Page 14 of Knot Forgotten

I mumble something unintelligible, my face now buried again in the sanctuary of my blankets. Their laughter rings through the room, and I can sense their teasing camaraderie.

"Come on, no need to be shy. We're flattered, really," Blake says, trying to suppress a chuckle. It is the first time he’s sounded like the Blake I remember since I arrived. Not that I’ve been here all that long.

Slowly, I peek out from my makeshift fortress, meeting their teasing gazes. They exchange amused glances, clearly enjoying the unexpected turn of events.

“Maybe next time take it to one of your rooms?” I barely say above a whisper.

Blake throws his head back and laughs. “Not likely.”

“No girls come to our beds; it is either the couch or their rooms,” Cam adds.

Fire flames up the sides of my neck and over my cheeks. Embarrassment attempts to drown me. I tug the blankets back over my head.

“You could watch next time. I’m sure Willow and Riana will put on a show for you, too,” Blake says.

“No, thank you,” I say from beneath the warm covers. I can’t get their musk out of my lungs. It’s like every single breath I take, it clings to me. Seeping down into my very soul.

“Maybe you can perform for us next time, and Blake can jack off to you touching yourself,” Cam says crudely. “Bring your pink boyfriend to the party and show us how much you like the silicone. You can fantasize over the real thing, at least with Blake using your face as his target.”

Blake works the blanket from my face, closer than he was before. “Or you can show me what your plush mouth can do now.” His hand pulls down my lower lip until it hurts before releasing it with a final painful tug.

Those words should not have even more slick gathering between my legs and my mouth going dry with the idea. But here we are, locked in a stare-off before his gaze drops to my lips again, and he captures his lower lip between his teeth before slowly releasing it in the most seductive motion I have ever witnessed.

“Don’t. You have a girlfriend,” I blurt as if that is the only obstacle to what he is suggesting.

He chuckles. “Riana?”

I press my lips together and swallow.

“Nah, she wishes.” He straightens. “If you aren’t willing to get on your knees for me, I guess I have a date with Ms. Rosey Five Fingers.”

My heart gives a painful thwomp behind my ribcage as they leave the room. These were not the boys I remember.

CHAPTER 6

Erin

I’m not sure what the guys' class schedules are, but I have managed to avoid them for the better part of two days. Even Riley is absent from our room when I go to sleep, and when I wake up, I’m not even sure he’s been back to the dorm. I’ve dropped by admissions every day and get the same response every time. There are no extra rooms.

The cool bite of fall hangs in the air, kissing my cheeks, as I walk to Baldwin Hall for dinner. As far as school food goes, it wasn't horrible if you could catch the pasta night. Who doesn't love all the carbs you can eat?

Tugging my backpack further up my shoulder, I pull open the door and enter the spacious dining hall. The din of voices rises up into a symphony of noise as I make my way to the pasta station. Setting a plastic tray down, I slide it along the front of the glass.

“What can I get you?” a woman in a hair net asks, metal scoop already in her grasp.

“Chicken Alfredo, please.” Almost as good as a pizza, which would be my first choice if the pizza here didn't taste like cardboard with cheese melted on top.

She dumps a large serving onto a plate and hands it to me over the counter.

“Bread stick?” she asks, clearly bored.

I shake my head at the same time a voice says, “I'll have what she has, and I'll take her breadstick, too.”

Matt slides his tray next to mine, grinning down at me when I turn to look at him.

“Hey, fancy meeting you here,” he says, his voice taking on a flirty tone. Hazel eyes glittering down at me. “Want to sit with us?”

Before I can respond, he scoops up my tray and heads toward a table with Riley, Blake, and Cam already seated around it.

---