by Terry Towers
I stared at him for a moment, not quite sure how to respond. It wasn’t too often that I came across a person who could stump me up and make me feel challenged. A part of me recoiled at his blatant egotism, but at the same time I also knew much of it was in jest. However, there was another part of me that wanted – no needed – to meet his challenge. I wanted to get to know him. And dammit, I couldn’t deny the raw sexual electricity I felt crackling between us. Just staring into his captivating blue eyes was making me wet.
The alarm on my watch began beeping. Grabbing my phone from the side pocket of my laptop case, I turned off the alarm. “I gotta go. I have a class in ten minutes.”
His smile fell, just slightly. “Oh, so when am I going to see you again?”
I gave him a half smile as I stood. “Tomorrow.”
“Oh.” His cocky grin returned. “So where and when?”
“Tomorrow.” Before he could respond, I continued, “Human sexuality. We have class together, remember.”
He opened his mouth as if to respond and then snapped it shut.
Good, I had him thinking. I gave myself a mental pat on the back. Normally, I had no problems playing the waiting game with a man, but I suspected with him it would be much harder. I wouldn’t let the game last long. I had restraint, but I was only human after all, so just long enough. I needed to know more about him, both physically and mentally. I’d just met him, and he was already an itch I needed to scratch.
I made it halfway across the courtyard and to the building when I heard him calling out to me. Grinning, I spun around. My smile faded, and I groaned inwardly. He was still seated on the picnic table and was waving the book I needed for my essay in the air.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. I shook my head at myself as I retreated back to the picnic table.
Chapter 3
Rebecca
“So that’s it?” Vanessa shook her head in disbelief. “You didn’t get another date?”
Lying on my bed in our dorm room, I huffed. Putting my textbook down on my chest, open to my place, I looked over at my friend and roommate. “I didn’t give him a chance.”
“Why the hell not?” Vanessa appeared so distraught I’d have thought it was her who was missing out on going on a date with him.
“You know why.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes at me. “Oh for the love of all that is holy. You really blow my mind you know that? Modern women don’t do silly stuff like that.”
I shrugged and picked my book back up. “Then good for them. It’s always worked for me in the past, and I’m not about to give up on something that works. Try it, and you’ll see a big difference on how your relationships develop.”
“I just - ”
Ohmygod, Vanessa could be like a dog with a bone sometimes. Try my way. Don’t do it. Didn’t matter to me either way.
Knock, knock, knock.
Groaning out loud, I put my book on the night side table and sat up. Getting to my feet, I opened the door as a second set of knocks began. “Kyle?” It hadn’t meant to come out as a question, but I was surprised to see him at my door. “How did you know where I live?”
He smiled, casually crossing one ankle over the other as he leaned a shoulder against the door jamb. “No, hello? No, good to see you?”
“I’m just curious to find out how you know where I live.”
“I have my sources.”
“It’s slightly creepy, stalker-like even, to be honest.” I cocked a brow up at him. Yes, it was kinda cool that I made a good enough impression on him that he would go out of his way to track me down, but still…
“Or maybe, just maybe, I find you interesting enough to get to know better. Take it as a compliment that I’d go out of my way to find out where you lived.”
“It is a compliment,” Vanessa said from behind me before she appeared at my side at the doorway. She offered her hand to him to shake.
He took her hand, but his gaze remained locked onto mine. “It’s nice to meet you, Vanessa.”
She giggled. “How do you know my name?”
Finally turning his attention to Vanessa, he smiled at her, making her blush. “I make it a point to know the names of the people who are important to the women I’m interested in.” He gave her a wink and she giggled. “Especially the pretty ones.”
“Right.” I turned to Vanessa. She didn’t even know him, and he already had her wrapped around his arrogant pinkie. “Would you please excuse us for a moment?” Not waiting for a response, I placed my hand on his t-shirt clad chest and pushed him back out of the doorway, closing the door behind me as I exited into the hallway.
“Back to the original question. It’s rather presumptuous of you to just show up at my dorm room door like this.”
A couple of girls I recognized but didn’t know the names of approached us, their eyes lingering on him a little longer than necessary - if you were to ask me - as they walked past. Like, move along ladies, nothing to see here, but I knew they were oogling him, just as Vanessa had. He turned his head to the direction of the women as they walked by and gave them a smile and nod. They giggled and murmured a ‘hi’ before scurrying off.
I rolled my eyes. Was I the only one to see through his charm and not be wooed by his smooth talk and sexy smile? Okay, admittedly I wasn’t completely immune. I’d be lying if I were to say I wasn’t attracted to him, and despite my annoyance over him tracking me down, I was also flattered. However, I also saw through the showmanship and smooth talking.
No doubt this is his normal routine with women, a voice in the back of my head chimed in.
But what if it wasn’t?
I heard a faint chuckling in the back of my mind. Yeah, sure it isn’t…
His gaze was focused on me again, sending a rush of yearning through me. It had been close to a year since I’d gotten laid. Perhaps he was just the person to relieve the itch my vibrator no longer could fix. If he was the player I suspected he was, then it would be a good guess he was aces in the sack. Unless of course the women he’d fucked didn’t have the balls to be honest with him.
