Chapter 2 #2
She shrugged. “Yes, and no. Yes, there’s always drama, but no, it’s not usually that intense.”
“Are you ever part of it?”
“Me?” She held her free hand to her chest and laughed. “Never. I rarely date other Greeks. Too small of a community. You’re bound to hook up with one of your sorority sisters’ exes or flings. No one’s got time for that mess.”
“Makes sense. Then who do you usually date?”
I wasn’t totally sure why I asked. I didn’t want a girlfriend—didn’t have the bandwidth to be a boyfriend. This year was supposed to be about me, and doing whatever the hell I wanted, but there was something about Sarah that had me interested.
“I usually go for handsome guys who get concussed just to meet me.”
I scoffed. “I don’t have a concussion.”
She pressed a finger to my lips. “Shh. Don’t ruin the fantasy.”
We smiled at each other, that easy silence settling back over us. It felt right sitting there with her, holding her hand.
“Can I ask you something personal?”
I nodded, and her expression grew serious.
“Are you sure? It’s the most intimate question a college student can ask.” She rubbed her thumb over my knuckles, and I cocked my head to the side, unsure what the hell she wanted to know that was so serious.
“What’s your major?”
I huffed out a laugh, and she beamed back at me, her full cheeks turning her dark blue eyes into slits.
“Business. I want to get an MBA so I can join my uncle’s business as more than a crew member. You?”
“Education. I’m going to be a kindergarten teacher.”
“That’s awesome. So, you’ve got one more year after this?”
Her smile dimmed. “Yeah. It sucks because all my roommates are graduating this year.”
“That’s too bad.”
“It’ll be okay. I’ll still have my sisters and other friends.” She glanced back at the building and shrugged. “I’ll just miss them.”
“I know what that feels like. I’m from here, but all my friends went off to college right after high school and are coming back or doing grad school.
So, I’m in a weird spot starting college now.
I can either keep my personal life the same and just do classes or try to embrace this whole college thing. ”
“Hence, your being at a frat party when you look like you’d rather chew glass.”
“I don’t look that miserable.” I playfully frowned.
“Well, not anymore.” She grabbed my other hand and squeezed, bouncing her knee against mine.
“How could I be anything but happy sitting here with you?” I internally cringed.
“I hate that I like that cheesy line.” Her nose crinkled as she smiled.
Thank the powers that be for letting this girl not think I’m a total loser.
“Are you having a good time?”
She nodded, looking down at our hands. Stilling for a moment, she smiled and jumped up from her seat. “Come with me.”
Without asking another question, I stood and let her lead the way. After glancing around the gravel lot, she dashed toward the side of the building. I had to hustle to keep up with her fast strides.
“Where are we going?” I asked, and she looked over her shoulder with a wicked grin.
As we rounded the corner, Sarah let out a sigh of relief, pulling me into the darkness.
Taking a few steps past her, I turned to ask what was going on, but her mouth cut me off as she pushed me into the wall.
She parted her lips, caressing mine until I opened for her.
The taste of sweet juice and grain alcohol fresh on her tongue wasn’t my favorite, but damn, her lips were soft and her tongue was eager.
I fisted the back of her dress, bringing her flush with me, her legs straddling one of mine.
She roughly tugged my hair, drawing a deep moan from my chest. Everything about this was right.
We moved together as if we’d been at it for years.
One of her hands wedged its way between us and under my shirt.
My abs contracted as she traced every ridge of hard-earned muscle, taking her time the lower she got, driving me wild.
I wanted more of her. Kissing down her throat, she let out a whimper, her tits pressing harder into me.
I tried to move against her, but she had me locked between her thighs.
She grabbed my face and brought our lips back together in a passionate kiss.
The early summer heat did little to cool the fire spreading through us as our sweaty bodies writhed against one another, unable to get close enough.
Sliding my hand down her back, I squeezed what I could of her round ass, and she giggled against my mouth. The playfulness of her laugh and the aggressive way her lips attacked mine were the perfect combination. Sarah was shaping up to be a fascinating girl.
I dragged my fingertips down her thigh until I reached her knee.
Hiking it up, I opened her wide, allowing me to roll us, pinning her against the wall.
Sarah wrapped her leg around me, leaving my hand free to explore her ample curves.
I trailed my hand up her side, stopping below her breast. My thumb grazed over her covered nipple, and she shuddered, her breath stuttering in response.
Everything was spinning out of control, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. I’d never wanted anyone the way I wanted Sarah.
She pulled away, smacking the back of her head into the siding. Rubbing the sore spot, she looked at me with wide, unfocused eyes. Whatever color gloss she wore was smeared around the edges of her swollen lips, and her curled honey blond hair was a fucking mess from dancing and kissing.
She was perfect.
“Connor,” she whimpered.
