Love 101: Box Set (Love 101 #1-4)

by J. Nichole

  Nicole groans. "Okay." She looks to Jennifer who is still in her bikini and asks, "Are you getting in the water?"

  "Yup. I'm ready to have fun." She grabs her bag and says, "Ready?" We all head back up to the pool deck.

  I grab a seat next to the pool and Monica sits beside me. We wave down a waiter and order Miami Vices for each of us. Monica turned twenty-one just in time for us to have a legal drink together before I graduate. Jennifer and Nicole are splashing around in the water when the guys descend on the pool.

  I look at Monica, who has her mouth parted. "Are you alright over there?"

  She doesn't take her eyes off the pool. "Damn. I should have left the girls out." Jennifer points in our direction and one of the guys walks over to us. "Is he coming over here?" She says out of the corner of her mouth. "Oh shit. He's coming over here."

  "Chill,” I whisper to her.

  The guy stands in front of us, blocking our view of the pool. "Y'all aren't joining us?" His southern accent is undeniable.

  Monica doesn't respond, she just stares, mouth still parted. "Not now, maybe later," I say with a slight smile, trying to conceal my laughter.

  "Mind if I drop my bag here?" he asks.

  Monica shakes her head.

  "Don't want to get my baby wet."

  We both look down at the bag then back at him. "My Nikon to capture the memories." He unzips the bag and before we can pose, he snaps a picture of us. "Have to show the guys back at home the beautiful ladies we met on our trip."

  I smile and say, "Thanks." He looks at Monica as she still sits in silence. "She is a woman of few words." He chuckles and walks back to the pool.

  "Those shoulders. And that smile. That smooth cocoa skin." Monica looks at me like she just melted in front of me. "Did you hear him? He has to be from the south."

  "And that wide back. Girl, he had you speechless." She giggles. "Next time he speaks try hard to formulate words to respond." She nods her head as she watches him in the pool.

  One by one, each of the six guys introduces himself to us as they take a break from the pool. We discover that we have the same dinner time. We agree to meet up with them and share a table.

  The maître d' accommodates us with a table for ten. The four of us spread out amongst the guys and, of course, Monica sits proudly by Adonis.

  "Do y'all plan to do any excursions when we get to the Bahamas?" Kevin looks to Nicole.

  She looks at each of us and shrugs her shoulders. "I planned the trip but didn't consider any excursions." She looks back to Kevin and asks, "What do you all have planned?"

  "Jet skiing for sure," Kevin says with a wide grin.

  "You can ride with me,” Parker says into my ear. He's the one who was shimmying down the hall. I only picked this seat because it was the only open seat after everyone sat down. "I'll keep you safe."

  I look at him and smile warmly. "Is that right?" He nods his head and his curly hair moves into his face. "I'll let you know." I feel like his green eyes are looking beyond my soul and it gives me goosebumps. I rub my arm to knock away the chill.

  "You can have my jacket if you are too cold." He removes his jacket before I can accept his kind offer. "Can't have you sitting beside me freezing." He wraps his jacket around my shoulders and I look up to see Nicole winking at me.

  "Thanks," I whisper. The guys tell stories of their years at the University of Florida. They'll each be graduating this semester too.

  "Remember that time we got high on the balcony and Adonis' mom called?" Everyone except Adonis starts laughing. If Adonis were lighter we could see his red flushed cheeks. Adonis looks to Monica and whispers something to her that only she can hear. June continues, "He couldn't lie about anything. He stumbled over all his words and was sweating before she let him off the phone."

  "Doesn't beat the time we found you in front of the dorms." Adonis pauses and waits for June to remember. "You remember how we found you?"

  The other guys laugh and June says "Damn, bringing out the big guns."

  Our waiter returns to the table with the food before Adonis can finish the story. "Saved by the food," I say to Parker.

  He shakes his head. "Those two are like oil and water. You'll hear the story before the end of the trip."

