Chapter Six.
My nerves get the best of me. My first class with Ben arrives, and I have no idea how we’re going to interact.
I made sure to wear something I considered cute to give myself a better shot at drawing his attention.
He once whispered to me that I looked cute when I wore sundresses so I figured a long yellow sundress with brown sandals might help ease the tension.
I’ve never dressed up intentionally for him, let alone anyone before.
God, this is probably a terrible idea.
A few people turn their heads to stare at me as I walk down the hallway. Is it the dress or because I actually straightened my hair today and wore some eyeliner? Ugh, now I’m even more self-conscious. What was I thinking? I wish I’d brought extra clothes to change into.
Ben’s sitting at the back, far away from the usual spot he grabs us. He must still be mad then. I move toward him but stop when I hear my name being called from the hallway.
“Hey Charlotte!” Jared says grinning widely from the doorway. Upon hearing my name, I catch Ben, in my periphery, turning around and perking up to stare directly at us. I ignore him, turning my full attention to Jared.
“Hey, Jared. What’s going on?” I casually hug my books closer to my chest.
“You’re for sure coming to my party on Saturday, right? It starts at five.” He leans on the doorway, folding his arms together nonchalantly, his red T-shirt tight enough I can see every muscle outlined underneath.
It’s common to see him shirtless at practice but for some reason it’s just now hitting me how buff he actually is. I glance quickly to the perfectly outlined six-pack under his shirt.
A familiar, wet tingling sensation revisits the spot between my legs. My lips curl in under my teeth in frustration at my body’s unbelievable gull to act like this in public.
What the heck is wrong with me? Calm down or else he’ll notice and then what would I say? Sorry, your abs are turning me on? I need to go take care of myself real quick, brB?
I sneak a peek behind me and catch Ben staring intently at us. For sass, I flip my hair over my shoulder and turn back to Jared.
“For sure! I promise I’ll be there at five, right when it starts.
How long does it last? It didn’t say on the invite.
” The heat of Ben’s stare on my back radiates through me.
Talking to Jared while Ben watches like this feels good.
It makes me feel in control of the situation, of his emotions toward me.
Who knew all I had to do to elicit an emotion out of him was talk to another guy?
Jared lets out a low chuckle and winks. “It ends when it ends. You can stay however long ya like.”
I blush. It was pretty cute how he said that. I brush my hair behind my ear, still holding my books in my other arm tightly to me. “Alright, I'll see you Saturday then.”
He nods and walks off with a noticeable bounce in his step.
We don’t have any classes together, but sometimes I’ll see him in the halls or at practice.
The last two days are the most we’ve interacted in a long time though.
Is he trying to make friends with everyone before we all go our own separate ways?
When I turn back around, Ben’s resting his chin on the back of his chair, staring at the ground, brows furrowed and lips pursed in contemplation. He only wears that expression when he’s had to make big decisions.
I rack my brain, trying to remember if there’s something big happening in his life but nothing comes to mind, which couldn’t mean anything since we haven’t been as close lately. My heart dips into sadness. I miss us.
Bucking up some courage, I step to walk over to him to make up, but as soon as I move, he lifts his chin off the chair and makes eye contact with me, his face going blank before his full lips straighten as if still mad then turns around to face his computer away from me.
I jerk my neck back in surprise and annoyance. Fine. If he’s going to act like that then forget it. I’ll go sit in our usual spot and treat him how he’s treating me.
Setting my books down beside my keyboard, I steal one more glance at Ben and stifle a laugh as Greta sits down next to him, scooting her chair as close as possible until they’re almost touching leg to leg. He cringes, withdrawing an inch before planting an awkward smile on.
Serves him right. I stick my nose up, turning back to my computer with a satisfied smirk.
The rest of the day’s interactions with Ben go the same way. He perks up when he sees me, eyes slightly wide, then quickly looks away. I decide to ignore it. I don’t care. He’s the one acting like a child after telling me to grow up so, whatever. I’ll let him sort that out on his own.
As the day goes on, I receive increased attention from a lot of my classmates which is an unexpected confidence booster and helps me feel more comfortable in my dress.
Being invisible isn’t bad, but this new attention elicits an ego boost I could get used to.
I should have started wearing dresses to school much sooner.
