Summer Fling (Players of Marycliff University Book 1) (13 page)

BOOK: Summer Fling (Players of Marycliff University Book 1)
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Abby pulled her keys out of her bag and unlocked her door before turning back to him. She kissed him this time. "There. That's another one. I'll see you after work. Bye."

Lance stood there slightly dazed and only managed a weak "Bye" before she closed her door. He heard her locks click into place as he turned and walked back to his car.
 

She had kissed him. For the first time she had initiated physical contact. The smile stayed on his face the whole drive home. He was definitely making progress.

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Hey, hoochie. Where were you last night?" Megan stood in the doorway to Abby's bedroom, changing from her work clothes into shorts and a t-shirt.

Abby looked up from her laptop. "What do you mean?"

Megan gave her a pointed look that was not at all diminished by the fact that she was only wearing shorts and a bra, having not quite gotten her t-shirt on yet. "Don't play dumb, Abby. You're not any good at it."

Abby turned back to her computer. "I texted you yesterday. You know I had to help my mom."

Megan pulled her shirt on and climbed onto Abby's bed. "What did she need? Is she okay?"

"She needed groceries and stuff. The usual. She's fine."

The brief show of concern for her mom over, Megan went back into interrogation mode. "Good. Mind telling me how you got there to get her groceries and stuff? Because your car stayed here and I sure as hell didn't take you."

Abby refused to look at Megan. "I told you Lance was taking me."

"Yes, that's right. Lance took you. You and I both know it only takes a couple hours to get your mom's groceries, plus another hour and a half for driving time. You left at like five? So that means you should've been home by eight thirty or nine at the latest."

Abby shook her head. "We didn't get done at my mom's until after eight."
 

Megan gave her a sly smile. "Okay. You got done a little after eight. That still gets you home by nine. I'd even go with nine thirty if you stopped to grab a quick bite to eat. What time did you get home?"

Abby's cheeks heated up. She muttered something.
 

Megan leaned toward her, cupping a hand around her ear. "What was that?"

"I said, around four this morning."

Megan's eyebrows rose. "Four this morning. And so I repeat my first question: where were you last night, hoochie?"

"With Lance." Abby clamped her mouth shut after spitting out those two words. She knew Megan wouldn't let her get away with only telling her that, though.
 

Megan snorted. "Well, yeah, I figured that much. That's why I keep calling you a hoochie. What happened? Did you do it? You have to give me all the details."

Abby covered her face with her hands. "Seriously, Megan? This is why I don't tell you things."

Megan made a sound like a buzzer. "Wrong. This is why you do tell me things. I have to hound you until you do, or I'd never know anything about what's going on with you. So answer the questions. You know I won't leave you alone until you do."

Abby sighed. "Fine. No, we didn't do it."

"What were you doing until four in the morning, then?"

"We had dinner, then we went back to his place. We talked for a while and then we slept." Abby stared resolutely at her computer screen. She didn't even know what she was looking at anymore. She was just scrolling through Facebook, clicking on any random link, none of it making an impression. It was just something to do so she wouldn't have to look at Megan.

"You slept."

"Yup."
 

"That's it?" Abby blushed again. Megan let out a little squeal and clapped her hands. "Ha! I knew it! What else did you do?"

"We kissed."
 

"Where?"

"In the car. And in his bed."

"Did you do more than just kiss?"

"Yes." It came out as a whisper.

"You did more than just kiss, but you didn't have sex. Did you keep your pants on?"

Abby nodded. "Pretty much."

"Pretty much? What does that mean?"

"They stayed on, but he … touched me."

"Oooh. Over the clothes or under them?"

"Under."

"Under which ones?" Megan kept wiggling her eyebrows every time she asked a question.
 

Abby sighed in defeat, knowing that Megan would never let it go until Abby told her everything. Might as well just tell it all and get it over with. "All of them. Both of our shirts ended up off, but he slid his hand in my shorts and … touched me."

Megan leaned forward and lowered her voice. "And? Did he touch a little or a lot?"

