That was more like it.
I should kiss her right now, in front of this little jerk. Stake my claim.
“Sorry.” Cory held up his hands and backed away from me. The boy has a brain after all. “Finn.”
“Okay, I’m ready to go.” Carrie gave me one last warning look, then bent to grab her board and suit. “You ready to head back to the dorms?”
I clenched my jaw, knowing a dismissal when I saw one.
“Sure. Here. Let me carry that for you. See ya later, Finn,” Cory said.
He reached out and tentatively took her board from her, holding it out as far from his perfect pink shirt and plaid shorts as he could get. So she let Cory carry her board, but wouldn’t let me? What the fuck did that mean?
“Later,” I said, my voice rock hard.
Carrie looked at me over her shoulder, hesitating. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
I wouldn’t be home. I’d probably be out getting blasted to try to forget how stupid she was making me act lately.
Carrie waited for a reply, but when it became obvious I wouldn’t be giving one, she walked off with Cory. As I watched, Cory threw his arm over Carrie’s bare shoulders, hauling her close. Her musical laughter came back to me, making me grit my teeth. I’d never wanted to punch someone as much as I wanted to punch Cory right now—and he hadn’t even done anything wrong.
In fact, he was the perfect match for someone like Carrie.
While I was not.
A few beers later, I leaned back on the bar and took a long pull of my beer. I’d spent the last three hours watching football and was slightly buzzed. For the first time in a long while, I felt free to relax. Free to chill. I knew Carrie was safe. She was with Golden Boy, and he wouldn’t harm her.
Hell, he couldn’t even get enough balls to kiss her.
Someone tapped my shoulder, and I turned around. A brunette with huge—and obviously fake—breasts sat beside me. She was gorgeous and totally my type. “Hey there.”
I tipped my beer at her. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” She sidled closer, running her fingers over the tattoo on my bicep. “Better now that I’ve met you.”
I should be turned on right now. I should be wanting to bring her back to my place so I could fuck her brains out until I forgot all about Carrie. Until I forgot all about everything. But I felt…nothing. “Is that so?”
“It is.” She pressed her thigh against mine and caught my gaze. She had blue eyes, but compared to Carrie’s, they were dull and boring. “Wanna buy me a drink?”
I took another sip, trying to decide how best to answer. I’d like to pretend I was attracted to her. Maybe even force myself to pretend she was Carrie, and fuck her in the dark. But it felt as if I was betraying Carrie somehow, even though we weren’t and never could be a couple.
“Maybe another night.” I pulled out my wallet and tossed some cash on the bar. “I was just leaving.”
“Your loss,” she called out, her tone seductive.
I shook my head and walked out onto the crowded sidewalk. I had enough to drink that I should have been able to finally shake the hold Carrie had over me. But no. She still had her claws knuckle deep in me, whether or not she knew it. For the first time in my life, I didn’t know what to do with a woman. Didn’t know how best to solve this issue I had where she was concerned.
A laugh came back to me, and I stiffened. Lifting my head, I scanned the crowd. I slowed my steps when I spotted her. She was, of course, with Golden Boy. Cory stopped walking and hugged her close. From my vantage point, she looked stiff. Cory leaned down and kissed her, and she didn’t move out of his arms. Didn’t squirm or squiggle or try to break free.
Instead, she kissed Cory back.
I clenched my fists and ducked behind a nearby building, waiting to see if she needed any help. When would she push Cory away? Tell him to fuck off? Apparently never. When she pulled back and smiled up at Cory, her hand over his heart like she’d done earlier with me, my own heart twisted and turned.
Fuck that. And fuck this job. I quit.
I turned on my heel and headed home, red coloring my peripheral vision as I shoved my way through the crowd. I knew I had no right to be angry with her. None at all. I’d been the one to insist we be friends, and only friends. I’d been the one who constantly pushed her away, refusing to admit I wanted her, no matter how hard it had been.
