by Hughes, Maya
Without thinking, I reached out and wiped away the liquid dripping off her chin, rubbing it away with my thumb. The tip of my finger grazed her bottom lip. My heart collided with my ribs. The world froze. The people on the dance floor disappeared. Nothing existed except for my thumb and her smooth, full lip. Her tongue darted out, nearly grazing my thumb, and I swore my dick jumped like a drill sergeant had called him. I wanted her to wrap those lips around my thumb. I wanted to taste those lips and even more of her. A hunger I’d never felt before pounded in my gut. I wanted to taste all of her.
She looked at me and tilted her head to the side like she was trying to figure out what the hell I was doing. Get in line, Seph.
“We need more shots.” LJ stumbled into her and I dropped my hand.
She laughed and took the glass from his hands. The depths of the trouble I was getting myself into hadn’t even been calculated yet.
13
Seph
Lifting my arms over my head, I yawned and sat up in bed. Other than my mouth feeling like a dirty dish, I’d have thought the morning after a night out would be rougher. In movies and TV shows, people were always like the walking dead in the morning after drinking, but maybe that was just an exaggeration. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and hit a lump—a grumbling lump.
Jerking my feet back, I peeked down with my knees up against my chest. On my floor, the lump peeled back the blanket covering his face. Reece dropped his head back down onto one of my pillows and pulled the blanket down a bit.
Biting my lip, I looked down at myself. I was completely clothed and in my bed. Why was I still wearing the clothes I’d gone out in? I never went to bed without changing into my pajamas.
He rolled over and opened one of his eyes. “How are you feeling?” He shoved his hands behind his head. The muscles in his arms bunched, showing off the definition from his dedication to the gym. I wondered what they would feel like wrapped around me… Stop setting yourself up for another disappointment. He’s a friend.
“Morning.” I pushed my blanket the rest of the way off and stared down at myself. “I’m still in my clothes from yesterday.” My top gaped open at the bottom where Berkley had unbuttoned the bottom four buttons and knotted it when I’d asked for a club makeover. It was the best he could do. My camisole was bunched up under my bra.
“I know. That’s why I’m here.”
“You’re here because I’m still in my clothes?” I scrunched my eyebrows.
“No, the fact you didn’t change your clothes before falling asleep made me believe you were in for a world of hurt in the morning, and no one was home when I dropped you off. I didn’t want to abandon you here for your first hangover.”
My memories of the previous night were crystal clear. Reece had made me get into a cab after LJ and Berkley tried to get me to go up onto the stage with the DJ to dance. That was the type of thing people were supposed to do when they went out drinking, right? Embarrassing things their friends would tell them about in the morning?
“Why didn’t you want me to dance on the stage?” I put my hands on my hips.
Reece’s gaze dropped to my stomach. A slight chill ran through me, not because of my now exposed stomach but because of the sizzle on my skin as his gaze raked across my body. I wanted to grab him, wrap my legs around his hips, and shove those boxers down over his ass then convince him he was more than up for the job. Maybe I was drunk. Alcohol made people drop their inhibitions like undies around ankles.
“I remember getting home and then…nothing.” I ran my fingers—well, attempted to run my fingers through my hair. My braid had turned into a tangled mess on the crown of my head.
“You were talking and normal the entire time we were on the way here in the cab. You re-braided your hair, going on and on about your hand-eye coordination. You kept telling me you weren’t drunk and not to worry, but I figured I’d escort you home like a gentleman, especially since I’m working as your guide.
“We got in the elevator. You unlocked your front door and told me it was fine to leave and then curled up in a ball on the floor right inside the open door. I’m talking out cold. I tried to wake you up for a good ten minutes before bringing you in here.” He sat up, his broad, muscled body slowly revealing itself from under my white, quilted afghan. “It wasn’t hard figuring out what room was yours, so I put you in bed.”
My shoes were thrown by the side of the door. I’d never have done that.
