“I need you.” Duncan guided me into an adjacent room. His face was red and his eyes drooped. The team lost their first game this afternoon.
I looked around for help. A few people were lounging on the couches. At the other end, a raucous game of beer pong was in full swing.
“Why do you need me?” I pushed his hand away. He trapped me between his arms up against the wall.
“I think we should try it again,” He looked down at me and licked his lips.
“Try what?” I sighed.
“Us,” He leaned into me. “You know that the two of us just make sense.”
“In what universe?” I tilted my head up and pushed him back. “You have hundreds of women, hell, five in this room, who haven’t taken their eyes off you. Why do you want me?”
“Those women,” he waved his hand, “don’t make sense.” This lofty statement didn’t keep him from peeking behind him to actually see the women panting over him. I wasn’t one of them. “Come on, Am. At least hang out with me tonight. We lost the game. I need you to make me feel better.” He pouted.
I checked my brain. Nope. No effect whatsoever.
“I can’t,” I shook my head.
“Why not?”
“Because I’m seeing someone,” I knew it was a bad idea when the words left my mouth, but I couldn’t stop them.
“Who?”
I didn’t answer him right away. I scanned the room again and there he was. Brady and his piercing dark eyes stared into me. He leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets.
Duncan turned my chin back toward him. “Who are you seeing?”
“Him,” I motioned with my head toward Brady.
“You’ve got to be shitting me.”
Brady stepped off the wall. His eyes narrowed.
“Yeah,” I shrugged. “So, as you can see, I’m no longer available. But thanks for thinking of me.” I didn’t wait for his response.
I walked right up to Brady and stopped. I leaned in and inhaled. His scent made my stomach flip. It wasn’t cologne or cheap beer. It was all man. He squinted at me, but we were so close, there was no way he could have seen the panic in my eyes. Was I really going to do this? Kiss a stranger, in front of everyone?
“Amerie?” Duncan pleaded from behind me. That sealed it for me.
I leaned in and placed my lips on Brady’s. I had to stand on my tiptoes to reach him. He was not going to meet me halfway. I grabbed him around the neck and pulled him closer. I could feel his eyes on me. The music rang loud in my ears. Brady stiffened and grunted as my lips moved across his.
The ridiculousness of the situation entered my brain and I cringed on the inside. Brady’s hands lifted and I waited for them to push me away.
But they didn’t.
He placed them on my waist and squeezed. His tongue snaked out and licked my top lip and the noise faded away. I dropped back down onto flat feet as he leaned into the kiss. I opened my mouth to explain, but when I did, his tongue slid in. A soft moan escaped my lips and my entire body shuddered. My hands had slid down to his chest.
Wow, he has a nice chest.
I squeezed his pec and slid my hand down further.
Brady tilted his head and deepened the kiss. I pressed my body into his. He was solid everywhere. My core pulsed with need. I’d never been kissed like that before.
Brady wrapped his arm around me and held me to him. It was like we were the only two people in the world.
“Amerie Clinton.” Duncan grunted.
Brady broke off the kiss and stepped back.
I exhaled and lifted my head to look at Brady.
The expression waiting for me was not of a man who’d shared an amazing kiss. Instead of waiting to explain myself, I did what I always did when it came to men or anything I had no control over: I ran.
Chapter Three
Brady
I’d watched her all night. Waiting to get her alone to talk to her, wanting to find out everything about her. The simple black dress she wore hugged her curves. Her black strappy sandals crossed up her thin calves. She had fantastic legs. I imagined them wrapped around me.
After I had met her at the lobster bake, I’d asked some of the guys about her, but they all gave me some version of her and Duncan I didn’t want to think about. If I wanted to get to know her, I’d have to find her myself.
Who knew she’d find me.
The impression of her lips on mine lingered. My first instinct had been to push her away, but then my other brain twitched and reminded me, dude, beautiful woman kissing you, go with it.
So I did.
When she stopped, my brain took too long to unscramble before she was gone.
Duncan stood a few yards to my right, with wide eyes and a confused frown. I resisted the urge to shrug and gloat. Instead, I nodded, pushed off the wall, and left the room.
I spotted Amerie whispering to April. April’s mouth dropped open. I crossed the crowded room to follow.
I caught up with her as she made it to the street.
“Amerie,” She stopped, turned, groaned, and continued toward campus. People had poured out of the party and gathered in the front yard. I ran to catch up with her. I grabbed her arm and turned her toward me.
Her fingers crept up and touched her mouth. She peeked up at me with those big brown eyes. The street lamp illuminated our position on the street. I pulled her a few feet away, behind a tree. No need to put on a show for our fellow students.
“Why did you kiss me?”
“Listen,” She pulled her arm out of my grasp. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into that.”
My heart sank. “You kissed me to make him jealous.” I stepped back and rubbed my chest. So this was what it felt like when your feelings got hurt. It kind of sucked.
“Jealous?” Her eyes grew wide. “I didn’t kiss you to make him jealous.”
My eyes narrowed.
