Romance: Close Encounters Boxed Set Books 1 thru 6 ( New Adult and College Series Books 1 thru 6) (17 page)

NINE

~CLARISSA~

It’s good to be home, there’s no place like home. I can get my laundry done and enjoy some of my Mom’s home cooking.

Summer comes over bright and early on Saturday and we head over to Fashion Island and go to our favorite haunt, Pain du Monde. Once we get our coffee and the most delicious pastries we find a table for two by the window.

“So what’s the latest with you?” Summer asks.

“Please don’t judge me. I have done something out of character for me and I hope I won’t have to pay the price for it,” I say ,spreading my hands out on the table.

“God, what is it?” Summer asks.

“I slept with my English Professor,” I cry out and cover my eyes.

“Clarissa, NO WAY!” Summer practically screams, her eyes wide with surprise.

“He’s unbelievably hot, all the girls in the class swoon over the guy,” I say as if that makes it alright.

“Was it just a one-time thing?” she asks, still in shock.

“Well, I went over to his place assuming it would be a one-time thing, but it turned into more.”

“Wow, he risked his position at the University for you. Do you know how much trouble he could get in if the school found out?” Summer says as if in awe.

“Yes, I’m aware. All the more reason I had to break it off, as hard as it is to do.”

“How old is he?”

“Twenty-seven.”

“Hmm, not that old. How was he by the way?” Summer asks, with a wicked smile and a raise of her eyebrows.

“Incredible!” I squeal softly, placing my hand on my heart.

“I’m so jealous,” Summer says, sitting back in her chair.

“Don’t be, it’s so painful ending it. He actually is a very caring and special guy. If I was older and out of school I would be all in with him. The timing just wasn’t good, you know? I just don’t want to be tied down and I was feeling like his dirty little secret. We couldn’t really go out together unless he took me up to Montecito for the weekend.”

“Wait a minute, he was taking you on weekends away to Montecito?”

“Yes, his family has a home there.”

“Why am I having trouble feeling sorry for you?”

“I know, I know. It gets worse or better, depending on how you look at it. You’re going to hate me, the other girls seem to,” I pause before telling Summer.

“What now?”

“Another reason I broke it off is because I like some other guy who has been pursuing me.”

“Who is it, does he go to USC?”

“Yes, his name is Jason Bancroft. His family owns Bancroft Publishing. The book and magazine publication house, we read their stuff.”

“You’re right, I do hate you,” Summer says with a smile.

“He wants to take me out to dinner tonight.”

“You’re going right?”

“I guess so.”

“Why on earth would you hesitate?”

“I still feel bad about Grant, Professor Montgomery,” I say wistfully.

“Go girl and put Grant behind you. Sounds like you have bigger fish to fry,” Summer tries to convince me.

“I agreed to go, but I think I will meet him someplace. I don’t feel like having my parents meet him and having them get all excited about it.”

“Suit yourself, I understand that. Meet him someplace for dinner.”

“Let me text him now.”

Clarissa: Where do you want to meet up for dinner?

Jason: Can I come pick you up?

Clarissa: No I will meet you, you name the place.

Jason: Modo Mio in the Crystal Cove shopping center.

Clarissa: Sounds good, what time?

Jason: How does 6:00 sound?

Clarissa: Perfect, see you then.

“Let’s go shopping!” I say.
 

TEN

~JASON~

I’m not sure what’s up with Clarissa, but I think she may have broken things off with her mystery man. I suspected as much when she said she would be coming home this weekend rather than spending it with him. I really was planning to come down to Orange County this weekend anyway and now I have an excuse. I’m happy she agreed to have dinner with me tonight and I’m hoping to get her to come over to my place afterwards. I don’t really get why I can’t go and pick her up. I’ve never had to pursue a girl this hard, but she has gotten under my skin and I must have her. I’m wearing down her defenses; a girl can only resist my charms for so long.

