What is it that will give me the true answer?
I need another drink.
I head back to my room not too long after that, exhausted from our conversation. My heart and soul ache for him and what he’s going through. I can’t imagine losing either one of my parents, and knowing what a big part his dad played in his life, I know this isn’t easy for him.
As if I’m a glutton for punishment, I pull his oversized black t-shirt from my bag and slip it over my head, taking everything else off. I don’t know why I packed this, why I kept it after all this time, but there’s something about it that brings me comfort.
Wrapping up in the covers of the bed, I pull the shirt to my nose and inhale his scent, closing my eyes as tears start to gather again. I hate crying, and I hate crying over him more than anything else. But, lately, it seems it’s all I can do.
I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to feel. He told me he loved me tonight and I believe him, I just don’t know what that means. I understand why he’s in the tournament still, but how do I know what was real between us and what wasn’t? Does he really love me, or did he just get caught up in his game?
As I drift off to sleep, I think about love. Love is like the wind, someone once told me, because it’s felt and not seen. But I think you actually can see it. You see love just the same way that you see the wind — by the way it moves other things. Love has moved me, it’s changed me, and I can see it more clearly than the sun in the sky. Clearly, love has moved Kip, too.
The question is, will love move us together, or sweep us apart?
“REMIND ME AGAIN WHY I agreed to let you torture me.”
Adam chuckles, smacking my ass as I pass him on my way up the stairs. He’s on his way down.
Bastard.
“You agreed to let me train you,” he corrects, turning all the way around to face me, but he keeps jogging down the stairs, anyway. Backwards.
Bastard.
“And, for what it’s worth, your ass looks great in those shorts.”
I smack that ass he’s referencing before flipping him off, and he just laughs harder, turning the corner down the next set of stairs.
It’s summer, which is usually my time to go back to Arizona and be lazy by the pool. But with my biology major picking up speed and medical schools getting tougher to get into by the day, I don’t have time to mess around anymore. I signed up for a full set of summer classes, and since Adam was elected to be president for a second term — an achievement never before seen in Alpha Sigma’s history on campus — he decided to stay with me to gear up for the next year.
He also agreed to train me, when I chopped half my hair off and said I wanted to add a fitness routine to my study schedule so I wasn’t inside sitting so much.
Mistakes were made.
So, here we are, at nine o’clock at night on a Thursday running up and down the stairs of the tallest parking garage on campus, stopping on every floor to do different body weight reps.
And, here I am, dying.
After the last round of dumbbell squats on the top floor, I flop down on the warm concrete, chest heaving. There are a few clouds in the sky tonight, the moon casting a magical glow through them, and I watch them float by as my breathing steadies.
“You okay, there, Red?” Adam asks, taking a seat next to me.
“If I had the energy,” I pant. “I’d punch you so hard right now.”
“What? It’s your favorite nickname.”
I just glare at him.
He chuckles, leaning back until he’s lying next to me. His hand reaches for mine, but I yank it away.
“I’m sweaty and gross.”
“More like sweaty and adorable,” he argues. “Come here.”
He reaches for me, trying to pull me into his chest, but I wiggle free.
“Seriously, I’m soaked. And sweaty.”
Adam gives me a pointed look, one brow cocked as he taps his chest. “Your sweaty, smelly head. Here. Now.”
I groan, but give in, letting him pull me into his warm body. He somehow still smells like soap, even after an hour of working out, and as much as I want to hate it, I can’t help but inhale his scent and snuggle into him.
“That’s better.”
For a while, Adam just holds me while we watch the clouds, his fingers playing in my new, short hair. I chopped it all the way above my shoulders, the curly edges of it framing my chin, and it’s too short now to even bother trying to put it in a pony tail.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” Adam muses, his voice soft.
“On top of a parking garage?”
He smirks. “I mean here, together. Really together. No other guys, no other girls, no one and nothing between us. We’re just… us.”
At that, I sigh, snuggling into his chest more. “It is pretty crazy.”
