by Toni Aleo
“Tell me you don’t have anything planned for the next hour.”
She laughs. “Skylar is studying, so we can’t go back there.”
I give her a playful scolding look before saying, “Who said anything about that? I want to sit on the quad and eat lunch with ya.”
Her face warms even more as she nods slowly. “I think I have time for that,” she says with a wink, lacing her fingers with mine.
Reaching down, I get her books for her, and we start toward the food court for some sandwiches before finding a nice spot in the sun. There is a chilly wind, but with the sun, it feels amazing. Crossing her legs, she sits down with her sandwich in her lap, taking a sip of her Coke as I do the same, opening my sandwich and taking a huge bite.
“How’s your day been so far?”
I shrug. “It’s better now.”
She giggles before taking a bite of her sandwich, causing me to grin.
“Yours?” I ask.
She shrugs too. “It’s been okay. Phillip has been calling me all day, and I’m ignoring him. Thanks for that, by the way. I was in a sex daze yesterday and really didn’t care what you did, but today, I’m a little mad at you.”
I send her one of my sweet smiles that I use to get me out of trouble with my mom and she caves quickly. She knows it too because she throws a chip at me as I laugh.
Going up on my knees, I crawl to her, my hands on either side of her hips and my face right in front of hers as I press my lips to her nose before whispering, “Sorry about that.”
She pushes me away playfully but as I go to sit, she grabs my shirt, pressing her lips to mine again before releasing me for her sandwich. “Apology accepted, but you best believe there will be repercussions. I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes down here looking for you. He’ll probably threaten you some more, so be ready… I mean, if we still see each other and shit, which, by the way, what are we doing here? This isn’t Jude Sinclair behavior according to the vast majority of our peers.” Leaning toward me, she whispers, “Word on the street is you’ve been seen multiple times with a fiery redhead. Some say you’ve been taken off the market. This redhead must be something.”
I laugh as I shake my head. “She is.”
Her mouth curves in a grin as she picks at the lettuce on her sandwich. “So really, Jude, are we just having fun? Or what?”
I watch her as I ask, “What do you want?”
She laughs as she looks up at me. “I mean, what I want might not be what you want.”
“So tell me anyway,” I say, taking a drink of my Coke. “You never know.”
“I wouldn’t mind this going somewhere. It wouldn’t be horrible to be with the hottest guy on campus.”
I scoff as I grab her by her ankles, pulling her to me. She shrieks as I pull her between my legs, her legs sliding inside my hips and mine resting around hers. Meeting her gaze, I say, “I wouldn’t mind that either.”
“I find that hard to believe, but hell, people change.”
“You’re right…when there is someone to change for.”
Her grin grows as she nods slowly. “Absolutely, but I’ve been warned not to rush this.”
“Funny, so have I,” I say and we share a grin.
“So, let’s do this. We’re dating and after, what, ten dates? We’ll decide if we want to become Facebook official?”
I eye her. “Do these dates include sex?”
She shakes her head. “Heck no, we jumped the gun last night. I think we should draw it out. Get to know each other and then see if this is what you want.”
“You mean what we want.”
“I know what I want,” she says, her eyes boring into mine. “I just don’t want to put my heart out there for you to decide that this isn’t what you want.”
“Wow, this is some heavy shit,” I say, running my hands through my hair. When I glance back up, her lips are in a straight line, her eyes a little sad, and I don’t like that one bit. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle. I know what I want, Claire, and it’s you.”
She giggles as she leans toward me, kissing my lips softly before backing away to look in my eyes. “I want you too.”
“Good, but can I request something?”
She smiles as her thumb moves lazily along my bottom lip. “Yeah?”
“Can we do these ten dates in ten days because I’ve been constantly thinking of your sweet body all night and day. I don’t think I’ll last weeks without having another taste of you.”
Her face brightens with color as she looks down, biting into her lip. When she glances back up at me, she shakes her head. “You make me so shy and giggly. I’ve never been like this.”