“So, why are you here?”
“Well, I wasn’t overly pleased with how we left things at the hot dog cart - ”
“You mean because I didn’t fall all over myself hoping you’d ask me out again?”
His grin – his cocky grin – widened. “Something like that. And, in truth, the fact you didn’t makes me want you more.”
I gave myself a mental high-five. Yup, two could play at the seduction game.
“And?”
His grin faltered – just a smidge, but I saw it. “I want to take you out on a real date Friday night.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I smiled. “Go on, I’m listening. By real date I’m thinking something better than a hot dog cart.”
“Come on now, you have to admit, I made an impression. How many guys take their dates to a hot dog cart? It’s all about being memorable.”
“Funny, cause I was under the assumption it was some guy cheapin’ out while still hoping to get lucky. Maybe you figured you had enough swagger to get my panties off with minimal effort.”
“I wouldn’t insult you like that.”
I paused a moment, him staring down at me and waiting. “All right.”
For a flash of a second, he looked a little surprised. He recovered quickly, giving me a sexy smile I swear to God should be patented it was so effective. Despite my decision to keep cool and collected, I felt a little flutter in my stomach.
“Then, that’s it. It’s a date. How does 7pm work for you?”
I clucked my tongue off of the roof of my mouth, pretending to consider it when in all actuality I already knew I had nothing planned for Friday – aside from studying. Keeping my gaze locked to his, I smiled. “I think I can make it work.”
* TT *
Date night.
Admittedly, I felt a little bit nervous. Not overly, but enough that I changed my dress a couple of times because I was not sat
isfied with the first outfit. Nervousness wasn’t something I felt frequently – it was an unsettling feeling.
He’s just a guy. Like every other guy I’ve dated in the past.
Why then did he affect me this way?
But he wasn’t. Not really. There was something different about him, and it wasn’t his look or cockiness. Not at all. There was something in his eyes when he looked at me, almost predatory which made me uneasy, but also excited me more than any other man. He looked at me like he’d devour me in a heartbeat.
And I’d let him.
I smiled at myself in the full length mirror on the back of the bathroom door. Sure, I’d let him, just not tonight. But by damn, I was planning on tempting him. I was wearing one of my favorite dresses– it was black and form fitting, showing off my petite frame with a V-neckline dipping deep into my cleavage and with a skirt that fell mid-thigh. My breasts were my best feature, and I’ll admit I showed them off when I could.
My father, being a preacher, had strict rules on what my sister and I wore. My sister, Emily, would follow his rules to a T, whereas I fudged them a bit. Sure, I’d put on what he wanted before leaving the house, but little did he know when I got to school, the more revealing clothing would come out of my backpack and be put on. I may have been a preacher’s daughter, but I’d be damned if I would be labelled as one by my classmates like my sister was.
Our dorm room door opened and closed.
“Are you still here?” Vanessa asked from the doorway, her voice followed by footsteps heading towards me.
“Yeah, I’m leaving in…” I looked down at my dainty, analogue watch. “Ten minutes. As long as he’s on time.” I wore a digital watch to classes because of the alarm – it was practical. But going out, a watch was just as much an accessory as a necklace.
“Damn, you look sexy with a capital ‘S.’” I locked gazes with my roommate in the mirror.
“Thanks.” I ran my hands through my dark locks, flattening the shoulder length strands. “I was trying for the ‘Feast your eyes, I know you want it, but you’re not going to get it’ look.” I spun around, my flattened locks becoming disheveled again, and faced Vanessa.
Vanessa took a step back, and her eyes scanned me, starting at my bare feet and moving all of the way up to catch my stare. “You succeeded. But come on, it’s date two.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Are you telling me you’re not going to get a little something and fix that dry spell you’ve been having?”
I laughed. “I wouldn’t call it a dry spell. I’d call it having no interest because my mind has been distracted with more important matters.”
“Right.” Vanessa rolled her eyes at me as she raked her fingers through her long, curly blonde hair.
I was about to comment further when a knock came at the door. I looked down at my watch. He was five minutes early. Not bad. He’s showing me respect for being on time, but at the same time not allowing himself to appear too eager.
“Stop it!”
I frowned looking from the closed door and back to Vanessa. “Stop what?”
“I know what you’re doing.”
“I have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.” I brushed past her, heading for the door as a second round of knocks came. I smirked. Of course, I knew what she was talking about.
“You know exactly what I mean.”
I looked over my shoulder at her, my eyebrow arched as I reached for the door handle. But I didn’t say a word.
“You’re judging. Analyzing his actions. Jesus, can’t you just be normal?”
I paused, a full frown gracing my features. I had no rebuttal. I was different from normal females my age. While I’d always been popular, there was always a part of me that knew my way of thinking and theirs were different. I could believably play the role of being ‘normal,’ but I wasn’t.
Many women seemed to be slaves to their emotions. They would fall head over heels with a new guy each week, at least that’s what it seemed. I didn’t. I didn’t know that feeling of love other women claimed to get. Lust, yes. A need to indulge in my desires, and ridden hard, also yes. A need to cling to a man and lose myself in him, nope. No way.