“Did you ever think we’d actually get here?”
I snort. “Honestly? No.”
“Really?”
“I was wrapped up in Grayson,” I say, trying to defend my thoughts. “And you had the presidency, and before that, you had Skyler. I don’t know, I just kind of felt like it was never in the cards for us. Half the time I wasn’t even sure how you felt about me.”
“Well, then you weren’t paying attention.”
“More like you’re harder to read than my biology books.”
Adam leans up on one elbow, his brows bending together slightly as his eyes search mine. “I always knew we’d be together. Eventually. When the time was right.”
“You did?”
He nods, a little smirk climbing on his lips. “I did.”
“How could you be so sure?” I ask, pushing up to sit with him.
Adam stares off in the distance, his lips pressed together in thought. Then, slowly, he smiles, and a shrug finds his shoulders. “I don’t know. I guess the best way to explain it is that when we weren’t together, you were always on my mind — even when I was busy, or dating someone else, or mad at you for choosing Grayson.”
I blush at that, but Adam keeps going.
“You were always what I was thinking about. And when I was with you, when I could see you, it felt like this piece of me that was missing when you were gone just snapped back into place. Now, don’t get me wrong,” he says, cocking a brow as his eyes find mine again. “That little piece of me shook with anger when I had to watch Grayson with you.”
I bite my lip, cheeks flooding with more heat.
“But,” he continues, thumbing my blushing skin before pulling my chin up. “I only felt like me when that piece was alive, when I was with you — even when it hurt.” He lowers his mouth to mine, and after stealing one small kiss and my breath along with it, he smiles. “That’s how I knew.”
Adam kisses me again, this time pressing into my lips until I opened them to let his tongue inside. He smooths his over mine, one hand cradling my neck as he deepens the kiss. My body reacts automatically — leaning in, heart picking up speed, stomach fluttering. By the time he pulls back, my desire to take things slow that I’ve managed to hold onto since we made up after Spring Break is depleted to dust.
“Well, now that you know,” I whisper. “And I know, where do we go from here?”
Adam’s dark eyes sparkle in the low light of the moon, and he pops up onto his feet without warning, hands wrapping around his mouth to make a megaphone.
“I LOVE CASSIE MCBEE!”
His scream echoes off the walls of the parking garage, so loud I jump and my heart picks up for a completely different reason. But he just keeps going.
“CASSIE MCBEE IS MY GIRLFRIEND, AND I’M HER BOYFRIEND, AND EVERYONE ELSE CAN JUST FUCK THE HELL OFF!”
I laugh, scrambling to my feet and ripping his arms down to break the megaphone. “Oh, my God. Shhhh, stop.”
My entire neck lights with heat as he screams again, megaphone or not.
“CASSIE MCBEE IS MINE, MOTHERFUCKERS! MINE. YOU HEAR ME, BOYS OF PSU?”
Thrusting up ont
o my tiptoes, I press my lips to his, shutting him up the only way I know how before I blush so hard I get a sunburn. Adam laughs against my lips, wrapping his arms around me and swinging me in a circle before he lets my sneakers touch the ground again.
“There,” he says, kissing my nose. “Now, you know, I know, and so does everyone else.” He brushes my short hair behind one ear, shaking his head as his eyes trace the features of my face, like he can’t believe the words he’s about to say. “You’re mine,” he whispers, bending until our foreheads meet. “And I’m never giving you up. Ever.”
I giggle, kissing him again as I wrap my arms around his neck. “Take me home, stupid.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Adam takes my hand, stopping to pack up the small equipment we brought with us and shove it into his duffle bag on our way downstairs. We’re laughing and talking as we make our way across campus, but when we turn onto Greek Row, something shifts.
The energy around us picks up a static charge, one familiar and yet different tonight. It’s that same electricity that lets me know when Adam is around me before he’s even said a word, but tonight, it feels powered by an unstoppable magnetic field. I lean into Adam, and his arm wraps around my waist, and as we walk down the silent street, most of the Greek students already gone for the summer, we fall silent, too.
