The Senior (College Years 4)

“That right there is why I think you’re disgusting.” She makes a face, a shuddery breath leaving her. “Who calls it a cherry?”

“That’s what I took though, right? My virgin girlfriend who hasn’t been with anyone else. You were all mine. You belonged to me,” I whisper, my grip on her wrist lessening as I gently stroke her skin with my thumb. “Do you still?”

She jerks her arm from my hold, taking a step back. As if she needs the space. “That’s none of your business.”

Anger floods me, ripping through my veins, simmering beneath my skin. Has she actually been with someone else while I’m over here saving myself for her like a chump? “What kind of answer is that?”

“The kind of answer you deserve, considering you’re not my boyfriend anymore,” she says, her voice hard.

I can’t help myself—I chase her around her bedroom. Around her bed. She shrieks when she glances over her shoulder and spots my intense expression. Anticipating her every move, I lunge for her when she tries to make her way toward the walk-in closet and end up tackling her onto the bed.

I’m on top of her and we’re both breathing hard, my face in hers. She doesn’t have a lick of makeup on and she smells fragrant, like her favorite body lotion. Memories come back of me exploring all that smooth skin with my mouth and fingers. How good it always was between us, even when we argued.

Sometimes it was really fucking spectacular after we argued.

“Get off me.” She bucks her hips against mine in a weak at

tempt to get rid of me, but I’m huge compared to her. It does nothing but remind me of how soft and pliant she is beneath me. “I’m going to knee you in the balls if you don’t get up, Eli. I mean it.”

“I’d love to see you try.” I lower my face to hers, our mouths aligned, our gazes locked. “Fuck, you’re sexy when you’re mad. I miss you, baby. So damn much. Why are we fighting this?”

Her expression hardens, her lips thinning. “You’re the one who broke up with me.”

“You left me.”

“I was coming back,” she reminds me, and I close my eyes, pressing my forehead against hers.

“This is stupid. The back and forth shit is getting old,” I whisper. “You want to be with me?”

She’s quiet, as if she doesn’t want to admit it first.

I get it. I don’t want to say it first either.

Restraint slipping from me, I lower my mouth to hers. That first moment they touch, sparks fly between our lips and the kiss immediately turns explosive. It’s seeking tongues and low gasps and sweet moans. It’s my hand slipping beneath the hem of her T-shirt to find she’s only wearing skimpy panties and tracing the crease where her thigh meets her hip. It’s the whimper that escapes her when I do that.

It’s everything. How responsive she is. How we reach for each other as if we’ve never stopped. Her hands beneath my shirt, stroking my back, pulling me closer on top of her. We kiss each other hungrily, as if we’re starving and we’re the only ones who can satisfy each other. It’s frantic. Sloppy.

And then it’s as if she’s filled with otherworldly strength and she’s shoving me off of her and I have no choice but to roll over onto my side, watching in confusion as she scrambles off the bed and starts pacing the room like I did only moments ago.

“Please leave,” she says shakily as she touches her mouth with trembling fingers. “I can’t keep doing this, Eli.”

Sitting up, I run a hand through my hair. My fingers are quaking too. My entire body feels as if it’s buzzing, surges of adrenaline coursing through me. “Ava…”

“No.” She shakes her head, that loose bun on top of her head tipping to the side. “Don’t try and convince me. You’re right, I can’t handle all of this back and forth stuff either. It’s too—hard on me.”

I watch her pace, her expression a mix of emotions—serious concentration, accompanied by a healthy dose of total confusion.

And I feel her on every level.

I rise to my feet and try to approach her, but she holds both hands out, warding me off. “Don’t get any closer.”

I frown. “Why not? Afraid I’ll give you cooties?”

Ava rolls her eyes. “You’re being ridiculous. I’m just—if we get too close to each other, we do things we might regret.”

I don’t regret shit when it comes to Ava, but I do regret how we ended things. “Fine, whatever. I’ll keep my distance. Let’s talk.”

“Not tonight. I’m tired. I’d prefer if you distanced yourself completely and left.” She tilts her head toward the window.