Chapter Five
Evie
I widened my eyes and couldn’t believe what he’d asked me.
“What?”
“You think I’m scared to have sex with you?”
“We were just joking.”
“But, if we weren’t?” He moved in closer.
“We were.”
“Answer me. Do you think I’m scared to fuck you?”
The question hummed between my thighs. “No.” I stalled a little, tried to regain my composure. “I just don’t think you see me that way. You’re my friend.”
“But I’m not blind and I do have a dick with a mind of its own.”
My lips parted. No words flowed out.
He leaned in closer. “As far as I knew, you studied at the library, dated the occasional geek, all of them African American by the way, and then hung out with me as an afterthought. Tonight, you tell me you’re out there having one-night stands with frat boy losers. Anything else I should know?”
“We never really share our sexual lives with each other.”
He nodded in agreement. “Maybe we should. Do you really think I’m scared to make love to you?”
I looked away from him. My heart pounded in my chest. This was going to an odd place, and fast, without me being sober enough to dissect it and take my time with each word.
This is why I don’t drink around his ass. He always gets me caught up in conversation. He’s always discovering the truth about me whether I want him to know or not.
“I’m tired.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “Let’s go to sleep.”
He held up one finger. “I’m not scared to fuck you—”
“Jay, we were only joking.”
“I’ve never been scared. I just didn’t think it would be smart to fuck the one person in my life who’s been like a sister to me. And worst-case scenario, sex with you could be complicated and result in my losing not just a sister, but a mother. Besides my grandparents, you and Mrs. Elaine are all I have in this world.”
I shook my head. “Mom and I would always be there for you regardless and—”
“I’m not scared.”
I hit my head against the wall. “Fine, Jay. You’re not scared.”
He planted his hands on the area of the wall above my face. He guided his tongue across his bottom lip. “I’ll be a gentleman tonight because you’re drunk, but trust me, if you weren’t and…”
My heart stopped. “And what?”
“Never mind. We’ll just regret this conversation later and both feel strange…Maybe I am scared.” But he didn’t move, his gaze drifted to my chest as it rose and fell. My nipples hardened under his attention. My sex twisted into wet throbbing knots. “I’m not used to losing, Evie. But, for some reason I’ve always felt like, if I took it there with you, I would lose.”
“Lose what?”
“Lots of things.”
I shook my head. “Are you sure you haven’t been drinking? You’re talking crazy. Besides, if you wanted me so bad, why didn’t you ever tell me after all these years?”
“What? I’m always making it known that I’m attracted to you!” His voice got louder suddenly. Cynthia would be able to hear him. I doubted that would be good for either of us.
“Shh. Keep your voice down.” I glanced around the hallway.
“Every damn day, I tell you that you’re beautiful and that you have a hot body. Practically every damn day. I’m always touching you.”
“Which means nothing.”
“When a guy touches a woman anywhere on her body, it doesn’t matter where, it could be her hand, arm, the curve of her neck, the center of her back, her hair, her damn ear, anywhere. If he’s touching her, that’s the first sign that he’s interested. My hands are all over you. How could you not know how crazy I am about you?”
“Because you didn’t just say it.” My voice came out low and needy.
“I said it with my hands!”
“Your hands suck at communicating.”
“Forget about it. Just so you understand, even though you probably won’t even remember this.” He leaned in to the side of my face and brushed his lips against my ear. “I’ve thought about us, since seventh grade. It’s the majority of the reason why I used to make up reasons to convince you to skinny dip with me. Did you really believe searching for oysters required no clothing?”
“At thirteen, it seemed plausible and…I did want to see you naked.”
“And I’m constantly bumping into you. Nothing about me is clumsy, but when you’re around, I’m always falling into you and using my hands on your body to maintain balance. I’m always touching you, not because you’re my friend—”
“Whatever. That’s just how you are.”
“Only with you.”
I sucked my teeth. “I don’t believe you.”
He whispered into my ear, “I’m not scared.”
“Fine.”
“I’m not.”
“I heard you.”
“I’m not scared to lift you up right now, whip that skirt up, tear your panties apart, and kiss that sweet area between your thighs.”
“Okay.” The word came out as a squeak.
“I’m never scared to make love to you. Never.”
“Well…I’m not scared either.”
Take that.
I hoped confidence showed on my face because in my core, nerves tightened together in a bundle of stress and fear of rejection.
He landed a light kiss on my neck, like a test move to gauge my reaction. My skin shivered where he’d touched. My breathing increased with just that little gesture. I hoped he would do more. He planted another kiss on my collarbone and stayed there for a second longer. I’d thought my nipples were hard, but now they were as stiff as steel.
“You say you’ve had a lot of one-night stands on campus. You’re so lucky I don’t know who they are.” He inhaled my scent. A deep grumble hummed in his throat. “If you let me make love to you, you’d beg for another round. I’m not a one-night stand type of guy.”
“I didn’t think you were.”
“But you thought I was some guy who couldn’t see beauty right in front of me?”
“I didn’t think I was your type.”
He drew away from me and pierced me with his gaze. “What’s my type?”
“White.”
