by Lisa Simmons
“What?! You slept with him? Did you know him before that?” she asked, her expression incredulous. I couldn’t miss the hint of surprise and pride, either- she was impressed. “No,” I admitted, dropping my head in my hands before taking a guilty sideways glance at her.
“Wow,” she said. “Wow. Damn, Abigail.”
I was relieved when she laughed, taking my news much better than I expected.
“So what does this have to do with Jack?” she asked.
“Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but pretty much every party we go to I end up... disappearing with Reece. Again,” I replied sheepishly. “You’ve slept with him more than once?” she asked, her mouth falling open in amusement. She was taking this much better than I had expected, especially after her warning that he was a player. “Yeah,” I admitted. “And I stayed with him last night so he dropped me off this morning and... kissed me goodbye, which is what Jack saw and why he was so mad.”Realization washed over Emily’s features as the puzzle pieces started to fit together.
“Ohhhh,” she said. “That makes sense now.”
“Yeah, so he wasn’t too pleased when he came to ask me to go to breakfast and saw me kissing someone else and it was pretty clear I’d stayed with him.”“Oh, please, Jack can fuck off. You’re a grown ass, single woman and you can do whatever the hell you want,” she said indignantly, waving her hand in annoyance at Jack. “Yeah, try telling that to Jack,” I scoffed, the fear subsiding now that he wasn’t breathing down my neck. “He’s kind of unstable, Emily.”She frowned. “I know. Just... I dunno, try to never end up alone with him, you know?”
I nodded. That would work, in theory, but he had a habit of turning up out of nowhere when I was alone.
“Yeah, I’ll try.”
“Good. Okay so what’s the deal with Reece? Are you guys like fuck buddies, or what?” she pressed, eager to know more about our mysterious situation. I blushed.
“Um... kind of,” I admitted. “But... I think I like him, Emily.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “No, Abigail, you can’t like him, he’s such a player!”
“Yeah, but... you don’t understand. It’s like I’m constantly drawn to him or like I’m on fire or... I don’t even know. I can’t stay away from him,” I said, trying and miserably failing to describe the connection between Reece and I.
She shook her head firmly, looking at me like I was crazy. “Abigail, that’s his game! Make you feel like you have this connection then he gets what he wants and leaves.”“But he hasn’t left yet, Emily, he... he’s different than you think,” I said, feeling a need to defend him. She looked at me with an extremely skeptical look on her face.
“I don’t know, Abigail...”
“He’s the one who asked me to stay the night, twice now, does that sound like a player to you?”
“Not really,” she admitted. There were so many things I could tell her, like how he’d nearly hooked up with two different girls during our entire ‘relationship’, but I decided to leave them out as they wouldn’t really help my case to prove he wasn’t a player. “We’re gonna go on a date, too,” I told her. “Like an actual date, and he’s never done that before.”
She looked impressed and surprised at this news. “Really?”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “I’m so scared though.”
“Why are you scared?” she asked, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.
“Because! Look how awful everything has turned out with Jack,” I said, waving my arms toward our door as if he would be standing there glaring at me. “Well yeah, but that doesn’t mean Reece will be like that,” she said. “Granted, I don’t have a whole lot of faith in it because of his... past, but you never know.”I was surprised at her defense of Reece, her attitude turning completely around in a few minutes.
“True...”
“You can’t punish him for something he hasn’t even done yet,” she added. She was right- I was scared to get close to him because of something Jack had done, and it wasn’t fair. “You’re right,” I said. My eyes focused on the carpet in front of me as Reece’s face swam through my mind.
“So you like him, huh?” I could feel her grinning at me.
“Yeah, I do. He’s... I dunno, he’s so frustrating ‘cause he’s kinda rude and cranky at times but then he’ll flip a switch and he’ll be playful and really sweet,” I tried to explain. “But honestly... I’ve never felt more of a connection to someone after such a short time before.”“Wow,” she said, her head cocking to the side. “You got it bad, girl.”
