I run my hands through my own. “I have wild hair.” This time I’m the one wagging my brows.
The grin that spreads across her mouth is delicious. “I know.”
Damn, I could do so much with that mouth. But I can’t. Or won’t. Or shouldn’t. Whatever.
“I should really go. You need to rest.” I know I should’ve left a long time ago, but I’m enjoying her company. I thought it would be near impossible to be alone with her this long and keep my hands to myself, but I’ve realized that I just really like being around her. Talking to her, seeing her smile, listening to her laugh. That’s going to have to be good enough.
“Just one more.” In her hands is one of the best comedies of all time.
“Who can say no to Lloyd?” The fact that she wants to watch Dumb and Dumber only makes me want her more.
The opening credits roll as she plops herself on the sofa, pulling a blanket over her legs and a throw pillow into her lap. I glance over at her and my heart melts as she watches the screen with a gigantic smile on her beautiful face. She’s adorable, and I wish she were mine.
My eyes blink open several times before I realize where I am, and that there is a warm body snuggled on top of me. At some point during the night, I must have scooted down on the couch until I was lying down. And Tiffany…she’s lying across my body with her head on my chest and her hand curled into mine. I should probably move, but I would rather savor the moment. The chances of this happening again are slim to none, and I’d really like to pretend like this could be a regular occurrence for us.
I close my eyes and just feel. Feel what it’s like to hold someone who I care so much about. It’s been so long since I’ve felt this way about anyone. I’ve tried hard not to feel at all when it comes to Tiffany, but she keeps breaking down the barriers I’ve put up. It’s like she just climbs over those walls and sets up shop right here in my heart, right where her hand rests.
I squeeze her hand, holding her tighter against me. One hand on hers and the other running trails up and down her back. Her body twitches underneath me before she awakes suddenly. Tiffany lifts her head and gazes up at me. Her eyes are glazed over, her cheeks are flushed and she runs her tongue over her full lips.
I groan inside wishing I could follow that path.
With her eyes still locked to mine, Tiffany breaks free of my hand and slides her own up my chest, along my neck and cups my face in her palm. I trace the length of her arm with my fingertips, all the while just falling deeper and deeper into her trance.
Tiffany’s gaze falls to my lips and then she pulls herself up so that her face is closer to mine. “Meet me halfway.”
I hesitate. My thoughts duking it out in my mind.
“Don’t make me beg, Chase,” she whispers.
And that’s when it happens. Within seconds, my hands are cupped around her nape, tilting her head back so that her lips line up with mine. “Just one little taste, Tiffany.”
She gives me a slight nod, never taking her eyes off mine.
My lips press softly against hers. And it’s even better than I thought it would be. Instantly, I’m aroused, my pants growing tighter with every nip at her lips with my teeth, with every peck of my kiss.
She opens for me, allowing me to taste her. Our tongues intertwine, sliding past one another. She gives and I take. I give and she takes. My tongue slides along the curve of her lips, sucking on them, biting them, and sucking some more. I brush my lips along her chin and down her neck, gently dragging my teeth against her skin along the way.
Tiffany’s pulse beats rapidly against her neck and against my mouth. She pants and moans, her hands wrapped up in my thick hair as she pulls me closer to her. I take back her mouth, crushing my lips to hers. I run my tongue along the seam of her lips and she welcomes me in again. This time, I deepen the kiss, plunging my tongue in and tasting every bit of her mouth, committing the sweetness of her breath, the warmth of her mouth, the glide of her tongue to memory, so that I can have her with me forever.
Because this…it can’t happen again.
CHAPTER NINE - Melissa
Pulling the short straw sucks. Although in this case, I can handle the torture of having to deal with Chase Marino, because I have so much fun talking shit to his dumb ass. On second thought, it’s kind of getting old, but hey…it keeps us busy.
“Hey dipshit,” I call out to him when I enter his empty classroom. “I just came by to give you some good news.”
