by Sarah Adams
“I heard you the first time!” he shouted back.
“Sorry,” Clarissa mumbled and pulled away from him again, “you’re still a jerk.”
Clarissa didn’t complain when he drove around the town square a couple of times before heading to her house. She figured the more she complained and protested the more of her time he’d take up. He seemed like the sort that goes out of their way to do something just because you asked them not to.
“Which part of South Avenue?” he asked, when he brought the bike to a stop at a red light.
Clarissa told him her address, but didn’t say anything else. A few minutes later he pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex and Clarissa scrambled off the bike, trying to bite back a smile.
“I’m Clarissa,” she said.
“I know,” the guy said, “You’re still wearing your name tag, Bookworm.”
“Oh yeah,” she frowned, “Well, thanks for the ride home.”
Clarissa turned and began to hobble towards the stairs to get to her apartment, but he called out.
“Skull,” he said.
“What?” Clarissa asked, not sure what he was talking about. She slowly turned back around and walked back to his bike so she could hear him over the roar of the bike’s engine.
“My name is Skull,” he said again.
“I’m sure that’s what your parents decided to call you,” Clarissa rolled her eyes.
“No, but it’s who I decided to be,” Skull laughed.
Clarissa was about to turn to go inside when Skull leaned down from his bike and pulled her to him, wrapping a strong arm around her waist. His lips hovered inches from hers for a few seconds, before claiming her mouth. Clarissa knew she shouldn’t allow this jerk to kiss her, but his warm lips felt so good against hers and he tasted of something exotic.
His tongue slid into her mouth and Clarissa let out a small gasp of surprise, but she didn’t pull away. Soon her tongue was dancing with his and her hands were resting on his shoulders. Then as suddenly as the kiss started, it broke. Skull pulled away, grinning, and sped off into the night.
Clarissa hobbled into the house feeling more than a little shocked. She dropped her purse and shoes by the door and headed into the bathroom. Clarissa had been kissed before, but never so suddenly and certainly never by a guy she barely knew. It tasted of something wild and unknown and she wanted him to kiss her again even if she wouldn’t allow herself to admit it.
“Stop being so silly,” she told herself as she changed out of her work uniform, “It was just a kiss. You’ve been kissed before.”
It was true that Clarissa had been kissed before, but never in a way that left her feeling dizzy, giddy, and slightly angry all in the same breath. She wanted to kiss him again to see if the affect was the same. Kissing him was nothing like kissing any other guy she knew.
Clarissa had had a long-term boyfriend in high school, but he was a year ahead of her and dumped her before leaving for an out of state college. Justin had wanted to be free to explore his options. That had been a year and a half ago. Clarissa had gone on a few dates since then, but none of the guys had wanted to stick around. Clarissa was mature for her nineteen years and most of the guys whom she dated reminded her of the boys in high school. They were too immature and self-assured for her taste. Skull (she rolled her eyes at the fact that she lacked the knowledge of his real name) was both of those things.
Clarissa poured her jasmine oil into the tub and waited for it to fill. Her fingers moved absently to her lips and she sighed. Her mouth was still warm from the kiss she shared with Skull. That was the other thing that Clarissa didn’t like about him. Who wanted to call themselves Skull? It didn’t sound good and it wasn’t even creative. Clarissa shook her head and laughed. She shouldn’t be worried about his name, because she wasn’t likely to see him again, even though she wanted to.
“He’s bad for me,” Clarissa whispered to her empty apartment, “Anything that exciting has to be bad for me.”
Chapter Three
“I don’t care if you believe me or not,” Clarissa laughed and took another sip of her milkshake, “It’s what happened.”
“So some jerk on a motorcycle saved your ass when your car broke down and then kissed you goodnight, like out of nowhere, before riding off into the night like some sort of urban cowboy?” Julie asked and arched a brow.
