“You’re not here.”
“Yeah… that is a problem.” I missed the way his fingers felt running up and down my body.
“How was your day? What did you learn?”
“I got so intense in a discussion today that I got kept after class.” I picked up the giant teddy bear from my friends. I’d put it on my dresser but one of them had moved it back onto my bed.
“Oh yeah? What topic?”
“I don’t want to bore you.”
“If it was exciting enough to get you worked up, it won’t bore me.”
“The representation of women in southern lit. This kid pretty much told me my opinion didn’t count because I was in a sorority. I made my point loud and clear.”
“Good for you. I love that you’re willing to speak your mind like that. I was always pretty quiet in class.”
“Where did you go?” That topic had never come up.
“Emory.”
“So you were down south for a while?”
“Yup. I left New York for a little while.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Could you do me a favor?” His voice wavered a little, as though he were nervous.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe? After last night you’re going to give me a maybe?”
“I like to play it safe. I’m not promising something I can’t stick to.”
“Send me a picture of you.”
“A picture?” I sat up a little. Why would he need that?
“Email or text me one, please.”
“I don’t even have your email.”
“It’s Chaseforever55 at zmail.”
“Chase forever?” I laughed.
“I made it ages ago.”
“Fair enough.” I stifled a yawn. It had been a long day. “What kind of picture?”
“Preferably a dirty one, but you know.”
“Chase.”
“Yeah, I had to ask. Just a picture. Of you. Think you can do that for me?”
“That depends.”
“On?” Why was his voice so sexy when he asked questions? It wasn’t fair.
“Whether you’ll send one to me too.”
“You want my picture?”
“I need to prove to my friends that you’re real.”
He laughed. “Jade didn’t tell them?”
“Okay, you got me there. I just want one.”
“So, you can stare at it longingly when you go to sleep?”
“When I go to sleep, when I get up in the morning, before class, after class, pretty much all the time.”
He laughed again. “I’ll send you any picture you want.”
“Make it shirtless.” I bit my lip. What was I saying?
“If you’re getting shirtless, I’m getting a bikini shot.”
“What makes you think I have a picture of me in a bikini?”
“You’re a nineteen-year-old girl with a rocking body. You have bikini shots.”
“Deal. Send me a shirtless shot and you’ve got a bikini one.”
“Promise?”
“Yes, and I’m good about promises.” I set aside the bear.
“I trust you.” He sighed. “And I want you.”
“Join the club.”
“When do you usually go to bed?”
“Around eleven, why?”
“Just wondering how late I can call you.”
“When you get home from your shenanigans at two a.m., I’ll be asleep.”
“Shenanigans? If you mean hanging out with my band, then sure.”
“I already told you not to worry about sugar coating things. I can handle it. I know we’re not officially together.”
“Whoa. Who said anything about that?”
“Uh, it’s an assumption.”
“Then let’s just get this out there. The thought of another guy touching you makes me sick.”
“Makes you sick?” I pulled my knees up to my chest.
“Yes. And I’m not sleeping with anyone else either. I think we can both handle waiting a few weeks. I know I can, especially if you send me that picture. And if you don’t send it, I’ll just be miserable. It doesn’t mean I’m looking for something else because face it, Cara, where else am I going to find someone like you?”
His words got me. There was real emotion behind them. Emotion I wasn’t used to having addressed toward me. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe he was just really good at making a girl believe she was special. I decided to return it with humor. “You mean a girl with perfect tits who fucks and runs?”
He chuckled. “You don’t fuck and run with me anymore, and yes you have perfect tits. So, are we on the same page now? No one’s sleeping with anyone else of the opposite gender. You want to get close to your sorority sisters… who am I to stop you?”
“Chase!”
“Sorry, couldn’t resist. But is that a deal?”
“Yes, but then full disclosure time.”
“Oh dear. Please, I haven’t even been gone twelve hours.”
“Chase, don’t even go there. I told a friend I’d go to a date party with him so he didn’t have to face an ex alone. I didn’t think you’d care what I did.”
“That was nice of you. I do care, and I’ll be jealous, but end up in your own bed that night and we’re good. What night is it anyway?”
“Next Saturday.”
“Lucky guy.”
“No complaining. You got lucky three times last night.”
“I did, didn’t I? Can we make it four the first night I’m back?”
“At least four.”
“Damn, you’re going to kill me. How the hell am I supposed to go to a show with a tent in my pants?”
“Hold on one second.” I opened my laptop and found the picture I was looking for. I was wearing my favorite bright pink bikini. I sent a quick email over to him. “Check your email.”
“Dear lord.”
“Yeah… so where’s my picture?”
“It’s there.”
I refreshed my email. I grinned when I opened the picture of him sitting shirtless while playing the guitar. He had the same intense yet content expression on his face that he’d had when he played for me the night before. “That’s acceptable.”
“Acceptable? Next time I’ll send you one with no pants on.”
“Yeah… that’s probably going to get flagged by the school filter.”