by Abigail Lee
I raised my eyebrows at him causing him to come out of whatever thought he was stuck in. He shook his head and turned his eyes back up toward the ceiling.
“That’s cute.” I looked at Hannah’s wrist as soon as Erin was done. “I really like it.”
“Thanks. I like it, too.” She let Erin smooth the same ointment over her wrist. “You should get a matching one.”
“No, I’m good.” I shook my head. “I’ve had enough needles for today.”
I glanced over to see Luke still leaned back on his table, staring at the same ceiling tile. We thanked Erin and paid for our tattoos before walking outside to my car. It was more than uncomfortable to sit down and even more so to put the seat belt on.
“I need to get home and lay down,” I whined. “Or stand up somewhere. This hurts.”
“Maybe you should have Luke come over and rub some ointment on it,” she teased. “I would let him.”
“You’re terrible.” I laughed. “But I wouldn’t tell him no if he offered.”
We rode home laughing and talking about boys and our new tattoos. The rest of my day was spent lying on my tattoo free side on the couch and watching TV. The pain was getting better and became more of an unscratched itch by the end of the night, but I still wasn’t ready to get up and move a lot. Hannah had left about an hour ago with Trey and probably wouldn’t be back until late tonight or tomorrow morning. I was walking to the kitchen when I heard a knock at the front door. It was probably our neighbors needing to borrow something.
I opened the door to find that pair of green eyes staring back at me. I was standing there wearing a pair of old black sweatpants and a worn gray t-shirt. My blond hair was knotted on the top of my head, and I had already washed my face for the night. Fantastic.
“Hey.” I know I sounded confused, but in my defense, I was.
“Hey.” He continued staring. “I just wanted to check and make sure you were okay after getting your tattoo today.”
“How did you know what door was my apartment?” I asked, completely avoiding his question.
“I watched you walk to it the other day.” He shrugged like it was obvious. “After I gave you a ride home.”
“Oh.” I forgot about that.
“How’s your side feeling?” he asked again.
“It’s fine.” I lightly ran my fingers over the bandage under my shirt. “It just really itches at this point.”
“That’s pretty normal.” He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to me. “I brought you some better cream than what Erin would have given you. This will help with the itching.”
“Um, thanks.” I took it and looked down at the small tube and blushed when I remembered what Hannah and I talked about earlier. “That was nice of you.”
We stood in the doorway waiting for the other one to talk again.
“Well, okay then.” He pushed his hands down into his pockets. “I guess I’ll get going.”
“Did you want to come in?” I asked. “I’m just watching TV and have a pizza in the oven. Hannah is out with Trey.”
“Okay.” He stepped forward.
“Okay.” I opened the door wider and let him in.
He walked into the living room and scanned the room, making no comments about the black and red furniture or the rose paintings that hung on the walls. I heard the timer go off in the kitchen and hurried to get the pizza out of the oven. When I came back into the living room, he had already changed the channel to a basketball game and made himself comfortable on the couch.
“Make yourself at home.” I laughed and relaxed a little.
“I did.” He winked at me, and I felt my face turn red.
I placed the pizza, two Cokes, and two plates on the black coffee table before taking my seat on the opposite side of the couch from him. I reached for the remote and changed it back to the romantic comedy I had been watching.
“Rule number one.” I pointed the remote at him. “Never change the channel on my TV.”
He laughed and relaxed even more into the couch as we watched the movie and ate pizza.
“Do you like magazines about decorating?” He nodded to the stack of home magazines on the coffee table.
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “I like to design my dream home in my head and pick out pictures of what I would want the different rooms to look like.”
He sat there as he considered my answer.
“How many tattoos do you have?” I asked when the movie ended.
“I lost count a few years ago.”
“Seriously, you have that many?” I had only seen a few that his t-shirts didn’t cover.
“I would guess around thirty or so.” He shrugged. “What did you have done today?”
“It’s just a quote,” I answered.
He turned and looked at me and waited for me to continue.
“It’s about following your dreams. One I’ve liked for a really long time but am just now following its meaning.” I wanted to change the subject. “What did you have done?”
He shook his head. “I want to see it.”
“You didn’t get a good enough look in the shop today?” I raised my eyebrows.
A look of shock crossed his face, but he quickly recovered. “Hmm, okay. Maybe another time.”
It was my turn to look shocked, and my cheeks were burning hot. I reached for the remote and found another movie to fill the silence that was starting to consume the room.
He stood and flipped the light switch before claiming his spot back on the cushion. His strong arms reached over and pulled me close into his side. I brought the blanket I had been sitting underneath with me and draped half of it over his legs. My head was spinning, and I knew I was probably sweating and breathing loud. My heart was pounding so hard against my chest, I was sure you could see it through my shirt. My body was doing none of the attractive things you want it to do when trying to act calm in front of an incredibly hot guy.
“Relax.” He spoke softly before kissing the top of my head. “We’re just watching a movie. A terrible chick movie, at that.”