“Yes, just not the cowboy part! Seriously, I would have preferred to ride home on a horse” Clarissa insisted, feeling insulted that her bestie didn’t believe her. Why would she invent something so unbelievable? Clarissa would have never been able to make up a story that bizarrely sexy, even if she tried.
“Whatever, girl,” Julie rolled her eyes, “Let’s just shop.”
Clarissa followed Julie from the food court through the twisting maze of the mall. Julie ducked into her favorite clothing store and Clarissa followed behind. She headed to the skirts while Julie headed towards the jeans. They’d switch spots when they were finished, even though she knew she didn’t have enough money to get a new pair of jeans and a new skirt. Clarissa was a holding a promising sea foam-colored skirt to her waist when in the distance, out of the corner of her eye she saw a black leather jacket. She grinned to herself remembering her brief encounter with Skull and her lips tingled as if the mere memory of the kiss summoned the physical sensations into the present.
The guy waved and Clarissa blushed. He must have thought she was checking him out or something. Clarissa glanced in his direction again and her heart skipped a beat. Walking through the mall, in flesh and blood, leather and uber-hotness was Skull. Clarissa felt her face redden and she nearly ran to hide in the dressing room. She didn’t want to crush on this jerk named Skull.
“He’s not coming in here,” she told herself, “Surely, he’s got better things to do than come in here and talk to me. Julie would freak. The cashier would freak. I don’t hang out with guys like him. I don’t even talk to guys like him! My gosh! Oh my gosh! He’s coming inside! How am I supposed to introduce him to Julie? It’ll prove my story is true, but she’ll never let me live it down.”
“Hey, Bookworm,” Skull grinned.
“Hi,” Clarissa said quietly, hoping that Julie was too enthralled by the denim selection the store offered to notice that she was talking to someone.
“Ooooh!” Julie said from across the store and made her way to join them, “Whose you’re friend, Clarissa? Is he the crypt keeper here to take your out of date clothes to Hades?”
“Shut up, Julie!” Clarissa said and slapped her arm.
“Ouch!” Julie said, but she was still laughing.
“I’m Skull,”
“Skull?” Julie asked, “Like the guy from your story? Oh, Clarissa, do you really want to pull one over on me that bad?”
“What?” Clarissa and Skull asked at the same time.
“It’s okay, Clarissa,” Julie sighed, “You got me! Ha-ha!”
“No,” Clarissa sighed, “It’s not a joke.”
Clarissa was regretting her decision to tell Julie about last night more than ever. She had thought that her bestie could at least keep her secret, but apparently those days were long past. Well, to be fair, Julie had never been good at keeping her big fat mouth closed about anything. She had been gossip hound of the school.
“I’ll see you later, Bookworm,” Skull said and left.
“Why are you such a bitch?” Clarissa asked Julie once Skull was out of earshot.
“Huh?” Julie asked, now looking at the sea foam skirt she had insulted.
“Give it here,” Clarissa said and snatched it away from the other girl.
“Don’t be so grabby!” Julie snapped.
“I’m not!” Clarissa shouted, “I had it first!”
“What’s your issue?” Julie asked and crinkled her nose at Clarissa.
“Your attitude!” Clarissa said and threw her hands up into the air.
“You don’t like really like that guy do you?” Julie ask
ed.
“Of course not,” Clarissa lied, but it was only a small lie, because she only sort-of liked him and she definitely wasn’t crushing on him. No way, no how!
“Oh my, my, Clarissa you do!” Julie laughed, “What is wrong with you? Could you imagine what the girls would think?”
“I’m outta here,” Clarissa said and sprinted up to the register.
“You’re too good for someone like him, Clarissa,” Julie sighed when she finally caught up with her, “You know that, right?”
Clarissa didn’t say anything as she walked away. She still hadn’t gotten her car fixed, because the shop wouldn’t be open until Monday (even then she wasn’t sure she’d have the money), so without Julie for a ride Clarissa had to call a taxi. She paced the sidewalk in front of the mall as she waited for the taxi to arrive. She wasn’t sure what had just happened, but Clarissa was certain that she and Julie had a fight. What were they fighting over? Clarissa sighed and dug her phone out of her pocket about to call the taxi service again when Skull walked up.
