It Was You (14 page)

I swallowed the lump of anger in my throat and moved away from the table. I took a few steps toward the wall, looking at a display of flimsy nighties trimmed with lace and fur.

Kayla followed me. “Oh, he likes these, too. He gets really excited.” She paused. “He's terrific in bed, isn't he?”

I didn't say anything, pretending to still study the lingerie.

“Oh my God,” she said, bringing a hand to her mouth in an insincere attempt to hide another smile. “You haven't slept with him yet? So sorry.”

The heat was rising in my face and I looked away from her, trying to focus on the things hanging on the walls. I clenched my hands tight, willing myself to stay calm, to not reach out and slap that smug smile off of her face.

“Maybe it's not that serious after all,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

“
Did you need something?” I asked, whipping my head in her direction. “Because if not, you can feel free to go.”

Kayla's smile grew. “So touchy. I hope you can handle him, New Girl. Because he's a handful.” She leaned closer. “I mean, you should've heard me scream when he would...”

I'd had enough.

“
Why'd he break up with you?” I asked, cutting her off.

She bit off her words and, for the first time, looked less sure of herself.

I smiled. “I guessed right.”

Her smiled dimmed. “Oh, I'm sure he told you that.”

“Actually,” I said, speaking slowly, making sure she was listening, “West hasn't said a word about you.”

Her smile lost all of its fake wattage. “I find that hard to believe.”

I shrugged. “Don't know what to tell you then.”

“
You don't need to tell me anything,” she snapped. Her arms uncrossed and she settled her hands on her hips. “I could have him back if I wanted.”

I nodded, my anger now channeled into pissing her off.“Kinda seems like you want him back, but....I don't see him here.”

She narrowed her eyes, adjusting the purse hitched over her shoulder. “Don't get too attached,” she warned. “West gets bored easily. We were together for almost a year and that's the longest he's ever been with anybody.”

I tried to formulate a come back but I had nothing. Her words stung and I hated that I let them. Was she telling me the truth? Did he get bored easily? Was I just the flavor of the day? Maybe I was getting too carried away.

She moved back to the table and held up the black panties I'd first been looking at when she came in. “So make sure you buy something really hot.” She dropped them back on the table. “It might be the only time you get to wear them for him.”

She walked out of the store, laughing.

TWENTY TWO

I spent the rest of the day pretending Kayla hadn't rattled me.

I went home and packed a bag for the weekend in San Luis Obispo. We were leaving early in the morning, I wasn't sure how late I was going to be out with West and I didn't want to be scrambling in the morning. I organized my books for school for the following Monday. I vacuumed, which I normally hated.

And I thought a lot about what Kayla said.

I didn't like that she was so in my head, but she'd made me think. I was diving in head first when I didn't know a thing about West. Had he been serious with Kayla? Or anyone else? What kind of serious? Where were his parents? How did he afford his apartment? Was he really over his bitter, jealous ex-girlfriend?

I had a ton of questions but I didn't want to be the kind of girl who walked in and just started firing away at him. It wasn't that I was nosy and needed to know everything. No, it was because Kayla had stirred the pot and now I needed to know more about what was in it. As much as I wanted to just go over to his place and be with him, I knew that I needed to ask some questions in order to settle my head. Especially if I planned on taking my relationship with him to the next level.

I took a shower before my evening with West, hesitating before slipping into the lingerie I'd bought at the mall. I didn't know how the night was going to play out but I wanted to be prepared. I wanted him to reassure me and put my mind at ease. Because I wanted him.

I studied my reflection in the mirror. The black bra and panties fit perfectly and looked good against my tanned skin. I hadn't believed Kayla about the pink, thinking she was just trying to play me. West didn't seem like a hot pink kind of guy and I wasn't walking out of there empty handed, so I'd gone with the black satin bra and the panties with sparkles. I pulled the black sundress out of my closet that I hadn't worn in forever, slipped it on over the lingerie and liked the way it all looked in the mirror. I left my hair down, straightening it and darkened up the eye shadow and lipstick.

I hoped I wasn't the only one who I thought I looked hot.

I managed to escape Annika—it had been an almost Annika-free day and that, despite the Kayla encounter, had made it a good day—and slipped out the front door, letting my parents I'd be home late.

West met me at the door of his apartment and took my breath away.

He stood in the doorframe, wearing a pair of basketball shorts and nothing else. His chest was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, the muscles in his arms nearly swollen. His hair was wet with sweat, slicked back away from his face.

He smiled at me and his eyes sparkled. “Hey. I'm running late. I didn't know what time it was.”

“
You want me to wait out here?”

He rolled his eyes. “Please. No. Get in here. It'll take me ten minutes to shower. I just got back from working out.”

“I never would've guessed.”

He stepped out of the doorway so I could pass by. “You look...incredible.”

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. “Thanks. So do you.”

“
Do I?” he asked, closing the door. “I don't have to shower.” He smiled, his eyebrows raised. “Or you could join me.”

“
I'm already clean.”

He stepped closer to me, his mouth inches from mine. “Shower can be for more than getting clean.”

He was staring down at me with those eyes. He smelled like sweat and deodorant, a heady combination. The tattoo around his bicep pulsated.

“
Go clean up,” I said, swallowing hard. “I'll be here.”

He lingered for a minute, smiling at me, like I might change my mind. Then he bounced his eyebrows and disappeared toward the bathroom.

