After (The After Series) (35 page)

His thumbs swirl around my nipples, before he pinches them lightly. My head falls to his chest and I am unable to control my moans as his fingers continue their gentle assault.

“I bet I could make you come just by doing this,” he says and applies more pressure.

I had no idea that this could feel this . . . good. I nod and Hardin chuckles, his mouth against my ear. “Do you want me to do that? Make you come?” he asks and I nod again. Does he even have to ask? My heavy breathing and shaky knees should give it away.

“Good girl, now let’s move to the—” he begins when the alarm on my cell phone goes off.

I snap to attention. “Oh God! We have to leave in ten minutes, Hardin, and you’re not even dressed. I’m not even dressed!”

I pull away, but he shakes his head and pulls me back to him, this time pulling my pants and panties down my legs. He reaches over and shuts my phone off.

“I only need two minutes; that leaves eight to get dressed.” He lifts me off the floor, taking me over to the bed. He sits me down on it, kneels in front of me, and pulls me by my ankles to the edge. “Spread your legs, baby,” he coos, and I oblige.

I know this wasn’t on my schedule for this morning, but I can’t think of a better way to start my day. His long finger traces up my thighs and he holds me down with one hand. His head dips down and he licks up and down my core once before puckering his lips and sucking. It’s that spot again, oh Lord. My hips buck off the bed and he pushes me back down and continues to hold me down. Using his other hand, he inserts a finger into me, pumping faster than ever before. I can’t decide if his hands or his sucking feels better, but the combination is mind-blowing. Within seconds I feel that burn in the pit of my stomach and he pumps his finger faster.

“I’m going to try two, okay?” he says and I moan in approval. The feeling is strange and a little uncomfortable, like the first time he slipped his one finger inside me, but when he places his lips back on me and sucks again, I forget about the subtle pain. I whimper as Hardin removes his mouth once more.

“Shit, you’re so tight, baby.” His words alone are going to send me over the edge. “You okay?” he asks.

I grab him by his curls and push his face down. He chuckles and then attaches his lips again. I moan his name and pull his hair as I experience my strongest orgasm ever. Not that I have had many, but this one was definitely the quickest and strongest. Hardin places a small kiss on my hipbone before standing and walking to the closet. I lift my head and try to catch my breath. He
walks back over and wipes me off with a T-shirt, which might be more embarrassing if I were fully coherent.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to brush my teeth.” He smiles and exits the room. I stand up and get myself dressed and check the time. We have three minutes until we have to leave. When Hardin returns, he quickly gets dressed and we’re gone.

“Do you know how to get there?” I ask as he pulls out of the driveway.

“Yeah, my father’s best mate from university is Christian Vance,” he tells me. “I’ve been there a couple of times.”

“Oh . . . wow.” I knew Ken had a connection there, but I didn’t know the CEO was his best friend.

“Don’t worry, he’s a nice guy. A bit of a square but nice; you’ll fit right in.” His smile is contagious. “You look lovely, by the way.”

“Thank you. You seem to be in a good mood this morning,” I say teasingly.

“Yeah, having my head between your thighs this early in the morning seems like an omen for a good day.” He laughs and takes my hand in his.

“Hardin!” I scold him, but he only laughs once more.

The drive goes quickly, and in no time we’re pulling around back of a six-story building with mirrored glass sides and a large
V
placed on the front.

“I’m nervous,” I admit as I check my makeup in the mirror.

“Don’t be; you will do fine. You are
so
smart, and he’ll see that,” Hardin assures me.

God, I love when he is nice like this.

“Thank you,” I say and lean across to kiss him. It is a sweet and simple kiss.

“I’ll be in the car waiting for you,” he says and kisses me again.

The inside of the building is just as elegant as the outside.
When I reach the front desk, I am given a day pass and instructed to go to the sixth floor. I reach the desk on the sixth floor and give the young man my name.

He flashes his perfect white smile at me before walking me to a large office and saying, “Mr. Vance, Theresa Young is here,” to a middle-aged man with light patches of facial hair I can see through the doorway.

Mr. Vance waves me in and walks toward me to shake my hand. His green eyes can be seen from across the room and his smile is comforting and relaxes me as he tells me to have a seat.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Theresa. Thank you for coming,” he says.