He mutters something under his breath that I can’t quite make out. The fool is sitting at his desk eating a chocolate pudding cup of all things. It’s kind of hard to take him seriously and be mean to him, when he’s eating like a little kid. I kind of feel like a big bad bully and I should not feel bad when dealing with Chase. He’s done enough evil in his lifetime to have to take crap from girls around the world for the rest of his pathetic life.
“What do you want, Melissa?” he asks, with a loud exasperated sigh.
I’m the one who should be exasperated. I’m the one who gets to see the emails from the public sex-chick and the cat lady.
I plop myself in a student desk in front of him, tired, and needing to take a load off. “Can you believe your dates are still trying to contact you? I had to block their asses. Those women were a little psycho, don’t you think?”
His eyes roll back with a shake of his head. “This coming from the woman who set up a fake online dating profile for me and pretends to be me, while talking to said psychotic women? Yeah. That makes sense.”
He has a point. “Look, I just came to tell you that we’re putting your dating extravaganza on hold until after Summer’s wedding. We have too much going on right now to deal with your Internet groupies.”
“Oh, I guess I should be thankful.” He’s even more irritable than usual.
Before I can say anything else, Tiffany comes in with a stack of papers piled high in her arms. “Done. I think I got a contact high from all the fumes in the copy room.” She stops in her tracks when she catches my gaze. “Oh, hi, Melissa. I didn’t see you.”
“Hey. I know exactly what you mean. I think some of my students volunteer to make copies for me for that exact reason. That office needs a fan and some open windows.”
She nods with a smile.
Chase is quiet, his gaze darting back and forth between Tiff and me. Then, it’s like something flashes in his head and he rushes over to his student teacher. “Here, let me have those.” He takes the heavy stack from her hands and gives her a weak smile before turning away from her with a frown. Something is troubling him. I can see it in his eyes. He looks like someone just stole his pudding cup. He looks like a broken-hearted man.
When his back is turned, Tiffany closes her eyes and releases a long sigh. She’s just as troubled as he is.
What the hell is going on here?
“Tiffany, we’re done for the day. You can go home. I’ll see you on Monday.” Chase looks away from her quickly, not even waiting for a response.
“Aren’t you going to the dance?” I turn to Tiffany to ask. “It’s tomorrow night.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. That’s for teachers who are assigned to chaperon, right? I’m not a teacher and I wasn’t assigned.”
I glance at Chase who is back to eating that damn pudding. Is it bottomless or what? “Chase is assigned. And he’s your master teacher. You’re supposed to do everything he does.”
“Oh,” is all she says. She looks at Chase waiting for him to chime in, but he doesn’t. “Mr. Marino, do I need to be there?” He tenses at her words. Something is definitely up and if I had to guess, I bet it was Chase’s dick.
“Sure. It’s in the cafeteria. Be here at six. But if you already have plans, don’t worry about it. It’s not mandatory.” It’s like he’s dying to look at her, yet will do anything to avert her stare.
She opens her mouth to say something, but closes it. Another long sigh escapes her and her eyes start to tear up. Shit. Chase doesn’t look
any better. His lips are pulled into a straight line and he refuses to look at her.
“Come, Tiffany. It will be so much fun. It’s a little musty in there, but you can hang with us girls.”
The side of her mouth rises into a half smile and she says, “Thank you, Melissa. I’ll see you guys tomorrow then.” It takes her a minute to gather her things, and then she’s out.
The sound of the door clicks shut and I’m all over Chase.
“What the hell was that about? Are you fucking your student teacher?” There’s no nice way to put it. He’s like an after school special for crying out loud. Classic textbook case of sexual harassment here. He’s her boss. She’s a newbie. And he’s doing her.
“Fuck you, Mel!” The rise of his voice catches me off guard. If Ty were here, he’d punch him again. His shoulders relax. “I’m sorry,” he says. “But no, I’m not having sex with her.”
“You’re a little sensitive when it comes to Tiffany, aren’t you?” I keep prodding.
