“You scared me.” My voice was barely above a whisper. I wondered if he could hear the hint of desire it held.
“Sorry.” He licked his lips, an innocent act, yet oh so sexy. “It’s good to see you can take care of yourself though.”
“At the, um, campus safety…thingy, they showed us some self-defense moves.”
He chuckled, the vibration of his body caused an involuntary shiver. “Is that what that was? I was wondering when you’d earned your black belt.”
We shared a laugh before easing into an uncomfortable silence. This was too much. The heat, the friction, and the ever growing dampness in my panties. I couldn’t take it. Reaching up, I shoved him to the side and into the sand, then sat up and pulled my knees to my chest.
Jay followed suit, and nudged me with his shoulder. “Now you’re just being a bully.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, then rested my chin on my knees. We should’ve been running, but instead sat staring out at the lake. A setting that was all too familiar.
Music cut into the silence, coming from Jay’s pocket, but he paid it no mind.
“Are you going to answer your phone?”
The music continued to play as he reached in his pocket and silenced the ringer. “It’d be rude of me to take a call while we’re hanging out.”
“What if it’s Brooke?” I didn’t have to guess, it was the same ringtone as when she’d called before.
A frown claimed his face and he shook his head. “Trust me, she’ll call back.”
This now made it twice that he’d ignored her calls in my presence. Sickness churned in my stomach. Here I was lusting after a man who wasn’t mine, and plotting ways to make it so. Exactly what I swore I wouldn’t do. That put me barely a step above his adulterous girlfriend. I was awful. I glanced at Jay from the corner of my eye, knowing I needed to try to reign in my desire and quit flirting with him. If he ended things with Brooke I’d be more than happy, but I couldn’t continue to try to manipulate the situation. I wanted him to be with me in his own time, not from me flaunting my body in his face. Lust was not love.
I stood and stretched, reminding myself that good things came to those who waited. Jay was definitely worth a little extra patience. “Ready to run?”
He climbed to his feet and looked down at me with a smirk. “How about we make it interesting?”
“How so?”
“First one to complete their laps wins.”
“And the winner gets?”
Taking a step away from me, he winked. “Loser buys breakfast.” With that he took off down the beach, getting a head start.
I ran after him, giggling. “Get back here, cheater.”
~ ♥ ~
Leaning back in the booth across from Jay, I relished the feeling of the cool AC on my damp skin. In hindsight we probably should have gone back to the dorms to shower before going to eat, but we were both starving. I was thankful that he hadn’t chosen the seat next to me. After a long run I was never exactly daisy fresh.
Jay laid his menu down and took a sip of his water. “What are you getting into later...loser?”
I stuck my tongue out at him then shrugged, running the tip of my finger along the condensation on my glass. “Probably just hanging with Cam. That is unless she finds a party to go to.”
“You should come over. We can finally break the seal on that Donkey Kong game.”
That made me smile. I’d wanted to try it out for weeks, but there were always things to do. “Can’t wait.”
When the waiter came to place our orders I found myself staring. Not out of attraction, but there was something familiar about him. It wasn’t until he greeted me that I remembered.
“Hey there, Red.”
Haikeem.
I also recalled his rude ‘troll’ comment the first time we’d met. Smiling politely, I waited for him to take our orders.
He glanced at Jay, then turned his attention to me. “What can I get you?” He poised his pencil over his note pad, and stared down at me. Well, it was more like his eyes devoured me, making me all too aware of how exposed I was.
Jay clanked his glass down on the table, glaring at our server. “Hey buddy, those are not her eyes.”
Haikeem eyed Jay for a moment, sizing him up. They were about the same build, but Jay had a few inches on him.
Jay didn’t back down, he leaned against his seat with his arms folded, flexing his bulging biceps.
Hubba hubba.
Haikeem was the first to break their staring contest when he glanced over at me, then back to Jay. “My bad, I didn’t mean to ogle your girl. Can’t say I’m not envious though, she’s beautiful.”
