by Marie Cole
He studied me for a moment longer and then chuckled, "Nothing, love. You just looked a little devious for a moment, as if you might be up to something."
"Hmm, that doesn't sound like me."
He chuckled again, "Ah, I've known you, Claire-bear, it does sound exactly like you." He looked at the time on his phone and then started to pack up his books.
"Where are you going?" I stayed in my seat, watching him rise, tucking his books under his arm.
"Going to miss me?" He smirked but didn't wait for me to respond. "I have evening gym time. Mandatory. Have a good night, love." I pressed my teeth together hard, irritated by the L word. I nodded and started to pack my things up as well.
"You too." I didn't dare another glance at him and didn't stand up until I heard the distant ding of the elevator.
Chapter 29
Neil
After practice I checked my phone and I was greeted by a lovely gem.
Claire: Neil, complete the script 4 the death scene. I'll complete 4 the football game. We need 2 meet up soon 2 film the scene. When r u free?
I decided the best time would be as soon as possible. The sooner we got together the more time I would get with her. Because if there was one thing I knew it was that I was planning on making lots of mistakes. I would remember the script for the rest of my life for as many times as I'd make us both say the lines.
Neil: Tomorrow night after the game?
Claire: K. Meet u at ur room an hour after.
The game was easily won, I was at my best, as always. After showering and putting on new clothes I pulled out my copy of Shakespeare, waiting for Claire to show up. I looked around my room, trying to find the best angles for the shot. I pulled out the laptop and set it in the corner opposite the bed and then frowned as I noted the moon shining through the window behind the bed. It was going to be hard to shoot a morning scene at night. As I pulled out my phone to text Claire there was a loud knock. I went to the door, phone in hand, and opened it. Claire nodded to me, her I-mean-business face back on. "Hey, I was just about to text you."
She put two stapled copies several pages thick onto my bed after pushing past me into my room. "Oh? Why? Trying to get me to do the kissing scene again?"
I grinned, amused by her attitude. "No, actually. I realized that the morning scene with Ben and Roman won't work when it's pitch black outside the window." I pointed and she followed. She sighed loudly.
"Dammit. Tomorrow morning then." She didn't even ask me, she just got up and went for the door.
I stepped in front of her, putting my hand on the door so she couldn't open it. "Woah, woah. You're here we may as well do something productive." I stepped in closer to her, I couldn't help it. It was like my body was magnetically attracted to hers.
She lifted her chin, her tongue moistened her lips, as if she thought I was going to kiss her. I wanted to, but I didn't want to put her guard up. I was pretty sure she was testing me. "What did you have in mind?" Her voice was low, sexually charged. I felt my pants growing slightly tighter in response.
"We should run lines, practice a little."
I saw her brows furrow in confusion and then they went up in surprise, "Really?"
I nodded, "Yeah. Makes sense, doesn't it?"
She nodded too, looking a little dazed still, "Yeah...it does..."
I grinned at her. She looked like a deer in headlights, completely caught off guard by the fact that I wasn't suggesting we neck, though that was an appealing thought. I grabbed a script off my bed and sat across the room from her. I didn't need to scare her off with a wandering misguided hand on her knee.
I cleared my throat, glancing up at her, she was still staring at me. "Are you going to practice? If not then you should go, I've got work to do."
She frowned and then rolled her beautiful eyes and then grabbed the script and held it up so she could read from it. She cleared her throat, "Hey cuz, what's up?" I opened my mouth to say my line but a laugh came out instead.
Her expressive eyebrows raised in question and between chuckles I spoke, "I'm sorry I just... I can't imagine you as a dude...I mean could you imagine me being Juliet?" She huffed and then stared at the script.
"So maybe Roman's cousin is a girl. Bonnie." I re-read the script as well and shrugged.
"I suppose so. It would probably be weird that she was busting in on her cousin, though."
"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe she's just doing what her aunt asked of her, to keep tabs on her lovesick son."
"Let's give it a try anyway." She nodded and gave me a look. I realized it was my line, "What are you doing here, its late?"
She paused and shook her head. "We should be practicing using the room like we'll use it during filming in the morning."
"Alright. Get off my bed then." I got up and came closer. She quickly jumped up, clearly not trusting me, or herself, while both of us were on my bed. She ran through the first line again, acting it out this go around.
"Roman, its like 9am." She grabbed a pair of jeans from my drawer and threw them at my face. I let them fall, caught up in the emotional despair Roman was feeling.
"Sorry, I must've been up all night licking my wounds. Did my dad come by here?"
