In My Bed

by Jennifer LaCross

  I’ve been missing Nate.

  He starts to walk toward me, his eyes never leaving mine while he twists and shifts his body to get around the people in his way. I can’t take my eyes off him—the way he moves, the way he looks, and the way he’s looking at me.

  “So I’m guessing you know him?” Chelsea says, startling me.

  “Uh, yeah, that’s Nate. He’s the drummer in Brian’s band. You haven’t met him?” My eyes are still on Nate while I talk to Chelsea, distracted as I try to pay attention to what I’m saying.

  “Nah. Brian and I knew each other when we were kids and reconnected a couple of weeks ago. Tonight is the first time I’m meeting his friends.”

  I nod, but don’t say anything as Nate finally reaches us, the smile that stretches across his lips making my heart race faster. “You got here earlier than I thought you would,” I tell him, returning his smile with a flirty one of my own.

  “For some reason, I was having a hard time focusing in my study group tonight.” He moves in a little closer, bringing me back to a world where it’s just me and him.

  “Hmmm, I can’t think of a single reason why you’d be distracted?” I lean in, our bodies now less than a foot away.

  “Maybe it’s because of a text I got earlier today?”

  The throat clearing next to me brings me back to where I am right now. My smile drops a bit. “Maybe it was because you were so excited to meet Brian’s friend, Chelsea?” I question, trying to get his attention off of us and onto the witness next to us.

  He looks confused for a moment before he looks over at her and smiles. “Brian’s friend?”

  I turn to look at Chelsea just in time to see her stick out her hand for him to shake. “Yep, that’s me. I’m Chelsea, but I’m not sure I was your distraction tonight since I know you weren’t aware I was coming. Your lack of focus must have more to do with the tall brunette you were eye-fucking across the room than the short chick with the red hair and the septum piercing.” She shakes his hand, smiling as her gaze shift between us.

  “That’s quite the observation,” Nate says with a little smile on his face. “Eye-fucking, huh?”

  “Definitely. You were giving her some serious bedroom eyes.” She laughs. “Anyway, I’m gonna head to the bathroom and then back out to the dance floor to keep getting my groove on. Would you mind coming with me, Jenna? I hate standing in those long lines alone.”

  Nate smiles at me, the heat still in his eyes. “You go. I’ll be at the bar.”

  “Come on, girl. You’ll see lover boy in a minute,” Chelsea says with a little giggle as we start walking toward the bathrooms.

  We get in the back of the line, ten girls in front of us. “You know, Brian didn’t mention that you were dating Nate. He said the only guy in his band with a girlfriend was Jake.”

  I smile and nod. “That’s true. Nate and I aren’t together. We’re just friends.”

  “People who are just friends don’t look at each other like they want to fuck.” She shrugs her shoulder and smiles. “I’m not trying to pry, but I can be a bit nosy.”

  I laugh. “Well, so can I, and I’ve seen some eye-fucking going on between you and Brian tonight.”

  “You’re very perceptive, though I don’t know how well we were hiding it,” she says through a laugh.

  “Nate wasn’t hiding it at all. The truth is we’re friends right now, but we’re leaving the door open for more. We haven’t told any of our friends since, technically, there’s nothing to tell.”

  “Well, it won’t be that way for long. The way Nate was looking at you, he’s ready to step through that door and bang you up against it.”

  I laugh loudly, getting the attention of some of the girls in the line. “You sound like me.”

  “Then you must be a pretty cool chick.”

  “Thanks for noticing.” I smile.

  “Well, since you showed me yours, I’ll show you mine,” she says, her eyes fixating on a poster across the hall. “Brian and I have some serious history. It’s long and complicated and not very pretty. I don’t really like to dwell in the past though, so I’m moving forward and seeing what there is between us.”

  I nod as we get to the front of the line. “I don’t know Brian all that well, but he seems like a pretty great guy.”

  “He is.“ She gives me a sad smile. ”Thanks for waiting with me. You can get back to your hulking, drummer man now,” she says as we get to the front of the line.

