“Yeah, I can see why that would be a problem. What did he say?”
“He said it was fine and that he just got carried away ’cause, you know, I look amazing tonight,” I teased, and flipped my hair over my shoulder.
“Oh, well, of course. It’s the black dress,” Annabelle said, and shoved my shoulder a little.
“What about you and Jason?” I asked with a smirk spreading on my face.
“What about us? We weren’t the ones having sex with our clothes on in the basement, were we?” She gave me a judgmental look.
“No, but he was the one looking at you like a love struck puppy,” I retaliated, and mimicked his look of desire.
“Shut up! He was not,” she groaned.
“Oh, he was! I know he has a girlfriend but he is clearly catching feelings for you,” I exclaimed as we walked into the bathroom.
“Exactly, he has a girlfriend! I am not a mistress so nothing is gonna happen even if he does catch feelings. What does that even mean, ‘catch feelings’? It is such an awkward phrase,” she stated, trying to change the subject.
“I don’t know. Maybe you let feelings go when you flirt with someone and if they like you, then they catch them,” I offered, trying to figure out where that phrase even came from.
“That makes no sense. I think you’ve had too many beers,” she claimed as she was washing her hands.
“Well, I tried. You know what I mean. Let’s head back downstairs,” I said, and we went back to the basement. We found Kyle and Jason hanging out on the outskirts of the dance floor and headed over to join them. I saw Trent drinking with a couple of his frat brothers and decided not to bother him. If he was interested, then he could come over here. I was also slightly concerned with my self-control.
***
We hung out with the guys for a while. The four of us danced together and we were really getting into it. Kyle was pretty drunk but he was such an animated drunk. He took my hand and spun me around, then dipped me. He was adorable. We were having a lot of fun together but I knew Kyle and I would end up as nothing more than friends.
About an hour later, we decided to call it a night. I looked at Trent and we made eye contact. I tipped my head up, indicating we were heading upstairs. He nodded and shook hands with one of his friends then followed us upstairs. He said bye to Kyle, Jason, and Annabelle, then took my hand. He walked us outside and pulled me behind a tree. We were generally out of sight.
“I’m glad you came tonight,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around my waist again.
“I am too. It was fun,” I said as I stepped forward and leaned into him. I took a deep breath and inhaled his scent. It was like ocean air. It was amazing that he could still smell so good even after being in the equivalent of a men’s locker room for hours.
“I think so too.” He reached up and cupped my face, kissing me again. Unlike before, this was a softer kiss. It was more sweet and tender, with a touch of something else. Maybe those feelings were flying around here too. I pressed into him a little. The soft kiss was nice but it was not what I wanted. I kissed him with more intensity and he responded heavily.
His hands slid down to my butt and he gave it a little squeeze. I slipped my hand around his head and slid my fingers through his hair, then gave a little tug. A low growl escaped his mouth and he picked me up and pushed me against the tree.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on tight. His hand found my breast again and he squeezed, feeling around for my nipple. Once his fingers found it, he began to lightly twist it through my dress. I moaned in return.
I leaned my head back against the tree and squeezed my legs tighter around his middle as I was beginning to fall apart. My thoughts had all disappeared and were replaced by a carnal need. It was lucky that Jason honked the horn of his car when he did or I didn’t know how far this would have gone, especially since I was wearing a dress.
The horn brought us back to reality and Trent looked at me and smiled. He kissed my neck again and then placed me on the ground. Even though my friends could not see us, I was sure they had a pretty good idea what was keeping us and I quickly yanked my skirt down. I said goodbye to Trent and ran off to the car.
***
I listened to relentless teasing for the fifteen-minute drive home before the boys dropped us off in front of the dorm. When I got back to my room, Lola was sleeping. I hopped in the shower to wash off the grime of the frat house and then climbed into bed. I went to set an alarm on my phone since I had to get up tomorrow and finish some homework and noticed that Trent texted me.
Trent: Hope you made it back safe :)
I smiled and responded.
Me: I did. U?
Trent: I’m staying the night at the house but u’ll b in my dreams tonight.
I giggled, loving the ridiculously cheesy lines he used.
Me: Wat kind of dreams?
Trent: The kind that make me wish I wasn’t alone.
Me: Maybe next time you won’t be.
Trent: Don’t tease me.
Me: ;) Good night.
I fell asleep with a smile on my face and blood rushing to my core. If I was lucky, I’d have some good dreams tonight too.
Chapter 7
Sunday was a pretty productive day. I finished my project for Berneli and worked on the rest of my homework. I went over to Annabelle’s room and we attempted to get some math done. I struggled with statistics and she basically ignored her calculus homework.
We both decided there was no hope and headed over to Kyle and Jason’s to watch more of our show. The four of us hung out for the rest of the night and then we all headed to bed. I was returning from my shower when Lola climbed into her bed. It had been a little while since we hung out, so we decided we would catch up over lunch tomorrow.
