She Wants It All: Book Three of the Sheridan Hall Series

by Jessica Calla

  Before I have a chance to figure it out, Dave grabs me around the waist and swings me down into a deep dip. “Ah!” My heels slip, and my feet leave the floor, but he catches me, mid-fall. My clutch flies out of my hands and opens, Dave’s wooden beads slide across the floor.

  He doesn’t seem to notice as he leans over me, his hair flopping forward, his twinkly eyes searching mine, the light from the chandelier glowing from the ceiling over him. He smiles, and I remember how he looked in bed, over me the same way.

  I roll my eyes to hide my feelings. “Let me up.”

  He pouts. “No. I’m being romantic.”

  “By flinging me around like a madman? This type of maneuver takes skills, David.” I wiggle to try to get him to release me, but he grips me tighter. His hands are strong.

  “Well, then I’ll practice.” His eyes search my face and then travel down my neck.

  I huff and stop wiggling, defeated. “Stop looking at me.”

  “I can’t help it. You’re beautiful.” He squints, and my face heats under his stare. “It’s unreal. Like you’re really, super pretty. How’d your mama make you like that?”

  “In a test tube.” I try not to grin.

  He looks at me through the corner of his eye. “Huh?”

  “Long story. Your tie looks ridiculous. Who tied it? Suzi? I saw her with you, you know.”

  “I’m not with Suzi. I’m with you. Since September. Since I realized we share the same world.”

  I wiggle but can’t move. His arms are like a platform under me. I look past him when Juliet pops through the door. She stomps into the foyer and freezes when she sees us.

  “Help!” I yell.

  She smiles and then winks. “You’re on your own with this one, Mags. Good luck, Second Floor Dave. Maybe you should kiss her or something.”

  “Great idea,” he says to Juliet, still looking at me.

  “So do it and then get on stage. We’re a half hour behind. I’m getting pissed off. If you’re not—”

  He turns away to smile at her, and I glance at his neck. I lift my head a little to try to smell him while his attention is elsewhere. “Don’t worry. I’m on it,” he says.

  Juliet spins on her heel and clicks her way back to the ballroom.

  When he looks back down to me, I grunt and struggle. Finally, he lets me up.

  “Sweet Jesus in heaven.” I straighten my dress, readjust my hem, tuck in my hair. “Well? Are we done here? Let’s get this going so I can get back inside.”

  He takes the step to close the distance between us. Wanting him to kiss me, my breath hitches as the butterflies swarm my belly and my heartbeat speeds up. But then, when he’s close and my lips part, he grins his rock star smile and walks past me.

  My breathing returns to normal. I turn as he bends to pick up his beads. He lifts his eyebrows and holds them up, dangling them around his finger. “You dropped these.”

  “I…I don’t know how they got there.” I don’t tell him I haven’t let them out of my sight since the day I took them.

  “I don’t believe you.” He walks to me, puts the necklace over my head, and then holds my face in his hands. His palms caress my cheeks, and his thumbs lift my chin. My breath speeds up as we stare into each other’s eyes. My body anticipates him, wants him, and forgets everything but how his hands feel on me.

  His lips find mine, and all I want is the chapter to end, the curtain to close. I want this gentle, warm kiss to be my happily ever after because, at this moment, my heart is full. As full as it has ever been. Yes, yes, yes, whatever you want, I want to yell as his lips tease mine.

  But this can’t be the last chapter. It can’t be the happily ever after. It’s too soon. I’m off boys. We broke up. We rushed into a serious relationship that neither of us was ready for. I can’t physically pull away though. My heart won’t let me. So instead of saying all that, I keep him in the lip lock. “I love kissing you.” I murmur the words against his mouth.

  He pulls away. “I love kissing you too.”

  “But.” I catch my breath, holding my finger to his lips to stop him from kissing me again. “You want everything to be easy. You want to stay when it’s fun and all Second Floor Dave-ish,” I wiggle my hands when I say it, “and then run when it gets tough.”

  “I was scared.”

