Ten

“Mom, is it okay if Brit sleeps in Lani’s room?” he asked as Mrs. Draxton placed a tray of apricot turnovers in front of us. She looked somewhat surprised then broke into a huge smile.

“Yes! That works nicely.” I tried sending the boy a telepathic message. See, Erik? She was so not cool with us shacking up in your bed. Even now, that bed was calling me from the basement. “Lani can sleep with Laura,” she added.

“Oh, I didn’t want to take her bed.” I felt my words fumbling out of my mouth. “I can sleep on the couch.”

“Nonsense! Both rooms have double beds, the girls don’t mind sharing. I’d offer you Erik’s old bedroom, but I’m afraid that’s my crafting room now.”

Crafting room. I sort of fell in love with her in that moment. She was beyond adorable.

My first night went smoother than expected. Mrs. Draxton made a lasagna and there was a lot of chatter at dinner. Mostly it was his parents drilling us with questions, but they seemed to genuinely care about our lives, not like my house where Erik was interrogated.

“How’s the job going?” Mr. Draxton asked as he placed a piece of cheesy garlic bread onto his plate.

“Great. It’s a cool atmosphere, so even though I’m there a lot, I almost don’t mind it.”

“That’s good to hear. Hating your job can be miserable. Do you work, Brit?”

I shook my head, slightly embarrassed. “No, I plan on getting a job this spring, but I wanted to sort of just tackle school my first semester. I also pledged a sorority, so that took up a ton of my time. But that’s over now, so I can look for work when we go back. I’ll probably try to get something over in the library. They always seem to be hiring.” I was over talking. Verbal diarrhea flowing fast and free from my mouth. Erik gave me a funny look. I had never mentioned working in the library ever. That’s because I had never even thought about it until now.

“I’m sure you’ll find something,” Mrs. Draxton said as she picked at her salad. “Are you liking college?”

I swallowed down a mouthful of lasagna and nodded. “Yeah. I love it. I didn’t think I would have. I really had my heart set on going to school in Manhattan. So to go to a place so quiet, was the opposite of what I thought college would be.” Crap. I was over talking again.

“Manhattan? Where in Manhattan?” Mr. Draxton asked.

“SVA… the School of Visual Arts.”

“Oh, I’m sorry you didn’t get in,” Mrs. Draxton said.

“She got in,” Erik said as he washed down his food with some root beer.

“You did? Well why didn’t you go there?” Mrs. Draxton looked at me curiously.

Oh, you know. I was in love with the boy next door and followed him to obsessively make him mine.

Erik must have actually heard that internal thought, for he laughed lightly then shoveled a mouthful of food into his mouth. Yeah, don’t choke on that, baby.

How could I talk about my reason for choosing this school over my dream school without explaining Jaime to Erik’s parents? Mr. and Mrs. Draxton, you’ll be happy to know your son was not my first choice… Ugh. Nope, no way to sugar coat what I was like when we had first met. This was definitely one of those times when lying would be the better way to go. “Um, my mother went to Penn, and she was the president of Delta Sigma Sigma, so I thought I’d follow in her footsteps.” I couldn’t even look at Erik. As it were, the words sounded absurd as they came out of my mouth.

“Weren’t the girls in a sorority?” Mr. Draxton asked, and I assumed he meant his daughters.

“You’re thinking of girl scouts, dear,” Mrs. Draxton said. Erik looked like he was going to choke on his dinner, he loved teasing me about being in Delta Sig. I changed the subject.

“When will I get to meet Erik’s sisters? I’ve heard so much about them.”

“Oh! How nice! You will love them. They arrive tomorrow afternoon.” Mrs. Draxton brightened at the mere mention of her daughters. “I love Christmas, it’s one of the few times I get to have my whole family under the same roof for a few days. Feels like old times.”

There was no way I could grasp the picture she was painting. All I knew was I felt honored to be a part of it.

Erik and I settled in the den to watch TV with his parents. He had asked me to go down to the basement with him, but I was too self-conscious. It felt safer to sit in front of his parents than to linger in the dark and be tempted to hump the hell out of each other.

It felt safer. But it wasn’t.

As soon as I sat down in the middle of the couch, Erik threw himself into the corner, wound an arm around me and pulled me against him. His mother giggled, and I think I went momentarily unconscious. Every muscle in my body stiffened, and I had absolutely no idea what we were even watching.

Once oxygen started flowing to my brain again, I sat up straighter and moved away from Erik. He turned his head and furrowed his brow, but I just shrugged. He knew I was not about to be all cozy in front of his parents. Why was he acting so surprised? He moved his arm off of my shoulder and rested it on the back of the couch instead. I turned to him and mouthed, thank you. And he winked at me.

Mr. Draxton set down a tray with four steaming cups of hot chocolate and a bowl of marshmallows on the coffee table, then he sat down next to his wife on the opposite sofa, winding his arm around her, too. So this was a Draxton male thing, huh?

I smiled inwardly and concentrated on the flat screen. I had never seen the show before; it was some time traveling series that mostly took place in the seventeen hundreds that his mother had been gushing about. Highlander? Outlander? One of those names. Either way, I was only half paying attention to it, and from all the kilts, I was able to grasp that it was set in Scotland.

