Wild: The Ivy Chronicles (5 page)

“Hey, Lo!” Another player walked down the row between cars, his bat bag slung over his shoulder. He came over and clapped Logan on the shoulder. “You headed to the after-party?”

The skinny kid looked like a teenager. An honest-to-God high school kid with angry-looking acne and a bobbing Adam’s apple. And this was one of Logan’s friends? A fellow
peer
? Mortification ripped through me. In that moment, I never felt the gulf between us so keenly. And I felt stupid . . . foolish standing there pretending I was here for any other reason than that our kiss had consumed my thoughts for days.

Logan nodded. “Yeah. See you there.”

The boy looked at me curiously, the interest keen in his eyes, before he walked away.

“God,” I muttered softly.

Logan must have heard me. His head whipped back around and he stared at me, his eyes alert and sharp like he could read my thoughts.

Thankfully, I spotted Reece and Pepper headed our way. “I gotta go,” I said hurriedly, turning to walk around the Jeep, ready to climb in the backseat, not even caring how obvious I was in trying to put distance between us by unnecessarily circling
around
the vehicle.

I felt him move behind me before I felt his hands on my arms. “No, you don’t,” he growled. “You don’t get to run away again.”

I squeaked as he hauled me back against his chest. My spine stiffened iron-rod straight against the wall of his broad chest. I felt my eyes go huge in my face. He was touching me. Again. And I was freaking out on the inside. I sucked in a deep breath, determined that my freak-out stayed internal only.

“Let me go. They’re coming.” My heart hammered violently in my chest and I didn’t know if it was because we were about to get busted by my friends or because his body felt so unbelievable against mine. Okay, fine. It was both.

His mouth brushed my ear as he spoke, spiking sensation to every nerve in my body. “Are you embarrassed, Georgia? You don’t want them to see me with you? Don’t want Pepper and Reece to know about us?”

“There is no ‘us.’ ”

“Oh, but there will be. We both know why you came tonight.” His fingers flexed, each digit a burning imprint on my forearms.

“Yeah?” Was that breathy croak my voice? “Why?”

“Because you haven’t been able to forget what it felt like to kiss me, and you want to know if the rest of it will be that good, too.” He bit down on my earlobe and a whimper escaped my lips. “It will be.”

An invisible band squeezed around my chest. I swallowed against my constricting throat. “Arrogant much?”

“It’s okay. I haven’t been able to forget either. I can still remember the way you taste.”

Oh. My. God.

I swallowed a moan and lurched free from him. Swinging around, I faced him and felt my knees go weak at the look in his eyes. Heavy-lidded and deep, his blue eyes looked almost indigo as they stared down at me.

“I know you probably think it’d be some great joke to bang one of your brother’s friends, but I’m not going to be another notch on your bedpost . . . some girl you screw once and forget about the next—”

He moved fast then, closing the space that I had established between us. Oh, yeah. He was a jock with ninja-fast reflexes. I needed to remember that.

I gasped as his hand slid around my neck, fingers burying in the hair at the base of my scalp. He lowered his head, dropping his forehead against mine until our breaths clashed and mingled. His fingers pressed and massaged the back of my head, shooting sensation straight to the core of me. Holy hell. Was that some kind of secret pressure point?

His words gusted over my mouth. “You think we’d fuck just once?”

My stomach plummeted at his blunt words.

He took my hand and dragged it between us, pressing my palm to his crotch—against the outline of his cock in his tight baseball pants. It hardened, growing beneath my touch and I felt an answering ache clench between my thighs.
God, it had been so long.

“This doesn’t feel like a joke to me. You don’t,” he growled in a tight voice. “I want to do things to you . . . things a clean, vanilla girl like you never dreamed of. Things that tool boyfriend of yours never came close to doing to you.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” I replied automatically.

At my response, Logan pushed my palm harder against him, rubbing the hard ridge of him. A tiny moan escaped me as the ache squeezed between my legs.

He angled his head. “I think you want me to do dirty things to you, Georgia.”

My mouth sagged. No one had ever talked to me like that. He shocked every part of me—shocked, horrified . . . and turned me on. I’d never known this with Harris. With any guy. Never wanted sex so badly that I felt like I could weep for the lack of it.

That had to make this just a little bit okay. Right?

I sighed. But not enough to erase the wrong factor. I could not have a fling with Logan Mulvaney.

