"What if I promise to be the perfect gentleman?" I asked.
She turned to face me, surprising me with a look of desire in her eyes as she leaned in. Her hand suddenly started to slide up my thigh. "Do you really think you can do that?"
I swallowed. "I don't know."
Her hand hit me in the chest, breaking through the cloud of desire she'd instantly put me in. "That was a test, and you failed." She straightened back up and gave me a coy grin.
"What? That was not fair. You can't touch my inner thigh, thrust your breasts at me, and give me bedroom eyes, and not expect my resolve to slip a little."
She laughed and pushed my shoulder. "I did not thrust my breasts at you."
I smiled, enjoying her laugh and the playfulness between us. "Oh, yes, you did. There was a definite thrust."
She laughed again. "Well, I've got 'em. Might as well use them."
Before I could respond her phone rang, which was probably a good thing since I was about to say something about how I didn't want her using them with anybody but me. And I really had no right to say that. She wasn't mine, no matter how much I wanted her to be. The thought of her being with someone else made me sick, which showed that my feelings for her were getting stronger. When I'd seen her with Mick, I hadn't liked it, but it hadn't made me physically ill. Now just the thought of her with anyone was like a punch to the gut.
"No worries," she said into the phone. "I'm about to get a ride home from Rush, so you can stay as long as you want."
Olivia must have finally called her back.
"Yeah, I wasn't planning on it. I figured he'd want to make good use of that costume," she continued to say with a smile. "Okay, see you tomorrow."
"Everything good?" I asked.
"Yeah, they snuck off somewhere, and during their shenanigans she lost her phone. They've been looking for it for the past half hour. Thankfully, they found it. She felt really bad that I'd been trying to get a hold of her. She said she could take me home, but I think you heard me tell her that I was getting a ride from you." She tucked some of her curls behind her ear. "Is that still okay?"
"Yeah, for sure." I stood up and offered her my hand to help her up.
Her hand slipped into mine, and I couldn’t help noticing how well it fit in mine. We’d never held hands before, and the simple gesture had me wondering what it would be like to be a couple, but I reluctantly let go of her hand once she was on her feet.
I led her to where my car was, embarrassed about my old Chevy, knowing she came from money.
“This is me. It’s not much, but it gets me from A to B.” I opened the passenger door for her and tried not to stare at her amazing legs in that short skirt.
“This is great. Thank you,” she said with sincerity in her tone as she smiled up at me.
I shut her door and walked around to my side. It was a short drive to her dorm, and I was wishing I had more time with her.
I stopped at a stop sign and glanced over at her. “I hope I didn’t ruin the party for you." If it hadn't been for me, I don't know if she would have left the party so soon.
"You didn’t," she said, looking over at me. "I didn’t have high hopes for it anyway."
I turned my eyes back to the road and started driving again. "Why?"
"Because my best friend wore a specific costume to get a reaction from her boyfriend that I knew was going to make it impossible for the two of them to not want to be alone, which I totally don't begrudge them and I am genuinely happy for her.Andbecause the guy I want to spend time with I'm not allowed to. Both of those combined make for a very long and lonely night."
I nodded. "I'm sorry."
"You don't need to be sorry," she waved me off. "It's not your fault."
I pulled into the dorm parking lot and parked my car in a space near the entrance.
"So," I stalled, not wanting her to go yet and also wanting to know the answer to a question that had been burning in my mind since she had mentioned Olivia wearing a costume for Wilder. "Did you happen to wear this costume to get a reaction out of anyone in particular?"
She gave me a look that could only be described as a you-can't-be-serious look. "You know I wore this for you."
A huge grin spread across my face. "I actually didn't, but I do now." I looked her up and down for what felt like the hundredth time. She looked amazing. But then again, she always did. "You know you don’t have to wear something sexy to get me going."
