Chapter 4
Bet
ELIAS
Yeah, I’m not going to make it until tonight to see her. Not because I have a crush on her or anything, but I’m worried she’s going to fuck this up in front of everyone, so we need some more face time before the guys see right through us.
After my classes, I rush home to take another shower because I have every intention of ending up in her bed, then grab us some carne asada burritos without cilantro. I prefer it in mine, but I didn’t want them fucking up hers so I went with none all around and then let myself into her dorm room.
It’s empty.
I should probably text her that I’m here before our food gets cold, but I barely have enough time to kick off my shoes and make myself comfortable on her bed before the door opens and she walks inside. Only, she isn’t alone. “What the fuck, Riley?”
He looks like an alright dude if vanilla is your favorite flavor, but I don’t care. She’s mine now.
She balks at me as tall, dark and boring raises his stupid eyebrows. “You’re what-the-fucking me when you’re the one who broke into my dorm again?” she asks, checking her phone and seeing no missed texts from me. “Not even a warning?”
“I brought burritos and you brought your ex fuck-buddy so yeah, I’m what-the-fucking you.” I stand up and move closer to size the guy up, because I may not have shoes on, but I’m no bitch. I have to prepare myself for a fight. “What’s your name, dude?”
“Dennis Miley. I already know yours.”
As he should, but I cannot focus on that right now. “Miley? Your last name is Miley?”
I turn my gaze on Riley with a shit-eating grin, one that nearly vanishes when she says, “He’s my current fuck-buddy if you want to be specific, but yes. I brought him to my room because it’s my room. Why are you laughing?”
“Seriously? You agreed to go out with me which means our fuck-buddies got the axe, Riley Miley. Thank you for your services, Darius, but I got it from here.”
Her eyes narrow behind her glasses. “I never agreed to that. We’re going on a few fake dates to fool your friends, why should that mean I can’t—” she huffs, turning to Dennis. “I’ll call you later, okay? If I’ve learned anything, it’s that he won’t leave until he’s good and ready. I’m sorry.”
Dennis looks like he’s ready to argue, but the boring little bitch just shrugs and leans down to kiss her right in front of me. “You owe me, Ri.”
His thumb slips across her chin as he leaves, and I find myself ready to chase after him when I see the blush on her cheeks.
“Owe him? What do you owe him?”
“A blowjob,” she says flippantly, shutting the door. “He texted me before you showed up the first time, which is why you caught me the way you did.”
“Fuck that. No. I don’t agree. And you can’t be telling everyone this is fake, Riley. What makes you think he’ll keep that to himself after I cockblocked him from getting his dick sucked?”
She rolls her eyes, but it’s clear she doesn’t have an argument. “So what, then? We’re just dating with none of the perks and I just want to smack you the whole time?”
“You’re more than welcome to smack me, and us not having perks is your decision. I’ve already offered my services, and I can guarantee it would be worth it for you.”
Her blush deepens. “Elias…”
God, my name sounds so good on her lips.
It’s not a no, and as much as I want to put her on her knees right now, I won’t.
Poor girl is panicking already, so I step in and touch the spot he did to erase it, swiping softly to pull her attention back to me.
“That’s not even why I came today. I brought you food, and I thought we should spend more time together without an audience. ”
Her lips part as she meets my eyes. “Oh.”
I watch her gaze flick to my mouth and back up twice, and I almost say fuck it and kiss her. “Your eyes are so fucking blue, cupcake. Who’d you get them from?”
“No one,” she says quietly. “My dad’s eyes are grey and my mom’s are green. Both of my brothers have grey eyes.”
“Well, they’re breathtaking. You hungry?” Even though I don’t want to, I back away slowly so she can breathe again, and it’s worth it when she seems to relax.
“So you brought me food, huh? Trying to butter me up?”
Grinning, I shrug innocently. “Maybe. You wanted extra cilantro, right?”
Her face falls so dramatically, I bark out a laugh and make myself comfortable on her bed with my back against the wall and my feet hanging over the side. “That was a joke. I told them not to have one piece of it touching our food or I’d burn their food truck down.”
I pat the spot to my left for her to join me, watching with slight amusement as she wars with herself but ultimately sits down so close to me, our knees touch.
“Thank you. I’m not allergic to it or anything, it just tastes gross. I wish I liked it.”
