I nodded. “Good idea. You do that, and I’ll call someone, okay?”
“Okay.” Leda stepped past me and wrapped her arms around her torso. I watched as she rubbed her upper arms and walked away. In the hallway, Leda paused and turned around to face me. “Stratton?” She asked in a hesitant voice.
“Yeah?” I looked at her, watching as she furrowed her brow.
“Thanks,” she said quietly. She looked up at me through her long bangs. “I really appreciate your help. And I’m glad we hung out.”
That weird feeling in my chest was coming back, and without knowing why I was doing it, I stepped forward and quickly kissed her on the cheek. Leda looked stunned.
“You’re welcome,” I said politely. “I enjoyed it as well.” I looked up to tell her that we should get beer again, but she was already walking away.
Chapter Six
Leda
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Megan bit into a slice of pizza and chewed, a trail of cheese connecting her mouth to the steaming-hot food. “It’s your birthday! You only turn 24 once, you know,” she advised after she’d swallowed. “We should really do something fun.”
“I know,” I said, sighing and wrinkling my forehead. “It just seems weird to go out and party. Finals are only a few weeks away.”
“Leda, they’re in like a month,” Megan protested. “Come on. Just kick up your heels for once, okay? We haven’t even had sushi in weeks!”
I rolled my eyes. I knew she was right, but going out really didn’t sound like fun to me at the moment. “I know,” I said finally. “What should we do?”
“You decide,” Megan said. She pushed the box of pizza at me and I dutifully picked up a slice covered in pepperoni and mushrooms. “This is our alcohol blotter,” she said. “Eat! Unless you want to fall over drunk later.”
“I definitely don’t,” I said drily as I picked up a piece and started chewing. The pizza was perfectly gooey and cardboard-like at the same time, and I closed my eyes, savoring our dinner. “But I don’t want to get too crazy.”
Megan stared at me. “Okay,” she replied. “So let’s dress up and go dancing and see if we can get some poor saps to buy us drinks. There’s a new club downtown, do you want to check it out?”
“I dunno,” I said warily. “Aren’t those places full of undergrads?”
Megan shook her head. “This is an 80s club,” she said proudly. “They don’t even play music from today. None of those little twerps are going to care about this place if they can’t hear their precious Beyoncé.”
I grinned. “I love 80s music!” I cried. “That’s awesome.”
Megan grinned back. “I know,” she said smugly. “Why do you think I waited until your birthday to tell you?”
I threw a pillow at her, narrowly missing the open pizza box. She squealed and dove off the bed, rolling into a pile of clean laundry. After Scott’s weird attack on my room, it had taken me a few days to start feeling safe again. He’d ruined almost everything, but my renter’s insurance had at least paid for new textbooks and some new clothes. Megan had taken me shopping and picked out some nice things; normally, I would have told her no, but now I had the added incentive of trying to look nice for Stratton.
“You’re shrewd,” I commented. Megan raised her eyebrows and grabbed another piece of pizza.
“I just know how to get what I want,” she said archly.
“Except not,” I teased. “I still don’t see a ring on that finger of yours.”
Megan blushed hotly. “Fuck off,” she said in a good-natured voice. “But you’re right. I have no idea what Tyler’s been up to.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, let’s go out and have us a solid girls night, then. No guys.”
“What if someone wants to buy us drinks?”
“Fine.” I snorted. “Because men normally trip all over themselves to get to me when I got out. That’s definitely going to happen.”
Megan raised her eyebrows and pulled a gold and black striped mini dress from her bag. “They will when they see you in this,” she teased. “Now go try it on!”
Twenty minutes later, I stood in front of the mirror. I didn’t even recognize myself; I wasn’t sure that I’d ever worn anything so….tight.
“I don’t know about this,” I said to Megan. “I feel kind of ridiculous. Aren’t you supposed to be comfortable when you go out? So people don’t notice how self conscious you feel?”
Megan shook her head. “Total B.S.,” she said. “You look so hot.” She dug around in her purse and pulled out a makeup bag. I obediently sat on the bed and closed my eyes as she painted my face. I expected to see a clown when I opened my eyes, but she’d actually done a really tasteful job. My pale face was highlighted with a little blush on the points of my cheekbones, and my eyes were wreathed in gray and black smudgy liner. It was way more than I’d ever have done for myself, but I had to admit that I looked pretty good.
“Thanks,” I said after a beat. “Are you ready to go?”
Megan nodded and got to her feet. We strapped matching high-heeled sandals on and wobbled (well, I wobbled) towards the door. Just as we were leaving, I heard Stratton’s voice in the hallway.
“Ladies!” He greeted us, bowing comically. “You both look radiant. Where are you going?”
“We’re going to Disco Nights, that new club,” Megan informed him. “It’s Leda’s birthday. Do you want to come?”
I was about to open my mouth to protest when Stratton replied first. “Sure,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “Let me get my coat.”
“I’m not even going to yell at you for that,” I said dramatically as I covered my eyes with one hand. Megan yanked my hand away.
