Chapter 12
CHAPTER
TWELVE
EMERSON
Face hot with embarrassment, I slung the bag with the mascot uniform over my shoulder and rushed out the door. It took everything in me not to shove the damn thing back at them. But they wanted me to make a scene, and I was petty enough not to give it to them. Besides, my goal had been achieved, just slightly different than I’d expected.
It wouldn’t have the same sting for Hope, but she’d still hate that I was associated with the Wolfettes, and that felt just as good right now.
Pushing open the main doors, I stumbled to an abrupt stop at the sight of Colter leaning against the concrete column, looking more gorgeous than should be allowed. His dark blond hair was windswept, and he had a little color to his cheeks. His hands were in his pocket, and he had one leg bent at the knee, looking like my own personal Jake Ryan.
Colter grinned when he spotted me, his eyes lighting up, and a hundred butterflies fluttered to life, making my stomach flip. Geez, his smile made me more excited than dancing all afternoon had.
For the first time in my life, dance had been torture. The other girls auditioning had shunned me, whispering to themselves and making me feel like an outsider. I’d gained satisfaction from seeing their faces after I danced, but it was nowhere as good as this.
Finding him waiting for me lit me on fire, and jump-started my feet. I stumbled forward, a magnet pulling me straight to him.
“Fancy meeting you here,” he teased, his eyes scanning over me.
“Yeah, imagine that. I’m at the same place you left me hours ago,” I sassed, my grin refusing to stay hidden.
Colter smiled bigger and took the mascot bag from my hands, shifting it over his shoulder before grabbing my hand. “This okay?” he asked, looking down at our entwined fingers.
“Uh huh.” I nodded, my face flushing. Colter was so unexpected. He fulfilled something I’d convinced myself I didn’t want.
After all the cruel stunts Hope pulled in high school with guys, I’d stuck to quick flings between the sheets. Mostly because it was all guys wanted, but I hadn’t worked out if it was also what I believed I deserved. Some things were better left hidden. So, somewhere along the way, it was all I expected from guys.
Until Holden.
He’d been the one exception. I’d hoped for more, but it had burned away the next day when he revealed who he was related to—the spawn of Satan.
So, having a gorgeous and sweet guy like Colter want to hold my hand in public and not press me to jump into bed felt monumental… like maybe I could have more. And after an afternoon of feeling on the outside, it felt nice to be wanted. Really nice.
“I have a confession,” he said after we’d taken a few steps .
“You’re secretly in a boy band?”
“No—”
“You hate puppies?”
“Definitely not?—”
“You’re married?”
“What?” he sputtered.
I shrugged, laughing. “Imagination got away from me.”
“I’ll say.” He chuckled, light dancing in his eyes. “Do I really look like I could be in a boy band? Wait, don’t answer that.”
I hit the unlock button on my key fob and my car beeped a few feet in front of us.
“What were you going to say?” I asked, stopping by my door.
Colter’s eyes took in my car, and he swallowed, showing the first signs of nervousness. Setting my bag down, he leaned against the hood and spread his legs. His hand reached out for mine, and I took it. Colter pulled me between his legs, making us almost the same height at this angle. His hands ran over my hips, sending shivers through me. Sucking in a breath, I stared into his eyes and forgot what we’d been talking about. The gray was more pronounced in his hazel eyes this late in the day, and I wondered if it changed based on the weather or what he wore.
I hoped I’d get to peer into them long enough to find out.
“I snuck into the gym and watched the end of the tryout.”
“Oh.” Pink spread over my cheeks at his confession. It was one thing to live through the humiliation and a whole other to have someone witness it. Also explained why he hadn’t asked.
“You were amazing, Mer. I’d never seen someone dance like that before. It makes me wonder how you’re so clumsy when it’s obvious you were made to dance.” His voice was light, slightly teasy, but I couldn’t miss the adoration he held, and I gobbled it up like a fiend .
“I’m not clumsy,” I pouted, too shy to acknowledge the rest. My hands traced over his shirt, my eyes focused on the middle of his chest.
“Could’ve fooled me, cuddly koala.” He lifted my chin with his knuckle, bringing my eyes to his. “You beat out both of those girls, Mer.”
“Yeah, well, it happens.” I lifted one shoulder. “I’m used to it.”
“You shouldn’t have to be used to it, Merbear. It’s not right.”
“Merbear?” I asked.
