Crushed (4 page)

Chapter 6

Neil

I heard her before I saw her. There
was a female sitting on the steps in the back stairwell. I
considered how best to comfort the damsel in distress when I
recognized the blonde hair and the legs that went on for miles.
Fuck. Why would she be crying? I'd known Claire for years and I'd
never seen her cry.

I sat down next to her and wrapped
my arm around her shoulders, "I thought Saturday was the best day
of the week." I smiled at her just in case she looked up, she
didn't. She stilled and stopped sobbing next to me, as if hoping
that maybe I was a figment of her imagination. That made me smile
wider. She was so damned cute. I bumped my shoulder against hers
gently, which sent tiny sparks through my body. "You can't just
cover your face until I go away, what's going on?" I looked her
over and noticed a trickle of blood going down both her
knees.

She sniffled softly and lifted her
face from her hands. Her right cheek had some blood on it from her
scraped up hand. She glanced at me quickly before looking down at
her knees. She pulled her skirt down to cover her knees. "Nothing,
I just... I just scraped my hand and my knees..." I knew her long
enough to know she wasn't one to cry over a little scrape. I also
knew she probably wasn't going to open up and tell me what the
crying was really all about. I wanted to hold her and comfort her
so I scooped her up into my arms, she felt weightless and made a
tiny noise of surprise. Her body fit snugly against my chest as if
she belonged there.

"So you were on your way home,
scraped your knee and couldn't take the pain so you sat down and
cried? That doesn't sound right..." I looked at her face, her nose
was a little pink from the crying. She wouldn't meet my
gaze.

"I'm PMSing." I busted a laugh. She
wasn't about to scare me off by mentioning the mysterious girl
thing. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I snapped my eyes
forward, it the most sober touching she'd ever given me and I'd be
damned if it didn't send jolts through me and right to my dick,
which was quickly waking up.

I snuck a glance at her, she was
batting her long lashes at me. "Uh-huh." I wasn't going to press
the issue at hand but she had to know I didn't believe her PMS
story. She sighed and looked at my chest, I flexed it. I was very
proud of my muscles, I worked hard in the gym to get them. I hoped
she was enjoying them. I shook my head a little to clear my
thoughts.

"I'm having boy problems." She
looked so sad and defeated.

"Did the bowsie turn you down?" I
frowned at her, if that idiot turned down Claire he was a fucking
idiot. She snapped her head in my direction at my strange
terminology. I laughed at her, "Bowsie...it's a good for
nothing...sorry for my Irish slang." Her beautiful sapphire eyes
looked over my face and I found myself smiling in spite of
myself.

She puckered her lips as she tried
out the new term. It was all I had in me to keep walking and not
shove her against the nearest wall. She needed comfort, not a lay.
"The bowsie...didn't turn me down he just..." She stopped, took a
breath and changed the subject, "Where were you headed before I
derailed you?" I was carrying her across campus towards the medical
center and I saw the building up ahead.

"I was just going back to my room
to change so I could go out for a run. Nothing that can't wait." I
opened the door and walked inside with her. I set her down on the
waiting room chair and then checked her in. I sat down beside her
as we waited for her name to be called. She was staring at her hand
which was still bleeding pretty badly.

"Are you dating anyone?" She looked
up at me and I tried to stay in my seat. Claire had been trying to
set me up with girls since middle school. I always told her I
didn't need help in the girl department but she never seemed to
listen. I might have been interested had she ever decided she was
ready to date...but then she was now, wasn't she? She wanted to
attract some wanker's attention.

"Yes, I take girls out sometimes."
I smiled a little as I watched her. I was going to take Claire out.
Why should I have to sit back and wait for the bowsie boy to fuck
up? I'd throw my hat into the ring, no competition and I'd finally
get to bang Claire out of my system. She sat back and lifted her
eyes to mine.

"Oh? Who?" I answered her, throwing
a couple names out and then a few more. I did go on dates, I just
didn't do serious relationships, there was a difference.

