Confessions of a Heartbreaker (6 page)

I give her a sharp little salute along with one of my most charming smiles.  I may hate the old bat but I'm still angling for a good grade in this class. Then I decide to dim the wattage of my smile just a bit. I wouldn't want her, for the love of God, getting the wrong idea.  I'm willing to do a lot for a good grade, but certainly not that.  Let me amend that statement- I'm not willing to do
that
with Ms. Fisk.

Snatching the hall pass from her thin fingers, I practically race through the door and out into the hallway. My eyes scour the empty corridor until they land on Jordan's retreating back. For just one moment I can't help but stare at the swing of her slender hips as she continues to stride away from me.  And then I'm off. Damn, but I've never had to chase after a girl like this before.

It takes no more than a moment or two before I reach Jordan's side. I can't help but nudge her gently with my shoulder because all I really want to do is touch her.  Actually, I'd like nothing more than to take her in my arms and kiss the hell right out of her until she's just as senseless as she makes me feel.  But I have yet to see Jordan senseless.  I unfortunately feel, not to mention act, like a huge asshat every single time I'm around her.  It's very un-Parker-like.

So, no, I don't like this feeling one damn bit.

As she turns, her gorgeous green eyes slam right into me.  Man, at the risk of sounding like a total chick here- I have to admit that her eyes literally steal my very breath away.  And don't think that I'm not totally hating myself for even thinking along those lines because, trust me, I am.  Jeez, next I'm going to be writing her a sappy love song or some other crap like that.  Nope, this isn't good at all.

What is it about her that drives me so crazy?

I wish I knew.  Because all I really want to do is fix whatever is going on and get myself back to normal.

"Shouldn't you be in class doing, you know, actual class work?" She raises a tawny colored brow at me and damn, if that doesn't have something stirring south of the border.

This girl gives me a total hard on by doing nothing more than glaring at me. Man, I am such a goner.  This is bad. Really, re
ally bad.

"I needed to stretch my legs."  I glance down at the thick stack of papers she's holding in her hands.  "So, what're you up to?"

"I have to copy these packets."

Engaging this girl in conversation is seriously like pulling teeth.  Normally I can't get these chicks to shut their mouths.  They're constantly yapping in my ear.  And about things I couldn't give two shits about- gossip, what diet they're on, what they just bought, their favorite song, more gossip...  I usually have to tune out their incessant chatter before my brain literally explodes all over the place.  I'm not used to having to make small talk.  So I dig deep before asking a follow up question.  "Are you, like, Ms. Fisk's teaching assistant?"

She smiles just a bit. 

And for one single moment something sparks within me.  She's not even giving me a full blown smile and I'm feeling bowled over.  Crap.

"Wow, nothing gets past you does it, Parker?"

Damn but this girl just loves to give me shit.  And look at me, I'm practically lapping it up like I can't get enough.  What the hell is wrong with me?  I'm in some serious need of psychological help.

"Why the hell would you want to be TA for Ms. Fisk?  Christ, does she make you scrub her classroom floor with a toothbrush on your hands and knees?"  Poor Jordan, she's like a modern day Cinderella. Instead of a wicked step-mother she has a wicked teacher.

"Of course not.  She's not that bad, you know."  Jordan pauses for just a moment before adding thoughtfully, "More like misunderstood."

I snort with about as much derision as I can muster.  Which is actually quite a bit.  "She's probably even
worse
than I can imagine.  That woman is a total beast."

Jordan gives me a small frown before saying slowly, "Ms. Fisk is my aunt."

My eyes widen with absolute shock and a fair amount of horror.
"Shut the eff up."
  That woman actually has a family?  Certainly did not picture that one.  I thought she pretty much hatched from an egg...

And then ate her siblings.

"It's true.  She's my mother's older sister."

"Poor you."  I give her a pitying stare.  "How about a hug?"  With a big smile, I open my arms. "Would that make you feel better?"  I know it would make me feel better.  Because all I want to do is get my hands on this girl.

She rolls her eyes before punching me in the bicep.  None too gently, I might add.

"Ow!" I rub at the now tender spot.  Dang.  Note to self- the girl doesn't hit like a, well ...
girl.

She raises a brow.  "Oh, suck it up you big baby."  Then she continues on with our previous conversation.  "You just don't know her like I do.  She's an excellent teacher and she really does care about her students."

Now it's my turn to roll my eyes.  Which I do with complete and utter exaggeration.  "Yeah, well, warm and fuzzy aren’t exactly the feelings she inspires within me."

Hmm, I didn't think it was possible, but my boner has totally deflated just thinking about that woman.

Thank you, Ms. Fisk.

Leave it to that old bat to ruin my day one way or another.

But still, I'm unable to stop myself from touching her again.  I bump my shoulder into hers as I ask, "So, where you headed?"

She waves the papers at me as if it should be obvious.  "Copy room."

Nice, small, private room where I can close the door and get her alone.  
Perfect.
 I couldn't have planned it out better myself.  My lower regions stir in agreement.

Ms. Fisk or not, this girl gives me a total woody.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to class?"

"Nope."  Not on your life.  Whether she realizes it or not, I plan on kissing her before the end of 3rd hour.  Now I'm on a mission.  And I'm not about to abort it for any reason.

Once we're in the small windowless room, Jordan gets to work setting up the copier. I just stand and watch as I bide my time waiting for the perfect opportunity to take her into my arms and seduce the crap out of her.  Minutes slowly tick by as she gets the machine up and running.

It's almost cute the way she's so intensely focused on what she's doing.  It's like she's totally forgotten that I'm even standing behind her.  This notion has me frowning because it really
is
like she's forgotten that I'm standing right behind her.  I think I'm going to have to ratchet up the old Parker charm here.  If I didn't know any better, I would suspect that I'd lost my touch with the females because Jordan seems completely immune to me.