And I know.
I know tonight is the night I give myself to Adam, and he gives me another piece of him, too. Tonight, we’ll make another promise.
And this time, I know we’ll keep it.
The Alpha Sigma house is quiet when we step inside. There are only a few other brothers staying in the house over summer, and all of them are upstairs in the second-floor rooms. Adam drops his duffle bag by the front door and holds my hand tight as we walk down the dark hallway to his room.
Once we’re inside, I slip out of my sneakers and socks, and Adam strips his shirt over his head. I trace the lean muscles of his abdomen, a flash of last semester hitting me hard. I remember running into him rush week when I had to bring him a file from Erin, and how even then, when I was with Grayson, I couldn’t help the way Adam affected me.
His eyes meet mine when I trail my way back up, and he smirks, crossing the room until his hands rest on my hips.
“Shower?” he asks, voice low. The only light in his room is from a small, bedside lamp, and it casts his skin in a warm, orange glow.
I nod, and Adam fingers the hem of my tank top before peeling it from my slick skin. I lift my arms, keeping my eyes on his as he strips the fabric over my head and lets it fall to the floor. He swallows, eyes flashing to my breasts, and I keep my hands in the air until he peels my bra off, too.
When the cool air hits my nipples, they peak, rushing a wave of goose bumps down my arms, my ribs, my legs, all the way to my ankles. Adam watches them, chest heaving as he steps closer, his fingertips reaching for my shorts next.
I close my eyes, trying to savor every touch, featherlight or bruising, like I can store this moment and relive it anytime I want. So long, I’ve wondered what it would be like. So long, I’ve hoped it would happen — one day, just me and Adam.
And when someday becomes tonight, it’s almost too much to bear.
Adam drops to his knees, his eyes on mine as he slips his fingertips beneath the band of my shorts and pulls them slowly over my hips, my ass, letting them fall down to the floor once they’re free from my thighs. I step out of them, and when Adam stands again, I’m completely naked in front of him.
For the first time.
He lets out a shaky breath, hands reaching for me before he stops himself, rolling his hands into fists at his side, instead. His eyes roam over my exposed flesh, his erection straining more and more beneath his shorts as he does. And as much as part of me wants to hide, wants to skip the shower and jump under the covers of his bed, instead — it’s the way he looks at me, the way he’s always looked at me, that makes me stand tall and confident, welcoming his appreciative stare.
“Now I remember why I never let you get naked in front of me before,” he whispers.
“Why’s that?”
“Because I knew if you took off all your clothes, I wouldn’t be able to let you leave without taking all of you.”
I swallow, stepping closer to him, my trembling hands reaching forward for his shorts. I slip one hand beneath the band, the other sliding over his bulge as his eyes flutter shut at the contact.
“Take all of me,” I whisper, meeting his gaze when his eyes open again. “Here. Tonight.”
He opens his mouth, but I shake my head, kissing him to stop his words.
“Don’t ask me if I’m sure,” I breathe against his lips. “I want you. Now. And I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t sure.”
With that, I push his shorts over his hips, taking his briefs with him, and in seconds, he’s naked with me.
I don’t look down, don’t let myself see what I’ve always wanted to until Adam leads us into his small shower. He runs the water hot before stepping inside, and then he reaches back for my hand, pulling me in with him. I step under the stream, and then — only then — do I let myself look down.
My walls clench at the sight of his stiff member, the size of it even more than I expected. I’ve felt it under sheets and clothing, felt the warmth of it pressed against me when we made out. But to see it, to see him fully exposed from head to toe, every muscle in his body hard and wanting, with me as the desired target… it sends a rush through me so powerful, my knees buckle at the force.
Adam’s arms wrap around me just in time, his chest pressing against mine as he sweeps my wet hair from my face. His eyes search mine, that heavy, magnetic charge descending on us even under the water.