“No,” I said, hating me right then. Hating that even though my lips formed the word
no
, I was thinking
yes
in my head. Yes. YES. “I don’t want that.”

“Liar,” he said mildly.

He brushed a strand of hair back off my shoulder and the simple touch rocked a shiver through me.

I pressed my fingers to his chest and gave him a slight push away. “Don’t touch me. In fact, just stay away from me.” God. Was that desperate little rasp really my voice?

He stepped back then, the deep blue of his eyes turning chilly. “Fine. Sure. I won’t touch you again. It’s all on you now.”

All on me? What was that supposed to mean? He was leaving it up to me to
ask
him to touch me? No worries there. I never initiate sex. I never had. In fact, the only time I had ever taken charge and initiated anything had been the one time I kissed Logan. And that was never happening again.

That crooked grin appeared on his face again, belying the hard intensity of his eyes. “Any time you want me to make you scream, just let me know, Pearls.”

“Oh.” It was barely a word. More like a gasp. A sudden image of him and me together, his powerful body driving into mine, branded itself on my mind and my mouth dried. Heat flushed over my body.

“Hey, Logan,” Reece called out, suddenly there, almost to the Jeep. I jumped a little. I had actually forgotten they were approaching. It was Logan. He rattled my brain.

With a final wink at me, Logan swung his bat bag around so that it hid the erection pushing against the front of his pants.

I stared after him, feeling rattled and shaken and doing my best to disguise it.

Pepper balanced a sugar-drenched funnel cake in one hand and held on to Reece’s hand with the other one. Grin firmly in place, Logan turned to face Reece and Pepper. With no invitation, Logan snatched a chunk of funnel cake from her plate. The latticework of fried bread dangled from his fingers before breaking.

I watched, mesmerized, as he tilted back his head, opened his mouth wide, and dropped the food in. The tendons in his throat, the muscles flexing in his square jaw—all served to make my belly dip.

“Nice,” Pepper complained. “That was like half of it.”

He picked at another piece and she swatted his hand.

“Great game, Logan.” Reece looked at his brother almost earnestly, as if he was trying to convey something . . . be family for him, everything, the parent he so obviously lacked. “Seriously, man. I’m proud of you.”

Logan shrugged like it was no big thing. “Will you be at the new Mulvaney’s tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there. You’re working afternoon to close at the old location, right? Mike’s going to open.”

Logan nodded. “Yeah. I gotta go.”

Reece moved in for that half-body hug guys did.

“Thanks for coming.” Logan’s glance skipped to Pepper, clearly including her in the thanks. Me, not so much. I just stood there, feeling as out of place as ever.

Logan’s gaze slid to me, warming me all over again. “See you around, Pearls.”

Logan walked away then, heading off to his after-party where he would likely use his charm to nail some other girl.

“Pearls?” Pepper inquired next to me around a mouthful of funnel cake.

I lifted one shoulder. “Yeah. It’s just a thing . . . he calls me.”

“Cute.”

I felt Reece’s stare on my face, but refused to look, too worried I would see confirmation in his eyes that he knew I was slightly infatuated with his player of a brother.

Climbing inside Reece’s Jeep, I wrapped myself in this knowledge that nothing more would happen between Logan and me. First of all, I would have to ask for it and that would be like me asking Mom to share stories about my real father with me. Yeah. Not in this lifetime.

Second, I was leaving soon. When I returned in the fall he would be at Kellison. I would see him less often and not face the temptation of his presence.

I could almost convince myself I was glad about this.

Chapter 6

I
KNOCKED ONCE ON
my advisor’s door before stepping inside. The office smelled like musty books and Taco Bell burritos. A quick glance at the overfull trash bin confirmed that Dr. Chase ate most of his meals there. “You wanted to see me, Dr. Chase?”

He’d written a note on my last paper for me to come see him during his office hours. I’d enjoyed his class this semester. As much as one could enjoy Labor Law and Policy. It just spoke to his teaching ability that he made the course work interesting.

“Yes, have a seat, Georgia.”

I still clutched my paper in my hands.

He came around his desk and sank into the chair opposite mine. He tapped at the paper. “This is good work, Georgia.”

A flush spread through me. “Thank you.”

He crossed his legs, gripping his ankle where it rested on his knee, showing off his plaid socks. “You have a strong control of language. It’s a gift. Half the time when I read an undergrad paper, I feel like I’m wading through a jumble of words to get to the point, but you have a better handle of the material than most graduate students.”

