First (A Crescent Chronicles Novella) (5 page)

She shivered, and I loved that I had that effect on her. “Not a chance.”

She stormed off inside. I gave her a few seconds head start before following her. She didn’t notice. Instead, she got distracted by the music. I watched her body move to the beat, completely oblivious to anyone or anything around her. My body rebelled at the thought of her so unprotected. Where was this coming from? She was just a girl.

I ordered her another Oasis and waited until I saw her set aside her empty glass at the bar before approaching again. I leaned against the bar, waiting for her to notice. “I told you you’d like it here.”

She turned to look up at me. “I admit it’s pretty cool. Who is this, by the way?”

“Oh, it’s the Rebirth Brass Band. Heard of them?”

“I don’t think so, but that isn’t surprising. I’m not exactly up on the New Orleans music scene. Anyway, what was that all about back there?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why do people act like you walk on water or something?”

“How do you know I don’t?” I handed her the drink. She accepted it with a nod and took a long slow sip. My eyes went to her lips, so ready to know what they felt like. I was tired of waiting.

“Don’t what?”

“Walk on water.”

“Wow, you are even cockier than I thought.”

I laughed. She really said what was on her mind.

“All right, I can’t walk on water, but I can do other things very, very well.” And I was ready to show her exactly what I meant.

“Oh yeah?” She licked her lip, and I knew she was thinking the same thoughts as me.

“Let me show you.” I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers gently, just long enough for her to think I wasn’t going to take it further. Without warning, I picked it up, crushing my lips into hers. She responded, and I wrapped her up in my arms, devouring the sweet taste of her mouth as her hands twisted in my hair. Every inch of me was on fire, begging for more. There was something special about her, and one kiss was definitely not going to be enough.

I heard someone clear their throat, bringing me back to where we were. I reluctantly broke the kiss. “Still going to pretend you aren’t interested, Allison?”

She gazed up at me with this dazed expression. I laughed. “I told you to call me Allie.”

“You said everyone calls you Allie. I’m not everyone.” She wasn’t going to be able to keep me at bay. Any chance of staying away from me was over the second my lips touched hers.

“Are you always this frustrating?”

“Depends on who you ask.”

She groaned before setting aside her partially full glass. I followed her back out onto the patio. I was still on a high from the kiss and just trying to come up with the best way to ask her home. She wanted to, but I had the feeling she was still going to resist.

I sat watching her for hours. She seemed so comfortable hanging out with my friends, and she especially seemed to be hitting it off with Hailey. I liked that. Why? Why did I care if a girl I slept with was friends with my roommate’s little sister?
Because I wanted her to stick around
. The thought hit me like a strike of lightning. Forget a few nights, I wanted this girl longer.

I zoned out most of their conversation, trying to keep my mind off the kiss and the growing bulge in my pants, by discussing college sports with Jared. Eventually, I got pulled back into their conversation. Somehow the topic of action movies had come up.

“Okay, so who would win in a fight, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Stephen Segal, Bruce Lee, or Jackie Chan?” Owen asked.

“Easy, Jean-Claude. I mean he’s hot and bad ass. Can you get any better?” Allie answered animatedly.
   

“Wait, so I’m not the only 18-year-old Jean-Claude fan? Nice!” Hailey gave her a high five.

“That’s who you find hot?” I smirked. “But anyway, Owen, you left out Chuck Norris.”

“Please, no. Someone stop Levi from starting in on Chuck Norris. There are only so many of those jokes I can take.” Hailey hit the table with her hand and spilled several of the drinks. For some reason, the girls thought this was funny, and they started cracking up. Allie had a great smile and an even better laugh.

“Wow, is it really 2:30?” She squinted at the face of her watch. She blinked a few times before pulling out a small bottle from her purse and putting in some eye drops. She must have had contacts. I couldn’t relate. I had perfect vision.

“Did you guys drive?” Hailey asked.

“No, we took the streetcar.” Allie yawned.

“Why don’t you guys come back to our place? It’s really late anyhow,” Jared suggested.

“That sounds like a great idea.” Jess ran her hand down Jared’s leg.

Allie didn’t hide her distaste at the idea. I tried not to let that irk me. “I’m sure it does, Jess.”

“I’d have to agree.” I smiled.
 
She had to be messing with me. There was no way she wanted to go home.
 

“I’d invite you guys to crash at my house, but my parents will flip if they see that I’ve been drinking. I’m going to stay over at their place anyway,” Hailey explained.

“You still live at home?” Allie seemed surprised.