  “We’ll be out to meet you guys soon.”

  “Take your time, Jenna. Don’t rush it when you’ve got a man like Nate.”

  With a laugh, I turn and walk back down the hall and out into the bar. I see Nate sitting on a stool as the bartender hands him a bottle of beer. His fingers stroke through the condensation, up and down the side, before he lifts it to his mouth to take a drink. I watch him, mesmerized by the way his large hands wrap around the bottle, his lips touching the opening as he swallows down the cold liquid.

  I could sit here and watch him drink this beer all night, but thinking about the look in his eyes when he walked towards me earlier puts my feet in motion. I move behind him, leaning close, my lips brushing his ear. “Hey there, big fella,” I say, my voice low and seductive.

  I hear him suck in a breath at the contact before he turns to me, his eyes dark and filled with the same hunger that was there before. He smiles at me, but it’s not the sweet smile that he normally gives me. This smile means something else, and it has my heart racing faster and my inner animal coming out. She’s been in hibernation for so long, she’s ready to pounce on him right here and now.

  “You look great tonight,” he tells me, shifting so his mouth is near my ear. Our cheeks brush against each other as he pulls back, his rough, stubbled jaw against my smooth skin.

  Our eyes connect again and I give him a sultry smile, letting him know that I can see that craving, and I’m thirsty for him too. “I could say the same about you.” We look at each other for a moment longer, the heat radiating off of me as I stand there.

  “Come with me.” His voice is low and rough as he puts down his nearly full bottle of beer and takes my hand in his. He stands and starts moving across the bar floor, his pace urgent as his hand squeezes mine.

  I follow him through the crowd until we’re in a room where there are more tables. The music isn’t as loud in here, and it gets even quieter when he leads me down a short hall in the back and into an alcove. It’s a small space, so we’re standing close. I see the intensity in his eyes, his burning gaze searing through me as the fire settles between my legs. He lets go of my hand as he moves his to my lower back. The other travels up the back of my neck, the tips of his fingers teasing my skin before he moves them into my hair. Lifting my hand, I tuck a loose strand of hair behind his ear before I trace down his jaw and neck until my palm rests on his chest. Reaching up with my other hand, I graze along his arm starting at his hand as it lays on my neck, rubbing down his forearm until it rests on the bend of his elbow.

  “It was too loud to talk out by the bar,” he explains, his voice low and rough.

  I smile and move in a fraction of an inch; we’re close enough that the tips of my breasts are touching his hard chest. “So you brought me here to talk?” I ask, my teeth coming out to scrape along my lip as I try to hide my smile.

  His hand on my back presses me closer, the front of our bodies now aligned from our chests down to our thighs. As he shifts his a hand a little lower to the top of my ass, I can feel his erection pressing against my stomach. It’s true what they say about the bigger the guy, the bigger the package.

  I’m one lucky girl.

  I moan softly and close my eyes as he moves his face closer, his lips brushing against mine in the faintest touch. He pulls away slightly, my eyes opening to see his deep green ones still close. His warm breath touches my skin, sending shivers through my system as he smirks at me. “Yes, I brought you here to talk,” he says, moving back toward me so our lips brush
so when he speaks again I can feel them moving against me. “And to do this.”

  His hands grip me, digging lightly into my skin as he presses his mouth to mine. I move into him, my hand sliding from his elbow, over his bicep, and into his hair as I pull him further into the kiss. His tongue slides into my mouth, dancing with mine as our lips move together. Nate shifts me until my back is up against the wall of the alcove, his hand sliding down my backside until it reaches my thigh. He lifts it slightly so I’m wrapped around him, the spike of my heel rubbing against his calf. He growls into the kiss, lifting me slightly. His hard length is close to my center as my skirt starts to ride up the side of my thighs and he moves against me, pressing me into the wall. His fingers slide higher into my hair until he’s cradling the back of my head, protecting me from hitting it against the wall as we kiss.

