by Krista Wolf
“I…”
She blinked and the moment passed. I’d missed it.
Fuck!
Claudia sat up straight, shaking her head as if coming out of a haze. Her expression was dreamy but apologetic. Even worried.
“I should probably go.”
She was flustered. The skin of her neck and chest, all red with blood and heat.
“Claudia, wait,” I pleaded. “Hang on…”
Again it was too late. She was already up, already opening the door. As she stepped into the silent hallway she turned to glance back at me one more time.
“Holly is crazy,” she reiterated softly, looking me up and down. I wondered if she could see the tent she’d made in my shorts.
Then the door closed, and she was gone.
Fourteen
HUNTER
“Deanna, wait!”
I reached for her half-heartedly, and of course I missed. The larger part of me didn’t want to catch her. I wanted her gone, which was probably why I’d been such a dick to her in the first place.
“Forget it Hunter,” she cried from the doorway. “Just leave me alone!”
I made a half-assed attempt to chase her into the hallway, but it was only to see her out. I sure as hell didn’t want her crying in my kitchen. I wanted to know she’d left.
“Deanna—”
She turned as she ran… and bumped straight into Claudia. She looked at my roommate as if she’d seen a ghost.
“Oh, it’s you!” she cried tearfully, grasping Claudia by the shoulders. “Of course it is.”
Claudia looked wholly confused. And with good reason.
“You can have him!” Deanna laughed bitterly. Her eyes shifted between us almost manically. “I’m finished!”
I made the obligatory move toward her and she fled, brown hair bouncing, her feet pounding their way down the staircase. I waited until I heard the sound of the front door open and slam closed before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
“What the hell was that?” Claudia gasped. Her face was flush with heat, the skin of her neck and chest all flustered.
Maybe she’d been rattled worse than I thought.
“That was nothing,” I said. “Nobody important.”
She raised an eyebrow. “It sure didn’t seem like nothing.”
We were standing there in the hallway together, both wearing sweatpants, both with that tousled end-of-the-day look. Claudia looked sumptuous anyway. I loved the way her hair framed her extraordinarily pretty face. The way her hips flared out in a sexy curve, just beyond the dip of her slender waist.
“Where were you heading?” I asked. “Midnight snack?”
“Err… no,” she said, after a slight hesitation. “Bathroom.”
“Funny,” I said.
She looked suddenly nervous. “Why’s that funny?”
“Because I noticed you just came from Colin’s room.”
Claudia’s face turned even redder if possible. She composed herself quickly though.
“I was just trying to talk some sense into him,” she said. “He’s still pretty hung up on his ex. Holly.”
“You think?” I scoffed.
“Been like this a while?”
“Ever since the breakup,” I said. “Brandon and I have tried to get him over her, but nothing we’ve done has even made a dent. We’ve set him up with beautiful girls, brought him to sorority parties… he ducks out every single time. And in most of those scenarios, those girls were a sure thing.”
It was strange, talking to her so candidly like this. Claudia being a female, and even a professor at the University and all that. Still, it seemed so weirdly natural. So comfortable. Like telling stuff to your sister.
Only she wasn’t my sister. And my feelings for her… well, they weren’t sisterly at all.
“At one point we floated the idea that maybe he was gay,” I went on. “But I really don’t think so.”
“No,” Claudia shook her head definitively. “I’m pretty sure he’s not gay.”
I shrugged. “Not that Brandon or I would care,” I said, folding my arms. “Actually it would explain a lot of things.”
“I think he’s just hung up on her,” said Claudia. “I mean really really hung up on her.”
“Me too. Hell, they’ve been going out since junior high, and he’s twenty-one for Christ’s sake.” I shrugged. “When you look at it that way he’s technically never really dated.”
“Good point.”
A silence settled over the hallway, and I found my gaze wandering back to her body. She looked so hot standing there, filling out her T-shirt. Her soft ringlets of reddish-brown hair, dangling around her shoulders.
You want her.
The realization was frightening but honest. Shit, hadn’t I been stricken with jealousy the second I saw her stepping out of Colin’s bedroom?
Her eyes left mine and she looked past me. In my haste to chase after Deanna, I realized I’d left the door to my room slightly ajar.
Shit.
I reached back and pulled it closed. Claudia frowned.
“Got another girl in there or something?” she quipped.
“No.”
“Then what’s the big secret?”
“No big secret,” I said. “It’s just… well, it’s a big mess in there.”
“I’ll bet,” she smirked. “Deanna seems like the type to—”
“No,” I jumped in. “Deanna wasn’t in there all that long. Ten minutes, tops.”
Claudia’s smirk grew even more diabolical. “They make pills to fix that, you know.”
“Fuck off,” I laughed. “You know what I mean. She came over, got mad, and left.”
“What was she so mad at?”
My expression must’ve betrayed a lot more than I wanted it to. Claudia balked at my hesitation. She stopped leaning against the wall just long enough to put her hands on her shapely hips.
“I’ve seen in there before, you know,” she said smartly, nodding toward my door. “You uh… kinda left the door open the other night.”
