Chapter 11 #2
He visibly relaxed at my words and rejoined me on the bed. He didn’t lie down, choosing to lean against the wall and leave a foot between us. I moved my feet under my purple blanket, putting a thin barrier up. “I came here to remove that stupid idea that I kissed you out of pity.”
“Well, when I saw Amber in the bathroom in your shirt this morning… I rationalized why you would kiss me and sleep with someone else. Pity was the best answer I could come up with.” I shrugged, unabashed at my admittance.
He seemed to appreciate it too, because he nodded and playfully nudged my shoulder with his hand.
“Silly, silly girl. We can erase that notion out of your mind.” His eyes twinkled at me, like a goddamn scene from a movie. “I’ll trade you a truth for a truth, but I don’t want to scare you.”
“Scare me?” My pulse raced at whatever thing he could say to me. He’ll tell Aaron? Aaron knows already? What will scare me?
He ran his hands over his face, a haunted, almost tortured look crossing it, before he said, “I tried to hook up with someone else, but couldn’t, because I couldn’t get you out of my mind.”
Okay, not terrifying.
Just a little bit.
“Just what a lady loves to hear,” I teased, regretting it when his face fell. “I’m guessing this is a first for you?”
“You think?” His eyes flared for a second, but I just kicked my foot out from under the blanket and poked him in the side. “What was that for?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong. You’re mad…because you were thinking about me and couldn’t get it up with another chick?”
“Dammit, Ken. No, what I’m saying,” he started and moved back toward the headboard so our shoulders touched, “is that I’ve never been attracted to someone like this before and I’m really out of my element.
You’re my best friend’s sister, my roommate for the summer, and there are at least twenty reasons why we shouldn’t do this. ”
His voice got real low again, dangerously low, like I wanted to close my eyes and have him whisper dirty things to me low. He sucked in a breath, saying my name like a curse. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Sorry?” I gave a cheesy smile. “I can’t help it. Sex has never been like that for me. Now, when I hear your rough voice, I think about your mouth on me and I get a little hot.”
“Christ, I knew this was a terrible idea.”
I stiffened at his words, but he reached out and put his hand on my neck, stopping me from getting up.
“I meant, thinking I could not do this again.”
Oh. Oh. I giggled. “I know what to do.” I moved out of his grasp and found my to-do list on the small half-broken desk in the corner. “Do it ten more times with TJ.” I held it up, grinning at my quick thinking. “It’s on my list, so it’s official.”
“Jesus, erase my name! What if Aaron sees that?” he asked, jumping from the bed and yanking it out of my hand. He took a blue pen and went to cross it out, but I stopped him.
“Woah, woah, woah, don’t mix inks.”
“I’m sorry, you spoke a different language. What?” He gave me an incredulous look, torn between laughing and disbelief. “Don’t mix inks?”
“Yes, I only use black on that list. If you want me to cross out your name, I’ll do it.” I took my stuff back and let my touch linger just an extra second on his firm pec. “You’re quite yummy, Tanner, but if you fuck with my list, I’ll hurt you.”
“Noted.” He held up his hands in the air and jutted his chin at the paper. “What name are you going to put then? You can’t just write do it.”
“Oh, this could be fun. Hm,” I said, moving back to the bed and leaving room for Tanner to join me if he wanted. He did. He looked over my shoulder when I flipped to another page and began writing names.
Chris.
Peter.
Joe.
Jude.
“You could be a Jude.”
“No, fuck no.” He took a deep breath and struggled to say something for about fifteen seconds. Then he said, “Put Tallen.”
“Tallen?” I scrunched my nose and realized I had no idea where my glasses were. “Shit! Where are my—”
“These ole things?” He held them up and placed them on my face. “Those goddamn glasses. They started all of this.”
“How’s that?”
“You wore them, looking all sorts of cute and you kept pushing them up your nose.” His smile had my legs feel wobbly again and it got worse when he reached out and pushed my frames up my nose. “These goddamn glasses.”
It’d be easy to lose myself in his stare, and that wasn’t something I wanted, so I used the only defense mechanism I had—awkward humor. “They say eyewear can be quite sexy. Are you an eye man, Tanner?”
“I’m an everything man.”
I scoffed and pointed to the paper. “Now, why Tallen? I picture someone with that name as a lumberjack. Plaid, vest, beard that’s two feet long.”
“My family calls me that.”
“Is your middle name Allen?”
“Good guess,” he replied, shifting his position an inch away from me. “One of my brothers called me Tanner Allen and the other shortened it to Tallen. Even my mom calls me that.”
“Tallen it is.” I wrote Tallen on my list and showed him. “Do it with Tallen ten times.”
“Better make it twenty, to be safe.”