  It’s so completely Nate for him to find a way to be sweet and thoughtful while we’re making out in a back hallway at a bar. The gesture is enough to melt almost every wall I’ve built up around my heart. But that feeling is pushed to the side quickly as his mouth leaves mine to trail down my neck, his teeth nipping at the sensitive skin where it curves to meet my shoulder. I bite my lip, muffling the loud moan and pull his hair to tilt his head back. Our eyes connect for a moment before his mouth is back on mine, devouring each other in one more searing kiss. He pulls back, his eyes full of lust and questions, searching mine as we both catch our breath. He starts to grin, his gaze falling to my mouth again before they jump back up to meet my eyes.

  “So I guess I fucked up the talking part, huh?” he asks with a chuckle.

  I’m beaming as I nod, radiating an air of complete and total satisfaction. I press the heel of my shoe into his leg, pushing him further into me. “Worth it.”

  Throwing his head back, he laughs that laugh I love, causing his body to shift in the most delicious way against me. “We should get back out there though. If that girl mentions to everyone that she saw me at the bar, they’ll be wondering where we are.”

  “What girl? Chelsea?”

  ”She’s Brian’s friend, right?”

  I laugh. ”Yeeesss. She introduced herself to you, remember?”

  His gaze drops to my lips as he smiles. ”My mind was on other things. Tell me you’ll forgive me for my rudeness.”

  ”Sure.” I laugh as I let my leg slide down from where it was still wrapped around him, but when I start to move away from him, he doesn’t let me go. Instead, he pulls me closer, moving in and pressing his forehead to mine. He looks right in my eyes, making my heart skip a beat.

  You had it right all along, stupid heart.

  “We’ll talk later tonight.” His voice is quiet in the small space, but so powerful it’s nearly knocking down all the walls around my heart.

  I clear my throat, trying to gain control over my voice. “If our talking later is gonna be like the talking that just happened now, I’m all for it.”

  He smirks. “There may be some more of that, but I’m talking about some literal talking.”

  “I know,” I tell him with a smirk of my own. “But it’s nice to know there’s a possibility of another little make out sesh.”

  I know we need to talk about what just happened with the kiss, and the stuff we said to each other over text earlier today. We’ve just made a huge leap in our relationship and we need to make sure we’re on the same page before we end up confusing each other’s meaning of more again.

  He laughs and takes my hand as we head away from our moment of bliss and out to meet our friends. I follow behind him as he leads us to them, his tall frame able to spot the group over the heads of all the people writhing on the dance floor.

  Everyone is dancing, so they greet Nate with little waves or chin nods in his direction. After that kiss, he seems unsure about how to approach me in front of our friends, so we stand facing each other for a moment, not moving at all. Our friends aren’t paying attention, each in their own rhythmic world with their dance partner, so I take the lead.

  I move toward him, making a slow connection of our bodies, my hands sliding up over his neck and into his hair. His hands slide slowly against me, his fingers brushing over my stomach before they move around to my lower back. My hands move out of his hair and down to his shoulders, feeling his muscles flex as he pulls me closer. My body responds to his touch—to his closeness—but it’s the powerful look in his eyes that has me completely melting into a puddle of lust. And when we start to move, my mind clears of everything but the man against my body. The music vibrates through the room, the bass pumps through my body, and the rhythm takes over my soul as I move to the beat of the song.

  When I dance with a guy, I take the lead. I work him over and own him in a way that is even more natural for me than sex. But with Nate, it feels different. He doesn’t let me lead, but he doesn’t make me follow either. We dance together, feeding off of each other as we move our bodies. There isn’t anything overly sexual about the way we’re dancing together—besides the hard-on that is pressing against me—but there’s something in the way he is affecting my senses.

  The sound of his breathing near my ear.

  The way his clean, male scent mixes with sweat as we dance in the crowd of bodies.

  The taste of his lips still lingering on mine.

  The pressure of his fingers when they shift on my back while his arm slides against me.

  The look in his eyes every time they connect with mine.

