I SMOTHERED A yawn as I hopped out of the Sprinter van Friday morning. The lack of sleep was catching up with me, and for once, it wasn’t from partying my ass off every night.
No, I’d been giving my late-night attention to something else entirely—or should I say someone. Texting and talking into the early-morning hours with JT when I wasn’t sneaking into his place or hiding him away in mine was a new thing for me, but one I was slowly becoming addicted to. The more of him I got, the more I wanted, and even though I knew it was a dangerous game I was playing, I couldn’t seem to stop. I needed a hit of him more than I needed caffeine this morning, and that was fucking saying something.
Behind me, Donovan was giving us shit for missing his show. I felt a pang of guilt at that, considering I’d never skipped out on supporting him at New York Fashion Week, but it had completely slipped my mind.
Maybe I’d bring JT to his next show—
A hand clapped down on my shoulder. Preston.
“Hey, West. Are you coming out tonight?”
Was I? I hadn’t figured out plans with JT for the weekend yet.
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
Preston looked at me with an incredulous expression. “Really? It’s opening night for Bassiani. East didn’t tell you?”
Oh shit, that’s right. I’d completely forgotten about the new nightclub opening up in Chelsea. I vaguely remembered East telling me about it, but along with apparently a lot of other shit, I was letting it slip through the cracks.
There was no way in hell the guys would let me skip out on opening night, not when we’d all be expected to be there.
“Like I’d miss it,” I said, hoping that was enough to get him to lay off and not ask me where I’d been all week. Well, longer than that, if I were honest.
Preston squeezed my shoulder. “Good. It’s not the same without you.”
Well, that was a boost to my ego—and had me feeling like a terrible friend times two already this morning. “Sorry, shit’s just been crazy.”
“Uh huh.” He gave me a look that said he didn’t completely buy it, but unlike my pain-in-the-ass BFF, Preston didn’t run off at the mouth about it.
Thank fucking God.
Across the courtyard, Serena waved at him to join her, and as he walked off, I caught sight of a familiar head of brown curls disappearing through Astor’s front door.
“I’ll catch you guys later,” I said to the rest of the guys over my shoulder before following JT.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one in need of a caffeine fix, because he was standing at the counter of the coffee bar ordering the largest mocha latte they had when I found him.
“And a double shot for me,” I said, sidling in beside JT.
He smiled, bumping his arm gently against mine in greeting. “Hey, you.”
“Morning.” I nodded toward the large cup with his name on it. “Late night?”
“You would know.”
My eyes flashed in the direction of the barista, warning JT of the potential eavesdropper, but he only raised a brow as if to say, “So?”
Interesting…
I pushed my card forward on the counter before JT could even reach for his, and he shook his head.
“Don’t you dare.”
“Oh, but I dare. What are you gonna do about it?”
JT licked his lips, his eyes falling to my mouth. “I can think of a few things.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the barista’s eyes widen, and wondered when this innocent man of mine had gotten so damn ballsy. He seemed to give no fucks about who heard him or the fact that it could get around…back to a certain someone I knew he didn’t want to find out.
As I pocketed my card, I pushed him toward the pickup counter and said under my breath, “You’re being reckless.”
“Guess that means you’re rubbing off on me.”
“Not in the way I want to right now.”
The way JT’s eyes heated had me wanting to drag him into a dark corner, like I had the night at the Poet Café.
Actually…
Once our orders came up on the bar, I grabbed mine and subtly inclined my head for JT to follow. We didn’t need the prying eyes and nosy assholes knowing our business, or watching me steal the kiss I was dying to take. There had to be an empty classroom or storage closet we could slip into for ten minutes. Hell, maybe five with the way my body reacted every time he was near.
I tried the handles of several doors we passed, all of them locked. That didn’t usually stop me, but I didn’t have time for breaking and entering before our first classes.
Instead, I curled my finger into the belt loop of his jeans and tugged him into a small nook. He chuckled at my obvious impatience as I backed him against the wall, quickly glancing over my shoulder to make sure no one was around before slamming my lips down on his. He groaned, arching into me, but voices heading in our direction had me ripping my mouth away before I wanted to.
I took a step back, putting some space between us, and that was when I noticed the reddish-purple bruise low on the side of his neck. I remembered exactly how that mark had happened, and JT’s upturned lips told me he did too.
“That,” I said, trailing my fingers over it, “is fuckin’ hot.”
“And really hard to hide. Maybe next time mark me in a place where I won’t need to wear a scarf to cover it,” he teased.
“All I’m hearing is that you want me to mark you again. You like when I suck on you, JT?”
He dropped his head back against the wall, and just when I thought he was about to answer, I heard the clacking of heels and looked out to see—shit—the dean heading down the hall.