Kind of like she's gotten a Parker Montgomery inoculation or something like that.

Clearing my throat, I search for something else to say, something that will draw her attention away from the stack of paper in front of her to where it belongs.

On me.

"So any big plans for the weekend?"

Jeez, really?  That's the best I could do?  Guess I'm just going to have to roll with it.

She flips a page over and lowers the top of the machine.  "No, not really."

I step a bit closer.  Yep, a few more minutes and I'll move in for the kill (if we're using predator/prey analogies here, which clearly I am). "Not going to the game?"

We have a huge football game against Mt. Clements. They're one of our toughest rivals. If the past really does dictate the future, then this game will be an absolute blood bath.  And the stands will be jam packed with fanatic fans who want to see that.  Quite naturally there'll be a huge celebratory bash after we kick their asses at Carter Callaghan's on Saturday night.  I was kind of hoping that she would be there.  And this time, there wouldn't be any beer spilling fiascos either.

She glances down at the machine before punching in the number of copies. "Probably not."

"You don't like football?"  Most girls don't and I'm okay with that.  Like I mentioned before- I'm not in these pseudo relationships because some chick and I happen to have a lot in common. I'm in them for a totally different reason.  And most girls are cool with that.  Hell, half the time, they're the ones dragging me to a dark bedroom upstairs.  Not the other way around.

"No, I like football.  It's just that I have a lot of school work to get through."

"So, you're going to hang out at the library all weekend?"  I'm pretty sure there's a look of absolute horror on my face right now.

Noticing it, she smirks. "Something like that."

"Doesn't exactly sound like fun." Actually it sounds like the complete opposite, if you ask me.  "So what do you do for fun?"  I'm starting to wonder if this girl even knows what that is.

She wraps her lips around the word as if she's unfamiliar with it. "Fun?"

I take another step towards her until I'm just close enough to pull her into my arms. If I wanted to, that is. Which I totally do. Come on, you know I do.  But this is kind of like fishing (okay, bear with me as I switch analogies) and right now, it's important to reel her in nice and slow so that she doesn't even realize that she's been caught until it's too late. My voice drops a few octaves as I answer, "Yeah, fun... you know- blow off steam, cut loose.  That kind of thing."

I sure as hell know what I like to do to cut loose but I doubt she would have the same thing in mind...

Jordan tilts her head so that she's staring straight into my eyes. I like that about her. She doesn't back down.  She's not afraid to go toe to toe with someone.  This is where I try using one of my Jedi mind tricks on her.  Yep, I'm staring right into those cool, green cat-like eyes of hers.  They get me every time I do.  Hmmm, maybe she's using a Jedi mind trick on me.  I hear the whirl of the copier as it photocopies the pages behind her.

"I like watching movies."

I step just a bit closer.  She doesn't realize it yet but I'm moments away from pouncing.  Or maybe she does.  I'm not sure.  With Jordan, I can never tell what she's thinking.  She's a total mystery.  "What kind of movies?"

"Horror flicks," she admits softly.  Her eyes hold mine.

I almost smile.  Ah, yes, scary movies.  Makes it a hell of a lot easier to get all snuggled up when you're watching something terrifying.  I'm totally loving that idea right now. I wouldn't even mind blowing off Carter Callaghan's party to spend the night watching movies with Jordan.  In fact, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Slowly I step just a teeny bit closer.  Her chin inches up as she continues to watch me.  Her mouth parts just a little before the tip of her tongue darts out to moisten her lips.

Man, I just want to yank her to me and crush my lips down on hers.  Right here.  Right now.  I have been literally dying to kiss her all week. Ever since I met her at that party. And I'm not used to waiting for gratification when it comes to girls.  Hell, I usually have to fight them off with a stick.  "Well maybe we could-"

Here it goes, I'm moving in for the kill.  I’m inching closer.  Closer…

"Hey Jor."

That voice is like an icy cold bucket of water being thrown over us. And I say
us
because Jordan rips her eyes away from mine only to stare at the dude now hovering in the doorway. Her whole body stiffens for just a moment before it relaxes and then she smiles as if absolutely nothing had been happening between us.

"Hey."

My eyes slide from her to the tool standing by the door.  Doesn't this guy realize that he just messed up my big moment here?  My eyes narrow with aggravation.  Hmmm, I know this guy.  Chris Hartley.  Senior. Varsity baseball player. Gets his fair share of the ladies, if you know what I mean.  But he's still playing patty cake in the minors whereas I was drafted up to the majors pretty much right away.

Jordan rather nonchalantly takes a step away from me before opening the lid of the copier and laying down another page.

My narrowed eyes flick between the pair of them. I'm getting the feeling that something's up with these two.  No one's saying anything and he's still hanging around.

Which is starting to feel kind of awkward.

Chris's eyes swing back to mine and I watch as he sizes me up.  I almost bust out laughing.

Seriously? As if, dude...

I've known Hartley since 4th grade when he and his family moved here. We aren't close but we've always been on friendly terms.  I've never had any problems with Chris.

Apparently that's about to change.

"Hey, Parker."  He jerks his chin towards Jordan.  "You helping my girl make some copies?"

And just like that-territory is claimed. Without waiting for my reply, he saunters into the small space and lays his lips on hers. Jordan doesn't exactly fight him off either.  My eyes narrow just a bit more.  This guy just stole
my
kiss.

Well this definitely screws up my game plan.  I didn't say it changed my intentions, because it doesn't. I'll just have to modify some of my tactics now that I know what I'm up against.

As Hartley pulls away from Jordan, his eyes slice knowingly to mine. Yep, definitely marking his territory. For all the good it will do him. Since we aren't exactly friends, there's no reason for me to worry about breaking any kind of bro code when I steal her away.