Part 15 (2/2)
”Matty, what's your flavor?” He turns to me, so I'm making progress. Paige's eyebrows raise, silently asking me what I'm doing.
”They have blue raspberry. Remember the slushy you had last weekend? That dyed your lips and tongue blue?” I pour as much excitement as I can into my inflection and luckily he buys it, running over to join the girls. Gotcha.
Once the four of us evade the hut and I purchase them all snow cones, the three kids lead the way to the next animal.
”If I didn't know any better,” Brady hints and I shake my head.
”You don't,” I say and he laughs, slapping me on the back. ”I've never seen you so happy.”
He pa.s.ses me by and it's hard to keep one foot in front of the other and not stop in my tracks. Happy? Have I really not seemed happy all these years? I mean, I knew my insides were gutted, but I thought I performed one h.e.l.l of an Academy Award act. Guess I was wrong.
The thing is, I'm genuinely happy when Matty's around and even happier with Paige. Neither one of them sees my faults-they only stare at me with affection and love. The question is, can I overcome my doubt of trust in order to see where this is really going with Paige and me? I know the answer; I just have to gain the nerve to tell her.
The longer the day, the more I'm obsessing over everything Paige does. The way she tucks the lose strands behind her ear as she talks with the girls. Her gentle and loving caresses to Matty's shoulders or back of his head. Not to mention the s.e.xual glimpses she keeps firing my way. If I'm behind her, all that I think about are those long legs wrapped tight around me as I slide into her.
”Okay, cut the s.h.i.+t. What's going on?” Brady slaps my back, awakening me from my critique of my emotions for Paige. Could I? No way.
My eyes flash to his prying and observing ones. ”Nothing, why?”
The girls are up with the kids while all the guys, besides Dex, linger behind the pack. Dex and Chrissy ran off somewhere and I'm fairly positive it was behind the snow cone hut to f.u.c.k. Did the orangutans going full speed at it, make them so h.o.r.n.y they couldn't hold off?
”Why? You're looking at her like cupid just pierced your heart.” Trey chimes in his two cents.
”No man.” I shake my head. ”She's just hot, you know? Wouldn't mind tapping it if Chrissy wouldn't have blocked me.”
The four of us stroll in line and it's odd having Grant right beside Brady, listening to all of this. I'm not exactly friends with the guy, so he doesn't need to hear how bad I want the brunette in front of me.
”You're so full of s.h.i.+t. There's more than just your d.i.c.k getting hard,” Trey starts in again.
”Don't you have a diaper to change?”
”Don't you have to buy a snow cone?” He laughs and I shake my head again. ”It's us, man. Look at each one of us. We've all surrendered to their power.” The other three nod and think about the way they lost the battle.
”Yeah,” Grant whispers. ”s.h.i.+t, I've got a second kid on the way. Why the h.e.l.l wasn't I covering it up?”
”Please, you were meant to be a dad. I got a girl that's so obsessed about her wedding, she forgot why the h.e.l.l it's happening to begin with.” Brady's eye pin Sadie's. ”But d.a.m.n if I could give a s.h.i.+t. I just want her to hold my last name.”
”She loves you man, anyone can see that,” I add and all three of their heads whip around like a tall blonde with big t.i.ts just strolled by.
”That's it, I'm calling it.” Grant raises his hand in the air. ”I know we've had our differences, but you have the look and if these a.s.sholes aren't going to nail you to the wall for it, I will. You want to do more than f.u.c.k her, just admit it.”
Holy s.h.i.+t, it takes the one that shouldn't be here to call me out on my s.h.i.+t. Why doesn't he just saddle up to my ex-girlfriend like d.a.m.n sloppy seconds? That's unfair. s.h.i.+t, what the h.e.l.l is wrong with me? I'm not even willing to go after Grant in my own d.a.m.n head?
”The faster you face it, the happier you'll be.” Brady quirks his lips and jogs ahead, rus.h.i.+ng to Sadie's back. When he tightens his hold on her, she squeals.
Brady's action grabs Paige's attention and she peers back at me, giving me that smile that calms my whole body. They're right, it's over; the battle has been lost.
ALTHOUGH MY MIND is completely exhausted from my back to back cla.s.ses all day, my body still yearns for Rob's contact. So, when I emerge out of Beacon Hall and spot him sitting on the bench facing the building, I smile. Then I notice a herd of girls stalk past him. He glances up from his phone and then looks back down. His reaction of indifference widens my smile, even if I have to remind myself to keep that guard up. Guys like Rob don't just do a one-eighty because of one girl. I've witnessed woman all of my life who think they've tamed my dad, only to be heartbroken days later.
His head rises when rushes of students emerge from the building and a smile crosses his face when he spots me watching him. He tucks his phone in his pocket and breaks the distance between us. ”Hey.” He tucks his hands into his pockets and rolls back on his heels. It's odd to see this sense of shyness in him.
”Hi.” I straighten my messenger back over my chest and his eyes divert to how it separates my b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
”I like the bag,” he jokes and I shake my head, shoving his shoulder.
”Of course you do.”
”Can you blame me?” he leans in, ”I enjoyed them in my hands last night.”
A warmth spreads throughout my body from his words.
His hands search mine out and then entwines our fingers together. ”You have no idea how much I want to kidnap you back to my bedroom right now.”
”Why don't you?” I ask as his forehead dips down, pressing against mine.
”Because I'm going to try like h.e.l.l to be a gentleman for once.”
”What fun is that?” I ask, forcing back my own tigress wanting to spend the rest of the day in bed with him.
”Not very, but it's a necessity, because if I always did what my d.i.c.k wanted, you'd be locked to my bedpost.” His forehead leaves mine, but his body inches closer.
”Way to tease a girl.” I release one of my hands from his and swipe my finger down his chest.
He winks. ”I do my best.” Then he grabs my hand and leads me away from the building. ”Lunch before the real teasing begins.” He chuckles and I allow him to guide me through the ma.s.s of students filing into the building.
We walk side by side to his car, parked illegally in the professor lot. Should I have really expected him to follow rules such as designated parking areas? I don't think so.
I wait by the pa.s.senger side while he opens my door, but before I have a chance to climb in, he corners me, his arm wrapping around my waist as he yanks me into him. As our bodies flush together, and his lips hover over mine before he softly kisses me. Those excited flutters ramp up when he sucks my bottom lip into his mouth and then his tongue sneaks in to meet mine. By the time we part, I'm breathless and dazed to what I was doing right before he graced me with his lips.
”Get on in, baby. Time to feed you.”
I slide into his car and my body tingles from the thrill Rob gives me. Once he's secure in the driver's seat, he starts the car and we drive away from Beacon Hall. ”Where are you taking me?” I ask, s.h.i.+fting in my seat to place my bag on the side of my legs.
”Have you ever been to Imagine Cafe?”
I eye him curiously because he doesn't fit the type. ”Have you?” I ask, scrunching my eyebrows.
”Yeah, why?”
”I don't know. It's so eccentric and whimsical. It doesn't fit with you.”
”Who's the judgmental one now?” He arches his eyebrow and shoulder knocks me.
”Whatever. I'm pleasantly surprised.”
Right after I compliment him, his phone buzzes in the center console. Not wanting to pry, I purposely distract myself by looking out the window and he grabs the phone. He releases a long breath before muting it. ”This will just be a second.” I nod my head, never actually facing him.
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