He trailed off again. “And I have school,” I jumped in. “So, what if we get together again another time.”
“Katie, are you trying to ask me out on a date,” he fluttered his eyelashes in mock-flirtation.
“I…” I faltered. “I guess?” He called me beautiful, I thought. Surely that was a clear sign that he liked me. Why was he being so coy now? Even in jest?
“This program is pretty intense,” Liam explained, “and I’m almost finished with it.”
“Liam, are you trying to blow me off?” I asked.
“No!” His eyes grew wide in shock. “Not at all. I just wanted to say that I don’t have a day off until next Wednesday. And I know that’s another school night, but…”
“But I have art class, and I’m allowed a few guest passes. I haven’t used any yet, so you can come with me.”
“What?” He genuinely looked panicked. “You know what happened in my art class before. I’m a complete disaster.”
“Good,” I said. “Then I will look even better by comparison.” I stood up.
“Katie,” Liam pleaded. I stopped and almost fell back to the loveseat, my knees weak for a second. I wanted to hear him plead with me like that again—and not in a public coffee house.
Instead of falling against him, I slid back onto the loveseat, a bit more gracefully. “You don’t have to come with me,” I whispered. “But, art was so miserable before because you had a bad teacher and you were pushing yourself for a grade. If you come with me, you might enjoy yourself. Find the fun in art again?”
“What type of thing would we do?” Liam furrowed his brows, and damn, if even the wrinkles above his forehead were sexy, too.
“We finished up watercolors, and I think we’re supposed to be moving on to sketching, but I can’t remember. To be honest, I’m much better with a paintbrush than a pen or pencil, so if we are drawing, I won’t be the best in the class. But, that’s not really the point, anyway. Art is about self-expression and having fun.”
Liam
“I cannot believe she talked you into going to an art class with her,” Oliver laughed. “You should have just taken her home when she asked, man.”
When Katie and I were leaving Brews & Brews, I grabbed her by the hand again. Once our fingers touched, she looked up at me, her face honest and wide open. As our hands met, I pulled her close to me. Our bodies pressed together, and I lowered my mouth to hers. I meant to give her another short, sweet kiss, but her mouth was soft and supple under mine, and her lips opened easily, allowing me to taste her.
My body took over. I wrapped my hands into her long caramel hair, pressing her body to mine. As we kissed, I practically shoved my tongue down her throat in desire, and slammed her up against the brick wall of the coffeeshop.
She moaned into my mouth, and I felt her hips grind against me. I wanted to hike her skirt up, unzip my jeans and have her right there and then. Instead, I used all my willpower to pull away. “I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry. Something just took over,” I panted.
Katie lightly touched a finger to her now-bruised lips. “It’s okay,” she whispered, similarly out of breath.
I ran my hands through my hair, considering the situation. All I wanted was to see Katie again, and to make her happy. There was only one thing to do. “I guess, I’ll see you at art class,” I said. “Unless you want me to pick you up, so we can go together?”
“You’ll go?” her face lit up.
“It can’t be that bad,” I replied.
After arranging a time to pick her up, I gave Katie a safer side-hug and drove home.
When I recounted this to Oliver, he laughed and shook his head. “You really are an idiot. You’re going to hate that class, you know. And you better hope this thing with Katie is just a fling. Because if it’s not, she’ll have you signed up for drawing, painting, ceramics, and who knows what other kind of lessons.”
I grimaced, and he continued, “I’ll say it again. You should have just taken her home. Would have made her happier than agreeing to go to some stupid class.”
“Really?” I quirked an eyebrow. “Because you’ve taken Emma home already? Funny. I don’t seem to remember seeing her around here.”
Oliver frowned and picked up the comic he’d been reading before I got home. “Low blow, bro. Low blow. Besides, it’s more… complicated than I thought at first.”
“Sorry,” I said, wanting to know how it was complicated, but having enough of my own problems at the moment. “Anyway, I couldn’t just go home with Katie. I haven’t talked to Nicole yet.”