She grunted and pushed her hair behind her ear, tears forming in her eyes.
“Hey,” I stepped closer to her and pulled her into me. “It’s okay.”
She didn’t hug me back. “It’s not okay.” She didn’t pull away, either.
I ran my hand up and down her spine and stepped back. The tears hadn’t fallen. Thank God. I couldn’t take a crying woman.
“I kissed you because I wanted him to leave me alone.”
I stepped back and grabbed her biceps. “Did he hurt you?” I leaned into her.
“No, nothing like that,” She sighed. “People don’t tell Duncan no.” I released her and stepped back and waited. “I figured since you’re new and hadn’t drunk the Thackeray College Kool-Aid yet…” She shrugged and stared at the ground. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry, too,” I stepped forward and she looked up. “If I’d known, I would have made it more convincing. You know, maybe used more tongue or grabbed your ass or something.” She cracked a smile. “We can go back and try it again if you want.” I caressed her cheek. “Make sure he really gets a good eyeful.”
She rolled her eyes and hugged herself. “I think I’m going to head home.”
“Where’s home?” I took a step toward campus. “I’ll walk you.”
“You don’t have to,” She fell into step next to me.
“I know. I want to.”
She pulled on my sleeve and we stopped. “It wasn’t all about him, you know.” She bit her lip and I had the urge to remove it from between her teeth.
“I know.” I nodded and nudged her along. We walked in silence for a minute, her shoulder brushing against mine. Curiosity finally got the better of me. “What happened between the two of you?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard?” She tilted her head toward me. I shook my head. “We went out for less than a minute two years ago. Slept together once and I ended it.”
“Was it that bad?”
“What?”
“The sex,” I cringed.
“Yeah, it was, but that’s not why I broke up with
him,” She crossed her arms over her chest. “He only wanted me because I was different than the other girls here and because of who my dad is.” She turned and climbed the steps of a two-story house. She sat on the top step.
I stood in front of her. “Seems like a lot of girls are trying to get with him.”
“Right,” She motioned. “He can corrupt any coed on campus, so why does he keep coming back to me?”
“Are you kidding?” I chuckled.
“What?”
“You’re beautiful, smart, confident, have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen, and you don’t take shit from anyone,” I shook my head. “Guys hate that.” The smile returned. I sat down next to her. “So, your dad’s some big shot in DC, right?”
“He’s a congressman.”
I shrugged.
“In the United States Senate.”
“Okay.” I held my hands out.
She ran her hands up and down her legs. I resisted the urge to do the same. I wanted to touch her, take care of her, keep her warm.
“My father is no John Lewis, but he’s…” She turned to me. “You do know who John Lewis is, right?”
“I do watch the news every once in a while,” I turned back to the street. “But what do you mean he’s not like him?”
“Well, let’s just say social justice is a new buzz word in my father’s office. He won his first election and every one after that because he can talk to anyone about anything and because he had more money than the people he ran against.”
“Aren’t all politicians disingenuous?” I stood. “I thought it was a given.”
“Yeah, and that would be okay if he wasn’t my father, too,” She sighed. “He tries to dissuade me from being too socially aware. I thought he was going to have a coronary when photos of me showed up on social media protesting in DC last summer.”
“You stand up for what you believe in.”
“What?” She shivered and I liked to think it was from me, but the temperature had dropped. If I had a jacket, I would have offered it to her. Isn’t that what the kind of guys she’d be into would do?
“More reasons why Duncan or, you know, some other guy, might have a hard time leaving you alone.” I held my hand out to her. “It’s getting cold out here. You should go in.”
She frowned, but took it and stood up.
“I’m sorry, again, for pulling you into the mess with Duncan,” She brushed off the back of her dress.
“Naw, it’s all good,” With her on the step, we were the same height. “These last twenty minutes have been the most fun I’ve had on campus since I arrived.”
She laughed and I vowed to make her do it again soon and often. She opened her mouth to speak but I beat her to it.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” I asked.
“Uhm, studying probably.”
“It’s the first week of school,” I grinned. “You can’t have that much homework.”
“Yeah, well, I’m an overachiever,” She winked. “Do guys love that, too?”
“Okay, what time will you be done studying?” I dropped her hand. She hugged herself. Those beautiful brown orbs hid nothing from me.
“Two o’clock.”
“Great,” I pushed her hair over her shoulder and rested my hand on her shoulder. “I’ll pick you up at 2:05.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Yeah, I want to check out Rocky Cove,” I squeezed her hand. “I’ve been stuck on campus for three weeks.”
“Okay, but —”
I didn’t let her finish. I pressed my lips to hers. It wasn’t the passionate kiss we had shared earlier, but it was nice. I ended it with a slight squeeze of the top of her ass and left her speechless.
Chapter Four
Amerie
I stepped inside my house and leaned against the door, replaying the events of the night in my head. I should not have dragged Brady into my Duncan drama, but he seemed to be the answer to my prayers.