She nodded, crossing her arms over her lovely chest. I tried not to stare, Roman wouldn't do that to his cousin. "Yeah, what the hell has gotten into you?"
"I got dumped." I grabbed the jeans and let them fall slowly to the floor.
"Dumped?" Her eyebrows shot up, surprised.
"Dumped."
"She dumped you?"
"Yes, I love her but she didn't love me."
"Well that sucks, Roman. Love is awesome when its working, but when its over it can really suck." She looked down at her feet and then her script, I wondered if she was speaking from personal experience.
"What sucks is that love is supposed to be blind, but it can still make you a punk when it comes to a girl. So, where should we eat?" I got up out of bed and then looked around at the imaginary blood that was supposed to be on the floor. "Oh shit! What the hell happened here? No, never mind, don't tell me. I've got the gist. The fight was about hate but really about love. Fucking love! Sweet hate! Love that comes out of nowhere! Love is heavy and light, bright and dark, hot and cold, sick and healthy, asleep and awake--it's everything except what its supposed to be! I love my girl that way but she doesn't love me back." Claire covered her face with her hands and her shoulders shook. "Are you laughing at me?"
She looked up at me and shook her head, "No, Roman, I'm crying."
I frowned, "Why are you crying?"
"Because you are so emo."
"Well, this is what love does to you. Knock that crying off or I'm going to be even more emo. You know, love is like pollution from a hot girl's sighs. And when that fog lifts you see the fire burning in her eyes. And if you piss love off you end up drowning yourself in a bottle. What else is love, Bonnie? It's a secret madness, it sneaks up on you and tastes sweet until it chokes you! Bye, Bonnie." I make my way towards the door, pausing when I hear her reply.
"Wait a second! Let me come with you. You can't leave after dropping that on me."
"I'm not even really here. I'm somewhere else."
"Seriously. Who were you dating?"
"Seriously. Why the hell does it matter now?"
"Seriously. Quit being an ass and tell me."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "If I were dying would you tell me I seriously needed to go to the lawyer's office and make out my last testament? No, it would only make me feel worse to know I was about to die. Seriously, Bonnie, I am in love with a woman. That's all you need to know."
She rolled her eyes, "I already knew it was a woman."
I scoffed, "Then you were right. What else do you want to know? She was beautiful."
"Of course she was beautiful, why the hell else would you have fallen for her so fast?"
"She didn't fall for me. That's what I've been trying to tell you. She's smart and a virgin. She doesn
't care about my compliments. She won't flirt back with me or even acknowledge that I'm flirting at all." I felt that tightening in my chest again, this girl Roman is pining for was very much like the Claire I knew. I paused briefly and then continued, "It wouldn't work out for us in the future.."
"She doesn't want to marry and have kids?"
"Nope. Never. Its a shame that she won't pass her sweet tits to the next generation. She's sworn off dating, and marriage. And that's made me depressed beyond belief. But it feels good to tell someone."
"Roman, you have to let it go."
"Pft. Let it go? Please, tell me how to do that." I said sarcastically.
"Find another girl. There are plenty of hot girls out there."
"It'll only remind me of what I lost. I'm like a blind man wishing for his eyesight back. She was very easy on the eyes. Find me a woman who is incredibly hot, like an eleven. But you won't be able to because she doesn't exist. You can't help me, Bonnie. See ya later." I turn to leave again and she steps behind me.
"I'll find you that girl, it won't be hard. I'll find her for you even if its the last thing I do. You'll forget about that girl. You'll see."
Chapter 30
Claire
He turned slowly and looked in my eyes. I could feel the heat behind his gaze, as if in slow motion I saw his hands coming towards me. The papers fell to the floor and as soon as they hit everything was in hyper speed. His hands were in my hair, forcefully pulling me towards his body, his soft but powerful lips were on mine, teasing me, taunting me, begging me to respond. I was frozen for a minute and then I held him too, no longer able to resist. Who could resist when they were being kissed like this? He turned us around and slammed me against the door. I groaned, the powerfulness an instant aphrodisiac, my sex moistening for what I knew was coming, what my body so desperately wanted.
One of his hands moved down my body, feeling every curve, dip, divot; leaving in its wake a fire on my flesh that moved through my body and went right between my thighs. As he hooked his hands behind my knees to carry me to the bed my head started to clear. What the hell was I doing? Why would I torture myself again? I didn't want to be hurt again, rejected, tossed aside when something better came along.