I kept grinding against her since her hips hadn’t stopped moving. “Yeah?” My voice came out rough, leaving her no doubt of her effect on me.
“We should get out of here,” she breathed out as her head tipped back and her eyes shut. With how hard her fingers dug into my shoulders, I wondered if I could get her off right there.
“Let’s go back to my place.”
Her eyes stayed closed as she nodded, one of her hands wrapping around the back of my neck, pulling me into a kiss that was all teeth and tongue. Messy, messy, just like it should be.
Sarah’s breathing became labored as her grinding got more desperate.
I pushed into her, giving her the pressure she was searching for.
With a gasp, she broke away from my mouth, and a deep, satisfied moan fell from her lips.
Our movements slowed until she stopped altogether and looked up at me with a dopey smile.
“Let me tell my friends I’m leaving, and then we can go.”
I took a step back. “Sounds good.”
She straightened her hopelessly wrinkled dress and wiped around her mouth, missing most of the smeared gloss. “Do I look okay?”
I nodded. It was dark in there—she’d be fine.
A part of me wanted her to go in there all mussed so everyone would know she already had plans for the night—and morning if I could swing it before work.
Taking a deep breath, she smiled at me and squeezed my hand. “Be right back.” She sashayed back to the party, her ass swaying, promising me all kinds of wonderful things.
Once I was alone, I leaned against the wall, trying to get a hold of my own personal excitement. I didn’t want to walk twelve blocks with a semi. That didn’t sound fun.
As I calculated how much money I’d need to shell out for books, or how many hours I was scheduled this week at all my respective jobs, I heard a few voices coming closer. Pushing off the wall, I came face to face with my little brother and two older dudes.
“Connor! There you are! Have you met Brian and Stephen?”
I shook my head, not paying too much attention to Jamie’s new friends. I was more worried about how drunk he was.
“Hey, man, you need to get him out of here,” Stephen said. “He threw up on a beer pong table, and the Prez wants him gone.” He patted my brother’s back affectionately.
“I want pancakes, Con. Like the biggest stack of them. Can you take me?”
“Sure. Uh, can we hang out here for a second? I’m waiting for someone.” As the last word left my mouth, Jamie turned and sprinted down the hill, away from all of us, yelling, “Pancakes!”
“Son of a—” I took off in a dead sprint after him, glancing over my shoulder at the party, hoping and praying the next time I ran into Sarah, she wouldn’t be pissed about me bailing on her.
I caught up with him about four blocks from my apartment, only because he’d stopped to smell some flowers planted on the edge of campus.
On the edge of our very dry campus. The kind of campus that handed out a Minor in Possession charge as if it were no big deal.
Jamie didn’t have the money or time for that kind of setback.
“Hey, dipshit!”
“Look at these flowers, man. I think Mom has these in her garden.”
“Yeah, she does.”
He turned his brown eyes to me. While I looked just like the bastard who left us, my little brother was my mom through and through.“Will you make me pancakes?”
“Sure, Bud. Let’s get home.”
A light mist of rain started as we stumbled the last few blocks, Jamie stopping every few feet to tell me how much fun he had and how happy he was that we were in college together.
“It’s so cool you live above a bar. The walk home from All You Can Drink will be nothing.”
There was a high-pitched shriek, and I tensed, quickly taking a step toward the alley next to the Welkum. There was no way I could turn away from a person in trouble. Before I made it a foot from my front door, five drunk ass, cackling women spilled out of the alley.
Safe. They’re safe.
Heart still racing, I pushed open the outside door. “You forget, I won’t be doing all you can drink, I’ll be working it.”
He frowned and looked up the stairwell that led to my apartment. “Oh yeah. Working sucks.”
I huffed. What the hell did he know about it? Sure, he worked for our uncle’s crew doing drywall or whatever else we could get him to focus on for a few hours, but that was just a summer gig. During the school year, he was supposed to focus on studying and being a normal kid.
That ship had sailed a long time ago for me, but Jamie had been able to have a relatively normal high school experience full of proms and homecomings, so I wanted him to have the same in college. If that meant joining a fraternity, so be it.
Shuffling in behind him, I held a hand up in case he fell backwards.
We made it to my place without incident, and he plopped down on the couch.
I went to the kitchen and got him a glass of water, worried that he wouldn’t make it to the job site in the morning.
When I came back out to the living room, he was passed out on the couch, snoring.
Of course.
I covered him up, placing the water and a bottle of ibuprofen on the coffee table next to his head. “Good night, dumbass.”
Heavy rain hit the window as I looked out onto the square.
Checking the time, I saw it had somehow been almost an hour since I’d left the party.
There was no way Sarah was still waiting for me.
I kicked myself for not getting her number.
All I could do was pray to the gods of small-town life that I’d run into her and be able to make up for the complete clusterfuck of a night.