I held her face in my hands, tipped it back, and took her deeper. She moaned, high and tremulous, and I licked the inside of her mouth, tasting that moan, swallowing it down my throat, letting it heat my chest and belly. It was pure Helen.
As suddenly as she came, she ripped away, covering her mouth with her hand. Her eyes flicked to mine for one beat of my thrashing heart, then she threw open the car door and jumped out.
“Helen.” I climbed out my side, no plan other than not letting her leave it like this. I rounded to the rear of my car and caught her arm. “Stop.”
She looked from my grip on her to the trunk. “Pop the trunk. I need my board.”
Tugging her into me, I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t get you, baby.”
Her shoulder lifted, and it infuriated me. She was not going to shrug off that fire she’d just sparked—not when it was still smoldering and my dick was about to punch a hole through my shorts.
“Nothing to get, dude. You’re cute, you were being nice, I felt like kissing you, it’s done. Now, I want my board so I can go into my dorm and take a really long nap.”
“That’s it?” Her breasts pressed flush to my chest with each heaving breath she took. No way I believed a word coming from her pretty red mouth. “That’s all it was?”
“That’s it.” She tapped on my car. “Trunk, Theo. I work tonight, so I need that nap right now.”
“Where do you work?” I volleyed back.
“Somewhere you can’t peek through the windows.” She tapped the car harder. “Trunk. Now.”
I studied her, but it did no good. That warm, soft woman who’d been sprawled across my chest only minutes ago, clinging to me like I was her favorite thing ever, had disappeared so completely, it was like it had never happened. Her lips were still red when she rubbed them together. I didn’t even manage to kiss that damn lipstick off her.
I let go of her and opened the trunk. She snatched up her board before I could reach for it, and I grabbed her arm, stopping her from sprinting away.
“You don’t have a car.”
Her eyes rolled sideways. “No kidding.”
“Then how are you getting to L.A. to see the performance next weekend?”
“Bus.”
Nope. Never happening.
“I’ll drive you.”
“I can take the bus.”
I slid my hand from her arm to the center of her back. “You can, but you won’t, because I’ll be driving you. You can keep arguing, but it’s a waste of time. As pragmatic as you are, I don’t think you’re a girl who likes wasting time. Agree to ride with me here and now so we don’t argue for a week just to come to a conclusion that’s already foregone. You’re coming in my car, not riding the bus.”
“You know,” her toe kicked mine, “I existed before you knew me. I have ridden the bus my whole life. It’s no big deal.”
My hand traveled under her hair to squeeze her nape. “Like you said, that was before I knew you. I’m here now. No more bus, Helen.”
Her head cocked. “Will you have the Bimmer back?”
“I should.”
Her eyes flitted over me, then she gave a sharp nod. “Fine. You’re right. I don’t want to argue. You can give me a ride.”
I huffed a short laugh. “Thanks for allowing me the privilege.”
Her mouth quirked. “I really like your car.”
That laugh went on longer. “Asshole.”
Her lips curved a bit higher. “Dick.” She shoved my chest. “Go away now. I need sleep.”
“All right.” I dropped my hand. “Have a good rest of your weekend, Hells.”
She gave me a mocking salute, ducked out from under my hold on her neck, and ran up the steps to her front door. Just before she disappeared inside, she turned back, gave me a long look, then let the door close behind her.
* * *
Sweat dripped into my eyes as I climbed the steps to the frat house. A couple beer cans littered the porch, but the guys chipped in for a cleaning service on top of the one provided by the university, so the place stayed pretty clean despite the filth stirred up in these walls. That was the one thing I really liked about living here.
But then, I was a non-frat guy living in a frat house. One of these things didn’t look like the others—and that thing was me. It was out of necessity. If I’d stayed on track, I’d be in the athlete’s dorm, but since I’d quit wrestling over the summer, that was out of the question. Even if I’d been allowed to live there, most of the guys from the team were pissed at me for abandoning them without warning, so it would have been untenable. My dad, being who he was, pulled some strings and got me a single room in the frat. As much as I didn’t love it, the other option was moving back home, and that really fucking wasn’t an option.
I’d put up with this living arrangement for a year. Anything was doable for a year.
“Wait up, man.”
I paused at the front door, turning back to see Daniel jogging up the steps. He clapped my shoulder. “Hey.”
He shook his head and followed me inside. “Look at you, already up and working out. Meanwhile, some of us are just getting in from last night.”
“Oh yeah?” He stayed on my heels to the kitchen where I filled a cup of water. A few other guys were in there, scrounging for food, but Daniel had been right, it was early, so the house was still pretty quiet.
“Good night?” I wasn’t really interested, but he clearly wanted me to ask.
“Fucking fantastic.” He fished the OJ out of the fridge and poured himself a glass. “Got a new dime piece I’m tagging. Sophomore transfer, fine as hell.”
Deacon staggered in, rubbing his eyes. He jabbed a finger at me. “Fuck you. You were supposed to wake me up so I could run with you.”
“I tried. You were dead to the world.” I’d knocked on his door once. Working out was my time. Deacon sometimes horned in on it when he got his ass out of bed, but I wasn’t about to put much effort into waking him since I didn’t want him there in the first place.
“Unf.” He swung around to Daniel. “I caught the tail end of your conversation. Who’s fine as hell?”
“New girl. Elena. Blonde, mouthy, fire in bed. What was it John Mayer called Jessica Simpson? ‘Sexual napalm’? That’s my girl too.” He bit his bottom lip. “Cannot get enough.”
Deacon groaned, and my stomach churned. I could’ve gone the rest of my life without witnessing Daniel bite his lip like that. Jesus.
“Does your girl have a friend?” Deacon asked.
Daniel wagged a finger. “Funny you say that. I was just getting around to that topic with my boy Theo here. Elena does have a friend or two, one of them being Miss Abigail Fitzgerald.”
I said nothing. What was there to say about Abby? We went to the same school. Our paths would cross. Friends would see her. Sightings would be reported. I didn’t want to hear it. Seeing her still didn’t feel natural or easy. And honestly, I was still pissed off enough to avoid her when I could.