by Anne Leigh
He was out of the driver’s side before I landed on the last step, “Hey.”
His strong arms went around me and I greeted him the way I’d come to know he liked, a squeeze on his hard back and a smile on my face.
Kisses were saved for when we were inside the car because when it came to us, they could get out of hand.
One time we were kissing inside of his car while parked in front of my apartment and I’d climbed out of my seat and straddled him. I’d ended up with a few love bites by my neck that I had to cover with my hair down and he’d ended up with scratches on his back because of my nails.
He eyed me with curiosity and said, “You look different today.”
“Really? You just haven’t seen me for five days.” He’d had a lot of team meetings, and I guessed they were now doing double time for practice, so we’d resorted to texts and Facetime calls.
He pressed a finger to his lips without removing one of his hands from my waist. “I don’t know. It’s something.”
I thought of what I did different this morning because as much memory my brain could hold, when he was around, he made me forget. Simply because he was there.
“Oh yeah.” I moved my head up and down, “I put some blush on.”
He side hugged me closer to him as we walked towards his car. We couldn’t meander for long because the parking monitors were everywhere, and they gave a ridiculous amount of tickets to cars that were unmanned, especially in busy spots.
“Blush?” He asked as he opened the door of his car and I hopped in.
I watched him walk in front of his car and as he sat on the driver’s seat and put his seatbelt on, I remarked, “I like to sprinkle blush on my face on lab days.”
He eyed me with a confused look, “But you’re in a lab…why would you need to look extra pretty?”
I loved the way he said ‘extra’ before pretty. I wasn’t a vain person. The last thing I would ever wish to become was my mother, who had been calling me nonstop, asking when I was coming home. Home was anywhere away from her.
Anyways –
As much as I didn’t value physical appearance much, it warmed my insides whenever Scott complimented me. I mean, his ex-girlfriend, my brother’s current girlfriend, looked like a Victoria’s Secret model, so even if it was a tiny bite, the green-eyed monster ate at me.
Kara was a good person, but even I couldn’t deny that she was gorgeous.
“My lab partner is kinda cute and I don’t know, I just don’t wanna look like a mess in front of him.” Tyler was a junior like me, and we’d been lab partners in a few classes. He always looked like he stepped out of a Men’s Wearhouse magazine rather than someone who just realized today is a school day, jumped out of bed, and came to class like more than half of my school’s population did.
I swore I thought I saw one of my classmates wearing PJ’s during Professor Chi’s lecture.
Scott turned the car on and started to drive.
I didn’t think much of it until we were five minutes in, and he still hasn’t said anything.
He was quiet usually, but not that quiet, especially with me.
He usually talked about practice and asked me about my day.
Since we were meeting Rikko, I had to stop by my apartment and we’d go from there.
“GQ, stop sulking,” I teased.
Sometimes I called him GQ, or sometimes David because he reminded me of David Beckham.
I rubbed my left hand against his right arm. An arm that was solid muscle and covered in a dark green shirt that complemented his green eyes.
He still didn’t say anything.
“Tyler’s a classmate,” I started and I kept rubbing his arm softly, I could see the fine hairs on his arms slowly rising. Goosebumps. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
The muscle in his right jaw ticked.
Jeez, he was jealous.
“If it makes you feel better, he asked me out once and I turned him down.” I saw him as a friend and that was it.
His left hand thumped on the steering wheel, and I decided that maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say.
He was still quiet when he parked in front of my apartment five minutes later.
“I’ll be back,” I said to apparently no one since the gorgeous man beside me wasn’t talking to me. “Give me ten.”
Before I could step out of the car, I felt a strong pull on my hand, and he tilted my head so I could meet his lips.
His kiss wasn’t gentle.
It was scorching, punishing, dominating.
It was hard and when his tongue met mine, I knew that he was trying to exert his power over me.
I placed my hand on his jaw and let him dole out his frustrations against me, my lips, my mouth, and when his hand grazed the front of my shirt, he whispered, “Mine.”
Slowly his lips retreated and my eyes met his stormy greens, “Yours.”
“I’m not sorry,” he said this with his face inches from mine.
“For what?”
“For wanting to smash any guy you find cute.”
I shook my head, “He’s cute. But you…you’re more than cute.”
Our heads met in the middle over the car console, his forehead pressing to mine, and I felt his hair still damp from his shower, “What am I, Bridge?”
He’d started calling me Bridge the day after he stayed at my apartment. Sometimes he said babe, baby, cutie. Anything he called me gave my spine a frisson of warmth and gooeyness.
“You’re my Scott,” I said, knowing that I was claiming him as mine. And even though I had no business of doing so, even when the future was unpredictable, and even when common sense was telling me no, I wanted him.
I wanted to be his.
I softly pressed my lips against his, “And you take my breath away.”
Scott
I’d never been a jealous guy.
I’m not one of those you’d-better-stop-looking-at-another-guy-or-I’m-taking-you-home, over my shoulder, kinda guys.
I was always calm, collected.
My blood ran warm or cold, not boiling hot.
I don’t like feeling this way.
