She didn’t know if she’d have the strength to push him away again.
“You have to go,” she insisted.
“I’m not going.” The smile in his eyes was luminous. They were the same smiling eyes that traveled her body relentlessly during every one of her lectures, torturing her slowly, subtly. Undressing her, having her, and loving her.
All without even touching her.
Her body’s response came in an instant, so fast it startled her. “I’m about to close this door in your face.”
“Be my guest, but I’m not going anywhere, Professor.”
That teasing tone was back. Lila fought a smile. He could never know that she’d missed it.
The smile on his face told her he already did. “The longer I’m out here, the more likely one of your neighbors are to catch a glimpse of me, your student, hanging out on your front stoop, and we both know you don’t want that. Not with your performance review coming up so soon. How many Harvard employees live in this neighborhood again?--”
Lila reached through the door and took the neck of his black t-shirt in her hand, pulling him into her house with a force that could only be described as excessive.
Chase came tumbling in with a laugh from deep in his gut, covering his stomach with his hand when she slammed her front door closed.
She turned to him before choking down a few hearty swallows of wine. The answer to his question was a lot. A lot of Harvard employees lived in this neighborhood. Lila was sure some of them even worked for the human resources department.
Seeing a student hanging out on her doorstep would’ve looked extremely suspect. She knew it. He knew it. And that made the smug smile on his face all the more annoying.
“Why is it that you’re so dedicated to destroying my career? Inviting my students to a completely innocent housewarming party was enough to elicit a meeting with the dean the following morning. What kind of surprise will be in store for me at work tomorrow if she finds out I’m alone in my house with one?” One that started an engine she hadn’t even known was inside her, making her body hum to life with one crooked smile. “You. Cannot. Be. Here.”
“I know what your career means to you, and I would never put it at risk over nothing.”
Lila straightened up. Some part of her was upset with him. But some other part—a more powerful part—was swimming with relief at the smile on his face. In his eyes. Since that unexpected night in her kitchen, and the cold days that came after, the vibe from him had been hard, angry, damn near uncomfortable. Even while checking her out during class, there had been a new darkness in his eyes. Like he no longer wanted to make sweet love to her, but take her. Break her. Hurt her in any way he could.
His easy presence now was welcome. It was the Chase she’d always known.
“You’d better have a damn good reason for being here.” She felt herself relaxing. “It better be something amazing.”
He shrugged and made his way into her living room, looking over his shoulder as he moved. “I wouldn’t say amazing.”
Lila circled her couch on the opposite side of him and was the first to plop down.
He sat next to her, close. So close his thigh brushed hers.
She scooted away, feeling that current, that current that was going to be the death of her.
He looked, laughed gently, and set his laptop on her coffee table with a shake of his head. He pulled the table across the wood floors, closer to them, and began clicking away.
“You told me you went to Jack about Julie,” he said.
“I didn’t go to Jack. I went to The Harvard Law Office.”
Chase shot her a look. “Right. You said they needed more proof about what happened to Julie that night. Otherwise they didn’t feel there would be enough evidence to pursue, right?”
“Correct.” Lila took another sip of her wine, wondering where this was going.
Chase watched her lips as she swallowed. He watched the liquid move down her throat. Then he tore his eyes away, clearing his throat as he pressed a few more buttons on his laptop.
Lila’s eyes widened when a video came up, and the sight of Julie’s naked body filled the laptop screen.
“Oh lord.” She set her wine down on the coffee table and leaning in to see more clearly.
“This video was taken the night of the party,” Chase said. “It’s all over campus.”
Lila covered her mouth with her hand. In the video, Julie was lying naked across a king sized bed. Her large breasts were full and perky. Even lying down, they stood at attention, along with her soft pink nipples. She pinched them while spreading her long legs for the shaky camera, exposing a silver clitoris piercing between her freshly waxed vulva. Music and voices could be heard from the party raging in the background, but the door to the bedroom must have been closed because the sounds were muffled. What could be heard more clearly were the various male voices in the bedroom with her. As Julie rolled around languidly, purring, the men joked and laughed.
“I got first,” a deep voice chimed in.
“Second.”
“I got third.”
“Are they calling turns?” Lila hissed.
“Yup.” Chase tightened his lips.
“This is disgusting.”
The unsteady picture looked to be cell phone quality, and as Julie looked up into the camera lens, her eyes were glazed, almost completely shut. When she spoke, her words were slurred.
“Jeremy…” She garbled, hardly able to lift her arm as she pointed a finger towards the camera’s operator. “I wanna… fuck you…”
“She can’t even hold her head up,” Lila spat.
“She’s rolling hard.” Chase shot a look at Lila over his shoulder, eyes going back down to her lips.
She was riveted to the screen. “And this is all over school?”
“It’s viral. Everyone’s seen it. My roommate is the one who brought it to me. Once word got around that Julie talked to you, someone released this.”
“Where is she?”
“Locked in her room. Won’t answer her phone. Her sorority sisters won’t let anyone see her, but she’s okay.”
