Before I even have the chance to murmur a prayer under my breath for her to calm down and get back on track, she pushes all her chips forward. All in. I sigh, shaking my head as the only other player left calls easily. He’s a young guy, too – maybe in his early thirties with a bald head and beady eyes that he hasn’t bothered covering with sunglasses. Judging by the way he’s been playing all night, he has something good to call such a big bet. He’s been playing safe, no bluffs that I’ve seen – at least, not that he’s had to show. He’s playing the way Skyler should be except maybe just a little less aggressive than what is ideal. Whatever the case may be, he’s got a winning hand. I can feel it.
Both of them stand and flip over their cards, Skyler pulling off her sunglasses and crossing her arms as she realizes her odds. She has a ten and Jack suited, which isn’t bad, but he’s got a pair of Kings. The flop has already been dealt and didn’t help either of them. Slowly, the dealer lays out the turn. It’s a Jack. Good for Skyler, but still not a win. The river reveals a King and the crowd claps for the beady-eyed man as Skyler’s shoulders sink. She lets out a long breath and her eyes find mine. For a moment, we just stare at each other, a sadness in her eyes that I’m not sure how to handle. Finally, I shrug and she shrugs, too. That’s it. Game over. Time to go home.
I don’t even try to talk to her as we pile into the back of a cab. I tell the driver my address and she starts driving as Skyler quickly turns to me.
“Wait, she needs to take me home first. It’s on the way.”
“You’re coming home with me tonight.”
“What?” Her voice squeaks as she yells, her face scrunched up. “Um, no. Not happening.” She leans forward to talk to the driver but I stop her before she can say anything.
“Damnit, Skyler, you’re coming home with me or I’m going to call that reporter and tell her I was the guy from the bonfire and I can tell her way more fun stories about you than what she got earlier.”
For the second time tonight, Skyler’s mouth falls open. “You wouldn’t do that.”
I pull the card Lacy slipped me as we left out of my pocket and hold it between my fingertips, swiveling it slowly. Skyler’s lips flatten into a line and she throws herself back against the seat angrily, crossing her arms and looking out the window. “You’re a Class A Douche right now.”
“You can insult me all you want, but you’re still coming home with me.”
She shifts, tightening her arms across her chest. “Why do you want me to come home with you anyway? Wouldn’t you rather call Erin?”
“I’m not asking you to come home with me for sex, Skyler. I’m your friend and whether you want to let me or not, I’m helping you get ready for May and we need to talk about tonight.”
The cab pulls up to my apartment complex and Skyler whips around to face me. “You aren’t asking me anything. You’re blackmailing me.” She throws open her door and slams it shut again before leaning down to glare at me through the open window, her face twenty shades of pissed off. “And it’s so nice to know that if it were Erin here, it would be for sex. Sorry I’m cock-blocking your cardio plans.” She slams the door and the cab driver eyes me in the rearview mirror. She shakes her head, clicking her tongue as I hand her cash for the ride.
There it is. There’s Skyler admitting what I knew all along. What happened at the gym earlier messed with her head and she hates it. I know my goal was to fuck with her head, but now I’m just as pissed off as she is. She’s the one who called things off. She’s the one who wants Adam. So then why is she jealous of my fake-hookups with Erin? Why did it throw her off her game so much that she lost a tournament she should have bagged easily?
No. Fuck that. She doesn’t get to pin this on me.
I slam my door, too, causing Skyler to flinch slightly as she stomps off toward my apartment, but she doesn’t turn around. She wants a fight? Fine. But tonight, she’s in my ring. Round two.
Ding ding.
I have no idea what I’m doing.
I always have my stuff together. I’m confident. I’m sexy. I’m Skyler fucking Thorne, damnit! I play boys. Boys do not play me. Kip got to me today and I just let him know that by word vomiting inside the cab. I held myself together, regardless of throwing the tournament. He didn’t know why, it could have been anything, but now he knows it was him.
He holds power over me. It kills me to admit that, but it’s true. For whatever reason, he rattles my cage and, as far as he knows, it doesn’t make sense. I’m supposed to be about Adam – that was the game plan. Whether I’m really into him or not, that was my role to play. I’m not supposed to care about Kip yet I just proved that everything I said to him at the dance was complete bullshit.