It’s unsettling, confusing, and definitely new to me.
Rikko’s arm was hanging around Bridgette’s small frame and I wanted to tear it off.
Christ, he was my best friend.
We’d been friends for over a decade.
“Settle down, Bud.” Rikko’s blue eyes reminded me of his sister’s. “She’s not gonna break. Right, beauty?”
Bridgette laughed and I had the urge to take his beefy hands off of her, carry her over my shoulder, and leave.
Before I could say anything, Bridgette calmly removed Rikko’s hands from her shoulder and said, “Yeah, but your arm is kinda heavy, King Kong.”
I chuckled because King Kong was an apt description for my best friend. He wasn’t always this burly; I was stockier than him until we reached tenth grade where he must have hit a giant growth spurt. He used to borrow my shirts because he never brought enough clothes during away games. My shirts were tighter on him and he liked the look, so ten years later, he’s still wearing the same look.
Tight shirts that could suffocate a regular guy were Rikko’s go-to outfits.
“Come on, beauty. Where’s the fun in that?” Rikko nudged Bridgette’s frame closer to him and as much as I wanted to smack him I also knew that he was just being funny.
Bridgette rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, the action giving me a glimpse of the black bra strap that she was wearing underneath her black lacy sleeveless top, causing my dick to jump.
The blood that flowed through my veins was lukewarm, but whenever this petite woman was in the area, everything stirred inside me – my blood, my temper, my cock.
Her scent induced dreams of being inside of her.
Her nearness caused me to adjust myself multiple times throughout the day.
I couldn’t even think of her when I was in practice because I�
��d get nothing done.
Rikko was now telling us of how he asked out a girl on Tinder, and it turned out she was a freaky stuffed bunny collector.
“I mean this shit was creepy. Imagine seeing bunnies everywhere in an apartment. There were at least five bunnies on the couch, looking like they were having tea. And then everywhere I looked, there were rabbit-shaped shit. The kitchen was decorated with bunny wallpaper, the chairs had some sort of bunny caricature taped on them, it was crazy. The sex was great, but I ain’t going back for seconds,” Rikko stated before chugging down on his glass of Coors Light.
He never went back for seconds, but my girl didn’t have to hear that.
Bridgette was still laughing when she asked, “Didn’t a red flag go up in your mind when she asked for you guys to meet at a Bunny Museum in the first place?”
Rikko’s left shoulder lifted, “Nah. I was tryin’ to get laid and she was hella cute.”
“That’s gotta be the lamest excuse ever.” Bridgette didn’t hold back and I couldn’t help it, I reached for her left hand across the table just so I could feel her skin.
Rikko’s brows were raised, “So…you two?”
“Us two,” I answered for Bridgette, squeezing her hand lightly. It was so soft. Everything about her was soft. It made me want to stay cocooned in her and stay for a while.
“Bishop knows?” It was a question that I’d been thinking about from the night I kissed her. Or she kissed me. It didn’t matter. I was just happy it happened because the weeks after our kiss had been the steamiest, blue-fucking-balls inducing, yet happiest times I had ever experienced since I’d been drafted. I was taking my time with her and I wasn’t going to push her into anything that she didn’t want.
“He’s busy right now,” Bridgette answered, her eyes avoiding Rikko’s gaze. “I don’t want him to be distracted.”
“Ah.” Rikko’s response was loaded. When my best friend gave one-word answers, it was during times when he didn’t agree or he was actually thinking about consequences.
“I’m not gonna hide this from him,” I said plainly. There was absolutely no reason for me to cover this up from her brother. “Bridgette and I are just hanging out for now and once we know where we’re taking this, I’m gonna tell Bishop.”
“I’ve heard that story before,” Rikko said as he grabbed a fry from the small basket in the middle of the table. His eyes directed at me, “You were a part of that story.”
The Lounge was a new hotspot in downtown L.A. It was a mess of traffic to get there, but once inside the hip, ultra-chill place that boasted surfboards and computer-generated images on the walls of people hanging out at the beach, I knew that Rikko hit the spot. He wanted to catch up and talk. He was surprised when I said that Bridgette was coming with. Secrets were never an issue between him and I. He knew my darkest fears and I knew his brightest dreams.
He also didn’t withhold judgment. Or mince words.
He called things as they were.
I drank the Lounge’s seasonal beer on tap as Luisa, the server, had suggested, and felt the malty, sweet hoppy taste of the liquid hit my tongue, its bitter finish in the aftertaste lingered in my mouth. I didn’t drink much; it wasn’t good for my diet. Or for me.
But once in a while, I allowed myself to.
My neurologist wouldn’t agree, but Dr. Jackson wasn’t present tonight.
“I’m gonna tell Bishop.” I said with resolve, “We’re gonna do it, but on our own terms.”
Rikko shook his head, “It’s not a good idea to hide something from the people who mean the most to you.”
Bridgette’s mouth pursed, and I reassured her with another squeeze. The one thing I’d change with the décor here was the seating arrangement. The chairs were drilled into the floor and since Rikko had already taken up the spot that I’d need to be closer to my girl, I had to settle for touching her across the table.
