by T. R. Lykins
“Okay. I will do my best eye batting to get him to leave. Maybe if I ask him to leave he’ll think, I am flirting and I won’t even have to bat these eyes.” I laugh.
“You think I am joking about your beautiful eyes making me want to do anything? I am serious girl. I don’t want Jacob to fall for your cuteness and try to run off with you. He is the real player between us.”
“Sure he is. You’re just saying that to make me think you’re not, but you seem really flirty with the girls. I have seen you around. You even flirt with me and I know that doesn’t mean you like me. You just do it out of habit,” I say, but I feel a little jealous thinking about him and other girls.
We still are walking to the beach house when I notice that he still has my hand. He pulls me to a stop and turns me to him.
“What makes you think I don’t like you? I flirt with you because I do like you and I like being with you. I know this is soon, but I like you more than I have liked anyone. I can’t explain it, but you do something to me.”
I am stunned.
Before I can say anything back to him, we hear a loud noise. He starts pulling me toward it. It sounds louder the closer we get to it, and I might be a little scared, but I keep going.
“Jacob must have already started something so we have to hurry,” he says.
He’s still holding my hand when we get to the party. We see everyone around two guys who seem to be getting ready to fight. I think, Oh no. I have walked in on something I shouldn’t have. Phillip pulls me closer, and most of the people glance at us, but he pays them no attention. He has one thing on his mind and that is to get to Jacob.
We get to the guys and he says, “Jacob, buddy, what are you doing? You need to stop whatever it is and come with us to leave.” As soon as he says this the other guy laughs at Phillip. Phillip tenses up like he’s getting ready to step in front of Jacob. He then lets my hand go.
The guy says to him, “What, you have to fight Jacob’s fights now? I knew he was a wimp.” The guy laughs.
Phillip does something that surprises me. I thought he might go grab Jacob and make him leave, but he walks over to the guy instead. He gets up into his face, and the guy doesn’t seem to be backing down either. I feel like I need to do something, but I don’t know what I should do. I’m scared that the guy wants to fight.
Phillip continues his stare down, and the tension that flows off his body makes everyone back up. Even Jacob is now quiet and maybe a little more sober. Tyler comes up beside Phillip and also gets up into the guy face.
Phillip says, “James, whatever Jacob did, you know he has had to much to drink. Back off or you will have to go through me to get to him.”
Tyler says the same thing too. By the look on James’s face, he doesn’t seem to want to back down. Jacob decides to join them and James holds his hands up. “Okay. I will stop if he stops hitting on my girl.”
Jacob slurs, “Which girl are you talking about?” He smiles at James to further his provoking.
“Misty the redhead, who you decided to put your hands all over a few minutes ago.”
“Oh. Misty. She is hot, but I just tripped and she was there when I needed help standing. I just grabbed her so I wouldn’t fall,” Jacob grins. I wonder if that is true and by the look on James’s face he is thinking the same thing.
I decided, to do what Phillip said, I could do. I walked over and batted my eyes to Jacob before turning to James and smiling. “Oh here you are Jacob. I have been looking for you. I am glad I found you. What are you and these guys doing outside? I am sorry if he is causing trouble, James, but I really can’t take him anywhere without him drinking and tripping over his feet. Now come on, Jacob. It is time to leave.” I grab him by the arm and pull him away from everyone down at the beach. I hear James say that it is okay but to put a leash on him as we leave.
Jacob slurs, “Thanks baby, but who are you? I think we have met, but I don’t remember where. Did we hook up sometime ago?”
I get ready to tell him off, but Phillip comes up behind me and pulls me away from Jacob. Phillip gets up into his face saying, “You met Alexia yesterday at Megan’s party where you were also drunk. You have to stop all this drinking or I will not come to your rescue again. You need to get serious with school and stop the drinking. Every now and then is fine, but not every night. School has just started and you are already getting into trouble. No, you haven’t hooked up with Alexia, and you never will hook up with her. Straighten up now! Tyler bring him back to the condo. I have to go ahead so I can cool off or he will not be staying tonight.”
