Bound Together (8 page)

By the time dad had given
me a “tour” of the car and I’d packed my overnight bag again, it
was almost 3 p.m. I knew I’d need to leave soon or risk hitting the
weekend traffic. He walked out to the car with me and I hugged him
tightly. “Thank you so much dad. You’re the best and I love
you.”

He opened the driver’s
side door and indicated to me to slide in before he closed it
behind me. I wound down the window and he leaned in to give me a
kiss. “I love you too baby girl. Now, have a safe journey back.
Call me when you’re in your room.” I nodded and pulled out of the
driveway. Giving him a final wave I began my journey back to
college. Back to coffee shops, singing in bars and most certainly
another round of verbal boxing with Jared. That last thought had
left me with a dangerous smirk on my face. Oh he really wasn’t
going to know what hit him.

Chapter
9

Propositions

I parked outside the dorm
building and pulled out my cell, sending dad a quick text to let
him know I'd arrived safely. It usually took an hour to drive from
home to Long Beach but the roads had been fairly clear so it hadn’t
taken me as long as I had anticipated getting back. I sat back in
my seat and stared down at the phone. Jared still hadn't replied to
my message and now I was the one wondering if
he
was offended.
 
Had I taken it too far?
Cursing myself I grabbed my overnight bag off the back seat and got
out of the car. Letting out a satisfied sigh, I stood back to
admire her one last time before turning and walking to my
dorm.

I was just putting my key in
the door when a strong pair of arms wrapped around my waist. I
froze and my body felt weak. I felt like I was going to faint. This
was it. I was going be attacked just a few feet from the safety of
my room. When he lowered his mouth to my ear and I felt the cool
metal of a lip ring, my whole body relaxed in pure
relief.
 

“
Hi superstar. How was your
weekend?”

I turned around and shoved him
hard. “Oliver you scared the shit outta me! I thought you were some
kind of attacker or something. What the hell!?”

He frowned and his eyebrows
pinched together on his forehead.  “I’m sorry. I never meant
to scare you. That’s the last thing I wanted to do. I’d never hurt
you Layla.”

The smell of his hair and
the scent of peppermint on his breath swirled and intoxicated my
senses as he spoke. Maintaining my ire,
I
rolled my eyes at him and took a deep calming breath. “It’s ok. I’m
fine. Just don’t ever sneak up on me like that again. Ok?” He
nodded and then gave a quick salute. “Yes ma’am.” I smiled raising
an eyebrow as he pulled open the door to our building and held it
for me to enter.

Ducking under his arm, I gave him
a quick peck on the cheek. “Douche.”

He shrugged and grinned at me.
“Tease.”

I swiveled my head around and
poked my tongue out playfully.

“
So, Amy told me you spent the
weekend back home with your pops.” We were walking through the long
hallway towards our rooms. I gave him a satisfied smile.

“
It was great. I got to spend time
with my best friend Mel and dad took me out for dinner. He got me a
car you know. It’s parked out front, the sky blue Ford Focus. I had
no idea, so it was a total surprise.”

I was practically bouncing
up and down as I filled him in on what had happened that weekend. I
was gushing but he humored me, smiling and nodding as I
spoke.
 

“
Yeah, I was doing some work on my
motorcycle when I saw you get out of the car so I ran over to say
hi and I couldn’t resist the urge to give you a hug.”

He had a motorcycle? Ollie’s
hotness rating shot up like a rocket. There was something about a
guy on a motorcycle that really revved my engine. Maybe it was the
idea of having some huge powerful machinery between his legs.
Either way I could imagine Ollie looked smoking hot in his bike
gear.

“
I didn’t know you had a bike.
Where is it?” He pointed out of the window across the parking lot
to a hot red motorcycle with a sparkling chrome finish. It was
enormous and absolutely stunning.

“
It’s a Ducati Monster. When I got
her she was junk, I bought her cheap and decided to fix her up.
Took me two years to get her up to scratch but she’s a real hottie
don’t you think?”

I nodded in agreement, my cheeks
beginning to heat as I imagined his firm thighs straddling the
monster.

Easy girl, you’re just
getting to know each other
.

“
We missed you around here. That
party over at the frat house was a total snooze. Amy got real drunk
on Cosmos so I ended up babysitting her all night. I didn’t want
some boozed up man whore taking advantage so we left around eleven
and I had to practically carry her back here.”

Oliver was a real gentleman. He
was the type you only heard of but never actually met. I wondered
how the hell he was still single. I mean he was sweet, funny,
caring and smoking hot. How could some girl not have snagged him by
now? 

Biting my lip I let out a small
snicker. “So Amy kept you busy then. Sorry I wasn’t around to help,
or laugh at you. I’ll be there for the next one. I
swear.”

He draped his arm around my
shoulder and pulled me into his side as we walked. “I hope so. Coz
I am
 
not
 
doing that again. She was totally out of it. She puked on the
sidewalk just outside the frat house. If I hadn’t jumped out of her
way at just the right moment my brand new converse would be covered
with pink puke.”
 

I couldn’t help it. I rolled
my head back and laughed so hard
 
that
 
my ribs hurt. He laughed right
along with me and we were still giggling when we got to our
rooms.

Stopping outside our doors he
gazed at me and ran his fingers through his thick dark hair. “So I
was thinking maybe we could catch a movie tomorrow after class,
before you head off for work? I’m getting real shit sick of sitting
around here. I’ll even buy the popcorn. What do you say Layla? Come
hang out with me.”

I pondered it for a moment before
smiling at him. “Yeah. Sounds great. But I get to pick the
movie.”

