Waiting for Love ((Waiting) Book 2) (13 page)

"Why don't you come home with me? My family loves you and my brothers won't hassle you. They would never dream of pissing off Beacon University's quarterback." I roll my eyes at him. Jeff smiles at me before sucking his lower lip into his mouth, while he thinks about my offer.

"Are you being serious or are you just trying to be nice?" He questions.

"Jeff, do you really need to ask me that? You of all people know that I don't do or say things just to be nice. I want you to come with me, but you need to understand that we’re going as friends only. This isn't going to change where we stand with each other. There’ll be no late night rendezvous going on. You’ll be in one room and I’ll be in mine." I study his face, looking for any sign of disappointment, but I can't detect any.

"No problem Shelb. It sounds like a great time. When do we leave?"

***

     It's the night before Thanksgiving and Jeff and I have been at my family's house for four days now. We've had a blast hanging out with my brothers. They've drug us out to a different bar each night and the bar flies buzz around them as if they’re dipped in pure honey. I almost feel sorry for how transparent and obvious some of the women can be, but they have no one to blame for their pathetic behavior, but themselves. Jeff has been garnering his fair share of attention as well; not that he’s acknowledging it. He’s been sticking close by me and it feels great to have my friend back. He's been careful not to touch me or cross over the carefully drawn line we have between us. I'm thankful for this because we still share an attraction between us and at this point, I'm not very confident in my ability to push him away if he tried to start something. I still haven't heard from Garrett and I can only assume that's not a good sign. It seems like our relationship is through, but it would be nice for him to extend the common courtesy of calling me and making it official.

    I'm standing by the bar trying to get the female bartender to take my order, but she seems to prefer waiting on customers that have a dick between their legs. As I once again lift my arm up to catch her attention, a large, manly physique slips into the open space next to me. The bartender suddenly makes her way over toward him. She has a flirtatious smile aimed in his direction as she saunters up to the edge of the bar.

"What can I get you handsome?" She bats her eyelashes at him and it looks ridiculous.
Seriously?
I can't help the smirk that breaks out on my face.

"I believe this little lady was here first." I look up at the guy next to me to find him gesturing in my direction. "What would you like to drink, darlin'? His accent is distinctly southern and the grin he’s wearing is charming. An arm slides around my shoulders before I can answer him and Jeff nuzzles his nose in my neck.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get over here, honey. Your brothers wouldn't stop talking. What do you want to drink?" As he looks at me, I can see the mischief reflected in his sea-colored eyes. I decide to have a little fun with him as I turn my body to face his and wrap my arms around his neck, toying with the longest strands of his hair. I pull his head down toward mine and just as our lips are about to meet I turn my mouth to the side; whispering in his ear.

"Are you my knight in shining armor now?" He nods his head and turns toward the waiting bartender.

"Can I get a margarita on the rocks with salt?" Jeff knows what drink I want without asking me. He’s been around me long enough to realize that I very rarely order something different unless Hailey and I are doing our tequila shots. As we watch my drink being mixed, he turns to me.

"I probably should’ve waited for a signal from you before stepping in. I'm sorry if I rushed to your defense without making sure you wanted my help. It's just a habit from all the time we were together. I forgot for a moment that it's no longer my place to do that." He says with chagrin, shrugging his shoulders.

"Jeff, I'm happy you stepped in and as my friend you have my permission to rescue me anytime." I lean over and kiss him on his cheek. "I think that guy was harmless, but you did save me the effort of turning him down." Jeff hands the money over as the bartender places my drink down on a cocktail napkin. I pick it up and I turn to walk away from the bar area.

"Thanks for the drink," I say as I'm about to take my first sip. I close my lips around the straw and suck some of the cool liquid into my mouth. It’s sweet and tart with a little kick of tequila mixed in; just the way I like it. I'm only on my third drink even though we've been here for a couple of hours. I'm trying to pace myself and keep things strictly “friends only” with Jeff. He's looking pretty hot in his jeans and a tight black tee shirt that shows off his black and gray tattooed arms. Hey, I’m only human and he has bad boy written on every sexy inch of him. The ironic thing about Jeff is that he's not really a bad boy, he just looks the part and in reality, he’s one of the sweetest guys I've ever known.

     "Are you sick of being around my family yet?" It seems like he’s been continually surrounded by my brothers for the past four days.

