His nose ghosts across my cheek, the cool air from his exhaling ghosting across my face.
“You’re not selfish, Adam. You’re misunderstood. And that’s okay too.”Please, put me out of my misery.He kisses my cheek, his warm lips pressing against the overheated skin. I turn my head, desperate to get his lips on mine. He tuts, pulling his face back slightly so our lips graze each other.
“I’m sorry, Adam.” But he doesn’t sound sorry at all. “I wish things could have been different for us.”
They can be!Whatever he needs, I’ll give it to him. Expensive dates, ski trips, all the books he could dream of, the best art supplies on the market. I’ll give up my entire life for him.
“I’ll change it. I can do it… for you.” I can feel his resolve failing him, so I continue. “I’ll take you out, hold your hand in front of everyone, and scream it from the rooftops so people know that youownme. I always prided myself on my control, and you came by with your brown eyes and thatfuckingscar, and you ruined it.” His smile is soft, and I bask in it. “Please, please, Hunter. I’m not above begging you. Just a chance.” All I need is one fucking chance.
He tilts his head, and our lips meet in a flurry of passion and craving beyond what any person should be able to experience. But the devil himself would have to pry Hunter away from me right now.
Hunter climbs onto my lap, straddling my thighs and keeping us attached at the mouth. I feel like I can breathe again, the life I’m living is mine again, and I’m not just waiting for the next moment.
“Collins,” I groan against his lips.
The door rattles and Hunter jumps off my lap and scrambles to his desk. Hunter’s roommate walks into the room, and I quickly cover my lap with one of Hunter’s pillows.
The stale stench of sweat permeates the air, and my nose scrunches up of its own accord.
His roommate is a dick, but at least he ignores Hunter now. I’d rather he be ignored than subject to the awfulness that I’ve seen his roommate raise with his teammates.
He ignores us, walking in and throwing his stuff on the bed, and then promptly walking back out. I hold my breath for one second, then two. By the time I get to ten, I think the coast is clear.
Hunter chuckles quietly under his breath, and it causes my own laughter to start until we’re both in hysterics.
“That was close,” I say, wiping a stray tear from the corner of my eye.
“Yeah, it was.”
We’re both silent. My mind is reeling from what happened before his roommate walked in.
“Want to go to the café and study for a little bit? Angie’s working on a new brownie recipe.” I nod, and he walks up to me. When he’s in my orbit, I grab him and press a kiss to the top of his head.
I’ll make sure he doesn’t regret giving me a chance.
29
HUNTER
Thomas and I are both crammed into the back seat of Adam’s car, and Danielle is in the front seat, queuing up a podcast for the long drive to my parents’ house. I keep seeing Adam trying to catch my eye in the rearview mirror, and every time he does, he smiles widely at me. I have to cover my mouth with my hand to hide my own.
I feel awful thinking about how happy Adam has been with me since that night in my dorm room. I spent the night in his room… okay, I spent two nights in his room, but nothing happened. We didn’t even kiss. At least, not while I was in his room.
Guilt churns in my stomach when I look at Thomas. I need to break up with him, but the selfish side of me doesn’t want to because he’s become a little bit of a staple in my life. His constant stream of attentiveness when he’s not in class or working is nice.
But Adam was right. I need someone to push me and push my boundaries. If I spend my whole life in my comfortable bubble, I’ll never get the experiences I’m craving.
Thomas puts his hand on my upper thigh, massaging the tense muscle through the thick layer of my jeans. I tense under his hand, and he leans in closer to me, his cool breath ghosting over the shell of my ear. “What’s wrong, babe?”
I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts away from Adam and focus on my boyfriend right beside me. I’m so going to hell, maybe Satan will feel bad for me because he understands that I hate confrontation, and the last thing I want to do is hurt Thomas.
Yeah, right.
“Nothing, just car sickness.”
“Do you need to stop? There’s a gas station about three miles away, we can take a break and get a snack for you.” Adam pipes up from the driver’s seat, concern etching his eyebrows.
“No, I’m fine. I’ll be fine,” I reiterate to both men.
