All I Can't Resist (4 page)

Suddenly, Veronica is doing something totally crazy. She’s jumping up and down out of her seat, waving her hands frantically in the air. “JASON!” she screams over and over again. “I’M OVER HERE! HERE I AM!”

I look behind me, completely and totally mortified, only to find Shawn’s entire table staring back at us. I look away almost as quickly as I looked over, searching for a back door to sneak out of or something. Or, a random person I can turn my attention to.

As if to say, “Oh, who’s this crazy girl waving at you guys? She must have just sat down with me like she knew me or something. Clearly, she’s nuts.”

I turn to a girl standing a few feet away from me and shoot her a smile, hoping to spark up a conversation. But all she does is shoot me an annoyed look, probably because Veronica’s loudness is disturbing everyone within a twenty-foot radius of us. I roll my eyes back as if to say, “I know, who is this lunatic?” The girl scowls at me and turns away. Okay, then.

Suddenly Veronica is holding onto one of the kids who was sitting at the table, rocking him back and forth in her arms like she’s known him forever. He’s pretty tall with short blonde hair, and once he pulls away I can make out his intense blue eyes and flawless skin. He looks like just the type of kid Shawn would hang out with. And by that, I mean he’s definitely a ten in the looks department.

“Chelsea,” Veronica calls, pulling away but not letting go of Jason’s hands, “this is Jason!”

She announces it like I should know exactly who he is. Like we’ve spent hours upon hours discussing him in great detail, over-analyzing the moment that this moment would finally arrive. The moment where I finally meet him. The truth is, of course I have absolutely no idea who is he. Just like most of the guys Veronica ends up introducing to me. I try not to pay too much attention to them because most of them last about as long as piece of spearmint gum.

This one, though, clearly happens to be friends with Shawn, which means it might be in my best interest to act at least a little bit happy to be around him.

I stand up from my chair and reach my hand out to him. “It is so nice to meet you,” I tell him.

Jason, however, has a different idea because he marches right over to me and picks me up off the ground, giving me a big hug. Wow, well okay then. Someone’s nice and friendly. Or, maybe he’s just drunk. Hmm…

“So nice to meet Veronica’s best friend of her entire life too!” he announces loudly. One look at his clumsy stance and slurred words lets me know that my assumption about him being drunk is right. Either way, he’s clearly heard about me, which makes me feel kind of good. I mean, Veronica must have obviously talked me up or something. How sweet!

I smile back at him because he kind of has a smile that forces you too.

“Come sit with us!” he announces.

Oh no, that sounds like something that could potentially be really bad. It’s one thing to walk in here with hopes of seeing Shawn, or to notice him across the room in a crowded bar. It’s something completely different to go over to his table and socialize with his friends like I know them, or I’m a part of his crew. I mean, our last encounter wasn’t exactly pleasant. Plus, he’s annoying. I have no interest in seeing him again. In fact, I hate him. Actually no, I don’t hate him. I’m indifferent to him. Indifference means you don’t care, which I don’t.

And, I almost make myself believe it for a second.

But before I have a chance to come up with an excuse as to why this is a bad idea, Jason grabs Veronica and I with both his hands and marches us back across the bar and toward their table. With each step I can feel my heart beating faster and faster. This is such a very bad idea.

“Everyone,” Jason announces with his hands around both of us, “this is Veronica and Chelsea! My girls!”

His girls? Yikes.

The guys around the table nod at us. A few say hi, but it seems like most of them are used to Jason bringing random girls around. Or, maybe they’re just used to anyone in their group bringing random girls around. They seem like the type of group associated with tons of girls.

“So what can I get you girls to drink?” Jason asks us.

“I ordered us margaritas, but the waitress seems to have disappeared,” Veronica says, flipping her hair over her shoulder and sticking her bottom lip out at him.

Jason throws his arm around her again. “Not to worry, I’ll fix everything,” he tells her, pulling her toward the bar.

I’m just about to follow them when Shawn speaks to me. “You catch the Heat game last night?”