I took a deep breath and fought off the urge to follow him. The living room was picked up, no sign of Griffin's bong, and the kitchen actually looked spotless. I hadn't realized it the night before but, for a beach apartment that had two guys living in it, their place was remarkably clean.

I sat down on the couch and tucked my feet beneath me, taking a good look around the room. Small flat screen TV. DVD player and an Xbox on the console beneath the TV. A wooden coffee table with an old Sports Illustrated on top of it. The walls were bare and I didn't see a single photograph anywhere in the room. It may have been clean, but it still shouted “College Guys!” when you looked at the decorating.

I heard the bathroom door open. “You alright out there?”

“
I'm fine.”

“
I'm naked. Thought you should know that. So definitely don't come back here. Unless you want to.”

“
I'll try to restrain myself.”

I heard him laugh and another door closed. I shook my head. I'd never liked cocky guys, but there was something in the way that he pushed it right to the line that appealed to me. He never crossed over into arrogance. Sure, the first day at school he had. Or at least I'd taken it that way. But ever since? He pushed it as close as he could without crossing over.

And it was sexy as hell.

He came back out, dressed in a gray T-shirt and black shorts, his wet hair all out of place. He clearly didn't believe in a brush. But I liked it that way.

He ran a hand through it and collapsed on the sofa, smiling at me for a minute before he said, “Hi.”

“
Hi.”

“
I really did mean to be done sooner,” he said. “But I got to running and just lost track of time. Sorry about that.”

“
That's okay,” I said. “You run a lot?”

He nodded. “I do. Clears the head. Gives me time to think.”

“About?”

“
Today? You,” he said, grinning. “It was all you.”

I rolled my eyes, but my insides ignited. I hoped he wasn't just telling me things I wanted to hear.

“What did you do today?” he asked. “You said you were going shopping.”

And just like that, it was like Kayla was in the room with us. The afternoon came flooding back, her words ringing in my ears, chanting at me, taunting me.

“I did go shopping,” I finally said.

“
For what?”

I shifted a little on the couch. “For stuff.”

He studied me for a long moment, those cool blue eyes digging into me. “Hmm. Sounds...awesome.”

“
It was super exciting.”

The opening was there. I had my chance to ask questions, to tell him about my run-in with his ex-girlfriend. But I didn't want to. I had questions, some that Kayla had helped plant, but I didn't want him to think I was asking just because his ex-girlfriend had been a total bitch to me. I didn't want to come off as some sort of jealous, new girlfriend. The answers were for me, not because I'd been told to ask for them. I knew I would've had those questions eventually. Running into Kayla had just brought them up sooner. And I didn't want to cave to her bullying.

“I'm not much of a shopper,” he said, reaching for my hand. He intertwined his fingers with mine. “More of a homebody.”

His fingers were warm and soft from the shower and I felt my pulse quicken.

“Well, I won't drag you along then,” I said.

“
You can drag me wherever you want.”

He pulled gently on my hand and I went willingly, letting him pull me on top of him. His entire body felt like his fingers, warm and soft and he smelled like soap and shampoo and something else I couldn't identify, something spicy and sweet. His arms went around me and I immediately felt the arousal in his shorts brushing against my waist as I slid up his body. He slipped a hand into my hair and pulled me down to him.

He tasted like cinnamon toothpaste and my tongue explored his mouth, flicking against his teeth. He moaned softly. He raised his body up into me and the bulge in his shorts felt like a rock against my thigh. I pushed back against it and kissed him harder.

After a minute, I pulled away.

He feigned needing a breath. “Abby Sellers, we haven't even eaten dinner yet and you're trying to take advantage of me.”

“
Oh, I'm sorry,” I said, pushing off his chest.  “I'll get off you.”

But he wrapped his arms tighter around me, his hands snaking down to my ass, pushing me down into him.

We kissed again and everything inside me was on fire, colors exploding behind my closed eyes as he sucked on my bottom lip. My fingers dug into his skull and I pushed my entire weight into him. His hands found their way inside the sundress and his fingers caressed my hips, traced the outline of my panties.

This time, I pulled away. Because I actually did need a breath.

He stared at me, his eyes half-open, his head tilted to the side. Then he said, “Maybe I should make dinner.”

I slid off of him. “Um, yeah. Maybe so.”

He chuckled and pushed himself off the sofa. He made a big deal of standing there, adjusting himself, letting me see that he was turned on. It was hard to keep my eyes off of it, off of him. Finally, he stepped past me and over into the kitchen.

“
You're actually going to cook?” I asked, clearing my throat and trying to get my bearings.

“
You thought I'd invite you over for dinner and not feed you?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder as he opened the fridge.

“
I figured there'd be a pizza or something.”

He frowned over the shoulder. “Please.”

I spent the next twenty minutes watching him make our dinner. Penne in a big boiling pot. Marinara in another. Sausage in a skillet. Slicing and seasoning bread before sliding it in the oven. He did it all effortlessly, a towel tossed casually over his shoulder. It wasn't that I was such a snob that I didn't think that guys couldn't cook. But he hadn't struck me as the kind who could throw together a meal without any effort. Like he'd done it a million times.

And that, of course, made me think he had done it a million times. For a million other girls.

He set two plates piled high with food on the small table in the dining area, took a long look at it, then said. “We're ready.”

I slid into the chair on one side of the table, straightening my dress, my mouth watering at the plateful of delicious food in front of me. West joined me, a beer in his hand.

He held it up. “You?”