"Not at all. You know I think your brothers are great. I don't know if I should tell you this or not, but they’re planning on me becoming a permanent member of your family." I'm sure I have a look of confusion on my face right now.

"Did you tell them you don't need to be adopted, you're already an adult?" I giggle and take another large sip of my drink.

"Shelby, they don't want to adopt me, they want me as a brother-in-law." He cocks his head to the side and looks at me, waiting for me to grasp what he’s saying. These drinks must be getting to me because I’m having a hard time understanding what he means and I think my brain is moving in slow motion.

"How are those drinks treating you?" Jeff jokes as he pokes me in the side. I jump, shrieking and somehow manage to not spill a bit of my drink. "You don't seem to be understanding what your brothers were saying. They want me to marry you. That’s the only way I could be related to them, Shelby." He smirks at me as my eyes go wide.
OMG.

"Wow, it's nice to know those assholes are trying to marry me off. What a bunch of dickheads. I can't wait until they start bringing girls around. I'm going to have so much fun getting revenge for all the shit they’ve done to me." I look over at the table the four of them are seated at and I direct my death glare at them. Unfortunately, they’re all too busy flirting with a bunch of skanks to notice. They don’t seem to be aware of anything but the sea of silicone surrounding them. As much as I love my brothers, their man whorish ways disgust me. I suck the rest of my drink back and grab Jeff’s hand.

“Come on, let’s dance.” He follows behind me as we walk toward the dance floor. I need to forget about my brothers and their bullshit for a bit. As we find an empty spot for us, Jeff spins me around a couple of times, stopping when my back is to his chest. He pulls me against him so smoothly and sync’s our hip movements so easily, it’s like we’ve been doing this forever. His arms are around my waist and our hips are rocking side to side. His lips touch the bottom of my ear as he whispers in it.

“I’ve missed you.” It sends sparks of desire shooting down to my core. His long, hard body pressed all against the back of me has me remembering how good we were in bed and wanting to strip him naked
. This was a mistake.
I grip his hands and pull them off of my hips as I turn to look at him.

“This was a bad idea,” I tell him as I quickly walk away from him. I need to go to the restroom so I can splash some water on my face and get some distance from Jeff. I don’t want to do something with him I’ll regret.

“Shelby!” I can hear him somewhere behind me, shouting my name. I pick up my pace as much as these heels will allow. I’m almost to the bathroom when I’m jerked back by Jeff grabbing my arm.

“Shelby, what’s wrong?” His brows are drawn together and there’s concern showing in the deep blue depths of his eyes. I shake my head at a loss for words and look away from him. He takes my chin in between his thumb and index finger, turning my face back to him. He holds me there so I can’t turn away and waits for me to answer him. The silence is uncomfortable and so is the fact that he’s staring so intently at me.

“Dancing with you was a mistake.” I chew on my lip and try to think of what else to say. I don’t want to tell him that I was feeling attracted to him. I don’t think that would be a good idea.

“What’s going on Shelby?” He asks me, taking a step closer to me. Our bodies are now almost touching and I can feel the heat coming off of him. “Were you enjoying yourself a little too much?” He nuzzles my neck and I arch back without even thinking. He takes advantage of it by kissing his way from my collarbone up to just below my ear. My body shivers from the touch of his lips on my neck. Jeff chuckles and it breaks the spell he has me under. I pick my head up and lean away from him, pushing off his chest with both of my palms.

“We can’t do this. I’m involved with someone else.” He nods his head and holds his hands up.

“You can’t blame me for trying.” He smiles innocently at me and we share a laugh which helps break the haze of sexual tension I was trapped in for a moment.

“Let’s go get another drink,” He says, ushering me from the hallway.

***

      The sun shining through my bedroom window wakes me earlier than I would like. It only takes me a moment to register that someone’s in bed with me and we’re wrapped around each other. I slowly open my eyes, knowing that I’ll be gazing at Jeff’s handsome face. Yep, it’s him and he’s still sleeping. I can’t remember how we ended up in the same bed last night. I didn’t think I’d drunk that much, but maybe the margaritas hit me harder than I realized. I want to sneak out of here before he’s aware, but I don’t think that’s going to happen; not with the iron clad hold he has on me. I lie still while I try to think of the best way to handle this unwelcome situation, but I’ve got nothing...nada...zilch. No ideas are coming to me and I’m starting to feel like a panic attack may be inevitable. I slow my breathing, trying to calm myself and it seems to do the trick. I guess I need to wake him up.