"And you're not serious with any of
them? Or want to be serious with any of them?" She was still
staring at me. Fuck. It was time to lay it out there, not that I
was going to hide anything, I never did. The ladies always knew
what they were getting into with me.

"Being serious in college seems," I
chose my word carefully, "...silly." Her eyes widened a little as I
shrugged my shoulders but her slender shoulders shrugged right
back.

"Practice for when you find the
right woman?" I gazed straight into her eyes, I didn't want her to
miss my response.

"We're children of the gods. No
one's plan is to settle down and be ordinary. So why act like it?"
She dropped her gaze to her hands again. I wasn't really sure why
she would talk about such things other than the fact that her
father is who he is. The only reason to do anything in this life
was to be the best. Love made you weak.

"Maybe someone's plan is to settle
down and be ordinary... if they could." She looked so vulnerable I
couldn't help but lean towards her and brush her cheek with my
thumb. I felt this weird need to protect her and keep her
safe.

"Definitely not your plan. You're
far from ordinary, love." I heard my voice soften. She looked at me
and rolled her eyes, causing the tightness in my pants to
ease.

"I'm not going to swoon over you
like all the other girls, Neil." God the way she said my name made
my pants tighten, again. I laughed off her rejection of my
charms.

"Gotta try anyway." I gave her the
smile that did make the girls swoon but it never seemed to work on
her.

"No you don't. You can have, and
probably have had, any other girl on campus that you want." Almost,
I thought. I hadn't had Claire.

"I don't –have- anyone. I date
women, we enjoy each other's company. There's nothing about it
worthy of contempt. It is natural to connect with people while we
can." I flashed her another Neil-special.

"You 'enjoy each other's company,'
that's all?" She gave me a knowing look, alluding to sex. I
chuckled.

"Depends on the woman and our
relationship, but there's nothing wrong with that either." She
looked back to her hands again.

"I'm no one to judge your
lifestyle. I just wondered if you'd found someone to love yet,
that's all."

"No, I haven't." I shook my head
slowly. And I didn't think I ever would. Love was stupid and it
crippled you.

"If you don't love anything there
is nothing to fight for, ...or something." She smiled softly and
shrugged again.

"I'll go have a look and see where
the nurse is." As I walked towards the nurses station I clenched my
jaw tightly. This plan was never going to work. Claire wasn't going
to let me fuck her unless she thought I was in love with her. And I
was not the kind of guy to deceive a woman that way.

Claire's voice stopped me,
"...Neil?"

I turned around and pasted my smile
back on, "Yeah?" I noticed her clenching her fists tightly as she
stood up and quickly approached me. I didn't have time to think or
react before her hands were on my cheeks, her luscious chest
imprinting itself against me, her lips were pressed against mine. I
kissed her back properly and nuzzled her nose with mine when she
pulled away a few seconds later. "I was coming right back," I said
with a soft, gravelly voice.

She took another step back, putting
distance between us. It was a good thing, I was seconds away from
kissing her again. She gently scratched at the back of her head and
shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry."

"You should never be sorry for a
kiss." I stepped in closer and put a hand on her hip. "I'll be
back. Don't go anywhere." I turned away before I did something
inappropriate.

The nurse bandaged Claire up while
I was in the bathroom wiping Claire's blood from my cheek. My lips
still felt heated from hers. There was something about her that
made me want more, so much more. She came out from the exam room
and I stood up and met her halfway. "Thanks," she said softly, "for
bringing me here and keeping me company. I hope you h-have a good
run."

I stepped closer to her and gently
brushed a stray lock of her hair off her shoulder. "Going to kiss
and run then?"

Her pink tongue came out to lick
her lips and I restrained a groan. I wanted to do that. "What else
should I do? I really jumped the gun, didn't I? The first kiss
should be a goodbye kiss...like after dinner or something?" I
smiled, so she was asking me out. I wasn't one to pass by an
opportunity.

"Dinner tonight then. I'll pick you
up at seven." I brushed her cheek with my thumb, it was as soft as
it looked and walked away.

