Chapter Eighteen Cash #2
Not only was she gorgeous and fun, but she also always managed to think of others. Even in the middle of fangirling her way through her internship over the summer, she’d thought about how her experience could benefit more than just her.
Like I said, Saylor stole my breath away.
“Suh-weet!” Taco said, lifting his fist to bump hers. “AJ always says you’re the Sigma Chi Rho good-luck charm, and he’s not wrong. You hanging out with us tonight?”
At last she returned her attention to me. “I think Cash has other plans.”
“Damn straight I do,” I growled, my eyes on Dalton. “Enjoy my chair.” Extending my hand to Saylor, I invited her to join me.
When our skin touched for the first time in two months, sparks shot up my arm from my palm, twitching my bicep on their way to tingling my solar plexus. Saylor glanced over her shoulder between us to send my roommates a flirty wave.
“Nice to see you guys. You’ll have to tell me about rush later.”
It wasn’t my intention to pull a caveman move as I tugged her behind me, but judging by the guffaws that followed us down the hallway to my room, it came across that way.
The secret smile I caught flitting across her lips when I ushered her through the door into my bedroom said she kind of liked it though.
After letting me take her on only three dates, I’d had to accept I didn’t have a claim to her when she left for the summer.
If Saylor had met someone in Denver and decided to hang out with him, I couldn’t say one damn thing about it.
But with as much time as she’d spent with her hero and mentor Olivia Carter, and for all the texting and FaceTiming we’d done while she was away, I’d felt pretty secure I’d left an impression on her before she left.
That tiny grin only confirmed it, and for the first time all summer, I finally relaxed.
Closing—and locking—the door behind her, I pinned her against it. “Welcome home, Saylor.” I brushed my lips over hers and did my damnedest not to lose control when she moaned and deepened the kiss.
Time slipped away as we reacquainted ourselves, our bodies pressed together from lips to knees.
Fuck, she fit me perfectly, with the soft pillows of her breasts flattened against my chest and her firm thighs pressed to mine.
Somewhere in there, her hands found their way beneath my T-shirt where she alternated running her fingertips up and down my spine with pressing her palms into my muscles as she tightened her hold on me.
Tearing my mouth from her hot kisses at last, I dropped my forehead to rest on hers as air sawed in and out of my lungs.
“Guess you missed me, huh?” I teased when I could think somewhat straight again.
“Felt more like you missed me,” she sassed.
A chuckle rumbled out of me. “I’m really glad you’re home.
” Taking her hand, I guided her over to the bed.
“I’m not implying anything here. I just don’t have anywhere else to offer you to sit.
” Shooting a glare at the back of my bedroom door, I said, “The guys talked me out of putting my favorite chair in here.” Glancing around at the space my king bed made small, I added, “Probably because I would have had to walk on it to get to the bed.”
“That ratty floral thing Dalton was sitting in? That thing looks—”
I put my finger to her lips. “Stop right there. ‘That thing,’” I said with one-handed air quotes, “is the most comfortable piece of furniture I’ve ever sat on. The guys know it’s not communal property, though Dalton apparently has a short memory.”
She laughed at the sourness in my tone. “I’ll have to try it out sometime—that is, if I’m granted permission.” Those gorgeous eyes danced, and I swooped in and stole a kiss as payback.
“So you earned college credit for hanging out with celebrities all summer?” I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear because I wanted to enjoy the silky strands running through my fingers.
“I earned college credit for running a camera and learning every last thing I could about making kick-ass music videos.” She sat up a little straighter.
“Olivia even used some of my ideas in the newest Balefire video they’re releasing this fall.
She showed me the next-to-final cut right before I came home and said I could put the clip with my idea in it in my portfolio. ”
Holding my fist out, I said, “That’s awesome, babe. I can’t wait to see it.”
“After spending the summer working with musicians on scripted videos, I have loads of ideas for how to make concert footage big enough and cool enough to complement the music. I’m going to research some local bands who might be interested in collaborating with me this year so I can practice and build up my portfolio.
” In her enthusiasm she kind of bounced on the bed, and I didn’t bother to suppress my grin.
“I loved working with the rock stars, but I’m going to need some examples of what I can do for other music genres as well. ”
Slipping my arm around her, I pulled her in close. “I’m truly jacked about how your internship went. Are you thinking about making a music movie for your senior project?”
An eye-roll accompanied her, “I wish” even as she kind of melted into my side. Her sweet body pressed along my side distracted me until I heard “…Barry the jerk.”
“Wait. I thought you had that all worked out before you left for the summer.”
“I did.” She blew at her bangs. “I do. But I stayed in touch with Esme, one of my classmates, and found out he’d switched sections to be in mine. On Monday I’m headed to the registrar to rearrange my schedule. Whatever his deal is, I am not letting him upend my senior year.”
“Does he know how you spent your summer? Who your new contacts are?”
She blew at her bangs. “Probably. Not that it makes any difference. The guy is never going anywhere in the movie business no matter how much money his daddy has.”
“That doesn’t stop him from being a pain in your ass now.”
“Pretty much. A couple of people I know who’ll be in the spring 401 class would have been super-cool to work with, but I imagine I’ll meet some people in the fall section who have something going on too.
” She picked at the hem of her dress. “Maybe I’ll reach out to Tamir, see if he wants to switch sections to fall too. ”
After the high of her excitement over how her summer had gone, it pissed me right off that one asshole could put even a hint of defeat in her tone. “Do you like your schedule for senior year?”
“It’s perfect, actually.”
“As it is, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So don’t change it.”
“I’m not working with Barry again. Ever.”
“He’s baiting you. Beat him at his own game.”
She shot me a skeptical brow, and I went on.
“Find out who else is in the section, line up your team before the spring semester starts, and present your proposal to the instructor on the first day. Your preparedness will put you in charge while Barry spins his wheels to catch up.”
A slow smile tipped up the corner of her mouth. “You know what I like about hanging out with you?”
“Making out?” I asked hopefully.
She snorted, but before I could be offended, she said, “That too. But also your competitiveness. You don’t like to lose—and you don’t like anyone you care about to lose either.
” As if she realized exactly what she’d just said, she smoothed her palm over the top of my thigh.
“We’re just having fun, the two of us. Right? ”
“I have a ton of fun when I’m with you.”
“As long as we remember that. It’s only about having fun.”
If that was what she needed to believe for now, I’d let her, but with the off-the-charts sex we’d shared and all the fun we’d had supporting each other over text during the summer, we’d already passed the “we’re only in this for fun” point of no return.
The trick would be to hold onto my patience while she figured that out.