  The guys walk us back to our room to change out of our dresses. They also decide to change out of their slacks and ties. At the door, Parker reminds me that I'm still cozy in his jacket. "You can keep it if you exchange it for a kiss." My eyes grow wide and I slip out of the jacket. "Too much, huh?" I nod my head and walk into the room.

  The suite feels crowded with all of us moving around. "If you are claustrophobic, a cruise would not be the best vacation option." Nicole squeezes between Jennifer and Monica. "I thought our apartment was tiny." She looks at the faux window. "Small and no sunlight." She flips her dress over her head and changes into a pair of shorts and a tank top. On her way to the door she says, "I'll meet you guys at the casino."

  Monica hurries behind her. "Wait, I'm done too. I think I can only be in here to sleep." Jennifer and I agree we'll meet up with them after we change our clothes.

  "Kevin?" I say to Jennifer as she slips out of her dress. "I think he likes you."

  She plops onto the bed and says, "I know." She circles her feet on the carpet. "He's attractive. We've had a decent conversation most of the day." She pauses. "But I feel awful. I haven't thought about Derrick much."

  My lips are tight and I shrug. "It's not like you are cheating on him. As long as you keep it to friendly conversation."

  She looks away from me. "And if we kiss?"

  "What?" I yell. "You kissed him?" I move to the bed beside her. I don't want to guilt her about having a boyfriend at home who she will be living within a couple of months.

  "It caught me off guard. While we were in the pool we ended up close." She waves her hand in front of her face. "All in each other's personal space." She looks up to the ceiling. "And well … we kissed." She puts her hand up as my mouth drops. "But I moved away before his tongue could enter my mouth."

  "Oh." I cock my head to look at her. "Just a peck?" She nods her head. "Well, that's not that bad. But maybe you should keep your distance." I wave my hand around her face. "Stay out of his personal space." We laugh and she gives me a hug.

  "What about Parker?" She leans into me and says, "Oh Parker, I'm chilly." She says in a high-pitched voice.

  I flick her thigh. "Not even like that. He's sexy though." I imagine those green eyes and that curly hair. The warm touch I felt when he wrapped the jacket around me, brushing his thumb against my arm.

  "You're single. Rebound sex will make you feel better about your whole situation." She catches my gaze. "If you're ready to move on."

  "Might as well. Josh is gone with the wind and Chris is nuts if he thinks I can even think of him like that anymore."

  Jennifer stares at me not saying a word before she asks, "Okay we said we wouldn't talk about it anymore. Just one more question." I roll my eyes. "Why not give Chris another chance?" She grabs my hand. "I know he broke your heart, may have been a little crazy with his get rid of Courtney plan, may have had the worst timing to pop back into your life...” I nod my head in agreement to everything she is saying. "He does love you. Never stopped loving you. Sacrificed your relationship to ensure your safety."

  All things I've considered on my own. I still arrive at the same conclusion. "It's too late. I had my time to cry over us. To convince myself it was over. To fall in love with Josh."

  Jennifer nudges my shoulder. "Okay sounds like you've thought about it enough." She stands up and grabs my hand to pull me off the bed. "Let's go meet up with the girls." She wriggles her eyebrows. "You can go see what Parker is working with."

  "Sure I can leave you alone to stay out of Kevin's personal space?" A coy smile spreads across her face.

  "Remember when you were pissy in front of the dorms?" Adonis says over the laughter.

  Parker leans over and says, "Told you he
would let it out before the trip was over." On our last night of the cruise we are gathered around the bar. The motion in the ocean is killing me softly and I had to stop drinking to avoid throwing up all over the ship.

  I found out from Monica that Adonis and June don't get along because June stole Adonis' girlfriend freshman year. "Well if one of these chicks stole my boyfriend I'd still be salty too."

  Parker narrows his eyes at me. "Is that what you think?"

  "That's what I heard. Not true?” I say.

  Parker shakes his head vehemently.

  "The girl never dated Adonis. June isn't that bad. Adonis had it in his head he would have had a chance with the girl if June wouldn't have come along with his suave ways." I cover my mouth and laugh.

  "You win some you lose some, right?" I look up at him staring into my eyes and the goose bumps return. What is it about those damn green eyes?

