Page 43 of Steeling Her
Nick
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
I groan from hearing that awful vibration against the wooden drawers to the left of my bed.Who the hell has the nerve to call me at this hour in the morning?I crawl over to grab it without opening my eyes. I swipe across and yell, “WHAT? What do you want?”.
“Nicolas Aiden Jackson, you better lose that tone with me right now, mister!” My eyes then snap open in pain after hearing my mother’s hard voice.Oh fuck! Nick, you idiot!I facepalm myself at being so rude to her.Why did I do that? I should’ve known better.
“Sorry, mom, I just woke up and I’m really tired. I’m sorry, I love youuu!” I tease, trying to get myself out of trouble, and I hear her huff. I’m her favorite, she always gives in to me, especially when I tell her how much I love her.
“Hmmhmm . . . you’re exactly like your father, you know that! I love you too, sweetheart, but don’t you ever speak to me like that ever again, you hear me?!” I know she has a pointed look etched on her face. I know my mom all too well. Mixed with her southern accent, I can tell she most certainly was not happy with me initially.
“You got it, Mom! I promise I won’t. To what do I owe this glorious call from you at . . . nine in the morning?” I check the time to emphasize that it’s way too early for her to be calling me right now. I’m clearly not a morning person, unlike her.
“Oh yeah . . . Nicolas Aiden Jackson!” There she goes again with my full name. What is with everyone doing that recently? “Why on earth have you not told me you’re dating someone! I’m really annoyed at you! Your aunt Rita called me last night, telling me you brought her into the diner for food!”Oh fuck!I run my hand over my eyes, feeling fully awake now. My mom hates not being in the loop. She’s the gossip queen of our entire family, and I know my aunt is in on it too. They’re both as bad as each other.
“Mom, I’m not dating anyone. We just went in for a bite to eat—”
“That’s not what it looked like, Nick!” I laugh at her, thinking,How would she know? she wasn’t there.Then she speaks up again, “Nick, this is not funny! How could you not tell me?” That’s when I hear the shakiness in her voice. I sit up, realizing she’s about to cry. I’ve really done it now.Why is this such a big deal?
“Mom, no, no, no! Please don’t cry! Seriously, Mom, it was nothing! I don’t see her like that, she’s Haley’s roommate and I helped her out that day, then we stalled into the diner for some breakfast. That’s all it was, Mom, I promise you!” As soon as those word left my mouth, I immediately regretted it. I do see her like that. I have only seen her like that. But I keep messing it up for myself. I have to tell my mom that so she doesn’t pester Carter, that’s the last thing I fucking need. I want to see what she’s feeling towards me. I don’t know if she’s just a nervous person in general or if she’s just like that around me. I want to figure this girl out so badly.
I want her.
But I need time to do that. She’s a tough nut to crack.
“Well, Rita says otherwise!” I roll my eyes at my gossiping aunt. They’ve always hounded me to get a girlfriend. Both of them were on my case about it constantly.
“And what did Aunt Rita say about it, then?” I ask in a bored tone, slumping back down into the covers. I know exactly what she has said to her. She told her that it looks like we’re dating and that we like each other.
“She said that it reminded her of me and your father when we first started dating, that you both couldn’t stop looking at each other . . .” My heart literally leaps into my mouth. That’s what it looked like?Well, shit!My mom is going to never leave this alone. I need to keep her and Carter away from each other. My mother can be the nosiest person you can ever meet. She’ll question everything until she hears what she wants to hear.
“Ughhh! Mom, that’s not what happened. Seriously, I was just helping her out that day . . .” I know from her tone that she’s not buying it, not one bit.
“Then answer me this, do you like her? More than what you’re telling me? Do you like her like that?” As if she can hear the wheels turning in my head of how to answer that question, she warns, “And don’t you dare lie to me, Nick!”
I take the phone away from my ear and start punching the air, mouthing “Fuck” over and over again. Once I was finished, I place it back and lie, “No, no I don’t like her.” I hate lying to my mom. I’ve only ever done it when I was in serious trouble and didn’t want to get into more trouble, but nine times out of ten, she figured me out and cursed me to the high heavens.
There was a long pause from her end of the line, like she’s deciding whether to believe me or not.Please believe me. It’s a long shot, but I can hear her sigh, knowing she doesn’t.
FUCK!
“Okay, if you say so, baby.” I know her tone is telling me she doesn’t believe me one bit, but her words tell me otherwise. This can only mean one thing and one thing only: she wants to see for herself. She wants to make a judgement. Based on that, she has something planned.
“I’ve got to go, Nick. I’ll call you later, honey. Bye.” The fact that she didn’t say “I love you” at the end upsets me. She knows I lied to her.
“I love you, Mom.” But she hangs up before I even got halfway through it. She’s pissed at me. I know she is. Time to send her flowers like I always do when I fuck up with my mom. She’s the only woman in my life that I don’t need to be pissed off at me. Haley, I can handle. I just give her time and we go right back to normal. But my mom, no chance in hell can I handle her being annoyed with me. I throw my phone on to the lower part of my bed and between my legs and sigh to the ceiling, knowing I’m in big trouble now.
There are so many curse words running through my head right now. Since I’m wide awake, I decide to take a shower. I peel my boxers off of me and run the water to heat it up. I look at last night’s suit hanging on my study chair, making sure it’s not creased. I make a mental note to hang it back up in the wardrobe for the next occasion and to wash the shirt.
A flashback of Carter in that sexy number races through my mind. She looked so gorgeous in that tight green dress, her hair effortlessly flowing down her back in soft curls, and her long lean legs on display that distracted every male in the room last night. She was driving me crazy and had no idea.
I couldn’t stay away from her that night, I didn’t want to. I was afraid another guy would take the opportunity to talk to her. Not once did I leave her side unless she went to the restroom and when everyone decided to leave. I was going to walk her back to the dorm, so I waited for her alone outside and told the guys I’d catch up with them, not without a smirk from TJ.
Once everyone had cleared, I texted her and she said she’s was staying with her family. I felt disappointed that I couldn’t walk her home. I wanted to hold her hand again. I wanted Haley and Danielle to be asleep when we arrived and for her to forget her key. I wanted them to not hear us banging on the door. And I wanted to take her back to mine. I wanted her to stay with me, in my bed. I wanted to sleep next to her. But none of that happened. None of what I fantasized played out.
I wanted to rip that dress off her and run my hands along her soft skin—along her luscious curves. I wanted to take her perfect tits into my mouth and suck on them hard. And those silky legs; I wanted my head to be between them, and I wanted them to be wrapped around my shoulders and waist. I wanted to kiss her, I really wanted to kiss her.
Hell, I wanted to fuck her.