Jay arched a brow, his eyes darting over to me for a split second. “If you don’t mind, we’d like to place our orders now.”
We told Haikeem what we wanted, and he went on his merry way.
I faced Jay with an arched brow and a smirk. “Well aren’t we chivalrous?”
As deep as his dimples sank, were it not for his chocolate complexion, I’m sure he’d have turned a deep shade of red. “Thank my parents for raising a gentleman.”
“I’ll be sure to do that.” I’d just opened my mouth to ask about his mom when someone slid into the booth next to him. I’d only seen her once the day I’d run into Jay, but the memory was vivid. She was a dash lighter than Benji’s caramel color with silky black hair hanging well past her shoulders.
She leaned over and planted a kiss right on Jay’s dimple while watching me from the corner of her eye. “Hey, sexy.”
The smile fell from Jay’s face as he turned to face his girlfriend. “Brooke, what are doing here?”
Her mouth twisted into a crooked smile as she eyed me. “I saw you sitting here and decided to join.” She faced him, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she did. “You don’t mind, right? Seeing that the two of you are just...friends.” Her eyes connected with mine on the last word of her sentence, making sure I knew that Jay would never belong to me.
Jay gave me an apologetic look, but I shifted my gaze away from him. My heart wrenched, the connective tissues ripping away inch by excruciating inch. I wanted to leave, to run back to my dorm and sit beneath my shower so no one could see the tears that flowed from a love I would never have. But I couldn’t let Brooke have the satisfaction of seeing me crumble.
She waved Haikeem back to our table to take her order.
His brows knitted together as he eyed the three of us. When his gaze landed on Jay, whose eyes were downcast, he shook his head.
Brooke talked Jay’s ear off while we waited for our food to arrive. I drowned her out while sorting through a list of excuses I could make for leaving.
Haikeem brought our food over, still giving Jay the stink eye. I had to admit, it was sort of nice to have someone on my side in the matter.
My French toast was flavorless, but I swallowed it down anyway. It almost came back up as I listened to Brooke’s baby voice while she tried to force feed Jay a bite of her banana caramel pancakes. I kind of wished they’d both choke on them.
I don’t even know why I was mad at Jay. It wasn’t like he’d done anything wrong by having a girlfriend. They were together before I got here and I was a fool for reading more into Jay’s playfulness at the lake, or his looking at me the day before. I’d created this entire secret flirtation in my mind without Jay giving me the slightest inkling of interest. Yes, I was a fool, and my own worst nightmare...the girl pining after a guy who would never feel the same.
I let my fork drop to the plate, and pulled out my wallet. Screw an excuse. I stood and tossed a couple bills on the table, which were more than enough.
Jay looked up at me with a frown. “Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“We still on for DK later?”
I glanced over at Brooke, who sat there with a smirk on her face, and shrugged. “Maybe, I’ll call you.”
I turned and headed for the door, my chest inflating for having the cou
rage to walk away from a painful situation. When I reached for the knob a hand shot out and opened the door for me. I looked up and was met with Haikeem’s smiling face. “Thanks.”
“No problem, Red.”
I went to leave but he grabbed my hand, pulling me back. “Hey, that guy’s an idiot. A blind man could see you’re way better than her. She looks like a chipmunk with a bad weave.”
I nearly doubled over in laughter at how I’d been thinking the same thing.
Haikeem’s smile grew wider, flashing a set of pearly whites. There were no dimples to go with it, but a gorgeous smile no less. “That’s what I like to see. Don’t ever let anyone steal your joy, especially someone who doesn’t deserve you.”
I reached for a strand of my hair before remembering I had it tied back.
Haikeem leaned against the doorframe, watching me. “I wanted to apologize for earlier. I wasn’t trying to come off pervy staring at you that way, I just find you extremely beautiful.”
I felt the heat rising in my cheeks at his compliment and tried to fight the smile that was forming. “Thank you.”
“You don’t even know it, do you?”
