Chapter 17
I led him away from the living room and to a different hallway. I opened one of the doors, saw it was an empty closet, and stepped in. It was fairly dark inside, the only light coming from the small window that cast a beam of moonlight into the closet. Without comment, he followed me and shut the door.
"Okay, let's talk," he said quietly.
I took a deep breath and folded my arms. "I don't care what you did when you were with Hydra, Bucky. That wasn't you. That wasn't the Bucky I know."
"I still did it, Cara," he said harshly.
"But I don't care! As far as I'm concerned it wasn't you."
"Why are you doing this?" He snapped. "You could be with any man in the entire world. Yet here you are, chasing after a piece of shit that's killed God knows how many people."
"Don't say that," I said thickly. "Please, don't say that."
"I'm not good enough for you, alright? You should stop wasting your time with me and go find someone else who can actually give you something."
I stepped forward and put my hands on his arm. "I don't want anyone else. I only want you, Bucky." I could feel myself getting worked up, and I took a shaky breath.
"Someone like Steve," he continued and turned so he wasn't facing me. "Or Sam."
"I don't want to be wth Steve or Sam," I cried. "I don't love them the way I love you!"
Bucky stopped and looked back slightly. "You don't mean that."
"Yes, I do!" I insisted. "You don't get to decide whether or not I love you, I do."
I paused and walked closer to him. He looked down at me, his familiar blue eyes making me want to burst into tears over the mere fact that I was staring into them.
"I love you, Bucky," I breathed. "I don't know what kind of a life I'm going to have. All I know is that I want you in it."
I blinked a few times, and realized that my cheeks were wet. He reached up slowly and put his hands on my face, using his thumbs to wipe my tears away.
"It won't be easy," he murmured.
"I don't care."
"I'm a mess."
"Good, so am I. We can be one big mess together."
He smiled slightly at me. "I love you,
Cara Stark."
"Thank god," I whispered.
I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his softly as his hands slid down to my hips. He took control of the kiss and pulled me closer so our chests were pressed against each other. It slowly grew more heated as we moved so that I was against the wall across from the door. I jumped up slightly and wrapped my legs around his waist and leaned my head backwards. His mouth left a trail of wet kisses down my jaw, until he paused right under my ear and sucked lightly on the sensitive skin. I moaned his name quietly, and felt him grin against my neck.
"Come, in here."
The door opened suddenly, and Sam stood in the doorway with a leggy redhead. Bucky dropped me gently as their jaws dropped.
"Oh well that's just typical!" Sam cried.
I cleared my throat and straightened my dress. "We were just-"
"Getting ready to have sex in the closet?" He cut me off.
"Oh leave them alone," the woman laughed and wrapped her arms around Sam's shoulders.
He glanced at me and smirked. "So, you talked?"
"We talked?" Bucky said like it was a question.
"We talked," I confirmed.
"You talked."
Bucky and I both nodded vigorously; at the same time, I realized that his hands were still on my back.
Sam chuckled and took the woman's hand before turning to leave. "Have fun you crazy kids. But not too much fun. Uncle Sam says be responsible!"
The two of them left and shut the door behind him. I pursed my lips to keep from laughing and looked down at Bucky, who was burying his face in my neck out of embarrassment. He groaned quietly and I laughed gently.
"He won't tell anyone," I whispered. "I know Sam. He won't."
Bucky lifted his head off my shoulder. "I know. It's just awkward."
"We should go back out," I muttered sadly.
He frowned and kissed me again. "I know."
"You've got some, uh, lipstick," I smirked and motioned to his lips.
His eyes widened, and he quickly wiped the red smudges off with the back of his hand. I laughed and ran my hand through his hair.
"Much better," I whispered.
Bucky smiled, and hugged me tightly. I stood on my toes so that my mouth was even with his ear and pushed his hair back.
"Look for me at midnight," I breathed. "Upstairs terrace."
I brushed my lips against his cheek, then left the closet. I could hear Bucky clearing his throat and taking a deep breath as I walked away, and I smirked to myself happily. The party was even more crowded now, and it was easy for me to blend back in. I went to the bar and ordered another glass of wine before sitting down. I pulled my phone out of my dress and glanced down at it.