“That’s a good thing, I think.”
“Me too, and why don’t we wait two weeks, instead? I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna see you every day, and with our schedules, we’re both so busy. So we’ll wait two weeks and see how we feel at the end.”
“You’ll be with no one else, right?”
She eyes me as her head nods slowly. “Of course, but neither will you.”
“No problem.” With a wide grin, I gather her in my arms and whisper against her lips, “I like that, and I’m pretty sure nothing will change.”
Moving her nose with mine, she says, “I hope so.”
As I get lost in her eyes, her kisses, I know that nothing will change this.
This girl is it, and I’m gonna prove that to not only her, but to the world.
Chapter 13
Claire
Holy shit. Did I just set up a trial period with Jude Sinclair in the hopes that he’ll be my boyfriend at the end of two weeks? I must have because I’m kissing him like I just did. Our bodies have molded together and our lips move in tandem in a playful assault. I know that eyes are on us, but I don’t give two shits. To say that people have been warning me left and right about Jude would be an understatement.
Apparently, Jude Sinclair is the whore of the campus.
I was in the shower this morning and three girls came up to warn me about him. Then in my first class, two said something and then four more did in my second. I assured everyone that I wasn’t a dumbass and knew that he’s led the life of the player and don’t intend to give my heart to someone who doesn’t want it. But that all changed when I saw him basically running across the quad toward me. It was breathtaking; he’s so agile and beautifully athletic. Then he took me in his hands and kissed me as if he hadn’t seen me in years. I felt missed, special. It was perfect, and I was certain that my heart would be his before I knew it.
While that does freak me out a bit, I’m happy with our plan. I think it is solid and I hope to God he doesn’t screw me over, but I also know to keep my heart completely locked tight until the end of the two weeks. I trust him, I do, but I trust the guy who chased me across campus, who made sweet love to me and then took me to breakfast. The guy before that, I’ve heard, is not the greatest, and as long as he stays like this guy, I’m good.
Pulling back, he moves his thumb along my jaw as his eyes bore into mine. “I want to know what you’re thinking.”
I smile. “I’m thinking I hope that you don’t hurt me.”
“I don’t plan to. You know what I did last night after I left you?”
“What?”
“I went back and asked Jayden how to have a girlfriend because I’ve never had one.”
I scoff. “Oh, shut up! You did too, in high school, at least!”
But he shakes his head. “No, never. I was too focused on hockey and used girls for one thing. I didn’t want to have to answer to anyone, but with you, it’s different.” Moving his hand up my face, he rakes his fingers through my hair, wrapping it slowly around his fingers as he holds my gaze. “I was told to treat you like a princess, so that’s what I’m gonna do.”
My chest warms, and I know my heart is banging against the box I’ve trapped it in. “Phillip and Reese are the only ones who have ever done that.”
He nods. “So I have competition… I like compet
ition.”
I laugh as I lean my forehead against his. “Why, Jude? Why me?”
Looking in my eyes for a long time, I think he isn’t going to answer, but then he says, “I prided myself on my game. I knew what I wanted from girls. I thought I only wanted sex from you, but then I second-guessed myself and thought maybe I should wait because I wanted to get to know you. I want to know everything, and then I want to know more. I don’t know. It’s crazy, I know, but it’s different. You’re different. You’ve changed my game completely.”
I love what he’s said, and I know he’s being truthful. I can see it down in the depths of his green eyes. He means every word; he cares for me. “The same can be said for you. I was fine before you, but the moment I saw you, I wanted more. I never had that happen to me before.”
His grin is unstoppable as laces his fingers with mine. “So I guess we’re both doing something new and scary.”
“Yeah,” I agree, leaning my head toward his, my nose moving ever so lightly against his. “And I couldn’t be more excited about it.”
“Me either,” he whispers and then he takes my lips with his. As I get lost in Jude’s kisses and soft touches, I know that Jude is the one I could fall for and love. It would be so easy because his innocence on the matter is endearing, and I want nothing more than to be his first love.