“Yeah. I just graduated from high school.”

“Oh, duh. You said you were eighteen. Okay, I’ll stay at their place then.” For some reason, knowing that Hailey was coming made the prospect more appealing to Allie. I’d have to remember to thank Hailey later.

Chapter Six

“I knew I’d be taking you home tonight,” I whispered as we walked toward our house. The night was warm, even at the late hour. There was no escaping the heat during the summer in New Orleans. Lucky for me, my body easily adjusted to any temperature. Unfortunately, that self-regulation didn’t apply to the effect Allie had on me. One touch from her had me burning up.

 
She continued to play hard to get and shrugged my arm off her shoulder. I laughed. Now that I had the physical evidence of her interest, I wasn’t as worried. That kiss had spoken volumes. She wanted me, and she wanted me bad.

I unlocked the front door, ushering Allie in before following closely behind her. She gazed around our living room as Jared led a giggling Jess down the hall to his room. Allie made a face when she noticed it out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t try to stop her friend, but I sensed she wanted to. My guess is she was used to Jess’ behavior. The girl wasn’t drunk. Jared wasn’t a complete asshole. We both had the same rule when it came to women. If they weren’t sober enough to completely consent, then we let them go. There were plenty of girls to go around. Except I didn’t feel that way that night. I didn’t want anyone but Allie.
  

Allie seemed uptight. She took a seat on one of the leather couches, keeping her legs pressed firmly together. I wondered if the position was intentional, or if it was her subconscious attempt at resisting me. I sat down right next to her. I needed to put her at ease. She seemed most comfortable when I hit on her. I decided to go with it.

She blinked and yawned silently.

“You are more than welcome to sleep in my bed.” I put my feet up on the circular ottoman.

“As tempting as that offer is, I’ll take my chances out here.” She took off her flip flops and curled her legs up on the couch under her. I fought the urge to pull her legs onto my lap. I’d have given her a foot rub if she’d wanted one. I’m definitely not a foot guy, but every part of Allie seemed worth exploring.

“Wow, Levi, you’ve never offered to let me take your bed before.” Hailey feigned hurt.

“And I’ll never offer you my bed. If you don’t want to sleep on the couch, talk to your brother, or better yet, go home.”

“Aww, you are always so sweet to me.”

Allie laughed. My plan was working. She was relaxing. Owen took a seat on the couch across from us, and Hailey entertained Allie with stories of how much trouble we used to get into as kids. Before long, Allie’s head slumped down on my shoulder.

Owen nodded to where she rested. “Looks like we bored her to death.”

“Nah, she’s just tired. Humans need more sleep than us.” Hailey stretched.

“Are you going to wake her up?” Owen asked.

“No. I’ll let her sleep.” I ran a hand down her arm. She was so sweet all curled up that way against me. “Get me the extra quilt in my closet and you can take my room tonight, Hailey.”

She stood up. “Where are you going to sleep?”
 

“Right here.”

Owen laughed. “You’ve got it bad.”

“She’s comfortable, and besides, I don’t want her to wake up confused about where she is.”

“Sure. Tell yourself whatever it takes.” Owen started toward his room. “Night, guys.”

Hailey tossed the quilt down on the ottoman. “Be good, Levi. I like her.”

“Yeah, so do I. Considering I’m giving up my room, I wouldn’t worry.”

“That’s what worries me…”

I laughed. “Get out of here.”

As Hailey disappeared down the hall, I kicked off my shoes and repositioned us so we were lying down together. I gave her body a long look before covering us both up with the quilt.

I cuddled her in my arms, trying to tune out the sounds of Jared and Jess down the hall. Normally, I’d be jealous he was getting some when I wasn’t, but I wouldn’t have traded places for anything. I’d never just lay down with a girl like that before, but I liked it. Her breathing was even, and the pattern of it relaxed me. I closed my eyes, leaning back into a throw pillow. I thought about our kiss, the taste of her, and how perfectly her body felt pressed against mine. The thought started to get me hard in the wrong place, so I tried to push it out of my head. There was no reason to get excited. Tonight wasn’t the night, but it would happen.

Another image flashed through my mind. Another night, a fireplace and a skylight open to the stars. I forced my eyes open. I couldn’t go there. That was a thought that could only hurt me. Still, there was something about this girl that got to me, and I knew it wasn’t just about sex. If it was, I wouldn’t have been so satisfied just holding her. I stayed awake for hours listening to her breathe.
 
I relaxed completely, and I felt strangely comfortable considering the cramped space. Finally, my body protested to the late hour, and I kissed her cheek before drifting off to sleep.