Hell, I had practically given her to Cory on a silver platter. If I was in Cory’s place, I’d be doing the exact same thing, only I’d be doing it in private, where I wouldn’t have to stop. Fucking newbie.
I unlocked my front door and went straight to my fridge. After pushing aside the wine coolers I kept stocked for Carrie, I grabbed a cold beer and cracked it open. Crossing the room, I kicked off my sandals and ripped off my shirt before reclining on the couch. My gaze fell to the spot where Carrie always sat on our Saturday night hangout. The spot she was supposed to be in right now.
It looked ridiculously empty without her there.
“Pathetic,” I mumbled under my breath. “You’re fucking pathetic, Coram.”
I pulled out my phone and dialed quickly. It would be late back home, but I’d bet Dad was still up watching Conan. After two rings, he picked up. “Hello?”
“Hey, Dad.” The TV quieted, but not before I heard Conan. I’d been right. Homesickness washed over me, and I swallowed another swig of beer. “Watching TV?”
“Yeah. Nothing’s changed out here,” Dad said. “How’s it going out in California, son? Enjoying the sun, sand, and surf?”
“You know it,” I said, smiling at the enthusiasm in Dad’s voice. We’d lived in California when I had been a boy, before Mom had died. Before everything had gone and changed. “I missed this place.”
“I know,” Dad said, his voice gruff. “And I miss you.”
“Speaking of which,” I cleared my throat. “How likely do you think it would be for the senator to let me off duty earlier than planned? On a scale of one to ten?
“Zero.” Dad sighed. “Why? What happened? Sick of babysitting the brat already?”
“It’s not that. She’s not a brat at all.”
“Then what’s the issue?” Something crinkled and Dad munched down on something crunchy. Sour cream and onion chips, no doubt. “You’re back in your home state surfing and getting paid to do it. What’s the problem?”
I hesitated. I didn’t want to tell Dad how deeply watching Carrie was affecting me. The jealousy. The guilt. The feelings I didn’t want to name. “It doesn’t really seem like I’m needed here, but I don’t know how my suggestion of terminating this assignment would go over with the senator.”
“Senator Wallington feels differently,” Dad said. “Every day, he checks your updates. Every day, he tells me what a fine boy I’ve raised. He’s even suggested when I retire, I’ll be getting double my allotted retirement fund thanks to my son’s ‘go get ’em’ attitude and willingness to please.”
I dropped my forehead to my palm. There was no getting out of this now. I couldn’t do that to my dad. “That’s…great, Dad. Really great.”
And it was. Dad could definitely use the added money. Getting double his retirement would let him set up home pretty much wherever he wanted. Live comfortably. Not worry about money or bills or food. And when it came down to it, being in California wasn’t half as bad as I had thought it would be. If I could get my emotions under control, and get it through my thick head that Carrie would never be mine, it might actually be enjoyable.
“Is something wrong, son? If you’re miserable, I’d rather be fired than get double my retirement fund,” Dad said, his tone dead serious. “I’ll be fine without it.”
No, he wouldn’t. Not when I could suck it up and be a man. “I’m fine, Dad.” I rubbed my forehe
ad. “I was just being stupid. Homesick, I guess.”
“I miss you too, son.”
I swallowed hard. “Thanks for the talk. I’m gonna go now.”
“All right. Good night, son.”
“Night, Dad.”
I hung up and closed my eyes. Enough of this shit. Enough wanting and wishing and hoping. I needed to focus on the cold hard truth of the matter. If I fucked this up, Dad wouldn’t get his nice, cushy retirement pay off. If I fucked this up, I wouldn’t be the only one to suffer. It was time to suck it up and stop mooning all over Carrie Wallington, for Dad’s sake.
She was an assignment…nothing more.
