Side Effects

by Lisa Suzanne

  It was in the third inning when the shortstop hit a home run, and everyone in our section stood and cheered.

  I slapped hands with my brother, and I held out my hand to McSlut, who just looked confused. Clearly she hadn’t been paying attention to the game, or maybe she just didn’t understand it. She was pretty, but her eyes looked a little dead to me.

  I turned to Reed to give him a high five, and he was slapping hands with everyone around us. He just had one of those warm personalities where he could easily make friends wherever he went. I liked seeing him like that.

  Then he turned to me and pulled me into a hug, and I wasn’t sure if it was because he was excited about the home run or if it was because he wanted to feel my body against his.

  But that simple hug changed a lot for me.

  It changed my annoyance to lust. Or maybe the lust had always been there, and it changed my thought process. It made me finally admit to the lust I’d been feeling all along.

  He smiled at me, a small, embarrassed smile, and then we all sat back down as the game resumed.

  The next batter was up, and he hit a double. “Look, Reed,” I said, pointing to the field. “He landed on second base. That’s farther than you’ll be getting tonight.”

  He grinned over at me. “Touché, Quinn. But come Friday, I’ll be hitting a home run just like that last guy.”

  “You think so?” I giggled.

  “Yeah, I do.” He poked me in the ribs, and I jumped. “But, between you and me,” he said, leaning in conspiratorially, “I think your brother might score a run tonight.”

  “That’s disgusting. I don’t want to know.”

  “Good thing you don’t live with him.”

  “You can spare me the details.”

  Reed laughed, the sound tinkling in my ears like music. “Duly noted.”

  Sometimes he said the dorkiest things.

  A vendor came by with peanuts, and Reed paid for a bag for me. We crushed peanut shells together, throwing a few at Grant, who ignored us in favor of the flavor of the week, and then we headed up to get some more beer.

  By the seventh inning stretch, I was pretty tipsy. I had to go to work the next day, but I couldn’t think about work when I was sharing space with Reed. I had only met him four days earlier, but somehow we had spent a lot of time together in those four days. And I was starting to realize how much I enjoyed his company.

  He must’ve been a little tipsy himself, because he slung his arm around my shoulders as we belted out the lyrics to “Take Me out to the Ballgame.”

  When the song was over, we sat back down, and I watched the big video screen board as the “Kiss Camera” displayed random couples in the stadium in a large heart. The couple was supposed to kiss for the big screen if the camera landed on them.

  The odd, awkward thought entered my mind that I wanted the camera to land on Reed and me. It would give him a reason to kiss me, and then I wouldn’t have to think about what it was like anymore. Think about, obsess – same thing.

  But the camera didn’t focus on us. Instead, it focused on the disgusting couple next to us.

  Grant and McKinsey.

  They were already making out, oblivious to the fact that their hot and heavy make out session was being broadcast across the stadium.

  If only the camera had chosen the two people to their right.

  I glanced over at Reed, who looked as disappointed as I felt.

  His eyes met mine, and then he spoke. “I bet you wish the camera landed on us. You know how much you want to kiss me.”

  I just glared at him. I had no defense because he was exactly right.

  The game ended with our home team victorious, and the four of us walked back to the car. Reed held my hand again as we strolled the short distance, and this time I let him. In fact, I was almost disappointed when we got back to the car because it meant that we had to stop holding hands to get in. He set his palm face up on the seat between us, and I pressed my palm against his. He glanced over at me and then laced his fingers through mine, and despite the tipsiness from drinking beer all night, I felt those tingles shooting through my chest again. And his fingers stayed twined with mine for the entire ride home.

  We made quiet conversation in the back, the awkwardness of the first part of the evening forgotten as I started to discover that I actually really liked Reed.

  “What does your day tomorrow look like?” he asked.

  I filled him in on what I was teaching the next day, and he listened attentively, as if he was really interested in what I was talking about. It was odd to tell someone about my day and have them actually listen to the response. But that was Reed. He was inquisitive, curious, and polite. He listened and interjected, and he told stories that matched with the things I was talking about.

  Again, I took note of how completely different he was from the men I normally spent time around.

  We arrived back at my apartment, and rather than letting me get out and walk up alone, Reed walked me to my door after I said goodbye to my brother and his date.

  I unlocked my door, and he watched me walk inside.

  “I’d invite you in, but your ride is waiting downstairs.”

  “Would you really invite me in, though?” he asked.

  “Good point. See you Friday.”

  He leaned in, and I had the sensation that he wanted to kiss me. He laced his arms around me in a hug, and I hugged back. He pressed warm lips against my neck that sent tingles up my spine, and then he let go of me and backed away.

  “See you Friday,” he said, and all I could do was stare after him as he made his way down the hallway and then disappeared around the corner.

  Once again I was left monumentally confused by this guy. He’d all but told me that we were going to have sex a few nights later, yet he still hadn’t kissed me.

  My brother had been present, so that could’ve thrown up a stop sign (or, at the very least, a yield) for Reed, but it didn’t seem like he was easily stopped by small obstacles like that.

  As I headed toward bed after a quick shower, I couldn’t help the thoughts of his warm hand in mine, the two sweet hugs we had shared, and the delicious feeling of his lips on my neck.

