Badboy Romance

by Lisa Simmons

  "Someone missed me," he said with a smug grin. I blew out a soft laugh.

  "Shut up," I shoved him lightly, my hand never losing contact with his chest. His hand rose to clasp over mine, bringing it to his lips once to press them against his palm before turning and tugging me inside.

  He shut the door behind us before pulling me down the hall to his room. I followed him without argument, pleased when he flopped down on the bed and pulled me with him. His arm wound around my back as he tugged me onto his chest, my knees resting on either side of his hips as I laid on top of him. My elbows rested on either side of his head to hold me up while his hands settled on my back, his fingers shifting slowly over the thin fabric of my shirt.

  I felt so content lying here with him, feeling his hands and body against mine while he looked up at me happily.

  "How are you?" he asked simply, his eyes on mine. I focused sharply on not giving myself away.

  "Good, and you?" I asked, dropping my lips to press against his chest lightly before looking back up at him.

  "Perfect, now," he said quietly.

  "Sap," I teased, my grin widening nonetheless.

  "Heyyyy," he sang, narrowing his eyes playfully at me. I grinned at him in adoration as I took in how much I loved seeing him like this. A sudden idea struck me, and I bit my lip as I considered asking him if he knew that Jack and Samuel were friends. Or, at least, knew each other.

  I had just decided it wouldn't be a good idea when he caught the subtle change in my expression.

  "What?" he asked gently. His thumbs circled at my lower back and one of my hands moved to pet through his hair. I opened my mouth to speak but stopped myself, trying to decide if this was a good idea.

  "What, Abby?" he pressed further, his eyebrows pulling together slightly with concern now.

  "Did you know..." I paused, rephrasing. "Are Jack and Samuel friends?"

  He stiffened beneath me, the mention of both of their names making him tense. "Why?"

  His voice was sharp as he spoke, clearly not happy to be discussing them when I'd only been here for a few minutes.

  "I saw them together," I told him. He blinked, his gaze hardening more.

  "When?"

  "Um, tonight," I answered.

  "Where? What were they doing?" he pressed further. I swallowed, not liking the interrogation feel to this conversation.

  "They were just driving together but I thought it was weird."

  "Driving together," he repeated flatly. He sounded skeptical, which confused me.

  "Yes, driving together."

  He was quiet for a while, his mind clearly buzzing behind his beautiful face.

  "Reece," I said gently, hoping to soften his suddenly hard tone.

  "What?" I flinched at his harsh tone.

  "Did you know they knew each other?" I asked. My eyes searched his intently for any sign of deception even though we'd promised not to lie. A promise I was barely skating by in obeying.

  "No, I didn't," he said, sighing. His eyes didn't flinch from mine, and I got the feeling he was telling the truth.

  "Okay," I said.

  "Why are you so concerned about Jack, Abigail?" he asked suddenly. I got the feeling that was the root of his issue. I blinked, surprised by his apprehension.

  "I'm not," I said simply, shaking my head slowly.

  "Really? 'Cause it seems like every time you see him, something starts to eat away at you," he said carefully.

  He was right, but not for the reason he thought. There was something eating away at me with Jack, but it was fear, not lingering feelings for him like I suspected Reece thought.

  "No, Reece, there's nothing with Jack," I said earnestly.

  "Nothing?" he said sharply. I watched him incredulously. Where was this coming from?

  "Nothing!" I said, my voice raising a little in exasperation. "I don't want Jack. I want you."

  He didn't say anything as he stared at me. I couldn't help but notice his hands had stopped their careful patterns on my back and I tried not to feel disappointed. This had gone all wrong; I was supposed to be happily in his arms, talking and touching and eventually feeling the way only he could make me feel, not bitterly arguing about my ex-boyfriend that I never wanted to see again.

  "You want me?" he asked quietly. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. How many times had I told him that I wanted to be with him? How many times had I said I didn't want anything to do with Jack?

