by Olivia Evans
“Does he now?”
Well, I’d already opened my big-ass mouth, I might as well roll with it now. “Yeah, he said so earlier.”
“You’ve been talking about me to your brother?” she teased, but I noticed how she tilted her head forward a little, causing her hair to hide the side of her face. Was she embarrassed? I reached over and pushed her hair back but didn’t notice any color change in her cheeks, and her expression gave nothing away.
“Yeah, of course I have.” This was the perfect opening for me to find out a little more about her. “Are you saying you haven’t talked to anyone about me?” I softened my voice and shifted my eyes to the window. I was playing it up a bit and there was a huge possibility she would call me out, but it was worth a shot. She was quiet for a second before she spoke, her hesitance obvious.
“I’ve only met a few people on campus,” she started, blowing out a breath. She was quiet again, and I thought maybe that was all she was going to say before she spoke again. “My cousin,” she offered, causing me to look at her in confusion.
“My cousin Grace lives near my dad with her boyfriend, Preston. They’re a couple years older than me, but Grace and I have always been close. Anyway, I might have mentioned you to her once or twice,” she admitted with a shrug.
“I knew you were hot for me,” I joked, blocking her hand when she tried to smack my arm.
“God, why did I agree to go out with you?”
“Because you want my body,” I pointed out, not expecting the pinch she snuck in on my outer thigh.
“Shit,” I hissed, jerking my leg away. “You’re violent.”
“And you’re full of yourself,” she retorted, rolling her eyes. I opened my mouth to let her know she was more than welcome to be full of me too, when she brought the car to a stop and announced we were there. When I looked at the building, my jaw slackened. Was she serious?
She jumped out of the car, slamming her door shut before spinning to face me, her arms crossed over her chest. I slowly opened my door and stepped out of the car, waiting for her to tell me she was kidding, that this was some sort of joke.
“Laser tag, Skylar? Really? Aren’t we a little old for this?” I was expecting dinner, maybe a movie, somewhere we could be alone. Of all the places I thought we might end up, this was definitely not one of them.
“Yes, Brennan, laser tag. Now, quit stalling and come on.” She reached over and yanked on my belt loop, but my feet were planted, so all she did was propel herself into me. I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her to me.
“If you wanted to rub against me, all you had to do was say so.”
She clucked her tongue and tried to wiggle out of my grasp. I let her go immediately. I couldn’t have her moving against me like that and be held responsible for my actions.
I followed her inside and listened halfheartedly as the rules and whatnot were explained to us. I was pretty sure the rules were still the same as the last time I’d played, when I was thirteen.
We walked to the locker room area to pick up our gear and drop off her bag in one of the lockers. I decided to lose my button-down, figuring it’d be best to just have my T-shirt on. I cut my eyes to Skylar and noticed her staring at me, or more specifically, at where my shirt had ridden up, my boxers visible.
I cleared my throat, chuckling when she jumped and spun around like I hadn’t just caught her checking me out. I came up behind her, my arms caging her in as I pressed my hands flat against the lockers she was facing.
“You don’t have to look away. As a matter of fact, I strongly encourage you to look.” I moved her hair from her shoulder, my nose skimming the shell of her ear. She smelled like blackberries and lilacs. “Touching is also encouraged.” She slowly twisted to face me, her nose grazing mine, her breath warm as it fanned across my face through her parted lips, a subtle hint of mint lingering.
My dick began to swell, my chest tightening as my pulse quickened. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to slide my hands down her delectable ass to her thighs, hoist her up against the wall, and push into her roughly as she wrapped her legs around my waist. My dick twitched in agreement.
“Maybe I picked the wrong activity for our date,” she mused, her voice low and rough as she brought her hands to my shoulders then flattened them against my chest. I nodded. I couldn’t have agreed more.
“Yeah?”
She nodded but then narrowed her eyes, and I knew right away that we were, in fact, not on the same page. “Yup. I should have gone with paintball, then I could have gotten blue paintballs to match the ones you’re going to have the rest of the night.”
This fucking girl was going to kill me. There was no way I’d survive much longer. I dropped my head to her shoulder and groaned.
“You’re a tease,” I muttered, pulling away from her.
“Me? Oh no, you did this all to yourself, buddy.” She pushed weakly against my chest; it was then I noticed the slight trembling of her hands. When she saw me looking at them, she pulled away and ducked under my arm, turning away from me.
“C’mon, it’ll be fun. I’m really looking forward to nailing your ass,” she said with a smirk.
“I think you and I have very different ideas of what nailing each other entails.”
“Do you ever give it a rest?” She groaned, throwing her hands in the air. I shook my head, licking my lips as I pulled on my vest and grabbed my gun.
“I have unbelievable stamina.”
“Fuck,” she whined before hauling ass toward the main area. I followed behind her. At least I wasn’t the only one uncomfortable, I mused, reaching down and adjusting myself. This was going to be a long night.
Ninety minutes later, I sat with my back against one of the dividers, sweat beaded across my forehead as I gasped for breath. If I’d learned anything tonight, it was that Skylar was a fucking hustler. She wasn’t as fast as me, but her aim was spot-on. If she managed to catch me off guard, I was as good as hit. I was more and more grateful she’d decided against paintball.