I bit my lip nervously. She was right, of course; I did have it bad.
So bad, it terrified me.
"Baby, cause I'm crazy for you, it's not your fault."
Chapter 18
It was nearly 10 pm on Sunday night as I soaked in the steaming bathtub, attempting to relax my tense body and distract myself from constantly checking my phone. I had been a nervous wreck, pacing around my room nonstop waiting for Reece to call and make plans for our date. My stomach was twisted into knots and I actually was starting to make myself sick because I was so worried he would change his mind and bail, deciding he didn’t have it in him to go through with it or he wasn’t actually interested enough in me to put forth that much effort. Emily had rolled her eyes at me as she caught me several times obsessively checking my phone, practically running from room to room because I had been unable to sit still for more than a few seconds. I had finally decided to take a bath after she had told me that I was actually stressing her out and that I was going to give myself an ulcer. The steaming water was helping a little, but I still found it difficult to sit still as I let the vapor drift up around me as it broke through the thin layer of bubbles that settled on the surface. My fingers were practically itching to check my phone, which I had been unable to leave in my room as Emily had suggested. It was constantly in my line of vision as it sat on the closed toilet seat next to me, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from darting to it every few seconds, begging it to ring.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the wall, willing myself to melt into the tub and release some of the anxiety coursing through my veins. He’d call. He said he would, and he’d kissed me goodbye; he would call. I just had to be patient. As if on cue, my phone buzzed next to me, the vibration against the surface echoing around the bathroom. Water splashed down to the floor as I jumped in the tub, my arms flying up frantically against my will and clutching at a towel to dry them quickly before grabbing my phone. Adrenaline flashed through me and I almost squealed happily as I saw Reece’s name flash up on the screen. It wasn’t ideal that he called while I was in the tub, but I wasn’t going to miss his call for anything. I waited for the water to stop sloshing so loudly before I slid my thumb across the screen to answer.
“Hello?” I said, wincing at the breathless tone of my voice. Could I for once actually sound like I had it together?
“Hey,” he said, his voice deep and raspy on the other end of the phone. “What are you doing?”
“Um, nothing,” I lied, not wanting to admit I’d answered his call while I was in the bath. It occurred to me that we had promised not to lie to each other, but that hardly counted. I attempted to sit up further, keeping my phone away from the damaging water but slipped, my body sliding down a few more inches in the water, which sloshed loudly. I cringed and hoped he hadn’t heard.
“What was that?” he asked.
That’s what you get for lying, Abigail.
“It was... I’m in the tub,” I admitted, pressing my fingers into my temple, beyond thankful he couldn’t see my face. He let out an audible groan that made me shiver as the tone worked it’s way through my body. “Are you serious?” he said, his voice laced with frustration. “You’re killing me.”
I laughed guiltily. “How?”
“First you make the no sex rule now you’re talking to me while naked in a tub. That’s not fair,” he grumbled, his tone g
rowing deeper. My mouth stretched into a grin, glad that I had such an effect on him. “Hey, you called me- I just answered the phone,” I said, holding back a giggle.
“You made the rule,” he argued playfully.
“And I stand by that rule,” I replied, grinning like a fool. He huffed in feigned annoyance.
“Bulllllshit,” he grumbled. I could hear him smiling through his tone and knew he was only kidding. At least, partially kidding.
“So you called?” I asked, hoping to encourage him talk about our date.
“Erm, yeah. Do you... do you still wanna go out on Tuesday?” he asked, his voice even and calm despite the apprehension he surely felt. My heart leapt in my chest at his words, beyond relieved that he had finally asked them. “Yes,” I said immediately, cringing at my obvious eagerness. I really was awful at hiding my emotions, especially with Reece.
“Alright, cool,” he said casually. “I’ll... I dunno, pick you up? Is that how it works?” he laughed lightly. I shrugged before I remembered that he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, that works,” I answered, grinning at his lack of knowledge on the subject. It was endearing.