***

My body was stiff, but I’d never woken up in such a good mood before. Allie was snuggled up flush against me, and her hair and hands were sprawled across my chest. I imagined how much better the morning would be if we weren’t wearing clothes, but somehow I was okay with the current situation.

She stirred, quietly at first, before doing this adorable stretch with her arms. She seemed to notice the cramped space and opened her eyes.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

She clutched the blanket against her. “Oh god.”

“Sleep well?”

She blinked a few times and looked around. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re in my apartment, or did you forget?” I liked saying that.

“I mean why are you sleeping on the couch with me? Why aren’t you in your room?”

“Oh, I gave my bed to Hailey.”

“But I thought you’d never…”

“I was just messing with her. Besides, I thought we could use the privacy.” I couldn’t resist egging her on.

“Was I really so zonked out I missed all of this?”

“You fell asleep in the middle of a conversation and were leaning against me. You looked too comfortable to disturb, so I just moved us a bit.” I left out asking Hailey for a blanket. She didn’t need to know I’d actually put thought into the arrangement.

“I see. Well, at least we’re on the couch and not your bed.”

“Don’t sound so relieved about it.” I tried to sound playful, but would it have been so bad if we’d spent the night in my room?

“Hmm, yeah, because it would have felt great to wake up in bed with a guy I don’t know.”

“You do know me, Allison.” Her name felt like velvet on my tongue. I knew she didn’t like it, but I liked the way it riled her up. Besides, I was serious about not calling her what everyone else did.

“That again?” She shifted around. I knew she was trying to get up, but I wasn’t quite ready to let go yet.

“You are really cute when you get angry.”

“Just shut up and let go of me so I can get the heck out of here.”

“Wow, calm down. Aren’t you going to let me make you breakfast? It’s the least I can do for the girl I just spent the night with.”

“I did not spend the night with you. We were on the couch.” She blinked again. I’d have to make sure she brought a case for her contacts next time she spent the night at my place. The next time. That thought got me excited.

“You spent the night in my arms, sweetheart. Sex or no sex, you can’t argue that.”

She groaned just as Owen walked into the room. He always had impeccable timing. I moved my arm so Allie could sit up. She smoothed out her dress and stood.
 

“Good morning. Did you enjoy the wonderful accommodations of our living room?”

“Where’s Jess? Please tell me she’s here somewhere.” Allie’s voice was a mix of worry and embarrassment. She didn’t need to feel either. Jared wouldn’t have hurt Jess, and she’d slept with me on the couch. What was embarrassing about that?
 

“She’s in with Jared,” Owen and I answered at the same time.

“Um, could one of you please get her for me?” She picked up her purse off the ground and put back on her flip-flops. Was she really just going to leave like that?

I couldn’t get upset about it. I had no reason to. I’d just take her out again and end the night in my bed next time. But maybe I could stall her awhile longer. “There’s no way I’m taking the chance of seeing Jared naked.” I stretched in an exaggerated way to let her know I wasn’t in any hurry.
 

She scrunched up her face. “Gross. Fine. Which room is his?”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. We have to be at work in like twenty minutes.”

Again about work? Maybe her dad was as much of a hard ass as mine. Even so, I still had to try to get her to stay awhile. “Well, if you are already going to be late, you might as well stay for breakfast.”

“Which room is his?” She repeated.

Owen pointed and she marched down the hall. A few minutes later, she opened the front door with Jess chasing after her. She was busy fidgeting with her sandals as Allie stepped outside. “You could have at least let me get dressed!”

Allie didn’t respond. She only threw her an annoyed look. Even her annoyed look was cute. I was losing it.

“Thanks for an amazing night, Allison!” I laughed, enjoying her reaction to everything. She was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. And the hottest.

The girls were still arguing as they stepped into a cab.
 

Jared walked out of his room in just a pair of pajama pants. “Lovely morning, isn’t it?”

I ignored him and started to make a pot of coffee.

“What’s gotten into him?” Jared hopped up on the island counter.

“He spent the night on the couch.” Owen took a bite out of an apple.

“Wait? You gave up your room to the girl and didn’t join her?” The huge smirk on Jared’s face said it all.

“No. He spent the night on the couch with her.”

“With clothes on?” Jared raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.” I was tired of letting Owen answer for me.

Jared cracked up. “Seriously? You slept with the girl on the couch?”

“Her name’s Allie.” I may have called her Allison to her face, but I didn’t want Jared calling her that too.