  “That’s understandable, but that’s just it. I’m tired of falling in love and then guys getting scared and running. So tired of it, Dave. I’ve decided that I have to focus on myself.” I stand straight and pull my shoulders back. Grit. I got it.

  Dave laughs.

  Grimacing, I take a step away. “What are you laughing at?”

  “You. That whole ‘focus on yourself’ bit is great, Maggie, in theory. But do you know yourself?” I hate the way his eyes dance and voice sings.

  I grunt something that sounds like “huh” and ask, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He points at me. “When have you ever, truly, focused on just you?”

  What? “I focus on myself all the time—when I’m studying, when I’m on the farm—”

  He smirks and purses his lips. “No. You need a man.”

  My jaw drops. I can’t believe the nerve. “Excuse me?”

  He shrugs. “Like it or not, you’re passionate and loving. You thrive around people. You love love, and you’ve told me yourself that you always have guys in your life. You like to be touched, worshipped.” He looks down my body, his gaze is like an electric current scanning me. “I’m happy to do all of that.”

  “No, no, no, no, no.” I hold up my hands to ward off his sexy vibes. “I’m having a new lease on life. A new beginning. It’s the Year of Maggie. I don’t want anyone, especially you.” I turn away from him and walk.

  He follows, talking behind me. “Does the Year of Maggie mean that you’re going to lie to yourself too? Because I’m pretty sure you want me.”

  I spin and cross my arms over my chest. The ego is unreal. “Oh really? That’s a bit vain there.”

  “Not vain. Just true.” He reaches for his beads around my neck and twists them around his hand.

  I can’t argue too much, not when he pulls me to him. Not when our chests are touching and his fingers are on my neck. This time, when he kisses me, it’s not slow and deliberate. At. All. His lips devour me, his hands mess up my updo, his body pushes against mine, and the layers of clothes between us feel like miles of barrier I want to break through.

  I hear the moan escape before I can control it and concede his point. “Wanting you,” I say, catching my breath, “doesn’t mean we should be together.”

  He kisses my neck, my earlobe, and every place of skin that I tilt my head and offer to him. “Yeah, it kind of does. There’s no reason now why we shouldn’t be.”

  “Dave—”

  He pulls away, and I miss his lips on me. “Look,” he says, his eyes locked on mine, “I don’t know what to do. I may never have the big move or be the hero you want. I know we’re new and things went fast. It’s not traditional, and we don’t know each other. Of course, I want you to focus on you. I want to focus on you, and mostly, I want to keep kissing you. I can’t predict the future, but I know I’ll always want you. Always need you. And I’ll always love you. I know this is sink or swim for me, so I’m begging you. Take a chance and start over with me.”

  His words squeeze my heart. His closeness makes me woozy. But when I close my eyes, I remember my vow. I have to protect myself.

  I open my eyes. His face is sad and scared. Neither of us speaks.

  He grabs my hands and bends so we’re eye-to-eye. “Please, Maggie. Take a chance on me.”

  Do I want to risk heartbreak again? Will Dave run from me when we have real problems? Hasn’t he run from everything stressful in his life? But he didn’t run from the most stressful thing he’s faced, thinking he was a father. He ran to that, to Amber, to fix it. Even with his past, he admits he started off in September poorly. He doesn’t deny who he is or what he’s don
e. Even when I doubted him, even when my entire floor gave him a hard time. That takes guts.

  Being with Dave may mean heartbreak someday, but at this moment, I want him. I want him to sing me songs and take care of me. I want to be the person he comes back to after the groupies try to maul him on stage. I want to feel his body, long and lean over mine. I want to kiss him. Dear God, do I want to kiss him.

  Maybe he needs a test.

  I put my hands on my hips. “Why should I take a chance on you, when you’ve never taken a chance on yourself?”

  His look turns from panic to confusion, and he furrows his brow. “Huh? What do you mean?”

  I point to the ballroom. “Juliet’s waiting for you. Put your money where your mouth is, Mr. Take-A-Chance. Go play your new song.”

  He takes a step back, holding up his hands. “That’s different.”

  I cross my arms over my chest and stick out my chin. “Is it now? How so?”

