Almost Always You

Chapter 5

It was finally the weekend, and I was happy and ready to relax. The week had gone by without any problems. Xander sat beside me in Literature, but Mr. Tucker decided to ignore it.

I was back in my dorm, and Mercy wasn't back yet. I decided to take a shower. When I came back from the bathroom, Mercy was lying on her bed.

"Hey, Ella! How was your day?"

"Not bad. I just want to relax and watch something interesting."

"But there's a party at the frat house. Aren't you going to come?"

"I didn't know there was a party. Peter didn't say anything."

"As I've told you before, there's always a party at the frat house during the weekends. You should come. Maybe you'll meet someone interesting."

I liked the idea of that. It's not like Xander would ever have feelings for me, and I should meet someone else to get rid of the feelings I'd had for him in the past.

"Okay. When are we leaving?"

"In two hours," Mercy said, smiling widely.

After an hour, we decided to get ready. I wore a plain black A-line mini dress that reached my mid-thigh, black high heels, and some gold-plated accessories. I did minimal makeup; I didn't want to cake my face with it.

Mercy and I got ready and made our way to the frat house. The house was packed, as expected, and people were already drunk.

Mercy and I went into the kitchen. She told me I shouldn't drink too much if I was looking for some guy to flirt with.

I took a can of chilled beer. After a few sips, I loosened up a bit and moved toward the dance floor. I started swaying my hips to the beat.

A few minutes later, some random guy came up behind me. I turned around and was met with a cute guy with light blue eyes. He introduced himself.

"Hey! I'm David."

"Hey! I'm Ella."

"Will you dance with me, Ella?"

I nodded and turned around. His hand came around my waist, and we started dancing—more like grinding against each other.

Peter was sitting on the couch and saw me dancing. He gave me a thumbs-up and winked.

Next to him was Xander, who was just staring at me with no expression at all. He had Nikki sitting on his lap, kissing his neck, but he paid no attention to her.

I ignored him and continued dancing.

After a few minutes, I became thirsty. I went back to the kitchen with David behind me. We both drank a couple of beers and talked for a while.

He told me he was studying music and wanted to be an artist someday. He wrote songs every now and then. I asked him if I could hear one sometime, and he promised he would let me.

We talked for a long time. People were coming and going, but we stayed there. By the end of our conversation, we were both a little drunk.

There was no one else in the kitchen.

David came closer to me and moved a strand of hair away from my face.

"Ella, can I kiss you?"

I nodded, and soon his soft lips were on mine. It was sweet at first, but it quickly became more passionate.

David gripped my thighs and hoisted me onto the counter. We kissed for a while, completely unaware of who might be standing nearby—and honestly, we didn't care.

We pulled away when someone cleared their throat.

It was none other than Xander.

He was looking pissed. I didn't know why.

David looked at him and smiled.

"Hey, Alex! What's up, man?"

Xander ignored him.

"El, I need to talk to you. It's urgent."

I got off the counter and looked at David.

"I'll be back," I said with a smile.

Xander started walking back toward the living room and made his way upstairs. Everyone was still enjoying the party and didn't notice us walking past them.

He went to the room at the end of the hall and opened the door. I'm guessing it was his room.

We both went inside, and he closed the door with a loud bang.

He looked frustrated.

What's wrong with him?

"What's so urgent that you needed to talk about when you clearly saw I was busy?" I asked.

"What the f**k is wrong with you, El?" he yelled, running a hand through his hair.

"What's that supposed to mean? You're the one who brought me here, and now you're screaming at me for no reason. What's wrong with you?"

"Why the hell were you kissing that David guy? James would have been furious if he knew you were kissing some guy you just met."

"Oh, please. We both know James doesn't care about what I'm doing. Sure, he's my brother, but he's not even one percent protective of me, and you know that. So why don't you tell me the real reason you brought me here?"

He took a step toward me.

I involuntarily took a step back. Now my back was pressed against the wall.

"Don't you know I've wanted to kiss you for so long? You were my first kiss, El, and I would never forget that day. It's still fresh in my mind."

By the time he said this, he was really close to me. His face was just inches away from mine. If I leaned in even slightly, I would be kissing him.

I couldn't hold it in any longer.

I wanted to feel his lips on mine. I wanted to know what it felt like.

I gathered my courage and leaned in to kiss him.

He grabbed my waist and kissed me.

The feeling was so much better than I had imagined.

Standing there and kissing him was the best feeling in the world, and all those emotions I had buried deep in my heart for him came rushing back.

He kissed me deeply, and I felt myself losing track of everything around us.

I knew this was dangerous. I knew I should stop.

But I didn't want to.

"Xander," I whispered.

I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer.

I'd never felt this kind of intensity with my ex-boyfriend. Xander pulled me closer, and I could feel my heart racing.

"f**k, El," he whispered.

I closed my eyes, completely overwhelmed by everything I was feeling.

I knew this wasn't right, and I should stop. But my emotions were taking over, and I couldn't think clearly.

He gently guided me toward the bed without breaking the kiss.

He lay me down carefully and kissed me again. One of his hands intertwined with mine, while the other rested gently against my thigh.

I had goosebumps all over my body.

My dress had ridden up slightly, but right now, I didn't care. All I could think about was Xander and the way he was making me feel.

Suddenly, there was a light knock on the door.

I panicked and pulled away.

Xander didn't seem concerned and stayed close to me.

"Alex, babe, are you in here?"

It was Nikki.

Xander stopped and looked toward the door, but he didn't move.