I watch Jason and Veronica take off and suddenly I’m all too aware that if I don’t want to look like some loser with no friends I’m going to have to keep up a conversation with Shawn until they get back. This could be hard, especially considering the two girls sitting with them are now shooting daggers at me with their eyes. Great.

“Maybe,” I say, trying to sound casual, like I’m totally unfazed by the fact that he’s talking to me. “Did you catch the Knicks game this afternoon?”

Shawn scoffs and turns his body toward me in his chair. He’s even better looking then I remember. I softly take a step closer to him, like I mingle with hot basketball players in bars everyday.

His eyes are dark, almost annoyed that I’m challenging him. We both know the Heat won last night, but we also both know that the Knicks won today too.

He leans in a little closer to me and I’m all too aware that the girl directly across from me is close enough to reach out and slap me across the face if she wants to. And by the look on her face I’m guessing she’s considering doing that very thing.

“I must have been doing something more important, washing my hair or something,” he says, challenging me, and then moving even closer, trying to make me uncomfortable.

“Shame,” I say, forcing myself not to blush. “Carmelo had forty points. How many did your boy have last night? Nineteen, right? That’s still good. Kind of average, but still good.”

He laughs, and when he does I notice how perfect his teeth are. I also notice I’m way too aware of the fact that it’s me who’s making him this happy.

“Yeah, how many assists did he have?”

I flinch. Ouch. He’s got me there. Carmelo isn’t exactly the best at sharing.

“I forget,” I say, looking away.

In the distance I see Veronica and Jason waiting over by the bar. Jeez, could they hurry it up already.

“I bet,” Shawn says. Then he looks at me for a second as if he’s trying to size me up a little. It immediately makes me uncomfortable, but there’s no way I can let him see this. Instead, I stand up straight as if to let him know I could care less if he’s looking at me or not.

He must like this, because he laughs again.

“Dance with me,” he commands.

Okay, maybe Kate was right, he is crazy. Me and the word dance do not go well in the same sentence. I turn my attention to a clear space in the back of the bar where some people have taken it upon themselves to create their own dance floor. There are couples and random groups of people back there dancing together.

He has another thing coming if he thinks there is any way in hell that I am going to be caught dead dancing in a place like this, especially with him. It’s not that I can’t dance. I can. Well, that’s not exactly true. But I’m not horrible. My mom had me in ballet and tap lessons at a really young age, but then I got older and bored of those so she put me in different expressive dance classes. I was never the best in the class but I did have a little rhythm. I could keep up to the beat. Even now, sometimes, when I’m in the mood to, I’ll get up super early on Saturday mornings and go to my mom’s Zumba class with her, something I’ll most likely never tell anyone. Veronica doesn’t even know that.

Still, there’s a huge difference between dancing with a bunch of other girls in a class doing the exact same thing, or shaking your butt back and force in front of your bedroom mirror to the new Drake song, and this. This meaning dancing in an over twenty-one bar with possibly the hottest guy a person has ever seen up close, in front of all his friends and a bunch of random people you go to school with.

Not to mention it looks like the people dancing right now aren’t doing the type of dancing that I’m comfortable doing. In fact, it doesn’t look like dancing at all. It looks more like humping. No way I can do that without looking like a total idiot.

“Maybe later,” I tell him, trying to sound like I mean it. I glance back at the bar once again and hope for the best, but now Jason and Veronica are nowhere in sight. Shit.

Good looking out on my best friends part there.

A look of amusement comes over his face. “Maybe later? But you know how to, right?”

The trick to manipulating someone is making sure they can’t read what’s really going on inside of your head. It’s also to make them believe that you couldn’t be less interested in whatever the situation brings to the table for you.

“Yes, I know how.” I reach past him and pick up the drink that’s in front of him.

And just as I’m about to take a sip he grabs it out of my hand and takes a long swig of it himself.

I roll my eyes and then avert them around the table, looking for a waitress. Might as well take the whole getting a drink thing into my own hands since it seems Veronica and Jason got side tracked.

“Then why don’t you want to?” he asks me, forcing me to look back into his eyes.

His eyes that look a hell of a lot darker and more perfect than yesterday, if that’s even possible.