My gaze lifted, searching his hazel eyes. “Know what?”
“That you’re easily the most gorgeous woman on campus.”
I dropped my gaze to his name tag, his stare was way too intense. He needed to stop with the compliments before someone called an ambulance thinking I was having an allergic reaction.
His thumb caressed my fingers, reminding me that he was still holding onto my hand. “I know you’ll probably shoot me down, but I have to ask. Can I call you?”
I held his gaze for a moment, biting the corner of my bottom lip, and forcing myself not to glance back at Jay and Brooke. The last thing I wanted to see was her tongue shoved down his throat again.
Snagging Haikeem’s notepad and pen from his apron pocket, I scribbled down my number, then handed it back. It was about time I moved on. Five years was long enough.
Eight
Jay
Why was she talking to him?
Mr. Staring Problem stood at the door grinning at Gabi. He had better not be hitting on her or I was going to hit him. I’d knock those eyes he couldn’t seem to keep to himself to the back of his skull.
Was she – she was laughing? I had to refrain myself from rocketing from my seat when she took his note pad and wrote something on it. It’d better say ‘go to hell’. She couldn’t be – she gave him the paper back, along with a shy smile, before turning to leave.
Sir Stares-a-lot locked eyes with me and smirked. My fist clenched, itching to knock that smug look off of his face. Gabi didn’t need to be anywhere around him. I could smell a douche from a mile away, and he stunk of it. Gabi was too good for a guy like him. Hell, Gabi was too good for anybody. Gabi was– I had to stop thinking about Gabi. She’d been running through my mind since out meet up at the lake.
When I’d pinned her, the sexual tension had been palpable. I’d actually been thankful when she’d pushed me off, because in a few seconds my arousal would’ve been evident. What the hell was going on with me? Being that way with my best friend should’ve felt wrong. Well, in a way it did, but only because I felt I was betraying Brooke somehow. It wasn’t my intention to do so, but whenever I was around Gabi it was like the rational part of my brain shut down. I kept finding myself wanting to hold her close before realizing friends didn’t do that. She was my friend. Just my friend. Only my friend. My gorgeous, kind-hearted, silly, and incredibly sexy friend.
Dammit. Everything was so muddled, I felt like banging my head against a brick wall. My own thoughts drove me mad. Why couldn’t your brain ever do what you told it to? Like to stop thinking about Gabi. Stop it. Now…ughhh
I leaned back against the booth and closed my eyes.
“Jay. Are you listening to me?”
I rolled my head to the left and looked at Brooke. “What?”
“I said, let’s do something today.”
“Uh,” her mouth had moved but I hadn’t a clue to her words. I loosened the grip on my fork, a deep indentation marked my hand from holding it so tight.
“Jay!”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go on a date.”
“A date?” What was she even talking about? We hadn’t been out on an actual date since our senior year in high school. We hung out sure, watched movies at the dorm, or hit up Angelo’s every once in a while, but I wouldn’t really call any of that a date.
“Yes, a date, silly.” She tapped the tip of my nose and smiled.
This was weird.
I studied her for a moment. The smile seemed genuine, no fangs, but I knew better. She had to be up to something. “Okay, I’ll bite. Where to?” I supposed it wouldn’t hurt to hang out with her for the day, she was my girlfriend after all, and I had promised to try.
She smiled again, lacing her fingers through mine. “Oh, I have something I mind.”
Sir Stares-a-lot brought over our bill, eyeing me as he did. The look he gave me turned my blood to lava. This guy didn’t know how close he was to losing a tooth, or three. I kept my cool and counted out exact change to cover the remainder of the bill. No tip.
After we got ready for our ‘date’, Brooke tried to talk me into letting her drive. My answer was a resounding no. I was the only person who’d ever driven my car, and I planned to keep it that way. Not to mention Brooke’s well known issues with traffic laws.
She pouted in the passenger seat while giving me directions to wherever she had in mind.
