The Long Game (13 page)

“What’s the matter, Mr.
I-Get-Into-Fights-and-Steal-Dinner-Reservations-All-the-Time?” she
jibbed. “Scared of getting caught?”

“It’s not fear. It’s self-preservation. What
happened to the girl who never skips class or puts a toe out of
line?”

“She fell in love with you.” Spencer picked
up a handful of bubbles and smeared them in my hair. A line of
soapy water dripped down my nose, but I barely noticed. I knew I
had to respond. Telling her I felt the same way would almost
guarantee she’d be ready to introduce me to dear old dad.

But I couldn’t say it. Not now.

I caught her around her waist and swung her
off her feet. She squealed and pulled her legs up, and we both fell
sideways into the bubbles. I shifted to provide a cushion between
her and the floor of the fountain, and luckily for my tailbone, the
thick layer of bubbles and water did the same for me. I sat up,
bringing Spencer with me so she was in my lap, facing me. I wiped
the bubbles from my eyes. Water streamed from her hair and her gray
shirt clung to her torso, but her face was barely visible through
the mask of white bubbles covering it. She swiped them away and
flicked them at me. I rolled, dunking her in the fountain again. We
both got to our knees, sputtering with laughter and mouths full of
bubbles. I wiped my own face again, then brushed my thumbs over her
eyes. I cleared the bubbles from her face. She kissed me, and
suddenly I didn’t care about the bitter taste of dish soap in my
mouth.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

We both looked and found a middle-aged man in
khakis and a starched white shirt walking toward us. A plastic name
badge hung from his neck on a red cord, and though he didn’t appear
to be campus security, he certainly was someone with authority.

“Fun’s over,” I said, dragging Spencer to her
feet. We stumbled through the bubbles that had already overflowed
and were creeping across the courtyard and clambered over the side
of the fountain.

“My shoes,” Spencer said, half-turning
back.

“I’ll buy you another pair,” I said, pulling
her along with me.

“Stop!” Name Badge yelled, but his order only
made us run faster.

“Wait.” Spencer tugged on my hand. “Let’s go
this way. The OIA house is just across campus.”

“We need to take a different route.” I was
pretty sure he wasn’t chasing us, but I wasn’t going to give Name
Badge a way to connect Spencer to the bubbles currently filling the
quad. Rather than running straight south, I headed west toward Carr
Hall. If he were still watching, he’d likely think we were aiming
for the train station. When the courtyard was out of view, we cut
through the Grotto and hit Lancaster Avenue, circling around the
campus chapel. I slowed enough to make sure there was no oncoming
traffic, then sprinted across the four-lane road without bothering
to find a crosswalk. Once we were safely on the other side, Spencer
took the lead.

“This way,” she said and cut down a gravel
drive. We ran past a row of garages and took a sharp left down a
grassy path that lead past the backyards of several large sorority
houses. Spencer screeched to a halt at the door of a wooden gate
and threw it open, then dragged me inside. We cut through the
backyard of the OIA house, past the spot where we’d had our first
kiss and straight up the back steps to the glass French doors. Once
we were inside, I thought she’d finally stop, but she held tight to
my hand as we passed through the dining room, the living room, and
eventually into the entry hall. When she rounded the banister and
headed up the steps, I froze.

“Come on,” she said, looking down at me with
a smile that made my already labored breath catch in my throat.

It took less than a second
for my feet to start moving again, and I followed her, taking the
stairs two at a time. We turned left at the top of the staircase
and walked to the far end of the hall. The girls had hung a mirror
at the end of the corridor, and I caught our reflection in it
before reaching Spencer’s door. We were both still soaked, and her
fiery hair glinted in the track lighting above us, still slick with
soap bubbles. Spencer pushed her door open and pulled me inside,
then closed it behind us. I thought I heard the
click
of the button lock on the
doorknob but assumed I’d imagined it until Spencer was standing in
front of me.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” She
tugged the bottom of my shirt up with both hands, and I lifted my
arms so she could pull it over my head.

