You Leave Me with a Dangerous Taste (All Time Low | Alex Gaskarth, Jack Barakat)

Nine

The first time I came over to Alex's during a weekend was for Will's birthday party. Alex had organized for all Will's friends to come over, meaning there were going to be a lot of three- to four-year-olds running around in the backyard. At first, he was planning to deal with it all himself, but he quite quickly found out that he needed a little more help. Who was better for the job than me? Exactly. Nobody.

When I first started working for Alex, William was still very shy. He would never tell me what he wanted and only answered my questions by either shaking or nodding his head. Over time, he warmed up to me. He no longer let me list off things that we could possibly do, he came up with his own ideas. I was more than happy to play whatever game he wanted just so he would be happy. So, when Alex told him that I was going to be there, he was super excited.

Oh, how the poor boy was innocent. He had no idea that Alex probably had done it more for himself than for his son.

It was sweet how Alex wanted everything to be perfect. He had a large table outside for the kids to sit at, balloons everywhere, a large banner personalized for William with dinosaurs on it, and a place for parents to stay. Even safety was a factor; he took the time to cover the pool with the safety net so he wouldn't have any kids falling in it.

I helped by making some snacks for the kids and some fancier things for the parents. All the young ones needed was some simple chips and drinks (I had suggested nothing with extra sugar. So, that meant no soda), while I actually made some more 'adult' snacks for the adults. Think about cheese platters and crackers.

While Alex entertained the adults, I kept filling all the empty bowls and William played with his friends. For once, it actually seemed like I was doing my actual job.

I was running back out when I saw a new guest had arrived. I was pretty sure Will saw her at the same time, since he immediately let out an overjoyed yelp and ran at the person. The woman with similar colored hair to Alex's grinned back brightly and went to her knees to hug him. His little arms barely managed to wrap around her neck while she picked him up. I hadn't seen him this happy ever since I started working here.

"Who's that?" I asked Alex who had also briefly gone inside to get a new bottle of wine and was now standing behind me also watching the scene. "Your sister?"

"Hmm..." he shook his head, seemingly a bit emotional, but he shook it away like it was just an old story. "William's aunt, his mother's sister."

"Oh!" I nodded, now understanding why the kid was so happy. "I already thought they looked similar!"

"Yeah... he loves her..." Alex nodded, his slight withdrawn behavior not having managed to leave the room. "They barely get to see each other, it always gets Will's hopes up. He doesn't exactly understand how death works."

"Yeah, I get it." I gave him a reassuring half-smile and stepped outside to fill all the snacks for the kids again. I knew that they were going to be so full when the time came, but I'd much rather have them be in a food coma than revolting because they wanted more.

I left Alex at the doorway to take in the scene by himself. If losing a wife wasn't difficult enough, then a confused kid only made it worse. I could barely imagine telling some kid their goldfish died, even a stranger's kid, let alone tell them their mother died. I would have been nowhere without my supportive parents, I wouldn't wish it on anybody to lose their parents. Alex just needed a little time to go through that again.

When I finished filling all the bowls, I saw Alex finally leaving his position and joining the other adults and his (what used to be?) sister-in-law. However, he was no longer staring at her or William. His eyes had just shifted away from where I had been standing.

I assumed he had something he wanted me to do, so I finally came to join the 'adult group' after I had thrown away the empty bag of chips. They were all older than Alex, falling into the demographic of people that were having way younger kids during their second marriage. However, there weren't really any other 'young' people that could afford to live here like Alex. I felt like a little kid, like I belonged at the sticky table.

Alex was filling all glasses with the wine he had just brought outside with him. He picked up one that hadn't been used, pouring some of the red liquid into it. At first I thought it was for himself, but then he came over to hand it to me while mid-laugh. It must have been an automated move, because it was more than just inappropriate.

My eyes went wide at the glass being held in front of me. I had drunk alcohol many times before. Just because Jack and I decided not to sleep together until marriage, did not mean we felt the need to wait to drink until we turned legal. But still, I could not accept that inviting-looking drink.

