| |
Emmy
It’s Monday morning. I wake up in Charlie's arms again. She must have crawled into bed with me late last night. I sneak out of bed and give her a light kiss on her forehead, being careful not to wake her. I look over at the time and see that I beat my alarm by an hour. Yay.
I get my clothes for the day along with makeup and other things I'll need to get ready and take them to the bathroom. I shower and decide to finish getting ready there so I don't wake the girls up. I put my hair up in a sexy messy bun, do a full face of makeup because of the extra time, and get dressed. I want to look cute today because I’m meeting up with Ben in the library later.
I want to look hot but not like I’m trying too hard. I'm not really a girly girl. So I go with faded blue formfitting skinny jeans, my new rose gold sneakers I got from the shopping trip and a cute forest green crop top hoodie that shows a bit of my stomach.
Thankfully, they gave me my first month’s money all at once so that I could afford everything I got the other day.
I have a feeling that Ben isn’t the kind of guy who likes having girls throw themselves at him. And thank fuck because that’s not my style, but I do want him to notice me, even just a glance or two my way.
There’s something about Ben that makes me want to be around him. Get to know him. To look deep into his soul and find out just who Benjamin Parker really is.
This is not who I normally am. I’ve never craved a man's attention before. But that's just it. Ben, Talon, and even Oliver are not just any men. There’s a part of me determined to get to know every little thing about these guys.
When I’m done, I head back to the room. Charlie and Lissy are both up and getting themselves ready for the day. I sit on my bed, talking to them while they finish.
The morning flies by fast. I catch Oliver looking at me in the dining hall and I give him a smile to show him that I am not upset anymore about what happened at the party. I hope he doesn't think that the reason I'm not is that I don't care if he's with another girl, because that couldn't be further from the truth.
I spent most of Sunday thinking about all the pros and cons. Life is too short, and Oliver and I have too many years of history between us to just forget about.
When I woke up this morning, I decided that even if he's not mine, I don't want any other bitch to touch him. We may not be together right now, but if he’s smart and comes clean, then maybe I'll give him a chance. If he truly loves me and wants to be with me, then it will be worth a shot.
In English, Ben and I work on our lines by ourselves. Later, we will meet in the library for our free period.
When I walk into the library, I find Ben alone, sitting at one of the couches in the back corner. He hasn't noticed me yet and I can see he’s reading a book. When I get closer, I see that the corners of his lips are tipped upward as he lets out a small chuckle at something he’s reading. I smile at how endearing he looks. Seeing him there in his element is nice to witness. He seems at peace and completely relaxed.
As I get closer to him, he notices me and looks up. He still has a smile on his face, but this time it’s meant for me. I grin back as he closes his book and turns to sit on the couch properly.
He pats the spot next to him, indicating he wants me to sit. I sit down next to him and angle my body so I'm facing him.
"Hi," I say with a shy smile and a lame little wave. Normally I'm not a timid person, but being around him makes me feel more vulnerable.
He turns completely so that we are facing each other. "Hey," he says, still smiling. "Talon told me all about your guys’ trip on Saturday. He said you got a ton of things and went out to eat?"
Nodding, I lean back on the arm of the couch and crisscross my legs in front of me. "Yup, pretty much spent all my money for the month. But I needed everything I got, and I still have enough left for some snacks from the vending machines so it's okay," I shrug.
"I'm gonna have to go into town soon too. I wanna get a few new books. I would have gone with you guys, but with Oliver and everything... I thought he could use a friend."
I nod again, not really knowing what to say.
"I'm sorry about the party. Brittany’s really not right in the head. She sees you as a threat. She found out that you're the reason Oliver would never sleep with her and she got really jealous and possessive. Which is uncalled for, seeing how they were never anything to begin with."
I look at him confused. "Me? How the hell am I the reason why they were never anything more? I just got here!"
He lets out a husky laugh while he adjusts his glasses and shakes his head. "You really don’t get it, do you?” he asks, sounding genuine. “It’s because, for him, it's always been you. No other girl could compare. That man has been madly in love with you since you guys were kids. It kills him every day, knowing what he did and how bad it hurt you, having to live with that."
"Do you know why?" I ask, wondering how much Oliver has told him.
He nods his head. "It's not my place to tell, but I'll tell you this. What he did to you in the park was fucked up and how he went about the whole thing was wrong, but he never stopped caring for you. Everything he's done has been to protect you. I can't tell you any more than that, but please give him time to tell you everything. Please don't write him off just yet. It would decimate him. Seeing you every day and knowing you hate him, it kills him."
I just stare at him, shocked and more than a little confused.
To protect me? How the fuck does fucking me in a park and then leaving me, like I’m some random hookup after taking my virginity, protect me?