“
As long as it’s not some tear
jerking chick flick then I’m cool with that.” He gave me a tight
hug. I was sure he had inhaled my scent as he buried his face into
my hair but I decided not to draw attention to it. Giving me a
flirty wink he raised his hand to signal a goodbye and disappeared
into his room.  

He really was wonderful. So then
why didn’t I feel the urge to go for it with him? He was my type in
every way possible. But he just didn’t get my blood boiling or
excite me like...I gasped realizing exactly where that thought was
going. Oh no. Mel was right.  He didn’t make me feel like
Jared did. That man was trouble for me with a capital T. And
tomorrow trouble would be strolling straight through those coffee
shop doors. I had to do something about this soon. This back and
forth between us was making me feel things that I didn’t want to,
or at least I thought I didn’t want to.

I leaned back against my
door and let out an exasperated sigh. Suddenly it flew open and I
found myself staggering backwards before landing with a bump on my
ass. Laying on the hard wood floor, lost for words, I looked up at
a now grinning Amy. A breathless laugh escaped my
lungs.
 
“Well
that’s twice now that I’ve ended up on my back around
here”

Amy let out a snort.
“Nothing wrong with that honey, but next time, make sure there’s a
warm blooded male on top of you first.”
 

With a
 
wicked smile she winked and
held out
 
her
 
a
 
hand
to help me up. Grasping it tightly, I pulled myself to my feet and
stood in front of her. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

* * *

Sitting on my bed, the two
of us swapped stories about our weekends. Amy filled me in on the
frat house party I’d missed and all the hot guys she’d been
flirting with. “It would have been perfect if not for my shadow.
Ollie followed me around
all
night. I swear he thinks I’m a child or
something. I don’t need babysitting; I was just a little
inebriated.” I chuckled
 
and patted her on the
shoulder. “I’m sure he was just worried about you being taken
advantage of. Think of him more as a concerned friend than your
babysitter. And come on Amy, be honest, how many Cosmos did
you
actually
have?”

Her cheeks flushed and I realized
that it was the first time I’d seen Amy blush. Covering her face
with her hands she let out a long sigh. “About ten or twelve. But
in my defense, they were delicious and the pink vomit I’d had to
endure later was a small price to pay for an amazing night
out.”

I fell back on the bed and roared
with laughter. I could almost picture Oliver trying to stop her
from puking a colorful new pattern onto his shoes.

Wiping the tears that had formed
in my eyes, I sat up and shook my head at her. “Oh Amy. Don’t
worry, next time I promise I’ll be there and I’ll be the perfect
wing woman. Your new shadow can rest easy knowing I’ve got it
covered. I’m pretty sure he and his shoes will be very relieved.”
She nudged me with her shoulder and we both laughed.

I had really missed her over the
weekend. We’d only known each other a week but it felt like much
longer.

“
Layla, you can tell me to mind my
own business if you want but how do you feel about Ollie? I mean
there’s obviously something between you; I can see it every time
you’re near each other. You both look ready to jump the others
bones.”

I shifted awkwardly, not really
knowing the answer to that question. “I don’t know Amy, he’s great.
Sweet, funny, caring, unbelievably hot and definitely my type but I
don’t know. He makes me hot and when he’s near me. Oh. My. God.
He’s got lips I want to gnaw on and a smile that makes me weak in
the knees. Don’t even get me started on his come to bed eyes. I bet
he’s dynamite in bed but I guess apart from the physical and
intense sexual attraction, he’s just…Ollie. My friend and the guy I
goofed around with at orientation day.”

She smiled and shrugged at me. “So
basically he pushes all your buttons and gets your motor running.
But you don’t think he could drive the car?”

Laughing hard at her analogy of my
sexual attraction to Ollie I shook my head at her. “Oh Amy, that’s
exactly how I feel. He’s a great guy but I need excitement, fire
and passion. Ollie’s like the guy next door and in this case he
actually is the guy next door. He’s the guy you take home to your
parents but I want the guy who’s so bad, he’s great.”

Images of Jared flashed before my
eyes. Fire? Check. Hot? Scorching hot! Passionate? He was certainly
holding his own so far and as for excitement, considering the way
my body reacted every time he was near me, I’d say he was very
exciting.

I glanced at Amy who was
watching me with curiosity as I sat in silence drooling over my
coffee shop antagonist. I hadn’t told her about Jared’s message at
the restaurant. And I was too embarrassed to admit that I’d risen
to it and texted
 
back. I was just contemplating telling her when, as if on
cue, my cell buzzed in my front pocket. She eyed me curiously as
she rose from the bed and walked into the bathroom. I shrugged at
her and pulled the phone out. There was a message from Jared. I
glanced over at the bathroom but the sound of the shower could be
heard even from the bedroom, so I gingerly read the
text.

Well I must say I was a little
shocked to receive your message last night. I was just getting home
when I got it. What were you doing up so late? Partying I suppose?
I appreciated the thought anyway. However, pray tell, what have I
said to deserve such comment? I was simply being honest. I never
intended to upset you in any way. Forgive me?

Received: 17.11

From: The Asshole

Forgive him? A small smile had
begun to form on my lips and a shiver of anticipation rushed
through me as I frantically typed my reply.

First of all I was at home, in
bed. Sorry to disappoint but I’m not much of a party girl. My
comments may have appeared harsh but I was a little irritated at
your previous message. $275 is a lot of money for a girl on a part
time salary with college supplies to purchase. Food is a must and I
really cannot go without my copy of Cosmo every month. I am willing
to forgive and start a fresh if you are willing to admit you were
an ass.