by Sarah Adams
Clarissa almost kissed his neck, but stopped herself. She didn’t want to distract him while he was driving and certainly not when they were without helmets. If she was going to keep getting on the bike with him, she was going to have to buy a helmet. Maybe she’d buy one for him too, but would he wear it? She’d worry about getting him to wear it after she figured out how she was going to pay for them.
As they turned onto South Avenue Clarissa could hear the rain chasing them. Skull throttled up and she squeaked, fearing that his fast driving and the oncoming rain were going to be the death of her. Clarissa let out a sigh of relief when the bike came to a clean stop in her parking lot. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder roared right on its heels.
“Come on,” Clarissa laughed and grabbed his hand, “Let’s get inside. You don’t want to drive in this weather.”
Clarissa didn’t tell him that she didn’t want him driving in this weather, especially since he didn’t have a helmet. She hadn’t known him long enough to worry about him or so she told herself.
“Ooh!” he teased, “I’m being invited into the library.”
Clarissa was confused for a minute, but then frowned when she realized he was making yet another reference to the fact she liked to read.
“Cut it out!” Clarissa said turning on him, “Stop calling me bookworm and stop acting like it’s a bad thing I like to read!”
“I just think you could be doing more interesting things,” Skull chuckled.
“Like what?” she asked and rolled her eyes.
“I’ll tell you once we get inside out of the rain,” he said.
Momentarily distracted from her anger, Clarissa remembered that the rain was pouring down upon them. The soles of her shoes were squishy against her feet and her clothes were plastered to her body. She looked up at Skull and blushed. The sight of his black hair dripping water and his t-shirt plastered to his well-muscled chest caused Clarissa to rub her thighs together and bite her lip. Maybe she shouldn’t have invited him inside. Maybe he was getting the wrong idea about her.
“Are we going inside or not?” Skull shouted over the rain as its torrents grew louder and heavy streams of water pelted them.
“Come on,” Clarissa said and turned to go inside.
The lobby of Clarissa’s apartment building was normally kept cool, but today it was freezing. She was soaked and the cool air playing on her skin made her nipples hard. Clarissa quickly began the familiar sprint to the elevators, but nearly slipped. Skull’s hand wrapped around her arm and didn’t let go until she had her balance. Clarissa felt her blush deepen.
“Stop it!” she told herself, “Be an adult about this. You’re no longer a giggling teenager. You’re a grown woman. You can a boy, no I mean, a man in your apartment without acting like a total fool.”
She pressed the white button with the bold black arrow pointing up and crossed her arms as they waited, hoping that Skull hadn’t noticed that her nipples were hard and pushing against the fabric of her bra and shirt. One of the little peaks sent sparks of pleasure through her when she shifted her weight and her arms brushed against it. She bit her lip and mentally shook herself.
“Thanks for catching me,” Clarissa grinned, trying to think of anything but how cute Skull’s dimples were.
“Not a problem,” he laughed, “I think they laid slip and slide tiles in this lobby.”
Clarissa giggled and watched the light change from number to number, indicating where in the building the elevator was. She bounced on the balls of her feet, impatient to strip off her wet clothes and wrap up in her cotton robe.
The elevator doors finally opened and Clarissa quickly entered the small box, with Skull following. She pushed the shiny number four button and closed her eyes. Clarissa didn’t like elevators. There was something about the small metal box moving on a series of cables that made her nervous. How come with all their technology engineers couldn’t invent something better. Okay, they had, but Clarissa didn’t like escalators either. She didn’t open her eyes until she heard the elevator doors open. Clarissa glanced at Skull thankful that he hadn’t made a jab at her about her dislike of the elevator.
She kicked off her shoes and carried them down the hardwood hallway. Clarissa didn’t want to risk slipping again. Her wet feet felt much more stable the soles of her shoes were. She unlocked the door, but stopped Skull from passing.
“No wet shoes on my carpet,” she said, “I plan on having my security deposit returned to me at the end of my lease.”