“Don’t even think of ruining my handiwork,” she said. “Come on, you know he’ll make it more fun.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait for the part when he brings the whole club home with us,” I said sarcastically. I frowned. What was wrong with me; why did I care so much? Deep down, I knew the answer, but there was no way in hell I was ever going to tell Megan.
The club was thumping and alive when we got there. Megan valet-parked the car and handed me a wad of cash. “This isn’t the most thoughtful gift, I know,” she half-yelled in my ear. “But you deserve a night out!”
I grinned at her. The music was pumping loud and the club was full of people dancing. Normally, it would have put me off, but I was in the mood to have fun. It had been a really long time since I’d been dancing anywhere, and this seemed like the perfect escape right before finals. It’s one thing to relax at home when you know you still have work to do, but when you’re out, you usually feel less guilty about it.
Stratton leaned down close and I felt a shiver go through my body. “Happy birthday, Leda,” he whispered in my ear. A warm feeling started to pulse in my belly and I smiled at him.
“Thanks!”
Stratton gestured his head towards the dance floor. “You want to go dance?”
I started to shake my head, but Stratton took my elbow and guided me towards the throng of people moving around. I was warmed almost immediately, and we were so close together that I had to raise my arms over my head so they wouldn’t bump into Stratton’s chest. He carved out a little space for us and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close. My heart was pounding in time with the music and even though I hadn’t yet had anything to drink, I felt drunk. The DJ faded into what sounded like a disco cover of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” and I looked up at Stratton, expecting him to laugh at me. His face was surprisingly serious; I watched the different lights play on the angles and hollows of his skin. We locked eyes and he pulled me closer so our bodies were almost pressed together. I felt his breath coming in damp bursts as he held me and we swayed to the beat together. Closing my eyes, I wrapped my arms around Stratton’s neck and buried my face in his neck. He draped his arms around my waist and pulled me tightly against him. He smelled so amazing; half spicy, half sweaty, with a little bit of earth
iness thrown in. When he began stroking his fingers up and down my back, I thought my heart would burst out of my chest.
“Hey!!” I turned around to see Megan standing there, holding drinks. She held out two shot glasses filled with a suspicious pink liquid to me and Stratton, then disappeared into the crowd. Stratton and I clinked glasses and tossed our shots back. The fiery liquid burned all the way down and I made a face. Stratton laughed soundlessly; all I could hear was the pumping music of the club.
We stood there staring at each other for a moment. My heart was thumping and I was breathing hard. Stratton’s eyes were wide open and he looked like he was sweating, but I didn’t know if it was because of me or because we were in a hot club. He gave me a weird look and reached out, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close to him again.
“What, you didn’t think I’d want to dance with you?” He whispered in my ear. I felt a blush creep up my neck and color my cheeks. “You’re so sexy, Leda.”
I was glad he couldn’t see my face that well in the dim lighting of the club. Instead of responding, I wriggled closer and pressed my body against his. I could feel his strong, muscular torso through the thin material of his shirt and I felt a tremor between my legs when I thought about how he looked shirtless. The beat of the music got louder and slower and Stratton wrapped his arms around my waist, letting them rest right above my ass. I knew I should move them up, but his touch felt so amazingly good. Stratton rubbed small circles on my lower back with his thumb, scratching me with the material of my dress. I relaxed in his arms and he pulled me closer. There was a bulge between his legs that was poking me in the groin and I flushed hotly, quickly jumping back.
“I’m going to go get a drink!” I yelled in Stratton’s ear, bringing my cupped hand to my mouth in a pantomime. “Do you want anything?”
Stratton nodded and winked at me. As I walked to the bar, I tried to brush off the way I was feeling. We were just having fun, right?
The bar was so crowded that it took me over twenty minutes to get served. When I walked back towards the dance floor, Stratton intercepted me and took his drink. We toasted and knocked back both glasses. It was really hot in the club and I was feeling warm; I could feel my hair plastered to the back of my neck. Stratton’s face was shiny with perspiration but he still looked as sexy as he ever had. I bit my lip and looked around, noting that almost every woman in the club was staring at Stratton. He gave me a look and wordlessly took my hand, lacing my fingers through his. I thought he was going to lead me back out onto the dance floor, but surprisingly he pushed through the crowd and opened a door.
Even though it was late May, the night air still felt cool on my face after being inside. I gratefully sucked in a deep breath and pushed my damp hair away from my forehead, savoring the feel of the nighttime chill. When I opened my eyes, I realized Stratton was staring at me.
“What?” My voice sounded funny after being in such a loud place, and after a moment I realized my ears were still ringing. Stratton didn’t say anything, but he stepped closer and took my chin in his fingers. I felt my heartbeat quicken once again as he leaned close; now he was so close that I could smell the liquor on his breath. I watched as he licked his lips and broke the distance between us, kissing me hard.