“You’re my cuddly koala, but I realized how much of a mouthful that was, and not in a good way.” I giggled. “So Merbear.” He shrugged, and I noticed how nervous he suddenly seemed.
“I like it.” I cleared my throat, emotion clogging it. “And I appreciate you saying it’s not right, but that’s how things in my world work.”
“Your world?” The space between his brows creased, and the butterfly wings beat quicker at his concern. How long had it been since someone else cared about me?
“Some other time.” I didn’t want to ruin this sweet moment with Hope drama.
His frown deepened, and I could see the protest in his eyes, but he consented. “Okay.” He swallowed, his concern morphing into shyness. How he could be shy blew my mind, but I liked it. “I kissed you earlier.” This time, he was the one sporting the blush.
“You did.” I grinned. “It was nice.”
He smirked, his confidence returning. “I can do better than nice.”
Slower than a turtle, he lowered his head, almost like he wanted to give me ample time to stop him. Impatient, I gripped his shirt and brought his mouth the last two centimeters to mine .
The second our lips touched, the fire spread and consumed me. His hands pulled me flush against him, kneading my ass as he deepened the kiss. Long gone was the soft hesitancy, replaced by heat and lust. His lips pressed into mine, measured and commanding, as he stole my breath.
The earlier kiss had been perfect, and it was only a peck, but this kiss was mind altering. My whole body tingled as he took control, my mouth yielding to his as he slanted his tongue inside. The fire spread, and I was this close to combusting. Colter groaned, his hands tightening on me before slowing the kiss and pulling us apart, and saving me from melting into a puddle.
He leaned his forehead against mine, our breaths panting together between us. I stared into his eyes, searching one last time for any sign of deceit. I really wanted to fall for this guy, to believe he was exactly as he presented. But my battered heart knew better, so I separated our bodies despite everything in me, wanting to accept everything he gave. He didn’t let me go far, but not touching every inch of him did wonders for my self-control.
“I could easily become addicted to you, Merbear,” he whispered, brushing a fly-away hair behind my ear. His eyes searched mine, and it felt like he wanted to say something, but held back. Kissing my forehead, he finally let me go. “Text me later?”
“Um, yeah.” My voice cracked, and I swallowed to clear it. “Thanks for walking me to my car. It was the pick me up I needed.”
“Anytime.” He winked, then shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away. I stood stunned on the sidewalk, watching him go and hoping I hadn’t gotten myself in too deep already. Just before he disappeared around the building, he turned and looked back, giving me a sweet smile and wave.
My phone buzzed in my bag, and I sighed, knowing I needed to return home. Turning, I froze when I spotted a red rose lying in the crack of my windshield wipers. And this time, there was a note.
With shaky hands, I picked it up, glancing around despite knowing Hope wouldn’t be here.
I’m so glad you’re back, Princess.
Shuddering, I crinkled the paper in my fist and shoved it into my pocket. Fucking, Hope. It was so like her to remind me how long she’d been making my life hell.
Thanks for the reminder, bitch.
Lifting the rose off my car, I dropped it to the ground and stomped on it. Smashing my shoe into the petals, I released all the pent-up aggression onto the rose until the sidewalk was stained red with its destruction. Slightly out of breath, I picked up the mascot uniform and shoved it into the trunk. I couldn’t deal with it right now, so it was better to keep it out of sight until I had to wear it. Though, I should probably get it dry-cleaned before the first game. No telling the last time they had it cleaned.
My phone came alive when I started my car, and I saw notifications from Taylor, Rose, and my dad. Taylor asked how the tryout went, so I shot her a quick reply, telling her I’d call her later. My dad and Rose both wanted to remind me of family dinner, and Rose asked that I wear a nice dress.
The last thing I wanted to do now was go to this dinner, but I didn’t want to disappoint Rose or my dad. Rose and I had gone out to lunch once a week since the day she’d brought me to campus. Secretly, I loved having a mother figure to do things with, and it didn’t appear that Hope spent any time with her mom because Rose seemed just as eager to spend time with me. It made me want to do things like this dinner to make it easier for her—to be the easy kid.
On the drive home, I replayed all the ways Hope had screwed with me today, from canceling my housing to leaving me that note and rose. I wasn’t positive she wasn’t behind the mascot incident, but for my sanity, I wanted to believe I had the upper hand in that one.