“Tessa, call me Tessa. Thank you for having me,” I say with a smile.

“So, Tessa, you are a freshman English major?” he asks.

“Yes, sir,” I say, nodding.

“Ken Scott gave you a great recommendation, says I would be missing out if I didn’t give you an internship.”

“Ken is a very kind man,” I say and he nods, rubbing his beard with his fingers.

He asks me to tell him what I’ve been reading of late and who are my favorite and least favorite authors, and to explain why I feel that way. He nods and hmms through my explanation, and when I finish, he smiles.

“Well, Tessa, when can you begin? Ken says with your courses it’s easy enough to condense your schedule so you can be here two days a week and take classes on campus the other three,” he says and my mouth falls open.

“Really?” is all I can say. This is beyond my expectations. I had assumed I would have to take night classes and come here during the day,
if
I got the offer.

“Yes, and you will also receive credit hours toward your degree for your time spent here.”

“Thank you so much. This is such an amazing opportunity, thank you, thank you again.” I can’t believe how lucky I am.

“We will discuss your pay Monday when you start.”

“Pay?” I had assumed it would be an unpaid internship.

“Yes, of course you will be paid for your time.” He smiles.

I just nod, afraid that if I open my mouth I will thank him for the thousandth time.

I PRACTICALLY RUN
to the car and Hardin climbs out as I near it.

“Well?” he asks and I squeal.

“I got it! It’s paid and I will be here two days a week and in school three days—and I get college credit—and he was so nice—and your dad is wonderful for doing this for me—and you are, too, of course. I am just so excited and I . . . well . . . I guess that’s it.” I laugh and he wraps his arms around me, squeezing me tight and lifting me into the air.

“I’m so happy for you,” he says and I bury my fingers in his hair.

“Thank you,” I say and he puts me down. “Really, thank you for driving me and waiting in the car.”

He assures me that it’s no problem, and as we both climb into the car he asks, “What do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon?”

“Go back to school, of course; we can still make it to Literature.”

“Really? I bet we could find something much more fun to do.”

“No, I’ve already missed too many classes this week; I don’t want to miss any more. I’m going to Literature, and so should you.” I smile.

He rolls his eyes but nods in agreement.

We make it just in time for class and I gush to Landon about the internship. He congratulates me and gives me a tight hug.
Hardin rudely makes gagging noises behind us and I kick back at his leg.

After class Hardin walks out with Landon and me as we discuss the details of the bonfire this Friday. I agree to meet Landon at his house at five for dinner and then we’ll go to the bonfire at seven. Hardin stays quiet during our discussion, and I wonder if he will accompany me. He said at one point he would go, but I’m pretty sure that was only to compete with Zed. Landon says his goodbyes as we reach the parking lot and walks off, whistling.

“Scott!” someone calls. We both turn around to see Nate and Molly walking toward us. Great, Molly. She is wearing a tank top and a red leather skirt. It’s only Tuesday and she’s already almost used up her skank quota for the week. She should save that stuff for the weekends.

“Hey,” Hardin says and takes a step away from me.

“Hey, Tessa,” Molly says in return.

I return her greeting and stand awkwardly as Hardin and Nate exchange hellos.

“You’re ready, right?” Nate asks him, and it becomes clear that Hardin told them to meet him here. I don’t know why I had assumed we would hang out again; it’s not like we can spend every day together, but he could have said something.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Hardin tells them and looks at me. “See you around, Tessa,” he casually says and walks off with them. Molly looks back at me with a smirk on her makeup-covered face as she climbs into the passenger seat of Hardin’s car and Nate gets in back.

And I stand on the pavement and wonder what the hell just happened.

D
uring my walk back to my room I realize how foolish I have been, expecting Hardin to be different than before. I should have known better. I should have known that this was too good to be true. Hardin kissing me in front of Landon, Hardin being nice and wanting “more.” Hardin telling me about his childhood. I should have known that as soon as his friends came along he would go right back to the Hardin that up until two weeks ago I despised.

“Hey, girl! You coming tonight?” Steph asks as I walk into our room. Tristan is sitting on her bed staring at her in the adoring way I wish Hardin would stare at me.