"A lot. He made me … you know …"

Megan laughed at Abby's obvious discomfort. "Have an orgasm? You can just say it, Abby. It's not a dirty word."
 

Abby covered her face with her hands. "God, I hate talking about this. Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Megan pulled her hands down. "You never have anything good to dish about. It's all been one sided until now. I tell you everything, so you have to tell me now that you have something to tell. And it's delicious. I'm happy for you." Megan let out another squeal. "Anyway, what happened after he finger banged you?"

"Finger bang? Really? Vulgar much?"

"Don't be such a prude, Abby. We've lived together for years, and have been friends even longer. You already know I'm vulgar. Tell me what happened next."

Abby shrugged. "Not much. We talked and made out until we fell asleep. I woke up at like three thirty and made him bring me home."

"Why did you make him bring you home then?"

Abby leveled a look at Megan. "So I wouldn't have to answer awkward questions from his roommates or mine."

Megan laughed. "You had to know there was no way to avoid this discussion. I stay up late. You know I'm going to ask for details when you don't get home at a normal time. So, what's next? Are you going to see him again?"

Abby nodded. "Yeah. He's coming over in while to look at my car. He's insisting on fixing it for me. He had to work late today since he left early yesterday to take me to see my mom."

"He left work early for you? That boy's got it bad."
 

Abby shook her head. "He can't have it bad. We barely know each other and he's leaving in a month or two. At best it's a short term fling that'll fizzle out soon."

Megan studied Abby's face for a moment. "Sure." Her words agreed with Abby, but her face still registered doubt. Abby chose to ignore that. It didn't matter what Megan thought. She knew that what was between them couldn't last. She couldn't afford to let her heart get involved.

* * *

"Behave." Abby pointed at Megan as she crossed the room to answer the door.

Megan put on a fake innocent look. "Moi? I'm always well behaved."

"Uh huh. Sure." Abby pulled open the door so Lance could come in with the pizza he'd promised to bring. He held the pizza off to the side and gave her a quick kiss before coming in. She reached for her bag to get out her wallet. "How much do I owe you for the pizza?"

Lance stood in the middle of the living room looking around. "Coffee table or kitchen table?"

Megan hopped off the couch and took the pizza out of his hands. "We'll just put it on the counter and I'll grab plates."

"Lance, how much was the pizza?"
 

Lance turned to look at Abby. "Don't worry about it."

She pulled some cash out of her wallet and held it out to him. "Here's ten dollars. Will that cover it?"

Lance caught her wrist and pulled her to him. He kissed her again. "I said don't worry about it."

Abby lowered her brows. "You're going to be fixing my car. I want to pay you for the pizza. I only let you get it because you insisted it was on your way."

"It was on my way. Tell you what, you can make me breakfast tomorrow."
 

Abby pulled back her free hand to smack him on the chest, but he captured that one too and she was trapped. "Ha ha, you're so very funny. I'm being serious."

He only pulled her tighter against his chest, letting go of her wrists and wrapping his arms around her. "So am I." His voice was a low rumble in his chest, and his eyes held heat and promise. He kissed her again. Not the quick kiss of greeting or the teasing touch of lips from earlier. He kissed her slow and deep, making good on the promise in his eyes.

"Get a room, you two."
 

Abby jumped and pushed back from Lance at the sound of Megan's voice. Lance just gave her a wicked grin, humor dancing in his eyes at Abby's discomfort.

After they ate, Abby took Lance out to her car. "It just went click-click-click when I turned the key yesterday. It didn't even sound like it was trying to start."

Lance nodded and held out his hand for the keys. He slid into the driver's seat and tried the ignition, getting the same clicking sounds she had. "Did you leave a light on maybe?"

Abby shook her head. "I don't think so. The last time I drove was during the day and it has automatic headlights anyway."

Lance reached up and checked the dome light to make sure it wasn't switched on. "Hmm. When was the last time you drove it?"

"I went to the grocery store on Saturday morning. I walked to work all week, and I didn't need to drive anywhere until yesterday."

"Did you try jumping it yesterday?"