Before we get moving, I hear someone calling Phillip’s name. Phillip tenses up. He seems to know who is coming our way.
I turn around and see Megan running over to us. “Oh Phillip, don’t leave the party! You just got here. Come back and hang out with me. We can go find a place that is quiet in the house if you want too,” she says suggestively.
I look at her and think that she’s really full of herself and totally a slut. I hope he doesn’t take her up on it. I sounded jealous with that thought. Before I can think about how this makes me feel, Phillip shakes his head.
“Megan I told you I didn’t want to come to your party, and as good as your offer sounds, I have to pass. Please just go back to your party. We have to get Jacob home before something else happens with him.” He walked over to me.
Megan adds, “When you get done with him, you can come back over if you want too.” She smiles, looking hopeful. I think, Really!
“I am sorry, Megan, but that won’t happen tonight or any other night. Goodnight Megan.” He takes my hand and she looks over at me like she would stab me, if she had a knife. I smile and squeeze his hand. Yeah look, Megan. Phillip has my hand.
Megan says one last thing before we get to leave. “You will be sorry, Phillip. You missed out on the best thing you will ever get.” She stares us both down with evil eyes.
Phillip looks at her and then to me and says, “No I haven’t.” He pulls me along the beach and away from her dirty looks. Tyler drags Jacob along behind us. My, what was all that about? Phillip looked at me, like I was the best thing, and that makes me feel lucky. After we get up to the condo, the guys come staggering in.
Jacob says, “Phillip you should have taken Megan up on her offer. You know she is crazy about you. I will take care of this little blue-eyed girl you brought along to save me,” Jacob half-smiles at me.
Phillip gets up and grabs him. “You will never touch Alexia. I mean it. I don’t like Megan and I will never hook up with her. You need to apologize to Alexia now! Never talk bad to her or about her again.”
“Okay, man. Back off. I was just joking. What has gotten into you all of a sudden? Alexia, please forgive me for being a jerk. Are you guys hooking up?” Jacob asks and almost falls asleep.
Phillip is about to grab him again, so I reach over and touch his hand. “Please stop Phillip. He is drunk and he doesn’t know what he is saying. He will be sorry in the morning” I say to try to calm him.
Phillip’s tension goes away while my hand is on him, “He has no right talking to you that way, or anyone for that matter. I want to smack him until he tells you he is sorry the right way.” He then smiles and stares at me, “I knew taking you there would be a good thing. All you had to do is bat those eyes and you stopped a fight that would have been probably really bad. You stepped in with your sweet smile and turned those eyes on. They made all the guys stop to look at you. You were so brave when you did that. I almost had to beat them both down because they were looking at you. Now I have to keep all the guys at school from stalking you. You are going to be trouble for me.”
I laugh at him. “Trouble? Me? I don’t think so I am just plain ol’ me. Nothing for anyone to remember, so you won’t have to keep anyone away.”
Tyler speaks up before Phillip can reply. “Wow, what a night. I know Jacob probably won’t know a thing in the morning. He probably won’t remember he has an early class and he will have a
killer hangover. I didn’t drink as much as he did, but I sure feel the buzz too. I don’t know if I can make it back to the dorm. Are you going to take us back Phillip?”
Phillip says, “If you want to go, I’ll take you back, but you and Jacob can share the guest room.”
“Do you still have twin beds in that room?” Tyler asks.
Phillip smiles “Yes. They are still there. What, you don’t want to share a bed with Jacob?”
Tyler laughs. “Heck no man. Have you ever slept in the same bed as him? He snores and tosses like crazy in his sleep. I did it once and never again. I guess we should get him to bed, and I am going to hit it too. Thanks, Alexia for your help tonight. Pay Jacob no attention. He won’t remember being a jerk to you in the morning.” Tyler smiles at me.
“You’re welcome Tyler, and thanks. Get some rest and drink water. Don’t forget to take aspirin so you won’t have a bad hangover in the morning.” I smile at him and wave him goodnight. Tyler and Phillip drag Jacob to the bedroom. I wait a minute to see if Phillip comes back to say goodnight to me.
