Page 28 of Master Debater

Since two could play at that game, I bit his thumb, relishing the astonished unhinging of his jaw. “Looks like it’s real.”

“Yeah, it’s real, all right. Now, give it a little suck.”

I complied, wrapping my mouth around his thumb, all the way to his second knuckle and then slowly pulling back and releasing it with a loud pop.

A low grumble vibrated through his throat, like the warning of thunder before the onslaught of a storm. “I skipped lunch and I’m starving, so first, I’m taking you out for dinner, and then afterward…” He grazed the tip of his nose across my cheek and sank his teeth into the outer shell of my ear, a bite for a bite. “I’m going to take you home for dessert. And trust me, you’re going to want dessert.”

And now my panties were wet, and my heart was jackhammering away in its cage, upset it couldn’t throw itself at his feet. Not that he was asking, but I still said, “Okay.”

He took my bag from my shoulder, gripping it in his fist so he wasn’t wearing it, but he also didn’t seem to care it was obviously a women’s tote. Then he placed his hand on my back and catapulted me down the hallway, as though he was as eager to get on with our night as I was.

But when we passed the library and I caught sight of the large building ahead, an idea hit me, my excitement veering my train of thoughts to another track. “The performance center almost always has an event going on, but it’s actually empty tonight.” I reached down and took hold of Nate’s hand. “Come on. Before we leave campus, there’s something I have to show you.”

Chapter 16

Willa

After pushing open the door and doing a quick scan, I tugged Nate inside the performance center, down the sloped walkway and past the rows of gray fold-up chairs to the stage.

Using my cell phone as a flashlight, I lit up the control panel, wishing I’d paid more attention during my faculty tour.

Nate reached over me and flicked a few switches, bathing the stage in light.

“I would’ve figured it out eventually,” I said.

Nate circled an arm around my waist, tugging my back to his chest, and kissed my temple. “Sure, but I’m too hungry to wait that long.”

I turned to smack him, but the instant my chest met his, the only smacking I wanted to do was with our mouths. I tipped onto my toes, wound my arms around his neck, and kissed him with nearly a week’s worth of buildup.

“Evidently, I’m not the only hungry one,” Nate murmured against my mouth. My tote bag hit the stage with a thunk, and he slid his hand from the small of my back to the curve of my ass. He splayed his fingers and gripped as much of me as he could in his big hand as he pressed me tighter to his body and rolled his tongue over mine.

The world around us spun and I held on tight, giving in to the Merry-Go-Round sensation for a handful of seconds. If I didn’t pull away, I’d be tempted to strip him of his clothes right here and now, and I’d rather not lose my job over indecent exposure. A naked Nathan might be worth it, if it wouldn’t mean I’d have to leave Boston and miss out on future no-strings sexiness.

I released hold of his neck, breaking the kiss and striding toward the stage. Our footsteps echoed across the emptiness, a tribute to the engineering. I stomped. “Do you hear that? The acoustics are seriously amazing.” Once we reached center stage, I added, “I auditioned right here, with the spotlight on me so blazingly bright I thought I’d end up with a sunburn.”

If I closed my eyes, I could see the sea of faces and feel the residual wave of nausea. “As a single mother of two, my mom had worked as hard as I had to get me to that audition. In middle school, she took on a second job so I could take voice lessons and go to summer camps at places like the University of Vermont and the Burlington Youth Orchestra—that’s how much she believed in me. My sophomore year, I earned a spot in the five-week summer program at Berklee College of Music, and I fell head over heels for the college, as well as Boston.”

“Ah, so you’re from Vermont.”

“Originally, yes.” Expanding meant explaining why I’d ended up in Maine, and that hit too close to shit I didn’t want to think about right now. Suffice it to say, the bond with my ex that started with bonding over experiencing harsher winters than even Bostonians could imagine had lost its novelty. “Long story short, the stakes were high. I was the last one to perform that day, and since several of the students stuck around after their turn, the place was packed. I’d never wanted anything so badly in my life…”

“And, no surprise, you blew them away with your amazing voice.”

I cast Nate a smile. “One minute, I was sure I was going to lose my lunch and blow it; the next, the words of the song I’d composed—and practiced to the point that my younger brother offered to pay me to shut up—burst from me. Like my muscle memory had decided we weren’t going back to Vermont, no matter what.

“Then I somehow ended up in small-town Maine, which felt like a step down. Not that it wasn’t a beautiful place with lovely people. But from the time I was a little girl, anytime we were headed out of the city, I’d stare at all the twinkling lights we were putting in the rearview, and whisper, ‘One day, I’m going to live in a city.’ Then Eric and I met and got married, and he had”—I made air quotes—“‘the more logical dream.’” I pulled a face. I’d rambled my way right to where I’d sworn not to go. “Sorry. I don’t mean to mention him. It’s just…”

“He was a big part of your life.”

“Unfortunately,” I blurted before wincing at the harsh bitterness that came through the word. “I don’t mean that. Well, I sorta do. It’s complicated.” Damn it. A perfectly good Friday night, standing on center stage with a ridiculously handsome man who did amazing things with his hands, and I was ruining it. “I’m just so mad at myself for putting what I wanted aside for his dreams.”

Nate laced his fingers through mine and squeezed my hand, sending warmth and comfort through me. For all the intimate things we’d done, holding hands, our fingers knitted together and his eyes so steady on mine, seemed more intense somehow. As though he’d reached out and touched the most innermost part of my soul. “That’s just hindsight talking. Looking back and seeing the right path is easy, like those mazes they had us do in elementary school. I’d always start at the end and finish before the other kids and feel all self-important.”

I let loose an exaggerated gasp. “You never told me you were a bad boy.”

A tiny groove punctuated his half-grin, and those butterflies from earlier drifted up again, intoxicated by Nate’s charm and drunkenly crashing into one another. “Well, I’m certainly not a good one.”

His words were a delicious combination of a dare and a threat, and the best part was, I’d win regardless of which side I teetered toward.

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