"Oh, I know. The night of the bonfire, I think I was wearing seven layers and you still couldn't keep your hands off me."
I laughed. She was right. It had been freezing that night late in November. "You weren't complaining."
"No, I definitely was not," she said, her face growing serious.
Silence stretched out between us, the tension building as we looked at one another, our thoughts back on that night of the bonfire.
I wanted to lean over and take her mouth with mine, but I stayed in my seat. I couldn't keep kissing her with no plans to take things further in our relationship. I didn’t want to take advantage of her, and I certainly didn't want to keep hurting her. She knew as much as I did that we kept playing with fire. How many times did we both have to get burned to learn our lesson?
"Um," I said, trying to remember my promise to be a gentleman. "Thanks for letting me give you a ride back to your dorm."
"Doyouwanttocomeup?" She blurted out, her words coming out so fast they blended together.
"What?"
"Do you want to come up?"
"Uh, I don't know..." I hesitated. I really,reallywanted to go up, but me leaving would be the smart thing to do.
"Oh, my gosh," she exclaimed, her cheeks turning pink. "That sounded different than what I meant. I didn't mean to come up todoanything, just to hang out and talk. Olivia will be at Wilder's apartment tonight, so you can hang out on her bed, and I'll hang out on my bed. It will just be two friends hanging out..." Her voice trailed off, and her hands were fidgeting in her lap. "You know what?" she said before I could answer. "Never mind. Pretend I never said anything. It was dumb of me to think we could be friends." She fumbled to unbuckle her seat belt and reached for the door handle.
I reached out my hand to stop her, touching her arm lightly. "Hold on, you didn't let me finish answering your question. The only reason I hesitated is because I didn't know if I had enough self-control to be alone with you wearing that outfit where a bed was involved. I'd love to come up and hang out and talk." I looked around the darkened parking lot. "But we need to be careful. We can't have people seeing us going up to your room together. You head up first and then I'll come in a few minutes later."
"Okay," she nodded. "I'm on the second floor, room 217." She opened the door, getting out and walking toward the building.
I watched her walk away, the swish of her hips making her skirt bounce from side to side.
I was an idiot to be going to her room, but I couldn't seem to care. Nothing good could come from spending more time with her. We'd both get more attached, both of us wanting more.
Despite knowing that I was asking for trouble, I still got out of the car and made my way up to her room. I craved her in a way that made me feel like I was an addict who needed another fix, no matter the cost.
The building was fairly empty when I walked in. I guess eleven o'clock was still considered early to be coming home on Halloween night. Taking the stairs two at a time, I hoped I didn't run into anyone. Glancing around to make sure no one was coming into the hall, I knocked on the door of number 217.
The door opened and a hand shot out, grabbing me by the shirt and pulling me in, quickly shutting the door once I was in.
"Did anyone see you?" she asked urgently.
I shook my head. "Just a few people in the common area on the first floor."
Her shoulders relaxed. "Good." She bit her lip. "I probably should have told you sooner, but..." She took a big breath, causing her breasts to rise. My eyes dipped down.
Focus, Rush. You're just here to talk.
I made my eyes move back up to her face, which held a look of worry.
I took a step closer to her. "What is it?"
"So I confronted my stepdad the day after you told me about his ridiculous rule, and he didn't deny it. He said it was for my own good, and he wouldn't be changing his mind." She paused, and I waited for her to continue. "And I was so upset that I accidently let it slip that there was a football player whom I wished I could be with but can't."
Shit.
"I didn't tell him who," she hurried to say.
That made me feel only slightly better. This could be really bad for me. All my hard work would be flushed down the toilet.
"I'm so sorry," she said a little above a whisper.
Her remorseful apology broke through my selfish thoughts.