Fuck my life.
“Skyler!” Kip calls after me but I keep my pace. He yells my name again as I jog up the stairs and reach his door, tugging on the handle violently with no result. It’s locked, of course, because this is South Florida and you’d be an idiot not to lock your apartment. I cross my arms and wait, debating whether I should just make a break for it and call a cab but I don’t know if he’s bluffing about calling Lacy or not and that’s not a bet I’m willing to make.
“Just open the damn door.” I cut him off before he can start in as he reaches me. He huffs and shoves his key in the lock, swinging the door open and letting me in first before closing and locking it behind him again.
“What the fuck, Skyler?” He throws his keys on the small table by his couch before running his fingers through his hair. “Why are you mad at me? You wanted this, didn’t you? We’re friends, you have Adam and I’ve moved on. I haven’t made this weird. I didn’t hold what happened against you and I didn’t make shit awkward. I moved on and you got what you wanted because clearly Adam wants you. I see him texting you every fucking day and he’s always talking about you. This is it. You asked for this. So why does it matter who I’m fucking?”
I swallow hard, his words sinking deep in my gut and taking my breath with them. I assumed before, but now I know it’s true. He’s had sex with Erin. I’m not allowed to care, but I do.
Instinctively, I wrap my arms around my stomach and take a deep breath to keep from throwing up. I pull my eyes from the floor and meet his. He’s standing across the room from me, arms outstretched now, his chest heaving with rugged breaths as the muscles move under his light green t-shirt. His blue eyes are wild and darker in the soft light coming from the kitchen. He looks beautiful and dangerous and I know without a second thought that he truly is both.
“Let’s just drop it, okay Kip?” I plead, hoping he’ll head my words and just let it go. “Let’s just talk about the tournament and then we can both go to sleep and clear our heads.”
“No. Fuck that.” He spits the words out violently, shaking his head. He takes a few steps toward me and I back into the wall. “I don’t know what fucking game you’re playing but I’m calling it tonight. Why do you care about me and Erin?”
“Kip, please,” I beg, my lip quivering against my will. I bite both lips between my teeth and look up to the ceiling like I’ll find refuge there, but nothing comes.
He moves closer and my breaths quicken along with my heartbeat. “You broke me that night, Skyler.” He taps his fist on his chest lightly, his eyes intensifying. “Everything I felt between us, everything I know is here, you told me it didn’t exist. And you know what? I knew it was bullshit. I knew it. The words were coming from your lips and it was your eyes I was looking into as each one slammed into me, but it wasn’t you I was hearing. So, now’s your chance to tell me – why do you care?”
I shake my head, tears blurring my vision but I keep my eyes wide, refusing to let them fall. Kip takes another step, his chest just inches from mine now. “Was it Erin?” He waits for me to respond but I just breathe. In and out. Inhale and exhale. One lone tear breaks free and slides down my cheek, burning a scar in its wake. It might be an invisible scar, but I’ll feel this tear forever. And that’s the thing about scars. The
y’re like skid marks on the highway. No one slows down enough to see the painful proof that something happened. But the road? The road will always remember. The road can’t forget, no matter how many times it’s repaved.
“Was it?” Kip asks again, his breath sweet as it escapes his lips. “Or was it that you were starting to feel something, too? I know you, Skyler. I know who you pretend to be in front of all these people.” He gestures with his hand toward the school. “And I know who you really are. I know the you who doesn’t fit in because you were never meant to. You were born to stand out. You want to pretend like you’re untouchable and nothing can faze you with those people? Play around with a few frat boys, dress up in frilly dresses and keep your reputation? Fine.” His breaths are coming even harder now. “But don’t sit here and feed me that bullshit. I see you, Skyler. I. See. You.” Kip’s hands find my arms and he slides them up over my shoulders and grabs my face gently, keeping my eyes on his as the tears continue to spill over, falling down the same path as the first, deepening the scar. “Why do you care?”
“I,” the word leaves my mouth quietly, just above a whisper. “I don’t.”
“Liar.”