I shook my head lightly and quickly, hoping Alex would notice his mistake. His brow scrunched when he saw my gesture, slowly retreating the glass back. Since he was so hesitant to do so, I swiftly nodded my head to show that him taking away the glass was what I wanted.

But it only made him try to give the glass to me again. "Yes...?" So, I went back to shaking my head, which only got him more confused as he stated in the same tone, "No...? What?"

While I was still shaking my head, I mouthed just to him, "underage."

His eyebrows quickly unfurrowed and raised a little, his mouth forming an 'o'-shape. It was his turn to nod his head just a little bit so I only knew that he understood me, and he placed the glass back on the table. He snapped his fingers and pointed to the kitchen. "I'll go get you something else."

It might have been selfish, but I wasn't doing it so Alex looked like a responsible dad who knew that his nanny wasn't legally allowed to drink yet. The only reason I was doing it was because there were so many parents around here. I didn't want to look like the irresponsible one. What parent wanted somebody who participated in underage drinking to look after their kids? They were all potential clients in the future. As much as I loved working for Alex, it wasn't going to last forever.

While I was waiting, still a little uncomfortable in the crowd, somebody suddenly started talking to me. "So... you are...?"

I looked up to see Alex's sister-in-law eyeing me in a judgemental way. While she looked like such a nice person before, I was actually a little afraid to speak to her now. Yet, I still answered, "Paisley. Alex hired me to take care of Will while he's at work. Hence why I'm helping with the birthday party."

"Oh, okay." She nodded but still sounded very skeptical, her judgemental look not fading one bit. "Just checking you're not Alex's new plaything."

"Excuse me?" I gasped, but not all too loudly. I didn't need to attract any unwanted attention. But who did she think I was? I wasn't some whore Alex could mess around with. "I'll have you know I'm engaged to my high school boyfriend. I would never betray him. Plus, Alex would never do something that disrespects me like that. He's a loyal father."

Oh, how I used to think that that was the case. I always thought I would have been faithful to Jack. The only thing that wasn't a lie was that Alex wouldn't actually go out and hurt me by playing me. Sure, it was strange that he came onto me so soon--both figurative and literal--but I had no reason to think he was messing with me.

"Okay..." She seemed to let it go, her posture no longer like she was better than me. She actually seemed to understand that whatever she had assumed was not right in any way. "I'm sorry. I'm just checking Alex isn't going back to his old ways."

"Old ways?" I questioned although I had quite the suspicion of what they were. He used to be one of those guys I tried my best to avoid during high school, the ones that would do anything to sleep with you.

"Let's just say he used to love the company of many different women. I was skeptical when he started dating my sister, but he seemed to have changed. I've always been afraid that he would run off to the next hot thing he found. And, as bluntly as I put it, you're a young hot blonde wearing a short skirt. It's just very stereotypical."

"Of course..."

For the remainder of the conversation, I spent my time gaining her trust. I knew I had lied about the affair with Alex, but we had drifted away from it quite quickly. It was just unsettling knowing that although she seemed to like me, it was all based on a false fact. If I had said that I was sleeping with Alex, none of it would have ever happened.

The main thing that got her to put her trust in me completely was when William came running up to me, shouting out my name multiple times to get my attention. Without anybody telling him he had to thank people for gifts, he chose to thank me specifically. Nobody else got a thank you so directly from him. All I had gotten him was a pack of pens, but apparently he loved it. Maybe it was based on the fact that he always loved drawing dinosaurs with me.

At one point, I found myself back in the house, putting all William's gifts away in his room. They were all piled on a table, so I figured it would be better to go put them in a safer place. I didn't have much better to do after there was no longer any conversation I needed to contribute toward.

As soon as I left the room, I was cornered by Alex.

Either he had been waiting for me, or he had just happened to walk into me. Either way, he decided he liked the close quarters and instead made it even tighter by pressing me up against the wall. He hadn't even said anything, but I was captivated by the way his breath hit my neck and how he felt against me. I would have given in, but like I said before, I wasn't going to let him mess with me.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" I whispered sensually, placing my right hand on his chest and lightly grabbing the fabric of his shirt in between my individual fingers.

