“Did you hear that?” I asked as I pulled the door open and spun back to face Vi, who was still sitting on the sofa staring at me. “You hear that?” I asked again, cupping my hand around my ear. “Tequila is calling our names.”
Dry mouth?
Check.
Head thumping to a rhythm that matched the music in the club?
Check.
Breath that smelled like a brewery?
Check.
Muscles that ached to extremes even the most intense workout couldn’t cause?
Check.
Not being able to remember how I got home?
Check.
My lips slowly lifted into a grin as I pulled in a huge breath. Last night was just what I needed to relax into being back in LA. I may not have been a college student, but I sure still partied like one.
Lifting my head off the pillow, I tried to take stock of everything through my blurry eyes, but when I saw the bright sun shining through a huge window, I darted up off the…sofa? Why was I on a sofa?
Beer bottles rattled as I stumbled backward. The small space was littered with trash that had to be from a party, and was that a deer head with panties hanging off the antlers? What the actual—
“Heeeey.”
My eyes widened at the deep voice coming from behind me. I counted to three, trying to get up the nerve to turn around, and when I did, I was greeted by a guy wearing nothing but a pair of bright-red Speedos. Not just any guy though. It was Smirker-Dude from yesterday’s class.
Shit.
“Hi?” I didn’t move my gaze off his as he stepped toward me, an overflowing bowl of cereal balanced on one palm as he dug his spoon in, milk dripping over the sides and onto the wood floor.
“Mad party last night, huh?”
“Erm…” I bit down on my bottom lip, looking around for my heels. Where were they, where were—Aha! I bent down to pick one up from next to the sofa and spotted the other one a few feet away. “Yeah, sure.” I stood straight, pushing my hair out of my face. “You don’t happen to know where we are, do you?”
“Just outside of campus.”
“Right, yeah. Of course…campus?”
He nodded, his bleach-blond hair wafting over his face. “Yep.”
I stared at him for what was more than appropriate. Did I seriously party with college guys last night? College guys who I now teach. Crap. Wasn’t there some kind of rule against teachers partying with their students? Why the heck hadn’t Vi stopped—Oh my god, what happened to Vi?
I stepped back, almost tripping over all the bottles and Solo cups as I tried to remember bits and pieces of last night. I vaguely remembered messaging Vi to tell her where I was. Phew. Now I just needed to find—where the hell was my cell? It had to be here somewhere, right? “Did I…did I have a clutch bag with me last night?”
Smirker-Dude threw himself down onto the sofa. “What the hell is a clutch?”
“It’s a small bag that women use on a night out. It’s not really big enough to carry anything in. All I seem to be able to get inside it is some cash, my ID, and my cell.” I huffed out a breath. “To be honest, if it were up to me, I’d buy dresses with pockets to use, but apparently it’s not ‘fashionable’ to have clothes with real pockets. Who the hell stitches them up? Pockets for show? Never heard of such a stupid-ass thing in all my life.”
“My clothes have pockets.”
I darted my attention to Smirker-Dude. “Of course they do. You’re a guy.” Rolling my eyes, I started to search for my bag. “Guys don’t even need to carry anything but cash on them! Why give them pockets? Just another plot by the government against women. I’m telling you, it’s the start of one big conspiracy the government is doing against the humans with boobs and vaginas.”
“Right. Yeah.” Smirker-Dude was visibly confused, but it didn’t look like it took much for that to happen to be honest. He lifted up off the sofa. “Oh hey, is this your clutch?”
“Bag.” I leaned forward, taking it from his outstretched hand. “It’s a clutch bag.”
“Whatever.”
I opened it up, pulling my cell out but the dreaded black screen greeted me. Goddamn. I must have taken too many pictures last night.
The clock on the wall told me it was eight in the morning, which meant I had exactly an hour until my morning class started. Dammit all to hell.
I didn’t bother to say bye to Smirker-Dude as I left, but I did turn around and take one last look at the deer decorated in panties. I wondered whose panties they were and whether they were trophy panties. Ew. Imagine the diseases and germs infesting in them.
