture is taken and he poses all laid back with a peace sign as if he were trying to be cool.

"Let's do cool for this one." I smile to see he's enjoying this at least a little.

"Okay." I automatically think to look like an a****** that thinks he has all the b******.

Brian.

I hold my laughter in until after the picture gets taken. As soon as it is, I crack up laughing.

"Why are you laughing?"

"It's nothing. What are we doing for this one?"

"For this one, look like you always do." Before I ask what that even means, he tilts his head back, bites his lip and lets out a high-pitched moan. We burst out in a fit of laughter, forgetting that the photo booth was still running. It took a picture of us laughing and caught us off guard. That'll be interesting to see when it gets printed. I punch his shoulder and he winces in exaggerated pain. I giggle before suggesting what we should do last.

"Kiss?" He smirks at me and rests his hand at the nape of my neck. With no hesitation, he crashes his lips into mine. I move my lips in sync with his, getting lost in the moment. When he pulls away, my eyes are still closed and my lips are slightly parted.

"Hey, it already took the picture." I open my eyes and feel my cheeks heat up. The way he's looking at me is just too much right now.

"Oh, uh, sorry." I pull back. That was embarrassing. He was still in my face, how was I supposed to know he wouldn't kiss me again? It was so hot, I don't know what to say. It makes me want him again.

"You want me still, sweetheart?" How does he always know that?

"Stop it, you tease," I scold. All he does is give me that smirk before exiting the booth. I follow him out and he fishes out our pictures from the machine.

"You look like a dork," he snorts. I take the pictures from his hand and take a long look at them. He peeks his head over my shoulder as I do. For the first, I like it, it's normal. Whatever. The second, has me laughing all over again because we look like idiots.

"Well so do you." The third looks even worse because we look hysterical. And finally, the fourth, the kiss.

I bite my lip and his laughter cuts off my thoughts.

"See, you always bite your lip," he states. He sets his hands at my sides and I feel his breath against my ear. He gently kisses my neck once and then my lips before letting me go and taking one of the picture strips to keep.

How the f*** are you so 0-100 then 100-0? Goddamn it, Brian, you're such a tease.

"Hungry?" He asks, leaning against the machine. There's no trace of lust in his voice from that question. How, how, how? I swallow.

"Um, yeah." He chuckles and sticks his tongue out. Literally, one of the sexiest things he has ever done.

I want to punch him in the face.

"What do you want to eat?" I look him right in the eye and his eyes follow mine as I look down at his crotch. That was obviously a trap question.

"I'm off limits. We're at the mall, for God's sake, Tara. Have you no shame?" He gasps, being overdramatic.

"Well you're the one who's teasing."

"Oh well, sucks to be you. Do you want Panda Express?" My eyes narrow into a glare as he holds my waist and starts walking towards the food court.

"Yes," I say, stiffly.

"Are you mad at me now?"

"No, I'm just f****** peachy," I declare, sarcastically. He gives me a wide grin.

"You haven't been this mad at me since we were at the airport."

"Ha ha."

"You're hot when you're mad."

"You don't know how much I want to punch you in the face right now." Neither does he know how much I want him right now.

After we got to the food court, Brian ordered our food and we sat down at a table. I sigh, tired from his teasing.

"Here's your food, babe," he says, handing me my plate with a wink.

"Can we leave, now?"

"I don't know, am I even getting any when we get back?" He says, obviously mocking my words from earlier. I roll my eyes.

"Hell f****** yes, you are." He sits back in his chair and licks his lips.

"Eat then, and we'll leave."

"You know I'm not hungry for this." His lips once again curve into a smirk.

"But you said you wanted Panda Express."

"I do, but I didn't say I would eat it yet."

"Well played, sweetheart." I look down at his food and I see he hasn't touched it either.

"And why aren't you eating?"

"Not too sure Chinese food breath is a turn on... Well, unless you're into that kind of thing." I giggle slightly.

"Nope, I'm good."

~

Finally walking back to the villa, after a couple more hours of torture in the arcade. I haven't checked my phone since we left and from that, I got a missed call and some texts from my mom a while ago.

Are you at the mall too?

We need to talk.

I don't know what this means, but I'm in trouble. For some reason. Obviously she saw us somewhere. But where?

F***.

The photo booth. When I was looking at the pictures and he kissed me. I was in a daze until I got angry at him for teasing. I wasn't paying attention to anything but him and what I wanted him to do to me.

"Brian." He looks at me.

"Uh, my parents might know about us." He furrows his eyebrows with worry, but not exactly understanding. I show him the texts from my mom.

"They probably saw us at the photo booth when you were teasing me."

"Crap. She didn't tell you what she saw?"

"No, I didn't take her call. But I could call her now, and play dumb."

"I think you should do that." I cringe as I dial her number.

"Hello?"

"You called?"

"Yeah, but we'll talk when we're at the villa," she says before hanging up. I can't really tell her tone, which makes me even more nervous. I mean, I know she thinks we make a good couple, but she won't understand that I don't feel the way she wants me to and she won't like that I hid this from her. She'll be pissed that I hid this from her. And my dad, my dad. I don't know what he'll say. The man is unpredictable. Even if he likes Brian, this might make my dad hate him. I'm so screwed.