I let out a small laugh as my shoulders loosened up and my head leaned against his chest.
It was after two o’clock in the morning when he left. We hardly talked again after the second movie started, but I had the best time I’d had in years. This stupid smile was going to be stuck on my face for days.
I stood outside of her door and leaned my head against the cold wood. I didn’t want to leave. I never wanted to leave. My mind drifted to a place it had never been and thought about the possibility of starting something real with her. Something worthwhile.
“What in the hell are you doing here?”
I opened my eyes to see Adam staring at me. He was holding what looked like a bag of food and a half-empty case of beer.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” I challenged, not liking the fact that he was also at Riley’s door.
“I live here, you idiot.” He nodded his head in the direction he had been walking. “I just got home.”
“Oh.” I knew that he lived here, but for the moment, it had slipped my mind.
“You want to come over?” he asked. “I recorded the game and was going to watch it.”
I thought about how I should probably go the bar and get some work done, but then pushed off the wall and followed him to his apartment. It was quiet when we walked in, and Trey’s bedroom door was already shut.
“Were you with Riley?” he asked as he put the beer in the refrigerator.
“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure how much detail I should give out.
“So, she knows you were standing outside of her door like a creeper?” he laughed.
I laughed, too, and walked into the living room. “She probably doesn’t know that part, no. We watched a movie tonight.”
“Really?” He stared at me as I sunk into their couch.
“Yeah.”
“You watched an entire movie with a girl?” He took the seat in the recliner a
nd turned on the game.
“Two movies, actually.” I let out a chuckle. I couldn’t believe it either.
“What else happened?”
“Nothing else happened.” I shrugged. “We literally sat there and watched a movie.”
“Damn it. You and Trey have fallen in love. I guess I better find someone, too.”
I didn’t correct him for what he had said. I barely knew her but falling for her was definitely something I was doing.
“No comment,” Adam pushed on. “Definitely in love.”
“Fuck you.” I reached for a nearby DVD case and threw it at him. “Watch the game.”
I woke up in the morning spread out on Trey and Adam’s couch. The clock on the wall read 7:30AM, and I could hear talking in the kitchen. I reached for my jacket on the floor and slowly stood up, stretching my arms over my head. Waking up this early was one of the things I didn’t miss about college life. With the hours I worked at the bar, I rarely woke up before noon. Much less, sit around and talk to people before noon.
“Good morning, sunshine.” Hannah smiled when I walked into the kitchen.
I nodded at her before grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
“See you guys later. Thanks for letting me crash.”
I pulled the jacket over my arms and walked out the front door. The sky was gray, and the air was cold. My feet found the last step before stepping on the sidewalk. I unscrewed the lid on the water bottle and tilted my head back to take a drink. My arm froze when my eyes stared into a familiar blue. She was standing next to my bike and watching me.
“Hey.” I had no idea how I found my voice and began walking toward her.
“Hey.” She smiled. “I wondered if this was your bike.”
Her cheeks were pink from the cold air, and she was leaning against the car parked next to my bike.
“Why are you out here in the cold?” I asked, suddenly wanting to pull her into my arms and keep her warm.
“Hannah is on her way down.” She shoved both hands in the pockets of her black coat. “We ride to school together.”
“Oh.” That was the only response I could give her.
We stood and stared at each other for a few more seconds.
“Did everyone have a sleepover at Trey and Adam’s?” She laughed and stood up from the car.
“I sometimes crash there.” I took a step toward her. “We were up late watching the game.”
“What game plays that late?” She took a step toward me. “You didn’t leave my apartment until after two.”
There were less than two inches between us. I reached out until my hand found her hip and took the final step toward her.
“I’m starting to wish I never left your apartment.” The words were a whisper, but her sharp intake of breath let me know she heard them.
“We could go back up now,” she whispered back.
My other hand found the side of her neck, and I ran my thumb along her jawline. She was watching me, and the purr that came out of her throat let me know that she wanted me to kiss her. My thumb ran down and tilted her chin back.
“Really?” a voice broke into our bubble where we were the only two who existed on Earth. “You can’t even tell me good morning, but she gets that.”
I looked up to see Hannah, Trey, and Adam standing on other side of the car watching us.
I narrowed my eyes at Hannah. “How long have y’all been standing there?”
“Long enough.” Hannah wiggled her eyebrows.
I looked down to see Riley’s face was bright red. So red, she looked like she might pass out. My arms wrapped around her lower back, and I shifted our bodies so that I was blocking her from the rest of the group.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were standing there.” I’ve never explained my actions to anyone. Much less apologized.
“It’s fine.” She leaned her forehead against my chest. “I didn’t see them there either.”
“Do you want me to give you a ride to class?”
“No, we have class together.” She let out a quiet laugh. “Plus, that will just make her ask more questions than she already has planned.”
“Okay.” I pulled her a little closer to me before releasing my arms.
“Okay.” She smiled as she stepped back. Her cheeks were still pink.
