“Well, Pixie, I’m about to kiss you. What do you think about that?”
I don’t have any words after that, and apparently, neither does he because his lips brush against mine in a gentle, sweet kiss. My body comes alive in his arms just from that little kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck and lean into him. I turn my head to get a better taste of his full lips and nip at his bottom one, which produces a sexy moan from him.
Where did I learn to do that?I’ve only ever kissed Bradley, and his kisses more closely resembled a grandpa kiss.
When Alex’s tongue slides into my mouth, my first instinct is to pull back, but I quickly change course and meet my tongue with his. He swirls his around in my mouth, and I feel a connection so deep, so powerful my entire body tingles. I press my center into him to feel some relief down there. His big palm slides down and passes over my butt, squeezing gently. Wow. I think I get it now. I see what all the fuss is about.
Just then, the door to my dorm opens abruptly. “Stella! What are you doing?” Bradley practically screams. “Put her down! That’s my girlfriend you’re kissing!”
Slowly, Alex loosens his hold on me to enable me to slide down, but it’s like slow motion. In the process, I feel every single one of his hard muscles against my soft ones. My nipples harden to the point that I know that he knows. Alex winks at me, and I’m mortified. Please kill me right now. After my feet are solidly on the ground, I turn toward Bradley and say confidently, “I’m not your girlfriend, Bradley,andI’m not talking to you right now.”
Brooke peeks her head out of the doorway, but her expression only reads bored—well, bored and pissed, so that’s something. I’m the one who should be angry. Why did she let Bradley back into our dorm? I suspect the answer to that is because she clearly likes to stir the pot.
“Come on, Stella, you know it was just a misunderstanding. We need to talk. Our parents want us to work this out. Your mom is heartbroken and very upset with you right now.”
“Upset withme? Do they know what you did?” I ask defiantly.
“Not exactly. They just know that you broke up with me and that you're being unreasonable.”
“What the fu—” Apparently, Alex is just as shocked at his words as I am.
“That’s ridiculous. Please leave, Bradley.” I take a deep breath, tired from all the drama. Alex places a comforting hand on my lower back and slides his palm around to my front, gently guiding me back into his chest so that I’m in a cocoon of protectiveness.
“What the hell is going on between you two, Stella? Doesn’t he know you already have a boyfriend?” Bradley demands.
“I don’t think it’s any of your business, and frankly, you lostthe right to call Stella your girlfriend when you screwed around on her.”
“Seriously, dude, what the fuck? You need to keep your damn nose out of our business.” Bradley is flailing his arms around like a crazy person.
He’s gone off the deep end. I decide to try to defuse the situation. “Alex, maybe you should go now.” I don’t want him to see this crap again today. It was embarrassing enough yesterday.
“I’ll leave when this dick leaves. I want to be sure you’re okay.”
Bradley grunts and looks first at me, then at Brooke. Her bored expression is long gone. Now, there’s murder in her eyes. The question is, who’s the target?
“Bradley, you need to go. When I’m ready, I’ll call you. But we aren’t getting back together. Not that we were ever really together. At least not like you were with her.” I use my thumb to point at Brooke.
Bradley looks shamefaced. He should. I walk past him and around Brooke to get into the dorm. When I turn to go into the sitting area, I nearly run into Alex. “I’ll go, but I’m taking him with me.” He’s pointing right at Bradley.
I touch Alex’s arm. “Thank you.”
With a nod, Alex turns to Bradley. “Come on, Brad. Let’s get out of here.”
“Oh, come on, Stella! What are you doing? He’s using you. He knows you’re vulnerable right now.”
I’ve had about enough of Bradley. Enough for a lifetime. “This is none of your business, Bradley, and besides, Alex is just being a friend.”
“It didn’t look like he was just a friend out in the hallway,” sputters Bradley.
“Well, he is, and it’s none of your concern. It’s time for you to go, Bradley. Alex wants to walk you out apparently.”
“I don’t need that dumb jock to walk me anywhere. This isn’t over between us, Stella!” he bellows as he heads out the door toward the elevators.
“Are you gonna be okay?” Alex asks quietly.
I sigh. “I’ll be okay. Thanks for helping, again. I bet you’re getting tired of saving the stupid damsel, huh?”
“I’m not tired of anything about you, Stella. I’m not sure I’ll ever get tired.”
