Chapter 14
14
R eid
I leave five minutes after Shelby and Twyler, telling Axel I have an assignment to work on. It’s not a lie. I do have a project due for my art theory class, but when I get to the sidewalk in front of the Teal House, instead of turning right, toward home, I go to the left.
Toward the strip.
I tell myself it’s because I didn’t want to hang out with the love-birds, watching them pretend to study while really just eyefucking each other until they just started outright fucking. Then I tell myself it’s because I’m hungry and there’s nothing good to eat at the Manor, and I need fuel before I can focus on my homework.
But when I open the door to the Badger Den and instantly look for Shelby, I know I’m full of shit.
I came here for her.
Not that I want her to know that, so I pass a table of college girls, and slide into a booth in the back, the one in the dark corner that always seems to be a little sticky and has a shitty view of the big screens. Sure enough, I think, shrugging out of my jacket, I can only see the bottom half of the game, but I’ve got a direct view of Shelby coming to and from the bar.
I had no fucking clue she’d be at the Teal House when I agreed to go with Axel. I’d done everything I could to avoid her, particularly in tight spaces or with her overprotective brother around. But I stepped in the house and it felt like I got rammed into the boards. It took everything in me not to stare at her curvy little ass in those tight jeans, or the small strips of flesh visible at her waist and thighs. It took an act of God to act disinterested when I was asked to give my opinion. I had thoughts, alright, thoughts that went straight to my dick.
“Hey, Reid.” A familiar waitress appears, blocking my view of the bar. “You here alone?”
“Josie.” I lean back, trying to keep an eye on Shelby while she helps a table of frat boys. “Yep, it’s just me. Thought I’d grab something to eat.”
“What can I get you?”
“Basket of three-alarm wings and fries,” I rattle off, not looking at the menu. “And a Coke.”
“You’ve got it.”
The bar isn’t as packed as it is when Wittmore plays. Not that I’m here during, but the post-game crowd is always thick, standing room only. Tonight everyone has a seat, the frat boys in the center, taking up a long stretch of pushed together tables. A few locals–older people who probably have been coming here since they were students, and then the table of sorority girls, a couple I realize look vaguely familiar and keep not-so-discreetly checking me out.
At the bar, Mike and the other employees are patient with Shelby as she learns the ropes, and although it’s obvious she’s nervous, there’s a spark of confidence in her I haven’t seen before.
Well, maybe once, when she was riding my hand between her legs.
Nope, not going there.
“What are you doing here?” Shelby blinks, holding my dinner in her hands.
I nod at the food. “Eating.”
Her eyes narrow, but she slides the wings and fries over to me.
“Did he send you here to keep track of me?”
“He?” I ask innocently.
“Axel.” Her arms cross over her chest and her shirt rises up, showing off the smooth skin around her waist. “Did he send you?”
“No.” I shake my head. “Your brother is too focused on Nadia at the moment. I needed dinner and everyone knows the Den has the best wings.”
I pick one up and take a bite, the combination of steam and sauce scalding my tongue. I fake my way through it, swallowing the burning meat down.
“If you say so,” she says warily, like she’s not sure if she can trust me. Smart.
“Since I’m here,” I dip a drumstick into the sauce, “how’s it going?”
“Oh, so now you want to talk about my job?” Her hip juts out and her pink lips make a sexy scowl. “Because back at the Teal House when I needed your help, you had no opinion or interest in defending me to my brother. What happened to helping me try new things?”
I take a gulp of soda, not just to wash down the hot sauce but to buy time because I want to point out that the last time I helped her, I gave her what I’m pretty sure was her first orgasm. Instead I say, “I did you a favor, GG. If I said something either way, Axel would get mad or suspicious, or even more overprotective.”
She sighs. “You’re probably right.”
“So,” I dip into the sauce again, this time with a wing, “how’s it going? Fend off any perverts yet?”
She rolls her eyes, but a small smile tugs at her mouth. “Just the one.”
I smirk. “I don’t think what happened between us counts as ‘fending’ off anything.”
“Oh my god, stop.” Her cheeks burn bright red and it’s cute as hell.
“Seriously, tho…”
“Overall it’s been pretty good. Just trying to figure everything out, like where everything is stored, or how to use the cash register. Josie’s been training me most of the night, but she had to take a call, that’s why I brought out the food to you.”
