by C. A. Harms
“It’s a yes,” I said as I slid past him, rubbing against his side and taunting him. But I felt confident, and he gave me that.
***
“So let me get this straight.” Marcus slid forward, resting his palms on the tabletop. His eyes were wide, a knowing smile on his face. “You were locked in Red’s room, alone, for more than twelve hours.”
“More like trapped, since Clayton and Corbin barricaded us in by tying two opposite doors together, but yes. That’s it in a nutshell.
“Oh my girl.” He lifted his hands, squealed, and eagerly rubbed them together. “Tell me more, tell me it all, details, all the details you can provide. I want them!”
I laughed as I continued to clean the table next to his.
“What is going on over here?” Morgan paused in the empty space between me and Marcus. She looked between us both before finally pausing on me.
“Little Miss Innocent was trapped in a room with Dark and Mysterious for twelve hours. I want details because I’ve heard a few rumors about a certain piercing.”
“From the sounds spilling out of his room, I’d say they had a good time.” Morgan wore a smirk and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. “You got to remember next time that Xavier’s room is right next door. We thought of trying to out yell you, but girl, you could break glass.”
Marcus laughed, leaning back in his chair, his eyes averting to the table. He looked lost in thought and I could only imagine what visions were going on inside his head.
“I didn’t even realize I was screaming,” I confessed, getting their attention again. “It was uncontrollable.”
“Oh girl, that is when you know it’s good.” Marcus practically leaped out of his chair and grabbed my forearms, turning me to face him. “Something always told me that man would be a machine handing out the most glorious time. It’s always the quiet, broody one who will rock the hell out of a woman and now we know it’s true.”
My eyes widened and I looked to see Morgan biting her lip to hide her laughter. Only her body shook from giggling so much it was evident she was completely enjoying my embarrassment.
Eli told me someone would bring up my screams; I just never imagined it would be Morgan.
Great, I’ll be known as Screamer.
Chapter Nineteen
Elijah
I’d tried to call Cat three times over the last two hours, yet every time it had gone to voicemail. That was one of the reasons I had avoided relationships—they interfered with my focus.
I had a game in less than an hour and the only thing I could think of was where she was and what she was doing. Being stuck a few hours away, unable to go to her was frustrating but for now I knew I had to let it go. I had a game to play and teammates counting on me.
With each play, shit only got worse. I never had a problem leading the offensive line until now. It was pathetic; I was a disgrace to myself, my team, and my university.
***
I was sore, irritable and pissed about my performance. Yanking off my pads, I tossed them to the ground and no one around me said a word. Most of them knew I could be a total dick and it just happened to be one of those times.
I sat down on the bench with my phone in hand and saw the light flashing on top. Hitting the button to wake it up, I found one missed call and one text from Catherine. Adrenaline rushed through me, even more so than during the game. I clicked on the unread text and felt my heart rate spike.
My Kitty: You look so vicious out there on the field.
I stared at the screen wondering what she meant. As far as I knew she’d never been to a game, but maybe I was wrong.
Forgetting the text, I clicked on the phone icon and called her. When she picked up, I felt the tension in my body fade. How could her voice do that?
“I’d say good game but…” She didn’t finish the sentence.
“It wasn’t,” I completed it for her.
“I’ve heard all types of stories about how aggressive and dominating you are on the field. I came hoping for a show. What happened?”
“You’re here?” I stood and grabbed my t-shirt, quickly pulling it over my head.
“Got here right as it was starting. I wanted to surprise you.”
I was already moving toward the exit, practically jogging down the corridor. “Where are you?”
Behind the stadium, near the locker room exit.” My heart raced. “Or at least I hope it’s the locker room you’re in.” She paused. “Maybe it’s the opposing team’s.”
I exited and began looking around when I spotted her about ten feet away. Instead of reassuring her, I moved toward her without speaking a word.
Stepping up behind her, I lowered the phone. “You’re in the right place.”
She spun around to face me and immediately I noticed a red mark on her jaw. Reaching out, I placed my finger beneath her chin and tilted upward to get a better look. “What happened?”
Turning away she brushed it off. “I’m a klutz and apparently can’t walk and talk at the same time.” She touched the space with her hand and didn’t flinch, so I figured it wasn’t much. “I was walking out of Building A after class and didn’t realize the door was closing. Someone had just walked out and stupid me thought whoever it was would be a gentleman and hold it open. I guess I was wrong.”
“That asshole,” I say, only half joking.
“I’m okay, I was more embarrassed than hurt.”
Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss to her jaw. “I’m glad you’re here.” Standing tall once more, I held my hand out and linked my fingers through hers. “Why didn’t you answer earlier?”
“I was driving and my phone was in my bag.”
Seemed like a lame excuse but obviously she was driving since she was there now. “You threw off my game.”
“And how did I do that?” She cocked her head to the side, a smirk covering her lips.