The driveway was filled with cars when I pulled in, so I hurried up to my room, using the back staircase to avoid seeing anyone. Hope might have thought she stuck me with the crappiest room, but she’d done me a favor by putting me on the end, with two entries and exits.
Loud music poured from Holden’s room, and I smirked, wondering if he’d showered yet. Stepping into the bathroom, I didn’t notice anything out of place, so I locked his side and jumped into the shower to rinse the sweat off my body.
The music was off when I climbed out, and I leaned my ear against the door, attempting to listen for any sound of movement. A slap against the wood had me jumping, and I covered my mouth to muffle my scream.
“Back for round two, Wildcat? Should I use your red or black panties?”
At his taunt, all logic left my head, and I unlocked the door and flung it open. Holden stood, bracing the doorframe sans shirt, his hard muscles on full display. A tattoo I hadn’t noticed before ran along his ribs, but I couldn’t read the words. My eyes traveled the rest of the way, and I gulped at the sight of him in a pair of low-slung shorts.
This had been a terrible idea.
All the words I’d wanted to fling at him dried up at the sight of his naked chest. I stood there staring like he was the only drink of water in the desert.
“Can I help you, Emerson ?”
“I, uh, um, er,” I stuttered, my cheeks flaming.
It was then I noticed how he gripped the doorframe, his knuckles white and his muscles taut as he held himself back. His eyes were locked on me, his nostrils slightly flared, and I wanted to say his shorts were tented. It was hard to gauge with him leaning. That was when I realized that I’d opened the door in only my towel. Such an idiot!
Holden took two steps back and pulled the panties he’d taunted me with out of his pocket. He held the red off one finger and the black off the other. “Since you need me to get you off, it’s only fair you decide.”
Cheeks red, I held my ground. I wouldn’t let him get the better of me. “My orgasm had nothing to do with you.”
“Tell that to my name you shouted.” He smirked, and my brain went fuzzy.
Crap. Had I shouted his name? I didn’t think so, but it was the second time he’d said it now. It was all hazy.
His smirk grew, and he full-on smoldered as he stared at me. The electrical tension between us vibrated, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest. He licked his lips, and my eyes eagerly watched as his tongue peeked out, remembering exactly what it could do. My pussy throbbed in response, and I sucked in a breath at the tension. We both leaned closer, his knuckles grazing my skin.
“Holden, dinner’s in five! Do not miss it, and wear something nice,” Rose said, knocking on his door.
Jumping apart, I felt an ice-cold bucket of reality dumped over my head. I slammed the door between us and ran to my room, shutting and locking that one for good measure.
I blindly chose a dress and absently brushed my hair. I didn’t want to look like I tried, but also didn’t want to disappoint Rose. I needed a balance between feeding Holden’s ego and not giving Hope ammunition.
I couldn’t lose sight of who he was.
Of what he’d said to me.
Of the side he’d chosen.
Holden was the enemy and off-limits.
When I felt adequately dressed, I exited my room and sped past his door. However, luck was not on my side, and he opened it as I passed. His cologne wafted from his room, and I picked up my pace, not needing his intoxicating sandalwood scent to sway me.
I wasn’t positive, but it sounded like he groaned and stopped to take a deep breath. I’d probably imagined it, but it felt powerful to believe I affected him.
His long legs caught up to me quickly, and he walked right behind me, but I ignored him and took the steps as quickly as I could.
“I’m curious, Emerson. What’s under that dress if you haven’t earned back your panties yet?”
I stopped, stunned by his words. “Earned? What?”
Holden sauntered around me, his movements pure sex as he stopped on the stair below mine. He towered over me and bent to whisper in my ear. “If you want your panties back, you gotta earn them, Wildcat. Go ahead. Ask me how.”
His lips brushed against my skin, and I shuddered. It was too much. His smell. The proximity. The words.
“I’d rather drink boiling water than ask you for anything.” My nostrils flared, and I pushed past him, his deep chuckle caressing me like a lover. I stopped on the bottom step, knowing I needed to gain some ground. So, without thinking of the repercussions, I glanced over my shoulder and gave him my best come hither look.
Holden’s eyes heated, his nostrils slightly expanding, and he gripped the railing. I blinked slowly, looking at him from beneath my eyelashes just like I’d done that night.
“The answer is nothing, Jockstrap.”
With that, I strolled into the formal dining room and took my seat, smiling big. Maybe this dinner wouldn’t be as bad after all.