“I must have been super sleepy.”
“More like super drunk.”
Scooting to the bottom of my bed, I put my feet on the floor. The cold, hard wood sent a shiver through my body.
“How many times do I have to tell you? I wasn’t drunk, and I’m fine now.” I took stock of my condition. Other than a little dry mouth, there wasn’t anything going on in my body that didn’t feel normal.
He eyed me like I was the biggest liar he’d ever met.
When I stood up straight, the whole room swayed. My stomach rolled and I slammed my mouth shut. The feeling passed and I swallowed against the thickness in my throat. “See, I’m totally fine.”
“I’m glad. I didn’t want your first night out drinking to end with you waking up caked in your own puke. Trust me, been there—not fun.” He stood up, letting the blanket fall away from his body. In nothing but boxers, he stood in my bedroom.
My mouth watered, but it wasn’t because Reece was standing there half-naked with that V thing I thought only existed in movie posters, dipping dangerously low toward a part of him I’d thought about way too much. Slapping my hand over my mouth, I ran into the bathroom and puked up everything I’d ever eaten or thought about eating. My head and the toilet became one in a communion of violent regret and prayers for death.
Sitting on the floor beside the toilet, I rested my head on the porcelain edge of the sink. A glass of water appeared in front of my face, held by the harbinger of my undoing.
“Sounded like you could use this, Iron Stomach.”
Glaring at him, I took his offering and sipped it, trying to clear the taste from my mouth. He held out his hand. I slipped mine into his and stood.
“Do you need to puke some more?”
I held my hand against my stomach. The churning cauldron was gone, replaced by an eerie emptiness and silence. “There’s nothing left.”
“Good, then we can get some breakfast.”
The thought of food sent me back to the toilet.
A shadow from the doorway loomed over me from my crouched spot on the floor. Thank God I’d cleaned it over the weekend. If my cold war with Alexa had continued, I’d have been tangled in her mile-long hairball right now.
“I don’t want to say I told you so.”
I whipped my hand out behind me, holding up one finger. “If you say it, I swear, I’ll spend the rest of my time here destroying every pair of shoes you own.”
“That’s just mean. Why would you say something like that?” His voice hitched up an octave like I’d just threatened a pet or a child.
“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.” Standing, I looked at myself in the mirror. Death. I looked like the Grim Reaper’s new girlfriend.
“I’ll get you some coffee.” He disappeared from the doorway and walked back to the kitchen. The definition of every muscle reflected back to me in the mirror. He’d slept on my floor all night to make sure I was okay. If he hadn’t already turned down my whole proposition, I might have thought he liked me liked me, but that would only complicate matters. He’d go wherever football people went, and I’d be going back to Boston.
The door opposite mine opened and the tangled mess that was Alexa stepped out of her room. My hands tightened around the rim of the sink as she stumbled her way toward me. Bending down, I washed my face and grabbed my mouthwash to rinse again.
“Do you have to take forever?” She stood in the doorway, actually tapping her foot. With her arms crossed over her chest, she stared at me like I was a cleaning lady who’d run late
.
“I’ll be ready in a second.” I grabbed the towel off the rack and ran it over my face.
She let out a huff. “Why can’t you just do all this when I’m finished?”
“I’m almost finished.”
“Honestly, the things I put up with.”
“I do live here too.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“She said, she lives here too.” Reece appeared behind her and Alexa spun around and yelped. Her eyes darted from Reece’s bare chest and boxers to me and back to him. Her mouth opened and closed.
Lifting his chin back toward the hallway, he held out the mug for me. “I made it with cream and sugar. Finish this and I’ll take you out to breakfast as a treat after our awesome night last night.” He threw on a smile that could have melted the panties off a nun.
I let out a noise that sounded like a giggle. Had I ever giggled before? Then his words registered. My face scrunched up. His eyes widened and he nodded toward Alexa while moving his eyebrows up and down.