  CHAPTER 9

  The rest of the week passed slowly as I anticipated my date on Friday evening. I didn’t hear from Reed after our time together at the baseball game, and all that served to do was build my crush on him and heighten the anticipation for our date. I also hadn’t heard from Tyler, and I was surprised at that. He’d never been a gentleman, but he’d also never been quite such an asshole. So Thursday night found me at Strikers for some Thirsty Thursday drinks with Avery.

  Talented Ty was working the bar, looking hot as usual in tight black jeans and a black t-shirt. I watched his arms flex as he worked and remembered what those arms felt like when they held me against him on Sunday night (or was it considered Monday morning?). He was a whole lot of hot.

  “Stop staring, Quinners.”

  Avery’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

  “I wasn’t staring,” I mumbled.

  “Yeah, you were. Is he that good?”

  “In bed?”

  Avery nodded, and I grinned slyly.

  “Oh yeah. He’s that good. Although when he booty called me Sunday night, he got off and I didn’t.”

  “Assclown. You know you can do better, don’t you?”

  I shrugged, thinking she was right as Reed came to mind. Was he any better than Ty? I knew the answer to that before the question even fully formed in my head. Reed was one of the good guys, and for some reason, his attentions were currently focused on me.

  But my attentions were split in two: Tyler versus Reed.

  I finished my second rum and coke. “I have to pee,” I excused myself.

  I headed to the restroom and did my thing, and as I came out, I found myself face to face with blue eyes. Even in the dimly lit hallway leading to the restrooms, I could see the blue irises staring me down. He wa
s leaning against the wall, as if he was waiting for me. His arms were folded across his chest, the cotton of yet another white polo shirt stretched taut against his chest and a well-worn pair of jeans hugging his hips. His eyes were practically glowing, and I felt everything south of my belly warm just looking into those eyes.

  I stood across from him, leaning against the wall and mirroring his stance.

  “Quinn,” he said, his voice low and edgy and so unlike everything I’d pegged him to be.

  “Reed,” I said, my tone matching his.

  “I’ve come here every night this week hoping you’d be here.”

  “Shut the fuck up.” I said it with an air of indifference, even though that same strange fluttery sensation pierced through my torso.

  He pushed off the wall and walked toward me. “Can we stop with the childish games?”

  “What childish games?” I asked, knowing that he wanted me to just admit that I wanted him as much as he wanted me.

  He stood directly in front of me. “The game where you pretend like you don’t want me. The game where you act like you haven’t been thinking about me all week, anticipating tomorrow night and what’s inevitably going to happen between us.”

  He grabbed both of my hands in one of his, and he held my arms above me, pinned to the wall. He moved in closer to me, his eyes glinting with unbridled lust as his body pressed mine against the wall.

  Out of nowhere, his lips crashed down to mine.

  “You’re fucking obnoxious,” I said, my mouth connected to his.

  “And you’re fucking insufferable.” His mouth opened to mine, and I felt his warm tongue meet mine for the very first time.

  This man who annoyed the living shit out of me was kissing me, and as I let his tongue beat gently against mine, those butterflies soaring through my belly made me realize that I really fucking liked it.

  But this was Reed. Preppy. Preppy Reed.

  I couldn’t feel this way about him. He wasn’t my type. He was fucking blonde, for one. He had blue eyes and a good job and he drove a fucking Prius. He sometimes wore glasses and he was a nerd and he was irritating.

  But god dammit, the man could kiss.

  The butterflies went from soaring to hammering against my belly as he pressed harder against me, forcing my back into the wall. He deepened the kiss, his mouth now firmly planted against mine, our bodies flush against each other.

  So all this time that he was annoying the fuck out of me was leading up to this moment.

  It was like the little boy who pulls on the little girl’s ponytail because he has a crush on her. And as that thought entered my mind, I realized that he had, in fact, pulled on my ponytail before.

  I couldn’t help it.

  I started giggling at the thought.

  He paused mid-kiss, backing his head from mine but not moving his body.

  “Why the fuck are you laughing?” he asked, his voice a husky, breathy whisper as his eyes bored down into mine.

  “Because I never thought I’d enjoy kissing you this much. Now shut the fuck up and kiss me again.”

  His eyes gazed at me for a moment before his lips hurtled violently to mine again.

  Our tongues battered harshly against each other, his one hand still holding both of mine in a tight grip above my head while his other hand moved down my torso to rest gently on my hip.

  I couldn’t help the comparison that popped into my head. I’d made out with Tyler in this very hallway, and while Tyler was commanding in his own way, something about the demanding way that Reed kissed me was so much hotter. So much better.

  Now that was unexpected.

  An ache seemed to materialize in my pussy anytime I was in his vicinity, but when he kissed me like that, the ache turned vicious. It was an ache that could only be alleviated by Reed.

  I struggled out of his hold because I had the sudden urge to feel him.

  Repulsive Reed was suddenly Remarkable Reed. Righteous Reed. Ridiculously Romantic Reed. And I suddenly wondered if he was Raunchy, Raging, Reckless Reed beneath the sheets, too.

