~Ava~

“Faster Luke,” I breathed, looking up at him and admiring his expression.

He was panting, his cheeks flushed a light shade of pink, his blue eyes dark yet the brightest I’d ever seen them at the exact same time. Some of his blonde quiff had fallen out of place, drooping down his forehead, and his neck was shiny, thanks to a thin sheen of sweat that had form on his smooth skin.

“God, I love you,” Luke groaned, closing his eyes. His hands were on either side of my head as our hips knocked together repeatedly. I brought my hands up to his face, guiding him down for a soft, tender kiss.

After we pulled back, I replied, “I love you.”

Luke stilled inside of me for a moment, his face so close that our noses brushed. He pulled his right hand off of the blanket we were lying on and ran his fingers through my hair and down the side of my face, trailing along my jawline. In between our heavy breathing, I could hear the soft trickling of the creek only a few dozen feet away.

“Say it again,” my boyfriend whispered, looking at me with such intensity that I almost felt uncomfortable. He looked so needy, as though my words would provide him with air to breathe. The corners of my lips curved up into a subtle smile.

“I love you,” I breathed, leaning up so that our lips brushed together when the words left my mouth.

Luke made a low growling noise at the back of his throat and suddenly pulled out of me, plunging back in forcefully. I gasped and clutched at the flimsy picnic blanket, seeing stars—figuratively and literally as my head tilted back to stare at the sky.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Luke gushed, freezing, “Did that hurt?”

“No,” I breathed, closing my eyes, “It actually felt really good,” I looked at him timidly, “Do you think you could do it again?”

He nodded, and I grinned stupidly at him. Both of his hands wrapped around mine, and he laced our fingers together, holding them above my head and stretching me out. Without warning, he gave another slightly harder thrust, and a moan slipped past my lips.

“Fuck,” Luke muttered, “You’re so perfect.”

He ducked his head down to kiss at my neck, proceeding lower to my collarbones, and then even lower, until his lips were running along the light pink stretch marks evident on my breasts. When I’d first taken my top off, I’d been self-conscious about them, but Luke had quickly reassured me, saying that he thought they were amazing—living proof that I actually had boobs.

It had made me laugh.

Luke’s length was hitting all of the right spots within me, the initial pain I’d felt when he’d first pushed in nothing more than a wisp, easily masked by the pleasure. My back arched into a perfect parabola when his tip brushed against my spot, sending me into a pit of writhing pleasure. I gasped and let out small whimpers at the amazing feeling.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” Luke mumbled confusedly into my neck, pressing kisses to my skin. I almost cried out in response.

“Oh my God,” I gasped, throwing my head back.

Luke buried his face into my breasts, running his tongue along the stretch marks that I’d been so insecure about not even an hour ago. His hands never left mine, staying tightly intertwined, reassuring me that he was here—he wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’m sorry,” I almost sobbed, burying my face into his shoulder, “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologise,” Luke groaned; squeezing his eyes shut. They flashed open again to reveal the brightest shade of electric blue, “You’re going to be amazing. I love you.”

“I fucking love you, Lucas Hemmings,” I croaked out, taking my lip between my teeth and biting down. Luke studied me and made a low rumbling sound at the back of his throat, his thrusts speeding up in a rush to get me to unravel before he did.

“Aves,” he mumbled, “I’m not going to last.”

“I’m almost there,” I assured him, smiling at how considerate he was.

He smirked at me, “Let’s hurry this along then.”

I laughed, untangling our hands and running the pads of my fingertips along the broad span of his shoulders, my hands streaking down and curling onto his biceps. He’d stayed in a planking position for so long, and he was shaking, his muscles tensing under my grip.

“Come on Aves,” he muttered, almost to himself.

Now free, his left hand whooshed down my body, never failing to brush along the lumps of my breasts, and his thumb soon found my clit, pushing and rubbing figure-eight shapes into the tight, tingling bud. My lips fell open and I fell apart.

My climax was so hard that I had seen stars. I’d heard from friends that during your first time, you didn’t usually reach your end, because the boy always finished before and was too lazy to help you with the tight knot in your stomach that refused to unravel.

But to my surprise, Luke managed to fight against his own high as I clenched around him and closed my eyes, relishing in the feeling of pure pleasure racing through my veins, tangling and spreading to grasp onto every last nerve and send me into a spiralling pit of delight.

The whole while, Luke was thrusting into me steadily, biting his lip so hard to keep himself grounded. My climax left me spent and breathless, but I fought against the exhaustion to lean up and press a soft, meaningful kiss to his lips, winding my arms around his neck, my fingers playing with the small hairs that had begun to curl from the sweat.

“I love you, Luke,” I whispered to him.

With a groan, he fell apart, stiffening and shuddering at the exact same time as he released into the condom. His eyes squeezed shut and I watched him with an awed expression, completely breathless at how someone could be so beautiful.

Once Luke opened his eyes, his arms wrapped around me softly, and he smiled tenderly, his eyes still closed, as though he was basking in the afterglow. With things completely quiet now, I could make out the steady trickling of the creek, the soft swishing of the grass, the slight wind brushing against our bare bodies. There were crickets chirping somewhere, and the stars shone teasingly.

“Ava,” Luke whispered to me, touching his forehead to mine, “You’re amazing.”

I couldn’t help but to giggle like a schoolgirl at how adorable he could be. My right hand came up to run through his hair, tousling it, and he hummed—I knew he loved it when I did that.