“Oh, yeah, totally—a night you won’t soon forget.” I cringed inside at how not sexy that sounded.
A sharp noise shot out of his mouth and he handed me the coffee.
Sliding past her, I followed him back down the hallway. I could feel her staring at us the whole way. Her door opened again and Dan stepped out. “Hey, Seph.” He walked past and did a double take. “Hey, Reece.”
“Hi.” Reece waved, pulled me backward into my room, and closed the door.
“Do you know Dan?”
“Nope.”
Reece was just someone people knew of… “Did you see her face?” I whispered, wrapping my hands around the hot mug. My look of shock had mirrored Dan’s as the crack in the door got smaller and smaller. I still stood there staring at the white paint, wanting to see the look on their faces as they tried to figure out why Reece was there. The number of heads that had turned the night before when people saw him confirmed what I already knew: he was a big man on campus and there was no reason at all he had to be with me.
“Why did you let her talk to you like that?”
I turned and Reece was way closer than I expected. My mug bumped against his chest. I backed up, but there was nowhere to go, my butt hitting the door and making it rattle in the frame.
“Like what?”
He got even closer. The backs of my fingers pressed against his chest. His heartbeat drummed against them.
“Like a total bitch.” His eyes bored into mine.
“She’s…” I shrugged. “Alexa.”
“She’s an asshole and I don’t like her talking to you like that.” Anger radiated off him and he stared at the door over my shoulder like he had laser vision.
Lifting one hand, I cupped his cheek. “Calm down, it’s okay.” I ran my thumb across his cheek. “Yes, she’s a bitch, and yes, I should stand up for myself more, but sometimes it’s just easier to give in.” My shoulders dropped and I lowered my hand.
He caught it before I could pull it away and held it there, his hand holding on to the back of mine. “You can’t let people run all over you, Seph. You think it’s easier that way, but it’s not. Don’t ever let someone treat you worse than you deserve to be treated.” His gaze locked with mine like this was something he didn’t just want me to hear, but to really know.
I nodded and he stepped in closer, bumping my hand. The coffee spilled over the edge of my mug and he hissed, backing up.
“Sorry.” I darted to the side and put the cup down on my dresser. Opening the top drawer, I grabbed the first thing I saw and used it to wipe at his chest.
“It’s okay. It’s my fault. Not like I didn’t know you were holding it.” He covered his hand with mine and pulled the fabric out of my grip. All the blood drained out of my face as he held it up in the air.
Please not the underwear I just bought. Please not the blue cotton lace. It was my first foray into exciting and bright colors beyond my hat. I lunged for them, but he held them up above his head.
“Give them back.” I grabbed for them, jumping up onto my tiptoes to reach.
“My, my, my, Persephone, look at you taking a walk on the wild side.” He stared up at the underwear dangling from his fingers in the air.
I jumped as high as I could and caught the edge of the fabric between my fingers. Reece’s arm came around me and wrapped around my waist. His hand skimmed under my top and landed on the bare skin at the small of my back. My stomach, exposed from my top rising up, landed flat against his. Our struggles stopped. Had the acoustics in the room changed or was that my heart pounding like a drum in a marching band? We stared into each other’s eyes.
An undercurrent pulsed between us. His other arm dropped and the electric blue underwear were forgotten. He lifted his hand and ran it along the exposed nape of my neck. My fingers sank into the softness of his skin, pressing into his firm, muscled chest.
My tongue darted out and ran along my lips. There were too many points of contact between us for me to think straight and not enough to satisfy the new craving I’d developed over the past couple of weeks. It would only be satiated by the one thing he’d told me I couldn’t have. Him.
14
Reece
Normally, after a girl had just puked her guts out, I wanted to be nowhere near her, let alone her mouth, but Seph had never been just a girl. Plus, she smelled minty fresh right now. My fingers were splayed across her back and her body pressed against mine.
