Page 70 of Steeling Her
“I need to talk to her, Danielle, will you get her to talk to me? I know she’ll be annoyed at me, but I really need to explain this to her.” She nods, knowing that I’ve fucked up massively and that all of what I said just now needs to be repeated to the girl I can’t stop thinking about.
“Alright . . . you go up to the room to the left of the bathroom and I’ll bring her in there when nobody is around.” I nod and smile at her.
“I owe you big time!” I start walking back inside past people and make my way up the stairs. I get stopped by a hand gripping my forearm. I turn thinking it was my sister but it was Maya and her minions.
“What the hell, Nick?” she hisses at me. I roll my eyes taking my arm away from her. All I see is regret stamped on her face when I look at her.
She’s not Carter; she never will be.
I continue walking up to where Danielle told me to wait for her and lock the door, making may way to the bed. I sit down on it with a bounce and feel the room spin. No more alcohol for me.
My knuckles are starting to throb, and I see the dried up blood on my broken skin. That’s twice I’ve punched him. Hopefully, he gets the goddamn message this time. She doesn’t belong to him. She’s mine. She will always be mine.
Suddenly, the nerves sink into my stomach, and I fiddle with my fingers anticipating her arrival. The minutes feel like hours as I wait for her. My breathing is ragged, and I don’t even know where to start. I know if I prepare something it’ll all go out the window once I see her. My mind turns to mush when she’s around.
Apologize. That’s a good start Nick.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I hear the door knob jiggle a little, then a soft knock and a whisper of my name. It’s her. I race to unlock and open it quickly. She steps in before anyone could see her. I slam it shut and lock it behind her.
She stares at my face, her eyes wandering around at what I think is bruises and cuts. My jaw tenses at the sight of her.
“Are you okay?” she asks softly reaching up to touch my face but quickly retracts her hand back down to her side.
“Carter, I’m sorry,” I quickly say in defense.
“You should be saying that to Ryan, not me.” I rest my forehead on hers, sighing at the hard tone in her voice. I close my eyes, relishing in her smell. She’s quickly become my obsession. I can’t get enough of her.
“He deserved it,” I tell her sternly. She shouldn’t be defending him. She doesn’t know though. “I asked Danielle to bring you up here so I can apologize to you for the way I acted yesterday. I’m sorry that I ignored you. I can explain . . .” I sigh, thinking how this is all going to sound: petty. All because of my mom trying to prove a point, it has landed me in a fight of the same point she’s trying to prove.
“My mom thinks you were my girlfriend. She asked me if I liked you and I told her no.” As I say that, I hear a defeated sigh leave her mouth as shuts her eyes, but I’m not finished. “She knew I was lying”—her eyes snaps back open to meet mine where I can talk to her—“but I was pushing it down because she likes to make a big deal out of everything.” I roll my eyes as I think about her. “So she invited you over yesterday to see for herself. I was stubborn and kept denying it to her. That’s why all those girls were there, too, she wanted to compare how I acted around them to how I acted around you. So to get her off my case, I ignored you. And I shouldn’t have. It was wrong of me. So, I’m sorry I upset you.”
There was silence between us. I can hear the wheels turning in her her head. I’m so close to her. Our heads are touching, and I don’t want to move.
“I also don’t regret kissing you. And I only got with Maya because you got with Ryan. I know it’s petty but—”
“I didn’t get with Ryan,” she whispers, moving her eyes around the room until they reach mine again to assure me. “I only went out with him because I felt shitty about you ignoring me . . . That was wrong of me too. I shouldn’t have done that to you or him,” she continues on. I bite my lip immediately and feel the sting, so I hiss loudly and mumble profanities. Then she did the last thing I expected her to do: she kissed my lips on where it hurt, then my cheeks, then my jaw. I groan and pull her head closer to my chest, hugging her tight. Her arms take hold of my waist and squeezes me.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble down into her hair.
“I forgive you,” she mumbles back into my chest. I smile down at her holding on to me. Those words that left her mouth made my night. “I’m sorry too.” The heat of her words scorch through the thin material I’m wearing. A comforting silence blankets us, then she shuffles to look up at me. “Do you not forgive me?” she asks in the cutest tone I’ve ever heard in my entire life. I soften even more at her.
“Of course I forgive you, Carter.” I kiss her forehead laughing at the face she’s making. “And another thing?” I ask her, and she nods attentively. “Don’t go out with that idiot again.” I see a smile form at my words with an eye roll. “I’m serious, he’s a dick. Don’t waste your time on him.” I raise my eyebrow seriously as I’m warning her.
“It was just one date. It’s not like I’m going to marry the guy, Nick.” She giggles stepping away from me. Pulling on my hand, she tugs me to the bathroom. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” She shrugs what I said off. I sit on the closed toilet seat and watch her wet a piece of toilet paper. She makes her way over to me and daps on my wounds lightly. I jokingly hiss, making her jump back and start to laugh. She slaps me on my arm while giggling a little. She does it again and this time I take the time to stare at her natural beauty.
She really is beautiful.
She’s hunched over, focusing on wiping the blood off me. I reach out to take her waist and pull her towards me. A shocked expression takes over her face.
“What are you doing?” she asks. I sit her down straddling me with my hands either side of her hips. I stroke them to ease the nerves I hear in her voice.
“Allowing you to get closer.” It was a bold move, I know, but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted her closer to me. I wanted to feel her body again. There’s something about her I just can’t stay away from. She keeps pulling me back in every time, and I let her.
She continues again, and I stroke the outside of her thighs. I know I’m making her nervous. Her breathing is rapid. I smirk at her since I know I’m affecting her this much. Her eyes meet mine. We’re so close to each other. I grip her legs a little harder, shifting her body towards mine. I love this position we’re in. I’d prefer it with no clothes.
Easy there, Nick,I mentally reprimand myself.Calm your boy down.
“You’re all clean,” she whispers to me. “You just have a busted lip and a few bruises but you should be alright.” She throws the tissue in the trash behind me, not taking her eyes away from me. I wrap my arms around her waist pulling us chest to chest.