My thoughts had me shivering. I needed to get out of here. With a grimace on my face, I pulled the door open and stepped into the warm outside air. Was it classed as the walk of shame if you hadn’t had sex? I wasn’t sure, but it definitely felt like it.
Stones stuck into the soles of my feet as I stumbled blindly, not really knowing where I was going. I was sure there’d be a sign at some stage to tell me which way the campus was. My head was high, not taking in any of the looks sent my way from the college kids as I seemed to get closer to the halls of residence. Had they never had to do this walk? And who the hell made campuses so freakin’ big? It was like a city within a city! I wasn’t even sure where the campus began and ended because they’d changed it so much in the last few years.
I grimaced as a stone wedged its way into my foot but refused to come loose. Fucker. Hopping over to the nearest bench on the edge of a huge grassed area, I managed to not dig it in farther. Lifting my leg up and trying not to flash the goods was harder than you thought when wearing a dress that was basically your skin but made of material. Shivering when I spotted the rock and the blood slowly dripping from around it, I let go and leaned back on the bench, closing my eyes.
I wasn’t sure if I was always like this with blood or whether it was something that happened over time. You’d think with all the accidents Vi had, I’d be used to it. But nope. First sign of blood and I was a big old wussy not able to look.
“You’re bleeding,” a deep voice announced.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
“You should go to the medical department on campus.”
I opened my eyes slowly, raising a brow at the figure standing in front of me. I couldn’t make him out with the sun slamming me in the eyes, but his voice sounded familiar. “I have no idea where that is…or where I am.” My shoulders drooped, and even I could feel how sorry I was for myself. I was working the “woe is me” down to a T.
The guy moved to the left, blocking the sun, and when his face came into view, I sat up fully. I’d know those eyes anywhere. “JJ? Right?” I recognized him from campus before spring break. His face was a mixture of hard and soft lines, a complete contradiction.
“Yes.” He nodded, his gaze batting back down to my foot as his forehead wrinkled with a frown. “I’m going to sit down.”
“’Kay.”
He slowly sat on the bench and placed a weirdly shaped backpack next to him. I pointed at it, asking, “What’s that?” before I could think better of it.
“It’s a backpack,” he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I can look at it if you want.”
“Look at your backpack?” I asked, confused.
“No. Your foot.”
A few students milled past us, and I noticed JJ dipping his head until they were gone. Was he even aware he was doing that? “Are we close to campus?” I asked.
“We’re in the quad.”
I twirled my head around, only just spotting the buildings around it. How had I not noticed that? Maybe I was still drunk.
“Do you want me to look at it?” He pointed at my bleeding foot. “I’m good at fixing things.”
“I…sure.” I let out a deep breath and lifted my foot a little, reaching out for the backpack. “What kind of backpack is it?”
“I use my Stormtrooper one on a Tuesday, and my Millennium Falcon one on a Thur
sday. Today is Tuesday.”
I nodded, not able to stop the smile spreading on my face as I watched him staring at my foot. I grimaced at the chipped blue nail polish, making a note to sort that shit out later.
“Are you afraid of blood?”
“Huh?” I snapped my attention to JJ’s face. His green eyes were focused solely on me, and I couldn’t help the heat as it spread over my cheeks and down my neck. His straight nose led to plump lips, and I flicked my gaze back to his eyes, afraid to stare at them for too long.
“You were pale, but now you look hot.”
“Yes.”
He waited for a beat, and then his palm encased my ankle. His eyes widened at the action, almost as if he was as shocked as I was that he was touching me. My heart thumped harder in my chest, my pulse running so rampant I was sure he could see it pulsating underneath my skin. I sucked in a lungful of air, but all that I seemed to inhale was his woodsy scent. Damn.
His long fingers skimmed around to the underneath of my foot, and I stared at it, wondering what he was about to do. Surely he wasn’t—
“Ahhh! Fuck!”
