His face darkened. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I won’t! Why do you think I will? That comment right there hurts even more than you saying that I’m easily manipulated!” My loud voice boomed inside the small yoga studio.
“Hey, I didn’t say you wereeasily manipulated,” he growled. “Is it bad that I’m worried that you’d get injured again? I mean you were in traction—”
“I know,” I cut him off angrily. “I’ve seen my medical records, not to mention lived through it.” In a huff, I grabbed my things and began to walk toward the door.
“Aurora!”
I spun around and wagged an accusatory finger at him. “Don’t you think this is the reason why I left Ohio? The reason why I took a year off from school? It’s because I didn’t want to deal with people like you!”
“Like me? What’s that supposed to mean? I’m looking out for you. You’re obviously too scared to compete—”
“Stop right there!” I held my hand out and gritted my teeth. “Stop acting like you know anything about me when just yesterday you were saying how we don’t know anything about each other.”
“So you’re not scared of getting hurt?”
I lifted my chin and frowned. Of course I was, but fear is something I can easily deal with. What I couldn’t deal with was the crippling anxiety I experienced any time I stepped onto the mats, not to mention the bad dreams I had almost every night.
“I won’t get hurt.” My voice cracked. “I live to compete, and this,” I flailed my arms around widely. “Is competing. Don’t ruin it for me.”
“Aurora…”
“I think we’re done today,” I murmured, spinning back around and walking out the door. The small gym already had a sprinkling of students, most of whom were too busy with their own workouts to notice my own little drama.
“Aurora!”
Ignoring him, I navigated through the aisle of exercise machines and stepped outside. I sucked in a sob and ran toward my car.
***
“You’re back.” Clemence leaned back, stretching her arms in a circular motion, subsequently swan diving forward.
“Uh, yeah.” I wiped my nostrils with the back of my hand and turned away before she could see my swollen eyes.
“Why are you crying?”
Crap.
“Uh…no reason,” I lied. “Just overwhelmed with this semester.”
“You should take up yoga. Very relaxing.” She wrapped one leg around the other and squatted down halfway while keeping her arms twisted. Her chest rose and fell with each of her loud breaths.
“Uh, yeah. I see that.” I grimaced, throwing my gym bag onto my bed. This timeI’d be the one to unpack my things.
“Are you sure this isn’t about Mitch?” she asked coolly.
I froze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, please. Do you really think I don’t know that you sneak out of here in the morning to meet him? That alarm is loud enough to wake the whole Western Hemisphere.”
“Okay, how the hell would you know that? Are you spying on me?” My voice rose a few octaves. I was completely done with Clemence.
She straightened herself, causing her mess of red curls to bounce on top of her head. She shrugged. “Small campus.”
“Mmhmm,” I replied with doubt. “Well, it’s not about him.”
“You sure about that?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She stepped off her fluorescent orange yoga mat that almost matched her bright hair and grabbed a small towel, patting herself down. “It’s public knowledge that Mitch Adachi and most of his boys are a bit on the promiscuous side.”
“You mean male sluts?” I batted my eyelashes innocently.
She pursed her lips. “That’s a totally negative and derogatory term that I’d rather choose to ignore.”
“And it means exactly what you’re trying to say about him, so I don’t really see the problem.”
She rolled her eyes, which were lined with coffee colored liner. It was smeared almost to her cheekbones. “I’m just trying to warn you about him. He’s a junior, right?”
I nodded.
“And I’m a sophomore, and in just two semesters, I’ve seen him roaming around campus with a different girl under his arm. Many different girls, should I say. He never stays with them for too long. He seems like a commitment-phobe, if you ask me. It looks as if he manipulates them into thinking relationships are bad or something.”
Manipulates. The word stuck out to me like a sore thumb.
“Well, I’m not asking you.”
She let out a willful sigh. “Suit yourself.”
Ignoring her, I pressed on. “Besides, Mitch and I are just friends…friends who are working toward a common interest.”
“Whatever you say,” she murmured doubtfully, spinning back around.
“Clemence?”
She turned at her waist. “Yes?”
“Please just stay out of my business.” I rubbed my head and groaned. “I’ve already had too many people nosing around today and I don’t need you to add onto the mess.”
Instead of being angry, a calmness spread around her eyes. Maybe she was onto something with this yoga thing after all. “Whatever you say.”
Mitch
“I come bearing gifts.” I placed a gigantic piece of cherry pie that I had swiped from Sam’s Diner in front of Aurora’s face. “It’s supposed to be the best pie in the city and I thought it’d be a great welcoming present for you.”
Aurora’s plump lips curled into a smirk. They were covered in some shiny pink gloss that made me want nothing more than to run my finger across it.
“Welcoming present or an apology?” she murmured without even looking up at me. “What even makes you think I want this? Maybe I don’t like sweets.”
I hung my head and took my usual seat in front of her at the cafeteria. The fact that I often snuck up on her while she was studying didn’t escape me, nor did the fact that she always picked the same table in the far corner alone.
“It’s a peace offering for snooping on you,” I admitted.