A few nights later, I hugged Cory good-bye, making sure to keep it friendly and not too personal. He went in for a kiss again, but I ducked my head just in the nick of time. After he caught me off guard last Saturday, he’d been trying to kiss me over and over all week long. Of course, I might be partially to blame for that. I hadn’t ended our first kiss right away, and had probably given him the wrong impression.
But I hadn’t kept the kiss going because I’d liked it so much I couldn’t break it off. Not because it set me on fire in ways even twenty thousand romance novels could possibly describe. No, I hadn’t ended the kiss because it hadn’t done anything at all. Zilch. Nada. Zero. Zip.
No matter how many ways I said it, I may as well have been kissing a poster of a fat, balding man for all the excitement the kiss had given me. But when Finn kissed me…
Now, that was another story all together.
“Good night, Cory,” I said, patting his shoulder.
Yep. I actually patted his shoulder.
“Night.” He gave me a long, almost pleading, look. “See you tomorrow afternoon for another weekend study session?”
“I’m hanging out with Finn,” I said, my tone apologetic. “Sorry.”
Cory nodded but looked unhappy. Guilt struck me, but I didn’t know the right way to let him know I wanted to be friends and only friends. Maybe I could repeat the speech Finn had given me. It had worked well enough for him. “No problem. See you Monday.”
“Bye.”
I headed up the stairs to my dorm, expecting to find the room empty. It was Friday night, after all, and Marie surely had plans. But when I opened the door, I found Marie on the couch, hot and heavy with some guy I didn’t even recognize.
Marie opened her eyes mid-kiss and pointed at the door. What was I supposed to do? Sit in the hallway? Marie narrowed her eyes and pointed at the door more emphatically. I slowly backed out and closed the door behind me.
Leaning against the hallway wall, I closed my eyes. Okay. Now what? I could call Cory and hang out with him some more, but I was already struggling to find a way to break it to him gently that I wasn’t interested in a relationship with him. That left two other options. Walking around without a destination or even an idea on how long it would be until I could return to my room…or Finn.
Easy decision. I missed Finn anyway.
I headed back outside and called a taxi. I knew I should call him first. Make sure he didn’t mind if I stopped by. But what if he told me no? If I just kind of showed up, it would be hard to send me away. At least I hoped so.
Of course, by the time the cab arrived, I was losing my confidence in this decision. And after I paid the cab and started up his walkway, I was ready to run back toward the car, even though it was halfway down the road. His bike was outside, so I was fairly certain he was home, but what if he had company? The kind of company he didn’t mind kissing?
I hovered outside of his door, pressing my ear against the cool steel door, listening for the telltale noises of sex. All I heard was him talking. Something about watching “Golden Boy.” No one responded, so I could only assume that he was on the phone. That was a good sign.
I swiped my hands over my thighs. Taking a deep breath, I raised my trembling fist and knocked. His voice paused, and then I heard footsteps approach. He opened the door, and my breath whooshed out of my lungs. He didn’t have a shirt on, like usual, but instead of his normal shorts, he wore a pair of camouflage pants. His dog tags, which I’d never seen him wear, hung off his neck, and his hair was shorter on the sides than it had been the last time I’d seen him. A little shorter on the top, too, but there were still some curls.
He looked like a Marine. The type of Marine that went to war. The thought chilled my blood. War had always seemed so far removed from my own life that I never really thought about it besides the occasional story I saw on TV. I’d never known a soldier or a Marine or anyone who would be in harm’s way to keep me safe.
Not until Finn.
“Of course, sir.” He clenched his phone tighter and held a finger in front of his mouth in an obvious attempt at keeping me quiet. Was he on the phone with his superior? “Yes, sir.” A pause. “I will update you on that status when I return from duty.” He hung up and shoved the phone in his pocket. “Hey.”
“Hi,” I said, biting my lower lip. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Or heard from you. Are you…is something wrong?”
…and now I sounded like a desperate girlfriend seeking attention.
“I’ve been busy.” He gestured down his body. “Getting ready.”
I nodded. “You look ready to go to war.”