  He rubs my arm. "I don't have my jacket with me this time,” he says as I noticeably shiver beside him. "But let's take a walk." He reaches for my hand and I let my hand slip inside of his. We start walking away from the group and I try to balance as the boat rocks. "This big ass ship and we still feel all the waves in the ocean."

  We get back to our floor and he stands between our rooms. "I can go into my room and grab the jacket or you can go to your room and find more clothes." He looks down at my shorts then back to my eyes.

  "You can grab your jacket." I stand behind him while he shuffles through his shorts for the key.

  He holds the door open and steps aside. "Come in and I'll grab it." I hesitate before I feel a trickle in my panties. Why fight it? I'm single. I sit on the bed while he pulls the jacket from the back of the chair. He dangles the jacket in front of me with his arm outstretched. I stand up and let him wrap me inside of it again and he kisses my neck.

  Instead of moving away or acting awkward I bend my neck in the opposite direction giving him more access. "You sure," he whispers.

  "Uh huh,” I mumble in response.

  He removes the jacket and throws it on the bed. Leaning in, he kisses my lips. His tongue slides into my mouth and he moans. His hands begin to roam and his touch chases away my goosebumps. He walks forward until I'm backed into the bed.

  He stops kissing me and looks at the bed. He takes a seat in front of me and pulls me down with him. We lie side by side while he continues his hand exploration of my body.

  He unzips my shorts and his hand navigates inside my panties. He slides down my body and trails kisses down my stomach and between my thighs. I sigh when his mouth hovers over my pussy. He pulls my clothes off and throws them to the floor. He begins to lick, and at first, I'm turned on and then his licking is in all the wrong places. How do I get him to stop?

  I could fake an orgasm or I could wriggle out of his reach. He continues to lick haphazardly and I wriggle out of his grip. He looks up at me, then attempts to continue. I tug on his arms to bring him back up instead. He stands up from the bed and starts throwing clothes out of his duffle bag. Then he grabs a condom and I close my eyes. Please let his dick game be better than his head game.

  I feel his weight on top of me but I'm too anxious to open my eyes. He slips inside of me and I wait for him to start moving. With my arms wrapped around his waist I kiss his neck and then reach down and grab his ass. His ass tenses up and his strokes become quicker and more erratic. I move my hands back to his waist and his strokes slow down. His mouth is all over me. Kissing me on my lips then my neck and then my chest. I'm sure I have a hickey or two that will come back with me to school.

  I'm not getting much pleasure from his attempts to break my back. I move my hips to meet his strokes and hope he will reach his climax. I practice my kegels around his dick and he finally releases. He rolls over and lies beside me with his eyes closed and his body drenched in sweat.

  When he starts snoring, I slide out of bed and grab my clothes, throwing my shorts on without even worrying about my panties. I slip them into my pocket instead. I tiptoe out of the room and close the door quietly behind me.

  I empty my pockets on the floor in search of a room key then sit against the door when I can't find it. I knock on the door repeatedly with no answer. Fuck.

  Chapter Sixteen

  A notification chimes on my phone. An email from the apartment complex that Josh and I visited. I should eventually put a hold on one of the apartments in Jacksonville, but I can't decide if I want to stay there anymore. The brief tour Josh and I had will always be on my mind. Being that Tanya isn't pissed that we broke up, I'm sure there will be times when she'll talk about Josh, and that's an ample reminder in itself.

  "Hey," Nicole yells from the living room.

  "What?" I yell back. We have been decompressing from our time on the cruise. Each of us vowed to give each other space until school starts back in a couple of days. Being in that tiny room with the four of us was enough to drive us all batshit crazy.

  I stand in my doorway. Being in the living room with Nicole would still be too close. With my hand on my hip I say, "Yes?"

  "Oh why the attitude?" She laughs hitting her knee. "I know you can't still be mad about your pretty boy Parker not being able to dick you down for your rebound sex."

  "I hate you," I say and walk back into my room.

  "Wait," she yells again. "Come back. I won't say anything else about Parker."