“When you wouldn’t answer it pissed me off.” Her brows arched. “I’m not used to having distractions during a game.”
“So I’m a distraction.” I could tell she was trying to hold onto her sass but there was a question in her eyes that I immediately regretted placing there.
I wrapped my arm around her waist and rested our linked hands together on her lower back, pulling her closer. “I’ve managed to make it this far without ever having something take precedence over the game. It just amazes me how you’ve changed that.”
“I didn’t—”
I pressed the thumb of my opposite hand against her lips, halting her words.
“You did, you just didn’t have to try that hard. I think I knew that first day I saw you in Porter’s that you were the one girl who would knock me on my ass. I felt it that day and every day after, even though I didn’t even know your name.”
Her throat bobbed when she swallowed hard.
“Just do me a favor.” She nodded. “Answer me when I call before a game. If I keep playing the way I did tonight my team and coach may kick my fucking ass.” She smiled beneath my finger but agreed with another nod before moving in closer. I lowered my hand just before she lifted herself up higher to press a kiss to my lips.
“I promise,” she whispered and suddenly the fact that I had just played what was probably the worst game in the history of my football career no longer mattered.
“Tell me you’re staying.” If she said no, she would be quickly assured otherwise. There was no way I was letting her drive back tonight.
“I kinda have to.” She stepped back the little amount I would allow and looked up at me. “I kind of used all the gas I had in my car to get here and forgot my wallet at home.”
“So you’re stranded?”
“Yeah.”
“Lucky me.” Damn lucky. “Looks like I have the upper hand. It would seem that you need me in order to get back home and I need you to relieve this tension I feel.”
“Lucky me.” I smiled when she bit her lower lip. Fuck, my girl was a secret seductress.
&nbs
p; “Lucky us,” I corrected just before I began dragging her toward the parking lot. “I’ll text Coach and tell him I have a ride.”
She giggled as we hurried across the asphalt in search of her car. “Are you in a hurry?”
Seeing her car, I continued to move; when we stepped up to its side I pulled her body in front of my own. I pinned her between me and the car, looking her over. “How have you managed to make me miss you so much in less than one fucking day? I feel like it’s been days, weeks even.”
Was it possible to be addicted to someone else’s touch? If so, I was. Fuck, her hands, her lips, they were all something I felt I needed to survive.
“You’re going with me on the camping trip, right?”
“Camping trip?”
I figured she’d heard, being so close with Morgan and Marcus.
“Every year all of us guys from the fraternity get together and go up to Lake Griffin. We canoe, hike, and just chill out for a long weekend.” She was still just watching me without agreeing to or denying my invite. “We sleep in tents, yes, on the ground, though don’t tell the guys but my aunt bought me a self-inflatable mattress.” I winked when her smile widened. “I’ll even share with you, but you have to sleep real close because it’s only meant for one.”
“I’ve never gone camping before.”
“We’ll have a fire each night and I’ll keep you warm and safe.”
“I’m sure you will, I never once doubted that.”
“What do you say?” I waited for her to reply, feeling my chest tighten with the idea that she might say no.
“I’m still trying to imagine you,” she looked over me, my shoulders and my chest before looking back into my eyes, “fitting into a canoe.”
Unable to hold back my laughter, I leaned in closer and kissed the corner of her mouth. “Always a smart ass,” I teased. “You gonna go with me or what?”
“When?”
“Two weeks over the extended weekend during Columbus Day.”
“Okay,” she says, “but I’m sure Pete is gonna love the idea of both Morgan and me being gone at the same time.”
“I’ll handle Pete.”
“No.” She looked up at me with the most serious look I’ve ever seen her convey. “I’ll talk to Pete.”
Between her and Morgan…I swore they had some type of protective nature over the guy. X and I wouldn’t hurt him; just maybe intimidate him a bit into granting them time off.
Chapter Twenty
Catherine
“You got an A.” I leaned forward when someone said this very close to my ear. “How the hell?”
Twisting to the left enough to see who was behind me, I saw a blond guy I’d never spoken to before. I’d been in this class for close to two months yet he had never even looked at me until now.
“I got a D,” he complained, looking back down at his paper.
“It’s a topic I’m passionate about.” I shrugged as I slowly began to turn around.
I had not lived or knew anyone who had lived during the time of the Holocaust, but when given the topic “children of the Holocaust” in my History class, I was inspired. The idea of sifting through stories from that time, told through the eyes of children, was intriguing.
“It was disturbing,” the guy said, regaining my attention.
“It’s all disturbing. Imagine the terror of a child being trapped during that time. Imagine the images of what they saw and the sounds they heard. The world around them was chaos, full of nothing but fear and heartache and they were powerless to stop it.”
He looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
Shaking it off, I turned in my seat and began gathering my things as our professor dismissed the class.
I could hear his feet smacking hard against the floor behind me as he closed the distance between us. “So wait, you’re telling me that you connect with these kids.”