“Hey,” she frowned and looked down at her feet, “sorry about Julie. She never knows when she’s acting like a Class-A bitch. It’s her unique mental illness.”
Skull laughed and Clarissa looked up at him. His dark brown eyes seemed to have more depth now that he was standing in the sunlight instead of the moonlight. He had taken off his leather jacket and was now sporting a black sleeveless t-shirt. Clarissa could tell that he did more with his time than just cut in line at the grocery store and ride his bike. His body was really fit and she caught herself imagining what he might look like without his shirt on.
“Don’t worry about it,” Skull said.
“So do you come to the mall a lot?” Clarissa asked, not sure what else to talk about.
“Not as much as you, I bet, Bookworm,” Skull said.
“I don’t come here that often,” Clarissa shrugged.
“I only came here today because I was looking for somebody,” Skull said.
Clarissa felt her cheeks turn pink again. Had Skull come to the mall to look for her? No, that was silly. Why would he think to look for her at the mall? Why would he be looking for her anywhere?
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Skull laughed again, “I was actually looking for one of my brother’s friends.”
“Cool,” Clarissa said trying to sound nonchalant, but she felt a pang of envy and rejection. For a moment she wondered if Skull was really looking for his brother’s friend or if he was here meeting a girl. Maybe she shouldn’t talk to him anymore. He most likely had a lot of females that were supposedly just his ‘friends’. She had met that type of guy before. Clarissa wondered bitterly how many other girls he’d kissed in this week alone.
“Well, I guess I better be going,” she said, forcing a smile.
“Want a ride? I didn’t see your car in the lot and I would have remembered that blue time bomb,” Skull laughed.
Clarissa hesitated to answer.
“Okay, I’m off then. Enjoy your walk home,” Skull said and turned to leave.
“Actually, I called a taxi,” Clarissa mumbled.
“Okay,” Skull laughed.
“Fine,” Clarissa said and followed him, “but you really should get some helmets.”
“You make it sound like I’m not a safe driver,” Skull chuckled.
“Well, um…you’re not!” Clarissa said.
Skull shrugged and asked her “Do you want a ride or not?”
Sighing, Clarissa climbed onto the bike behind him. Her body tensed as her breast brushed against his back. Clarissa blushed and crossed her arms to hide her hard nipples.
“You might be more comfortable if you hold onto me instead of trying to rip the upholstery off my seat,” Skull said.
“Um…I’m fine,” Clarissa said, not trusting herself to not enjoy being close to him.
“Suit yourself,” Skull chuckled and started the engine.
Clarissa closed her eyes as the wind whipped her hair to and fro around her head while she tried to maintain her grip on the seat and her legs ached from holding onto the bike so tightly. When Skull turned onto the highway Clarissa tried to shout over the wind to ask him just where he thought he was taking her, but either he didn’t hear her question or chose to ignore it.
Clarissa’s heart was pounding against her chest as the bike picked up speed. Giving up she quickly wrapped her arms around Skull’s chest and buried her face in his back. Clarissa wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard him chuckle before the sound was carried away on the wind.
Not that she would admit it to him, but he had been right. Holding onto him made riding on the back of his bike much more comfortable. Clarissa was careful to keep her fingers from stroking his muscular chest through the fabric of his shirt. She didn’t want to start something she wasn’t going to finish. Not that she didn’t want to start and finish what her fingers longed to do, because she did. Clarissa wasn’t the type of girl to go to bed with a guy she didn’t know well. If she had been, she wouldn’t have kept her virginity as long as she had.
Clarissa closed her eyes and concentrated on the rumble of the motorcycle. It vibrated under their bodies and made Clarissa bite her lip. She nearly sighed in relief when Skull pulled off at a rest stop about an hour from town.
“Where did you bring me?” she asked, slipping off the back of the bike.