“Not quite.” He raised a brow at me. “I’m missing a few key components. Namely, a weapon.”
“Well, duh.” I flicked a glance over him again, my legs going all weak. He was always hot, but wearing his uniform, he was catastrophic to my health. “Why are you wearing that? And why did you cut your hair?”
“Because I had to for drill.” He tugged on his dog tags. He still hadn’t moved out of the opening of the door or invited me in. In fact, he hadn’t even smiled or looked happy to see me. “Are we doing surprise visits now? I hadn’t realized we were there yet.”
I stepped back and glanced over my shoulder. A couple came up the walkway, a young child at their side. They were talking about not having enough money for food again. I made a mental note to drop off a gift card to a local grocery store at their door. “What’s drill?’”
“It’s something I have to do the first weekend of every month,” he said, his jaw tight.
“O-Oh.” I cleared my throat. “Are you leaving now?”
He hesitated. “No, I have to report to duty first thing in the morning. Why?”
“So, I guess we’re not surfing tomorrow, huh?”
“No, we’re not.”
I shifted on my feet, not sure what to say next. He was acting cold and uncaring, and I didn’t know how to talk to a Finn who acted this way. I’d obviously made a mistake coming here. “You weren’t going to tell me?”
“No, I wasn’t.” He sighed and leaned against the doorjamb. “I didn’t realize I had to.”
I crossed my arms. “Well, I’m new to this whole ‘friend’ thing, but it’s kind of common courtesy to let someone know when normal routines will be broken, right?”
I forced a laugh, but it hurt to know he hadn’t even been planning on letting me know our usual plans were off. Then again, hadn’t I done exactly the same thing to him? Yeah. I had. Just last week. Well, crap. I’d been a horrible friend and hadn’t even known it.
“Yeah.” He cocked a brow, his thoughts clearly along the same lines as mine. I could see it in his eyes. “Yeah, it is.”
“I’m sorry, okay?” I played with the hem of my shirt. “I’m not the best at this stuff. I didn’t realize…”
He studied his nails. “What exactly are you apologizing for?”
“For not hanging out last Saturday after surfing. You’re obviously mad, and it wasn’t right for me to not let you know about it.”
“Nope.” He looked up at me with something that could only be described as disinterest. “I’m
not mad about that. I got over it quickly enough.”
I curled my hands into fists. My nails dug into my skin from the force I used, but I didn’t even care. “Then what are you mad at?”
“Why do you think I’m mad at all?”
“For one?” I craned my neck to look past him. “You haven’t invited me in. Do you already have company?”
“Nope.”
“If you’re not mad, then why aren’t you—?”
“The better question is,” he crossed his ankles and checked the time, “why are you here unannounced at nine o’clock on a Friday night?”
“I…I wanted to see you.”
“Why?” he bit off, as if he couldn’t spare more than a single word on me.
“You know what? Never mind.” I brushed past him, muttering, “Good luck this weekend.”
“Thanks, Ginger,” he said, his voice taunting me. “Don’t get lost in the ocean without me. I won’t be there to save your pretty little ass.”
I froze mid-step, my whole body trembling with frustration and anger and hurt. “You know what?” I turned on him, swinging my fist toward his hard, bare bicep. “Fuck you!”
He easily caught my wrist, preventing the blow. His jaw ticked, and his eyes spit fire at me. “What’s the matter? Do you not like being blown off? Well, neither do I.”
“I knew it. I knew you were mad at me.” I tried to yank free, but he didn’t loosen his grip. “Let go of me.”
“Or what?” he asked, clearly daring me to do my worst. “What could a little brat like you possibly do to me that would make me let go?”
I knew one thing he didn’t want from me. One thing sure to make him release me. I grabbed his dog tags and yanked hard, bringing him down to my level. He didn’t even fight me, probably because he’d been expecting me to hit him or shove him or something else painful. Instead, I melded my mouth to his, kissing him with everything I had.
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