I had to admit, I was kind of excited when we reached our destination. “The State Fair?”
Her smile was a mile wide as she wiggled in her seat. “It’s the last day before they close for the season. I thought it’d be fun.”
Brooke bounced as we walked hand in hand, deciding what to do first. The lines were extra-long, seeing that after today the fair was packing up until the next year.
My body stiffened as Brooke leaned against me swaying to the music while we waited in line. I tried to enjoy the moment and trust that she was being sincere, but I knew her too well.
After a few rides I slowly set my mind at ease. Being with her wasn’t that bad after all. We tried to make it on all the rides but the wait was just ridiculous, so we ended up playing a few games, and then grabbed some food.
Close to the end of the night she dragged me onto the carousel and climbed up on the horse. I stood next to her holding onto the pole with the stuffed bear I’d won her tucked beneath my arm.
“Do you remember this ride?” She leaned forward, resting her cheek against my hand as the carousel started up.
I did. It was our earliest and happiest moment. The state fair had been our unofficial first date. We’d known each other from around school, but had never spoken. Opening night of the fair we’d both been here with friends. She’d wanted to go on a ride that her friends didn’t, so she’d grabbed the nearest person, me, and dragged me on with her. We spent the rest of the night hanging out, and right before closing, Brooke, bold as usual, had kissed me.
“I remember you.” Running the pad of my thumb over her cheek, I tried to recall where it had all gone wrong. Brooke hadn’t always been so bitchy and spiteful, had she? Was I blinded by love or had she really changed from the girl I’d met my senior year of high school? Curious, I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. No sparks flew, but it was somewhat nice feeling that closeness with her again. I wanted to make things work with her, but fear kept me at arm’s length. She’d torn my heart to shreds the first time. I still wasn’t sure if I should trust her again, but was trying so bad? I reminded myself of the promise I’d made to her to do that, and the one I’d made to myself to not break another promise, to anyone.
We ended up at her dorm instead of mine. She hadn’t wanted to risk Benji being there. Wild sex was a great ending to our date. Since our first time Brooke had been aggressive in bed, she loved taking control. Who was
I to complain?
She lay draped over my chest fast asleep while I stared up at the dark ceiling. It was strange, things almost felt normal, but I couldn’t help wondering how long it would last.
~ ♥ ~
Shit. I stared down at my phone the next morning. Two missed calls from Gabi. Caught up in my date, playing DK with her had completely slipped my mind. It was a little past eight, which meant she’d be in class now, and I had one right after. I wouldn’t be able to call her until well into the afternoon. I sent her a quick, apologetic text, hoping she didn’t hate me for standing her up.
When noon rolled around, I finally caught up with Gabi in the cafeteria. She, Cam, and Benji were all sitting together. Cam was rolling her eyes at Benji, probably another of his inappropriate comments.
I strolled over and took a seat next to Benji. “Did I miss the lunch memo?”
Gabi barely glanced up at me from her phone. “Hey.”
Hey? That’s all I got? “Did you get my text?” I had no doubt she did as deep as her nose was in her phone.
“Yes.”
“And?”
She finally gave me her full attention. “And what?”
“You’re not mad that I missed our gaming session?”
Her brows kitted together, her lips curling into a frown. “Why would I be? It’s just a game.”
I held her gaze for a moment. She’d been going on about that game for weeks. No way was she fine with me flaking on her. “Okay...what’s going on with you?”
Cam giggled, gnawing on a french-fry. “She’s got a new boo.”
Gabi nudged her shoulder. “Hush, I do not.” Her cheeks lit up, and she tucked a piece of hair between her lips. Liar.
I placed my forearms on the table and leaned closer to her. “What’s his name?”
“Nunya.”
“Who?”
“As is Nunya beeswax.”
Cam leaned her head back, cracking up, and Benji snickered beside me. I didn’t find the matter at all humorous. “Seriously, who is he?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Nosy.”
Excuse Me, First Love (College Daze #1) Page 8