She straightened her shoulders and placed her arms on the table top, clasping her fingers together. “You know I really don’t care that you know, right? About my accident, I mean.”
“Okay…?”
“What I don’t like is the fact that you chose to treat me like some delicate little flower after searching for me online. How creepy can you get? And insulting. I’m not delicate.” She screeched loud enough to garner looks from neighboring tables.
I turned toward our audience and stared each of them in the face. “Have a problem?”
Fortunately for them, they knew to turn away. I may have been more of a lover than a fighter, but something about walking around in beanies, baseball caps, and wife beaters often made people wary of me.
I looked back at Aurora and frowned. “Wow. I’m sorry I was only looking out for you.”
“I don’t need looking out for!” she insisted.
We stared at each other quietly, sizing the other up. After a few beats I realized it really was my fault. She obviously wanted to forget about her accident and what did I do? Bring it back to the forefront.
“Okay, fine. You don’t need anyone to watch out for you, I get it.” I glanced down at the Styrofoam plate dripping with whip cream. I slyly reached out so that my fingers grazed the edge of the plate, running along the rim. “Well, if you don’t want this pie…”
She immediately smacked my hand away, causing me to chuckle. “Take your hand off my pie.”
“Ah, so now you want it?” I teased, knowing full well I was skating on thin ice.
“I’m starving, actually.” She grabbed the plate and looked around, frowning. “Couldn’t even give a girl a fork?”
Grinning, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a fork still wrapped in plastic. “Here you go. I always come prepared.”
She purse
d her lips and took it from me, quickly unwrapping it. Without hesitation, she plunged the plastic fork into the point of the pie, taking the scoop and placing it in her mouth. “Mmmm.”
I shifted, fully aware that my dick was waking up—hey, buddy!—as I watched her smack her mouth in full appreciation, licking the remnants of whip cream from her lips. My gaze fell on a piece of cream that was stuck on the corner of her mouth.
I cleared my throat awkwardly. “Um, you have…some…um…”
Without embarrassment, she flicked at the side of her mouth, taking off the cream with her fingertip then plunging half her finger in her mouth.
Good God, what was she trying to do to me?
I cleared my throat and lowered my hands, and as discreetly as possible tried my best to position my dick under my waistband. Didn’t need a tent waving hello as I walked through the cafeteria or anything. Realizing that watching her eat was making my boner worse, I diverted my attention and reached into my pocket, pulling out a postcard. Keeping my gaze pointed downwards, I placed it on the table and slid it in front of her.
“What’s this?” she asked with a full mouth, splattering pieces of pie all around.
Fighting the urge to cringe, I explained in a hurry. “It’s another battle.”
“Oh. So you want me to watch again?”
I nodded and blurted out, “I think you really need to go and see what everyone else is doing—oh, by the way, Craig wants you to try out for the crew in three weeks—the battle is next weekend. You should go and pick out your favorite moves to see what you want to work on.”
Well, it looks like no matter how hard I tried, Aurora still caught on.
“Three weeks? Are you serious? I can’t try out in three weeks!” Her complexion suddenly turned a hint of green. Grimacing, she pushed the pie away. “I haven’t mastered the chair flare and you want me to show Craig what I got? What the fuck?”
I reached out and placed my hand on her wrist and squeezed it reassuringly. “You got this. I promise. I know that we left things weird this morning, but if we keep at this—”
“What makes you still think I want to continue?” she interjected.
My hand froze on top of hers. “What do you mean—you don’t want to?”
She shrugged, avoiding my glare. “It’s a busy semester. Granted, it’s not as busy as yours, but I’m trying to get used to transferring and maybe I was taking on more than I could chew.”
“Aurora, please…”
She shrugged again, glancing around the cafeteria aimlessly. “Maybe this whole thing was on impulse anyway. I mean…why even do this? What’s the point of pretending I’m something I’m not?”
I shut my eyes and groaned. She was definitely a lot different than the other girls I’ve come into contact with at Cal State. For as strong as she was, she was stubborn as shit…and maybe a bit scared.
“Can you just come to this event with me?” I pleaded. “It’s this weekend and I promise I won’t treat you any different because I know about your…” I hung my head. “Can you please just go?”
She pulled her hand away from mine and propped her chin on top of it. “So you can manipulate me again?”
I shut my eyes. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
She shook her head. “Nope,” she replied with a pop of the ‘p.’
“Listen, I’m sorry I said what I said and I did what I did.”
“Sure,” she replied blandly.
I pressed on. “Let’s make a deal. Come to the battle with me, and if you decide you don’t want to do this anymore, then so be it. I won’t push it anymore.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Are you being serious?”
I nodded one. “Just…I don’t want you to miss out on something you might love because of some idiotic thing I said.”
“So you promise that if I decide I don’t want to do this, you won’t do any more of your Jedi mind tricks tomanipulate me or anything?”
“I won’t. I promise.”
She didn’t answer at first. In fact, she stabbed her fork into the pie once again and slowly, almost painstakingly, brought it to her mouth. She bit down, taking the time to pull the fork out from between her teeth.
Okay, she was definitely trying to kill me.
“Fine. I’ll go.”