"Wh...wait, what?" She was
flabbergasted, still dazed from our kiss, no doubt. I winked at her
over my shoulder.

"Can't wait." As I pushed open the
door of the exit I heard her call out to me.

"It's not a date!!"

Chapter 7

Claire

I exhaled nervously as I slipped my
arms into my black cardigan sweater. Neil would be here any minute
and I was not doing a great job at holding myself together. I know
I told him that it wasn't a date but in truth... I was starting to
think it was. Kind of.

I had to test my theory, I had to
see if Neil reacted the same way Will did. I had already kissed
Neil and he let me go so there was something different between him
and Will. I had a theory that the either the purple aura is toxic
to me or Will was just magically inclined to not hear the word no.
After I let Neil kiss me and saw how he reacted I was going to test
it on another guy, a purple aura guy. I'd make sure it would be in
public just in case it got too intense again. I tucked my mace into
my black purse along with the vanilla flavored lip gloss I'd popped
onto my lips a minute ago.

There was a knock on the door
fifteen minutes before the set time. I opened the door and gripped
the doorknob tightly, ready to shut the door in Will's handsome
face. He shifted from one large foot to the other nervously. I
noted his aura, the gray and turquoise. He was feeling
guilty.

"Claire...I wanted to apologize for
the other night. I honestly don't know what happened, it was..." He
paused and looked down at his feet and then held a red rose out
towards me. His blue eyes met mine, "I'm so very sorry."

I took the rose and smiled softly.
He had melted my heart again with just this little gesture. "I
accept your apology." His eyes roamed my red dress and black tights
slowly.

"You look very lovely tonight. Are
you going out?" I think I detected a little hurt in his
eyes.

"I am going out with ... a guy,
yeah." I wasn't one to lie, I didn't see the point. "I need some
time to figure out how I feel about the other night...some time to
see if there can be another date between us." He exhaled loudly and
nodded, eyes dropping to the floor.

"Yeah... I get that." His eyes
lifted and I felt myself freeze. "I do hope I get another chance,
Claire, I like you...a lot."

I nodded and smiled softly. "I'll
let you know when I figure it out, Will." I looked at his aura, the
purple still very clearly there. I wanted to hug him but I
resisted. I couldn't risk Neil coming to my room and seeing me in
another man's arms. It would not have been a great start to our
date, I mean our non-date. Or maybe jealousy would've be good for
him. "You should go, my guy friend will be here soon." My eyes left
his gaze to look down the hallway and Neil was strolling towards us
confidently with a picnic basket over his left arm. Will followed
my gaze and grunted softly seeing the quarterback headed this
way.

"Alright, Claire. Be careful. Even
I have heard about his reputation." His large hand patted the
doorframe and then he left me standing in my doorway. I turned,
gathered my purse, set down the rose and then left my room, meeting
Neil in the hallway.

He tsked me softly, "Was that the
bowsie? Good to see him seeking you out." I rolled my eyes and then
tried to bite back my smile as his held out a rose for me as well.
I could get used to the wooing thing. I held the rose to my nose
and took a sniff of the delicate fragrance. "Ready?"

"Thank you. I'm ready. Where are we
going?" I wasn't going to let him know how much I was enjoying the
attention. He looked good in a button down gray shirt and black
jeans.

"Out by the lake to sit and talk
over dinner." He flashed me his smile and I found myself wondering
if that's all he had planned. Was he taking me out to the lake for
the privacy? Did he take all the girls there? I looked at his aura,
still no purple. I fell in step with him as we walked towards the
lake. This was for science, nothing more. Neil was Neil. He was
used to entertaining girls. Oh God. What if he wanted something
else in exchange for the dinner? Was I ready for that? No...but
kissing wouldn't hurt, right? Well it might if he couldn't control
himself like Will. Hopefully the lack of purple would also mean a
lack of wanting to rip my clothes off. "You look very nice, love.
Very casual." He was making fun of me for dressing up. What did he
expect? Sweat pants and a T-shirt?