Something ricocheted off the ground, and then JJ reached into his backpack, producing a pack of wipes and hand sanitizer. He squirted a load onto my foot—sanitizer, you dirty-minded person—practically soaking it as he pulled a wad of wipes out and held them over the small cut.
My teeth sunk into my bottom lip, and when he moved his attention from my foot to my face, his eyes zoned in on the action. “Thanks, JJ,” I whispered.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, his fingers tensing over my foot. I reached my hand out and covered his, silently telling him I had it. He snapped his hand back, covered his palms in sanitizer, and rubbed at them profusely.
“You shouldn’t walk outside with no shoes on.”
“Noted.”
He leaned back on the bench as he placed the wipes and sanitizer inside his backpack. “I have class in eight minutes.”
Shit! I leaped up off the bench and pushed my feet into the stupid high heels. “Why didn’t you start with that, JJ?”
“Erm...” He frowned at me. “Should I have told you that first?”
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat as he didn’t move his attention off me. A flutter started low in my stomach, moving further south the longer he stared. Why the hell was he making my vagina act the way it was right now? It shouldn’t want to jump on him and have its way with him. It should want to binge-watch sad romantic films with lots of snacks, not wonder what it’d be like to be closer to him.
“Well…maybe?” Even I didn’t sound sure of myself. “I...I have a class too. I don’t want to be late.”
He stood and pushed his arms through the straps of his bag. “I don’t like being late. It makes my heart beat faster.” He shook his head with probably too much force to get his point across as he rubbed at his chest. “I don’t like my heart beating faster.”
“Okay,” I said softly. “If you leave now, you won’t be late, and your heart won’t get stressed.”
He clipped his head once and walked past me, not saying another word, while I was left standing here, enamored by each step he took and the way his jeans molded perfectly to his ass.
Damn, he had a fine ass.
There was a saving grace to teaching a morning class to a bunch of college students. They were as hungover as me and couldn’t give a damn that I probably smelled like a bottle of tequila—there was no probably about it. This class was a repeat of yesterday’s which meant I could afford to not be on the top of my game right now.
Serves the college right for employing a twenty-six-year-old to teach a bunch of people a few years younger than her.
There was no way in hell that I was going to walk all the way home. My muscles were aching like a bitch, and my foot throbbed but also burned from the hand that had held it earlier today. Goddamn. I bet he was a student, which meant no fraternizing. Although, I’d already technically broken that rule anyway after last night’s partying that I still couldn’t remember.
I Ubered it home with thanks to the driver whose name was Dave, and I was all kinds of ready to jump into the shower and then dive into bed to sleep off this lingering hangover-headache.
Vi was sitting on the sofa when I walked into her small apartment, her eyes narrowed into thin slits, but I didn’t give her a chance to say a word as I moved right into the bathroom and into the shower. Twenty minutes later, I felt less dirty call girl, and more Ella.
“Feeling better?” she asked once I was in the main room as she grabbed a hair tie off her wrist to try and tame her frizz.
“Much.”
“You want to explain where you disappeared to?”
I raised a brow and ambled over to my suitcase. “I wasn’t aware I had to tell you, Mom.”
She growled. Actually growled. “I was worried about you.”
I plucked out a pair of jean shorts and a tank top along with some underwear. “You shouldn’t. I’m a big girl, Vi.”
She shook her head as I started to get dressed, not ashamed of showing her the goods. “You could have at least let me know more in your text.”
“I texted you?” I clipped my bra into place and pulled on my panties and shorts. “What did I say exactly?”
“At frat house. Getting drunk. See you tomorrow.”
I chuckled. “Sounds like me.”
“I can’t...I don’t…ugh! You drive me insane. It’s like freshman dorm room all over again.”
“Aww, don’t say that.” I pulled my tank top on. “You’re gonna miss me when you leave in a couple of days.”
“Am not.”
“Are to.”
She let out a slow, audible breath. “You’re right. I am.”