“Do you remember what I said to you earlier this semester?” he asks, voice low in my ear as he spins me to face the faucet. His erection presses into my lower back, and my breath catches, eyes shutting on a sigh. “When you let me touch you, do you remember?”
My head is foggy, thoughts nonexistent as every molecule of my brain focuses on how his hands feel sliding with the water over my hips, up my ribs, his warm palms cupping my breasts. “Um… you said… you said…” I try, but my breath is too ragged, my heart beating too fast for a single thought to catch.
“I said before we went any further, I wanted you to know that every single chance I get to touch you, every chance I get to put my hands where you don’t let any other hands go, it means everything to me.”
“Yes, that.” I pant.
Adam chuckles, his hands still massaging my breasts under the warm stream. When he rolls my nipples between his thumbs and pointer fingers, I hiss, arching my back off his chest and leaning into the touch.
“I just wanted to remind you,” he says, sucking my earlobe between his teeth. One hand keeps rolling over my left breast, but the other slides down with the water over my navel, down below my hips, his hot fingertips slipping between my thighs easily. “I want to make you feel good, Cassie,” he whispers. His fingers slide farther between my legs, the tip of one of them slipping inside me, and I moan, the sensation of it rocking me from head to toe. “I want to make you come,” he says a little softer, and my knees shake, legs parting wider to let his fingers press inside me more. “But first, I had to make sure you remembered.”
“I remember,” I pant, one hand flying back into his hair behind me while the other braces on the wall. “Now please, Adam. Touch me.”
My voice is light and raspy, more seductive than I even knew I could manage, and it drives a growl out of Adam so deep I feel it rumble through his chest as his two fingers finally slide inside me. The way he enters me, my back pressed against his chest, his arms wrapped around me — one between my legs, one flicking my sensitive nipple — it’s so much more than anything I’ve felt before. It’s like he’s completely consumed me, like we’re one together. When my hand slips behind me, gripping his hard on and pumping in time with his hand, I can’t decide if I’m touching him, or still t
ouching me — because I feel everything I’m doing to him, too.
“Fuck,” he draws out, biting my neck with another groan. His fingers dive deeper inside me, and I squeeze my hand over him tighter, relishing in the feel of the water over his soft skin as I pulse. I remember how I felt the first time Adam touched me, the first time his fingers were inside me, his mouth on my clit — but it’s nothing compared to my first time touching him.
And now that I’ve had a taste, I want more.
Adam’s fingers slip from inside me when I push away from him, spinning and holding onto his arms as I lower to my knees. His eyes widen, hands gripping my arms like he wants to pull me back up. And when I’m level with his hard, wet cock, I realize I have no idea what I’m doing.
“Cassie…” he warns.
“I want to taste you,” I whisper, looking up at him through my lashes from where I sit on my knees. “The way you’ve tasted me.”
His nose flares, hands pulling my wet hair back as I grip him firmly in one hand. The water streams down Adam’s back, his chest, dripping down his abdomen to where my hand grips his shaft. I pulse once, wrapping around him at the base, and then slowly, I lower my lips to his tip.
He tastes salty on my tongue, and as I swirl it around his tip and lick down to where my hand rests, I wonder what I tasted like to him. The memory of his head between my thighs, his magical tongue licking and sucking my clit, makes my thighs clench. And when I look up at Adam again, my tongue running along his base, and watch his eyes flutter shut as his head tilts back, a new wave of want pulses through me.
“Is this okay?” I ask, flicking under his crown with the tip of my tongue. “Am I doing it right?”
Adam pauses, his head lifting slowly as his eyes find mine. “Is this… is this your first time?”
I nod. “Doing this, yes. I’ve never… can you help me? Tell me what you like.”
Adam shakes with a guttural moan as I wrap my mouth around him again, this time taking him in my throat as far as I can. It’s not far, and I gag a little, eyes watering as I withdraw and suck his tip.
“Is that okay?”
Legacy: A New Adult College Romance (Palm South University Book 4) Page 39