“Bishop has a lot of exhibition games right now. I don’t want to trouble him with something like this,” she said softly. She paused and I could tell that she wanted to say something more.
“Like what?” Rikko inquired before I could. Gotta hand it to the guy, he was pretty receptive and not just on the field. He held NCAA’s top records for career pass sacks per game and forced fumbles. He rushed quarterbacks like it was nobody’s business, and I was always glad he was on my team. Until he signed with San Francisco. We both knew that we couldn’t be on the same team after college and he was with a good team now. But it wouldn’t be fun going against him during the season. It was just the name of the game.
Bridgette evaded my eyes and she turned to Rikko, her profile so beautiful under the cool lights.
“It’s nothing,” she said in a dismissive tone.
Now I was curious.
“Yeah, like what, Bridge?” I called her Bridge when the mood struck. I’d heard people close to her call her that. I loved saying Bridgette, Bridge, Cutie, Tiny B. I didn’t care much for specific pet names. I just said whatever I wanted.
Her face was getting flushed and I knew that she didn’t want to say it.
She had tells.
Many of them.
Her eyes turned darker when she was hot and bothered. She bit on her top lip when she was feeling defensive or unsure. Even her grins told me something. A slight grin meant she was slightly amused and a full one when she was in a teasing mood.
I had made it my job to be familiar with her nuances.
Because I liked her, valued her, and cared about what she thought.
Just like right now, she was avoiding the question because she didn’t want to offend anyone. Most likely me.
“Come on, beauty. Secrets are only good for armpits,” Rikko nudged and I wanted to laugh, but I couldn’t because I was focused on what she was not saying.
She let out a sigh, took a sip of her raspberry iced tea and said, “Something like this…Something that might not even go anywhere.”
Rikko said, “Huh.”
It took a second for me to realize what she was saying.
Then she continued, “I don’t talk to my brother about relationships. It’s none of his business. And Scott and I are just hanging out, like he said. It’s not like we’re exclusive. He can see other people if he wants to. We’re just having fun. Plus, I don’t want to bother my brother about something that’s not going to pan out into something other than casual dating.”
My ears…started roaring.
My knees…started to shake.
My blood…it went from a slow simmer to a teapot full of fucking boiling water ready to start a fire.
Rikko sensed the impending danger so he started saying, “Scott, bro, I’m sure beauty here’s just trying to –“
He didn’t get to finish before I grabbed three twenties from my wallet, stood up, and said, “Let’s go.”
Bridgette’s expression was filled with confusion. As if she didn’t realize that I was this close to losing it. Because I was… I was losing my control and my sanity.
That was why she was putting some blush on for her lab partner?
That was why she didn’t want for me to say anything to Bishop?
That was why she avoided it every time I tried to broach the subject of possibly going out with her brother and Kara?
She thought she was just a casual fling and when my season started in two weeks, I’d just toss her aside and forget her?
Rikko sported a stupid grin on his face and I wanted to punch him.
Yeah, I wanted to knock that grin off of his face because I wanted to let the beast growing inside of me out.
This woman, this five feet nothing woman, could create so much havoc inside of me.
It was maddening.
“What’s going on?” She asked in such a clueless way. Her hazel eyes were bewitching and her lips plumped up with worry. “Did I say something wrong?”
Rikko chuckled, “Oh beauty, you’re so gonna get a spanking. ”
I gave my friend a quick
bye and he said something about doing this another time, but now was not the time for chit chat.
“Scott. What’s going on?”
Her question lingered in the air and I knew that I couldn’t force her to leave so I said in a clipped tone that was hard to get out of my mouth because I was fuming with annoyance, anger, and frustration, “We gotta go.”
“Alright.” She munched on a fry and it took all of the meditation classes that Rikko had convinced me to attend with him in college to stop myself from just grabbing her and depositing her in the passenger seat of my car.
Clueless.
Didn’t she know how much she meant to me?
How I’d been waiting for her to give me the go-signal to take this relationship that she called nothing to the next level?
I was probably being irrational, but the rational Scott had gone out of the window the minute she called me and her nothing.
We got out of The Lounge in record time and since my condo was only ten miles away and traffic was miraculously light, we got to my place in fifteen minutes.
She talked about how cool The Lounge was.
I was hearing but not listening.
The drive to my place was good because it allowed me to get ahold of the warring feelings inside of me.
I didn’t say much, but Bridge should be used to that by now.
A few ahuhs and yeses were all I could manage.
Anything else was going to be filled with empty words that I wouldn’t even remember.
I parked my car, opened the door for her, and before her feet could hit the concrete, I lifted her over my shoulder so she was facing the world upside down.
“Scott, what are you doing?” She asked in a horrified voice.
Getting you to see straight when you’re all twisted about what we are, I said in my head. I had crossed over the edge of insanity.
All because of this woman whose ass was clamped down by my own hands.
I ignored what she was saying as the elevator ride to my fourth floor condo took forever, but as soon as I punched in the code for my place and opened the door, I finally let it all out.
In a voice that dared not to be disobeyed, I deposited her on the couch and said, “Strip.”