I moved to the side and stepped onto my bike. Before I did the thing I wanted to do, which was pick her up and carry her up to her apartment, I started my bike and drove away.
“You have to go out with us,” Hannah whined. “It’s going to be a group of people. Not just the two of us.”
“Yeah, a group of couples,” I argued.
“No, not everyone is coupled up. Technically, I’m not coupled up, so don’t include me in that comment.”
It was Valentine’s Day, and everyone wanted to go out. It had been almost a week since I had seen Luke, and I could still feel his arms wrapped around me. I didn’t give him my phone number that night or morning, but I figured, if he wanted to find me, he knew where I lived.
“We’re just going to The Green Room,” she called from her bathroom.
Well, that just made this more interesting.
“Okay, I’ll go.” I smiled in the mirror.
“You will?” She poked her head in my room. “Why are you smiling like that?”
“I’m not,” I lied, trying to wipe the smile from my face.
“Yes, you are.” She put her hand on her hip. “Did you talk to Luke?”
“No.” I laughed because I hadn’t told her much about Luke. I wasn’t sure what to say about it, so I just hadn’t said anything.
“Liar.” She glared at me as I continued to be silent. “Fine, I’ll get it out of you sometime tonight. It’s wine night so get ready.”
I had never drank wine before, but that sounded fun. Something different since it was the lover’s holiday and all. It had to taste better than beer.
Two hours later, we were sitting at a table in Luke’s bar with Trey and all of his friends. Only one of the guys had a girlfriend so I had five available guys sending me looks every few minutes. This might get interesting. I definitely wasn’t lacking a dancing partner. I was wearing a short red skirt, black halter top, and tall black heels. My blond hair was half pulled back and long curls fell down my back. Hannah was smoking hot next to me in a short red dress and silver heels.
“I’m glad you talked me into this.” I leaned in next to her.
“Yeah, it took a lot of convincing,” she teased. “Now, where is he?”
“Stop it. He probably doesn’t even like me.”
Right as I finished the sentence, Luke was at my side and holding a bottle of wine. My breath caught in my throat, and I could feel the goosebumps on my arms start to pop up.
“Ladies.” He nodded to the bottle in his hands. “I heard you ordered a bottle of wine.”
“You know it.” Hannah grabbed the bottle from his hands. “Thanks, Luke.”
He stared at me for a minute longer as if trying to decide if he should say what he was thinking.
“Do you have to work all night?” I asked trying to break the awkward silence.
“I usually do.” He kept staring at me. “Have fun. Drink that stuff slowly. If you need a ride later, come and find me.”
With that, he walked away, leaving me in a state of what the hell and why is he so confusing. I definitely needed a drink now.
Three glasses down, and I wasn’t feeling a thing. Stupid wine had no effect on me.
“Let’s dance.” I grabbed Hannah’s hand and headed for the dance floor.
“Are you coming?” I heard her yell back at the table.
As soon as were in the middle of the floor, we began moving to the beat. Trey joined Hannah, and one of the guys from our table decided to join me. I couldn’t have said his name out loud if my life depended on it. I wasn’t going to complain. He was dancing pretty well. Within four songs, my head became lighter, and our bodies became clo
ser. He ran his hands up my sides, and I made no reservations about running my hands over his chest. When the song ended, I felt another arm wrap around my waist and pull me to the side of the dance floor.
“Luke, what the hell!” the guy yelled.
I looked up to see Luke extremely pissed and fuming ahead as we walked to the back of the bar.
“What are you doing?” I tried to wiggle out of his grip.
“Stop trying to fight me.”
“Stop pulling me away from my friends.”
We walked into what I assumed was his office, and he slammed the door shut. Releasing me, he ran his hands through his short hair and rested them on the top of his head. He let out a few deep breaths before looking at me. The lines in his face were etched in fury, and I realized I had no escape since he was standing in front of the door.
“What in the hell was that?” he demanded.
“Are you insane?” I was getting mad. “You hardly know me and have barely spoken to me since I got here. How dare you bring me back in this room and ask me questions?”
“Are you dating Tommy?”
“Who is Tommy?” I asked.
He let out a menacing laugh that made me question whether I should be mad or scared.
“The guy you were grinding all of over, that’s who.”
I stood there in silence letting his words run over and over in my head. Was he jealous? I hadn’t heard from him since that Tuesday morning, and now he’s fuming in front of me.
“Why are you so mad?” I asked.
“You’re better than that guy,” he answered.
“And you know that because…”
“You just are.” He shook his head, and I watched as his features softened.
He took two steps toward me until we were only inches apart. My chest heaved up and down as he moved one hand up and placed it in the hair behind my neck. I tilted my chin up to look at him, wondering how all of this was happening. His lips were only a few inches from mine, and I wanted him to kiss me. Oh, I wanted him to kiss me bad. I instinctively ran my tongue over my bottom lip, which caused him to hiss out a breath.