  The beat of my heart asking me to listen. And for the first time in a long time …

  I don’t tell it to shut up.

  ***

  “You ready to go?” Nate asks loudly in my ear when the song ends and starts to roll into another. I nod and let Jimmy and Dan know that we’re leaving before moving toward the bar.

  We’ve been dancing for who knows how long, my body ready to combust from all of the tension Nate’s hands are causing. I’m more than ready to get out of here and onto the next part of the evening. Brian and Chelsea left a few songs ago because she has an appointment in the morning, and Toby went to get a drink a while ago but never came back. Nate spots him sitting alone at a table and staring over at the bar, so we walk over to let him know we’re leaving.

  “We’re out,” Nate says to Toby, putting his hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

  Toby turns to us and nods. “I’ll probably be leaving soon too,” he responds, nodding his head toward the bar.

  “Which one?” I ask, raising a brow. “The blonde in the little red dress?”

  “Nah. The woman with the long black hair and the black and white dress.”

  I tilt my head to spot her. When he described her as a woman, he was right. She’s around thirty, not in her early twenties like us. Her wavy black hair hits mid back, and though her dress is tight, it’s not typical club wear. Her curves would be obvious if she were in a potato sack, so the tight fabric really shows what she has to offer. She’s standing with two other women when a fourth comes wobbling up, so pregnant she’s about to pop. There’s a smile on her face, but the stiffness in her posture shows that she’s not that comfortable in this environment.

  “She looks a little classy for you, man,” Nate jokes.

  Toby laughs. “I know her from the office. She kind of works there.”

  “Seriously?” Nate asks, shaking his head.

  “She’s only there sometimes,” Toby explains.

  “Couldn’t that be a little messy?”

  Toby smirks before turning to wink at me. “Of course. That’s what makes it so much more fun.”

  “Okay, then.” Nate chuckles. “See you tomorrow, man.”

  “See ya.” Toby’s attention is already back on the woman at the bar.

  We step outside into a light sheet of rain and I immediately regret my choice of shoes. Walking the few block back to my dorm in the rain is going to be a lot harder while I’m wearing spiked heels. Even though it’s only sprinkling, it’s enough to make the ground slick and o
ur clothes damp.

  “I’d offer to drive, but your dorm is closer than my car,” Nate says, wrapping his jacket around my shoulders.

  “Always the gentleman.” I smile.

  We walk in silence the rest of the way, our heads down trying to keep the rain off out faces. It starts to pick up just as we reach my dorm.

  “This feels a bit like déjà vu,” he says with a smile.

  I laugh, looking up at him as my eyelashes drip with rain. “I guess, but this time I hope there’s a little more touching.”

  His smile turns sexy as he leans in close. “I definitely plan on touching.” He reaches around to palm my ass and pull me close. His gaze flicks down to my lips, the heat in them warming my body even as the cool air touches my wet skin.

  I grin, reaching up to push his damp hair back from his face. “What happened to the talking?”

  He pulls away a bit and shrugs. “Well, yeah. There’s that too. But I’m really looking forward to touching you before, during, and after we talk,” he says, lightly smacking my backside.

  I laugh as he takes my hand and leads us inside and over to the stairwell and to my floor. When we get to my room, I open the door and let him in, locking it behind me. I take off his jacket and put it over the back of my chair as I toe off my heels. “I can look for some sweats or something that might fit you if you want to change,” I tell him as I reach down into my bottom drawer for my change of clothes.

  “My pants are fine. They’re not that wet. But if you have a big T-shirt or something…”

  I look over my shoulder to reply, but I can’t form the words. His shirt is off and his naked torso is glistening from the rain that soaked his shirt. His body has me mesmerized and I devour him with my eyes, my gaze sliding over every inch of his muscled chest until I notice the expression on his face. His jaw is locked and his posture rigid as he stands there watching me bend over, his eyes riveted on my ass. I’ve seen men want, and I’ve seen men need. This look right here—this is need.