I froze instantly. Suddenly I was very uncomfortable.
“When?”
She’d seen my reaction. Right now she looked unsure if she wanted to go on.
“Go on,” I said. “It’s okay. You can tell me.”
“Alright,” she sighed. “My first night here, you had a girl over. I heard you two… well…” her eyes dropped. “You know.”
“Deanna?”
“No. Some blonde girl.”
I declined to mention a name. Could’ve been Lynne. Could’ve been Alexa. Could’ve been—
“Long hair. Heart-shaped ass.”
“Dana.”
“Sure,” she rolled her eyes. “Dana.”
Something in her expression darkened. Was it jealousy? Or was she just poking fun at me having more than one friend-with-benefits?
And how the hell did she know Dana had a heart-shaped ass?
“Anyway,” Claudia went on, “it was dark and moonless. And raining too, so I really couldn’t see anything. Not that I was looking,” she added hastily. “That time, I really did have to go the bathroom and just happened upon—”
“It’s fine,” I said, somewhat relieved. “Not a big deal.”
The strange silence descended again, and this time our eyes locked. Time stopped for a moment, or at least slowed down.
You really, really want her.
Our eyes bored into each other, brown on green. I could feel my heart racing, my cheeks flushing red. It was absolutely crazy to me. No one had ever really affected me like this. Not even the girls I was into, but they were few and far between.
“So where exactly do you get all these girls,” she joked. “Do you stand on the roof and cast a net? Maybe put up a little fence to herd them in on a Friday night, or—”
“I’ve been at this school for three years,” I shrugged. “I know a lot of people. I have a lot of friends.”
“Uh huh.”
&
nbsp; “Besides, we were a popular fraternity.”
“And you were the President.”
I felt the familiar sting — the emptiness of losing our chapter — but it wasn’t nearly as strong as usual. I pushed it aside.
“Yes.”
The chemistry was there again, crackling between us like some unseen energy. Daring one of us to step forward… to be swept up in the electricity of it all.
“Alright then,” Claudia said slowly, like she was reluctant to let go. Maybe she was. “Better get some sleep.”
“Me too,” I said.
“Goodnight Hunter.”
I shuddered. Even the way she said my name was sexy.
“Goodnight Claudia.”
We retreated to our separate rooms, stepped through our separate doorways. Just before hers closed, Claudia poked her head out.
“Hey,” she said, gripping the door frame. “Sorry about your booty call.”
I glanced back at her and chuckled softly. “No you’re not.”
Claudia yawned adorably, before her face cracked into a grin.
“You’re right,” she said before closing the door. “I’m really not.”
Fifteen
CLAUDIA
We sort of fell into a groove as the days wore on, and as far as I was concerned it was a beautiful, wondrous thing. The guys and I grew increasingly comfortable around each other. They still looked out for me, which was cute and endearing, but they also worried far less about scaring me off.
Flirting was suddenly on the table — a street that happily ran both ways — and walking around without shirts or pants was suddenly no longer taboo. Teasing me by using the upstairs hallway as a catwalk to model their underwear became a daily, welcome occurrence. In reciprocation I was a lot less careful about where I left my unmentionables, especially in the bathroom.
Once or twice I’d been snapped at with a towel, which meant whoever had just taken a shower was wonderfully naked for the split-second they tried to swipe me. Though I whipped my head around as fast as I could, I never was able to catch a glimpse.
We snuggled on the couch sometimes too. Played with each other’s hair. One night I traded footrubs with both Colin and Brandon, and when it was my turn they did mine together, both at the same time.
Heaven couldn’t feel like that. Not even close.
Even with all this, there was always a set distance. An invisible line the guys refused to cross. As it had been a long time since Garrett, I began wishing one of them would. I would’ve even been willing to help them along, but I had a really good thing going. I sure was hell wasn’t going to risk screwing it all up.
The weather grew colder as the semester dragged on. Until one day things around the house heated up.
Literally.
It was Halloween, and I came home to find my boys lounging around in even less clothing than usual. Though it was bitter cold outside, the living room was filled with a cozy, flickering glow.
“The fireplace works!” I exclaimed happily.
“Technically it never stopped working,” Hunter shrugged. He was wearing a tight hooded T-shirt that clung to his body, and what could’ve been shorts, could’ve been boxers. “I just had to light it. But yeah, I had it professionally cleaned first, chimney and all. Just to be sure.”
I shed my coat, inching closer to the warm, glowing embers. Oh my God they felt good!
“Let me guess, your uncle again?”
“Yup.”
“He’ll bill me later?” I teased.
“Nah,” Hunter laughed. “This one I made him do for free.”
Holding my hands out, I let the heat wash over me in an almost orgasmic wave. I always loved fireplaces. Never had one though.
“Halloween today,” I said. “Lots of students dressed up around campus.”
“Lots of professors too,” Colin noted. He looked me over. “Not you?”
“Nah. I guess I’m a stick in the mud. You guys going out tonight?”