11:50.
Bucky entered the party from the same place I had, and glanced at me briefly before disappearing into the crowd.
"Well oh well, it must be my lucky day," a voice suddenly said next to me.
I turned my head and rolled my eyes when I saw Beau standing there, chewing a piece of gum and swishing around his glass of whisky. "What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing much baby," he grinned. "Just to talk, you know? We never talk."
"Yes, that would be because you annoy me."
"Oh, don't be like that."
"Well, that's me," I said dryly.
"So, what do you do around here these days?" He asked and leaned closer. "Stand around looking pretty?"
"Oh, aren't you charming," I scoffed.
"Come on, tell me," he grinned even wider. "Are you part of the Avengers? I bet you'd look real cute prancing around the city in a suit made of spandex."
I made a face at him. "Leave me alone, Beau."
"Who you kissing at midnight?" He changed the subject. "Because I've been waiting for years to get a little something from you."
"You have?" I rose my eyebrows sarcastically.
He licked his lips as his eyes darted between my chest and my face. "You bet."
"Well, you're gonna keep on waiting." I slid off the stool and headed for the stairs.
I went up the stairs as fast as I could, and onto the empty balcony. It was cold. Freezing, actually. Times Square glowed in the dark in the distance, and I could hear the music thumping from the balcony. The door I had just come out of opened again, and I turned around eagerly. But, I was disappointed at what I saw. I rolled my eyes and leaned against the balcony's rail as Beau moved towards me with his cronies in tow.
"I thought I told you to leave me alone," I snapped.
"Who do you think you are? You think that just because you're a rich little girl you get to turn down me?!" He spat. "Nobody turns me down as much as you have. So now, you're going to pay your dues."
I folded my arms. "Don't be stupid, Beau."
He didn't respond, and kept moving toward me.
"I don't want to have to hurt you."
He laughed loudly and grabbed my arm. "Like you could. I'd like to see you try and scratch me."
I cocked my head to the side and smirked. "Is that a challenge?"
Before he could respond, I used my free hand to grab his forearm and flip him over onto his back. I put my foot on his throat and twisted his shoulder back. He made a noise, and writhed in pain.
"If you ever try to touch me again, I swear to god, I'll do that, except I'm going to flip you by that nasty ass hair and not your arm," I said through gritted teeth.
"Cara! What's going on?"
I relaxed my grip on Beau's arm at the sound of Bucky's voice and turned around. Beau's friends had left, and Bucky was staring at me with risen eyebrows. I dropped his arm and he scuttled out the door. Bucky came over to me and put his hands on my face. My jaw was still clenched, and he looked down concernedly.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked calmly.
I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair. "Nothing, it's fine. He's just an asshole."
"Need me to go beat him up for you?"
My mouth flicked into a brief smile and be nudged my leg with his own.
"C'mon, give me a chance to be an over protective boyfriend," Bucky smirked and I smiled a little more. "I must defend my lady's honor!" He made an overly tough guy face at me and flexed his muscles.
"You sound like Thor."
"So, you don't want me to defend your honor?"
I burst into laughter and put my hands on his shoulders. "You, sir, are a loser."
"Mmm, maybe, but you love this loser," he said, leaning forward and pressing his lips against mine.
"I do," I grinned, stopping for less than a second.
After several more minutes, I put my hand up and between our lips. Bucky stopped and pouted at me.
"It's not midnight yet," I whispered.
"So what? We make out before, at, and after midnight. Then, we're extra festive," he told me.
"Oh, well that's hard to argue with."
"Isn't it?"
"You can persuade me like no one else, Bucky Barnes."
"I'm very talented."
I started laughing again, and forced me to stop by kissing me. Suddenly, fireworks began exploding in the sky above us, but it didn't even faze us. After a couple more minutes, Bucky pulled back.
"Happy new year," I laughed.
"Happy new year back."
We started kissing again, and for the first time in a while, I felt whole.