Fallen for You (7 page)

***

When Neil strolled into work, he had a spring in his step that had been missing for quite some time. The ridiculous grin plastered on his face got the attention of the other lawyers and assistants as he sauntered past them, saying his good mornings and wishing everyone a wonderful day. Kate had occupied all of his waking time since their coffee date. He couldn’t wait for their lunch date or for Friday night. He wanted to take her in and not let her go.

“Good morning, Mr. Statton,” his assistant Laura said as she looked up at him from her desk.

“Good Morning, Laura.”

Neil entered his office, keeping the door open. That was Laura’s cue to come in. He sat down at his oversized desk and began rifling through the files that she had left for him. She peered her head in. “Can I get you some coffee?” she asked. Laura was always smiling at him. He knew that she liked him, but she was his assistant. He knew it wasn’t wise to screw around at work. His father had taught him that. She was smart, beautiful and sweet, but he never acted on his attraction for her.

“Coffee would be great. I’ll take it in my father’s office,” he responded. Laura hurried to get the coffee. She was always eager to please her boss.

Neil knocked before entering his dad’s office even though the door was open. “Good morning, dad.”

“Good morning, Neil,” his dad said, glancing up from his work.

Neil sat in one of the leather chairs across from his dad’s huge mahogany desk. “Dad, I’m just going to get straight to the point. I took our conversation from last week to heart. You were right.”

“Well, that’s music to my ears. Which conversation was that, son?” he asked, looking over the top of his reading glasses.

“You know, the one where you brought up the four F’s.”

“Yes, that one,” his dad said knowingly, nodding his head. Just then Laura came in with the coffee.

As she bent forward to hand him his coffee, Neil could see down her blouse to her lace bra. She sure did dress sexy for work.
“Here you go, Mr. Statton. May I get you anything else?”

“No, that will be all, Laura. Thanks,” he said dismissively, averting his eyes from her cleavage. Laura scampered back to her desk.

“Now where were we, dad?”

“You were bringing up the four F’s.”

“Yes, I agree with you. My MO with women has been to find, fool, fuck, and forget. I have done this for years now. But I met someone that I think could be very special to me.”

“Good, you’re 30 years old. It’s about time you met someone you could become serious with. Time to move on with your life and be a grown-up. Does this young lady have a name?”

“Her name is Kate and I’m having lunch with her today. I also have a dinner date with her on Friday.”

“Glad to hear it, son. I want you to be happy and have the life that you deserve. You have been alone for too long.” Neil’s father jotted a note on the file he was reviewing.

“Thanks, dad. I appreciate your concern.”

“Good. Now let’s get to work. We have a lot to accomplish today. The Thompson case has some new evidence that we need to go over before we meet with them. Have Laura get the file for you.”

“Will do, dad.” Neil left his dad’s office and went back to his own. He buzzed Laura for the file. He also told her to clear his afternoon. He was planning on taking at least a two-hour lunch.

***

As Kate got ready for school, her stomach was doing calisthenics. She got up a little early to spend extra time getting ready since she would leave school and go directly to Seaport Village. Why was she so excited to see Neil? She really liked him. She found him to be direct and very sincere. She felt safe when she was with him.

She slipped into the cute outfit that she was going to wear on her lunch date. The outfit showed off her figure. It had been a long time since she had wanted to look good for a man. She didn’t just want to look good for him, she wanted to look hot for him. Meeting him had ignited her long-buried passion. She was starting to emerge from the cocoon she had wrapped herself in. She wanted to be a butterfly and experience life again.

Entering her first class, she found a seat as far away from Mark as she could get. She did everything in her power to avoid eye contact with him. Why did she have to have every class with him? But damn if he didn’t look good in his jeans and the white polo shirt that covered his muscular form. He must have played football in high school. She felt her temperature rise a little just seeing him. He was so handsome. Just as handsome as Neil. They actually resembled each other quite a bit. She did her best to divert herself by reading through her notes, but they were the only ones in the classroom at the moment. He got up from his desk in one graceful motion and moved effortlessly to sit directly next to her. So far, she had managed to sit with several desks in between them all week. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as he spoke to her. His scent was an intoxication that she had not expected.

“Good morning. Your name’s Kate, right? It looks like we had the same idea to get an early start today. I hope you don’t mind if I sit next to you. I’m Mark,” he said with his hand outreached. He flashed his best panty-bursting smile.

She shook his hand. “Yeah, my name is Kate. You’re welcome to sit anywhere you like.” She wanted to sound nonchalant. All of the other girls threw themselves at Mark shamelessly, practically groping him and laughing at every word he uttered. She wasn’t going to do that. Under no circumstances was she willing to become one of his groupies. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of showing her attraction for him. But having him that close to her sure did cause a commotion in her panties. She tried not to squirm in her seat, but it was difficult considering what was happening down below. His gaze upon her was so intense.

