“It’s fine.”
“I’ve got my answer though.”
“You do?” she asked.
“Yeah. You want my kisses and you know, Leah, all you’ve got to do is ask. Or maybe kiss me first once in a while. I’ll reciprocate.”
Shaking her head, she left him at the door as she walked to find her mother, who was already pouring wine.
“We’re going to need to set up the guest bedrooms, sweetheart. Will you go and make sure they have clean towels? The beds are already fresh. I got that handled earlier.”
“Of course.” She smiled at their company before making her way upstairs. Each bedroom had clean towels and fresh toothbrushes. Her parents liked to be prepared for all occasions, but now Blake was close. He’d be next door to her.
Pressing her back against his guestroom door, she touched her lips. They were still swollen from his kisses.
He was right. She wanted his kisses, and she’d even spent time in class thinking about him, wondering if there were ways to get him to kiss her. At the same time, memories continued to plague her of what he used to be like. His laughter when someone would call her a name or point, making her feel like crap.
“I’m fine. I can get through this.”
Only, she’d underestimated her attraction to Blake.
He was her bully. She should hate him and a part of her did for everything he had done to her, but it was so hard to keep on hating a guy who appeared determined to date her. Life wasn’t fair. This wasn’t fair. It should be easy to hate him. Wanting him was wrong. He was a bully.
Was.
He’s not anymore.
But it sucked because the truth was, little by little, she was starting to want him in ways she never thought she would.
****
Temptation was right next door.
Leah was a few steps away.
Blake paced his room. It was a nice room. Clean walls, a nice, big bed. None of this was a good distraction. Not all the food he’d eaten or the few games Leah’s parents wanted them to play.
She was so close, and it wouldn’t take much to be there. To have her in his arms. That was what he wanted.
He stepped toward his door and paused.
Would she see this as him moving things along too fast?
After running fingers through his hair, he gripped the back of his head to try to think of all the reasons he shouldn’t go and knock on her door. They were all pointless reasons because his need outweighed all of them.
He stepped out of his room and moved toward her door. Lifting his hand, he was about to knock, but she opened the door. He smiled.
“You were coming to my door.”
She peeked out of the door and grabbed his shirt, which was either one of her father’s or one purchased for unexpected guests to stay. Within seconds, he was inside her room, the door closed, with her pressed up against it.
“I wasn’t coming to you.”
He smirked. “You can lie to yourself all you want.”
“I’m not lying.”
He sat down on the edge of her bed, smiling at her.
“Fine, if I was coming to you, you’d already beaten me to it.”
“The real question is what are you hoping for?” He glanced around the room, taking in every part of it. The soft walls with a pink tinge to it. The dresser, which held very little makeup but did have a bottle of deodorant and some perfume. There was a stacked bookcase with novels, and on the other side of the room, textbooks lined another bookcase.
There wasn’t a television, but he caught sight of her laptop near the bed.
“Have you finished looking around at all my stuff?” she asked.
“Not really. I’ve got a lot to look at.” He returned his attention to her.
“What are you hoping for?” she asked, folding her arms beneath her breasts, which pushed them up, enhancing how curvy and perfect they were.
He wanted a taste, but instead, he held himself back.
“To hold you. To kiss you.”
“I keep expecting you to play some cruel joke on me. Like this is one big laugh to you.”
He got down on his knees, taking her hand. “It isn’t a joke. I swear to you, Leah. I fucked up. You can ask John. He knows how I feel about you. He knows how much I want you, and that’s not going to go away. I don’t want it to.” He got to his feet. “My feelings for you are real. Very, very real. I will sing and dance all about it, if you’d like. If that’s what will make you happy.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Do you want to take pictures of me naked?”
“What? No. Of course not.”
He got to his feet and put his finger beneath her chin, tilting her head back. “I get it. I fucked up. I did, especially when it came to you. I didn’t mean to, not a little bit. You make me feel so many different things and the truth is, it scares me, like a lot. I want you. I think about you all the time. Tonight, I want to hold you. Maybe make out a little. Perhaps some touching.”