“You know no one ever sees that money again, right?” he asked, but knelt down to unlace his boots anyway. Clarissa waited somewhat impatiently as he took off his boots.
“Leave them in the hall,” she said pointing to the spot where she had already set her own flats.
“Do you know how expensive they are?” Skull asked.
“No one wants to steal your boots,” Clarissa said and rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help to grin. She was the female and that meant she should have been the one obsessed over her shoes, but it was sort of cute to watch Skull worry about his boots, “They’ll be fine, I promise.”
“Fine,” Skull sighed and reluctantly sat his boots next to Clarissa’s flats.
For a moment Clarissa almost changed her mind and told him to just throw them into the kitchen, that floor was tiled. What would her neighbors think when they saw a pair of boots, that clearly belonged to a man, sitting outside of her apartment? She didn’t have much time to dwell upon her worries, because Skull was already walking into her apartment forcing her to quickly follow behind him.
“You can dry off in the bathroom,” Clarissa said as she shut and locked the door, “Towels are in the cabinet on the right. I’m going to my room to change.”
As Clarissa peeled off her wet clothes she felt her body warming. She had forgotten to grab a towel before heading into the bedroom so she made do with the small towel she had used on her hair this morning. She dried quickly before slipping into a clean and dry pair of jeans and a light blue tank top. Clarissa rubbed her nipples to ensure the tiny nubs lay flat and didn’t peak up visibly through her clothing.
After a few minutes of digging through her closet she slipped into her favorite black fuzzy house shoes, but quickly changed them out for a pair of ankle socks. Clarissa knew that the fuzzy slippers would only give Skull a reason to tease her. So if he was such a pain in the ass and a bully, why had she allowed him into her apartment? Clarissa told herself that she was just being nice, but she knew it was more than that. She was more than a little attracted to the jerk.
“Oh my God!” she mouthed to her pale reflection in the mirror as she ran a comb through her brown hair, “I’m becoming one of those weird girls who fall for the bad boys, but more than that I’m falling for the bully. Is this like Stockholm Syndrome or something?” Clarissa shook the thought away, “Stockholm Syndrome is something differently entirely. He hasn’t kidnapped me or anything.”
Clarissa laughed despite herself and sat the comb back on the dresser.
“What are you giggling about in there?” Skull’s voice called from the other side of the door and startled Clarissa. Lost to her own thoughts she hadn’t heard him leave the bathroom.
“Nothing,” Clarissa said, trying to sound more composed that she felt. It had been a while since she felt this giddy about anything, but she couldn’t let him know how much liked him. Guys like him always used it to their advantage and Clarissa refused to be anyone’s pawn. She glanced at her reflection one last time and headed out into the living room. Skull was sitting on the sofa and for a moment Clarissa wasn’t sure what she was seeing. When her eyes finally made sense of the scene in front of her she had to fight back a giggle fit.
Skull was sitting on the sofa in her fuzzy black robe.
“Hey, do you think I can throw my clothes in your dryer or something?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure, it’s this way,” she said and walked away. Now that she was facing away from him she le
t herself crack a smile. His tall, muscular frame stretched the fabric of her robe at odd angles and only came down to his knees, although when Clarissa wore it the hem trailed along the floors.
Clarissa walked into the laundry room without thinking and turned to find herself closer to Skull than she trusted herself to be. She looked up at him and gave him what she hoped was just a friendly smile.
“You do know how to work a dryer, right?” she asked.
“Duh,” Skull rolled eyes and swung the door to the dryer open.
“Be careful!” she warned.
Clarissa was always a little nervous when other people touched her expensive belongings. You never could tell when one just might break down and if someone else was to use it, she knew she’d blame them. If something of hers broke, she wanted to be the only one to blame. She silently prayed that the dryer would survive and led Skull back into the kitchen.
“Soda?” she said opening the fridge.
“Sure,” Skull said and held up his hand from across the kitchen.