I could’ve had a totally different experience here.
The last bell of the day rings, so I make my way to my locker to grab my keys and backpack after my oddly thrilling day. I walk down the hallway, a small bounce to my own step when a heavy arm hangs over my shoulder.
Smirking, I tilt my head up expecting Ben but instead see Jared, smiling down at me. His blonde hair’s still in the bun from earlier, but a few wisps are left untamed near his face. He smiles at me differently, softer, and studies me more deeply, intimately.
My cheeks give away my reaction to his intimate attention, but I act unfazed, smiling softly back and letting him keep his arm over me.
“I’m glad you’re coming. We’re gonna have a blast. Everyone from the cross country and track team’s coming. We’re gonna order pizza, play games, and maybe even swim.”
The idea of everyone seeing me in my bikini makes me want to crawl back into my turtle shell.
“Well, I probably won’t swim, but it all sounds like a great time. I’m looking forward to it.” This feels nice. Having someone excited to include me in this way is something I could get used to. I just needed a little push. I’m grateful to Jared for that.
He side hugs me harder, pushing my cheek against the right side of his chest. Sandalwood with a hint of citrus fills my senses. It’s very different than Ben’s scent—leather and mint.
My body rebels against me and throws me a reel of the mysterious biker riding shirtless on his motorcycle. A shot of adrenaline rings through me with the pleasure sensation following down below.
Okay, now I feel uncomfortable being under Jared’s arm given my current.
..situation. Shoving the image out of my mind, I instead focus on the fact that I’ll be home soon and can log onto Xypher to take care of the problem.
I quicken my steps, in turn quickening Jared’s since he’s insisting on keeping his arm around me.
“Are you okay? We’re basically jogging to your car. Am I making you uncomfortable?”
His question slows my pace. How sweet of him to care if he’s making me uncomfortable or not.
“Sorry. Yeah, I’m okay. You’re not making me uncomfortable,” I reassure him with a subtle grin.
His eyes soften as they search mine. He gives me another squeeze on my shoulder, pulling me into him again. Butterflies flutter in my stomach at the acceptance of his touch and the reciprocated smile.
He finally removes his arm, only to open my car door for me. I widen my eyes at the gesture and go to thank him, but my voice is drowned out by the roar of a motorcycle speeding out of the parking lot.
We both turn to see Ben pop a wheelie before speeding away onto the road.
I roll my eyes. What’s gotten into him? I hate this obnoxious side of him.
Nine times out of ten he’ll keep his cool, but when he doesn’t, he’s the one who acts like a child.
I exhale forcefully at his obvious childish actions.
And he had the gall to tell me to grow up.
Jared gently shuts my car door and waves to me as he walks off to his truck.
Once I’m sure he’s gone, I scan my surroundings to make sure no one else is looking and slide my hand up my thigh to find how drenched I am.
I shiver at my own gentle touch, a quick shoot of anticipation rushing through my body, urging me to speed home to explore myself again with the biker boy.
Disappointment creeps in when I notice Dad’s home.
Crap.
Whatever, I’ll just have to be quiet.
I drop my bag by the stairs roughly to signal I’m home, shout hi into the living room and rush up the stairs, skipping every other step.
My lips curl ever so subtly, excitement building quickly inside me.
I keep my bedroom lights off so it’s only the light from the laptop once more and whip my dress off, throwing it on the floor, prepped and ready for my alone time.
Xypher’s website greets me automatically with BikerBB64’s profile showing five new videos posted since yesterday.
Upon initial investigation, he usually only posts one video a week, but to do five in one day just as I discover his profile?
Thank you, universe.
The new videos are ten times more seductive, heightening my current situation to new levels.
The first video reveals him sitting on his bike with his shirt off in tight leather pants, breathing heavily and flexing his abs, staring at the camera with his head cocked, giving attitude like I disobeyed him to sultry music.
The next one shows him flexing his hand, highlighting his veins and tan skin. In the last three, he dances to various sounds, seductively of course, moving his hips in circular motions, pulling his shirt up, flexing… All the good things.
The flexed arm video draws my attention the most. I don’t know why it’s so attractive to me, but it’s getting me going so bad I can’t stand it. An intriguing idea occurs to me.