What I was feeling towards Kyle was simply primal urges at its best. That’s it. Nothing more. Nada.
Another round of knocking spurred me into action, pulling me from my thoughts.
“At least leave the Taser and switchblade at home. It’s creepy.”
“It’s about safety.” I spun around to face her. “I’m serious. You’re too trusting, and you’re going to end up getting hurt.” What she didn’t know was there was a pistol under my mattress, not loaded, and the clip was in a bible with the middle cut out that I kept in my night-side table. The gun was my father’s. I never asked why he had it, and I seriously doubted my mother even knew it existed. As soon as he died I went to the garage where I knew he had it hidden along with other questionable objects and took it. I chuckled to myself thinking of what her reaction would be if she ever found it.
“Not every man out there is a psychopath.” Vanessa huffed, giving her head a shake.
“Not all are Prince Charming either.” Vanessa frustrated me to no end. She was too old to be as naïve as she acted. “And you know as well as I do that roughly 3 percent of the population, heavily leaning towards males, are psychopaths. Not necessarily murderers, but regardless. There’s a lot of unscrupulous people.”
Her expression became serious and I saw sadness in her eyes. “What happened to you as a child to make you so suspicious and untrusting of everyone?”
There was sympathy in her eyes – sympathy. For me! That pissed me off. I didn’t need sympathy from anyone. I was done with this conversation. “Don’t wait up.” Without another word, I opened the door just as a third round of knocks began.
Chapter 4
Rebecca
“You look amazing, Rebecca,” Kyle said as I exited my dorm room.
I smiled at him in response, but it was a fake forced smile. It would take me a minute to calm down from my encounter with Vanessa. How dare she imply there was something wrong with me. She was the delusional one! Maybe there was something wrong with me, but I didn’t like that someone else could see it.
Even though, deep down, I knew she was right. I wasn’t normal.
“Whoa, something wrong?” Kyle asked as we began walking down the corridor towards the exit.
“No.” I pushed my annoyance down, and my smile became more genuine. “It’s all fine. So where do you have in mind?” I gave him a once over. He was wearing dark blue jeans with a black, button-down, cotton shirt. He looked as sexy as usual, which made me wonder if he ever had a bad day where he looked like shit, like the rest of the world. My eyes narrowed at him as I pondered it.
“Okay, you’re giving me a weird look.” His smile faded just a tad.
“I was just wondering if you ever looked bad.”
His smile returned wider than ever. Oh lord, I had inadvertently fed his already bloated ego.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t let it go to your head.” I rolled my eyes at him but grinned despite myself.
“Too late. It’s already inflated my ego.” We reached the exit, and Kyle stepped forward and opened the door for me, moving aside and allowing me to exit first.
“Ahhh. Damn. Me and my big mouth,” I replied as I walked past him. “I imagine you have enough women falling over themselves to boost your ego.”
“Not that many. But then again, I’ve just gotten here.” He gave me a wink. “Even for a guy like me, it takes some time.”
He led me to the parking lot, and not knowing which car was his, I followed him. Looking up at him, I shielded my eyes from the sun, which was in the process of going down. “You know, I’m not sure if you’re really this full of yourself, or if it’s just an act to be charming.”
“Hmmm. Maybe a little bit of both.” He grabbed my arm at the elbow and ushered me towards a black Mercedes.
&n
bsp; “This yours?” I asked as we approached the vehicle.
“Yup. Bought her when I moved here.”
Hmmm. Kinda overkill for a college student who may or may not continue to live here after he graduates. Family money no doubt. I looked up at him again. That would explain the confidence and confirm my original assumption – he’s a trust fund baby, no doubt here under his family’s dime.
“Okay, what’s that look for? You’re not a Mercedes fan?”
“No. It’s a nice car.” I ran my fingertips along the hood of the vehicle. I’d love to have a vehicle like this one day. I wasn’t really a sports car kind of girl. I liked refined and classy. When I saw a fancy sports car, many times I would assume it was being driven by someone who had something to prove. But cars like a Mercedes, while definitely a status symbol, wasn’t an in your face ‘look at me’ vehicle. It was a reflection of refined class.
“Then why the look?”
“What look?” Damn, he was perceptive. It was like he knew my every thought before I thought it. It was a little unsettling, but at the same time, it made me want to know more about him.
Kyle opened the car door and waited for me to slip in, his eyes dipping to my legs as my skirt hiked up high on my thighs as I sat down. Good. I didn’t hurry to pull my skirt down.
With a hand placed on the roof of the car, he leaned down so he could speak to me face to face. His gaze locked onto mine, and I felt a jolt of adrenaline shoot through me. It was pissing me off that I wanted him as much as I did. Hopefully, once I scratched the itch called Kyle, I’d lose interest. At least I hoped, though deep down I didn’t think that was going to happen.
“The look on your face tells me that you have something to say, but you’re holding back.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I gave him a look that said I thought he was full of shit. “I’ll have you know I’m not usually one to hold back my opinion.”
“You are now, though.”
“Maybe you’re imagining things.”
“I don’t think so. I’m pretty good at reading people.”
“Think so?”