It took Clarissa a moment to realize that he meant for her to toss it to him. She held the can tightly debating on whether or not to toss it. Her aim had never been great and she wasn’t in the mood to clean up a mess. Skull wiggled his fingers to signal that he was ready to catch it, but Clarissa slid it across the counter instead.
For a moment it bobbed on the edge and she feared that her way wasn’t the safer alternative to tossing a can across the room, but Skull’s hand appeared around it just as it began to fall. Clarissa let out a sigh of relief and retrieved a can for herself before heading into the living room.
She sat down on her the left end of the sofa, which was her favorite spot to rest, read, or just sit, and curled her feet under her and nested her back into the arm of the sofa. She normally would face the other way, but it seemed rude to turn her back to Skull, after all, he was a guest in her home.
Skull grinned at Clarissa and she blushed. Her eyes darted around the room and settled on her bookshelf. It was too far away for her to make out the titles, but she knew where all of her books were. She mentally listed them in their shelving order trying to not think of how cute the guy at sitting on the other end of the sofa was.
Clarissa looked away, closed her eyes, and did not open them until she had taken a few deep breaths. She wasn’t sure what mystical force was drawing her to Skull, but she was going to blame it on her hormones. It was lust and the rain nothing more. She imagined that even cave people driven inside by the rain were drawn to the warmth of another body.
“More interesting things, eh?” she asked, hoping that Skull didn’t turn it into some perverted punch line.
“Yea, well there’s motorcycles for one,” Skull chuckled.
“Yea, okay,” Clarissa nodded, “Nearly getting killed because we’re not wearing helmets, isn’t fun.”
“We didn’t nearly get killed, but if it bothers you that much why don’t you buy a helmet?” Skull asked.
“I just might,” Clarissa said and crossed her arms.
“You don’t have to be so snippy about it, Bookworm,” he chuckled.
“Don’t you understand how dangerous it is?” Clarissa demanded.
“Fine! I’ll find you a helmet to wear before I take you out again,” Skull sighed.
“And what about yourself?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Clarissa didn’t want to let Skull know how much she worried about him, out there on the streets and highways riding that damnable bike without the proper safety equipment.
Clarissa arched an eyebrow, but Skull didn’t answer her question. He moved closer to her so that his face was just inches from her own. She wondered if he’d kiss her again, but then decided not to take the chance that he wouldn’t. Clarissa leaned forward slightly and brushed her lips against Skull’s. They were soft and warm against hers. Their lips moved hesitantly together. Clarissa had never initiated a kiss before, but she found it to be easier than she had thought. Skull’s tongue slipped past her lips and into her mouth. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she moved into his lap. Clarissa ran her fingers through his hair and pressed her body close to his.
Skull cupped her ass cheeks and gave them a firm squeeze causing a soft moan to escape Clarissa’s lips. She ground her hips against his and the movement sent small bolts of pleasure through her body. Skull’s hand slid under her shirt and brushed against the bottom of her breast. Clarissa blushed and pulled away.
“We gotta stop,” she said and slid back onto her part of the sofa, hugging her knees to her chest and looked down at her feet.
“You okay, Bookworm?” Skull asked.
Clarissa rolled her eyes without looking up at him. That was one reason she stopped the action. It was getting too close to the down and dirty and she wasn’t going to give her first time up to a guy who didn’t know how to quit being a jerk.
“That’s not my name,” Clarissa said and walked back into the kitchen.
Clarissa leaned her head against the refrigerator and took a deep breath. Her pulse was racing and she could feel its vibrations throughout her body. She hadn’t wanted to pull away from Skull, but she wasn’t going to let her hormones get the better of her.
Clarissa heard the kitchen door creak and knew Skull had joined her. She was afraid to look up at him, because she didn’t know what to say and she wasn’t quite sure he wasn’t going to push the issue. If he was that big of a jerk he’d find himself kicked out on his butt, rain pounding the pavement or not.
“It’s okay, Bookworm,” he said.
