His jaw clenches, every muscle in his neck seeming to harden. “You don’t know me.”
“And I don’t want to,” I lie, crossing my arms over my chest to try to hide the way my hands are starting to shake. “I don’t know why you followed me out here, but?—
His hand shoots out, closing around my upper arm and pulling me up short. I crash against his chest, limbs untangling only to be met with his hard edges.
Tipping my head back, I glare. “What are you?—
His lips crash against mine as he pulls me closer still and barely a moment passes before my lips are moving with his. Thefire inside me roars at the contact. He walks into me, pushing me back until I feel the brick wall bite into my shoulders, our kiss never breaking. His tongue swipes across the seam of my lips and I gasp, reaching up to grip the back of his head as he takes the opportunity to delve between my lips. He explores every inch of my mouth with savage enthusiasm, my tongue following suit against his. I moan into his mouth crushing myself further against him as he winds his arms around my waist, pulling my lower half against his. I feel him hot and hard against my stomach, the muscles in my core clenching.
His phone buzzes in the pocket of his pants, the vibration jolting through me. I break the kiss, turning my head and gasping. He leans back, and I turn to face him, our eyes locking. Panic plays in his eyes and I imagine the same can be seen in mine. Christopher’s laugh echoes in my ears again, but this time the sound feels like a twist in my gut. Axel’s face appears next, winking at me across the beer pong table and I shake out of Bentley’s grip, turning us around and backing away from him slowly.
“Janette,” he says breathily, hands still held out in front of him in the air where I had just been. His forehead wrinkles as we stare at each other.
I shake my head, turning and running back into the restaurant, slowing down to walk back to the table at a normal pace. My heart thunders in my chest as I sit next to Christopher.
“You missed the saké part, babe. They never carded me, so I got some when he squirted it in everyone’s mouths.” I lean forward, giving Christopher a closed mouth smile as I reach for my water and gulp it down.
Bentley walks back in a minute later and I pointedly ignore him for the rest of the meal, staring down at my food and murmuring responses to Christopher’s random talking while trying to ignore Cassie’s multiple attempts to get Bentley intoa conversation. I can feel his eyes burning into the side of my skull. He answers her politely every time she asks a question, but things die off after each answer he mumbles.
When it’s finally time to leave, I stand, briefly glancing at Bentley as I push my chair back in. He stares up at me, eyes wide and questioning, the same last look he gave me outside. I avert my gaze when Christopher puts his hand on my back, and we walk out of the restaurant together.
Having to step through the puddle again to get back into the car, I stare down at my once again wet shoes the whole ride back to campus. Christopher stays quiet after making one comment about how good the food and show were and I nod, still staring down.
We get out to walk into the building, standing in front of the elevator when he finally turns to me and asks, “What’s going on with you, Jan?”
The doors open and I stare into the empty elevator as I say, “I think we should break up.” I step inside, going to the back and turning around to lean against the wall. Christopher stands outside, staring in at me as the doors slowly start to close. He puts his hand out, stopping the doors and rushing inside.
“What? Where is this coming from?” The elevator closes behind him, and I cross my arms, flashing back to a couple hours ago when he showed up.
“I don’t think this is working. You should grab your stuff and head back to Georgia, Chris.”
“Is this because of that guy at dinner tonight? He kept staring at you after you came back from the bathroom. Did something happen?” His voice slowly rises until he’s yelling the accusation as we stand in the stagnant elevator.
I stare up at him, watching his face turn red and fists clench at his sides. “Yes,” I say. “And I don’t think we should be together.”
His nostrils flare as he looks down at me, eyes darting between mine for a moment before he whirls around and jabs the elevator button for my floor. We ride up without saying a word, the sound of his heavy breathing filling the metal box.
When the doors open, he stalks off, stopping next to my door and waiting for me to walk up and unlock it. He walks in, grabbing his duffle from the couch before turning back on me. I stand in my living room, looking at the man I dated for my mother.
“I always knew you were a fucking whore,” he says, spitting as he speaks. “But Dad said it’d be good optics for us to be together. We were supposed to be the next step toward creating the new all-American dynasty.” I roll my eyes at his hyperbole. “And we still can be, but you’ll regret this little setback. I’m sure your mother will be in touch soon.” With those final words, a smug smile grows on his face before he walks out of my dorm.
I stare at the closed door for a moment, before shaking my head and muttering to myself, “I’m sure she will.”
15
My head lolls off the end of Layla’s bed as I stare at her upside down in her desk chair, typing up an essay on her laptop. She said she had to finish it when I asked to come over, so I made myself comfortable after she opened the door and then went back to her desk thirty minutes ago. I hold one of her plant shaped pillows against my chest, running my palm against the fuzzy material while I wait.
Layla stops typing, grabbing the mouse and aggressively clicking the left button before sliding away from her desk and watching the screen. A blue light spins around in a circle as it loads before aCongratulations, your paper has been submittedmessage pops up and she throws her arms into the air and whoops.
I laugh, saying, “I take it you made the deadline?” as I glance at the time and see it's five minutes to eight.
“With a couple hours to spare!” She spins toward me, leaning back and pulling her legs up to tuck underneath her. “Now tell me how your meet up went!” She grabs a throw pillow off the floor, tucking it onto her lap and then laying her chin in the palms of her hands as she stares me down.
“How many energy drinks have you had in the last 24-hours?”
“I don’t know. Three? Doesn’t matter. Tell me!”
I sigh, sitting up and taking a second to let the blood drain from my head.