“Oh my god.” Lila pressed a hand to her mouth just as the screen went black. “She said his name. The guy who was filming. She called him--”
“Jeremy,” Chase finished.
“As in--”
“Jeremy Sodomyer.” He nodded. “Quarterback. You can see the starting linebacker in the distance, too. His name is Lionel Smith.”
Lila leaned over and slammed his laptop closed. “I need this.”
“Take it.”
“Is it password protected?”
“Monster,” Chase said, looking up at her as she hopped up from the couch.
Lila froze. “Excuse me?”
“My password,” he reiterated. “It’s monster.”
--
“Jesus,” Jack whispered, leaning on his desk.
Lila watched his reaction from where she was leaning next to him as the laptop before them replayed the video. She took in his profile, the strong line of his jaw, his hard eyes, his full lips, that close cut beard, and she couldn’t remember a time she’d ever been more thankful to be looking at his handsome face.
She’d seen the state of disarray he’d been in the day before in his office. She could tell that this job was proving much more than he’d bargained for, that it was taking a toll on him, so she’d held out hope that he would be here tonight. Possibly working overtime.
He had been. It was pushing midnight, but when she came knocking, he was there. A half empty tumbler of scotch sat next to the computer, confirming that today had been another long one for him.
She breathed deep. “Chase showed me this; he says every student has seen it. It’s all over campus.”
Jack looked up, staring over the screen of the laptop. For several moments he looked straight ahead before whispering, “Chase.” His face was blank, unreadable, but his voice betrayed him.
Lila s
wallowed. “Yes. He was worried for Julie, and so am I. She’s talking about hurting herself. We have to get this video down now.”
“So you came to me?”
“Who else? You insisted on taking this, even though it was meant to go to an associate. You asked for proof. Well, here it is.”
Without looking at her, Jack closed the laptop. “This isn’t proof.”
“Jack Almeida.”
“There’s no penetration. No uninvited touching. No proof.”
“She’s naked in a room with half a dozen of men. So high she can barely hold her eyes open. Just because these animals were smart enough to turn the camera off before penetration doesn’t mean they didn’t rape her. Of course they did!”
He stared down at his hands on top of the black surface of the computer. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“You’ll see what you can do?”
“Is it fucked up? Sure. But there’s nothing here that’s actionable from a legal standpoint.”
“There’s always a way to make something actionable from a legal standpoint. Of all people, I believed you would know that.” Lila hurried on to the next point when she realized her words had the power to open a can she wasn’t ready for. “Her image is being used against her will, isn’t it? They’re painting her in a terrible light, and hurting her credibility as a victim of this crime. She is the victim, Jack. Please, this needs to happen now. I know that if anyone can make this go away, it’s you.”
She came in close, and saw his fingers jerk.
She pressed on. “It won’t take much to scare whoever put this video up. I’m sure you can throw together some bullshit notice of violation--”
“Lila.” Jack threw her a look, and frowned.
Lila held his gaze before snatching up Chase’s laptop and adjusting her bag on her shoulder. “Fine. I’ll let myself out. God forbid your fiancé find out I was here, or I might not have a job tomorrow morning.”
Jack’s eyes widened in hers, and he forced himself to look away. An irritated smile played at his lips as she turned and went for the door.
He waited until he heard it close before launching his glass at the wall.
Lila heard it shatter from the hallway and, just for a moment, she felt at peace.
--
Lila awoke with a start on her living room couch and quickly checked the clock hanging on her wall. It was 3am. She launched herself off the sofa cushions, tossing aside her purple throw as she zoomed across the living room to her desk. With a few frantic clicks, she reloaded the video of Julie, and jammed her eyes shut at the sight that met her.
This video has been removed due to legal complaint.
“Thank you God.” She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath until her lungs swelled at the first one she’d taken in seconds. Her heart hammered at the message splashed across the screen. “Thank you Jack.”
She immediately reached for her phone and dialed his number.
“Hello?” A bewildered female voice answered.
Lila slammed the phone down. Reality washed over her like a wave of darkness gripping at her skin, and her heart was back to hammering once more.
--
Jack stirred awake, irritated by the sound of Kelly’s voice after he’d finally managed to close his eyes.
To forget.
He craned his neck and looked over his shoulder, trying to see her on the other side of the bed without moving his body.
“Who was it?” he grumbled sleepily.
Without turning to him, Kelly hid her hands under her pillow, and scooted to the farthest corner of the bed.
“They hung up,” she whispered harshly, slamming her fist into the pillow a few times before jamming her head into it.
Her stomach felt sick.
--
Kelly wasn’t alone, because Lila’s stomach was in the same condition the following morning.