As I fell back onto the bed and his gorgeous body fell over mine, his chest pressing against mine as we kissed, I put my hands between us and pushed him back. He growled as he lifted himself up onto his hand, the noise itself soaked my panties. He was panting softly from the tamed passion and I could feel how ready he was as he pressed himself against my jeans as his gaze switched from my face to my heaving chest and back. "Why am I stopping?"
"Because if you actually like me then you'll prove it to me...by not treating me like every other girl on campus." I pushed him back further until I folded my legs underneath me as I sat up fully
and brushed my hands over my hair to try to flatten it.
He let out a deep breath, still sitting back on his feet. "You were into it too." Neil noted but he did seem to manage to keep control of himself, even after kissing her, which was a good thing and still so very surprising.
"Yes, of course I was. You're hot and you know what you're doing and I'm not dead."
"So... what are you looking for, then?" He just didn't seem to get it. So I was going to have to be blunt, spell it out. And then something else came out of my mouth.
"Um... monogamy? Sweet talking? An interest in me aside from my body? A chance at love before you leave here?" I pressed my lips together and swallowed hard as I looked at him.
"I am interested in you for more than your body." He offered, glossing over the monogamy request. "I do love you." Neil blurted out, surprising me.
I stared at him, eyes wide as I studied him, looking for any clue that he was lying just to get into my pants. Perhaps if I stared at him long enough he'd laugh and brush it off or tell me he was kidding. But he didn't. He kept staring at me with those sexy predatory eyes.
"So,...so...so then you want me to be your girlfriend?" I was still very much in shock. Neil Begley, committing to someone other than himself?
After a moment of staring at me, he nodded reluctantly, looking almost pained. "I'm not sure how monogamous and no sex would work out but I can try."
I smiled and pushed myself up onto my knees, hands on my hips. "So ask me then, Neil."
He groaned, still as if he were deeply in pain, but then cleared his throat and looked me right in the eye after taking my hand. "Claire, will you be my girlfriend?"
I smiled, still partially wondering if this was a dream, and closed the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his neck for a hug, "Yes!" He squeezed me hard as I kissed his cheek and then pulled away.
"Alright, see you tomorrow morning for the shoot." He was sitting back on his heels, his erection staring at me.
I swallowed hard and stood up, I let my fingertips graze his erection as I passed by. "If I find out that you're doing this just so you will get an A or to attract another girl, you'll regret it."
I almost squealed when he got up and pulled my back against his chest. He bent his knees enough to tease me with his erection, kiss my neck roughly and whisper gruffly into my ear, "That is the one time you get to tease me, Claire. The next time I'm going to fuck you."
I gasped at his dirty words, pried his hands off me and made my way towards the door, "That's what you think," I spoke with more courage than I felt. I even had the balls to smile at him over my shoulder and took a mental picture of him with a raging hard on that I could enjoy later.
Chapter 31
Neil
We shot the video, and submitted it along with the rest of our project the following week. It was all I could do to continue to keep my hands off my damn girlfriend. Who the hell would've thought that I would ever call Claire Hughes my girlfriend. Sure as shit not me.
I went to the Union to get my mail and returned to my dorm. I sat down at my desk and opened the letter that I knew was from my father. I opened it and stared at the contents. There was a small key and a note that said, "It's time."
I swallowed hard and shoved two frustrated hands through my hair. He was summoning me now? Now, when things were finally looking up for me with Claire? Could I leave her? I felt anger take over as I stood up and vaguely felt my fist burn as it went through the desk. I looked down and let out a grunt as I pulled my fist out from the wood. It was bleeding and splinted, but I didn't care. I thought I had more time.
I went to the bathroom and cleaned my wound, wrapping a towel around it. I went back into my bedroom and paced. Claire was not going to accept this. She was going to be devastated and I was going to be the cause of it. Even if I could ask her to go with me I knew she'd say no. She had a life here, friends. And after what happened at the lake I wasn't sure she'd trust me not to take her somewhere she'd be safe from harm if it was off campus. Just last week I'd asked her to be my girlfriend and now I had to leave her for only God knew how long. Maybe forever.
No, it wouldn't be forever. I would come back for her. I knew I only had a few hours before they came for me. I sat down at my desk and started to write on a blank sheet of paper I'd set next to the hole.
Claire,
I never felt as scared of losing something in my life as when I saw you fall into the water at the lake. It was reflecting on that moment that I knew, for sure, that I loved you. I vowed that if you lived through it I would do whatever I could in my power to keep you safe, forever. I didn't ever want you to feel another ounce of pain.