And maybe his last.
“So what are your plans for the rest of the day?”
Leaning against Jude, we walk toward my building after a nice lunch on the quad. “I have to go study for the quiz I have next in marketing – that’s in two hours – then I have to go to the rink to see if I made the dance team. If I did, I have practice tonight.”
“Cool, I’m sure you made it.”
I shrug. “We will see.”
“Yeah, so do you work?”
“I do. I work at the dance studio for Reese on Tuesday, Thursdays, and Saturdays, but once I get the dance schedule, if I make it, then no telling when I’ll work,” I say, knowing that I left my other job out. “You?”
“Nope, I play hockey and study and get ready for the draft.”
“Oh, so you’re going in for sure? I assumed, but wasn’t a 100%.”
He nods, a proud grin on his face. “Yup, next year as long as everything goes well.”
I smack his arm playfully, puckering out my lip and say, “You jerk, you’re gonna start something with me and then leave?”
He stops, wrapping his arms around me, holding me so close that thinking isn’t an option. I’m completely intoxicated by his woodsy smell, his bedroom eyes, him, all of him. “By then you’ll be so in love with me that you’ll go anywhere with me.”
I laugh, trying to get away, but Jude’s biceps have biceps and they hold me close to him. “Whatever. I’m not going to follow you. I am an independent woman with a plan!”
He grins, pressing his lips to mine, and I melt in his arms, all past struggling disappears as I get lost in his kiss. Parting, he looks in my eyes as he smiles, but I can see that he is serious as a heart attack. “And I like that about you, but when the time comes, we’ll discuss it and decide what’s best for us.”
I scoff. “Jeez, Jude, I was kidding. We might not even be together then.”
“Oh, we will be, and you’ll be right beside me at the draft and then at everything after that. You got me now, Claire, there is no getting rid of me.”
Oh, heart be still and stay in the box!
I can say that all I want, but I’m pretty sure that my heart and my brain both know that there is no way my heart is gonna stay locked up when a guy like Jude Sinclair is after it.
“Ooowee, trouble you are, I knew it,” I say with a shake of my head, moving my hands up his shoulders and then into his hair. “And I can’t help but like it.”
His grin is killer as he moves his hands in and down the back of my sweats. I giggle as he cups my ass and then his eyes go wide. “Dirty girl, are you wearing no panties?”
“A thong and I’m pretty sure this is not allowed.”
His brows come together in such a perplexed way that I’m giggling even harder. “Whoa, we said no sex. Maybe we need to define that ’cause when I want to get me a handful of your sexy ass I’m going to, and if I want to bury my face deep between your legs, I’m going to do that, too.”
Heat floods between my legs as my knees buckle. “Jesus H. Christ, you can’t say shit like that during our two-week dating mode! That will lead to sex!”
“Sorry.” He chuckles and I know he isn’t sorry one bit. “Why don’t we start this tomorrow and go up to your room now, and I’ll do what I just suggested.”
I shake my head, trying to take a step back, but his grip on my ass is ironclad. “No, sir, not only is my roommate up there, but I don’t want this to be about sex. We both know we’re sexually attracted to each other, like intensely, so let’s make sure there’s more to it ’cause I don’t want to fall for you while you’re busy just fucking me.”
He eyes me, and then nods. “I get that, but I can fall for you and rock your world at the same time.”
I laugh. “After the two weeks. Come on.”
“Okay,” he says slowly. “But please don’t tell me I have to remove my hands.”
I think it over and then nod. “Fine, hands are fine but no other places, and watch what you say before I forget this mess and hump your face.”
“Yes, please do that,” he says and then we both start laughing. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I grin up at him as I take in his beautiful face. He has a little scar along his jaw and then one on his lip. I point to them and ask, “What happened?”
“I busted my lip last year in a fight after a drunken night out, and then I fell when I was a kid off my four-wheeler and a branch went through my face.”