In perfect contrast to her piss poor mood, the sun shone bright, and the sky was clear. Tall trees and green grass surrounded her, leaves blowing pleasantly in the breeze, making the red brick buildings that flanked her stand out. Her heels clicked against the winding concrete walkway. The walkway started in the middle of the yard and then broke off in various different directions, slicing through the grass, each leading down different paths. Not a sign was in sight. It was no wonder students got so lost in this massive place. Sometimes the school felt like a giant maze, and they were all just flustered mice milling about in confusion, probably participating in some university wide experiment they didn’t know they were apart of. Lila wouldn’t even be surprised. This was Harvard, after all. If there were anything in existence that hadn’t been dissected within an inch of its life, it eventually would be here. It was only a matter of time.
Sipping her coffee, Lila gave halfhearted hellos to the students who greeted her with respect, and scowled at the ones who made it a point to check out her tits, her ass, pretty much every inch of her, before greeting her with respect.
She was aware that she stood out like a sore thumb. Why in the world was the Human Sexuality lecturer stomping through the dorms in Harvard Yard, looking sleep deprived and agitated?
If there were any way to get to Julie’s sorority house without cutting through the dorms, Lila would gladly take it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t.
When the tenth suggestive leer of the morning hit her, something prompted her to look down at her blouse.
Yep, it had come undone. The hot pink leopard print bra that had been so cute in the Victoria’s Secret dressing room was now feeling like a terribly uneducated decision. Without breaking her stride, Lila worked to re-button her blouse with one hand. She gave tight smiles to the giggling girls and wise-ass boys, all of whom had something to say as they passed her.
When the buttons proved too complicated to handle one handedly, Lila looked down, heels still clicking against the pavement as she fastened her top.
Struggling, she looked up to make sure the path was still clear, but not in time.
As she ran smack dab into a back so broad she almost mistook it for a wall, she stumbled backward, finding her footing just in time to stop herself from tumbling to the ground.
The first thing she checked was her Venti cup of coffee, because that was seriously the only thing that mattered.
Even when the mountain of a man she’d run into turned towards her with a look of distain, one that quickly dissipated the moment he got his eyes on her, she wasn’t moved, just thrilled that her coffee had survived.
“Sorry about that,” she said, but he was already turning away from her. She continued speaking to him as if she had his undivided attention. “I don’t really know this area of campus…” Her words slowed to a stop when a strip of yellow caught her eyes.
Stepping up next to the mountain man, the scene before her came into full view. She’d been so distracted by her own ridiculous problems that morning, her bra, her coffee cup, her catastrophic life, that she hadn’t even realized real tragedy had struck that morning in Harvard Yard.
Crime scene tape stretched across the grassy area, wrapping around several trees before vanishing behind the walls of Memorial Hall, not just the tallest building in Harvard Yard, but the tallest on campus.
Understanding washed over Lila, and she looked up at the mountain man.
He didn’t look back. “Freshman,” he said, staring ahead.
Lila’s eyes went back to the crime scene tape and, for the first time, she caught sight of a foot.
There was a body on the ground, flanked with police officers.
Ice cold waves seized her. The dove necklace around her neck came instantly between her fingers. She clutched it for dear life.
“Climbed to the top and jumped,” the mountain man said.
Lila was already moving away from him, clutching her dove necklace and her coffee. She pushed through the crowd that had formed as she followed the crime scene tape with slow, unsure strides, eyes riveted to that foot peeking ou
t from the other side of the building. Her heart thundered. As she moved, bystanders made room for her reluctantly, some even forcing her to elbow her way through. Humans were always so fascinated by death, and that was apparently true even when the dead was one of their own. Lila thanked god it was summer, or this scene would be nothing short of a zoo.
As she moved closer to the body, she already knew she didn’t want to see what was around that corner, but she couldn’t stop her legs from moving.
The pale, delicate foot had white nail polish with specks of glitter on the toenails, a style choice of a young girl, probably still a teen. The ankle came into view, with the emblem of the university’s largest sorority tattooed on it.
“Please not Julie,” Lila begged. “Please.”
The rest of the leg hit her eyes, pink panties, bare torso, pink bra and, finally, the girl’s face, unrecognizable from where it had been smashed into the pavement. Her red hair wasn’t red enough to camouflage the blood, or the remains of her crushed skull.
It wasn’t Julie, but it was still sickening.
The coffee cup slipped from Lila’s hand, and crashed into the ground.
10
At the end of class the next day, Lila waited until it was nearly empty to call out to him.
“Mr. Almeida, can I see you up front, please?”
“Yes, Professor James.” That gleam hit his eye; that hitch tightened his voice.
She hated that she loved it.
He took his sweet time putting his things away like he always did. Lila knew he moved at a snails pace to ensure some alone time with her, even if it was just a few minutes. As the semester stretched on, time with Lila at the end of class was becoming harder and harder for him to come by. More students wanted to speak to her after class every day. Some days, she was forced to give a lot of them her office hours, since she didn’t always have time to speak to them one on one.
Since age thirteen, Chase had been used to having her to himself at all times, whenever he wanted. So as the last student finally filed out of the class, he watched them go with contempt in his eyes.
Thunder Rolls (The Almeida Brothers Trilogy Book 2) Page 12