***
I woke up early Monday because I wanted to go over my presentation for Berneli. I changed a few things and practiced the speech in the bathroom mirror twice. Then I threw some gel in my hair to accentuate my curls and pulled the front into a little bump on the top of my head. I was in the middle of my make-up when Annabelle walked in.
“Ready for your presentation?” she asked as she started to brush her teeth.
“As ready as I can be. I went over it a couple of times and switched some things around. I feel like if I go over it again, I’ll probably second guess myself and freak out. It just needs to be left alone.”
“What about Berneli?” she asked, and I dropped my mascara brush into the sink.
“What about him?” I hadn’t told her anything about what had happened between us, but could she know? Did other people know? No, there was no way for them to know. I was just being paranoid. I took a breath and tried to stay calm.
“Is he a hard professor? I mean, it’s kind of early for you to have a presentation already,” she commented innocently enough. In the mirror, I saw her watching me. She knew. I didn’t know to what extent she knew, but she definitely knew something.
“I don’t know. He just gets passionate when it comes to books. I guess we are gonna have to wait and see,” I said, and realized passionate was the wrong word to use. The image of his lips on mine flashed through my mind and I watched a blush creep up my face.
I added a little extra foundation in case I blushed in class. There was no way I could think of him like that while going over Pride and Prejudice. It would completely distract me, and I needed to prove that he would not phase me.
Furthermore, we couldn’t have a relationship anyway. I needed to just get over it and focus on Trent. He was real, sexy, and available. Plus, he had already proven that he could be just as passionate. Trent was just as good as Berneli, right? I repeated that a couple of times hoping that one day I would believe it.
Annabelle and I decided we would meet up in about ten minutes and head to class together. I spent a little extra time getting dressed. I put a light green blouse on with a tan skirt that went about three quarters of the way down my thigh. I also
added tan wedges. I didn’t want to look like I was going to a job interview but I wanted to look nice.
Annabelle had an issue with being late. She wanted to sit in the back of the class where she could avoid being called on. As a result of this, Annabelle liked to get to class fifteen to twenty minutes early. This was good the first week of class since I didn’t really know where I was going, but now that I did, I was the first person there.
I put my bag down next to my desk and got my notes out. I had just started going over them when I noticed Berneli walk in. Honestly, it was more like I felt him since I kept my eyes focused on my notes and pretended not to notice him. But he sure did notice me. He walked up to my desk and stood there.
“Last minute preparations? I would have thought that you would be ready. Did you party too much over the weekend?” he asked, and my heart stopped. Did he know about Trent? I looked up at him and noticed his eyes revealed he was joking.
“I did go out actually, but don’t worry, I was just rereading my notes. I am prepared,” I insisted with some initiative.
I watched the struggle in his eyes as he seemed desperate to know what I did over the weekend, and dealing with time and place.
“I guess we will see. I’m prepared to give you a good run for your money today,” he said, and winked at me. Then Berneli turned around and walked toward the lecture stand.
“What do you mean run for my money?” I demanded as I got up and followed him. With my wedges, my head only reached his chin so I had to look up to give him the evil eye. This man liked to play with me and I was beginning to lose my patience.
“You’re pretty easy to read, remember? I already know what points you are going to make and I intend to counter them,” he informed me, and then leaned in close. “Mostly, I just want to see you squirm. Maybe I need to remind you the difference between a boy and a man.”
My heart began to race. “I think I have it figured out. Thanks for the offer though,” I said sweetly, and walked back to my desk. If he wanted to play with me, I wasn’t going to sit by and give up.
Berneli went in front of the room and brought the class to order.
“So, we are going to start with Violet Carrington’s discussion on Pride and Prejudice. Violet, if you could please come to the front of the room.” Berneli looked at me and gestured for me to come stand next to him.
I took a deep breath and grabbed my notes. When I got to Berneli’s side, he smiled and then went to sit at my desk. I began to recite my notes, which discussed the great love Darcy and Elizabeth shared, when I looked at Berneli. He was smiling back at me but it was not an innocent smile. It was devious and sexy as hell. I knew he was going to tear apart everything I had to say. I continued with my notes and prepared for the worst.
Once I finished my presentation, Berneli asked the class for comments or discussions. As in any good college class, no one wanted to be the first to comment so there were no hands in the air.
I swallowed harshly. This was kind of embarrassing. I was just standing in front of the class with everyone staring at me and it was dead silent. Then my eyes fell on Berneli. He was wearing that devious smile again and I just had to smile back. He set me up knowing this was probably going to happen.
“So, Miss Carrington, what would you say to people who claimed Darcy was just looking for a trophy wife and Elizabeth happened to fit the bill?” Berneli finally asked.