I pull up in front of the restaurant at the appointed hour and she’s not here yet so I get out of my car to wait out front for her. I see her pull up in her red BMW and the first thing I see are her shapely legs as she gets out of her car. She’s looks enticing as she walks towards me in a short orange dress that clings to her body in all the right places. Her long wavy brown hair bounces off her shoulders and drapes across one side of her gorgeous face. She sweeps the hair out of her eyes sexily before she greets me with a smile that sends warmth through my body. Man, I have it bad for this girl.

“Hi there gorgeous,” I say, greeting her with a hug.

“Hi yourself,” she says back, welcoming my embrace. I open the door and let her walk in first and I get to check out her curves in her snug fitting dress. She smells good too. The hostess seats us by the window and hands us our menus.

“Have you been here before?” I ask as we peruse the menus.

“Yes, once before, it’s good,” she chirps.

“It’s one of my favorite places around here for Italian food.” After we order and get our drinks I stare across the table at Clarissa, she really is a beauty and she always dresses sexy and stylish, yet classy.

“You look great by the way,” I compliment her.

“Thank you,” she says, smiling across the table at me.

“Did you break it off with him?” I ask directly and to the point.

“You’re not wasting any time are you?” she laughs and then squints at me accusingly.

“Do you really blame me? I’ve been waiting awhile.”

“The answer to your question is yes. Yes, I did,” she says a little reluctantly. I can tell by the change in her demeanor that it was probably hard for her to do.

“Was it because of what I said the other day at lunch?”

“Partly,” she smiles shyly at me.

“Why didn’t you want me picking you up at your house?”

“You know why, because then I would have to explain to my parents who you were and I would have to answer twenty questions. I didn’t want them getting all excited.”  Most girls would love to take me home to meet their parents, hey I know I’m a catch. But not Clarissa, she’s so different from any girl I’ve known, in a good way. It actually makes me like her even more than I already do.

“Ok, whatever. I’m just glad you agreed to have dinner with me. Isn’t it nice getting together away from school,” I say as I reach across the table to rub her hand.

“Yes, this is nice,” she says but I can sense her hesitancy.

Over dinner we talk, laugh and flirt and the awkwardness we had at the beginning of the date vanishes. I still remember how sexy and flirtatious she was the night of the concert and I want to get that Clarissa back here with me tonight.

After I pay the bill, I gaze across the table at her. She looks extra pretty tonight surrounded by the soft lighting of the dimly lit restaurant.

“Come over,” I say as more of a command than a question.

“Jason, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she says demurely.

“Let’s go,” I say after I settle the bill. I take her hand and lead her out of the restaurant to the passenger side of my car, which is parked right out front.

“Come over, we’ll watch a movie. The night’s still young, it’s only 8:00,” I say unlocking her door.

“Jason,” she says with a small smile while tilting her head to the side. I swing the door open and make a sweeping gesture with my hand to get in.

“You sure make it hard to say no,” she says, smiling as she climbs into my car and I almost catch a look up her short skirt.

Our Emerald Bay house is just a couple of miles from the restaurant. I park out in front of our house and we walk in through the front door.

“Very nice,” Clarissa says, looking around as we walk into the main room.

“Can I get you a glass of wine or a beer?” I ask, trying to be a good host.

“Some wine sounds good,” she replies as we walk into the kitchen. I pour us both a glass and walk over to the sofa in the main room.

“Come over here and sit down, I’ll start a movie,” I say, coaxing her over to me. I can sense her apprehension. Hopefully this wine will help her relax. She does take a wine glass and has a sip as she sits down on the leather sofa.

“Clarissa, relax, it’s just me,” I say when I sit down next to her and rub her thigh. I want to be rubbing more than just her thigh.

“Jason, you’re looking at me like I’m your next meal,” she laughs.