Clarissa turned to face him, determined to tear him a new one and tell him to get the hell out of her house, but she came face to face with his brown eyes and couldn’t.
“Look we can just chill and watch television or something,” Skull shrugged.
“I don’t own a television,” Clarissa sighed, “I don’t watch it, it rots your brain.”
“Do you really believe that?” Skull laughed.
“I do,” Clarissa said, trying to resist the urge to ramble on about everything she hated about it, “it bores me to tears.”
“You must not be watching the right things,” Skull chuckled.
His laugh vibrated through the room and she almost agreed with him, but Clarissa wasn’t going to lie just because she was attracted to him.
“I don’t like it, okay?” she smirked.
“That’s why you’re Bookworm,” he laughed.
“Because I don’t like television?” Clarissa laughed.
Skull shrugged, but didn’t say anything else. For a few minutes they stood trying to avoid making eye contact. Clarissa focused at a discolored spot on the far wall. It had always annoyed her, but today she was glad to have something besides Skull to concentrate on.
“Hey, I’m going out to a bar tomorrow night, would you like to come?” Skull asked.
“I don’t drink,” Clarissa said, biting her tongue so she didn’t say she was still a year and a half too young to drink.
“Neither do I, well, at least not there,” Skull chuckled, “but we can still go hangout.”
“I don’t have to work tomorrow night, so all right,” Clarissa said.
“I’ll pick you up at five?” he asked.
“Bring helmets or we’ll walk,” Clarissa smirked.
“Pushy,”
Skull grinned and stole another kiss before heading to the dryer to retrieve his clothes.
Clarissa washed up dishes from the night before while she waited for Skull to get dressed. Her cheeks flushed pink when she thought about him being nude in her bathroom again.
“See ya later, Bookworm!” he called out and Clarissa heard the front door shut behind him.
Clarissa knew she'd could go out and tell him goodbye. Skull would have to pause to put his boots on, but not wanting to seem overly interested she decided against it.
Chapter Four
Clarissa stood in her closet wrapped in her favorite towel. She shifted the clothes around trying to d
ecide what to wear tonight. She had never been to a bar before and wasn’t quite sure what you were supposed to wear. Normally, she’d ring up Julie, but she still hadn’t forgiven her for the scene at the mall. Besides what would she tell her bestie?
‘Hey, Julie, I’m going out with Skull tonight. Yea, he’s taking me to a bar and I have no clue what to wear. Wanna come over and help me pick something out?’
That wouldn’t go over well at all. Julie had always flitted from guy to guy, but had a mental ideal of the type of man she wanted to marry. She also thought that her ideal man would be good for Clarissa, too. Although, since Justin had fit most of the qualities of Julie’s checklist, Clarissa wasn’t so sure she was buying into it. He had left her just so he could sleep around at college without feeling guilty.
Clarissa stepped further into the closet and pushed her large selections of skirts out of the way. She didn’t want to have to try to keep a skirt from blowing up in the wind while she was cuddled up to Skull’s back. Clarissa had always preferred skirts to pants, so her selection of jeans provided slim pickings. Her phone buzzed signaling it was fifteen to five. Clarissa always set her phone to give her a fifteen minute warning. Without it, she was always running late. Clarissa pulled a pair of acid wash jeans from their hanger and slipped into them.
“Now for the hard part,” she sighed, “I still have to find a top.”
A knock on the door startled her and she scraped the heel of her foot on the doorway.
“Just a minute!” she called out, trying not to sound as anxious as she felt. Why the hell did he have to show up early? She hurriedly fastened her favorite bra into place and pulled a black tank over her head. She ran her fingers through her hair and glanced at her reflection.
“Hey,” Clarissa said as she opened the door.
“Hey,” Skull grinned at her. Clarissa glanced over him quickly, trying not to make her attraction obvious. Today he wore a pair of black denims that had chains attached to either leg and a black tee that did little to hide his fit chest and abs. When her eyes glanced over Skull’s hands she realized he was holding two helmets.