Abby shook her head. "No. I was just trying to get to my mom. All I could think was that I needed a ride since my car wouldn't start. I didn't even think about trying to get someone to jump it for me."

Lance pulled the hood release, then went around and lifted the hood. "Let's try that first to see what happens."

He brought his car around to the empty spot next to Abby's car. She moved out of the way, but positioned herself so she could watch him working on the cars. She enjoyed watching his muscles bunch and pull as he lifted the hood. What was even better was the way his cargo shorts pulled tight across his ass when he leaned forward to connect the jumper cables to both cars. When he stood back up he caught her ogling him and smiled at her before starting his car again.

After a couple minutes he slid back into the driver's seat of her Kia. It started on the second try. Abby thought that was a good sign. Maybe it was just a dead battery. Lance left the running cars connected for a few minutes before disconnecting the jumper cables and turning off his car.
 

He came over and sat on the ground next to her, bumping her with his shoulder. "We should let it run for a bit so the battery can charge."
 

Abby nodded. "Okay. Should we take it for a drive or just let it run here?"

Lance thought for a moment. "Let's just let it run here. I want to try the lights in a few minutes and see what happens."

"Uh oh. What do you think is going to happen?"

"Hopefully the lights will come on and it'll just keep running. But if the car dies, we'll know that the battery's not charging properly, which could just mean the battery's bad, but it could also mean the alternator's bad."

Shit
.
I do not need to have to pay to fix my car right now
. Abby tried to keep her face neutral and not let the worry show through. She didn't seem to have done a very good job of that based on Lance's reaction.

He put his arm around her and kissed her temple. "Don't worry so much. I can fix it either way."

Abby relaxed into him, but didn't stop worrying. Her job paid her just enough to cover her bills. She didn't have any room in her budget for expensive car repairs, even if it was just parts. Lance's willingness to fix it would help, but it wouldn't make a new battery and a new alternator free.

Abby pulled away from Lance after a few minutes, sweaty and sticky where skin touched skin. "It's hot out today. I'm going to go get a drink. You want something?"

Lance shook his head. "Go hang out inside. I'll come in when I'm done out here and we'll figure out what we need to do next."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Shit." Lance had turned on the headlights and the car died immediately. It had been running for almost half an hour since he jumped it. He had been worried that might happen. Abby's car needed a new alternator.
 

He snagged the keys out of the ignition and walked back to her apartment. She was leaning back against the kitchen counter between the fridge and the sink. The hopeful look on her face fell when she saw his expression.
 

"Bad news, huh?"
 

He took the glass of water she held out for him and drank half of it before answering. "It looks like the alternator needs to be replaced."

Abby grunted in response to that and looked away, pulling at her lip. He reached out and took her hand, holding it until she looked at him again. "I can take care of it, Abby. I know my way around a car." He gave her a smile that was supposed to be reassuring. She gave him a pained smile in return and pulled her hand away from him to mess with her lower lip some more.
 

He looked over to the couch where Megan sat watching them. Her eyes widened when he made eye contact and she buried her face in the magazine on her lap. No help there.

Abby's voice brought his attention back to her. "Let me know how much the parts cost or where to order them from, okay?"

"I'll get the parts, don't worry about it." He really wanted to erase the worried expression from her face. He started to pull her towards him, but she pushed him away. The worry had changed to anger.

"No. I don't want you buying the parts. I'll let you fix my car, but I'm at least paying for that."

He studied her face. Some of the worry had seeped back in to mix with her anger. He opened his mouth, and closed it again before just nodding.
 

She looked relieved for a moment at his acquiescence, then started plucking at her bottom lip again. He watched her roll it between her thumb and forefinger for a moment. "How long is it going to take to fix it?"
 

"I can do it this weekend if we get the parts tomorrow." She nodded in response, staring at a point over his shoulder. He caught her wrist again, pulling her hand away from her mouth. Her other hand rose to mess with her lip some more. She didn't seem to realize she was doing it. When he pulled that hand away from her mouth, she finally looked at him. "If you need a ride anywhere between now and when I get your car fixed I can take you, okay?"

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