Down to Business (Business Series) (19 page)

“Hey now, who said I wanted to kiss her?”

I glared over at him. “She said you kissed her goodnight the other day when you went to dinner and you didn’t seem to mind when she kissed you tonight.”

“Look, I didn’t ask her to kiss me.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t stop her.” I snapped, my voice hoarse with emotion.

He frowned. “I wanted to. I should have.”

“Why bother? You will probably end up going out with her again and she will get me fired so you two can live happily ever after. I mean, she almost clawed my eyes out over you tonight before you came into the break room.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Nothing. Just never mind,” I said, shaking my head.

“Autumn, stop this. Would you look at me?” he demanded.

When our eyes met, his face blurred as tears invaded my vision.

“What do you mean she almost clawed your eyes out?” he asked, pulling over to the side of the road.

“Are you crazy Vinny? This is a one way street!”

“Who gives a shit? I want to know what happened tonight.”

I swiped at my eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s go before you get a ticket, this is illegal.”

He put the car in park and put on his flashers. “There. Now it’s legal.”

“Ugh!” I sighed and pressed my fingertips into my temples.

“Were not leaving until you tell me what’s happening between you and Vivian.”

My arms dropped limply at my sides and I tossed my head back against the seat, wishing I never said anything. “My mother called me in the middle of my shift tonight, so I wrote Vivian a note to let her know I was taking a quick break, and when I got back, she pretended she didn’t see the note and told your mother I was sneaking off on breaks without telling anyone. Then, because of that, your mother caught me with my phone on the floor and threatened to fire me.”

“So what does that have to do with her wanting to claw your eyes out?”

“She is pissed that you are taking me to the party. She came after me tonight when I went to get my purse and told me to stay away from you. She thinks I’m trying to get between you and her.”

He sighed. “So that explains the random kiss she gave me.”

“And just to top my night off, my grandmother is in the hospital.”

“Shit. Is she okay?”

“So far, yeah. She fell down and fractured her wrist. They are keeping her over night for more tests.”

“Are you going to go visit her this weekend?”

“I can’t. I don’t have a way to get there.”

“I could drive you.”

“Thanks. But I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“Well, let me know if you change your mind. And don’t worry if you need some time off. You won’t get fired. I’ll make sure of it.” He turned off his flashers and started driving again. “And I’ll take care of Vivian.”

I bet he would.

Once we got to the dorm parking lot, he pulled into a numbered spot and hooked a parking tag on his mirror. I followed him into the dormitory building. The florescent lighting in the hallway assaulted my tired eyes. We passed a few groups of students hanging out on the stairs as I followed him up to the third floor.

His room was at the end of the hall. He unlocked the door and held it open for me. The room was cramped but cleaner than I imagined. A single bed rested in each corner and two small desks sat at the foot of each bed. A single window was centered on the wall between the beds, covered by vinyl blinds. 

He walked over to the desk on the left and dropped his keys and wallet into the top drawer. Music hummed softly from his iPod player situated on a shelf over his bed. “I’m going to take a quick shower. It’ll only take a minute. Make yourself at home.”

“Okay.”

I watched him pull open a door that led into a Jack and Jill bathroom that he shared with the dorm room next door.

“Oh cool, you have a semi-private bathroom. I thought you had communal showers at the dorms?” I asked.

“I paid extra for this room because of the bathroom. I still have to share, but at least it’s not with the whole floor.” he said, unbuttoning his shirt.

I sat down on his bed and admired the sliver of tan skin peeking out of his open dress shirt. The thought of running my hands over his firm chest sent heat radiating through me.

I looked over to see him watching me with a smirk. Heat flowed to my face and I stood up.

“Do you mind if I use your computer?” I asked, pointing at the laptop on his desk.

“Go ahead, just don’t download any porn on it,” he teased, before hanging his shirt up in the mini closet in the corner.

I laughed and my cheeks singed even hotter. “Yeah, I’ll try to control myself.”

