Chapter 4
Paul:
I need to do something to take my mind off Abby. I tossed and turned most of last night, haunted by the memory of her soft, buttery skin, tight body, and perfect perky breasts. The glimpse I caught before her roommate slammed the door in my face was more than enough to give me boner so raging hard that I thought it would never go down. And I was so disappointed in my dick. It wasn’t like I’d never seen a woman naked before. Hell, I’d seen that woman naked before. And maybe that was the problem. My body remembered her, the feel of her skin under my fingertips, her silky heat wrapped around my cock. The memory was enough to drive a man mad. I was halfway there after just one sleepless night.
Luckily, Abby didn’t notice the way my penis betrayed me, or if she did, she was kind enough to pretend she had no idea. Having an erection for your ex-girlfriend in the middle of a public dorm hallway was torture enough. Having her comment on it would have been hell.
And now, I’m about to spend the next four hours with her, walking around campus. I hope desperately that she wears something way less sexy than the scrap of leather she called a skirt and the practically sheer blouse she wore last night. Fuck, and those heels. Seeing her tanned, toned legs in those sky-high heels left me wanting to see her in those shoes and nothing else. Working side-by-side with Abby for the entire semester is going to be the death of me. I’m sure of it.
I breathe an audible sigh of relief when Abby strolls into the security office in a pair of skin-tight jeans and a midriff-bearing T-shirt. Sure, it’s still sexy, but I feel far less combustible looking at her today than I did yesterday, and that’s with the fresh memory of her naked body burned into my brain.
“Ready?” I hold the door open for her when she’s finished clocking in, and she struts through, hips sashaying daintily. Her dark curls bounce along her back with every step, reminding me of the way they bounced around our faces like a curtain every time she rode me.
I shook my head to dispel the image and followed her down the hall to the elevator. This is going to be a long night.
We start in the parking garage again, but this time, she doesn’t even so much as look at the elevator. We take the stairs to the top and then circle our way back down to ground level. Then it’s back to student services. She must be feeling as awkward as I am after last night because she barely says a word the entire time. Until we approach the reception desk, and Embry. Then Abby is all charm.
“Hi! Embry, right? How are you?” Abby sounds genuinely friendly. I’m not sure why it surprises me. Abby was always a social butterfly, able to make friends with anyone in the blink of an eye. And as much as I don’t want to admit it, her friendliness was real. Abby was just a natural people person.
“Hi!” Embry greeted back, drawn in by Abby’s easygoing warmth. “Doing well! A little board. There are only so many ways I can organize the paperclips before it stops being interesting.” Embry holds up a clear plastic cup full of paperclips. Sure enough, they’re layered in the cup by color, a row of blue, then pink, then green, and at the top is yellow.
“Ouch.” Abby commiserates.
“It’s okay though.” Embry puts the paperclip cup back behind her computer monitor. “There’s a party at Zeta tonight, so once I clock out, paperclips won’t even exist to me anymore.”
Abby laughs and I chuckle.
Embry perks up. “You guys should come!”
Abby looks on the verge of agreeing when I say, “I don’t know. I’ve got a lot of studying to do.”
Both women look at me like I’ve grown a second head. And as much as I’m not the type to cave to peer pressure, I find myself saying, “Fine. I guess I can go for a little bit.”
“Yay!” Embry claps her hands together. “I get off at eight and am probably going to head straight over there if you want to walk over together.”
Abby watches us curiously.
I shake my head. “We won’t be done until around nine. But we can meet you there.” We. Like Abby and I are a couple.
Embry must pick up on the word, too, because she shoots an uncertain glance Abby’s way before recovering quickly. “Cool! Come find me when you get there?”
“Promise,” I answer, stepping away from the desk. Abby and I still need to make our rounds through the student services building. I offer Embry a half wave as I lead Abby toward the back hall where the advising offices are.
I expect her to make some comment about Embry as soon as we’re out of earshot, but to her credit, she stays silent. Really, I shouldn’t be surprised. Abby never was the jealous type. And wasn’t that part of my problem when we were together before? Abby’s casual acceptance of other women in my life bordered on distant and left me feeling distinctly cold. Not that I want some crazy stalker girlfriend who can’t handle me talking to other girls, but I definitely don’t want one who encourages me to see other women… because she wants to see other guys. And that’s exactly what Abby had wanted—an open relationship. Which was, of course, the exact opposite of what I wanted back then.
The night before we broke up, I was even thinking about asking her to get a place off campus with me. And then came the fight to end all fights, the one where I’d found her kissing some random guy at a party.
My fists clench at my sides, and I make a concerted effort to loosen my fingers and change the direction of my thoughts. But I can’t shake the memory of finding her with that guy. What the hell was I thinking agreeing to go to another party with her?