The kiss was electric. Our mouths fit perfectly together, and I felt my whole body weaken as Stratton gently parted my lips with his tongue and slipped it inside my mouth. Moaning, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close, pressing my body against his. Stratton tangled his hand in my hair and tugged ever so slightly, sending waves of pleasure down my neck and spine. I swirled my tongue against Stratton’s, tasting him and searching out all of the dark corners in his mouth. At that moment, I wasn’t aware of anything but us. There was nothing in my world except Stratton pressed against me, and it felt like the universe was spinning around faster and faster as the kiss went on. He slipped a hand down my back and cupped my bottom through my dress. Between my legs felt tingly and damp and I rubbed my thighs together and moaned into his mouth as he caressed my bottom.
Stratton broke the kiss and pulled away, saliva glistening on his lower lip. He dipped his head close to mine and began to gently nibble and suck on my earlobe. Chills shot down my spine as his warm tongue licked my delicate skin. I shivered in his arms and tangled my fingers in his mass of sweaty hair before trailing them down and stroking the back of his neck.
I heard a cough and jumped away from Stratton. Megan was standing behind us, looking guilty.
“Sorry guys,” she said in a quiet voice. “We have to go home now; they just shooed everyone out of the club.” I watched as the doors opened behind her and a mass of people spilled into the night, filling the air with smoke and perfume.
“Sure,” Stratton said. He grinned at me and suddenly I hated him for being able to recover so easily. I still felt like a deer in the headlights, with my pulse racing and my heart pounding.
We all drove home in silence, and as soon as we pulled in the driveway, Stratton leapt out of the car and ran inside. Like he wanted to get away from something.
What the heck?..
Chapter Seven
Stratton
“Stratton, I hope you aren’t planning to waste the entire break again,” my mother’s voice whined in the earpiece and I set the phone down on my bed, taking a deep breath. She didn’t stop talking, and her tone turned into a high-pitched whine that buzzed around my head like an insect.
I picked up the phone and rolled my eyes. “I have a job, Mutti,” I told her. “I won’t be getting in trouble and hanging around. I have to go, okay?”
“Stratton!” She shrieked as I pulled the phone away from my ear and hung up. It wasn’t worth anything fighting with her; she was just the typical, stern mother who thought she knew best. Problem was that she didn’t know best, and we’d been fighting about that for almost 25 years. I loved my family, but they were so incredibly overprotective and domineering that the moment I was away from them, my mind felt so much clearer. As usual, my mother was disappointed that I wasn’t planning to take the summer to study, or teach underprivileged youth. It was a great travesty to her that instead, I was working. She didn’t ever seem to understand graduate school had been to me, and with a heavy heart I was starting to realize that she likely never would.
Looking around my room, I observed (with much dismay) how much packing I had left to do. There was only 2 days until my flight back to Munich, and I only had one suitcase and half of a box. Frowning, I kicked at the corner of the box and walked out into the kitchen.
Ever since we went clubbing for her birthday, Leda had avoided me. At first I thought it was because she was mad that we’d kissed, but after a while I started wondering how she really felt about me. Maybe she was just embarrassed. It was the most carefree that I’d ever seen her act; thinking about Leda feeling ashamed afterward would be so typical of her image.
To my surprise, she was in the kitchen, packing a box of glasses. “Hey,” she said shortly, turning around and pulling a plastic cup out of the cabinet. I scanned her up and down—she was wearing some of my favorite fitted jeans with a white t-shirt. Whenever she reached up to grab a glass, a pale strip of skin would be exposed at her waistline. Suddenly, it was all I could do not to run over and press my mouth to her torso. I felt my mouth go dry as I imagined lifting her off the counter and carrying her to my room, burying my face between her legs and pleasuring her until she screamed and screamed. With a smirk, I realized how tense she looked.
“Moving the kitchen?” I asked her with a raised eyebrow. She gave me a weird look.
“Packing up Scott’s stuff,” she muttered. “His family came by and asked for everything.”
“I would have thrown it away,” I said with a laugh. “That prick!”
She shook her head. “I just don’t want to give anyone else a reason to be pissed off.” I watched as she swallowed and opened her mouth as if to speak, then turned around so her back was towa
rds me. I watched as she bent over and her jeans tightened over her firm ass, showcasing the round curves.
“Leda, is something the matter?”
“Nope,” she chirped without turning around. “I’m fine. Just stressed.”
I shrugged. If she wasn’t going to talk to me, I couldn’t force it. Turning around, I went back to my room and aimlessly starting throwing dirty laundry in a suitcase. Leda was so frustrating! I hated how she expected everyone around to just read her mind if she wasn’t in the mood to talk.
There was a quiet knock on my bedroom door. “Come in,” I called, zipping the suitcase shut and tossing it on the bed.
“Hi,” Leda said quietly as she let herself into my room. “Look, I’m sorry, I just feel kind of weird about what happened.” She looked down at the floor and tugged her hair out of its makeshift bun with one hand. I watched as she ground her toe into an invisible stain on the carpet.
BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) Page 132