I jerked back into the nook, putting a finger over my lips and blocking JT the best I could. Catching us in a private moment with her son sporting a hickey? I didn’t personally give two shits, but JT would. And for that reason, I’d keep him out of sight.
She passed by, deep in conversation with a professor, and once they’d rounded the corner, I straightened.
“Was that my mom I heard?”
“Yep.”
“Oh, I see how it is. Hiding me away, huh?”
“Well, it’s not like you’ve told her you have a boyfriend. That changes things.”
“A boyfriend?” JT cocked his head, a twinkle in his eyes. “Is that what we are? Boyfriends?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but for once, I didn’t know what the hell to say. I’d just called JT my boyfriend, for fuck’s sake, and the reality was…it was true. All the bullshit I’d tried to tell myself about my interest in him being limited to a bet or some stupid payback on his mom was just that—bullshit. If I were honest with myself, it hadn’t been about those things for a long time. Not once I’d gotten to know how damn amazing he was. How open and curious, captivating, and so damn sexy. He made me want him with an ache in my chest that I knew was dangerous. JT was the last thought I had before I went to bed and the first when I woke up every morning. And that was whether or not he was in my bed, and when he wasn’t, it drove me crazy. I hated it.
Somehow this golden boy had slipped in past my defenses and made me so territorial that I wanted to stamp the word mine on his chest.
So, yeah, I settled for a hickey. Fuckin’ sue me.
“You got a problem with calling me your boyfriend?” I challenged, my voice low as I stepped in closer.
If he did, I knew myself. I’d haul us out of here and into my place so fast, and I wouldn’t care how long it took or how many different ways I could show him that this thing between us was happening. It was real.
But JT only tugged his lower lip in between his teeth and reached for my hand. “I think that’s something I can get used to.”
Relief like the weight of a pile of bricks being lifted off my chest had me breathing easier. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I think I’d like calling you my boyfriend. You know, instead of stalker.”
I smirked as I brought his hand up to my lips, kissing the tips of his fingers. “You better be sure. I don’t plan on letting you go.”
One of his brows arched, challenging me right back. “That a promise?”
I leaned in, angling my head toward his. “That’s a goddamn guarantee.”
A glimpse of a smile was all I saw as I took his lips with mine, forgetting where we were as I sealed our relationship with a stroke of my tongue against his. It was too damn bad there were so many hours to waste before I could see him again later.
Oh shit. Later.
A moan left me as I reluctantly pulled away. “I’m supposed to go to this club opening tonight. The guys are giving me shit, and I told them I’d be there.”
“And that sounds like a problem because…?”
I gave him a bewildered look. “Why the hell do you think?”
He laughed and shook his head. “You could just ask me to go.”
“You hate that shit.”
“I don’t hate it. I just hated watching other guys steal your attention away from me.”
I fucking knew it. And damn, that admission was hot.
“You don’t have to worry about that happening,” I said. “But…as long as we’re keeping this quiet, it’s probably not a good idea to hang around the guys until we’re out with it. Mouthy fuckers.” Plus, I had some explaining to do before admitting I’d gone and fallen for the very person I wasn’t supposed to. It was one thing for JT to go out with us when the plan was corruption and deception, but I knew I wasn’t a good enough actor to hide that I’d caught feelings. Or that he had. My friends would pick up on it in a second.
But this sneaking around shit? I was over it.
JT nodded and squeezed my fingers. “That’s okay. You go, and we’ll do something this weekend.”
“I’ll think about it. Tonight, I mean.”
“You can always come over after—just let me know. I’ve gotta get to class. Boyfriend.” He pressed a quick kiss to my lips and grinned before sliding past me into the hallway.
I ran a hand through my hair and blew out a breath as I watched him go, and when a voice came up from behind me, I flinched.
“What the hell was that?” Travis crossed his arms.
Schooling my face into nonchalance, I said, “What?”
Travis looked pointedly in the direction JT had gone. “That. You were supposed to wrap shit up with him by now.”
“You have a problem with the way I handle things?”
“Only when it seems like the dean’s golden boy has been the one doing the corrupting here. Not you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then tell me. Have you won, or do you just not want to admit defeat?” Travis’s eyes glittered wickedly. “Or is it something else entirely?”
Irritation rose inside me. I didn’t appreciate being questioned. Or told that I was not in control of a situation that had, admittedly, gotten out of hand.
So I did the only thing I knew would shut him up. I turned that shit back on him.
“You wanna talk admitting things? Go right ahead. We’ll start with you.”
Travis glared at me before turning on his heel and stalking off, exactly as I expected.
But the confrontation had me feeling like shit. I didn’t fight or hide things from my friends, and I sure as hell didn’t want to hide JT anymore, either.
My gaze fell on the dean as she crossed the hall, and our eyes collided for a moment before she looked away.
That was the source of all our complications. And I didn’t know what I was supposed to do about it.