“Okay, I’ll come get you at seven then.”
“Okay,” I said, biting my lip to control my grin.
“Well you get back to your bath, let me know if you change your mind about that rule and need someone to join you,” he said deeply, his offer extremely tempting. I almost caved at the tone of his voice. My legs pressed together at the thought of Reece in the tub with me, his chest pressed into my back as his fingers worked into my skin, dipping lower with every movement. I shook my head before I let out an audible whimper, the dirty thoughts doing damage to my self-control.
“I don’t think so, Reece, but thanks for the offer,” I said, giggling.
“Your loss, baby,” he purred. “Talk to you later.”
“Bye Reece,” I said, a smile pulling at my lips once more. A dull tone told me he had ended the call and I couldn’t stop smiling as I set my phone back down and sunk back into the water. The warm water crept over my skin and I couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like if it was Reece’s hands instead. I was already having regrets about making that rule, but I knew it would be important if we actually wanted to pursue anything farther than what we were now.
My stomach fluttered as his words echoed in my head, finally calling like he had said he would and setting an official plan for our date. It occurred to me that I had no idea what we’d be doing, but I didn’t mind. In all honesty, we could sit on the bench outside my apartment for three hours and I’d be happy as long as I got to see him. It hadn’t even been a full day since I’d seen him but my body already craved being near his again. Twenty minutes later I gave up on trying to relax and climbed out of the tub, the tension relieved by Reece’s phone call simply being replaced by an impatient anxiety for Tuesday night. By the time I got out, Emily had retreated to her bedroom for the night, so I chose to head to mine as well. After climbing into bed, it quickly became apparent I wouldn’t be getting much sleep, my eagerness for the next two days to pass keeping me wide awake. Several hours of fitful repositioning and fidgety movements later, I finally fell into a light sleep. Reece’s face was featured prevalently in my dreams that night, his smirk and blazing green eyes searing through my brain even when I couldn’t consciously think of him. My classes the next day were as unproductive as ever, my mind nearly incapable of focusing on anything other than our date the next night. As I walked through campus, I found my eyes searching for his face among the students I passed, but his tall frame was never found. I was surprised when the rest of Monday and most of Tuesday passed quickly; I had been expecting them to drag by torturously slow, but before I knew it, I was dressed and waiting nervously for Reece to pick me up. I hadn’t spoken to him since Sunday night, so I was a little afraid he’d forget or not show up, but I knew I was just anxious. Sure enough, a glance out my window at 6:54 pm showed his black SUV pulling into the parking lot. My heart sped up at the sight of it, minutes away from finally starting our date. I was surprised when I saw him park and turn off his car before getting out. I sucked in a breath when I saw him, his hair pushed back messily but perfectly off his forehead and his hands pushed into the front pocket of his black jeans. His dark grey henley was covered by a blue button up that flapped a bit against his flat stomach, none of the buttons actually done. He looked amazing. His eyes darted up to my window, catching me staring at him. I squeaked as I jerked back from the window too late, but not fast enough to miss his smirk he sent my way. I could feel a blush creeping across my cheeks as I gathered my purse, deciding to meet him and not pretend like I didn’t know he was here. I just had locked my door when he came down the hall, a grin stretching across his lips and denting his dimple into his cheek. “Hi,” I said, returning his grin.
“Hey,” he said before coming to stop in front of me. His arms rose from his sides before falling back down, unsure of how to greet me. He settled his arms by his sides as he leaned forward and pressed a somewhat awkward kiss to my cheek. I couldn’t help but giggle at his uncertainty on what to do. “You ready?”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. His chin jerked up as he turned on his heel to retreat back down the hallway, glancing back quickly before realizing he should wait for me instead of just assuming I’d follow. He stopped walking until I drew even with him, glancing guiltily down at me. I smiled, not minding because he had remembered and it was pretty much his first date ever. “So what are we doing?” I asked as we exited the building and made our way to his car.