“Just for a ride,” he laughed.
Clarissa rubbed her thighs and sighed, “I thought you were taking me home.”
“You wanna go to my house?” Skull asked and arched an eyebrow.
“You know what I meant!” Clarissa said, blushing.
“Don’t worry, Bookworm, I was joking,” Skull chuckled.
Clarissa didn’t answer, but ducked into the bathroom instead. She ran her brush through her hair, but her curls had fallen flat. For a moment she stood looking in the mirror, procrastinating. She wasn’t sure what the hell Skull expected now that they were alone, but if he thought just having a motorcycle made him cool enough to get into her pants, he was wrong. He was sexy and she’d admit that the motorcycle was growing on her, but that wasn’t enough to get into her pants, not yet anyway.
When Clarissa returned she found Skull leaning lazily against the side of his bike. His gaze looked distant and made Clarissa wonder what he was thinking of.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Skull grinned, but Clarissa could tell that he was lying.
“Sounds interesting,” she laughed.
“Eh, maybe,” Skull shrugged, “So how long have you worked at the coffee shop?”
“For about three years now. I worked there part time in high school and then switched to full time when I graduated last year,” Clarissa said.
“Do you like it?” Skull asked.
“Weird question, but yeah I do,” Clarissa said, “Where do you work?”
“That’s a complicated question, because I don’t, not really. I’m going to college and stuff, but I’m living on grant money,” Skull said.
“What are you majoring in?” she asked.
“Does it matter?” Skull shrugged.
“I guess not,” Clarissa frowned.
“What about you? Are you going to school?” he asked.
“I might next semester if I can save up enough money,” Clarissa nodded.
“You couldn’t get a grant?” Skull asked.
“No,” Clarissa shook her head, “My parents fall in that weird income bracket, meaning they don’t make enough money to send me to college, but they make too much money for me to get a grant. So basically, the middle-class-screw-you bracket.”
“You’re spunkier than I thought,” Skull laughed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Clarissa asked.
“Nothing, Bookworm, nothing at all,” Skull said.
“Why do you call me that?” she asked. The nickname was getting old quick.
“Because you always have a book in your purse,” Skull
laughed.
“How do you know that?” Clarissa asked and arched a brow. Had he been spying on her?
“I can see the outline of its spine,” Skull laughed.
“It’s my turn to ask a question now,” Clarissa giggled.
“Nope, you just asked one, it’s my turn,” Skull said.
“That one doesn’t count. It just was to make sure you weren’t some sort of creepy stalker,” Clarissa said, “So I should get another one.”
“Go ahead, Bookworm, you can ask me whatever you like,” Skull said.
“Does your family live here?” Clarissa asked.
“My mom does, but we don’t talk anymore,” Skull said and crossed his arms.
“Why?” Clarissa asked.
“Come on, we need to get going if we’re going to beat the storm back to town,” Skull said.
Clarissa looked up the sky and found it to be much darker than when they left the mall. Big fluffy gray clouds hung low to the ground and gave Clarissa goosebumps. She slid onto the seat behind Skull and wrapped her arms around his chest once again. The wind was much cooler than it had been on the trip out and Clarissa was glad to snuggle into his back.
Clarissa wished that the storm would have held off a while longer, because she wanted to know more about Skull. Instead of asking about his family, she should have asked him his real name. Clarissa decided once they were back into town she’d do so. It felt too weird calling him Skull.
It didn’t occur to Clarissa that Skull might have used the storm as an excuse to evade her question until they were well on their way. As the highway blurred by she wondered why Skull no longer spoke to his mother. Was it simply because he had changed his name and become someone she no longer recognized or was there something more?
Clarissa found her fingers absentmindedly playing at Skull’s chest. He didn’t complain or tell her to stop so Clarissa continued to explore the contours of his chest and stomach as he drove. She traced the well-etched lines of his muscles. They weren’t the muscles some guys had from being obsessed with working out, but the lean muscular build that came from hard work.