  He shifts his stance. “Because I could make a fool of myself and my band.”

  “Ha!” I scoff. “I hate to break this to you, but that’s exactly what ‘taking a chance’ means. There’s also the flip side of it where you could do something totally amazing.”

  He nods slowly, deliberately. I see his wheels turning. “And you? Have you submitted the paper?”

  “What?” His question surprises me, and I feel the momentum shift. “Olympia? I didn’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I took New York. Then gave up on the paper when I went to Miami—”

  “With Winston, I heard. Not thrilled about that.”

  “I didn’t invite him.”

  “He needs the shit beaten out of him. If he keeps up with this—”

  “He won’t. We talked.” I hold my hands to his chest. “He understands.”

  Dave grunts. “Talked? Is that all you did?”

  I raise my eyebrows. “Seriously?”

  “I can’t stand that he got to be your first. The thought of you with anyone but me makes me insane.” He holds my hands.

  I shake my head. “Nothing happened. I told him to accept that we’re over, to back off and be my friend. Then I went home to Delaware, saved a kid, and drove up here.”

  “Saved a kid?”

  “A baby goat. I helped save her anyway.” I jerk my hands away and turn my back to him.

  He touches my shoulder. “You’re meant to go to Olympia, Maggie.”

  I don’t turn around. “It was just an internship.”

  His words are soft. “The paper was due today?”

  Talking about Olympia makes me sad, so I spin around and poke his chest. “Why are you changing the subject? We were talking about you and your band.”

  “Just tell me.”

  “Yes. Today was the last day.”

  The ballroom door flies open. Juliet storms in and clicks her way toward us. “Dave. Now.” She points behind her to the ballroom. Then to me, she says, “Sorry, Mags. I have an event I’m trying to run. You two can sort out your love life later.”

  “Thirty seconds,” he tells her.

  She clenches her teeth, growls, and disappears.

  He turns his attention back to me. “I’d like to offer you a deal. I know this may be a little Second Floor Dave-ish….”

  I raise my eyebrows. “Continue.”

  “I’ll do the new song, possibly making an ass out of myself, if you submit your paper.”

  I shake my head. “Can’t. It’s too late.”

  “The day doesn’t end until midnight. You have plenty of time.”

  “But my paper sucks.” Even I hear the whininess in my voice.

  “Oh no!” I can tell from his tone that he’s teasing. “So you may make a fool of yourself? That’s exactly the meaning of ‘taking a chance,’ smarty.”

  “Har, har.” I pace and think about it for a second. The draft is done. Maybe Mom was being too hard on me when she ripped it apart. Maybe I’m being too hard on myself. I guess I could. “Fine,” I bark as I turn to him. “But you—”

  “Shush,” he sings, interrupting me with his wiggling finger. “I’m not done. In addition, you have to go out with me on a date. To Roberto’s.”

  Of course I’d love to go to Roberto’s. I’d go to Roberto’s with the devil himself, but going with Dave is like a dream come true. I fake a groan.

  He scoffs. “Is it that terrible?”

  I love that he thinks I’m serious about hating this. “I guess I could do that.”

  “Deal then?” His playful smile lights up the hallway. The rock star grin.

  I can’t resist. I charge him and jump into his arms. He catches me against his chest, and I tilt my head down to kiss him. Hard. The damn right I want you kiss. When I release my hold on his lips, he lets me slide down his body and my feet touch the floor. Somehow, I’m still floating. “Deal,” I whisper.

  He keeps his face close to mine, our lips inches apart. “Wow.”

  I nuzzle his nose with mine. “For good luck.”

  The door to the ballroom opens. I peek around Dave.

  It’s Chase this time. “Juliet says I’m supposed to kick Dave’s ass?”

  I scowl at Chase over Dave’s shoulder. “He’s coming.”

  Dave kisses my hands, first one, then the other. “I better get inside. You’ll wait for me?”

  I smile and point my thumbs at myself. “Number one groupie.”

  He pecks me on the cheek then lets me go. At the door, he glances back to give me one last melt-me smile before disappearing into the ballroom with Chase.