      “Jeff,” I say as I gently prod his arm. He doesn’t stir so I repeat his name again; a little louder this time. “Jeff.” I poke his arm with my finger. His eyes lazily open and he smiles sleepily at me. He’s so adorable. If Garrett weren't still possibly in the mix, I’d be all over this hunky, sleepy guy in my bed.

“Good morning beautiful,” He says as he pulls me in closer and presses his morning erection into me. I groan and grip his shoulders with my fingernails.

“Jeff, you need to behave.” I scold him. “How did we end up in the same bed last night?” I can’t remember anything and I have no idea why I’m wearing one of his tee shirts and only my panties. He takes his time answering me, too busy letting his hands roam over the curves of my hips and ass.

“Jeff,” I moan. “You need to stop right now and tell me what happened.” He moves away from me and turns over onto his back. His breathing is a bit labored as if he’s been running, but I know it just means he wants me as much as I want him. It can’t happen though and the longer I’m in this bed, the more danger I’m in of succumbing to temptation. I roll over and sit up on the edge of the mattress, putting some well-needed space between us. I look at him and cock my eyebrow, waiting to hear his explanation.

     “Last night, when we got back here, you were pretty shitfaced. I helped you into your room and undressed you. I gave you the tee shirt I had on and put you to bed. You begged me to sleep with you and I’m not going to lie Shelby...I wanted to. I stripped down to my boxers and climbed under the covers with you, but nothing happened between us. We only slept, but that was the best night of sleep I’ve had in the last month.” We’ve been over for a little over a month now, so that must mean he’s still broken up over what happened.

“Jeff, you’ll never know how sorry I am that I hurt you. Ending things with you was painful for me too. I’ve missed you so much.” His answering smile is tight as if he’s clenching his jaw.

“I’m not convinced this thing between us is over, Shelby. I haven’t been with anyone else since you broke things off with me. I’m not going to jump into something when all I want in this world is sitting here, next to me.” I can’t help but feel emotional after he just bared his soul to me. Tears are welling up on my lower eyelids and the more I try to hold them in, the more they come, until they overflow in a lazy river, trailing down my cheeks. I can hear Jeff shift in the bed behind me and feel the mattress move as he sits up. I turn around until I’m facing him sitting on my knees. He takes one look at my distraught expression and pulls me into his lap. I somehow end up straddling his legs and my face is buried in his neck. I can smell the comforting scent of his manly cologne as I breathe in slowly, trying to stop the emotional train wreck that I’ve become. He’s stroking his hands up and down my back in a soothing manner and as I focus on what he’s doing; I can feel myself settling down. I raise my head, looking into his eyes, hoping he can see how much he means to me and how sorry I am for hurting him. He wipes the tears away with his thumbs and cups my face in his palms.

“Shelby, don’t cry. You’re breaking my heart. I only want to see those gorgeous lips of yours smiling. He leans forward, still holding my cheeks in his hands, and gently kisses me. It’s such a sweet, soft kiss, it makes me smile. Jeff must take my smile as a sign that I’m okay with him kissing me and next thing I know his tongue is in my mouth. I fall into the kiss and do some hair gripping and maybe even a little dry humping. Things are getting heated and we’re both reaching the point of no return. I know we shouldn’t be doing this, but I haven’t heard from Garrett and for all I know he could be doing the same or worse at this very moment. Kissing Jeff is as hot as I remembered it being. He flips us over without losing contact with my mouth, placing himself on top of me. The way he rolls his hips against mine creates a delicious friction between our bodies. The only thing keeping him from sliding inside me is the underwear we both have on. Knowing we’re so close, yet so far is delicious torture. Jeff’s hand slides down my stomach and toys with the top of my skimpy panties. Before he can take this any further, I push his hand away. I’m not going to let this escalate beyond what we’ve been doing. He pulls away from me, putting some much-needed distance between our overheated bodies and looks questioningly at me. I look up at his handsome face hovering over me and wish that things were simpler. Part of me admits that my life was going along fine before Garrett came into the picture and smashed it all to shit. I can’t think about him now, I need to deal with what’s happening, here in this moment.