“You killed it,” I tell her, reaching for the fries. “And so did Dave back in the kitchen.”
“I’ll let him know, and I’ll refill your glass while I’m back there.” The quick smile she gives me while picking up the empty glass that I’ve drained while eating the hot wings, makes my chest feel tight. And my eyes are glued to her cute butt in those skinny jeans as she turns toward the bar. That’s what I’m focused on when out of my peripheral I see movement. Two of the frat boys have hopped out of their seats and are roughhousing.
“Take that back, dickhead.”
“Not a chance,” the other argues, pushing up his sleeves. “Gretzky’s days as the GOAT are coming to an end.”
“That’s insane. He had sixty-one records when he retired. Only five have been beaten.” It’s an argument I’ve heard a million times in my life, half of them in this very bar, but this isn’t like every other time, because just as Shelby passes them, the dickhead decides to shove his friend, slamming him straight into her side.
“Oh shit,” I mutter, working my way out of the booth, but it’s too late. Shelby’s knocked off balance and the glass flies out of her hand. The ice hits the floor and in the next step, she slips, crashing to the hard ground. I try to go for both of them. The girl and the glass and fuck.
I get neither.
“GG,” I say, bending down next to her, “are you okay?”
“I-I think so,” she says, sounding a little dazed. Josie runs over to check on her and once I’m sure she’s not hurt, I stand and face the dipshit that did it.
This time, I’m the one pushing my sleeves over my elbows.
“Wilder,” the dickhead says, instantly recognizing me. “I didn’t mean to–”
“You didn’t mean to act like an asshole in a crowded bar and think no one would get hurt?”
“I didn’t see her and we were just messing around.” He holds his hands up and swallows. “Swear.”
“First, this isn’t a fucking playground, but even if it were, your mother didn’t teach you the first rule of life,” I step toward him, “keep your fucking hands to yourself.” He nods vigorously, while his friend does his best to fade into the background. “And second, Gretzky is not just the GOAT, he’s a fucking God. Keep that bullshit out of your mouth.” I jerk my chin toward Shelby. “Apologize. Now.”
The dickhead and his friend both start to apologize–or grovel is more like it. Shelby looks both annoyed and horrified, tugging at her shirt that is now sticky with the dregs of my soda and whatever she absorbed from the floor.
“It’s fine. Just a mistake,” she says to me more than them.
I’m not convinced.
By now Mike has rushed out from behind the bar. “Everything okay out here?” he asks, eyeing the two frat boys, who look at me, like they’re not going to speak until I give them permission.
I cross my arms over my chest, a move I’m well aware makes me look terrifying. “I think we’re good.”
“Shelby?” he asks.
“I said I’m fine. It was just an accident.”
“Totally an accident,” dickhead promises. “We’re really sorry.”
“I know.” She holds her dirty hands up. “I think I need to go wash off.”
Mike nods and then adds, “Why don’t you take the rest of the night off.”
Her jaw drops. “Am I fired?”
“Hell no,” he says quickly. “It’s a slow night and you need to go get cleaned up. Josie can cover it.” When she agrees, he adds, “You want me to call Axel?”
“I’ll get her home,” I announce. “She’s staying at the Manor anyway.”
“Don’t bother Axel,” she says, giving me a knowing look. Ax would flip if he found out about any of this, including the fact that I’m here. “I can go with Reid.”
“Good,” Mike starts back to the bar. “Come in tomorrow at four. It’s a game night so we’ll be busy.”
“I’ll be here,” she says, unable to fight a grin. “Thanks for giving me this opportunity.”
“You’re doing great,” Josie tells her. “And don’t worry, I’ll split whatever tips those dumbasses leave.”
Once we’re alone, I say, “Grab your stuff and I’ll meet you at the door.”
Retrieving my coat at the table, I head to the front door and wait. A few minutes later she meets me, a takeout container in her hands. “What’s that?”
“Dave made you a fresh order of wings.”
“Wow. Thank you.”
“It’s the least I could do after you stepped in like that with those guys.”
I grunt in response, but notice she’s still not wearing a coat. It’s late February, night and cold as fuck outside. I hold mine out.
“I can’t take that.”
“Of course you can. It’s cold as a witch’s tit out there.”
Her cheeks turn pink and I almost say the word again, just to see the flush.