How does dealing drugs and getting caught and arrested protect me???
There must be way more to this story that I need to know and I need to know soon!
When I snap myself out of my own thoughts, I find Ben looking at me, waiting for me to say something.
I shake my head. "I'll think about it. But let's not talk about him anymore. What book were you reading when I came in?"
He looks away with a slight blush, while he grabs the book and wedges it between his leg and the couch. It’s like he’s trying to hide it, so I can't see the name. It’s so charming to see this big tattooed badass looking guy be all timid.
He turns back to me with a sheepish look. "Umm... nothing, just a book."
Smiling, I laugh. "Awww, come on, show me! I won’t judge. I love reading all types of books. From Sci-fi to romance, thrillers to the supernatural. Trust me, there’s probably nothing you’ve read that I haven't."
He hands over the book. I take it, reading the title and I smile. "One of my favorites. Do you have the next one?" I ask. He shakes his head. "Well, next time there’s a trip to town take it, because trust me, the cliffhanger is gonna make you want to start the second book right away. Hell, get the third and fourth if you can. Once you start, it's gonna be hard to stop."
He smiles at me, as he takes the book back. "I'll put my name in for the next trip then. So, what kind of books are you into at the moment?"
Now it’s my cheeks that turn pink. I huff out a nervous laugh. "Well, I'm pretty into RH right now. Also a good bully romance here and there."
He tilts his head to the side as if wondering what the heck I am talking about.
I giggle. "RH stands for Reverse Harem. One girl and..." I blush bright red now. "..more than one guy, three or more to be exact. Normally I go for the ones with a lot of ...umm..." I hope the sprinklers in the roof work because I’m about to burst into flames from embarrassment. "...a lot of sex. The more, the better, and the more descriptive, the better." I shrug. Growing more confident I say fuck it! and continue.
"Hell, I’m a fucking horn dog!" I laugh and he looks taken aback at my bold statement. "Yeah, it’s kinda funny that I love the idea of sex so much, seeing how I’ve only had sex once." I shrug. "And bully romance is when the girl gets bullied and later falls in love with him. It might sound fucked up, but once you read a few books like that, the idea of it becomes kind of addicting. Not that I'd want my own love life to be like that. I don't have time for that kind of bullshit after the crap I’ve lived through." Why the hell am I being so open with this guy? I don't even know him. But just looking at him makes me wanna spill all my secrets and tell him everything about myself.
"Sooo... do you like the idea of being with more than one guy, or do you just like reading about it?" he asks, genuinely interested in my answer.
I wonder why? I smirk to myself.
"Both. Hell, if a few really hot guys with big dicks want to date me, love me, protect me and care for me on top of giving me all the sex I want, why the hell not?! I mean, sure I can take care of myself, but the idea of someone who feels all those things towards me would be nice." I sigh. "But, let's be honest, the likeliness of that happening, especially in regards to me, is slim to none. But a girl can dream, right?"
He looks at me with a heated gaze. "I wouldn't be so quick to give up on that dream if I were you," he says in a low raspy voice.
The way he is looking at me and the sound of his voice makes my pussy walls tighten. I squirm under his gaze. "Okay," I manage to squeak out.
We keep staring at each other for a few moments, neither of us wanting to be the first one to look away. I’m cuddled into myself, chewing on my thumb as my eyes roam over his face, trying to memorize every detail.
Another student walks around the corner and we both snap out of the little sexual trance we were in.
Ben clears his throat. "Well, we better start on our English assignment."
I nod. “Right... Yes, let's do that!” I say, trying to get myself under control.
We work on our lines for a while, then spend the rest of the period talking about what books we’ve read and getting into deeper discussions about the ones we both loved.
The bell rings and we pack up our bags. I stand up and turn to him. "This was nice. I've never had someone to just sit and talk about books with. I hope we can do it again soon. I wanna hear your thoughts on the rest of that series. I've been dying to talk to someone about it. Talking to yourself just isn’t the same,'' I say laughing. He smiles and laughs back at me and then stands up right next to me. He’s so tall that he towers over me, as he reaches out and for a moment, he puts his hand on my arm before dropping it.
"I'd like that. This is the most fun I've had, talking to someone other than the guys," he chuckles. "And thanks for not judging me on my style of books. I normally don't care what people think, but..." He stops talking and shrugs his shoulder.
He reaches for me again, this time taking my hand and giving it a light squeeze. "Until next time, Little Caterpillar,” he whispers. Then he turns around and walks out of the library, leaving me standing there.
Yup, that's it! I'm falling for this foxy redhead with muscular, tattooed arms, who just so happens to also be a sweetheart.
There is no doubt about it. I'm falling hard and fast, and I couldn’t care less about how it's gonna feel when I crash at the bottom.