by C. A. Harms
“I work a lot and though I’m a college student, I don’t live that typical college life. It wouldn’t work out,” I told him and he just looked at me for a moment before he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my cheek.
He paused, his lips lightly skimming over my jaw line. “I may not remember everything from last night, but there is one sound that keeps running through my mind. A soft whimper, a needy moan.”
I closed my eyes, trying to keep from making that very sound right then.
“A light whisper of someone telling me not to stop,” he said, kissing my jaw. “It keeps playing on repeat in my head. I’d give anything to hear those sounds again.”
He pulled back, and without saying another word, he crawled out of my car and left me staring after him as he jogged across his front lawn.
And in that moment I realized forgetting about the guy who gave me one hell of a ride would be much harder than I thought.
Chapter 13
Xavier
The minute I entered the house all eyes were on me.
Corbin was sporting a bruise under his right eye I knew he didn’t have yesterday. And Jay sat on the couch, with his head hung, looking like he was paying dearly for his shit from last night.
Isaac had marks on his face, a faint resemblance of ink faded. But redness outweighed the marks, as if he’d been scrubbing his face heavily.
I still had not spotted Red.
“How was your night?” I looked up just as Calvert entered the living room. “Because that blonde dragging you out of here looked like she was hungry as fuck.”
I narrowed my eyes at him in warning.
He chuckled and walked off toward the couch to join the others.
“Nice eye, Corb,” I said and he flipped me off.
A couple of guys walked into the house holding their phones in their hands, laughing at whatever it was they were watching.
“What are you watching?” Isaac asked and stepped up to their side.
“Hey Jay,” he hollered out, chuckling. “You’re famous, man.”
Jay jumped up from the couch, moving in their direction and looked horrified when he saw whatever it was they were watching.
He walked backward, his back bumping against the wall just before he slid down it and sat on the floor.
“You even have a hashtag, man,” Brent, another brother, said as he joined the crowd watching the phone held out for all to view.
“A hashtag?” Jay asked, still covering his face.
“Yeah,” Brent said as he looked around the group. And as if it was planned, each one of them took position and began swiveling their hips. And all together they began to sing “dick’s a swinging,” waving their hands in the air.
Jay groaned out and curled over on his side, holding his head.
I turned around, intending to head upstairs, but stopped in my tracks. I was face to face with Red.
“Hey buddy,” he said with a smirk. “How was your night?”
“How the hell did you get into my room, anyway?” I asked, skipping right to the point.
Elijah watched me for a moment before a sly grin spread out over his lips. Then ever so slowly, he held up a keyring with a number of keys on it and shook them, making them jingle. “I have a key that fits every one of you fucker’s rooms. You all need to keep that shit in mind. Ya know, for future reference.”
He walked off laughing, leaving us staring after him, knowing full well he’d been playing us all along.
“Oh, Tequila,” I mumbled as I walked up the stairs.
And even though I felt like hell, I found myself still hearing that sweet moan in my head.
Morgan could pretend she didn’t want a repeat but I’d break her down. One way or the other I would get another chance.
Chapter 14
Morgan
“I know,” I said as I rushed through the front door of the Sub Shop. “I’m late.”
Today had been a day from hell. First my car wouldn’t start and then I missed the bus by less than thirty seconds. I could literally see it as the driver pulled onto University Ave., leaving me behind to yell out a few choice words. I was then forced to walk eight and a half blocks, feeling the perspiration pool between my breasts and along the back of my neck. Which all in turn made me late. Fifteen minutes late, to be exact.
“Mitchell is in the back, and he’s in a mood,” Trina told me as I moved past the counter toward the time clock.
“When isn’t he?” I asked just as I pushed open the door. There, only a few feet away, sat Mitchell, his arms crossed over his chest, staring directly at the door. It was as if he was waiting on me. “Car troubles and I missed the bus,” I said in explanation as I moved toward the time clock in a hurry.
“You do know this is strike two.”
I looked over at him, feeling confused. I had never been late before.
“You called in last Tuesday, without proper notification, and left us short staffed,” he added. “We are swarming with college kids daily, and working with less than four at all times isn’t acceptable.”
“My brother fell out of his wheelchair and we had to take him to the emergency room.” I could feel the anger growing inside me. “My mother needed my help.”
“You are still in probation period, Morgan,” he stated, leaning forward in the chair. He dared me to argue and damn it, I wanted to, but chose to bite my tongue instead. “Though I understand your situation,” I didn’t much care for his tone or his wording when referring to my family, “you have to understand mine. Your brother is not your responsibility.”
Oh hell no, he didn’t.
“Let me stop you right there,” I said, holding up my hand. The last thing I wanted was to lose my job, but there was no way I was going to let this arrogant bastard say another word without me setting something very clear. “With all due respect, you were fully aware of my responsibilities outside of work when you hired me. My brother may not be my son, but he is most definitely my responsibility. He will always come first, regardless of what I may have to set aside in order to go to him. He is not a ‘situation’ and I would greatly appreciate you remembering that little detail. You may be my boss, but that does not give you the right to be an ass.”
