Crushed (Rushed #2) (5 page)

The vision of Morgan the first time I saw her was forever written in my memory. Do you believe in love at first sight? I sure as hell didn't. But the moment the Double Deltsies walked into the first party my frat threw for them that fall, I fell for her like I'd never fallen before. Free fall with no parachute.
 

If you're an adrenaline junkie, you know the feeling. Like you can't breathe and all the colors of the world are more vibrant than they've ever been. Like your heart won't stop pounding and each beat is full of thrill and fear. Like you should back out of whatever dangerous dumbass thing you're doing. But you know you won't. Because you know you love the rush too much. But was it sustainable?

Nearly all the Deltsies were blonds of one shade or another, real or bleached. In early September, the heat was stifling during the day. In the evening, the air grew crisp. The Deltsies arrived right on time at sunset, a crowd of blonds with hair haloed by the setting sun. Short skirts. Crop tops. Flip-flops. Bodies that gave a guy a hard-on just thinking about them.

In that crowd, I don't know how Morgan stood out. Must have been that damn aura of charm and seduction that surrounded her. Or maybe it was her bright smile. Or her tinkling laugh that made her eyes sparkle. Or her naïve vulnerability. She wasn't jaded and desperate back then, like she was now. Just a fresh-faced freshman looking for a party and a good time.

I still remembered the way the setting sun lit her hair. The look of wonder on her face, like she couldn't believe her good luck to be a Deltsie partying with us. I can describe the skirt she wore in great detail, as if I were a fashion merchandising major or some shit.

I'd screwed up my courage and brought her a beer. "You look thirsty." It was a cheesy line.

She looked up at me from beneath impossibly long lashes. As she took the plastic cup from me, our fingers brushed. It was innocent and a turn-on at the same time.

She lifted the beer to her lips and took a great chug, leaving a white mustache of foam on her upper lip. I had to restrain myself from leaning over and licking it off. Instead, I watched with rapt attention while she slowly and deliberately licked it off herself.
 

"You're right. I was thirsty." She set the cup down, grabbed my hand, and pulled me to the dance floor.

Our first dance was a slow dance. I couldn't keep my hands from straying to her completely grab-able ass. She didn't push my hands away. I figured she liked it.

After the dance, she took my hand and pulled me out to the front lawn so we could watch the fading brilliance of the sunset. We talked and talked. The way she hung on everything I said, I thought she was really into me. She wanted to hear about my high school football career. I told her stories about me and Zach. Much later I realized she wasn't interested in me. She was pumping me for info about Zach.

It was a fucking shame, too. At the time, I was dating Jordan. I had every intention of being faithful to her. Until I got to school and saw all the hot babes. Even then, I remained true. Until Morgan led me on.

I broke up with Jordan for Morgan. I couldn't stand the guilt of leading Jordan on when I was falling for someone else.

Morgan and I even hooked up a couple of times. Right now, sitting in ADIS, I didn't dare think about the mind-blowing sex we'd had.
 

Like a young, stupid freshman, I'd thought we had a thing going. Until I realized Morgan was using me to learn about Zach and make him jealous. She'd used me again. But this time, we'd used each other. I felt totally shitty about it. Somehow Zach had still come out the hero. Being hero was his gig, not mine.

I'd slept with Morgan that night, thinking I could get her out of my system. Half amazed she was still in it. I'd taken advantage of her weakness and vulnerability. And she'd taken advantage of me. We were even. But somehow, we weren't.
 

I caught a whiff of her perfume and flashed back to holding her in my arms as she cried over my best friend, just as Larry called time.

"That's it for the pretest. It's mostly for the state's information. They use it to see how effective these classes are. You'll take a posttest last thing tomorrow before you leave." Larry grabbed the chair behind the podium upfront and pulled it to the front of the room. "Now that the formalities are over, let's all get to know each other before we start the meat of the class. Grab your chairs and make a circle around me."

If I thought I could escape Morgan, I was wrong. She and her chair stuck with me. When I set mine down, she put hers indecently close to mine. Like she was trying to get a rise out of me. And she sure as hell was.

"Let's start by introducing yourselves and telling us how you ended up here. And anything else you care to share. Who wants to start? Raise your hand."

When no one volunteered, Larry homed in on Morgan. Of course he did. She was the hottest chick in the session. And she looked so damned deceptively vulnerable and sweet. Like a lost puppy who'd been accidentally rounded up with the wolves. And the wolves were literally circling.

"You." Larry pointed at her. "Morgan, isn't it?"

She nodded, looking at him like he was a mind reader. "How did you know?"

"I had a one in three chance of guessing right." Larry was a real trip. "I heard him say your name." He pointed at me. "There's a story here," he said. "Why don't you tell it? How did you get here?"

I froze as the rest of the class stared at Morgan.

When she chose to use it, Morgan had a smile that could melt a guy's heart. She flashed it at Larry, using all her Double Deltsie charisma. "I drank too much."

"Go figure," Larry said.

The class laughed.

"Why don't you elaborate? We're listening." Larry rested his elbow on his knee, and his head in his hand, like he was all attentive ears.

Morgan rolled her eyes. That got a laugh. She followed it by licking her lips and gnawing them like she was nervous. "Everything here is completely confidential?"