I make a face. “Shit, that had to hurt.”
“Like hell, but my mom says it brings character to my face.”
“It does, makes you hotter in a rugged, mean way.”
His face breaks into a huge grin before wrapping me up tighter in his arms and dropping his mouth to mine. We kiss for what seems like hours, but I know it’s only seconds. His kisses are so damn intoxicating, and I feel like an addict needing another hit of his mouth. And as I watch him walk away with a promise that he’ll see me later, all I can think is that I don’t know when that will be, but I can’t freaking wait.
After my last class, I meet up with Skylar and we head to the rink. We’re both carrying our dance bags with the hopes we made it. I’m sure we did – we’re both fantastic and Skylar did get some tens from the guys – but still, I’m a little nervous I won’t. I would be so embarrassed if I didn’t. Not only would telling Reese and Phillip that I didn’t make it suck ass, but telling Jude would too. Oh my heart, anytime I think of him, it goes crazy in my chest, and my stomach does some weird flip thing that makes me breathless. I’m falling for him, even though I told myself I wouldn’t, which is bad, very damn bad.
“Heard you and Jude were making out in the quad.”
I smile as I glance over at Skylar, shrugging my shoulders. “Making out is a little overdramatic, we kissed and touched some but talked mostly.”
“About?”
“About taking two weeks without sex to see if there is something there.”
She stops mid-step and gives me a look. “And he agreed?”
“Yeah,” I say with a grin. “And I trust him.”
“Wow, I’m completely floored. Jude? A one-woman man? I’ve known him for the last two years and this has never happened.”
“Yeah, he says he’s never had a girlfriend.”
“And look, didn’t I say you were gonna rock his world. Once everyone finds out that it took one day with you in the sack, guys are gonna come out of the woodwork trying to get you to leave him.”
“Whatever,” I say, waving her off. “It wasn’t even the sex that got him. It was me, he said. He just likes me.”
“Aw, that’s so sugar sweet. Jeez, I have
a toothache, get out of here with that mess. Jude does not say things like that!”
“He does to me!”
“Whatever, I feel like I’m in The Twilight Zone. There are men made for just sex and some who are meant for relationships, and Jude was thrown in the other category a long time ago. I don’t know how to adjust my categories in my head now. When I see him, I always see manwhore, not a one-woman, Claire-loving dude.”
“We’re not in love,” I stress. “We’re dating.”
“Weird,” she says with a shake of her head, and I laugh as we head toward the rink. Once inside, a group of girls from the day before is standing around a bulletin board, and slowly each one peels away, either happy or disappointed or crying.
“Ack, more Nos than Yesses, it seems,” Skylar says as we make our way to the list.
I see my name at the top, and while excitement envelops me, I quickly search the list for Skylar’s, and I let out a breath when I find it at the bottom. “Oh, thank God,” I say and she laughs.
“Preston is gonna be at the bottom! We all can’t be As!”
I smile and we embrace. I didn’t think I wanted this as much as I do. I’m so happy, especially to be doing it with my best friend. Pulling away, I say, “I’m proud of you.”
“Well, I’m proud of you. Now come on, let’s go rock this first practice.”
I agree and then turn, running smack-dab into Jude. “Oh hey!” I say with a grin, giving him a quick kiss.
He grins down at me and then pulls a rose out from behind his back. “Congratulations.”
“Oh, come on! You don’t give girls flowers!” Skylar whines, and I giggle as I take the rose, smelling its sweet scent.
“Sure I do, for the right ones,” he says before winking at me.
I’m turning into a giggler because that’s exactly what I do before saying, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Wanna meet up tonight? Or do you need to study?”
“Study, sorry, rain check? Lunch tomorrow?”
“Of course, text me when you’re done with practice to let me know how it goes. Good luck and congrats again,” he says and then kisses me so deeply that I’m a tad bit shy when he pulls away, kissing my nose. “See ya, gorgeous.”