“Um, go eat somewhere? Are you hungry?” he asked uncertainly.
“Yeah, that sounds good,” I said. He nodded at me as we split and got in our respective sides of the car. I had never really been that nervous around Reece, but now my entire body felt jittery, the prospect of spending the evening with him making my nerves skyrocket. I glanced tentatively across the seat at him, taking in the sharp line of his jaw as he started the car and started to pull out of the parking spot. He didn’t say much as we drove, and I struggled to find something to say, the proximity of him fuddling my brain. His eyes darted toward me before returning to the road and I realized I had been staring at him. Again.
“Something wrong?” he asked, lips pulling to the side in a self-satisfied smirk, fully aware I had been staring.
“No,” I said instantly, whipping my face forward again and trying to calm the furious blush creeping up my cheeks.
“Hmm,” he hummed, raising an eyebrow skeptically at me and pushing his lips together.
“Shut up,” I said, grinning guiltily out the windshield. He knew I was extremely attracted to him because that’s technically what started this whole thing so there was no point in hiding it. I decided to change the subject. “Where are we going?”“Have you heard of Birchwood?”
“No.”
“It’s this really old little dive grille place but the food is amazing,” he said. I nodded, intrigued. As soon as he said it, I realized it was exactly the type of place I imagined him to hang out at. He didn’t strike me as the type to hang out at fancy restaurants or prestigious bars, so I already knew this place would suit him. “Sounds perfect,” I said. Just as the words left my mouth, he turned into a tiny parking lot for an old building I had never noticed before despite being on the main drag of our small town. I blinked as Reece parked, shocked that I had managed not to notice this place ever before now. I jumped when my door opened, Reece’s face appearing in the gap as he gave me a confused look.
“You gonna sit in here all night or what?” he asked, leaning through the space with his hands on gripping either side of my door. His face was the closest to mine since besides when he’d kissed me on the cheek and I found myself struggling to breathe. “No,” I said breathlessly, biting my lip into my mouth. His jaw flexed as his eyes flitted to my mouth. His hand left the frame of the car to rise to my face, his thumb tugging my lip from between my teeth. My heart sped
up when his thumb touched me, heat radiating from the point of contact. I couldn’t look away from his eyes as they slowly traveled back up my face before locking back on my own. The sizzle between us was just as strong as ever, the tension palpable in the small, enclosed space and I found myself struggling to resist closing the gap between our lips. He inched forward, the space between us disappearing as he drew closer. I held my breath as I waited, every muscle in my body stilling, freezing me in place. He was less than an inch from my lips when he paused, my heart accelerating dangerously. His breath washed over my face through the small part in his lips and I had to stop myself from begging him to kiss me. The second I moved toward him, he pulled back, retreating from the small space and offering me his hand. Air whooshed out of my lungs, disappointed he had pulled back at the last second. He smirked at me as I frowned, accepting his hand anyway as he pulled me from the car. I huffed.
“Not funny,” I said before he slammed my door shut behind me.
“It wasn’t funny when you told me you were in the bath, either,” he replied. His hand lingered in my mine for a few seconds as we started walking before he released it, another wave of disappointment flooding through me at the loss of contact. We crossed the small parking lot to the building where he opened the door and let me through before following me inside.
The inside of the building reflected the outside; it was dimly lit, small, and had a distinctly worn-in feeling to it, but it was cozy and quaint. And, in my opinion, perfect for a first date. Music played quietly from a lone stereo in the corner, the sound too soft to distinguish the song but loud enough to cushion the quiet environment. Booths lined the walls, cracks reaching across the leather and dents dipping into the seat from years of patrons using them, and a small bar lined the other wall. A few tables were scattered in the spaces between, where a few people were scattered around. I followed Reece as he wove through the tables to a booth in the corner, where he slid his long frame into the bench. I sat down across from him, the small table only separating us by about two feet. “I know it doesn’t look like much but I swear it’s great,” he said, his tone indicating he felt he had to defend his choice for our date.