“Hell yeah we are,” said Brandon. “Tri-Delta house. Though we’re no longer… uh… active as a chapter, they invited us anyway. I guess you could say it’s a pity party.”
Hunter raised a bottle and saluted him. “Normally I’m not much for pity but in the case of the tri-Delts I’ll make an exception.”
I smiled at him, and at Colin too. Then, crossing the room, I lifted the beer out of Brandon’s hand.
“You’re not going,” I told him.
He bolted upright. Looked back at me like I had a thousand heads.
“The hell I’m not!”
“Listen up,” I told him, “you’ve got a mid-term tomorrow. And if you flunk it, your coach isn’t even going to let you into practice.”
Colin sat up and nodded. “She’s right bro. This takes priority over going out tonight. You have to study.”
Brandon looked from one of us to the other. It wasn’t until Hunter stepped in that he realized he was really sunk.
“Your grades have been better lately,” he said, “but still not great. And if you party all night…”
Brandon sighed. “I’ll fuck it all up.”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
He looked sullen and distraught. I decided to cheer him up.
“I’m staying in too,” I said. “I’ll help you study. We’ll sit here by the fire and go over it until you know this stuff inside and out.”
Brandon let out a long, wistful sigh. I almost felt sorry for him.
“Besides,” I said. “Someone’s gotta be here for the trick-or-treaters.” I poked him with my foot. “And you don’t want me leave me here all alone do you?”
He grunted in reply. “I guess not.”
“Good, then it’s settled!”
Sixteen
CLAUDIA
I could tell it was hard for him, watching them go. To his credit, Brandon took it like a champ.
Hunter looked absolutely dashing as a pirate — his biceps bulging from some ragged white shirt with a plunging neckline. Ditto for Colin, hook-hand and all. He’d scarred his handsome face up with some creative makeup, while his firm swimmer’s legs tore their way out of his striped pirate shorts.
Both of them, from head to toe, did every inch of their costumes proud.
“Damn guys… you look good.”
I touched Hunter’s chest, pretending to adjust something while feeling the hard musculature beneath. He smiled knowingly. In that moment I imagined them taking me. Dragging me below decks and just plundering me, the both of them, like the saucy wench I knew I could be. In fact—
“Ready?”
“Hell yeah.”
They bounced out the door after one last goodbye, leaving a very glum Brandon in my very capable hands. I’d already settled him down in front of the fireplace. Traded his latest attempt at sneaking a beer for a tall, frosty glass of water.
“Midterms,” I said sternly. “Remember?”
He nodded again, and we got to work. At first it was slow going. There were a lot of distractions; feeding the fire, answering the door to hand out candy, trying to keep Brandon’s attention focused on his work rather than our usual flirtatious banter. I tried keeping things serious though. For as long as I could, anyway.
“You’re definitely getting it,” I said after an hour and a half, “but I still think you’re going too quickly.”
Brandon groaned in frustration. We were laying side by side now, the fire roaring, the workbook between us.
Slow down,” I told him. “Read the questions. If you just take your time, you’ll realize exactly what answer they’re looking for.”
Another knock at the door. Another group of trick-or-treaters. They were showing up less frequently now that it was getting a little later, but they were still coming. And we were almost out of candy.
Brandon did his best to listen as I tutored him some more. Another hour went by, but somewhere around the forty-five minute mark he really started to understand. He started giving the right answers, and
showing the right work. It was like something in his head just clicked.
“That’s it!” I told him excitedly. “Just like that!”
He grinned with pure happiness, then leaned over in my direction. For a second I thought he was going to kiss me, but he only planted one on my cheek.
“You’re the best, you know that?”
“Well I am a professor,” I acknowledged.
“You’re a lot more than that,” Brandon swore. “Much more…”
Our heads were still close. Our lips, not all that far apart. I could picture us leaning in. Starting slowly, like two magnets giving in to the inevitable attraction.
Oh no…
I wanted so very badly for it to happen. Couldn’t allow it to happen…
Playfully, I clapped the book closed in his face.
“We deserve a break,” I grinned. “Let’s go!”
My latest student blinked in disbelief. “Go where?”
“Trick or treating, silly!”
Brandon still had no clue what I was talking about. I leapt to my feet.
“You’ve got a pirate costume upstairs too, right?”
“Well, yeah…”
“So go put it on! I’ll meet you back here in five minutes.”
I took the stairs two at a time, then rushed into my room. I didn’t own a costume, but scaring up a last-minute pirate wench couldn’t be all that hard. I could certainly improvise.
Brandon took five minutes to finish. I probably took ten. By the time I came back downstairs, his jaw hit the floor.
“Claudia!” he breathed. “Holy shit…”
I was wearing a flowing black skirt that I never really liked, so I’d shredded it short all around. It fell about my thighs in sexy tatters, right below my black leather belt with the big buckle. My breasts were encapsulated in a satin red boustierre. Right now they were pushed up and together — showing off a hell of a lot of cleavage — beneath a barely-buttoned white shirt with a plunging neckline.
“You look…”