  Sweet mother, what am I getting myself into?

  Chapter 33

  Dave

  The guys are waiting for me, instruments ready, by the time I make it to the stage.

  “Finally,” Tuck says, twirling his drumsticks. “You fix things with your girl?”

  I look around at them, bouncing on the balls of my feet, warming up for our performance. “You guys have to help me with that. We sort of made a deal. She’ll go out with me if we play a new song.”

  Bryce fist pumps. “I knew I’d like your Squirrel Girl. Dreamgirl?”

  I shrug. “I guess that’s our best bet. Tommy? Tuck? Chip? You on board?”

  “Sing me the first few lines so I can hear your key,” Tommy says.

  I clear my throat and hum and then sing the first two lines.

  “Got it.” He messes with his strings and lightly strums. “So what’s the lineup?”

  Tuck grins at me from behind the drums, and I offer up a pop tune, a rock tune, and then Dreamgirl, a folksy ballad. “It’s all over the place, but at least we’ll have fun.”

  “To fun it is,” Tuck toasts, holding up his sticks.

  As the curtain opens and we start our set, I can’t remember a time when I was so psyched for the stage. As the band plays and I move around the stage, I catch a glimpse of Maggie, looking beautiful, dancing, and smiling at me like I’m some kind of hero.

  After our set, we break down our equipment so the next band can set up. We move quickly, dragging things off the stage and into Bryce’s van. Juliet’s already pissed because we started late. She warned me that if we hold up the next band, she’ll get the guys to fuck us up. I’m not entirely sure she’s kidding.

  As a sign of respect, we stand backstage and watch the other band perform. As soon as their last song is done and the curtain closes again, I bid the guys farewell and jump off the stage, scanning the room for Maggie.

  I find her with her group of floormates. Circling my arms around her waist, I lift her from behind and swing her around. The others laugh as she yelps. I stick my nose in her neck and smell her strawberry scent.

  “You were amazing!” she says. The others offer various accolades, but I’m only focused on Maggie.

  Rocco offers me a nod. “You did a nice job honoring Frank. He’d have loved your song.”

  Pooja touches my arm. “It was beautiful.”

  I look around the group. It’s been a ha
rd night, especially for them, having lost not only their fellow student but also their neighbor and friend. Prior to the performances, Juliet had given a speech about Frank. Frank’s grandmother presented a check to the university, representing fundraising efforts for the foundation set up in Frank’s name to end violence against women on the campus. We’d heard backstage that the emotion in the room was intense. As part of the band, I’m hopeful we cheered people up and reminded them to focus on Frank’s life, not on the terrible way he died.

  Ben officially introduces me to his brother Evan, the guy Maggie was talking to, who is so good-looking that I think I want to date him. I grab Maggie’s hand and hold it close to my body so he knows she’s taken.

  Juliet and Chase are on the outer circle of the group, lost in their own world, and Rodrigo stands with Poppy and her music people. One of the music people waves at me and says, “Nice job.”

  Making me even happier though is the fact that I’m standing there with the most beautiful woman in the room. I pull her to me and talk into her ear. “You ready to go? We better get to the dorm and get that paper sent.”

  Meg overhears. “You haven’t sent the paper?”

  Maggie waves her hand at Meg. “I’m going now, Mom.” Then to me, she adds, “A deal’s a deal.” It’s the same thing she said when she came to my room that first time to schedule our contract date.

  She wraps her arms around my neck, and we sway to the soft jazz music that’s resumed. “Seriously,” she whispers in my ear. “You guys sounded great. You looked amazing, even with your terrible tie.”

  I rest my forehead against hers and smile. “This is a new start for us, right?”

  She murmurs something that sounds like “um-hmm.”

  I’m about to kiss her when a tap on my shoulder startles me. Ben’s pointing to the other side of the room.

  Amber’s eyes meet mine. She lifts up a hand in greeting, the other rests on her belly. Her maroon colored dress stretches across her body and hangs to her knees. Her hair is twisted into a knot on her head.

  “I guess that’s what they mean when they say pregnant women glow,” Maggie says. “She looks great.”