“Am I that obvious,” I say, wrapping my arm around her and going for a kiss which seems to quiet her down from her laughing. It’s a deep and passionate kiss that I take from her and I can feel her slowly surrender into it. My god, I want her so bad, I’m rock hard already. I start pressing her back into the sofa and my hand starts to roam her body. First, I start down her thigh and skim up higher and higher until I reach her breast. I skim it lightly with my thumb to make sure I don’t get any objections from her. With no objections from her I cup her breast firmly in my hand and can feel her nipple harden. The heat between us is causing our breath to pick up and she lets out a soft moan into our kiss. I ease the straps down on her dress to reveal her full and supple breasts with their peaked nipples, I just got even harder at the delicious sight of her. I lightly kiss one and then take her nipple gently into my mouth and roll my tongue over it. She tastes so sweet and smells so good. With my free hand I start going up her skirt and I reach back and cup her beautiful ass in my hand as I press my rigid shaft against her. I want her to know what she does to me. I want her to touch me.

“Clarissa, I want you,” I growl as I kiss her neck. I’m completely on top of her now, covering her like a blanket with every inch of my hard body. I want her naked beneath me.

“Jason,” I hear her pant as she wraps one of her legs around me and grinds her sweet spot against my manhood, teasing me. That’s all the encouragement I need and my fingers go searching and they slip into her panties and slide across her slick fold. Damn, she’s wet, her body wants me. She bucks into my hand and arches into me.

“You’re so wet for me babe,” I whisper and she starts to writhe beneath me as my fingers work their magic. She is lets out a sexy whimper of pleasure that is music to my ears.

“Jason, we have to stop,” she pants out softly, I can tell she fighting her desire for me.

“Why? Your body is saying yes,” I whisper into her ear while nipping at her ear lobe. How I want to slide into her. I’m dying here.

“Jason, please,” she murmurs as she breaks away from our kiss and presses her hands on my chest. I pull off her and tug my shirt over my head. Maybe seeing my six-pack abs will make her lose control. Her eyes scan my chest and roam down to my abs and I can see the desire spread across her face. Works every time.

“Let’s go to the bedroom,” I say, looking lustfully down at her flushed face and her pert nipples begging for my touch. She pulls up the straps on her dress as she tries to sit up. Her hair is sexily disheveled.

“Clarissa, don’t fight this anymore. I know you want me,” I say, caressing her cheek with my hand as I stroke her lip with the pad of my thumb.

“You better take me back to my car,” she says.

“Why?”

“I’m not sleeping with you tonight Jason,” she says firmly. I should’ve known she’d stop this. I ease off her knowing I’ve lost tonight.

As I’m kissing her goodnight outside her car, I decide now is a good time to ask her to my formal.

“Will you go with me to our Winter Formal?”

“Yes, that sounds like fun. When is it?”

“It’s in a couple of weeks at the Bel Air Hotel. I booked a bungalow for the night to have a pre-party and an after party, Bancroft style,” I tell her my plans for the extravagant weekend.

“Wow, sounds like over the top fun.”

“Goodnight then,” I say, kissing her again.

“Goodnight, thank you for dinner. I had a nice time tonight,” she says.

“Me too,” I reply as I watch her sexy self get in her car and tuck her long beautiful legs in. I watch her drive off and shake my head, knowing I have it bad for this girl.

ELEVEN

~CLARISSA~

I’ve managed to put off Jason’s advances up until now, but I think tonight will be the night. He and Troy are picking Lexi and I up soon. Then we will head over to the Bel Air Hotel. Evidently, Jason got an amazing bungalow and we’re going to enjoy the pool this afternoon before we have to start getting ready for the formal.

Troy and Lexi seem to be pretty steady and I can tell by how attentive he is to her that he really likes her and the feeling is mutual judging by the permanent smile on Lexi’s adorable face. We have to schlep our dresses and everything to the hotel, luckily the guys can help us get all of our things into our bungalow.

The Bel Air Hotel is nestled in the wooded hills north of Beverly Hills. It’s in a very exclusive neighborhood. Jason pulls up to our bungalow and when we walk in, it steals my breath away. It’s beautifully decorated and has a very open an airy luxurious resort feel to it.