“No one could connect with them unless they, too, were there,” I said without looking back. “What I’m saying is imagine that type of fear. Imagine the life you love being flipped upside down while you’re forced to watch those you love suffer beyond means. You can’t read a few chapters about the Holocaust and expect to write a term paper showing depth. You have to thrust yourself into that time. You have to imagine what you would feel like being powerless.”
When he didn’t respond I looked back at him only to find him staring at my ass instead of listening to what I’d just said.
“Really?” I said, narrowing my eyes. I turned all the way around, blocking his view of my backside.
He shrugged and smiled wide, “Sorry, I’m a guy. We’re programmed that way.”
“You want to know why I got an A and you got a D—that’s why.”
“Because I’m a guy?”
“No, because you’re a pig.”
The guy was about to speak when his back went rigid and his eyes widened just a bit.
“There a problem?” Eli’s arms wrapped around me from behind as he pulled my back securely against him.
“Hey Red,” Mr. Blond said as if he knew Elijah. “There’s no problem here, right?” He looked at me almost like he was begging me to agree.
“We were just discussing our history papers.” I twisted in Elijah’s arms and arched enough to kiss his jaw. “Just telling your friend here that it’s helpful to research the topic first.” When I looked back at Mr. Blond, I almost felt sorry for him. He looked so uncomfortable.
I chose to completely ignore him and redirected Eli’s attention by turning in his arms and placing my palms against his chest. “To what do I owe this surprise visit?”
I ignored the way he still continued to watch over my shoulder. Boys and their need to stake their claim, I thought, rolling my eyes.
“I got out of practice early,” he said, still not looking at me.
“How did you manage that?”
A slow smirk covered his lips as if he had just remembered something. Slowly he pulled his gaze away from the guy he apparently had some type of beef with. “I sacked everyone on the field and Coach said I needed to take off early before I put all his other players on the disabled list.”
“Bully.” He shrugged, only making me laugh.
I absolutely loved how relaxed things had become between us. It was an unexpected twist that I was so thankful for. I felt like I actually had someone to turn to. Even though I still wasn’t quite ready to tell him about my home life or the truth behind the red mark on my jaw the other day, he was still my escape. When I was with Eli I felt like none of that mattered. He managed to make me forget about all my hardships.
I decided I’d tell him soon. When I was finally out and in my own place I’d share my life with him. What worried me most was his reaction to knowing that for the first time in my life, I had been hit by a man.
“I thought I’d take you to grab an early dinner before your shift at Porter’s.”
“What sounds good?”
“You,” he said, brushing a soft teasing kiss over my lips. “But we don’t have time for that because you know I love to make that shit last for a long time. We’ll settle for whatever sounds good to you.”
I casually wrapped my arms around his neck and held him securely, kissing along his jaw and neck. He returned the hug as we stood in the center of the walkway. Students dipped and dodged around us but neither of us cared.
I was exactly where I wanted to be, in the arms of the only person who managed to make me feel safer than I had ever felt before.
***
With a huge duffle bag on my bed I continued to stuff item after item inside, including sweatshirts and sweatpants, though I wasn’t sure I’d be wearing them much once we were inside our tent. I smiled at the thought of spending the next forty-eight hours in Eli’s arms. Falling asleep tucked against his side, waking up securely wrapped in his embrace. It all sounded pretty close to amazing.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I spun around, placing my hand
against my chest as I tried to gain my composure. My heart was racing so fast I thought it might skip right out of me. There my mother stood, an unlit cigarette hanging half out of her mouth. She held a glass of something clear in her hand that I assumed was vodka. She drank that stuff almost nonstop. I wasn’t sure it even got her fully drunk anymore; she was practically immune to it.
“I’m going camping,” I finally said.
I ignored the look of surprise on her face and turned back to place the remaining items still piled on my bed into the bag Elijah lent me. It had his football jersey number—16—on it.
“You’re going camping?” She laughed as if I’d just told her a joke. “You do know there’s spiders and dirt involved when camping.”
I wanted to say I would be fine because I had Eli to kill the bugs and carry me over the mud, but instead chose to ignore her.
“You are definitely like your father.”
We rarely talked of my dad.
“He always enjoyed things like that, camping, fishing, hiking. I thought it was always a waste of time, much like he turned out to be in the end.”
And that was why we rarely talked of him. I hated how she put him down like he was some awful man. The only thing my father ever did that I’m sure he’d regretted was not fighting her harder to gain custody. My mother was a hateful, unhappy, spiteful woman. I’m not sure there was a person on earth who could actually change that.
I didn’t bite back; it would only fuel her. I’d be told once again as I had heard for years that it was my fault her life sucked the way it did. Forget the fact that she was a grown woman and should take responsibility for her actions; her hell lay in the hands of her child. I forced her to be a low life. I forced her to marry a sack of shit and to allow him to control her. It was all my fault she was a whore, his whore. None of those things lay at her feet, oh no, she was the victim here.