  I poke my head around the door and say, "What do you want girl? I'm trying to do a spring break recap article for the paper."

  "I told you Chris would be in town when we got back." She looks down at her phone. "He'll be here soon." She looks me up and down from my feet to my hair. "Thought you might want to clean up before he got here."

  "I thought I told you to block his number?"

  She groans and says, "I did block his number. At first. But then I thought you two need the closure and I unblocked it." She covers her face.

  I look down at my pajama bottoms and decide to at least put on real clothes. "Tell me when he gets here." I close my bedroom door. My heart beats faster and I feel my face turning flush. I wipe my hands on my pants to remove the sweat. It's only Chris. Why am I anxious? Because he's a pretty boy who can fuck. I close my eyes tight to block out the thoughts of being in any horizontal position with him. But he can lift me up. That time in the shower.

  I turn my phone to Pandora to drown out my thoughts. After I pick out an outfit I hop in the shower, just to calm down the perspiration. With my towel wrapped around my body I lean into the mirror and see my hair is a mess. I comb it into a decent ponytail and look into the mirror again. I look like I just woke up. My eyes could use some eyeliner.

  Stop. I don't need to be cute for Chris. I throw my clothes on and sit at my desk to finish the recap article. Students have submitted pictures and captions of their spring break trips and we decided to compile them to display the distances traveled, along with the wildest adventures. I sneak a caption of our trip to the Bahamas in with a picture of us on the first day of the cruise. My lips pout when I think about this being our last spring break together, all as undergraduate students.

  I wrap up the article with captions about places as far away as Thailand, and as wild as skydiving. The most touching was a group who went on a mission trip to Jamaica to help build a school. By the smiles on the children's faces you'd think they'd received a million dollars each. It's undeniable that they appreciated the students who came to help.

  I hear knocking at the front door, then Nicole speaking. I can't hear what she's saying or who she is saying it too. I save my article and close my laptop in case it's Chris. "Laila." I hear Nicole say through my closed door. She knocks when I don't answer.

  "Yeah,” I say before she walks into my room, closing the door behind her. "Is that him?"

  "Yes. Do you want the living room or do you want him to come in here?" She looks around at my room. I still have my luggage lying on the floor, half packed. My bed is made, but messy from where I laid on it earlier.

>   "He can come in here." She raises her eyebrows. "But tell him to give me just a minute."

  "Okay." She walks out of the room, closing the door again. I hear her tell Chris to give me a minute then it sounds like she walks away. I take several deep breaths trying to calm my nerves. Then I stand up and try to decide where I want to sit. We shouldn't both sit on the bed. I pull out the chair so he can sit there and I'll sit on the edge of the bed.

  Opening my room door, I look out to see Chris perched on the end of the couch. "Hey." He's still sexy. Maybe in better shape than when I saw him last.

  "Hey." His teeth beam through his perfect smile. He's grown out his facial hair.

  I wave my head towards the room and he follows me inside. I point to the chair and he takes a seat. His legs are jumping and he's rubbing his hands together.

  Taking a seat on the edge of the bed away from him I ask, "Why are you here?"

  He looks down to the carpet then back up to me and I can see hurt in his eyes. "Being this is spring break I was hoping you weren't busy with school."

  "Okay." I look at him with my eyebrows raised. "And?"

  "I truly am sorry I caused strife between you and Josh." He wipes his hand across his face. "I know you don't want anything to do with me..." He clears his throat. "Anymore. If it's true I wanted to see you face to face. For you to tell me it's over."

  I listen without speaking. Rationalizing everything he is saying to me. "If it's over I think we deserve the closure. When I broke up with you because of Courtney I never intended that to be forever. I walked away knowing we'd be back together at some point. At that time I left you torn but was hoping without closure you would know it wasn't over."

  My hands begin to shake and I blink my eyes to keep the tears from falling. "Chris, that was the worst plan ever. You expected me to assume that we'd get back together. To wait around for you to come back to me?" I throw my hand in the air. "You expected me to stay single?"