“Can you say lifestyle of the rich and famous?” I whisper to Lexi and we giggle in awe of the place. She and I both come from humble backgrounds compared to this.

“Jason, this place is amazing, I love it,” I exclaim, walking out to the patio, which has its own spa. He wraps his arms around me from behind nuzzling into the back of my neck.

“I’m glad you like it. It’s pretty cool here,” he says casually. “Let’s go change into our swimsuits.” He takes my hand in his and leads me to one of the bedrooms and closes the door.

“I already have my suit on,” I say, stripping off my dress. He lays the most passionate kiss on my lips as we fall into the bed. His hands immediately go to my breasts in my teeny bikini, which barely covers them. He slides the triangle shaped fabric covering my breast over and starts languishing my nipples with his tongue. He’s heating me up and I don’t know if we’re going to make it to the pool. He’s pressing his rigid manhood into me as I wrap my legs around his and grind against him and it feels deliciously naughty.

“Hey you guys, we’re heading to the pool. Come on,” Troy say,s knocking on our door.

“Damn Troy,” Jason cusses under his breath. “Come on we better go. I will have my way with you later.”

“Is that a promise Mr. Bancroft?” I ask sultrily as he takes one last naughty lick of my nipples that leaves me wanting more.

“Most definitely,” Jason says, licking his lips. I stand up and right my swimsuit top as he grabs my ass.

“You look amazing in your white barely there bikini.”

“Thank you, I’m glad you like it.”

After we spend an hour at the pool working on our tans, Lexi and I decide we want to go back to the room and take our time getting ready together in one of the bedrooms so we kick Troy out. I know if I get ready with Jason in the room he will have me naked and underneath him, begging for mercy. I let Lexi get in the shower first and I lie down on the bed and check my phone.

Grant: Will you come over tomorrow?

I’m stunned by this text, it shakes me up, and makes my heart sink into my stomach. Do I respond?

“Shower is all yours. What’s wrong?” Lexi says, walking into the bedroom in a plush white terry cloth bathrobe and her hair wrapped up in a towel. She must be able to read the look on my face.

“My secret lover just texted me,” I whisper.

“What did he say?”

“He wants to see me. I don’t even know if I should respond or not,” I sigh.

“Maybe you better, otherwise he may keep texting you,” Lexi reasons.

“You’re probably right.”

Clarissa: Grant I can’t.

Grant: Where are you? I don’t care what you do during the week, save Sundays for me.

Clarissa: Grant please don’t text me anymore.

I type the last text with a heavy heart and toss my phone on the bed.

“I’m getting in the shower,” I tell Lexi and walk into the bathroom.

After we have both showered, we start working on each other’s hair and make-up. We’ve got Maroon 5 blaring and we’re having our own little pre-party.

“Hey, are you girls ready yet?” I hear Jason call out from the other side of the door.

“Almost….” I answer. I have on a red Herve Leger Bandage Mermaid floor length dress, strapless and fitted down to the lightly flared out trumpet skirt. Lexi has on a beautiful purple long sheath dress with a slit up to there. We both admire ourselves one last time in the floor length mirror.

“We look smoking hot if I do say so myself,” I laugh.

“We are sizzling,” Lexi says and we both burst out laughing. We walk out of the bedroom. Jason and Troy are at the bar getting it set up for our guests who are due to arrive soon. I walk up behind Jason and wrap my arms around my hunky man. He turns around and steps back to look at me, and lets out a long whistle like they do in the movies.

“You look damn sexy in that dress, I can’t wait to get you out of it.”

“Jason,” I whisper, a little embarrassed because Troy and Lexi heard him. I hear Troy admiring Lexi too. They’re so cute together, they make a nice looking couple.

There’s a knock at the door and room service is here with all of the food for the pre-party. Jason invited three or four other couples over. Nicole is coming to the Winter Formal tonight with some other guy in their frat and I told Jason I didn’t want her coming to the bungalow. Talk about ruining my evening if she showed up here. It’s bad enough that she’ll be at the formal.