“It’s always about race with you.”
“No.”
“Yes, it is.” He shifted his gaze to the bottom of my skirt. “I should punish you the first time for taking so long to let me know that you were interested too. It seems I’m learning all types of things about you tonight. You sleep around. You would let me fuck you, although you think I’m a closed-minded dater. Any other confessions?”
“Oh, are we really going there?”
“Yes.” He stepped back, leaned on the wall across from me, and drank me in with his gaze as if daring me to come forward. Using all of my liquid courage from the alcohol earlier, I closed the distance and pressed my aching nipples against him. He grunted in delight.
“I’m not one of those chicks you’re used to.” I got on the tip of my toes. “I don’t answer phones when your tongue is inside of my pussy. Once you’re down there, you’ll be feasting for days.”
He groaned, dipped his head my way, and glided those soft lips down to my neck. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t take you back to the lobby couch, pull up that skirt, and lick to see if that’s true. Can you think of a reason why I shouldn’t?”
“No.” I arched forward as he sucked on the curve of my neck.
“Jay, are you done yet?” My room’s door opened. I jumped back to the other side and turned my face away from Cynthia as she strolled out. Lust pulsed through my veins. If I had balls, they would be blue and swollen. If I had a dick, it would be ripping out of my pants. I did my best to conceal my panting and crossed my arms around my chest to hide my nipples. Then a sudden realization hit me.
Why am I hiding? I
don’t have to hide. Or do I?
I considered my mom’s words about how the easiest way to get killed was to mess with another woman’s man.
Plus, it’s wrong to make out with your roommate’s boyfriend right after they broke up, even if he’s your friend. I do have to live in the room with her the rest of the semester.
“Can we talk now?” Cynthia asked behind me.
I couldn’t see Jay or even look at him. By now, my panties were soaked, the top of my thighs wet with arousal.
“Not tonight.” Annoyance laced Jay’s voice. “Let’s talk in the morning.”
“Are you staying over?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m sleeping in Evie’s bed.”
Oh God. If he lies next to me in my bed, I’m fucking him. I won’t hold back. Cynthia will not go for that, but I wouldn’t be able to help myself.
“What do you mean you’re sleeping in Evie’s bed?” she shrieked. “Why? That doesn’t even make any sense! If you think I’m just going to sit there like a good little girl while you just sleep in some other female’s bed, no disrespect to you, Evie. I know you both are good friends, but that’s not happening—”
“Cyn, we’re not together,” Jay interrupted. “We broke up.”
“No. We. Did. Not, Jay!” Without looking at her, I could tell that she was about to cry. “Please Jay, all the weeks, the months we’ve spent together. Please, baby, don’t do this to me. Don’t do this to me,” she cried. “What am I going to do without you? If you leave me, I-I … I don’t know what I would do… ”
Oh god. This is so uncomfortable.
Sobs filled the space. She cried loudly. I could hear movement behind one of our neighbors’ doors. My lust-driven high evaporated. I turned to Jay. His attention centered on her. Sadness lingered in his eyes. His fingers twitched at his sides as if he was deciding whether to reach out and hug her or not. He looked my way, right as she buried her face into both of her hands. I motioned to him to go ahead and console her.
He’d never been a monster or horrible guy. He always saw the best, when I and others couldn’t. He cared and loved, when others walked away. It was the reason why I craved him so. Because, let’s face it, men with muscular bodies littered the earth, but men full of all-consuming love and unmarred souls were hard to find. If he hadn’t wanted to console her, I would’ve been turned off by him. If he’d been so desperate to sleep with me and therefore waved off her hysteria in order to fuck me, it would’ve ruined the moment. I dreamed about knights in armor so shiny it blinded me and triggered my heart with fear to smudge the surface with my dirty hands. Jay was my knight, and for now, Cynthia played the damsel in distress.
“I should let you both talk.” I rushed out of the hallway, tossing Jay a weak smile to let him know that we were okay.
“It’s going to be fine, Cynthia.” Jay walked over and held her.
“What am I supposed to do? I messed up with the phone. I know I did. But it’s not fair. Give me another chance. It’s not fair. I don’t have anyone else.” Each of her words choked on saliva and tears. “You won’t talk to me. Then there’s these football guys in and out of my room! I don’t even know why. You’re out here talking, but not to me. I don’t deserve this.”
“I’m sorry, Cynthia.”
“I don’t want to break up.”
“But, we should.”
“Why?”
“Things have changed.”
“How?” She sniffled.
“I’m so sorry, Cynthia, but I think we should move on. We can be friends.”
“No! Please, Jay. No.”
I glanced back at him right before I entered the room. His arms encased her in comfort. One of his hands patted her back. She buried her face into his huge chest, screeching and crying. He listened to her go on and on about how bad she felt, that she’d learned her lesson, and was so very sorry. As soon as I opened my bedroom door, he looked up and directed his gaze to me.
“I love you.” Cynthia rubbed her face on his shirt. “Please don’t break up with me.”
“Let’s just be friends.” The regret in his eyes transformed to lust as he planted his gaze on my behind.