Okay, so the ass comment may have been a little too much, but my blood was boiling and my hands were shaking with the desire to punch this prick.
“Are you done?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I added. “Are you?” I was challenging him. He was a twenty-year-old college dropout who thought he could treat us college kids like his property. He was smug, and though I had been working here less than a month, there was no way I’d allow him to treat me like an incompetent fool.
“As I said, this is strike two,” he continued. “I should make it three, considering you just called me an ass, but I’ll let that one slide.” He stared at me as if giving me the chance to say more. I didn’t. “I’m sorry that I was insensitive, but again I have to run this place, and to do so I need reliable employees.”
“I understand,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Good, then,” he said, standing from his desk. “We understand one another.”
I remained standing in the same place until he moved past me and out through the door that led to the shop in front. The moment I heard the door click behind me I fisted my hands and kicked at the ground. Spinning in circles, throwing my best version of a tantrum, to keep from storming out there and tackling the asshole.
“Arrogant, no good…” I let the words fade as I moved toward the time clock and yanked out my card. The words rolling around in my mind would surely have me fired on the spot. No one, and I do mean no one, ever, made Toby out to be an issue. I meant what I said—he would always come first.
I spent a couple of extra minutes in back, doing my best to tame the beast still roaring inside of me before going out front. Purposely avoiding eye contact with Mitchell, I began filling the station with fresh veggies and making sure the sauc
es were full. Trina already had fresh bread made and was currently loading in another tray. Miles was in the lobby, cleaning tables and floors before we unlocked the doors.
My mood was shit, and honestly, I just wanted the day to be over.
Continuing to stay to myself, I positioned myself behind the counter when Miles unlocked the front doors and the first customer entered the lobby.
Mitchell was right; we were busy, like always. The Sub Shop was within walking distance of the University of Florida. It was a cheap place to eat, and something fast, so we were on a constant rotation of new customers. It was one of the things I loved about this job—for the most part, the hours went by in a rush.
It was only an hour before my shift ended, and though I still had no idea how I’d get home, I was glad it was almost over.
I’d gone to the back to grab another container of onions and left Trina and Miles manning the counter. Hurrying back through the door, I quickly slipped around Miles and removed the empty container to replace it with the full. I wasn’t really paying attention to the customers as I scanned over the remaining items to see if anything else was getting low.
“Hey,” a deep gruff voice said loudly, gaining my attention. A tall guy, with sandy blond hair and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen stood before me with a big smile on his face. “I know you,” he added, looking at the guy to his left.
“Sorry, I think you have me mixed up with someone else.” I reached out and lifted the sweet peppers and began to turn away but was stopped in my tracks by his next words.
“You’re the blonde that X took home from the party last weekend.” He said something to the guy he was with and they both chuckled. I was that girl, I guess. The girl who got nailed by a fraternity guy and later became just another girl they passed stories around about. “He slept for a day to recover.”
“You’ve got it wrong,” I said, staring back at the guy. “I took him home. He served a purpose and now, I’m done.” I walked away, satisfied with the look I left on their faces. But in my head I was only irritated that I let myself be another party whore. Honestly, what in the hell was I thinking? Had I honestly expected he wouldn't run back and tell all the guys about our night? The thing was he didn't remember, so my guess is he made shit up just so he could be the man. A slap on the back, a few way to gos from his brothers, as he went on about screwing the desperate girl.
Guys were assholes.
By the time I came back out from the back, the guys were already gone and I ignored the curious looks that Miles and Trina were giving me. Neither of them were going to get details; they could think what they wanted. I have never been the type of girl to give a shit what people thought of me and I sure as hell was not going to start now.
Chapter 15
Xavier
I leaned forward, placing my head under the warm water spraying from above as I closed my eyes, allowing the water to relax me. My thoughts fell back once again to a set of gorgeous green eyes. Hooded eyes, staring up at me and my body moving against hers.
Memories of my night with Morgan had been coming back to me, vivid memories of the most erotic night I had ever had. She was so needy, almost as desperate for me as I was for her. We were ravenous, clawing and tugging at one another. A hunger that was uncontrollable, a desire that was untamable.
Fuck, it was something I craved so badly, it consumed me when I least expected it.
I wanted to touch her, taste her, but that wasn't all. I wanted to know her.
My mind raced as I pictured her blonde hair and that beautiful smile. She was a challenging girl, but I knew there was more to her; if I was given the chance to unveil her I would be glad to.
The warm water felt great pelting against my skin, relaxing almost.
In this house it was impossible to get an uninterrupted shower, and I was surprised I’d been given the ten minutes I had. Normally within seconds someone was already beating on the door bitching about needing to hurry. If that didn't work, the assholes moved on to the next level and starting pulling shit like picking the locks or even worse, turning off the main water valve. There was nothing worse than having shampoo in your hair and not being able to rinse it. Well, when it ran down and got in your eyes it was a little worse.