Oliver stopped flipping through the comic, and looked at me, puzzled. “Wait. What? I thought that was over. You said so just this morning.”
“It is over. It’s been over. I just have to tell her about it.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“Her schedule, my schedule—”
“You chickened out,” he broke in.
“I chickened out.” I nodded. “I don’t want to hurt her, and I still keep going back and forth about whether to try video chat or wait until she comes home for the holidays.”
“Won’t she just be home for a few days around Thanksgiving?” Oliver wondered.
“No. She’s on a trimester system. She explained it to me again the other day. Three intensive units instead of two with a break from Thanksgiving until just after New Year’s.”
“Don’t wait, man. Call her now,” Oliver said, turning back to his reading. “Rip the Band-Aid off, just like your buddy Josh said.”
“Tomorrow,” I promised. “After the test. My head’s already buzzing enough after tonight, and I need to focus. Besides, you know Nicole. Do you think I’ll be able to have that conversation in a half hour?”
He didn’t look up, but started chuckling. “I hate to make fun of you, Liam, but no. There’s no possible way you can get out of that in a half hour.”
I walked back to my bedroom, thinking everything over. I could tell that, with Katie, there were no schemes or controlling plans like there were with Nicole (and just about every other girl I’d dated). Katie just wanted to get to know me better… and get me into bed, most likely, but that was one plan I could get on board with.
Nicole was gorgeous and sexy as hell, but our relationship had degraded down to twenty minutes of complaints about her fellow students and then some unsatisfying, mutual touching. In contrast, Katie wasn’t just beautiful and sexy. There was just more depth there. Our conversations were sweet, playful, and suggestive all at once. I had to admit it. Even though we’d only been together a few times, I was falling for her.
Liam
Having made my decision, the test the next morning was a breeze. “Hey, Bryant” Captain Willis slapped me on the shoulder “Everything’s back to normal. You finally get your head of your ass?”
“I guess so?” I took of my helmet and wiped the sweat from my brow.
“Guess so?” he harrumphed. “I need you at a hundred percent. Not fifty percent, not sixty, not even ninety-nine. You sound like you’re at about a seventy-five to eighty.”
“Made my decision,” I tried to explain. “Just have to let them know.”
He snorted in derision. “Them! Them is at least two too many.”
“Two going down to one pretty soon,” I said.
“Humph. Don’t care about that. Just want you to get back in the game. Fix your head on your shoulders, and get through this program. You’ll make a fine addition to the team. Don’t let a skirt screw that up for you.”
I wanted to laugh at his old-fashioned phrasing, but he must have seen the smile playing at my lips because he glowered at me. I gulped. “Yes, sir.”
Not wanting yet another full-blown lecture from the Captain, I drove directly home, took a quicker shower than I had before my date with Katie, and called Nicole.
“What?” her sharp voice answered.
“Can you hop on video chat?” I kept my voice calm.
On the other end of the line, Nic
ole sighed. “Liam, I’m not really interested in doing that right now. I have a bio-chem exam in two days, and I have to study. Paul got three points higher than I did on the last quiz, and if I fall behind now, I’m not going to be—”
“I know you’re busy.” I rubbed the space between my eyes where a tension headache was forming. “But I need to talk to you. In person.”
She let out another annoyed sigh. “Fine. Just make it quick. I have class in twenty minutes.”
“Can you get on later tonight instead? This might take more than fifteen or twenty minutes.” I tried again. I didn’t want to put this off, but I also knew Nicole, and I knew she was going to want an actual conversation.
“No. I can’t, okay. I’m sorry, but I don’t have all the time in the world for you, Liam. This is exactly why I told you to move before you started that stupid firefighter program. You can be a fireman anywhere. Why you would want to stay in Podunk Fairview is beyond me.”