I couldn’t get a read on her. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t figure her out. What kind of girl not only plans a first date, but chooses something most girls would bitch and moan about?
“Look out, dude,” a kid exclaimed, diving beside me. I scooted over as he adjusted his goggles and spoke into his radio using the code names he and his friends had come up with. Was that the deal? Did she pick this place because the chances of running into anyone from school were slim to none? If someone she knew did show up, between the dark room, goggles, and code names, they’d have no idea who she was.
But she was really good and seemed to be having fun from the way she laughed and jeered at me over the radio. I growled in frustration, ripping off my mask and rubbing my hand roughly across my forehead. I hated feeling confused. Everything was supposed to be cut-and-dried, and the fact that she had me questioning myself on the first date pissed me off. A loud beep sounded in my ear. When I looked down, the light on my vest was flashing.
“Like a lamb to the slaughter,” she sighed, coming over and sliding down beside me as she pulled off her mask. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing labored as she stared at me with furrowed brows.
“Hey, are you okay?” she asked softly.
I gritted my teeth, my insides a bundle of knots. My anger at her, Matt, Terri, myself made my vision blur and my mind cloudy. “Yeah,” I lied. “But I think I’ve had enough of getting my ass kicked by you today.” I tried to joke, unwilling to acknowledge how many levels that comment applied to.
“Wow. I think we’ll need to work on your stamina after all.” She jumped to her feet, giggling as my brain finally caught up with what she’d said.
“Hey,” I barked, laughing as I secured my hand around her ankle and pulled her back toward me. I reached out with my other hand and wrapped it around the front of her thigh as I came up on my knees, giving myself the leverage to pull her back down with me. She let out a squeak as she landed si
deways in my lap.
“You can’t say things like that and expect to just walk away.” I felt like a damn woman the way she made my mood jump from angry and hateful to turned on and playful at the drop of a hat.
“Well, how can I help improve your stamina?” Her hand snaked around to the back of my neck, her nails lightly combing through my hair.
“Are you volunteering for the job?”
She hummed. “Not today.”
“That’s not a no.”
“It most certainly isn’t,” she agreed with a smile. Fuck. She slid her fingers through my hair, and my arm tightened around her back as I dug the fingers of my other hand into her thigh. My breath escaped in a huff as I darted my eyes to her lips. She leaned into me, her chin tilting as we gravitated closer.
“You guys can’t do that in here,” a voice called from above us. Skylar jumped out of my lap like her ass was on fire, while I just let my head fall back with a thud against the divider. I wondered if permanent damage was possible from extended periods of being hard. I rose to my feet, wincing as my jeans rubbed against me. I glanced up as Skylar unabashedly watched me adjust myself, one of her brows raised.
“Unless you want to get us arrested, I suggest you stop looking at me like that,” I warned, causing her to laugh and the guy behind her to fidget.
We walked to the locker room and grabbed our shit, our eyes meeting every couple minutes, a heavy tension blanketing the air. But something had shifted; she seemed purposely controlled all of a sudden, back to being guarded, back to frustrating the shit out of me.
She offered to drop me off at my apartment since it was late, which was fine with me. I figured at this point it didn’t really matter if she knew where I lived since I’d offered to introduce her to my brother.
“Do I get to be the guy next time and plan our date?” I asked once she pulled in front of my apartment.
“What makes you think there’s going to be a second date?”
I rolled my eyes at her attempt to play hard to get. “You offered to help with my stamina. I think it’s pretty fucking safe to say there will be a second date.”
“Yeah,” she drawled, her nose wrinkling. “It’s not looking so good for you right now.”
I reached to where her hand rested on the center console, hooking my pinkie with hers and tugging her hand closer.
“C’mere,” I whispered. She shifted slightly, her pinkie tightening around mine. “What can I do to convince you to go out with me again?” I moved forward until my lips brushed against hers as I spoke. Her eyes fluttered closed.
“You—” she started as her phone began to vibrate. She jerked away and dug through her bag, snatching it out, her fingers moving over the screen. “Shit. I’ve got to go,” she said quickly, her face apologetic.
“Are you okay?” I asked, berating myself because I knew she wasn’t going to answer my question.
“Yeah. I had a lot of fun tonight. I just really need to get home.”
I’d said it before, and I’d say it again—being dismissed by this girl really fucking annoyed me.
“Fine.” I reached for the handle, only to have her grab my arm, stopping me.
“Hey, if you plan some cliché shit, I can’t promise I won’t go to the bathroom and not come back,” she warned with a smile.
I shook my head. “Deal.”
“I’ll see you Monday?”
“Yup, Monday.”
She pulled away from the curb, her taillights disappearing around the corner. I groaned and ran my hand down my face as I climbed the stairs to my apartment. Even though we hadn’t even been out very long, I was drained. This was supposed to be simple, uncomplicated. But I had a feeling Drew was right; Skylar was going to be a handful.
The following night while I lounged in my room and caught up on homework, my phone rang. I reached over and answered when I saw Jared’s name flash on the screen.
“What’s up?” I asked, falling across my bed.