  "Yes, Reece, I want you," I said, softening my tone.

  His eyes flicked quickly back and forth between mine and his tongue wet his lips slowly.

  "Why does that get to you so much, Reece? You know I want you and that I don't want anything to do with Jack," I said, trying to understand.

  "Because, Abby. I like you so much," he said, a hint of annoyance in his tone. I blinked again, unsure of how to take that. It should have made me happy, but his tone threw it off.

  "I'm sorry?" I said, the uncertain tone making it sound like a question.

  "Why are you sorry?" he asked, his eyes widening slightly in confusion.

  "Well you just said you like me so much like it's my fault and you resent it or something," I said, trying to explain the way I had just felt.

  "You think I resent you for making me like you?"

  "That's the way you just made it sound..." I muttered, realizing I was, once again, probably overthinking.

  "Abigail, you're crazy," he said. It wasn't the first time he'd said that to me.

  "Thanks," I mumbled sarcastically.

  "I don't resent you for making me like you," he told me. I stayed silent, my eyes flicking back up to his after dropping to his chest.

  "You don't?"

  "No. That was going to happen no matter what, I think."

  My heart thudded suddenly in my chest, my body reacting to his words before my mind could process them.

  "Really?" I said, the volume stolen from my voice suddenly as my pulse rushed through my ears. He wasn't... about to say it, was he?

  He swallowed as he watched me closely, his hands resuming their careful circles on my lower back.

  "Really."

  "Reece..." I trailed off, my eyes burning into his as I silently begged him to say it.

  Please say it, please.

  Say you love me.

  Say you love me because I know I love you.

  I could feel his heart pounding, just as mine was, against his ribs. His skin was hot beneath my fingers as they gently dragged through his hair and across his jaw. My actions continued automatically as my eyes stayed locked on his.

  "Abby," he started, his lips parted as he took a deep breath. He blew it out in a ragged exhale before he spoke again.

  "Abby, I love you."

  I could hardly hear him over the pounding of my pulse in my ears and the shaky breaths ripping from my chest.

  "What?"

  "You heard me, Abby. I said I love you."

  My mouth twitched at the corner, a smile threatening to split across my face as I absorbed his words. It was like a thousand fireworks had just exploded inside me, illuminating and igniting every single cell in my body.

  "You love me?" I whispered, my cheeks aching with the effort of holding back my smile.

  He sighed and rolled his eyes playfully. "Yes, Abigail. I love you, dammit."

  I couldn't stop the ridiculously happy smile as it burst across my features. My heart was pounding so hard that I knew he could feel it and my hands were shaking as they touched him, but I didn't care.

  "I love you too, Reece."

  "When you say you love me, know I love you more. And when you say you need me, know I need you more. Boy, I adore you."

  Chapter 40

  Sleep evaded me all night, despite how comfortably I was wrapped up in Reece's arms. My heart was too full and the buzzing through my veins had yet to diminish, the constant elation keeping me wide awake. I couldn't remember ever fe
eling so perfectly happy as I had when Reece had told me he loved me. It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard, even when he'd gotten adorably exasperated with my disbelief.

  Reece loved me, and I loved him.

  I was certain I had never felt more fulfilled in my entire life.

  I was partially on my side, my cheek resting on Reece's chest with my arm slung across it. My stomach pressed against his side while his chest rose and fell slowly while he slept. I glanced at the clock and noticed it was nearly 3 am even though I wasn't tired. My chin rested lightly on my forearm as it covered Reece's chest. It wasn't often that I caught him sleeping, so I wanted to take advantage it.

  He looked so beautifully peaceful with his eyes closed lightly and his lips parted. Soft breath blew between his perfectly full lips, matching the rhythm of his chest beneath my arms. His heart beat steadily beneath his ribs, the soft thudding of it palpable against my skin. His hair was pushed haphazardly off his face, the dark strands shoved in every direction in a beautiful mess.