"I've been looking around like crazy for you," he grumbled, pushing the lower half of his body into mine further. I nearly gasped, they keyword being 'nearly'. He wasn't going to get me so easily.

I shrugged a little, trying to act innocent. "Do you need me to refill the snacks again? Or maybe make some more lemonade?"

"You know what I need you for." He increased the pressure, adding his hands to my hips so that my back was now flat against the wall; the natural curvature had been counteracted by his strength.

"Do I?"

"Stop being such a tease," he warned, his fingers now continuing the tight squeeze.

"I'm my own girl," I retorted, letting my one hand slip up and over his shoulder, the other one going over to the other side, "I can't have you thinking you can mess with my mind, Gaskarth."

He didn't even try to reply to that in words. His grip stayed firm when he skipped the part of brushing our lips together and went straight to them pressing against each other in a heated kiss. I pulled his upper body closer, making him crane his neck down more to keep the heat going. Our words were foreplay enough. There was no need to ease into it.

The hand he had on my left side gradually left its position and started gliding down my skirt. I felt his touch through the fabric, but the real sensation started when his fingers made the transition from my skirt to the skin just above my knee. I urged him on by pushing on the back of his head to press our noses together even more.

He started his touch upward, following the natural curves of my skin. His other hand moved back toward my ass, allowing some more space between our bodies and the wall. He dug his finger into the skin there, getting me to raise my right leg and wrap it around his waist. With my other leg now out of the way, the more important contact could move up further.

His fingertips pushed my panties to the side until there was enough space for his thumb to make first contact. I broke away from the kiss, biting my lip and resting the back of my head against the wall behind me. Alex's breath continued to graze my collarbone as I slowly released my lip before I drew blood. Instead, my lips parted a little as his other fingers came into play, teasing me over and over again.

I got the strength to move my head back forward and tried to pull Alex closer, as impossible as it was. Before I could make another move that required the same amount of energy, I had to hide my face in the crook of his neck. Pants started leaving my mouth as he sped up his movements, one single high-pitched yet quiet moan coming along with it.

I was in complete and utter bliss as I managed to place my hands on both his cheeks and guide myself to resume the kiss, hoping it would revive me. However, with this new found strength I showed, Alex entered his fingers, no longer just teasing to please me. The kiss was interrupted yet again by a much louder moan from my part. My knee nearly buckled as my back almost gave out, making me lean into Alex instead of against the wall. He kept me upright, a firm grip still on my thigh.

Every twirl, every hook, every curl, and every slide he made with his fingers made me see stars. Maybe I had been wrong all along; maybe Alex had had control over me all this time. I had turned into putty that only he could work with.

I breathed out his name when I felt like I couldn't take it much longer. However, he didn't stop and carry me to his bedroom to continue there. He sped up, making my mouth open at a constant distance. It wasn't long anymore.

When it finally hit me, I went completely limp, dragging my nails down Alex's clothed chest. I was most likely being too loud, as I was met with another fiery kiss to get me to shut up. All he could do was let me ride out my high while he also needed the strength to keep me from collapsing in on myself.

When I finally started regaining my posture, he removed his fingers and leg my other foot be placed back on the floor. I was still trying to catch my breath, but I was no longer like a lifeless ragdoll.

"Alex?!" his sister in law called from downstairs, looking for his whereabouts.

He didn't move away, but instead looked down at me. "You go downstairs and ask what she needs. We can't go out at the same time, it'll be too suspicious."

"Okay," I nodded in agreement, but was still confused about one aspect, "but why do I go first?"

"Because... I have," he looked in between our bodies, glancing at his own crotch, "something else I need to take care of first."

"That is not my problem," I smirked, amused by the situation at hand.

"Well, it will be later tonight."

"We'll see about that." I winked and left like nothing had happened.