I can feel the girl across the table from me still watching me and I can just see myself heading out to the dance floor with Shawn only to have them watching my every move, judging it or making fun of it. Ugh, how do I always get myself in these bad situations? Oh yeah, I know how. Veronica.

“I want to, just not with you.” But I’m smiling when I say it.

He laughs loudly, throwing his head to the side as he does.

“That’s impossible,” he says, inching closer to me. He then leans over so he’s whispering in my ear. “Every girl in here wants to dance with me.”

Wow. As if I could forget what a complete jerk he is. This just confirms it even more. The thing is, he’s probably right. I’m sure every girl in here does want to dance with him. But did he have to brag about it?

“Then go dance with one of them,” I inform him. I try to get distance between his face and mine, but it’s like an electric pull refuses to let me budge, even a little.

“I’m bored of all them.”

He smells like a mix of peppermint, Long Island Iced Tea, and sexy. His voice is raspy for some reason. And when he lowers it the whole situation is almost enough to make me lose my balance.

Bored of all them? So what’s he saying? That he isn’t bored of me? Is that supposed to make me feel special or something? Of course he isn’t bored of me. He just met me.

Who can understand anything he says. It seems like everything has a hidden meaning. But, whatever, one thing is for sure, and that is there’s no way in hell that I’m going anywhere with him, especially not on the dance floor. This whole situation is way too confusing for me anyway. How can I be so drawn to someone who’s clearly annoying anyway? I’m obviously losing my mind a little bit.

Shawn isn’t waiting for the wheels to continue turning in my head because before I know what’s happening he’s out of his seat grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the dance floor. His touch is enough to send currents shooting through my entire body.

I try to stop him but he’s about a million times stronger than me. Even when I plant my feet in one stop, he’s easily able to drag me after him to the back of the bar.

Once we finally reach the so-called “dance floor,” he leads me to a spot in the middle, stops, and just looks at me. He’s not moving at all. He still has my hand in his and is gazing down at me. God, he’s so tall.

I glance back at his table and notice the two girls still watching me. One of them reaches over and whispers something to the other and they both start laughing. I look down at me feet, suddenly more uncomfortable than I’ve ever been in my own skin.

Shawn must notice my gaze because his face gets serious as he shakes his head.

“Do you want to go through your life worrying about what other people think? Or do you want to go through your life doing whatever the hell you want regardless of what anyone says, because it makes you happy?”

His words cut to my heart and I’m instantly annoyed. Maybe because he’s right, for once. Or maybe because he’s picked up on my weakness. Either way, it’s enough to make me want to turn around and run for the door without ever looking back.

But then Shawn’s hands are pulling me closer to him and he’s dancing with me.

At first I feel uncomfortable, like maybe everyone is watching me and judging me. Or worse, that he’s judging me.

But then, after a minute, I relax. And before I know it one song has passed and we’re into the next. They’re playing what sounds like a club mix, which explains the sexy way everyone is dancing I guess.

Shawn takes me by the waist and pulls me closer to him. I reach up to wrap my hands around his neck, and for a second catch him looking into my eyes. I feel my knees buckle a little underneath me, but regain my composer again quickly. His hands are all over me, moving up and down the sides of my body and rubbing the sides of my legs. I find myself thrusting into his body harder, trying to get as close as possible.

I feel like what I have of him isn’t enough and I want more. I pull his face closer to me so our foreheads are practically touching. He doesn’t protest at all. I’m hot all over the place and I feel like I might pass out at any point. I want to taste him so badly. I want his hands on me forever.

And then, suddenly, my back’s up against the wall in the rear of the bar. Like maybe we’d gotten so carried away that we weren’t paying attention to where we were dancing. But instead of moving us back toward the dance floor Shawn doesn’t move. He just stands there practically on top of me while I try to catch my breath.

He reaches up gently and runs his hands through my hair and down my neck. I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding in. He half smiles at me in satisfaction, pushes my hair to the side, and rests his lips on my neck while sliding his other hand down my back and over my ass. He squeezes it hard and I let out an immediate moan.