My lips slowly lifted into a grin as I stepped toward her and pounced, wrapping my arms around her waist and pushing us both onto the sofa. “I’m gonna miss you too.” I snuggled in close to her, my wet hair smacking her in the face.
“Oh my god, you’re certifiable, El!”
“But you still love me. Admit it.”
“Never!” She scrambled from underneath me and backed away, her palm held up between us. “We don’t have time for your crazy antics.”
“What?” I pouted. “Why not?”
“Because I told Jeffery we’d be at the shop in thirty minutes.”
“Ugh.” I flopped my head against the soft sofa cushions and slammed my arm over my face. “Do I have to go back outside today? I just want to sleep.”
“Yes, you have to. I want you to meet him. He’s the only person you’ll know in LA when I’m gone.”
I moved my arm and tilted my face toward her. “I know plenty of people here, thank you very much. And the last thing I want to do is go into a smelly pet store—”
“They have puppies.”
“The first thing I want to do is go into a smelly pet store.” I jumped off the sofa, pushed my feet into my bright-pink flip-flops, and practically ran toward the door. “What are you waiting for? Come on!”
Vi followed me out of the apartment and pointed in the direction of the store when we were on the sidewalk. “It’s a ten-minute walk.”
“Awesome.” I pushed my hands into the pockets of my jean shorts and tilted my head back, basking in the afternoon warmth the sun brought. “Did the movers pack all of the boxes in the order I labeled them as?”
Vi snorted. “Yes. I made sure to tell them the exact order.” I opened my mouth, but she cut me off as we rounded the corner. “And yes, I gave them the spreadsheet you put together. They looked at me like I had a few screws loose.”
“Meh. They should do their job right in the first place and then maybe I wouldn’t have to do spreadsheets.”
She chuckled, shaking her head. “You know you go full-on serial killer when you’re organizing, right?”
I shrugged, not caring as I followed her into a smaller side street. “Just one of my awesome quirks that makes me so freakin�
�� special.”
“Yeah, okay then.”
“What?” My eyes widened as I placed my hand on my chest. “I’m a freaking beautiful butterfly, and nothing you say will make me feel any different.”
“You sure you wanna pick a butterfly?”
“Sure. Why not? Their wings are awesome, and they basically just float around all day landing on flowers and shit.”
“And shit?”
“Yep! Like branches and twigs. You know they attach their eggs to leaves with special glue? Like how can they literally produce glue?” Vi opened the door to the pet store, and I followed, the smell of hay whacking me full force in the face. “I mean, can you imagine being able to do that? Like, darn! I ran out of glue, so let me just take some from my body. How freakin’ cool is that? I’m telling you, butterflies are badass.”
She disappeared as I looked around the pet store, scrunching my nose up at the smell. Ew.
“There are between fifteen thousand and twenty thousand different species of butterflies,” a deep voice announced from behind me.
I jumped a foot in the air, my hand slapping on my chest as I spun around and scowled at him. “Dude…” I trailed off as my gaze landed on his eyes and wandered over his nose and stopped on his full lips encased in day-old scruff. I bet that would feel like heaven against my palm. Damn, did he have that stubble this morning? How had I missed that?
“JJ!”
We both jumped at Vi’s voice, and then she was pushing between us and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. His muscles were taut, but he still let her hug him. He bounced his gaze off me and around the shop, his discomfort obvious even to me and I’d only met him twice before now.
She stepped back, her head swinging between the two of us. “You guys have met?”
“JJ was just working on his scare tactics.” I raised a brow.
“I wasn’t.” He shook his head, his sandy-blond hair wafting around him from the force. “I was telling you about butterflies.”
“Mmm-hmm, but you also scared me. It’s not nice to scare people, JJ.” I shrugged, pulling my sunglasses off my face and onto the top of my head as I blinded him with a smile. “But I forgive you.” I pushed my hand between us. “We didn’t officially meet those other two times.”
Confessions Of A Chatterbox (Confessions Series Book 2) Page 7