“I won’t let you break up with me,” Cynthia said. “I just won’t.”
“We have to, Cyn. Things have changed.” He dragged his attention from the curve of my behind up to my face. Desire pooled in his eyes.
Oh my.
If he could fuck me with his gaze, I would’ve already been coming by now. He made no attempt to change his expression as he mouthed the word, “Later.”
Chapter Six
Evie
After an aggravating half hour of Cynthia begging Jay to stay and sleep in her bed, I fell into a comatose state, which was good. I didn’t think I could stomach seeing Jay over in her area cuddled up with her, after he’d told me how much he desired me. It would’ve ruined the night. A hero consoled the damsel in distress, but a hero did not fuck the damsel in distress while the heroine lay a few feet next to him.
What would I do if he did have sex with her? How would that feel now that things have possibly changed between us?
I vowed to deal with whatever I discovered in the morning with a clear and logical head.
Nina Simone’s deep voice singing the chorus of, “Sinnerman” woke me up. It was my phone ringer designated to all of the most disruptive college students I tutored, which is why I ignored it, rolled over, and covered my head with my blanket. The phone rang again. I growled and jumped up. Fuzzy curls shielded my face from the light seeping through Cynthia’s blinds. Two humps lay on her bed. Jay was still there. I snatched up the phone as more lyrics flowed out. Chuck’s name glowed in purple on my phone’s screen. I’d tutored him last year. He made an appointment with me through email for a tutoring session this weekend. Knowing him, he was calling to cancel.
I held the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Evelyn? This is Chuck. Do you have any idea where Jason went after he left your room early this morning?”
I yawned. “He didn’t leave. He’s still sleeping here.”
“Wake his stupid ass up, please. He’s three hours late for Saturday morning practice. Coach has been brutal with us, making us run insane drills until one of us finds him.”
“I’ll do it.”
“You rock! By the way, I can’t make it to tomorrow’s tutoring session.”
“Whatever.” I already knew what was coming next.
“You think you could do my homework for me?”
“How long is it?”
“Five pages of math shit.”
“What topic, Calculus?”
“No way. I’m not that smart. Applied Math 1. I’ll give you twenty dollars.”
“Fine with me. Email me the stuff. I can do it without your book.” I hung up, forced myself to get out of my bed, and tiptoed over to Cynthia’s bed. She rested on his bare chest while he slept on his back with his mouth half open and his arms spread out.
Still sleeping with your mouth open, dickhead?
I remembered back in the day how I would put things in his mouth while he slept like gobs of toothpaste, mud, or Piper’s dirty underwear. He would wake up coughing and spitting the crap out and then chase me around the house until he caught me. Next came the assault of tickling and anything else he could think of. When Mom found out I was putting things in his mouth while he slept, she ruined the pranks by saying that he could have choked on that stuff and died. It was the only thing that saved him from my and Piper’s future torture.
“Jay.” I tapped his shoulder, trying not to wake up Cynthia. He didn’t move. I formed my fingers into a fist, drew it back, and punched him in the area under the ribs like he taught me long ago, after this bully had given me a black eye.
“What the fuck, Evie?” He held his sides and hadn’t even opened his eyes, but still he knew it was me. “Why do you always have to punch me?”
“You’re late for practice. Three hours late. Coach is killing the
whole team over it.”
Grumbling, he lifted Cynthia up and carefully placed her on the other side of the bed. “Damn. Then it was okay to punch me. How did you find out?”
“Chuck called.”
He got up into a sitting position, rubbing his face and sliding his legs to the side of the bed. “Why does Chuck have your number?”
“Because we’re having hot sex on the side.” I turned around and got back into bed.
Hard footsteps banged behind me. Within seconds, he wrapped his hand around my arm.
How the hell did he get to my bed so quickly?
The mattress shifted down as he put his knees on my bed and pulled me up to him. Lines of sunlight adorned his face and made those green eyes sparkle. “You’re joking, right?”
“What?” I squinted and gestured to his hand. “Let go of me before I punch you in your balls next.”
“Answer the question. Are you having sex with Chuck?”
“Yes. I’m joking.” I checked Cynthia’s bed. She’d already rolled over and put her back to us.
“Why does he have your number?” He quirked his eyebrows.
“I tutor him. That’s why. You know that.”
“You said you stopped last semester.”
I yanked my arm away from him. “Go to practice before the whole team unites and plots your murder.”
“Help me sneak out, please.”
“Okay.” Moaning, I got out of bed. “Just let me find some pants.”
I turned to watch his gaze follow me. Hunger replaced the exhaustion on his face. He stared at the back of my thighs, making me feel nervous.
Why does he have to look at me like that?
I turned away from him so he wouldn’t see me blush, pulled the drawer open, and found some shorts. He stayed right there, ogling me until I wrenched them up to my waist.
“Are you going to put on a shirt? It’s going to be hard enough sneaking you past our dorm mother. She puts out tea and cakes for brunch in the downstairs lobby. You without a shirt is going to cause a mob upstairs and get her attention. It’ll have women following us through the secret escape route.”
The COMPLETE Coventon Campus Series: Books I, II, & III Page 5