“We’ll probably both be expelled?” I asked,
lifting one side of my mouth to grin at her. I guessed even
vandalism couldn’t get you expelled from a school you weren’t
really enrolled in, but I had to keep up the act despite how
distracted I was by the feel of her fingers trailing down the
ridges of my abdomen.

“No,” she said, with a playful smile. “I mean
what it means for you to be here. In my room.”

“Remind me,” I said, peeling her wet shirt
from her body and up over her head as she’d done mine. I tossed it
to the side and immediately brought my hands to her now-bare
shoulder blades. The pale pink satin of her bra was practically
invisible against her creamy skin, and my fingers twitched with
anticipation when they found the clasp at the middle of her back. I
wondered if she’d stop me when I moved to undo it, but she just
moved closer, pressing her belly to mine.

“It means we’re official,” she said, her
voice barely above a whisper. “It means we can be together.”

I slid one strap from her shoulder where a
light dusting of freckles peppered her skin, and I bent my head,
intent on kissing each one. She tilted her head away from mine, and
I trailed my lips up her neck to the sensitive patch of skin under
her earlobe. I heard her breathe out a quiet gasp, and the sound of
her pleasure made my whole body ache to have her. I slid my hand up
her thigh and underneath her wet skirt, then tugged at the waist of
the panties underneath. She helped by slipping the other side from
her hip, and they fell to the floor. She stepped out of them and
nudged them aside with her foot, then pulled her arms out of her
bra and discarded that as well. I took a long moment to admire her,
naked to the waist, and was impressed by how unselfconscious she
seemed under my hungry gaze. Looking didn’t satisfy me for long,
though, and soon my mouth was on hers. I moved one hand to her
breast, gently pinching the rosy tip between my thumb and finger.
My other hand moved up her thigh again, and this time there was no
cloth to separate my fingers from the slick warmth between her
legs. She rocked against my hand, and I dropped my head to her
breast and took it into my mouth.

“Shane.” Her breath shuddered when she said
it, and for the first time, I wished I had told her my real
name.

She forced me back so she could undo the
button of my shorts, then pushed them from my hips. Once they’d
slid from my waist, I sprang to attention, and Spencer smiled now
that it was her turn to do the admiring. I fidgeted, far more
uncomfortable than she’d seemed to be. I wrapped an arm around her
waist and pulled her against me, using her body to block her view.
She gave a quiet laugh as she slipped her skirt off. I kissed her
again and walked forward, pushing her along with me until we’d
found the bed. There would be no interruptions this time. No OIA
sisters with shows to watch, no phone calls, no voice in the back
of my head or hers telling us to slow down. I honestly didn’t give
one thought to the con. All I knew was that I wanted her.
Completely. And when I laid her back against the pillows and
positioned myself over her, Spencer looked up at me with an
expression that told me I could have everything I wanted.

***

Exhausted, but with a mind too restless for
sleep, I watched the fading sunlight through Spencer’s bedroom
window. Her deep, even breathing was the only sound in the room,
and I lay on my side next to her, running a hand up and down the
naked skin of her back. She’d fallen asleep over an hour ago, each
of us finally sated, but I still hadn’t been able to stop touching
her. Some irrational part of me was afraid that, if I did, she
might fade away like the setting sun. I wanted to hold on to this
moment, just for a little while longer. She lay on her stomach, her
face turned toward me, and I moved her hair to the side so I could
see every inch of it. I’d wanted her so badly that I hadn’t allowed
myself to think about how hurt she’d be when she realized I’d used
her. If I’d thought of it, I don’t think I would’ve been able to go
through with it. She’d realize the betrayal eventually, no matter
how careful I was in getting back the ledger. I wanted to commit
this moment to memory, memorize every inch of her, and I’d spend
all night doing it because I didn’t know what the morning would
bring.

“Spencer,” I whispered.

She inhaled deeply through her nose but made
no other sound to indicate she’d heard me.

I kissed her cheek, but she still didn’t move
or speak. She was in a more peaceful sleep than I’d probably ever
get again.