I settled into his computer chair and pressed the button to turn his laptop on. He disappeared behind the bathroom door and the shower came on a moment later. I enjoyed the music coming from the iPod while I waited for his laptop to boot up. My gaze drifted to the small drawer under the desk where he left his keys, and I peeked inside to find a bunch of pens, sticky notes, pencils, rubber bands, scotch tape, various papers, his car keys, and his black leather wallet.  I shut the drawer before my nosiness got the best of me.

His computer desktop had a Mets logo background. I started up the internet and checked my Adelphi e-mail first to make sure I didn’t have any surprise tests coming up. Afterwards, I noticed a folder on his desktop titled ‘miscellaneous pix’. Curious, I clicked on it and found exactly what I expected, a mish-mosh of pictures of him with friends and family.

My gaze was drawn especially to ones that contained Vivian. There was one where they were cuddling on a towel at the beach. She had on a purple bikini that barely contained her big boobs and he was gorgeous as usual in black swimming trunks. I frowned at the fact that they looked happy. There was another photo of them dressed up and they looked younger, I assumed that was their prom picture from the corsages on her wrist. She was wearing a revealing black dress and he was in a nice tux. The last one was a self-taken picture of them lying in bed. Her hair was a mess and they were smiling up at the camera all guilty like. I wondered if that was their virginity picture and a ripple of jealousy moved through me. I turned my attention on the other pictures in the folder.  One was of him as a little boy with his mother, and I assumed the other two people were his father and older brother. They were standing in front of the Epcot Center in Disney World. He was smiling so big I could see he was missing his front teeth. Another was of him in his cap and gown at his high school graduation. His mother had her arm draped around him and she actually looked happy as he proudly displayed his diploma in his hands. The last one was of him as a teenager hugging a golden lab.

My heart skipped when I heard the shower turn off. I quickly closed the folder, turned the laptop off, and sat down on his bed, doing my best to look innocent. I released a sigh of relief when I heard him brushing his teeth. I ran my tongue over my teeth, wondering if my breath smelled. I guess it didn’t really matter since it was going to smell like beer soon anyway.

I walked over to the mirror that hung on the wall and checked my hair and make-up. I found that both needed some touching up.  Just as I grabbed my purse off his bed, he stepped into the room with only a towel wrapped around his waist. The memory of the first time we met came flooding back and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What?” he asked, grinning at me.

“Nothing. I was going to touch up my make up,” I said grabbing my make up out of my purse.

“What were you laughing at?”

I walked over to the mirror and looked at him in the reflection. “I was just remembering the first time we met.”

That brought a smile to his face and he laughed. “You looked like a zombie.”

I scowled over my shoulder at him. “Gee, thanks.”

“I mean it in the nicest way possible,” he teased.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” I said and turned back to the mirror. He returned to the bathroom to change and I used my fingertips to wipe away the old makeup from beneath my tired eyes. Afterwards, I applied a fresh coat of foundation to my face, colored some fresh liner on my eyes, and swiped on some mascara.

He stepped out of the bathroom just as I finished, wearing a dark blue Met’s t-shirt under a long sleeved white, blue, and grey plaid shirt with jeans. He moved up behind me rolling the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. I admired how smooth his clean-shaven face looked. He took up his hairbrush and combed it through his wet hair, sharing the mirror with me. I inhaled his intoxicating aroma of soap and cologne.

“Mirror hog,” I teased, giving him a soft elbow in the rib.

He winced and struck my butt playfully with his brush.

I yelped in surprise and laughed. I pushed him back and threatened to put lip-gloss on him. He caught my wrist in his hand and we laughed together. He gave me a devious smile and pushed me back against the mirror. I couldn’t help but savor the close proximity, his eyes were so bright and engaging as he stared into mine.

“Is that strawberry lip gloss?” he asked, still holding onto my wrist with the roll-on lip-gloss in my fingertips.

“Yeah, why?” I asked, self-consciously rubbing my lips together.

“Does it taste like strawberries?”

“Why don’t you try some and find out?” I teased, twisting my wrist in his grasp in an attempt to apply some to his lips.

He snatched the lip-gloss out of my trapped hand and brought it under his nose to smell it.

I laughed at his contemplative expression. “It goes on clear. Just try it. I won’t tell anyone you’re exploring your feminine side.”