Erik’s hand had found its way into my hair and although I wanted to resist, the sensation of him twirling the locks around his fingers was too damn relaxing. There was a sword fight scene on TV and as much as I am a sucker for a good sword scene, I must have been closing my eyes and inadvertently dozed off. Erik gave my hair a little tug and when I opened my eyes again, there were two people on the screen stripping down. I assumed the worst I’d see was a bare ass… but no, a few seconds later and there were perky bare boobs being grabbed by the redheaded guy’s massive hands. Oh no… the English girl was removing his kilt. Yup. They were definitely about to do the dirty. What the fuck is happening? I thought the Brits and the Scots didn’t get along?

Please, someone change the channel! I didn’t even want to have my boyfriend wrap his arm around my shoulder in front of his parents, and now I had to watch a sex scene with them? Oh, what fresh hell was this?

Mr. Draxton began clearing his throat a lot, and I didn’t know if I should pretend to be asleep or pound what was left of my hot chocolate. Finally, the guy with abs of steel on TV began pumping into that poor girl until he reached nirvana. He fell back onto fur blankets, his hair covered in sweat. The girl on TV smiled into the camera with sweet satisfaction then rolled over and there was a fade to black.

Thank God, it was over.

“Erik, next time we’re watching sports,” his father said, confirming just how awkward that was for everyone.

“I think that was a sport, dear,” Mrs. Draxton said, and we all laughed so hard it didn’t even matter how awkward we all had been feeling a few moments before.

The show ended at eleven, and his parents called it a night. I hopped up and said my goodnights as well. Erik looked at me confused, knowing that I never went to sleep before midnight, but he didn’t argue. I could not be alone with Erik, as much as I wanted to, I had to show control. I was happy he respected that.

Lying in Lani’s bed, I was trying to read by the glow of the soft lamp light in order to fall asleep. Her pillow was big and fluffy and although it was comfortable, it didn’t feel right. I regretted not bringing mine. Everything in this room was so foreign, even the shadows cast on the walls were strangers.

It was almost midnight, and Erik’s house was eerily quiet. My dad always stayed up really late, half the time he fell asleep in front of the TV, and there was always someone talking outside in the dorm hallways, so I was used to hearing background noise as I drifted off to dreamland. I tried to get lost in my huge copy of A Dance of Dragons but ended up rereading the same lines over and over again. There wasn’t a TV in Lani’s room, and once more I missed my room at home.

My phone buzzed. I reached over to the nightstand and grabbed it. I wasn’t even surprised when I saw it was Erik.

Watcha doin’?

I shook my head and typed back, Reading.

Buzz, buzz.

Watcha wearin?

I bit my lip and smiled. PJs Buzz, buzz.

Be more specific.

I looked down to remind myself. Rolling Stones tee & plaid jammie pants.

Buzz, buzz.

Want me to come up there and take them off?

My grin deepened, and I felt my heart rate quicken a bit. Shit. The truth was I’d love for him to do that. But, I had to behave.

Then I’d be cold.

Buzz, buzz.

No, because then I’d warm you up.

I had to behave, true. Still, nothing wrong with a little cyber flirtation. I typed, How?

Buzz, buzz.

Invite me in and I’ll show you.

I stared at the screen then the door. No, he wasn’t in the hallway; that would be too…

Three soft knocks rapped on the door.

My stomach did a flip. Tossing back the sheets and blanket, my feet landed on the rug as I tip-toed to the door, fearing touching a spot that would lead to a loud creak. From the night light in the hallway, I could see a shadow under the door. Pound-pound. My heart started doing a jig.

I took a breath, struggling to calm down and turned the knob, trying so hard not to make a sound. Erik was there, wearing nothing but a pair of black sweatpants that said Steelers going down the leg in yellow. My gaze fell on the tattoo over his heart and then slowly up to meet his. His hair was loose and messy, his eyes looked dark and lusty. Fuck! How did he do that? He literally had just fallen out of bed, and he was freaking hot as hell.

And cue panties melting!

He didn’t say a word, just swept his hands to the side of my face. He leaned in, but stopped a few inches before his lips met mine, and I swear my heart slammed against my rib cage. He looked at me for a moment, his eyes hooded as he licked his lips and turned his head slightly to the left, then as if he changed his mind, he switched, tipping his head to the right. His mouth landed hard against mine. His lips both supple and firm at the same time. It was dizzying. My lips instantly parted, and his tongue greeted mine, exploring my mouth with deliberate strokes that made my knees weak. It was that kiss he gave me every once and a while that was so rare but so damn amazing—the kiss that claimed me as his.

He breathed in deep as we kissed, as if I were his very air. He was intoxicating, and I slid my hands up over his chest, the pads of my fingers reading his body like braille.

He leaned forward, deepening our kiss, and just when I thought I would lose all control and ask him to fornicate like bunnies in his sister’s bed, he pulled away, my bottom lip caught between his as he sucked on it softly, then let go. I had to refrain from whimpering as our kiss ended.

It was that good.

He dropped his hands and looked at me with a dangerously sexy smile. Then gave the frame of the door a gentle pound, spun around on his heel and sauntered down the hall. My gaze zoned in on the dimples he had at the base of his back. I wanted to lick them as they drew farther away from me.

I just stared in silence, expecting him to return to me with a grin at any moment. But he didn’t. When he had turned down the stairs and disappeared from view, I closed the door and, in a daze, got back under the covers. I could taste Erik on my lips and tongue. A mixture of mint toothpaste and pure sex.

Buzz, buzz.

I took a breath and reached for my phone.

I can’t believe you didn’t invite me in.