The other couples arrive one by one and the party gets started with eating and some drinking. Jason knows how to throw a party and is a gracious host, which must come from his silver spoon upbringing. He exudes confidence, charm and has a great sense of humor. He can be a gentleman when he wants to be. He works the room, but is still very attentive to me. I watch him across the room talking and laughing with his friends and I feel pretty lucky to have someone like Jason interested in me. I see a few of the other girls checking him out and then they look at me. They’re probably wondering, what’s she got that I don’t? Well, that would be Jason Bancroft I laugh at myself.

“Hi, are you having a good time?” Lexi asks, coming up to me.

“Oh yes, isn’t this bungalow totally cool, it’s so luxurious.”

“I know, I’ve never stayed someplace this nice.”

“This place screams the Bancroft lifestyle of the rich and famous, it’s a little overwhelming,” I admit.

“How do you do it, do you ever find it intimidating?”

“No. Jason usually doesn’t flaunt it,” I say, shrugging my shoulders.

“I try not to let material things impress me. It’s what’s in here that counts,” I say placing my hand on my heart. “It’s his personality that won me over. I know he can come across a little cocky at times, but once I got to know him, he can be so irresistibly charming. He has a sensitive and caring side to him, believe it or not.”

“He’s so crazy about you Clarissa, I see the way he looks at you,” Lexi goes on.

“Go figure. I can say the same thing about your man Troy over there,” I point out.

“I know, I love being with him,” Lexi gushes.

“You guys are so cute together,” I say just as both the guys come up to us to tell us we’re heading to the ballroom for the formal now.

“You ready to go babe?” Jason asks, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me into him.

“Yes, just let me grab my purse,” I say, giving him a peck on the lips before I head to our room to find my clutch and touch up my lipstick. I don’t see my phone in my purse and go hunting for it. Lexi comes into my room with my phone in her hand.

“You left this on the bed in the other room. You better keep it close to you. I see another text message flashed on the screen, from your secret lover no doubt,” she cautions.

“You’re kidding me,” I say, taking the phone from her and see that she’s right.

“You ready, let’s go,” Jason says, peeking his head in our room. I quickly stash my phone away and I don’t have time to read the text.

The ballroom at the Bel Air Hotel is decorated like a Winter Wonderland. It’s just magical. Strings of lights sparkle and light up the dimly lit room. The tables are draped in white floor length tablecloths that shimmer silver and gold. Of course, there’s a free flowing open bar for those over twenty-one, but no one is really checking ID’s tonight. Then I spot her, my nemesis Nicole and she has the nerve to stare daggers at me. Hey girl, you lost, face it. You never had him to begin with, not that I was ever competing with her for Jason’s affection. He sees me looking at her.

“Come on, let’s dance,” he says, pulling me towards the dance floor. He knows dancing makes me happy. It’s a slow song and he pulls me in tight and holds me close to his body. My breasts are pressing firmly against him and his hand roams to rest on my ass and he presses his growing arousal against my belly.

“Can you feel what you do to me? You look so sexy tonight,” he says into my ear and it turns me on, I want him.

“Yes I can feel you and thank you for the compliment,” I say as a mischievous smile spreads across my face. I want to reach down and take his arousal in my hand and since he still has his tux jacket on I think I can get away with it. Do I dare?

“What are you doing?” he says a little startled at the contact.

“What does it feel like I’m doing?”

“You’re killing me, stop it. Or else I may just have to take you back to the bungalow right now,” Jason says.

“Promises, promises,” I taunt as I squeeze him a few more times. He pulls back so I have to look him in the eyes and his are clouded with pure lust.

“Let’s go,” he says, taking my hand and leading me off the dance floor and out of the ball room. I don’t protest and go along willingly, I know we’re headed back to the bungalow. Neither of us can wait another minute longer. We have someone drive us back the short distance to the bungalow. Once in the door, he grabs me and buries his face in my cleavage and breaths me in.