I lick my bottom lip and look up again, desperately trying to hold it together. My entire body is shaking as my eyes find his again.
“I don’t want to.”
Kip shakes his head. “But you do. This is a no-limit game, Skyler. Neither of us went into it thinking we would be here but now we’ve got everything on the table because we’re both too stubborn to give in. I raise, you call. You raise, I call. Back and forth, always in this fucking game. You want to win? Fine, take it. Take everything I have but I’m not the one who’s going to walk away the real loser. If you don’t wake up and realize what you’re feeling – what we’re feeling – is real, then it’s you I feel sorry for. It’s you who loses.”
He spins quickly, throwing his hands up and letting them rest on his head as he faces the door. I close my eyes and wipe at the tear stains, holding back the sob threatening to escape. He’s right. We are in a game. If he knew everything I’ve done to play this hand, he would hate me. Which is why I can’t tell him.
But I can’t do this anymore.
I can’t pretend I don’t want him.
“I care,” I say quietly, weakly, sniffling a little. “I’ve cared about you for so long. I care that I hurt you, I care that even though I did, you still stick around, and yes.” I stand up straight, pulling my back from the wall. “I care that Erin was here. That she was in your bed. Because I don’t want anyone else in your bed but me. I don’t want anyone else in your arms but me. I want to be the only girl in your head when you wake up and I…” My face contorts, the emotions too real. “I was petrified, okay? I thought if I told you I wanted Adam, you would leave me alone. I thought you’d be pissed off and you’d be out of my life completely and I wouldn’t have to worry about feeling this. And on the beach? I actually wanted you to be with Erin. It made sense. I figured that was your plan all along.” He scoffs at that and I shake my head. “No, I’m serious. It makes sense. Compared to her, I’m nothing, and I was happy for you. At least, that’s what I told myself. But I don’t know what to do, Kip, because I do care about you. But I can’t.”
“Why?” He turns to face me again, his eyes even wilder than before.
“It’s complicated,” I say, and it is. It is so fucking complicated.
He lets out a frustrated sigh before moving toward me again. “I didn’t have sex with Erin, Skyler. I don’t want Erin. It’s you I want.” He doesn’t stop this time, his strides long and purposeful and soon I’m backed into the wall again, his body pressed against mine. “And less than three weeks ago, you stood in that shower and told me you wanted me, too. So stop being scared, stop caring what other people think, and for once in your life, take what you want.”
Before I have time to think, I slam my mouth onto his, heeding his words. He’s right. I crave him, whether I’m allowed to or not. And even though I know it’s not right, I want him. Right now.
The instant our lips meet, the electricity that’s been building between us sparks and catches fire, burning every inch of my skin with the need to be closer to him. Kip’s hands find my ass and he lifts me quickly before pinning me against the wall, the force taking my breath for a moment. My fingers claw at his shirt, the breaths heavy in my chest as the hunger builds to an impossible level. He pulls it over his head effortlessly and lets it fall to the ground before his eyes meet mine. I see the questions, the uncertainty, the wonder if he’s going to wake up to an empty bed again. And right now, I can’t promise him anything, so I don’t speak. And he doesn’t push. We both know what this is and what it isn’t, and that’s enough.
I grab the bottom of my hoodie and pull it over my head, taking my small tank top with it. Kip’s eyes fall to my chest and I feel his hard on between my hips. Moaning at his reaction to me, I grab his neck and pull his mouth to mine again. The first time Kip touched me, I was caught off guard. I was timid and afraid and overwhelmed with guilt. Now, I still know it’s wrong, but I don’t care. I don’t feel ashamed. I don’t feel guilty. I just feel… alive.
Kip thrusts his hips into me, kissing his way down my neck. When he bites down, a sharp and pleasurable pain shocks my body and I moan again.
“Fuck, Skyler,” Kip growls, his scruff against my skin causing me to shiver. “If you keep making noises like that, this is going to be over before it even starts.” Our breaths are hard, our skin slick with sweat. “Hang on, let me grab something,” he says, starting to drop me to the floor.
I shake my head, wrapping my arms around his neck tighter. “I’m on the pill.”