  My eyes fell to his shoulders where black ink stained his skin more often than not. The two sparrows on caught my attention first, their placement just below his collarbones the most striking. '17BLACK' was subjected to my gaze next before I took in the details of the 'A' on his shoulder. His tattoos were so mysterious to me, each one seemingly random and unconnected to the next. What could the three nails on the top of his bicep mean? What about the ship on the outside of his arm? And what could 'Can I cry' possibly mean?

  I wanted to know the story behind every single one, wanted to know what it felt like to want something permanently inked into your skin, and wanted to know if he still loved something he once had enough to tattoo it to his body. So many questions flashed through my brain that I almost woke him up to ask him about them right then and there. My lips pressed lightly to the skin over his heart, the warmth of it passing to my lips before I pulled back and laid my head down again.

  A soft grin spread across my features as his heart thudded quietly in my ear. Being here with him now, safely in his bed while he allowed me to see him at his most vulnerable, was the happiest I'd ever been. He had given himself to me completely now by admitting that he loved me, something that had surely taken immense amounts of courage and bravery. Considering he had zero experience in anything relationship related, he was doing so incredibly well.

  I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

  Hours later, I finally managed to fall asleep. It felt like minutes later when my alarm on my phone went off, waking me in time for my class even though I would have been more than content to stay tangled up with Reece for the rest of the day.

  A quite grumble of complaint came from Reece as I blindly patted around for my phone. My face stayed pressed into Reece's neck where I had ended up, his arms wound tightly around my shoulders. His leg was crooked around my own, and one of my arms wound behind his neck, hopelessly tangling us together. Finally, my free hand found my screeching phone, my thumb sliding across the screen to turn off the alarm.

  "Nooo," Reece mumbled, his voice almost hard to understand it was so deep.

  "I know," I said, knowing that he was upset about me having to leave. So was I.

  "Skip," he muttered. I hadn't moved other than to shut my alarm off, and I could feel the warmth of his body pressing against mine all over my skin. His forearms melted into my back and the heat of his legs tangled with mine seared through my skin. My lips pressed lightly against his neck as I snuggled further into him.

  "I can't," I said grudgingly. Classes were strongly interfering with what I really wanted to be doing lately. He sighed heavily and tightened his grip around me.

  "Will you come back tonight?"

  I nodded before realizing his eyes were still closed. Surely he could feel my action against his shoulder, but I spoke anyway. "Yes."

  His lips pressed into my temple as he turned his head sleepily.

  "Then you can go," he said. He sounded half asleep.

  "Oh I have your permission, do I?" I teased, grinning into his neck before propping myself up. He peaked at me out of one eye, squinting the other shut as he stole a glance at me.

  "Mmhmm," he muttered.

  "Not that I need it, but good to know," I laughed. "Don't you ever go to class?"

  The thought had never really occurred to me before, but he never seemed to have class. I was always the one who had to get up early, and he'd never really spoken about any classes besides telling me his major.

  "Yeah, they're just later," he said. "And two are online, so."

  His eyes drifted shut again lazily, clearly not too interested in discussing classes so early in the morning. I ducked my head to kiss his lips lightly, his puckering in response even though I could tell he was quickly falling back asleep.

  "I'll call you later, okay?"

  "Okay," he mumbled, sleep dragging him back under. I smiled as I watched his features soften as he fell back asleep. I carefully untangled myself from him and climbed out of bed, quickly realizing that I hadn't brought any other clothes over than what I'd worn yesterday. With a sigh, I pulled them back on as quietly as I could before moving to his door.

  "Abby?" he murmured softly. I stopped by the door and turned back to look at him. He was lying in bed, rolling onto his side and hugging a pillow to his chest while he looked at me with bleary eyes and messy hair.

  "Hmm?"

  "I love you," he said softly, looking up at me from under his brow. A smile split across my face automatically as his words hit me, sounding just as beautiful as the first time he'd said them.

  "I love you, too."