Now I was getting annoyed. This was the same argument we’d been having for over a year. My friends were here. My family was here. My life was here. Her program was only a few years long. But, honestly, if it had been working before she got accepted to med school, I probably would have gone along with her. That was the real truth.
“Fine. Get online now, then.” I said. Without agreeing or saying goodbye, Nicole hung up.
A few minutes later, my laptop bleeped as Nicole signed in. “Fine. I’m here. What do you want.” I looked into her green eyes. I forgot they were more emerald than sage, the way Katie’s were. And they were more severe, particularly given her furrowed brow, which, I now realized, was almost always posed in a frown. This expression only changed when Nicole was in the throes of passion, but even then, she looked like she was driving for a particular end instead of relaxing into the pleasure of the moment or letting herself go.
“I don’t think this is working,” I started.
“I agree. But I have a plan for after the holidays.” Nicole tilted her head.
I licked my lips, trying to get the courage to actually do this. Finally, I let out a slow, “Listen, Nicole—”
“Until then, there’s not much to talk about is there?” she chirped.
“I’m not sure I understand you, Nicole. But, I wanted to tell you now that I think that we should—”
“Nikki!” a voice called behind her. “We’re going to be late for class.”
Nicole growled and turned back to me. “I hate it when she calls me Nikki.” She rolled her eyes. “Liam, I don’t want to have this argument again. Let’s talk about some options at Thanksgiving. I’ve been doing some research, and I have an idea that could really work for us.”
This time, it was my turn to frown. “Nicole, I’m trying to—”
“You’ll feel different after the holidays.” Her forehead smoothed, and she threw me a wink. “Trust me. I know you’ve been missing me and wanting more time together. Remember our five-year plan? I can get us back on track.”
“But—”
She cut me off a second time. “Hate to do this to you again, Liam, but I have to run. Love you! Talk to you later!”
The screen went black, and I sat back in my chair. What the hell was that all about? I wondered. First, the five-year plan was hers, not mine. And, I guessed that by “research” she was referring to the on-campus couples’ housing that she’d told me about before. And possibly some job opportunities. I had zero interest in moving, though, and was even less interested in trying to keep a dying relationship limping along.
Still, breaking up with someone as ambitious and driven as Nicole was going to be difficult, and even more so, given our schedules. I was going to have to wait until Thanksgiving and do it face-to-face.
My initial gut-instinct was to have a face-to-face, in-person, heart-to-heart talk with her. Nicole might not be the love of my life, but she didn’t deserve a ten-minute conversation. She deserved my time and attention, even if she wasn’t giving me the time of day at the moment.
I closed my laptop, and instantly felt my shoulders relax. Captain Willis was right. I had to get women out of my brain. I joined Oliver in the living room and picked up the spare videogame controller.
“Sweet!” he punched my arm. “We haven’t played Call of Duty in forever!”
He switched games and I maneuvered my avatar to grab up his weapon. The poor character died almost instantly—over and over as Oliver destroyed me. All I could think was how I was going to stay away from Katie for the rest of the month… particularly when we had a date in just a few days.
Katie
Wednesday morning, I texted Liam to dress comfortably in something he wouldn’t mind getting dirty, and felt a heat between my legs a few minutes later when he texted back, “You’re going to get dirty with me later?”
Instead of sending a flirty text back, I found the shirt I’d worn the first day we started acrylics. I threw it on the bed, snapped a photo, and texted the picture back to him. Laughing to myself, I tossed the shirt back in the laundry bin, though I doubt I’d wash it anytime soon. It was my favorite concert t-shirt before the acrylics lesson. Now, it was coated in a rainbow of splatters and streaks. Still, I hated to throw it in the trash.
I needed to, though, because Emma was moving in soon, and I promised myself to do some “spring cleaning” before she fully arrived, even though it was November.
My phone buzzed, and I looked down at the screen. “Did you fall in a bucket of paint?” Liam wrote.