His gaze pinned mine and he tilted his head with a scheming smile. “Why don’t I just try some of yours instead?”

My heart slammed into my ribs as his lips captured mine in a deep kiss. I inhaled, tasting his minted breath. A dizzying rush of heat washed over me as his tongue slid between my parted lips. I grabbed onto the front of his shirt to keep myself upright as his tongue dashed back and forth over mine. He drew back with one last taste of my lower lip. My lashes fluttered open to find his dark eyes staring into mine.

“Tastes like strawberry to me,” he murmured against my lips.

Shuddering, I lost all control. I reached up, dug my fingers into the back of his neck, and pulled his mouth back over mine. His soft tongue parted my lips again and I tilted my head, welcoming the gesture. Our tongues stroked one another and the sudden pressure from his hand cupping my left breast, solicited a moan from deep inside of me. He guided me a few steps to the left until the back of my thighs pressed into the edge of his roommate’s desk. Keeping my mouth firm against his, I reached back with my free hand and shoved what was ever on the desk out of the way.

He lifted me onto the cleared desk, his warm palm slipping beneath my shirt and under my bra to touch my hardened nipple, sending a jolt of heat searing through my body. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him flush against me, moaning into his mouth. Sliding my hand beneath his t-shirt, I rubbed my fingertips over his firm chest while his thumb massaged my nipple in small circles, leaving me breathless. His firm lips pulled away from mine and made a hot trail of kisses down the side of my neck. He paused when he reached my pulse, and he tickled it with the tip of his tongue. I held my breath and shuddered, catching a few lines of Mazzy Star’s “Fade into You” playing softly in the background.

I want to hold the hand inside you
I want to take a breath that's true

I swore I would never want to have sex again, but in my sudden lust-induced state, there was nothing that I wanted more. His mouth drew back from my neck and I stared into his beautiful eyes, both of us taking uneven breaths. My hand that was still beneath his shirt moved over his heart and I combed my fingers back and forth over it. A small smile curved at the corner of his lips and he planted a soft kiss on my nose.

I was overcome with the need to feel his warm mouth on my skin. I reached for the bottom of my shirt, and pulled it up to expose what little cleavage I had. His lashes lowered and his gaze drifted over my breasts, cupped in a simple sheer black bra that barely hid my aroused nipples. I drew a breath as his hands came up and his thumbs brushed back and forth over my concealed nipples, causing them to burn. I was sure he could feel the vibration of my heart pounding when he leaned in and his tongue circled the tight left bud through the thin fabric of my bra. I arched my back as a rush of lust driven ache centered between my legs.

“Vinny,” I whimpered, clamping my hands into his silky hair, the throbbing between my legs becoming unbearable.

Just as his name left my lips, the door shook, followed by the sound of a key being inserted into the lock. His mouth tore from my breast, leaving a cold wet reminder in its wake. I yanked my shirt down just in time for an unfamiliar face to come through the door. The tall blond stranger paused and stared at us, dressed in a New York Yankee’s hoodie and jeans. I stared back at him, feeling like I had been thrown from a window.

“Um, hey…” he said carefully, staring at Vinny who stood beside me. “I didn’t know you were having company over. Do you need me to go?”

“No,” Vinny said, scratching the back of his neck. “We were just leaving.”

He cast a glance over at me and the heat pulsating in other places all rushed to my face.

“You sure?” the guy asked, looking between us.

“Yeah,” Vinny said, moving his arm around my waist and gently bringing me off the desk and to my feet. “Autumn this is my roommate, Kyle. Kyle, this is my friend, Autumn. She’s a freshman and Adelphi.”

“Hi,” I mumbled, wondering if I looked as flustered as I felt. I combed my fingers through my hair before I offered my hand.

“A freshman, huh? Nice to meet you.” Kyle said, shaking with me and looking me over with a knowing smile. I’m sure he assumed I was like every other sleazy girl on campus, just another freshman trying to leave her mark. I looked over at Vinny who was watching us with a nervous smile.

“I bought some toothpaste…” Kyle said randomly, holding up a grocery bag as he stepped past us.