It didn’t hurt that he was gorgeous and a good kisser. He wasn’t nearly the brooding, mysterious bad boy April had pegged him to be. And, if Duncan took it there, I had no doubt Brady could kick his ass.
My phone rang in my pocket. I pulled it out and hit speakerphone.
“I think you won,” I heard music in the background. “At least a finalist for most dramatic moment at a sorority party during fall semester.”
“What are you talking about?” I checked the caller ID again to make sure it was April and not someone else.
“Apparently, Duncan dumped your ass and you threw yourself at Brady to get back at him.”
My eyes narrowed. I pushed off the door and locked it, then flipped on the light. I had moved off campus this year because my father told me not to. I loved my new place. It was much quieter than the dorms and gave me some semblance of independence. It was the first time I’d lived relatively alone my whole life.
April was still talking. “Yeah, and next was a rousing game of drink or dare where Logan, the Bears new hockey goalie, made out with some girl named Natalie, much to Theresa’s dismay.”
“Who told you?”
“Dax,” She giggled. “He’s got all the tea, and you, my friend, were the third cup.”
April’s analogies made sense to her, but I was lost.
“What was the second cup?” I walked into my kitchen through the swinging doors and grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator.
“When Theresa got shut down by the same goalie.”
I swear our school would be a hit reality show. We had all the makings of a telenovela, but without the accents.
“So, did Brady come after you?” A door slammed in the background. “Did he run after you and you played hard to get before your lips crashed into each other and you collapsed in his arms?”
“You read too many romance novels.” I turned off the lights in the kitchen and headed across the living room into my bedroom. The place wasn’t big, but it was cozy. “He walked me home and he asked me to go with him to Rocky Cove tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s cool. You like him?” Her question sounded more like a statement.
“I’m not saying,” I untied my sandals and crawled into my bed. I hid my face with a pillow. Not like it did any good. April could read me from a thousand miles away. “I know nothing about him.”
“So, that’s what the date is for,” April laughed.
“I’m too busy to date,” My voice was muffled in my pillow. “I’m taking eighteen hours and volunteering at the business institute and working on that project with Professor James—”
“So, you like him?” she interrupted.
I grunted under my breath. “I don’t want a boyfriend right—”
“How was the kiss?” she interrupted again.
I flipped the pillow on the floor and waved a hand over my suddenly hot skin. “Good.”
“That’s it?” She huffed. “All you’re going to give me is good? I want details.”
“Nope.” I sat up.
April moaned.
I laughed.
“You’re no fun,” I could imagine her pouting on the other end.
“Sorry, sweetie, but I’m withholding details until you have some of your own to share.” While I had been off-limits to most of the men at Thackeray because of Duncan, April was on a self-imposed hiatus from the XY chromosome.
“You’re so not fair, and annoying,” She sighed. “I’m going to bed. It’s finally quiet in here –– my musically challenged neighbor is quiet for once.”
“I can’t believe Cal Chase is your new neighbor.”
She groaned.
I stood up. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Bye.”
Brady and I hadn’t exchanged numbers, so I had no way of cancelling on him. It would be one date, not even really a date. Just two people hanging out in Rocky Cove together.
Friends who maybe kiss.
I pushed up off the mattress and got ready for bed.
The
next afternoon, a loud engine roared outside my door and sputtered before it choked off. I peeked out the door.
Brady climbed out of the front seat. He rounded the front and glared as if it was going to jump and gobble him up.
I stepped outside. “Hey.” I waved.
“You heard me coming, huh?” He shook his head at the truck before climbing two steps to stand in front of me. “Hi.”
He shoved his hands into the front pocket of the blue hoodie. He wore baggy blue jeans and the whitest sneakers I had ever seen. Had he polished them before seeing me?
“I borrowed it from Matthews, but I fear for your safety taking you in that thing,” He motioned over his shoulder.
“We can take my car,” I pointed to my white Range Rover at the curb.
He whistled. “Nice. That will work. You ready?”
I grabbed my purse and a jacket from inside, shut the door, and locked it. I pushed the unlock button on the key and the car beeped. I handed the keys to Brady. “You can drive…” My voice trailed off as our hands touched. The keys fell to the ground. We paused, staring at our hands.
Was the man made of electromagnetic material?
He recovered before me and picked up the keys. “You sure?”
I proceeded toward the car. He followed. I peeked over my shoulder. He scooted around me and opened my door.
“Yeah,” I climbed in. “This is your date.” My heart seized. “I mean…”
He chuckled and closed the door.
He climbed into the driver’s seat and paused. He adjusted the mirrors and found the button on the side of the seat to slide it back. He looked at the key fob and then at the push button start.
I leaned over and pushed it.
His shy grin made my insides flip.
He put the car in drive, and we were on our way.
Chapter Five
Brady
“How did the studying go?” I gripped the steering wheel with both hands and pulled away from the curb. The black SUV with the waffled, white leather interior was the most expensive thing I had ever driven.
Flip the Field: A BWWM Love At First Kiss College Romance Page 2