He scrubs his hands over his face and lets out a loud grunt. “A little.”
“Obviously, something is bothering you. Want to talk about it?”
Laughter fills the room at my question. “Why the hell would I talk to you about it? Why are you trying to act like you even care, Mel?”
This time, I’m the one who is laughing. “You’re right. I don’t care about your poor little hurt feelings…but I’m curious. There’s no denying something is going on between the two of you and you both look like you’re in pain. So if I had to guess based on your track record, you fucked something up.”
He remains silent.
“And who else are you going to talk to? Your dad?” The intense glare Chase shoots my way is answer enough to that question. “You can’t talk to Charlie because he’d be pissed that you’re screwing around with your student teacher. Shel? Summer? Who wants to talk to their ex about the new girl?” This time he rolls his eyes with a grunt. “And your mama’s not here right now, so I’m all you got. Spill it, Chase. What has your chonies in a bunch?”
He stands and begins pacing the room. He walks up and down the aisles of student desks, his head down, grunts and groans flowing freely from his gut. A particularly loud tribal cry has my eyes open wide and my jaw dropping.
“What the hell, Chase? You’re starting to scare me.”
“I kissed her.” He raises his hands in the air like he’s about to say something else, but then drops them to his sides without a word.
“And… ?” This is no surprise to me at all.
The crease between his eyes scrunches tightly. “That’s it. I kissed her.” He squeezes his big man body into a student desk next to me and buries his face in his hands. “Dammit. I really tried to keep my distance, but she just reels my ass in. I can’t resist her. I want to, but I can’t.”
The English language is definitely coming out of his mouth, but I have no idea what the hell he’s talking about. Keep his distance? Resisting her? Since when has Chase ever not indulged in or taken anything he wants? He’s the picture boy for gluttony.
“I don’t get it. Why are you trying to resist her in the first place? It’s obvious she likes you. You’re not dumb. I know you can see that.”
He leans back in his chair and throws his head back. Still…no comment.
I’m trying to make some sense of this. The only reason I can think of that Chase would want to stay away is if he liked her too. Like really liked her. Well, that’s how nice honest men might react. But Chase is neither of those things. So what the hell gives?
“So, what? You don’t like her?” Even so, the Chase I know would want to do her anyway. It’s not like he’s ever exercised an ounce of self-control before.
He shakes his head.
“Then what? When I said you could talk to me, it kind of meant that you’d have to speak. I’m not a mind reader. And I sure as hell don’t know what all your grunting and groaning means.”
Silence.
Man, this guy is frustrating as hell. I have no idea how Summer and Shelly put up with his ass. I would’ve kicked him to the curb after the first date. I can’t say that Ty and I have always been A+ students at communication, but we do more than make sound effects.
“Okay. Let’s start from the beginning.” I kick his chair to stir a reaction and he nods. “You kissed Tiffany?”
“Yes.”
“Was it a good kiss?” Who knows? She could have slobbered all over him or had bad breath.
“Amazing.”
“But you haven’t slept with her?” I raise my brow at him in question.
“No, I have not.” He seems sincere. I believe him.
Hmm. “So, you shared an amazing kiss with Tiffany. You haven’t had sex with her. And you’re trying to keep your distance?”
“Yes.” He nods.
“Why are you trying to stay away?”
The pained look in his eyes is something I’ve never seen before. And I’ve known Chase almost my entire life.
“You don’t like her?” I ask.
“That’s not it,” he says. And there he goes, burying his face in his hands again.
“Then what is?” I stare at him for what seems like hours, waiting for a response, anything to clue me in on what’s going on inside his head.
Finally, he lifts his head and looks me straight in the eye and says something I would’ve never expected… .
“I’m in love with her.”
CHAPTER TEN - Chase
Dances suck. They stink like sweaty kids. The girls are dressed like they’re ready to get paid and the boys act like complete idiots. It’s no different from when I was in high school. Especially since all my high school friends are here chaperoning too. Dean, Shelly, Tyler, and Mel. The only thing that has changed is the fact that they are no longer my friends. But that’s my own damn fault. Every time I see them all together, it’s a constant reminder of what an ass I became, and a constant reminder that I no longer want to be that fucker.