“GG, take the damn coat.” I’m not only hot, wanting to go back and punch that dickhead in the face, but my skin is on fire because I want to check her out, head to toe, and make sure she’s okay.
She relents, and doesn’t fight me when I drape it over her shoulders.
We step outside, into the arctic air, and she nuzzles into the jacket. “We have to walk,” I tell her, shoving my hands in my jeans pockets.
“I guess I can add something to my list of new things,” she says as we cross the street.
“The job?”
She glances over at me. “Having a guy defend me from frat boys.”
“Hey, I told you, I’d help you live your best life.” She laughs and the sound is fucking glorious. Something pops in my mind. “You didn’t really need defending. They just needed to learn some manners.”
“The whole thing was mortifying.”
“GG, that’s the thing, if you’re going to live your life; sometimes embarrassing, uncomfortable things have to happen.” I wrap an arm around her shoulder and drag her to me. “You handled it like a champ.”
She rolls her eyes. “If you say so.”
I don’t move my arm around her shoulder, telling myself I’m blocking her from the wind. As we cut through campus, I ask, “Are you saying David wouldn’t have defended you?”
“That’s the thing. We never would have been in a situation where it would have happened. Being here, getting a job, doing new things, that’s the only way it happens. Living life, even if it’s a little scary and messy, and unpredictable.”
Her words hit me straight in my chest, because I’ve had messy and unpredictable. It’s a terrifying way to live, but I also know that if you don’t take risks, search for more, you can miss out on the most amazing things.
I release her and come to a stop.
She turns, looking tiny all bundled up in my jacket. “What are you doing?”
“Being unpredictable.”
And probably fucking everything up, but at this moment I don’t care. I reach for her and push her into an alcove of one of the Admin buildings. It’s less windy in here, and I set the box of takeaway down. Crowding her into the wall, I press my body against hers. She looks up at me and I reach for her face, my cold fingers against her cold cheeks, tilting her chin up. My mouth is inches from hers, and I see her lips part, a tiny cloud of air meeting the chill.
I’m gonna kiss her.
“Wait,” she says the instant before our lips meet. I stop, but don’t draw away. “I need to confess something.”
A million bad thoughts run through my mind. She’s not into me. She still loves David. Her brother is standing behind me and I’m about to get a thrashing.
“I’ve never done this before, well, other than that night we met.”
I frown. “Done what?” Fuck. I’d suspected it but there it is. “So that was really your first kiss?”
She nods, eyes darting away. She’s embarrassed–again, but now I just feel like an asshole. I knew she was inexperienced but, fuck. Now I need her to say it. “So the night on the porch, that was also your first?”
Orgasm.
She nods, and bites down on that soft bottom lip.
Christ. I gave this girl her first orgasm and just…
I’m more than an asshole. I’m a fucking asshole.
But now that I’ve got her here, tucked away in this little nook, I’m not going to fuck it up again. “GG.” I get her attention. “I forget how innocent you are, and that’s on me. I need to be more careful with you, which is why I’m going to ask if you’re okay with me kissing you.”
She nods a quiet, “Yes,” in answer. I drop one of my hands and slide it into the warmth inside the coat, my fingertips brushing over the warmth of her exposed flesh. She jumps at the chill from my touch, but I need my hands on her right now.
I go slow, restraining myself from the hard, claiming kiss I want to give her. Instead, I go featherlight, one small brush of my lips over hers, cold meeting cold until we start to warm. I already know Shelby is a good kisser. She proved that to me within minutes of our first meeting. She can act inexperienced, but she’s got the instinct, and that’s only confirmed when her lips part and she allows me inside.
It’s so fucking good. She’s so fucking good. Sweet and gentle, but there’s a fire in her that I’ve seen more than once now, and I want to stoke it into an inferno.
She withdraws and takes a deep breath. “Am I doing it right?”
“Fuck yeah, you’re doing it right,” I tell her, because I feel that kiss all the way into my balls. I look down at her mouth, lips red and a little puffy, and can’t help but think that David is a goddamn fool. But then, I realize, I’m grateful for it, because I know that I want to be the one that gives Shelby her first everything. First sexy clothing, first kiss, first orgasm… all of it.
“You’re doing it more than right,” I add, tilting my head and hovering my lips over hers, not ready to stop.
From the way she pulls me close and the feel of her tongue against mine, she has no intention of stopping either.