16. Chapter 16
Beth
“ T ell me everything,” Isabella demanded, emphasizing every word and making herself comfortable at the end of my bed. “And don’t tell me any of that nothing happened crap because I can see right through that. You started blushing the second I said his name.”
My cheeks felt warm, so I didn’t doubt that. It seemed to be happening a lot lately. “We just made out.” I resisted the urge to trace my lips where his had been.
Isabella scoffed, and Amy stared at me like she didn’t believe it.
“You went out with Carter Carlisle, probably the richest guy at Chicago University, and all you did was make out?” Amy asked.
She scrunched her nose, confused. “I thought you always had to put out for guys like that. Did he buy you dinner?”
“Yes.” I giggled. “And dessert.”
“He bought you dessert and you didn’t even sleep with him?” Isabella’s eyes were wide like she agreed with Amy.
I shrugged. “I mean, I almost did. I got nervous, but he was really sweet about it.” The way we had shared the last piece of pie, passing the same fork between us and laughing when some dropped onto the bed, flashed across my mind, and I smiled when the butterflies in my stomach remembered too.
Amy and Isabella exchanged a look that I couldn’t quite read—one that made them both lift a single brow. Then Isabella shrugged. “Well, was he a good kisser, at least?” she asked.
“Oh my God. He was such a good kisser.” My cheeks warmed, and I didn’t have to hear them giggling to know I was blushing. Suddenly, I could feel his lips on me again. Then the phone rang, and the image of him was gone. I was just sitting on my bed.
The phone rang a second time, and Isabella jumped up from the end of the bed, grabbing it and answering.
“Hello?” she sang into the receiver, twirling the cord that connected it to the base on the wall around her finger.
“Beth? Yeah, she’s here.” My heart leapt into my throat when she said my name.
When it started pounding erratically, I nearly choked on the anticipation.
Isabella put the phone to her chest and giggled, a huge grin tugging at her cheeks. “Speaking of the devil,” she said, definitely loud enough that Carter could’ve heard her. I cringed. “It’s Carter.” The way she dragged his name out and rocked her head back and forth made me want to disappear.
“I’ll take it,” I said quickly, jumping up from the bed and reaching for the phone. Isabella stretched, reaching to where she knew I couldn’t reach and holding the phone there. I jumped, huffing when I missed the phone. “Let me have it.”
She looked at me, then at the phone, smirking before she handed it over. “Hello?” I answered as quickly as I could bring it to my ear.
“Hey, cherry.” His voice was lower through the phone, and the butterflies in my stomach started to spin in circles again. “So you’ve been talking about me, hmm?” I knew he’d heard her. I glared at Isabella, and she started to laugh, presumably guessing why I was giving her the look. She winked.
“It’s not like that.” I tried to giggle, hoping I played it off as casual and not nearly as forced as it felt.
When Carter chuckled, I felt it in my core. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ve been thinking about you, too.”
“You have?” I twisted the cord around my finger and watched it unravel before repeating the action. He had been thinking about me too? Even after I didn’t put out?
“Yeah, I have. What are you doing later?” Anything he wanted to do. “Let me take you out.”
I nodded, realizing he couldn’t see me. “Okay. I would like that,” I said, acknowledging I still had an audience when Amy giggled. “When?”
“Tonight. I’ll pick you up at six?” I looked at my watch, both relieved that I had enough time to get ready and disappointed that I would have to wait so long to see him. My nerves and excitement weren’t going to relax while I waited.
“Six is perfect.” I was already mentally digging through my closet for something to wear when he hummed.
“Good,” he said. “It’s a date.”
“Wow,” Carter said when I walked out of the front door to the dorm.
“You look amazing.” He leaned against the side of his car, taking his time to enjoy a slow once over.
It was like he was memorizing every detail of my outfit.
When he reached the end of my borrowed-from-Amy-and-shorter-than-usual denim skirt, he lifted his brows.
I felt the slow movement of his eyes down my legs when I walked the rest of the distance to the car. “Thanks. So do you.” I pointed playfully at his casual sweater that fit a little tighter on his arms and his faded jeans.