Kip groans, shaking his head and kissing me hard. “Thank fuck.”
He pulls me in his arms and moves us quickly to the couch, throwing me down as he towers over me. I lean up and make quick work of the button on his jeans before tugging them down and over his hips. They fall to the floor and Kip hides nothing behind his cotton boxers. Slowly, I run my hands up his thighs and palm him through the fabric, his head falling back as a deep groan escapes his throat. Moving my fingertips to the band just below his waistline, I tug them down and his erection springs free, sending a warm pulse of need between my thighs. My eyes find his again as I move my lips to his head, slowly swirling my tongue around the tip before running it along his length.
“Fuck,” he whispers, dragging out the word. I take it as my cue and suck harder. He curses again as I pull him all the way into my mouth, feeling myself grow wetter at the taste of him. I want to devour him completely, to banish every other woman from his memory with my mouth. If there’s one thing I do better than poker, it’s blow jobs – and judging by the sounds coming from Kip right now, I’ve still got it.
Grabbing his ass in both hands, I pull him into me forcefully, his dick hitting the back of my throat. He curses louder this time and pulls out quickly before lifting me to my feet. I smile up at him wickedly, licking my lips and wiping the corners with my fingers.
He runs the pad of his thumb along my bottom lip, shaking his head. “You know exactly what you can do with this mouth of yours, don’t you?” Slowly, he runs his hand down the front of my body before tucking his fingertips in the band of my jeans. “Take these off.”
I do as he says, kicking them to join the rest of our clothes piling up around us. Before I have the chance to look at him again, his mouth finds mine and his hand slips beneath the lacy fabric of my panties. He dips two fingers inside me quickly and I moan against his lips, my legs weakening at the touch.
“I’ve got some talents of my own, you know.” He grins, working his fingers. His palm rubs against my clit and I feel my breath shortening, my body dangerously close to the edge of release. Kip uses his free hand to unclasp my bra and sends it flying across the room, palming my breast as he continues his assault. “Goddamn, you are so fucking wet, Sky.”
Desperate, my hands find his cock again and I move in tim
e with his. Our breaths mingle together, both of us wide-eyed as the heat builds. Suddenly, Kip removes his fingers and spins me around, using his palm to push my upper back down and bend me over the couch. His hands run down my hips and over my ass, hooking my panties with his fingers and pulling them down to just above my knees before letting them fall. I look back at him, completely exposed in this position as he kisses the backs of my thighs.
Gripping himself in one hand, he uses the other to slide a finger inside me again. I bite my lip and let my head fall back and he quickly withdraws and grabs my hair instead, tugging it with force. I feel him position himself at my entrance and my breath catches, my body anxious to feel him inside me. I arch my back and push my ass against him, the tip of his dick just barely slipping inside me and I hiss as he tugs my hair again, gripping it in his fist.
“I’m going to take you, Skyler. But I need you to know that once I do, I’m going to own you. You’re going to be mine. This game between us? The rules are going to change.”
“Take me,” I whisper, the words leaving my lips before I have the chance to decide if I mean them or not.
“Is that what you want?” He tugs my hair a little more, his lips by my ear now. I feel his breath hot on my skin and chills race down my body.
“Take me, Kip. Now.”
He growls against my skin and bites down on my neck before pushing inside me. I cry out as he fills me again and again, my fists gripping the sofa as the pleasure pulses through me. Kip releases my hair, his hands trailing down my back before gripping my hips. He slams into me harder, pushing deeper as my orgasm builds.
“God, you’re so beautiful, Skyler,” Kip breathes, his breath strained. “So fucking sexy.” I don’t even attempt to hide my moans now and they ring out in his apartment, the sounds echoing off the walls as we move. He leans down and palms my breasts in his hands, pulling me up and against him. Moving slower now, he kisses my neck as his hand falls to my clit. He applies just a little pressure but it shoots straight through me, my entire body igniting at the touch. I moan louder, my breaths uneven until he finally pushes me over the edge. His mouth finds mine and I moan into his lips as I come, my legs shaking against him. Waves of heat roll through me and every sense is dulled, my orgasm owning me completely.
Black Number Four Page 20