I hoped the half boner I was sporting could be chalked up to morning wood and didn’t scare her off. But damn, how do you put your lacy electric blue panties in a guy’s hand and not expect that reaction? On anyone else, I’d have thought it was a seduction technique, but with her I had no doubt she hadn’t even realized what she was doing—what she was always doing whenever she was around me: innocently tempting me in the worst ways, the ways that made me want to say, Screw it, I don’t care that your first time should be with someone slow and gentle with rose petals and shit.
Someone knocked sharply on her door and threw it open, like it was their place to barge into. Seph jumped back, breaking the connection between us.
“Hey, Reece.” Her bitch of a roommate stood in the doorway with her arm running up the wooden frame, leaning against it like it was a stripper pole. “Hey, Seph.” She barely looked in her direction. “Dan and I were going to grab some breakfast and thought maybe you two would like to tag along.” Her eyes roamed all over my body like I was a steak and she was slobbering dog.
“You’re inviting me to breakfast?” Seph eyed her like she’d barged in with an oversized Publishers Clearing House check and told her she’d won something.
“I thought it would be good for us to spend some time together. We almost never do.” Insincerity dripped from her every word.
I grabbed my jeans off Seph’s chair and tugged them on. Buttoning them, I turned around. That didn’t change the hungry look in Alexa’s eyes. I’d been ogled before—hell, I’d been straight-up groped—but this made me uncomfortable, especially in front of Seph. I picked up my shirt off the desk and threw it on.
“She’ll have to take a rain check. I’m taking her out and want her all to myself.” I grabbed Seph’s shoes and threw them at her. She caught them and slipped them back on.
Pushing Alexa out of the doorway with my body, I shoved my feet into my sneakers, half in, half out, crushing the backs and not even lacing them up. The laces dragged on the floor, but I didn’t care; I needed to get Seph out of there. I grabbed her hand and walked out into the living room.
Her roommate kept trying to find out where we were going. I handed Seph her coat and grabbed mine then we were downstairs and out of the building.
“I’m still in my clothes from last night,” she said the second we hit the cold November air.
“I figured you’d prefer day-old clothes to sitting through breakfast with her.” I jerked my thumb in the direction of her apartment.
“You were correct
.” Seph shoved her hat on. A bit of static cling from the fabric had her hair levitating around her shoulders.
I laughed and turned her toward me. “You look like you stuck your finger in an electrical socket.” Running my hands along her hair and down to her neck, I tried to get it under control.
“That’s what happens when you rush me outside in last night’s clothes.” She glared, but her lips told a different story. Then her eyes brightened. “Wait, I’m back out super early in the morning and I’m wearing my clothes from last night—is this a walk of shame? Am I doing my first walk of shame?” She looked up and down the sidewalk like she expected a banner to unfurl in congratulations.
“It doesn’t usually work that way. Usually, you’re walking home by yourself, and it’s not after just sleeping.” I stuck my hands into my pockets.
She shoved her hands into hers. Her lips thinned and the mental calculation Olympics were going on in her head.
“Then we’re doing a double walk of shame.” She looped her arm through mine and tugged me playfully toward her.
When she put it like that, who could disagree? “Sure, I’ll give you that one. Another thing marked off the list then?”
She nodded. “Something new gets added every day. Things I didn’t even know existed get added every time I turn around. That’s a lot to get done in six months.”
I’d thought it was seven months, not that it mattered. She’d be gone. I’d be gone. Don’t get too attached. Don’t get too involved.
We made it two blocks away before my name was shouted from behind us. Looking over my shoulder, I saw her roommate barreling down the sidewalk with her boyfriend behind her.
“Do you usually have this effect on people?” Seph glanced behind us.
“Unfortunately. Some people are always looking for what they can squeeze out of me. I know where we can go.” Guiding her around the block, I ordered a taxi on my phone and we hid out until it pulled up to the curb. Jumping inside like we were on an escape mission, I told the driver where to go.