So being allowed these few extra minutes was something I planned to take advantage of.
Opening my eyes, still with my head tilted down, my gaze landed on the small hoops that remained in my nipples. They were a reminder of my night with Morgan. The night shit got a little crazy, yet the memories of her flooded out everything else. I’d have already removed them if she hadn’t said she liked them. The way her eyes bored into mine and that sweet seductive look that covered her face when she looked back at me. I stood naked before her, in the middle of her bathroom, with her crazy ass roommate only a few feet away, and all I could focus on was her.
Faint memories of that night and well into the morning had slowly came back to me. I might not remember it all step by step, but I had flashes. Small windows of our time, the way she ran her tongue over my nipples as she thrust her hips against me. Warm, wet kisses over my chest and stomach, the way she’d looked up at me through hooded eyes as she moved lower and lower. It was like I could almost feel her against me. Her fingers linked with mine as she used the support I offered to ride me hard and fast.
The memories were now so vivid.
There were also the soft whimpers and words she released as I flipped her over and took control. Sweet pants, mixed with demanding encouragement. Damn, the girl was hot, needy, and though I tried, I couldn’t get her out of my mind.
She was the polar opposite of Britney. The impression she made just after one night had my head spinning and my body humming at an almost constant pitch.
“Quit jacking off, asshole.” Loud pounding echoed throughout the bathroom. “You’ve been in there long enough.” Corbin was such a dick. “I need to get in there before the rest of the assholes get here and take all the hot water. I got a friend coming over tonight and I need to make sure my junk smells fresh.” Like I said, a dick. I could guarantee this so-called friend he had—he didn't even know her name. Most of the guys in the house were like that.
I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, grabbing the clean towel from the shelf. Taking my time to dry off just so I could further irritate Corbin, my mind rolled around trying to think of the next big gag I could pull. Yes, we were all unable to pass up the opportunity to get one of the other guys when they least expected it. It kept things interesting.
In this house there were a list of things you never should do. One being you should never leave your shampoos or body washes out unattended. It may seem girly, but I carried a handy little basket with all my own shit. My shaving cream, razors, body wash, shampoo, hell even my cologne and deodorant. Believe me when I say the guys calling me a pussy was better than the alternative. The pink loofah and the douche I found on my bed last week still didn’t phase me. I would always keep my shit secure. Not everyone in the house had learned their lesson yet. The twins—they’d never get it.
“Come on, X.” He pounded on the door once again. “Get on with it; your dick is the one hair that is slightly bigger than the rest. Just jerk it, think of a naked chick with big tits and get the hell out.”
Shaking my head, I leaned into the shower and grabbed the bottle of body wash that had Corbin’s name on it. I should have felt bad for what I was about to do, but I didn’t; he was the dumbass who left it out in plain sight. He was also the prick tormenting me at the moment, so to me it all seemed fair.
I knelt down and opened the vanity, leaning in to reach into the very back corner. There was a space behind the built-in shelves that a small baggy of goods fit behind. I smiled to myself as I pulled it free and held it out before me. Food coloring, Nair, and a few other items were still tucked safely inside.
This time I went for blue.
Unscrewing the lid to his body wash, my grin grew wider. The bottle was a d
ark gray color and contents within the bottle were a shade of bluish green, which made this even better. Tipping the food coloring up, I slowly counted out the drops in my head.
One, two, three.
“Xavier, come the fuck on, man.” This time it sounded like he was kicking the door.
I looked over my shoulder, and by the time I looked back I realized I had lost track of the drops I had applied. For a moment, only a small one, I thought of maybe not going through with it. But, only for a small moment. The asshole had tormented me a time or two.
I shrugged my shoulder and thought fuck it.
Quickly I placed the food coloring back in the bag and tucked it back behind the shelf before standing up and screwing the lid back on the body wash. With a few good shakes, I placed it back inside the shower and wrapped my towel around my waist. I hurried to gather my things, and just as I opened the door, a fist almost collided with my face.
There I stood in the doorway, staring back at him, trying not to give anything away.
“About time, man.” He pushed past me and I quickly stepped out into the hallway. The door slammed behind me, indicating he was in a rush and it only made my smile grow.
I walked toward my room, suddenly feeling triumphant, as I thought of what Corbin would look like when he exited the shower.
“What are you smiling about?” I looked up to see Red walking toward me. “And why the fuck you still have those damn things in?” He pointed toward my chest.
“Well, I still have these in,” I answered pointing toward my piercings, “because I kinda like them. I think they look badass, so I guess I should offer you a thanks.” He hated that I wasn’t pissed he’d pierced my nipples. Made the whole thing even better. “I’m smiling because Corbin is in the shower, and I left him a little surprise.”
“Do I even want to know what the hell you’re talking about? Because the way you’re gleaming makes me wonder even more about the two of you.” He arched an eyebrow at me, yet still didn't move out of the way.
