His mouth opened and closed as he struggled to not look at my naked sides. Honestly, it wasn’t that revealing. The overalls came above my boobs. However, the lace bra left my sides bare and gave the illusion of being more naked than I actually was.
Another girl came up to his side, saving him from answering.
“Hi,” she greeted, mixing false shyness with full seduction. “I saw you from my seat and wanted to know if you wanted to dance.”
“Oh, thank you, but no. I’m just here to pick up my niece.”
Her eyes flicked to me like she somehow missed my existence. “Okay.” She shrugged but didn’t turn down the heat in her eyes. “If you change your mind, I’m just over there.”
When she walked away, a laugh slipped free.
“What?” he grumbled.
“Uncle Will is a player.”
He cringed.
“What?”
“Nothing. And I’m just a man. I can’t control that women approach me.”
“So, you’re saying you’re just waiting for the right girl? That if I wasn’t here, you wouldn’t have taken either of them up on their offer?”
“I can’t say because you are here.”
“Oh, come on. I bet either one would let you fuck them before even leaving.”
“Jesus, Arabella.”
“What? There’s no shame in it. Do you have hoes in different area codes?” I kept joking as he laughed, pushing my luck for a reaction. “I bet you would take them to the bathroom.”
“Christ. Stop, please,” he groaned.
“Bella,” Xander shouted from the bar. “You’re off for the night.”
“Thank God,” he sighed.
“What? Can’t handle turning another hottie down?”
He glared with no heat. “Go grab your stuff and let’s head home.”
When we got home, I was too keyed up to sleep. “I think I’m going to watch a movie. I’m not quite ready for bed yet.”
“Want some company?” he asked.
“Sure.”
As if adrenaline hadn’t already flooded my system after joking with Willem at the bar, the chance to sit and watch a movie with him had me practically running high. I tossed on my typical PJs, grappling with the decision of bra or no bra. Feeling reckless, I went with no bra and did my best to walk down the stairs instead of run.
“I figured some chips and beer would help settle you down.”
“Perfect.”
And it was. Him sprawled on the couch in lounge pants and another tight T-shirt clinging to his broad chest. He looked like just the company I wanted to end my night with.
“What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing. Just excited about our movie.”
“You don’t even know what I picked.”
I didn’t have another excuse ready for why my smirk had gone missing to be replaced by my giddy smile, so I settled on a shrug and tucked in. He thankfully didn’t push.
The movie ended up being the first Avengers, which we soon realized our love of Marvel was another thing we had in common. We talked about our favorite parts and characters and had a few more beers.
“You know, this is nice,” I said when the credits started rolling.
“What?”
“Just…sitting here.” I picked at the label on my beer, the condensation soaking through the leg of my shorts as I thought over my words. “My parents were always gone, either working or at an event for work. I didn’t love being alone all the time, so I hung out with friends, which led to me always having to be…on. I don’t have to be when it’s just Felicity and me, but it’s rarely just us. When everyone else is around, they have these expectations of who you are, and you kind of just fall into it, and the whole time feels superficial and fake. So, it’s nice to just be with someone. I guess I didn’t get enough of it at home.”
“My mom was busy a lot, too. But she always made time for me. And I grew up in a different generation than you. We didn’t have the pressures and influence of social media quite like you do. It definitely adds a layer. Almost like a veneer that protects the outside world from who you really are.”
“Yeah. And I didn’t even get to let that veneer down with my parents. Like, I knew they loved me. Or at least that they wanted to. They just want me to be someone I’m not, and I think it’s hard to love me when they’re also disappointed in who I actually am.” As if the trickling of truth led to a crack that spread wider, the words flooded out. “I don’t know. I guess they just had so many expectations and they forgot to be affectionate parents. You know, the few people I got hugs from was Grandpa and Felicity. But they’re not the same.”
“Nothing is quite like a mom hug,” Willem admitted. “I think it’s the one thing I miss the most about her are her hugs. She had the stereotypical mom hug and there’s nothing like it. And as you get older, a hug is a less common thing to get from someone.”