My lips moved before I could stop them, and I
spoke the words that I’d felt but hadn’t been able to fully admit
for a while now. “I think I love you.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I SHUT THE bedroom door as quietly as I could
with my hands full of coffee and muffins. I’d gone back to the
Carroll Center just after dawn, mostly to get breakfast but also to
see what kind of damage we’d done the day before. I’d had no choice
but to wear Spencer’s slippers, but luckily for me no one noticed.
The fountain had been turned off and most of the bubbles had been
cleared away, but the water’s surface had a frothy sheen.

Spencer was still asleep. I knew she had an
early class, and as badly as I wanted to crawl back into bed with
her, I wasn’t going to let her get into the habit of skiving off. I
set the coffee and muffins down on the desk and sat on the edge of
the bed. I watched her sleep for a few seconds more before I leaned
down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Her eyes fluttered, then
opened, and she gave me a sleepy smile.

“Morning, beautiful,” I said.

“Morning.” She yawned and stretched the sleep
from her shoulders and back.

“I brought you some breakfast.” I reached for
one of the paper cups and handed it to her. “You may want to avoid
the Carroll Center for a few days until they get things cleaned up
and that guy has a chance to forget what we look like.”

She snickered into the lid of her cup as she
took a sip.

“So,” I said, feeling a little awkward all of
a sudden. “I guess I should let you get ready for class.” I stood
up but leaned back down to give her a quick kiss. “I’ll see you
soon.”

“Any plans for dinner?” she asked

“Not that I can think of. What did you have
in mind?”

“Well, I was thinking, since we kind of…made
things official last night, maybe it’s time I introduce you to my
dad. I’m supposed to have dinner with him this evening. I thought
you could come.”

It took me a few seconds to process what
she’d just offered. An invitation to Tommy’s house. Tonight.
Something that would have thrilled me just a few days earlier had
my stomach in knots today. “Sure.” I grinned at her, hoping it hid
the conflicting emotions I felt. “As long as we don’t have to tell
him how we ‘made it official.’”

“Heh. Yeah, no.” She grimaced. “It’s going to
be hard enough for him to deal with the whole ‘boyfriend’ thing
without putting that image into his head.”

“Good deal. You want to go over
together?”

“I’m going early to help cook, but I’ll text
you the address. It’s right on the Main Line, really close to the
train stop.”

“Time?” It occurred to me that I was way more
interested in how soon I’d be seeing her again than how soon I’d be
getting into Tommy’s house.

“Sevenish?”

“I’ll see you then. Have fun in class.”

She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Oh, yeah.
Microeconomics is a party.”

I chuckled and bent down once more to kiss
her on the forehead. “See you at seven.”

***

I climbed the wooden stairs to my efficiency,
thinking about dinner that evening. I knew I should be happy that
I’d finally gotten what I’d come for—or at least was closer to
it—but I couldn’t shake the feeling of Spencer in my arms last
night or the image of her asleep in bed next to me. I couldn’t
stand the idea that I’d lose the chance to ever see her again. If I
found the ledger tonight, I’d be on my way back to the Village by
this time tomorrow.

But then, what were the chances Tommy would
keep something like that just laying around? Odds were good I might
not even find it tonight. Or ever, really. The thought of failure
suddenly didn’t seem so bad, and I quickened my pace up the rickety
steps.

The smell of cigarette smoke caught my
attention before I heard the reedy voice. “Well, well. Look who
finally decided to show up.”

I stopped short, astonished by the sight of
Judd Sheedy leaning back against my door, dangling a burning
cigarette between his knees.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I’d
assumed the Mercedes I’d passed on my way up the driveway belonged
to a guest of my landlord’s, but I shouldn’t have missed the
Louisiana plates. My time with Spencer was making me soft.

“Pop was starting to worry that you might be
fucking around up here on his dime.” He flicked the cigarette at my
feet. “I came to make sure the job gets done.”

I swept the smoldering butt off the stairs
with the side of my bare foot. “Thanks, but I’m doing fine on my
own. You can tell Pop that when you get home.”

“Nuh-uh.” He shook his head. “I’m staying
until you get the book or I get it myself.”