I froze. Damn her. She better not—

"Absolutely, Morgan." Larry leaned forward in his chair like he was completely attuned to her. "Anything you share is safe here. It won't leave this room."

She nodded and glanced sideways at me.
 

Ah, shit. I felt the crap about to hit the fan, and there was no way to stop it.

"It was the Friday night of Homecoming Weekend. My sorority and Mr. University's frat—" She pointed at me.

I was supremely embarrassed about being a beauty king, and Morgan knew it. It was a joke, not an honor. That was the way the guys saw it. I'd taken my share of ribbing over it.

"—had just won the powder puff football competition," she said. "And with it, the Greek Homecoming competition. The Tau Psis threw a victory party." She looked directly at me. Her eyes misted over and her lips trembled.
 

I looked like the biggest douchebag in the world. I'd only competed for Mr. University because Morgan's sorority insisted. Our team got points for every guy who entered the competition. The win was a surprise and a joke. The judges had picked me as a way of thumbing their noses at the university. I'd just been picked up for driving under the influence the night before.

"I got bombed. We got bombed." She paused, and my heart stopped. "And hooked up." She made it sound like in her right mind that would never have happened.

I sat frozen, dreading the worst and unable to stop it.

She took a deep breath and stared in her lap, wringing the crowd for sympathy. "When I left the party, Dakota got in his car and tried to run me over."
 

Chapter Four

Morgan

I felt Dakota stiffen beside me. I'd gotten him good, and he knew it. The whole class was glaring at him while I played the victim.
 

"Shit, Morgan." Dakota scowled at me and looked around helplessly at everyone else. "It's not what it sounds like." He turned his attention back on me. "If you'd let me walk you home—"

"I don't remember you offering. In fact, I don't remember much at all." I made it sound like an indictment of his lovemaking.

Our "lovers' spat" had the class enraptured. Which was exactly what I wanted.
 

Dakota's eyes were hard and his jaw was set as he stared at me like he really did want to commit vehicular homicide on my person now.
 

Come on, Dak!
I wanted to say.
Lighten up and play along. This meeting is going to kill us with boredom if we don't have some fun with it.
I winked at him so only he could see, hoping he caught my conspiratorial meaning and played along.
 

"If you hadn't laid down behind my car—"

"I think we have a pretty good picture of why both Dakota and Morgan are here," Larry said. "Alcohol impairs good judgment. Am I right, Morgan? Dakota?"

I had a hard time holding down my smile as I nodded. "Totally." I shot Dak a sideways glance.

"Sure," he said. "It impaired my judgment
much
earlier than when I got in my car."

One of the guys sniggered.
 

Larry clipped Dakota's introduction, only allowing him to give his name and crime. I didn't pay much attention to the rest of the introductions. None of them compared to ours, and I think everyone knew it. After introductions, class lapsed into a dry lecture about the effects of alcohol and other drugs.
 

Finally, nine rolled around and Larry dismissed class for the evening. "See you all bright and early at eight tomorrow morning. No hangovers. If I so much as suspect one, you've violated the terms of your agreement with the prosecutor and courts."

"On that cheery note," I said as I slid my coat on and gathered up my purse and workbook. I dashed out of the room, eager to breathe in the bracing night air and be done for the night with the tension of the stupid class. Done with dealing with Dakota Bradley.

I raced down the hall toward the exit, walking as quickly as I could, hellbent on escape.

"Morgan!" Dakota called to me. "Hey! Wait up."

I ignored him.
 

I wasn't fast enough. He caught me at the door as I stepped outside. "How are you getting home?"

"Walking." I looked up the hill toward campus, thinking I would take the shortcut through the Hillside Apartments and past the science and engineering buildings to Greek Row.

Dakota read my mind. "Seriously, Morgan? Shit. You're going to walk right through rape alley?"

"You're exaggerating."

"It isn't safe."

I held my keychain pepper spray up. "I'm prepared. What are you going to do? Offer to drive me home?" I laughed.

"You're a cruel bitch, Morgs." He actually smiled, which caught me off guard. He took my arm. "I'm not letting you make a fool or a murderer out of me again. I'm walking you home."

I could have shaken his arm off. But I didn't. His firm grip felt good and protective. I didn't know why I suddenly felt I needed protecting. And I didn't know why I was reacting to Dakota when we'd never really been more than fuck buddies in times of great need.
 

"You got me good in there with your gag order." His breath made puffs of white in the clear night air.

"So you caught that, did you?" I was glad he was smart enough to recognize my stealth move. "You haven't bragged about it already, have you?"

He looked straight ahead, unreadable. "No. You?"

"Why would I admit to it?" I looked straight ahead, too, fighting the wounded feelings I didn't understand. "Good. Then no one else ever needs to know."

"Except the other nineteen people in the room," he said drily.

"If they squeal, they'll get their asses kicked to jail. Kind of delicious, isn't it? The best drama of the night and they can't talk about it." I walked at a brisk pace, but he had no trouble keeping up.

We reached a red light. I hit the walk button with a force that surprised me.

"You're pissed at me," he said.

The light turned green. He held me back as I took a step forward. "Morgan, what did you expect?"

"A text to see how I was doing would have been nice." I couldn't believe the words slipped out. Had I really been sitting around waiting for him to text me? Crap.