“No.” My lips quirked up as I typed back. “Went for a swim in it.”
The real truth was that I was messy. I’d never been one of those uptight neat-freaks who kept the house perfectly clean. There were always projects cluttering up the corners of my apartment. Right now, I had some knitting in the living room for scarves I was planning to donate to the Fairview Homeless Shelter. On the kitchen table was a half-finished painting of our school that I kept trying to find the time to finish. And, the bedroom closets were stuffed with materials for my kindergarten class—banners, holiday decorations, markers, crayons, and more glitter than I cared to think about.
It was one of the things Ben complained about all the time. I warned Emma, but she just laughed and said, “I’m the same way! We’ll just have to get some plastic bins and keep everything in better order.”
I thought I’d be nervous for my date with Liam, but while there were butterflies fluttering around my stomach (and my nether regions), I found the feeling more from anticipation than nerves. Looking around the apartment as I got dressed was a different story. After the kisses we shared at Brews & Brews, I fully intended on inviting him home. I didn’t know how far things might go, but I was fairly sure that crayons and stacks of half-graded papers scattered throughout the living room would kill the romantic mood I wanted to create.
After throwing things into some of the bins Emma had bought and stuffing our closets fuller than I thought they had the capacity for, I vacuumed, spritzed vanilla scent into each room, and set candles out around my bedroom.
Then, I dove into my much-unused lingerie drawer. Ben had never cared for the silky garments. The first night I wore a corset and stockings, he didn’t say anything about the way I looked. Instead, he complained, “How many buttons and hooks do I have to pull at before actually touching you? Go take it off, Katie. I’m too tired to figure out all the ins and outs of your underwear.”
I pouted, went back into the bathroom, removed the offending garments, and came back out, stark naked. “Better,” he nodded, approvingly. And then we went about having our standard five-minute missionary style sex.
I knew Liam would be different. He was the kind of guy who would light the candles, run his eyes up and down my body when I dressed up for him, and use his strong, muscular hands to unwrap me like a present on Christmas if I wanted.
Sex with Liam would be hot, I had no doubt about that. The scrapes I had on my back the night he slammed me up against the brick wall were proof of that
. But the “savor” comment still rang through my mind, sending tingles down to my spine every time I thought about it. He might be hard and rough on occasion, but I knew there would also be room for making love as well—slow, sweet, seductive lovemaking with time for kissing and caressing and licking and nibbling and savoring. I wanted him so badly I could taste it.
Thinking of this, I closed the lingerie drawer. Not tonight, I thought. Tonight, I want there to be as little material between us as possible.
I pulled the yoga pants up over my bare ass and tried to calm down before Liam picked me up for class later that night.
When I heard the knock on the door, it was all I could do not to throw it open. “Hello, beautiful,” Liam’s eyes were intense, and I loved the way he looked in his black t-shirt and tight jeans.
“Hello yourself, gorgeous,” I tried to flirt more lightly, as if I didn’t notice the penetrating gaze he was giving me—as if he wanted to skip the date and push me right back through the door. “Shall we go?” I asked.
“Hmmm,” he considered, and the expression on his face shifted, though I wasn’t quite sure why. “Are you sure? We could just go to a movie or something. They’ve still got romantic Halloween movies playing down at the Palace.”
“Romantic Halloween movies?” I was skeptical.
“Well,” he admitted, looking a bit shame-faced, “no. They’ve got slasher films playing down at the Palace, but I thought you could be all scared and curl up into me.”
I laughed. “Something like, ‘Oh, no! Liam, I’m soooo scared. Be my big strong protector man.’” I made my voice squeak.
“Something like that,” his deep voice joined me in laughter. “That way, I’d get to play the ‘big strong protector man’ and not the ‘inept artless dork’ I’m going to be when I try to paint like… well, not even like Picasso. Just like one of your students or something.”
Hot & Heavy Halloween (Hot Holidays Book 1) Page 11