“Fine. Good.”
I deserved an Oscar for the way I kept my cool despite inwardly celebrating. Figuring I should leave before she changed her mind again, or in the very least I slipped up and said something out my ass again, I nodded goodbye and was just about to leave when someone else decided to make an unannounced appearance.
“Hey, Mitchie,” a velvety voice cooed in my ear. My breath caught, feeling a pair of moist lips touch my ear. “Haven’t seen you in forever.”
There’s a reason for that.
The girl whose name was…um…wait, I know this. Shelly? Arden? Crystal? Well, whoeverit wasbent down low so her cleavage was in my periphery. I tried to keep my eyes facing forward, but couldn’t help noticing the way the top of her breasts bounced along with each breath she took.
Aurora was definitely not amused and the asshole part of me liked that.
“Will I be seeing you at the battle this weekend?” she cooed, throwing evil looks in Aurora’s direction.
Damn, did I really used to think this whole seductive mess was sexy? Right now it just seemed pathetic.
“Uh, yeah, of course. I never miss a battle.” I shifted away, making it known I was not in the mood for company…or extra company, rather.
Miffed, the girl who shall forever be known as “nameless,” straightened herself and left in a huff. Aurora looked after her, shaking her head.
“What?” I didn’t need to ask, because I already knew.
“That’s the second girl I’ve seen you with in about a week.” She shoved another piece of pie into her mouth and narrowed her eyes at me. “You are a player, sir. A definite player.”
“No, I’m not.” I’m just anti-relationship.
“What’s her name then?” she leaned forward, eyeing me pointedly. I tried to think of a comeback, something witty—anything—but there was something about the way her hazel eyes twinkled that made my mind feel all jumbled up.
“It’s…not important,” I finally replied as I cleared my throat.
“Right.”
Knowing I was fighting a losing battle, I tried to change the subject. “So we’re on for this weekend, right? You’ll be coming with me?”
“Like a date you have with all your girls?” Her voice sounded almost monotone.
“It’s not a date,” I insisted, despite the slight dip in my stomach. “It’s just two people going on a non-date for educational purposes.”
A strained laugh escaped her lips. “Great way to describe it.”
My eyebrows furrowed together, but I tried my best to ignore her weirdness. “I’ll drive.”
“Why do you have to drive?” she snapped.
“Because your aqua colored car is ugly as hell. Can’t have it distracting me before competition.” I paused and lifted my eyebrows. “So is that a yes?”
She rolled her eyes but nodded. “Fine, whatever. Just don’t ignore me once you’re there.”
“Why would I ignore you?” I asked in confusion.
“Also promise me that home girl over there won’t be joining us.” Her mouth curled disapprovingly as she pointed at Nameless, who was still staring daggers at us from across the cafeteria.
Laughing, I nodded. “That is a promise I am willing to keep.”
Aurora
Was I stupid or something?
One moment I was ready to tear Mitch’s head off and the next I was trying my hardest to primp for our “non-date,” which incidentally was a name I loathed.
I gripped my shower caddy, careful not to drop my sopping loofah bar, and pushed the door open to my dorm room, only to let out a startled yelp. “Ahh! What the heck?”
I fell back, shielding my ey
es from whatever the hell was going on in between the two desks in the room. Clemence and some tall brunette were in the middle of…I honestly don’t know what they were in the middle of. The strange girl was sprawled on her back while lifting Clemence in the air, who in turn was bending her body in some weird arching motion.
At the sound of my yell, Clemence rolled her eyes and immediately jumped out of the girl’s arms. “Hey, Aurora.”
“What the fuck, dude?” I yelped, grabbing my towel tightly against my chest. “If you’re going to mess around and do some weird Kama Sutra stuff, can you please hang a sock on the door or something? It’s what normal roommates do.”
The girl rolled into a seated position and laughed. “We’re not lesbians.”
I held my free hand up. “Hey, I don’t judge. It’s cool if you roll like that.”
This time Clemence giggled. “No, really. We’re just yoga partners.”
“Yoga partners,” I repeated dumbly.
With a teasing look, Clemence bent her face toward the girl, who in turn planted a soft kiss on her lips.
My eyes bugged out. “Seriously, can you two get a room—another room?”
“We’re only teasing.” The girl hopped to her feet and walked over to me, extending her hand. “My name’s Katy.”
I shook her hand, though I felt completely weirded out. “Aurora.”
“Pretty name.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, shifting uncomfortably in my towel. “Do you guys mind? I need to change and…um.”
Katy rolled her eyes. “We’re not going to watch. Shit, we have the same exact parts.”
Clemence snickered. “Why are you in such a hurry? It’s a Saturday.”
I knew she probably meant the question as an honest conversation starter, but I still felt rather uncomfortable telling her anything about my personal life when I obviously didn’t know much about her.
Oh, well. It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t find out, seeing as Cal State was a “small campus.”
“I’m going to the battle over in North County and I sort of took too long showering.” Ugh. I sounded so pathetic.
As expected, Clemence lifted an eyebrow. “With Mitch?”
Breaking Promises (B-Boy #1) Page 8