“It seems that we have all of the same classes together this semester. I am pretty sure that I have seen you in every class that I have.”

“Do we? I hadn’t noticed,” she said, trying not to sound too enthralled with him. They did have all the same classes this semester and she knew it. It was hard not to notice him. He set all of her senses on high alert.

“This is great! We should form a study group,” he said.

“Great,” she responded, ignoring his request to study with him. As if she were being rescued, more students strolled into the classroom. The harem girls were arriving and began swarming all over him. She began to feel a twinge of jealously, but she wasn’t sure why. Today was the most that they had ever spoken to each other. Part of her was relieved that they had been interrupted. He seemed like way more than she could handle.
But, then again, so did Neil.

When her class ended, she scurried out abruptly, preventing Mark from having a chance to talk to her more. She was the only female student who didn’t fall all over him and she wanted to keep it that way. She was having a difficult time wrapping her mind around Neil without her focus being interrupted by Mark.

In their second class, the professor had written “pop quiz” on the board. She figured he wanted to see if students were keeping up with the reading assignments. She had outlined some of the chapters listed on the syllabus before the semester had started. She took out her notebook and began to review her notes. As more students started showing up, the chatter began. It was a good distraction from her thoughts about Neil and Mark. Just two days ago, she didn’t have any men to think about. Now, she had two gorgeous guys who were occupying her mind and causing stimulation in her body like a freight train that was about to jump the tracks.

Mark sauntered in like a panther on the prowl. Unfortunately, most of the classmates around were guys, so she didn’t have the insulation of his harem. He flashed his dazzling smile. The smile that was making her weak in the knees. The panty-dropping smile probably worked for him every time he unleashed it. His confidence was unnerving and she didn’t know how to handle herself around him. Her only strategy was to use avoidance or be vague.

“Hey, are you ready for the quiz?” he asked nonchalantly.

“I’ve been looking over my notes, so I feel pretty good,” she said, running her fingers through her thick hair. She really didn’t want to engage in a conversation with him because he made her palms feel clammy and she had decided that he was about as good for her as eating an entire chocolate cake all by herself. Even though the thought seemed entirely delicious. Fortunately, their professor showed up and began passing out the quiz to the students who were already seated and then passed out the rest as the remaining students entered the room. He took attendance and told them to begin.

Kate had a little bit of difficulty concentrating on her test. She couldn’t get Neil and Mark out of her mind. It had been an interesting turn of events since yesterday. As she brought her finished exam up to her professor, Mark got up at the same time. Had he watched and waited for her to finish? Maybe she had as much of an effect on him as he did on her. As they locked eyes, she felt the twinge to her insides again. Mark gave her his famous smile again. A smile she was sure he had laid on hundreds of girls before her with great success of pursuing his ultimate goal — a quick roll in the hay. She placed her exam in the tray on her professor’s desk. George looked up and nodded at her. She then turned and headed for the door not acknowledging Mark. But he was right behind her. She could feel his piercing green eyes burrowing into the back of her head. She had a feeling that he would attempt to talk to her again in the hall. Up until now, she had been able to avoid being close to him except for in class. Resisting his charms may prove to be an insurmountable task considering that he made her blood race through her veins.

“So, how did you do on the quiz?” he asked, moving in close to her side.

“I think I did okay, but it was really difficult,” she responded coolly. “How did you do?”

“Well, the last essay question about a plutonic economy had me perplexed. I don’t remember that being discussed at all in class or in the reading,” he said as he closed the gap between them. Now their shoulders were practically touching.

“You’re right, it wasn’t discussed in class, and I don’t remember it from the reading either. I just thought about what plutonium is and wrote about an economy on the verge of exploding. That’s the only way I could make sense of it.”

“That was smart thinking. Maybe we could study together for midterms,” he suggested, placing his hand on the small of her back.

She pulled away a little bit. His touch was exhilarating, but it scared her. “I don’t think so,” she said even though she wouldn’t mind studying his anatomy. Her attraction for him was growing steadily by the second. She could understand why women followed him around. He was as mesmerizing to the female students as the Pied Piper had been to the children who followed him.

“Oh, do you already have a study partner?” he asked.

“No, I don’t,” she answered, hoping he would let it go.

“Then what’s stopping us from studying together?”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea. Plus, you seem to have plenty of other girls who would just love to study with you. Why don’t you ask one of them?” she said, wanting to push him away.

“Well, I don’t want to ask anyone else. I want to study with you,” he said somewhat forcefully. “I might enjoy flirting with the girls in class, but I haven’t gone out with anyone here at San Diego State.”