“I would say that he would have married Jane. Elizabeth wasn’t known for her beauty like Jane was and she wasn’t as easy as Lydia. Darcy was worth a lot more than Bingley, and if he wanted a trophy wife, it would have been a lot easier to get one. But he didn’t. In fact, I don’t believe he was even looking for a bride. The only woman he danced with, other than Bingley’s sister, was Elizabeth. Why would he choose someone who was that difficult if he was just looking for a pretty girl?” I asked in retaliation. I looked around and someone in the second row raised her hand.
“Do you think he was just interested in the chase?” she asked.
“I think at first, part of what intrigued him about Elizabeth was the chase. Then she shut down his first proposal. This would have crushed his pride. Then he protected her sister’s reputation and went out of his way to help Jane and Bingley. There was no promise of a relationship or a marriage if he helped her. He did it because he wanted to see her happy. This is the important key in their relationship. The chase was over and he still wanted to be there for her.” I felt some relief that someone was interested in what I was saying, or at least was pretending to be.
A few other students asked some questions and the discussion continued for another ten minutes, but Berneli was not done. I started to relax a little as we fell into a smooth debate.
“I happen to think Elizabeth was a gold digger,” Berneli countered as he crossed his arms in front of him. My mouth fell open. He was bad mouthing my girl Lizzie and I was not going to tolerate it.
“Then she would have accepted his first proposal,” I said, mentioning this scene again.
“How do you know she wasn’t playing hard to get?”
“A woman who knows what she wants doesn’t need to play hard to get. That is a game for a confused little girl. Any man who thinks a woman is playing hard to get is simply trying to ignore the fact that she is, as the movie says, just not that into him,” I said, smiling pleasantly back at him.
“I will keep that in mind,” he said after a few seconds. Berneli stared at me for a second longer and I felt a chill creep up my spine. It was almost as if I could see the wheels in his head turning. I was going to pay for that last comment. I returned to my seat and Berneli started his discussion for the day.
***
I tried to take notes but really I was just relieved that it was over.
Berneli wrapped the class up and another student was picked to do the discussion on Wednesday. I was packing my books up to leave when Berneli asked me to stay so that he could give me some feedback on the project. We waited for everyone to file out of the class.
“We have got to stop meeting like this. People will start to talk,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
“And what would they say?”
“That I’m banging the professor for an A.”
“After that presentation, no one would question that.” Berneli walked over to my desk and handed me a sheet of paper. It was my rubric for the assignment. I got a perfect score.
“Did you go easy on me? I really wanted to earn this grade,” I said, looking at him disappointedly.
He sat down on the special desk next to me and smiled. “No, you had a well thought out project. There were questions that you answered with proof from the text and you lasted the appropriate amount of time,” he said, pointing to the rubric. “I didn’t need to go easy on you.”
“Really?” I asked, and I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. I was proud of the grade.
“Of course. I am grateful you were willing to go first. I don’t know any other student who would have done as well. I didn’t want the whole class to be afraid of the project,” he said, and then looked deep into my eyes. I could feel my defenses slipping and quickly put them back up. I was done with this game.
“No! I am walking out the door now. We are not going to keep doing this,” I insisted as I grabbed my bag and headed to the door. I was not going to be the student he fooled around with after class. He just gave me a perfect score. It was quite clear he wanted a thank you.
“What? I just looked at you,” he insisted as he quickly got up and blocked my path.
“It was the way you looked at me. You looked at me that way last week and we almost got caught making out by that teacher. Look, we both know this is a bad idea, so why are you pushing it?” I asked as I looked up at him. I wanted him to see my frustration.
He ran his fingers through his luscious hair and looked down at me. “I can’t help it but you’re right. This is probably a terrible idea. But aren’t the worst ideas the most fun?” T
hat dangerous smirk was back and it almost worked.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Nope, I can’t do this,” I said, and rushed to the door.
“You aren’t playing hard to get, are you?”
I was about to turn the handle. I whipped back around and looked at him. “Honey, if I wanted you, it would only be too easy to take you,” I said before raising my eyebrows at him in an I told you manner. I ran out the door before he could respond and call my bluff. Who was I kidding? I was just a confused little girl.
I needed to focus on making it work with Trent. There was the possibility of a future with him. Besides, Berneli was leaving at the end of the year. I headed to the cafeteria to meet up with Lola, mind set on Trent.
***
I told her all about the party and my time with Trent. She was glad the dress worked and claimed responsibility for my success. I asked her how she was doing since the accident and the incident with Tyler.
“I took him back,” she confessed, trying not to look guilty.
“What?”
“Well, after the fight, he realized Katie was crazy and he wanted me back. The two of us have so much history that I couldn’t say no.”
“Aren’t you concerned? Wasn’t he a little rough with you?” I was still trying to control the shock. But it was a mess. How could you take a guy back after he hit you?
“Well, kind of. He was the one who pushed me. But he was just trying to protect me from Katie. I had hit her and he didn’t want her to retaliate so he pushed me out of the way. He promised that he hadn’t meant to do it that hard and the whole thing just kind of spiraled out of control,” she said, defending him.
First Semester (Elton Hall Chronicles Book 1) Page 10