While I do, I pack up my schoolbooks and computer. I look over at the clock and realize it is already two o’clock in the morning. There has been so such excitement; I didn’t notice how late it has gotten. I stand up and stretch. Yawning, I turn around and see Phillip standing close by me. He even looks more relaxed than he was a few minutes ago and I like that.
“You look like you might be tired. I didn’t notice the time until now and it is late. I’d hate for you to drive back this late. You can stay here if you want and sleep in my bedroom. I will sleep on the couch,” Phillip says, reaching my arm to rub it.
“I’d hate for you to sleep on that small couch. You are so much taller than it is long. I don’t mind driving back.” I reason, yawning again.
He smiles and yawns too. “It is settled. You can’t drive this late and you are tired. Come on stay. We can share the bed of you don’t mind. I will sleep on top of the covers. I will loan you a t-shirt because it’ll will be like a gown on you.” He grabs my hand and leads me to his room. “Look the bed is a king-size one and there will be plenty of room for both of us. Please stay the night, and I promise not to bite.”
I look around the room and it seems relaxing. The bed is huge and much bigger than the dorm room. I even notice the double doors and see a balcony. I think about it, and I really do feel extra tired. It would be nice to wake up and see the ocean in the morning. “Okay… As long as you keep to your side of the bed. You can sleep under the covers. I believe I can trust you to keep your hands off me. I would like to borrow that shirt. I wish I had a toothbrush though.”
He goes to the dresser and gets me a shirt. Then he enters the bathroom and brings out a toothbrush still in the pack. “Toothpaste is in the bathroom. Go change and brush. I’m tired, so lets get to sleep.”
“Be right out in a minute.” I hurry to the bathroom. I change into the shirt, and it does make me a nice gown, stopping just about at my knees. I wash my face and brush my teeth. Looking in the mirror, I see a woman who is nervous. This will be the first time I will share a bed with a man. I don’t plan on doing anything but sleeping. I’m still nervous and don’t know why. I shouldn’t be because it just is sleeping. I finish and go to the bedroom. I jump in the bed and notice that Phillip is already in it, sitting on top and waiting on me.
He smiles at me. “You look cute in my t-shirt. I may have to keep you here every night.”
“I don’t think so. You wouldn’t have time for all your girlfriends to visit.” It makes me sad that I said that to him when he is only trying to be nice to me.
Now he looks unhappy. “I don’t have any girlfriends. Or a girlfriend for that matter. I really don’t. I know it might seem like I do to you, but you’re wrong. Unless you are going to be my girlfriend?” He smiles over at me with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Are you for real? Asking me to be your girlfriend? I think you’re a big jokester. You don’t even know me. I know you are playing me right now.” I angrily jump up off the bed to put my clothes back on.
Before I can start, Phillip has his arms around me and has my back pressed to his chest. “I am not joking to you. I know we just met, but this feels right. You and me just feel right. I can’t explain it. It does. We can hang out together and take it slow, but believe me, I want you to be with me.” He keeps his arms around me, holding me close to him. I feel his heart beating as hard and fast as mine. This does feel right, but I am so scared to get close to him. I said that I would let things happen, but now I don’t know if I can. I’m scared of what might happen to me.
I turn around in his arms to face him. He looks down at me like I am the most special thing in the world. His brown eyes have turned darker with passion, and that makes my breathing stop. He bends down and kisses me like a man who knows what he wants. I kiss him right back, like I even know what I want. It lasts forever.
Then I want more of him, which wakes me up, and I realize that this isn’t fair to him. I pull back, catching my breath and look at him. How can I do this to him? I turn away from Phillip and wipe a tear, because I have to tell him the truth.
He leans down to me and says, “Just think about it, but not tonight. It is late and we need sleep. I meant every word of what I said. I want you to think about it, and no rushing into anything. I won’t even kiss you again until you’re ready. So come back to bed and rest.” He guides me back to the bed, and I crawl back under the covers.