"What did she say?"

"She said we'll talk when they get to the villa." He nods as we keep walking.

As soon as we get back, I let out a long sigh. I'm mentally exhausted. I put my bags down next to my suitcase that needs to be packed. I go to the kitchen and walk over to the refrigerator, putting my food inside. I close the fridge door and I turn around to find Brian ever so close to me, gazing down at me with intense lust.

"Can I have my dessert?" He grabs a hold of my waist, pulling me against him.

"Not yet. My parents could be home any moment."

"Don't you want me?" He asks, hands traveling down to my a**. I bite my lip before nodding slowly.

"Show me how much you want me, sweetheart," he whispers.

*

I put my clothes back on and turn around to see him still not dressed, just staring at me.

"Put your clothes on so my parents don't kill us when they get back." He chuckles and puts on his boxers and jeans. He puts on his shirt and I sit on the couch next to him. I grab the remote and turn on the TV so it doesn't look like we're just sitting on the couch for the hell of it. Looks as suspicious as it is. He pouts at me.

"What?"

"Why'd you turn on the TV?"

"So when my parents-" I hear the sound of a car engine outside.

Lord, help me.

"Look at the TV." I sit with my legs criss cross so it's more believable. I grab the remote and flick through the channels.

"Okay." I hear the faint sounds of voices and my heartbeat speeds up. He chuckles, but it soon turns into a full blown laugh. The door opens and my head snaps to my parents walking in.

"Hey, guys," my dad greets before closing he door behind himself. We wave and my mom goes straight to her room.

"What are you watching?" My dad asks before sitting down in the one seater.

"Nothing, just trying to see what's on."

"Tara!" My mom calls. She doesn't sound angry, which is good, I guess. But it could be bad. I get up and go upstairs to the bedroom.

"Yeah?"

"We need to talk."

"Are you mad at me for something?"

"No, just confused and very curious."

"About what?"

"Tara, was that you and Brian at the photo booth?" I sigh.

"Yes," I say in defeat.

"Why did you lie to me about liking him?" I stay silent.

I didn't. I'm not.

"Honey, you could've just told me that you were dating him. You're 18, I don't want to be in your way. But you didn't have to lie," she says, her voice stern. I fidget with my fingers and look down.

"Well, mom, the thing is, I never lied about the way I feel about him. I don't like him. I just... I don't know."

"I don't understand. You weren't fighting back. I don't get it. What's going on?" I take a deep breath.

"It's more of a no strings attached kind of thing... I didn't want you to find out about it because I knew you would think that I have feelings for him, but I don't. It's not like that."

"Does that mean you..." She raises her eyebrow and I know what she's implying. I sigh, which is giving her the answer. Her eyes widen.

"At the hotel? In this villa? All the times you were left alone together? Before we got home from the mall?"

"Uh, not sure I want to tell you that information." I hear her sigh.

"Well you're being safe, right?"

"Yeah."

"No drugs?" I shake my head.

"No alcohol?"

"Nope." She wraps her arms around me.

"Then who am I to get in your way. Maybe, in time, you'll find that you do have feelings for him. I know he'll take care of you."

"In your dreams," I say, making her laugh.

"But if your dad finds out about this, you might be in trouble." He didn't know already?

"He didn't see us?" She shakes her head. Thank goodness.

"By the way, can I see your pictures?" Oh no, she's going to ship us even more when she sees them.

"Okay." We go back downstairs and she sits on the couch as I get the pictures from my bag and put them in my pocket. I'm not letting her see them until my dad leaves the room so he doesn't find out about this from curiosity.

So when the time came, I showed my mom and as expected, she started telling me how cute we are together. Like mom, please. I keep telling her not to make it a big deal, but she's still fangirling over us.

~

"Hey, can I talk to you?" Brian asks as he walks into my room.

"Yeah, sure."

Brian walks over and lays down, facing me.

"What is love?" He asks. Huh? Why is he asking me? I don't know anything about it. And why is he asking at all? Does he have feelings for someone?

"To be honest, I have no idea. But I know it's an overwhelming feeling. Why? What's up?"

"I kinda have these feelings for this one girl. I'm not naming names, because I'm not the kind of person to tell who I like. I just don't know what to do, because I still want to be friends with benefits with you, but I actually like her. I think I might love her." Damn, he doesn't just have a little crush, he really likes this girl.

"If you really like her then just tell her. You still have me if she turns you down. And I doubt she will."

"But what if she never wants to talk to me again if I tell her?"

"You have me," I reassure him.

"Even if you just need someone to just hang out with because you're bored, I'll be here for you. I promise." He smiles and we fist bump.

"Thanks." He starts to get up but I grab his wrist.

"You can stay." Even though I don't have feelings for him, he makes me feel safe. But I'm too scared to say it to him. Or anyone. He lays back down and I turn off the lamp before putting my face in his neck.

"That was hot, what we did on the couch." He laughs.

"I told you."