Chapter 1 #2
I looked around as if someone was going to jump out and save me from the awkwardness I felt. "Fine." I rolled my eyes when he did a fist pump in the air.
I couldn't believe I'd given in and gone back to his dorm room with him to watch a movie. I knew deep down inside that this was probably a ploy to try to get in my pants, but he had been too charismatic.
"Can you see okay?" He had put his laptop on a chair next to the bed.
I nodded and sat back against the pillow I’d placed against the wall. My stomach was filled with butterflies as he sat next to me after pressing play. His arm brushed against mine and he looked over at me and smiled.
About twenty minutes into the action movie, he put his hand on my thigh. I kept my eyes locked on his computer screen and willed myself to stay calm. I didn't hate the way his warm hand felt against my bare skin.
What would it be like to kiss him? His thumb moved across my skin in a sweeping motion. My body tingled at his touch and trying to focus on the movie was no longer an option.
I braved a glance over at him and met his stare. His eyes darkened and they moved down to my lips. Holy shit, was he going to kiss me?
I licked my lips in anticipation. I'd only kissed a boy once and it was in sixth grade, during science camp. I inwardly cursed that I was about to kiss a seasoned pro when I had only kissed a prepubescent boy and my hand.
Before I could even process that it was actually happening, he leaned in and his lips brushed mine. I turned my body toward him, causing his hand to move to my inner thigh, right at the hem of my shorts.
If my body was on fire from just a simple kiss and touch, I didn't even want to imagine what taking it further would feel like, but my mind went there anyway.
His lips moved against mine gently, and I tentatively moved mine. I was trembling and hoped I wasn't a bad kisser.
He brought his other hand to my hair and gripped the back of my head, pulling me closer and deepening the kiss. I whimpered as his tongue slid between my lips and found my tongue.
Now I understood why people made out all the time. It was causing my body to burn with desire and a tingling sensation to build in my core. I was no stranger to feeling horny, but this was different. I could almost feel what it would be like to have his hands glide across where only mine had been.
I couldn't let it get that far though. I knew him, but it wasn’t like we'd even said two words to each other before today.
The hand on my thigh moved to the button on my shorts and I pushed his chest to break the kiss. "What are you doing?"
His hand stilled on the button, and his other hand moved out of my hair to caress my cheek. "I want to make you feel good."
My breaths were quick and unsteady as he licked his lips and looked down to where his hand lay against the button. One of his knuckles brushed the skin right above it, and it almost made me give in to my desires. Would it be so bad if I let him?
I scooted off the bed and stood in the center of the room. "I should go." I adjusted my top and shorts as I put on my sandals.
"Did I do something wrong?" He closed his laptop screen and stretched his arms over his head as he stood. My eyes were instantly drawn to his shirt riding up to show his toned lower abdomen with the delicious V that led into his shorts.
"No." I wasn't about to tell him he was my first meaningful kiss and I really did want to let him unbutton my shorts and do magical things with his fingers. "We have an early start tomorrow and I'm tired."
He grabbed his phone and typed something before sliding it into his back pocket. "I'll walk you back to your dorm building then." He grabbed his keys and followed me out of his room and into the cool night.
I wrapped my arms around myself as we walked down the path to the dorm building that was for girls only. He followed me inside, and I stopped to face him.
"I don't think you're supposed to be in here." I looked around, but the building was quiet besides the faint sounds of televisions coming through the thin doors.
"It'll be fine. The adults are probably off drinking." He brushed past me and went up the stairs.
We got to my room and I unlocked the door. "Well, thanks."
I knew as soon as I opened the door a crack that something was wrong inside. The smell that hit me made my stomach curdle, and I put my hand over my mouth as I flicked on the light.
"What the hell?" Jax put his hands on my arms as I backed up into him. "Who would do something like this?"
He moved me to the side and walked into the room. I gagged and brought the hem of my shirt up to cover my mouth and nose.
There were dead fish covered in oil everywhere. They were covering the bed and in my suitcase, which had been shut. I choked on a sob and Jax grabbed a folded white piece of paper from the desk.
"Ms. Kline, you've been canceled." His mouth was set in a tight line and he threw the note onto the bed. "Sounds like a threat. Why would someone do this?"
Tears filled my eyes and I backed all the way into the hall and against the opposite door. "I don't know." My voice was muffled from the shirt and my tears.
He stalked toward me and stopped abruptly, his eyes falling to my left side. I quickly let go of my shirt and pulled it down to cover the faint silvery flesh of my burn scar. It wasn't bad, but it was noticeable.
"What happened?"
"Burned it on a buoy." It sounded ridiculous, but I didn't need to relive the trauma from that day by explaining further. The burn hadn't been as bad as it could have been.
He looked slightly taken aback, and then he stepped forward and took my face in his hands. I tried to ignore the fact that they had oil on them from him picking up the note. "Why would someone threaten you? You have to have some idea. Dead fish and oil? That's specific."
The tears were falling freely now, and he swiped them with his oily thumbs. "My father, but I-"
"You need to call and tell him. The fish and the note are definitely a threat. He should come pick you up." His posture was stiff and he sounded angry. If anyone should have been angry about the fish, it should be me.
Instead, I was numb.
"What's going on here?" A female teacher rounded the corner of the hall and glanced into my room. "What in the world?"
Jax stepped away from me, his beautiful features marred with a sneer. He was looking at me as if he were disgusted with me, but it was probably from the smell emanating from the dorm room.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Someone broke in."
"Jesus. Let's call your advisor and get you to a new room." She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and looked at Jax. "And you need to leave."
Jax walked ahead of us to the stairs and glanced at me over his shoulder. His eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn't pinpoint, and then he was down the stairs without a word.