  He grinned softly, eyes lighting up before he flopped forward onto his bed again, smile still on his face as his eyes closed again.

  "Bye, baby."

  "Bye Reece," I said through my grin as I let myself out of his room and his house.

  Nearly all of my drive to class and my time spent attempting to listen to the lecture was taken up by thoughts of Reece and anything involving him. As ecstatic as I was about us finally admitting that we loved each other, a tiny grain of salt tinged my inexplicable happiness.

  The memory of Jack and Samuel following me to his house still haunted me, and I was unable to reach an explanation for it. It was unnerving, the way the had glared at me, and I couldn't shake their eyes from my memory. Aside from how confusing it had been that they'd followed me, I was even more confused by how they knew each other. I didn't want to think it was because of me, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was related.

  What were the odds that they would suddenly be seen together, following me, around the time Reece and I got together? I pondered over the possible explanations as I waited in line at the student union to get my lunch. Faceless students passed around me while my mind wove through all the confusion I was feeling.

  I just wanted to be able to feel happy with Reece without having to worry about Jack. And now, Samuel as well. I had yet to think of how to deal with Jack and his pseudo-threat, but I knew I would have to come up with something now. I was too far gone with Reece to risk losing him, and I'd do anything to stop Jack from interfering. I shook my head resolutely to tell Jack he just needed to get over it and move on, because that was exactly what I had done.

  I received my sandwich I had ordered and moved to sit at a table off to the side. My mind was still buzzing distractedly as I unwrapped it and pulled my phone out of my bag, grinning as I saw a text from Reece. When a body slid into the chair across from me, the smile and momentary happiness were completely wiped from my body.

  "Why hello," he said, his dark brown eyes fixing on mine as he flashed a smile.

  "Samuel," I said flatly, extremely unsure how to talk to him. He had been downright rude the last time I'd seen him, and it had escalated so far that Reece had punched him in the jaw. I could still see a faint bruise along his otherwise handsome face as he sneered at me.

  "Wher
e's your boyfriend?" he asked derisively. I blinked, deciding that the best way to deal with him was to be strong. I wouldn't play the victim to his bullying, and I needed to show him he didn't scare me even though that wasn't entirely true.

  "He's not my boyfriend," I said coolly. Technically it was true even though he was practically my boyfriend. I didn't want to talk about Reece with him even though I knew that was the only reason he had sat down in the first place.

  "Ah, still just fucking him then?" he asked sharply, a glint of dark amusement flashing through his features.

  "No, not that it's any of your concern," I spit. I grew more irritated with him by the second.

  "Oh, Abigail. I feel sorry for you," he said condescendingly. He shook his head slowly as he leaned back in his seat. I blinked, not giving him the satisfaction of asking why.

  "This won't end well, you know that, don't you?" he continued.

  "How do you know Jack?" I asked, ignoring his question as I narrowed my eyes at him.

  "Jack and I go way back," he answered coolly. "Longer than you do, actually."

  "Oh really?" I asked skeptically. Something about the way he was looking at me made me very uneasy.

  "Really. I've known him for about twelve years now," he said casually, picking at his sleeve before returning his gaze to mine.

  "I don't believe you. He never said a thing about you when we were together."

  "Well that's because I'm from his hometown. I knew him before he moved to yours, obviously," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. His pompous tone was really grating on me.

  "Must not have been that good of friends then if I never knew about you," I shot back.

  "Oh, but we are now, sweetheart," he said in mock sincerity, leaning forward across the table. I tried not to flinch away as he shortened the distance between us.

  "Precious," I said sarcastically. "Why now?"

  "He needed a favor," he said simply.

  "What kind of favor?" I asked, my heart giving a nervous thump. I really, really did not like the idea of Jack, who was already a loose cannon, being linked to Samuel, who frankly scared me more and more by the second. He seemed far too sure of himself, and there was a certain darkness about him that I did not like. This was a dangerous combination, I already knew.