“Blondie?” I asked him.

“Mm?”

“You’re kind of crushing me at the moment.”

We both laughed.

I knocked at the white, sturdy door, shuffling my feet nervously as I waited for someone to answer. I almost felt incomplete without the cold recorder that was usually clipped onto my bra, but this time, I wasn’t here to worm my way into something.

The door swung open and Calum stood there, only clad in a grey beanie and a matching pair of sweatpants. His tanned torso was bare, and for a moment, I let my gaze sweep down his body, taking in all of the tattoos that were so foreign to me.

Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice, because he looked to be doing the exact same thing to me. I shifted under his intense gaze, suddenly extremely insecure. I wore a pair of ripped black denim shorts and a plain red tank top with a black short-sleeved cardigan slung over my shoulders. My feet were clad in my white Vans, and I had on minimal makeup, just a bit of eyeliner and mascara. My hair was spun into a simply bun that I thought resembled a bit of a donut, but whatever. I wore no jewellery except for a pair of diamond studs.

“Hey,” I chewed on my lip.

“Hi,” Calum said slowly, eyeing me, “Mikey and them aren’t here.”

“Really?” I asked, feigning surprise, but not to the point where it was obvious that I was faking it, “Where are they?”

“They went out for lunch,” Calum shrugged, and I couldn’t help but to note that this had been our longest conversation yet, aside from the drunken one that had occurred exactly a week ago. I don’t think it counted.

“You weren’t feeling it?” I predicted, and he just nodded, like I’d somehow figured him out. I shot him the tiniest smile and—for the briefest moments—I thought I saw his lips tug up as well. But as soon as it had appeared, it was gone.

“Can—can I talk to you?” I ventured timidly.

For a moment, Cal just stared at me, as though he was actually trying to determine whether I’d just asked that. I played with my fingers behind my back, subconsciously crossing them as I waited for his answer.

Calum just shrugged and stepped aside, gesturing lightly with his arm, “Come on in, I guess.”

“Thank you,” I acknowledged—might as well be polite, Ava.

Calum just made a gruff sound and I quickly uncrossed my fingers, stepping into the suite and walking down the hall hesitantly. I heard the door shut quietly and felt Calum’s footsteps behind me, the vibrations sending a whole new rush of nervousness down my spine and throughout my entire body.

“Do—do you want something to drink?” Calum asked awkwardly.

I turned around as we entered the living room, smiling softly at him and shaking my head, “No, but thank you.”

He just nodded.

I cleared my throat, looking all around the room, simply trying to stall. Calum crossed his arms over his bare chest and stared at me, waiting for me to speak. I finally glanced at him, only to be met with his intense gaze, those once-warm-eyes now as cold as ice.

“I miss you, Cal,” I told him quietly, “I miss my best friend.”

Calum just stood there, his expression stony. However, I could see the gears inside his head begin to snap into action. For a moment, neither of us spoke, until he finally got out, “I’m not your best friend. That’s Michael.”

“No,” I quickly countered, “Michael’s like my brother. Luke was my boyfriend. Ashton’s a good friend. But you were always my best friend.”

“Ava,” Calum warned, and I sighed, “I know I fucked up, okay? Trust me, I know. You have every right to be mad at me, because I practically ruined Luke’s life. I know that I deserve this more than anyone—,” a faint chuckle that escaped from my own lips cut me off, “—and I know it’s pathetic to say, but I’m going to say it anyways. I don’t want you to be mad. I deserve it, but I don’t want it.”

Calum was quiet again, “It’s not that easy.”

“I know,” I replied, sighing and bringing my right hand up to fiddle with the backing of my diamond earring, “And I’m sorry for everything. I want to be in your life again, I want to be friends. It’s stupid that I’ve just walked in here after two years, but it’s sincere.”

No it’s not. Not at all.

But what could I do? This was the only way to get Calum to open up to me. On a deeper level, a part of me knew that it was somewhat true—I had missed Cal…a lot. I’d missed how he’d always been so cheery, how he’d been able to make me laugh all the fucking time.

But I couldn’t get attached, because I was doing this for my job. And it required me to lie no matter how much it pained me to do so, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I felt bad, I really did, but this was inevitable.

“I don’t know, Ava,” Calum mumbled, pulling his beanie a bit more securely over her head. I had already anticipated that response, but that didn’t stop my shoulders from slumping with a crushed hope.

I just nodded dejectedly, “No worries. I get it,” I scratched the back of my neck, suddenly feelings embarrassed and completely pathetic. Why had I even thought—hoped—that this would work? This was Calum—stubborn, angry Calum, and I wasn’t going to get him to change his views on me anytime soon. Why had I bothered trying?

“I should just go,” I murmured, almost to myself, hoping to save myself from further humiliation. I nodded and quickly walked out of the living room, back down the hall, feeling my eyes suddenly burn.

Don’t cry, don’t cry. You expected this. Why does it still hurt?

“Ava,” Calum called out suddenly, and I froze mid-step, almost losing my balance and falling flat on my face. I blinked rapidly, hoping to make the tears recede, and turned around slowly, “Yes?”

Calum stood in the doorway, looking at me with an innocent expression. He shrugged, “I’ll try—I don’t know, but I’ll try.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, and I smiled gratefully at him.

And for the smallest second, he smiled back.

Notes

Okay, so Ava's getting somewhere with Calum! Let's see where this leads :)

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