“Why are you interested in me? You could have any girl on this campus,” she said wearily, feeling her defenses weakening.

“I don’t want any of the other girls on this campus,” he said, a frown on his gorgeous face. A face with chiseled fine features and big green eyes that had already seared their way into her heart. Then his face relaxed. “I want the beautiful, intelligent woman standing here before me now. It’s not only your beauty that I find intriguing, but your intelligence is extremely sexy to me as well. Every time you talk in class, I am mesmerized by what you are saying. I want to know everything about you. I want to figure out what makes you tick. I want hours to go by with you and have it seem like minutes. I want to make you feel things that you have never felt before.”

His words pricked her heart, rendering her speechless. Her lips parted and she let out a small sigh. Her eyes were locked on his. She had noticed that he did give her his undivided attention when she spoke in class. His presence had made her temperature spike and her panties go gooey every day this week. She knew from the look in his eyes that he wasn’t talking about studying anymore. With that, she imagined his mouth engulfing hers, while his hands urgently roamed her body, finding her sweet spot and conquering her. He was standing close enough for her to breathe in his scent. She felt lost in his presence for a moment. But was he being truthful, or was he just a player? Did she really care? Maybe it would be good to just let him have his way with her. She suddenly came to her senses and realized that they were going to be late for their next class.

“We’ve got to go. Rhetorical Theory is going to be starting in a few minutes,” she said with a shaky voice, revealing that he was having an effect on her. Could he smell the aroma wafting up from her wet panties? If they had been in private, she had a feeling that he would have investigated for himself what was going on inside her panties. But they weren’t in a private place, so he put his hand on the wall, effectively pushing her against it. He was looming over her.

“Before we go to our next class, give me your phone number, please. I’d really like to call you and ask you on a date.” His proximity to her made her heart race even faster. He was on top of her and she realized that she liked being in this confined space with him. She definitely wanted him to call her. She wanted to believe that he was actually interested in her, that he wasn’t just a player. But even if he was a player, she could tell that he would be great in the sack. It had been a long time. Giving into him sounded like the most pleasurable of ideas.

“Okay,” she said hesitantly, still not certain if giving in was the right thing for her. Last night she had experienced the same desires for Neil that she was experiencing with Mark right now. She contemplated the last time she had been close to any guy. Her life ended up being devastated. Maybe Mark would be different. She would take things slow and not let him in right away. Who was she kidding? This sex god doesn’t do slow
.
She recited her number as he entered it into his phone. Then she broke free of him.

“Excuse me. I need to use the ladies room before class.” She hurried away from him knowing that he would not be able to follow her into the ladies room. She was dazed by his proximity to her. She slipped into the bathroom for a few seconds to regain her composure. Even though she had been so terribly hurt by her past, she really hoped she could give Mark a chance. She hoped that he would call. After all, she had a couple of dates with Neil. She wasn’t married to him. They could go to lunch today and find that they had nothing in common.

How could she have such an intense attraction for two different men? How could these two different men be so similar in their mannerisms? Neither of them seemed to be able to take no for an answer. They were probably both control freaks. Smoking-hot control freaks, but control freaks just the same.

As she walked into her next class, she glanced toward the back and saw Mark sitting with an empty desk next to his. It seemed like he was saving a seat for her. But another girl beat her to it and started drooling all over him. How would she handle this on a regular basis if they started going out? Who was she fooling? He probably just wanted a one-time close encounter of the sexual kind.

Listening to the lecture was virtually useless. Professor Miller was very interesting and Rhetorical Theory was one of her favorite subjects, but all she could think about was Mark. It was so sexy how he had asked for her phone number. She couldn’t get it out of her mind. She imagined herself in his arms, him kissing her deeply, his hands running though her hair and down her back, taking her clothes off. Her fantasy escalated as she imagined him having his way with her. She wondered what it would be like to be with him. Was he the kind of guy who made love or fucked? She imagined what he would do to her if they did make love. These thoughts sent waves through her body and she realized how aroused she had become. She had only a few minutes to freshen up between her last class and her date with Neil. She was going to have to change her underwear when she got home. The only other guy in years to have this kind of effect on her had been Neil. He was very sexy too and she relished in how he had pursued her so diligently. He had actually asked her out on two dates. Mark hadn’t done that.

She let out a slight moan when class ended. She had another class to attend, but she decided to blow it off so she could go home early and freshen up for her date. Going to the next class would have been useless. Her concentration was obliterated by her consuming thoughts of hot steamy sex.

She stopped her classmate Jennifer. “Jennifer, I can’t make it to our next class. Would it be okay if I copy your notes next week?”