“Yeah, it’s a staple in a lot of foods. Do you usually avoid Mexican restaurants?”
I pull out her burrito and peel off the top half of the foil before handing it over as she nods. “Yeah. Not always, I love a good margarita and chips and salsa are always good, but I swear everything ends up tasting like soap.”
Hesitantly, she takes a bite and makes the most adorable face as she braces herself, and it melts away when all she tastes is deliciousness.
“You just need to know how to order, but you have me now. I’ll take you to my favorite spot soon and blow your mind.”
I grab mine and set the chips on her lap, then dive in with a bite twice the size of hers.
I don’t know what to do with myself when she one-ups me. Her cheeks puff out because it was way too big for her, and I nearly choke at how adorable she looks. “Bet,” I mumble, then take another one to match her.
Her laughter turns into a snort as she tries and fails to swallow everything in her mouth, and I get another three bites down before she finishes. Half my burrito is gone. “Okay, you win. I know when I’m outmatched.”
I’m a little competitive, and I think she just learned that. “You can fit a lot more in that little mouth than I thought.”
I smirk as I wait for the innuendo to click, struck yet again by just how innocent she looks. I love a woman with confidence who isn’t afraid of her sexuality, but I also apparently love it when a fully grown, beautiful woman blushes at the thought of a blowjob.
She’s gonna kill me.
“You didn’t think my mouth was so little when I was arguing with you,” she quips. “Should I go back to that?”
I scan her face a second longer before I turn back toward my food. “Probably. I don’t mind arguing with you, just don’t judge me when I get a boner.”
Her jaw goes slack. “What?”
I laugh around my next bite, taking my time to chew before I give her a response. “It’s your fault you’re hot when you’re angry. Not mine.”
“Weirdo.” She goes back to eating her burrito, but she can’t hide the way she smiles around it.
I’m growing on her.
I let her sit in silence until the chips are all that’s left, and then I fluff up her pillow to put behind my head. “So what made you choose journalism?”
She shrugs. “There are so many stories to tell and not enough people to tell them. I also highly distrust everyone and everything, so I decided to dedicate my life to finding the truth. What brought you to photography?”
It’s the first real question she’s ever asked me, and it kinda throws me off guard.
I take a moment to get my answer together, slumping down on her bed a little so I can face her without being in her bubble too much.
Something tells me that would push her away.
“When I was young, my dad was always on the road, and photos were the majority of our communication. He’s a man of few words, so when he took the time to send me pictures of the places he was in…
I don’t know. I felt closer to him. So I started sending some back, and one day, one of his teammates asked to buy one.
It wasn’t even a photo I thought anyone would appreciate.
I was just having a shit day and I came across this penny in the middle of the road so I took like forty pictures of this dumb coin to keep myself from thinking about anything else, and then played around on the computer with it for a while.
It’s still one of my favorites, and I’ve sold about a hundred copies of it online.
” I realize then I’m rambling so I cut myself off before I go into how much my father regrets getting me into photography.
“I don’t know. I like things that feel random yet are exactly where they need to be. ”
Her face softens. “That’s a nice way to look at things. I wish you’d have photographed something other than my vagina, but hey.”
“Oh no,” I chuckle. “Your pussy was exactly where it needed to be. My screenshot is blurry so I need a better picture of it honestly. Wait, don’t talk about it.”
I move her pillow in front of my lap so she thinks I’m getting a hard-on, but I’m not sure she even noticed.
“Screenshot?”
Shit. “I didn’t show anyone. It was just for… viewing purposes and the video ends too quickly.” Not that it took me long to come.
“Oh.” Her face falls again, so expressive even when she doesn’t want to be. “Well good for you, I guess.”
Aaaand now I ruined it. Great. “Want one of mine?”
“Not really.” She looks down at her hands, fidgeting with her thumb nail. “That’s actually really embarrassing for me,” she admits. “It’s not the type of first impression I wanted to make on anyone.”
Rejected once again, but here I am making jokes about jacking off when she sat here begging me to delete it. What the fuck did I expect?
God, I’m an asshole, but I’m in too deep now. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. I know that’s rich coming from me, but I — shit, I won’t bring it up again. Let’s change the subject.”
“No, it’s okay.” She finally looks up, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “You have it and I know you have it, so I guess… It’s fine. It’s still embarrassing, but I’ll try to take it as a compliment that you found it worth watching again.”