“I’m going out. Get dressed. We’re meeting a couple girls I met last night.”
I hesitated. “I think I’m going to pass. I don’t want to risk getting caught.”
“Ah, so Operation Bang Skylar is still a go, then?”
“Dude, this isn’t about her,” I snapped. “This is about Matt. It’s always been about Matt. He deserves everything coming to him.”
“But fucking his hot girlfriend isn’t a bad perk,” he pointed out.
“I look at it like this—at least this way, we’re all getting fucked.”
“I saw them at the fraternity house a little while ago,” he remarked. “They were leaving when I got there.”
“Figures. Date with me one night, date with her boyfriend the next.”
“Yeah,” he responded quietly.
“I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later.” I tossed my phone on the nightstand. I wasn’t going to get pissed. I wasn’t going to be annoyed. I just needed to focus on what I was doing and why.
October 2, 2015
Skylar canceled our date tonight. Claimed she had to work. I could check and see if she was lying, but I wouldn’t. Believing her made it easier to keep up the charade. Easier to pretend I was the only person she was dating. Easier for me to play my part.
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. ~Socrates
October 2015
I groaned as I looked down at the screen of my phone. I’d successfully avoided answering the three times Dad called yesterday, but I guess he’d decided to start again until I talked to him.
“Hey, Dad,” I sighed, walking across HUB Yard to the library.
“Brennan, I was beginning to think you were avoiding me,” he said dryly. Yeah, he knew I’d sent his ass to voice mail yesterday.
“Nope,” I shot back, winking at two girls I caught eye-fucking me. I was pretty sure one dropped her books. He sighed into the phone, annoyed with my short answers. Things were still strained since our altercation last summer, and I was in no mood to play the good son just to appease him.
“I’m in Seattle. The hospital asked me to come up for a consult. I thought I’d see if you’d like to grab lunch.” I stopped outside the doors of the library and leaned against the brick wall, dropping my bag to the ground. I really had no interest in having lunch with him, but I’d never hear the end of it from Mom if I said no.
“You call Drew?” I asked, hoping at least he’d be there to run interference.
“Yes, I actually spoke to him yesterday. He didn’t send me to voice mail.”
I ignored his implication. “And what did he say?”
“He has to work. So? Lunch?”
“Yeah, yeah, where do you want to meet?” I picked up my bag and headed toward the bus stop.
“Why don’t you just come here? We can grab sandwiches at the cafe.”
“All right. I’ll be there in a half hour.” I hung up, pissed that I’d have to put off my homework until tonight. I grabbed a seat on the bus and spun my phone around in my hand, wondering if I should text Skylar. After she’d shown up at my apartment on Saturday and canceled our date, I’d expected her to give me her number, but she’d bolted so fast, I didn’t get a chance to ask. But this morning, I didn’t have to. As soon as she sat down with her coffee, she demanded my phone, punched in her number, and called herself.
Of course, that probably had something to do with the fact that she was in a hurry to get somewhere and told me to call her later. The truth was, I’d had enough of her bossy bullshit, so I just sat back and raised my brow at her while sipping my coffee. She rolled her eyes but still caved and asked if I would call her later. I nodded nonchalantly but was annoyed she was running off somewhere else when this had been our thing for weeks now.
I didn’t give a shit if it made me sound like a selfish asshole; we were dating after all, I thought snidely. Wasn’t I supposed to be upset when I didn’t get to spend as much time as possible with my girl? I felt so sorry for the p
oor bastards who did this dating shit for real.
My lunch with Dad, along with my agitation at the way she ran out this morning, led me to believe it would be better not to text her. Let her wait for a change. I rose from my seat and headed to the front of the bus as my stop came up. I hoped Dad wanted to have lunch like we used to, and this wasn’t an attempt to lecture me on my “unbecoming behavior,” as Mom called it.
I stepped off the bus and walked into the hospital, heading for the elevators before realizing I had no clue where in the hell I was supposed to meet him. I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. It rang twice and went to voice mail. Perfect. I walked to the main desk and stood impatiently as the lady behind it ran her mouth about unimportant bullshit with some old guy. I sighed loudly, earning a glare from her. Well, at least I had her attention now. I sidestepped the guy in front of me and opened my mouth to speak when Skylar’s angry voice sounded behind me.
“Dammit, Dad, I told you to take it easy after your session this morning. Why didn’t you listen to me?”
I turned discreetly, lowering my head to peek around my shoulder. Skylar was walking beside an older man who was, without a doubt, related to her. Their facial features and matching stubborn scowls left no room for argument.
“Now, listen here, young lady,” he said gruffly. “Don’t start that nagging shit with me. I was lifting the same suitcase I’d carried in the door on Saturday.”
“But you had physical therapy this morning,” she stressed. “Your muscles were already tired. You should have been resting.” He grumbled something I couldn’t hear now that their backs were to me.
“Sir,” Miss Helpful from behind the desk called in an agitated voice. I shot out my hand, cutting her off. It seemed I wouldn’t need her to tell me she couldn’t help me after all, which was ultimately what would have happened anyway.
“I’m all set,” I said with a wide smile. “Thanks for your help.”