“No, I’m going to study,” I say. It’s nice to know that everyone was invited, yet Hardin didn’t see fit to even mention the party to me. Probably so he could hang out with Molly without any distractions.

“Oh come on! It will be fun. Hardin will be there.” She smiles and I force one back to her.

“Really, it’s okay. I need to call my mother and catch up with her and plan my assignments for next week.”

“Laaaame!” Steph teases and grabs her purse. “Suit yourself. I’ll be out all night, so if you need anything let me know,” she says and hugs me goodbye.

I call my mother and tell her about my internship, and of course she is beyond pleased by my amazing opportunity. I leave
Hardin out of the explanation, but I do mention Ken, though I say he is Landon’s soon-to-be stepfather, which is true. She asks about Noah and me, but I dodge her questions. I’m surprised and grateful to find that Noah hasn’t told my mother everything. He doesn’t owe me anything, but I’m thankful for his omission. After listening to her talk for far too long about her new coworker, who she believes is having an affair with her boss, I finally tell her I really need to study and I get off the phone. Immediately, my mind goes back to Hardin, as always. My life was much more simple before I met Hardin, and now after . . . it is complicated and stressful, and I am either extremely happy or there is this burning in my chest when I think of him with Molly.

I will go insane if I just sit here, and it’s only six o’clock by the time I give up trying to study. Maybe I should go for a walk? I really need some more friends. I grab my phone and call Landon.

“Hey, Tessa!” His voice is friendly and soothes some of my anxiety.

“Hey, Landon, are you busy?” I ask him.

“No, just watching the game. Why, is something wrong?”

“No, I was just wondering if maybe I could come over and hang out . . . or maybe if your mom doesn’t mind I could take her up on those baking lessons.” I let out a weak laugh.

“Yeah, of course. She would love that—I’ll let her know you’re coming.”

“Okay, the next bus isn’t for thirty minutes, but I will be there as soon as I can,” I tell him.

“Bus? Oh yeah, I forgot you haven’t found a car. I will come get you.”

“No, really, it’s okay. I don’t mind, I don’t want you to go out of your way.”

“Tessa, it’s less than ten miles. I’ll leave now,” he says and I finally agree.

I grab my purse and check my phone one last time. Of course Hardin hasn’t texted or called me. I hate the way I feel dependent on him, especially when I obviously can’t depend on him.

Determined to be independent, I turn my phone off. If I leave it on, I will go crazy checking it every few minutes. Figuring that I really should just leave it here, I put it in the top drawer of my dresser before I go out to wait for Landon to pick me up.

Minutes later he pulls up and honks lightly. I jump off the curb in surprise and we both laugh as I climb into the car.

“My mother is going insane in the kitchen right now, so be prepared for a very detailed baking lesson,” he says.

“Really? I love the details!”

“I know you do—we’re alike that way,” he says and turns on the radio.

I hear the familiar sound of one of my favorite songs. “Can I turn this up?” I ask and he nods.

“You like the Fray?” he asks in a surprised tone.

“Yes! They’re my favorite band—I love them. Do you like them?”

“Yes! Who doesn’t?” He laughs. I almost tell him Hardin doesn’t, but then decide against it.

When we arrive at the house, Ken greets us at the door with a friendly smile. I hope he wasn’t expecting Hardin to be with me, but seeing no disappointment on his face, I smile back.

“Karen is in the kitchen; enter at your own risk,” he says mischievously.

He wasn’t joking. Karen has the entire large island covered in pans, mixing bowls, and a lot of other things I don’t recognize.

“Tessa! I’m just getting everything ready!” She’s beaming as she makes a hand gesture to highlight all the strange equipment.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“No, not at the moment. I am almost finished. . . . There, I’m done.”

“I hope it wasn’t too late notice for me to come by,” I say.

“Oh no, dear, you are always welcome here,” she assures me and I can tell she means it.

She hands me an apron to wear and I tie my hair up into a bun. Landon sits on the bench and talks to us for a few minutes while Karen shows me all the ingredients used to make cupcakes from scratch. I pour them into the mixer and turn it on low speed.