“Come on, get in,” Carter said with a chuckle, reaching over and opening the front door. I slid into the leather seat before he leaned down, putting one hand on the roof of the car and keeping the other on the door. “I want to take you somewhere.”
When he closed the door, the butterflies that were following me around raced for my throat. “Where are we going?” I asked when he climbed into the driver’s seat.
“You’ll see.” Carter winked, and a strand of hair fell across his forehead. “It’s a little spot I know just outside the city.”
He started the car, and I settled into the comfort of the seat and the anticipation of not knowing where we were going. I trusted him though. And based on the excitement on his face, I couldn’t wait to see where we were going.
When he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, he pulled a purple tape from his pocket. “I made this for you,” he said, sticking it in the slot on the stereo.
“What is it?” I asked, sitting forward in my seat when the excitement made it impossible to relax.
“It’s a tape. Just a couple songs I think you might like.” He reached forward and turned the knob on the stereo, and the music got louder. “Songs that make me think of you.”
Upbeat music started playing, and I recognized the new song from the radio.
When Carter started to bob his head, I threw mine back and laughed.
Then the lyrics started, and he belted them out with the music.
“And you want my love,” he sang dramatically, and I laughed again.
“Well that’s alright.” Joy bubbled in my stomach along with a feeling I didn’t recognize—it was carefree, fun, and felt like static in my veins.
“Well it will be there for you, morning, noon, and night,” he continued, pointing at me. He chortled, shaking his head. “Oh come on, cherry! I know you know the words. Don’t make me sing it alone!”
I couldn’t remember the last time laughter rolled from me so effortlessly. “But you gotta be good,” we sang at the same time. “And do it right.”
The song continued to play, competing with the volume of our singing.
Our voices grew gradually louder and by the time we got to the chorus, I was practically yelling.
“Oh baby, baby, baby.” I rocked my head side-to-side with the words, dancing along, and when I looked back at Carter, he was grinning.
He reached over the center console in the car, grabbing hold of my thigh, and I suddenly forgot the words.
All my focus went to the feeling of his fingers wrapped around my leg and a swirling in my core that settled between them.
I adjusted in the seat slightly, just enough for him to tighten his grip.
I watched his hand, chewing on my lip while the music faded into the background.
I became more aware of the warmth of his skin and the way the seat vibrated just slightly as he sped up.
“We’re almost there,” he said when a slower song started to play.
Even the heavier bass and smoother beat didn’t stop my heart from pounding frantically against my chest.
When we pulled over on the side of the road, Carter put the car in park, and I scrunched my nose.
There was nothing here. It was just a mostly gravel parking lot with a few trees.
In the distance, the Chicago skyline was starting to sparkle.
The sun was setting, and it reflected off the windows, mixing with the lights that flicked on a few at a time the darker it got.
“Isn’t that view something?” Carter asked when he noticed me staring. He reached over and turned the radio down until it clicked off, and the only sound left in the car was our breathing.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, tearing my eyes away from the view just long enough to see the skyline reflected in his dark eyes.
“It is. So are you.” I couldn’t look away while he stared at me, and I could hardly breathe beneath the weight of the silent tension hanging in the car. “I haven’t really brought anyone here before. I come up here to think sometimes. It’s quiet, and nobody really knows we’re here.”
I giggled. “You sound like you’re warning me.” Carter laughed.
“If anyone needed a warning, it would’ve been me the first time I saw you at that bar.
” He shook his head, likely feeling less embarrassment than I did when he remembered the way I choked on the tequila shot I took in front of him.
“The warning would’ve said: if you kiss her, you won’t stop craving more. ”
“Is that how you feel?” Where had the bold feeling come from? I imagined it kicked in somewhere in the second verse. “Are you craving me right now?” His eyes darkened.
Carter hooked his finger under my chin, holding my stare to his.
“I haven’t stopped craving you since that first taste of cherry lip balm.
Maybe longer.” Then he leaned across the car, and I tasted how badly I’d been craving him too.
Not that I had questioned it since the night he brought me home from the party.