  He loosened his grip on my hands as I fought him, and I found myself wrapping my arms around him. The hand that had held my hands captive suddenly found my cheek. He was unexpectedly firm beneath my fingertips. I stroked his back with my hands, enjoying the hardness of muscle, wondering what he looked like under that boring white polo shirt.

  I felt like a teenager making out with the guy I had a serious crush on as we kissed in the hallway. Butterflies battered everywhere in my abdomen as his tongue moved in my mouth.

  I fucking loved every single thing about kissing him.

  That clean scent that was only him overwhelmed me. His tongue moved against mine with the perfect amount of pressure; it was just demanding enough to be really hot while still maintaining a soft, gentle quality. I scratched my nails down the fabric on his back, knowing that the next night I’d be doing the same thing, just without clothes separating us. The thought alone drove me wild with lust for him.

  Wait a minute.

  Wait just one goddamn minute.

  This was Reed.

  Preppy.

  Lust?

  For Preppy?

  He finally pulled back. He kissed the tip of my nose, a strange, innocent end to the hot kiss we’d just shared.

  “I’ve wanted to do that since last Friday,” he said, panting.

  “I think I’ve wanted you to.”

  He lowered his head close to my ear and murmured a soft promise. “Tomorrow I’m going to do something else I’ve wanted to do since the first moment I saw you.”

  “What’s that?” I asked, my voice surprisingly breathless as I felt a wave of complete and utter desire creep through my body.

  He leaned back and looked at me, an unexpected salacious grin spreading across his face.

  “I think you know.”

  “I want you to say it.”

  “I’m going to fuck you, Quinn.”

  I shrugged and made a show of rolling my eyes. “We’ll see.”

  “Stop fighting it, beautiful. You know you want me. You know it’s going to happen.”

  I laughed. “Is that a threat, a warning, or a promise?”

  He pulled completely back from me, our bodies no longer touching. I felt a little lost without his warmth against me. “Maybe a little of each.”

  He grinned and then he disappeared into the men’s room, leaving me in the hallway lusting after something that I hadn’t even been certain that I wanted until that encounter in the hallway.

  I returned to Avery, who was scrolling through her phone. She glanced up at me and then asked absentmindedly, “How was it?”

  “How was what?”

  “Tyler.” Her tone was condescending.

  “Tyler?” I glanced over at the bar, and he was tapping a new keg. I briefly wondered what would’ve happened had he caught me kissing Reed in the bathroom hallway.

  “Yeah. Isn’t that why you were gone for so long? Isn’t that why your face is all flushed now?”

  I automatically brought my hand up to my cheek.

  She finally set her phone down and focused on me. “Wait a minute. You weren’t just with Tyler?”

  I shook my head.

  “Then where were you?”

  “I went to the bathroom.”

  “You were gone for like ten minutes. You’re too much of a lady to spend ten minutes in the bathroom at a bar, but I wouldn’t put it past you to suck off that sexy bartender in a dark hallway.”

  “I’m going to pretend like you didn’t just say that.”

  “Why? You know it’s true. We’ve both done it in this very bar.”

  She had a point. “I wasn’t sucking anybody off, Avery.”

  She held up both of her hands. “Awfully defensive.” She picked up her phone again, apparently bored with our conversation.

  “I ran into someone I know, that’s all.”

  “And you sucked him off?”

  “If you mu
st know, he kissed me.”

  She set her phone down on the table, her attention focused solely back on me. “He?” She set her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand.

  “Reed.”

  “Who the fuck is Reed?”

  “The friend of the guy you went home with last Friday.”

  “Mason?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. The guy who was Reed’s friend. The one whose ass you sent me a picture of.”

  “Yeah. Mason.”

  “Okay. Mason. Well I made out in the bathroom hallway just now with his friend Reed.”

  “What?” Avery screeched.

  “You heard me,” I muttered.

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “And was it good?”

  “I don’t even know. Yes. It was fucking incredible. But he’s like— I don’t even know. He’s like this nerd. He’s not my type. But I can’t get him out of my head.”

  “Does he have to be your type?”

  “You know me, Avery. I don’t do serious, and he’s serious potential.”

  “You can’t do serious. Who will I go out with on Thursday nights if you’re in a relationship?”

  “Good point,” I giggled. Yeah, because trolling a bar with a close friend was a really good reason not to try giving it a shot with Reed.

  I didn’t see Reed again that night, but he never left my mind.

  I did see plenty of Tyler, on the other hand.

  A text came through just as Avery and I ordered our third round, which would be our last. Teaching freshmen with a hangover was never a smart idea, but then again, I never really learned my lesson.

  Justin Timberlake’s latest hit pumped through the speakers as our drinks arrived, so we headed to the dance floor. I felt strong arms around my waist and immediately recognized the strong scent of Ty’s Dolce and Gabbana cologne. He nuzzled my neck, and I was hyperaware that Reed could be anywhere in the room seeing this happen. I looked at Avery with wide eyes, not quite sure how to handle this situation.

  “I get off in an hour,” he said, his breath close against my ear.

  I turned in his arms to face him. “I can’t tonight, Ty. I’m sorry.”