“Am I dressed okay? I had no idea what to wear to a homecoming dance as an adult.” Tiffany appears at my side and I do a double take. She is absolutely gorgeous in a strapless black dress that flows out from just beneath her breasts. She’s wearing those sexy as hell cowboy boots too. Black ones with a few shimmering jewels that catch the light from the disco ball hanging in the center of the room.
“You look great,” I tell her. “Love the boots.” I start at her small feet and scan up her body, slowly taking in her tan legs and plump breasts. She smells like strawberries and I just want to eat her.
“It’s an obsession,” she says.
“Excuse me?”
“My boots.” She points down at her feet. “I must have about twenty pairs.”
“I hadn’t noticed.” Which is a total lie. I noticed a few different pairs scattered around her house the other night. And then there were the brown ones she wore with that white sundress. Hot with a capital H. She’s even traded her heels for boots to wear to work a few times. So yeah, I’ve noticed.
“You look nice too, Mr. Marino.” She glances down at my choice of footwear. “What? Is Chuck Taylor your long lost uncle or something? Do you own stock in Converse? I’m just curious because I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear a different brand of shoe.”
I laugh. “Nope, just what I’m comfortable in. A couple of years ago, my dad took me shopping. He said he was tired of seeing me dressed like a twenty-year-old. He bought me these ridiculous shoes that stuck out about an inch and half past my toes, just really goofy looking loafers.” The disgusted look on Tiffany’s face lets me know she agrees. “Even worse, is he bought me these really expensive T-shirts that had feminine prints, and tons of bling on them. I swear I looked like a frickin’ boy bander ready to go on tour. It was awful.” The story just pours out of me and I’m surprised that it does. Not even Shelly or Summer know why I started wearing those stupid outfits. In fact, I never even talked to them about my dad. He was always off limits.
Something I chose to keep locked up inside.
Yet here I am, spilling my guts to Tiffany. It’s like I can hear the figurative sledgehammer knocking down my walls.
“You mean you wore them?” She laughs now, covering her mouth with one hand and dragging me from my thoughts.
I shake my head. I can’t believe I’m going to admit it. “Yes. I did.”
“That’s funny.”
“I can laugh now. But back then, I was trying to fake it to make it. My dad was in town and giving me shit, so I thought if I played his games and wore his pathetic wardrobe, I could get him off my back.”
“Did it work?” she asks.
“Nope.”
Tiffany doesn’t say anything. I’m grateful. She gets me. She always knows when I’m done talking, when I’m not ready to give up anymore.
We stand in silence peering out at the horny teenagers rubbing against each other on the dance floor.
She bumps into me with her hip. “So we just stand here all night and do what? Watch them?”
I hip check her back. “Yup. Pretty much. But it’s better than being stuck in the parking lot or at the check-in table. I hate frisking kids. It gives me the heebie jeebies.”
“At least you don’t have to search the girls’ purses. They got some nasty shit in there.” Mel. No doubt. We look behind us and sure enough, she’s there. Tyler is at her side, and strangely, he doesn’t give me any grief.
“Hi, I’m Tiffany.” She holds out her hand.
“I’m sorry.” I gesture to Mel’s husband. “This is Tyler. Mel’s better half and Shelly’s brother.” I look at Tyler and back at Tiff. “This is my student teacher.”
“Nice to meet you, finally. Mel has been chatting about you nonstop.”
Interesting. I bet that’s not all she’s been chatting about. I still can’t believe I confided in her: Melissa, of all people. Half the school probably knows I’m a frickin’ sucker for my student teacher.
“You’re married to your best friend’s brother?” Tiffany squeals. “That is the cutest thing ever.” Tiff’s smile lights up the room, killing my foul mood and softening my heart.
Playing Chase (Against The Wall) Page 7