I smile at him as he gets in the bed. He asks me what time my class is in the morning and I tell him that it’s at ten but need to get up at 8:30 so I can go to the dorm and get changed before class. He sets the clock before he reaches over, grabs me and pulls me close to him. I snuggle up to him like I was made for him. It does feel right to be next to him. I didn’t think I could sleep, but I fall to sleep rather fast.
Chapter Twelve
Phillip
I grab my books off the table and watch Alexia lean over the balcony. She sees the party and frowns. I wonder if she’d rather be there than here with me. She asks if I had plans that I am missing out on. I tell her no. So she is concerned about me missing the party. That is funny because I’d rather be with this girl than at any party. I let her know that I’m not interested in Megan’s party. I tell her about Jacob and Tyler being there and that they may need a ride if they get drunk. She is okay with me leaving to get them, if I need to.
We start studying and I actually enjoy doing this with her. This is the first time I have ever enjoyed doing any studying. Most of the time, I would rather skip it altogether. If I had Alexia here more often, I might get better grades. She really is helping with this project, and she is making me learn a lot. She said that she wasn’t to good in biology, but the way she gets us moving on this project, I think she is wrong.
I look at her when she is reading from her book and my heart flutters as she looks at me. I have never had this reaction around anyone before. I hope this takes a while longer to finish, because I am going to hate it when she leaves. The guys better be good tonight because I really don’t want to have to pick them up and leave Alexia.
I notice that we have been studying for two hours. I get up and stretch. I see if Alexia needed something to drink. I’m inside getting us some water, when my phone rings. I look at the phone number and I know that if I answer it, our time together will be over. I have to answer it. I promised the guys I would come. Tyler sounds upset about Jacob, who is about to get into a fight. I let him know that I’ll be right over.
I take Alexia her water and tell her that I have to go get Jacob and Tyler. She surprises me and asks if I need her help. I think about this for a minute and decide that she could be great distraction for Jacob. I don’t really want her to leave and I know I am being selfish. I tell her that if she bats her beautiful eyes, he would do whatever she wanted. She doesn’t believe me when I say this. I let her know that she could and that I would do whatever she wanted me to with beauti
ful her eyes batting at me. Yeah, I know she has this power on me like no other girl possibly can. I really don’t care at this point. I keep flirting with her and she thinks I am joking, but I’m not. I let her know quickly that I’m not joking. I grab her hand and we head to get Jacob out of trouble.
We take to the beach. It is faster, and I want to walk on the beach with Alexia, just holding her hand. It feels good to walk hand in hand with Alexia. Her hand feels good in mine and it is so small and fits perfect into mine.
Then she offers to take the guys back to the dorm. That is something I can’t let happen. A drunken Jacob would hit on her as soon as he got in the car, thinking she might want him too. It is a nice offer, but I let her know that it isn’t going to happen. Over my dead body, would I let that happen. Thinking about this makes me have a strange feeling of jealousy. Jacob will have to stay at my condo and sleep by himself.
As we get close to Megan’s, I hear a bunch of guys arguing. I hurry and pull Alexia along with me to get closer. I never let go of her hand. I love the feeling of it in mine, and it is helping me not lose it as I get closer to the argument. I glance over and see James, who looks like he is going to beat the crap out of Jacob. I wander what Jacob has done now. I have to let go of Alexia’s hand so I can help stop the fight.
James isn’t the kind of guy who likes to fight anyone who crosses his path. Jacob must have done something really bad to get into it with James. I step up and get between the guys. I ask James what Jacob did and he explains that Jacob was hitting on his girlfriend. I notice Tyler coming to stand beside me looking right at James like he is going to punch him. Good, I have backup.
This makes James step back. Jacob asks who James’s girlfriend is and James tells him, and Jacob says that he knows her and wasn’t hitting on her. He tripped and grabbed her by accident. With that smile on Jacob’s face, I know he is lying to James, and I can see what will happen next. This fight is going to be ugly. This isn’t in my plans for tonight.