My chest swelled. I wished my mother were here to hear this.

He continued, “What are you doing this summer?”

“I’m going home.”

“And home is . . .”

“Muskogee, Alabama.”

“Hmm. Not a bustling metropolis.”

“No, sir. I’m looking into an internship at a bank—”

“Filing and making coffee.” He shook his head. “It’s a waste of your talents. You’ll learn nothing. One of the grad students I’d hired to assist me on my research this summer had to back out. I have an opening.” His gaze fastened on me, his dark eyes steady through the lenses of his glasses. “It’s a rare opportunity, Georgia. The other two students assisting me are grad students and I still need a third—”

“Yes,” I blurted. He hadn’t even mentioned pay or the research topic, but I didn’t care. This sounded a lot better than going home and working at the bank. And the best thing of all? I could stay here. Mom wouldn’t love the idea, but she would have to acknowledge it as a great opportunity. It was an academic endeavor that actually paid.

“Excellent. Speak with Doris, the department secretary, and she will gather your information. We’ll be in touch regarding our first meeting.” Dr. Chase stood.

I rose, too, grabbing the strap of my messenger bag. I shook his hand, maybe a little too vigorously in my eagerness. “Thank you.”

He smiled, already looking distracted as he dropped my hand. “See you soon.”

As soon as I left his office, I rummaged for my phone and scanned my contacts until I found the person I needed to call. He picked up after the second ring.

“Reece? Hey, it’s Georgia. Did you really mean it when you said I could use your old apartment this summer?”

MOM WASN’T THRILLED.

I’d known that she wouldn’t be, but she actually required more convincing than I expected.

“Maybe I should call this Dr. Chase,” she suggested, “And find out more about the particulars of—”

“Mom, no. What for?” With a deep breath, I softened my voice, “I’m twenty years old and in college. I don’t think he’s accustomed to getting phone calls from parents. This is legit, I promise. I’ll be working with grad students. I’m really lucky to get this chance.”

She sighed, and I knew she was relenting.

“I’m sure I can expect a fabulous recommendation from him for future jobs. And this experience will look great on my resume,” I added, knowing how Mom thought. “Your friend at the bank will be very impressed.”

“Fine.”

A huge smile curved my lips and I danced in place.

“What about housing?” she continued. “Do you even have a place—”

“A friend of mine is moving out of his apartment and is letting me stay there over the summer.”

“Is it a nice place? In a good part of town?”

“Mom. It’s five minutes from campus. It’s great.” Not a lie. Mulvaney’s is right around the corner from campus. I just omitted the part about it being located on top of a bar.

“All right. Georgia. I can see you want this. We were just looking forward to having you home for the summer. We miss you.” At that, guilt stabbed at me. My mother, my family . . . they just loved me. Mom especially. She cared about me. I shouldn’t resent her for it. My mom wasn’t like Pepper’s—a drug addict who’d abandoned her only child. Or Emerson’s mother who was, depending on the day, either cruel or indifferent to her daughter. My mom cared too much. That was her crime.

“Find out the timeline. Maybe you can schedule a trip home before school starts in the fall.”

I nodded, happiness bubbling up inside me. “I will. I’ll let you know.”

I stayed on the phone for a few more minutes, in such a great mood that I even tolerated her sharing all the latest Harris news with me. Apparently Mom had breakfast with his mother at the club last weekend. I didn’t even interrupt when she voiced—again—the inevitability of our getting back together.

Ending the call, I propped my hands on my hips and surveyed my dorm. Suddenly packing wasn’t such a dismal prospect.

THE LAST WEEK AND
a half of classes flew by. My final paper was turned in. My last exam taken. All my boxes were packed—and not just mine, but my roommates’, too. We were all moving out. Moving out and moving on.

I sat on Pepper’s bed next to Em, watching as Reece lifted the final box and marched out into the hall with it.

Pepper sank down on the mattress beside us. The mattress was stripped of sheets and made a faint crackling sound with the addition of her weight. The room was completely bare. Naked brick walls stared down at us.

“This is it,” Pepper declared with a forced smile.

My eyes ached a little, burning with the threat of tears, as I stared at her. I reached out to caress the loosely braided auburn hair that hung over her shoulder.

“It’s not like this is good-bye,” Emerson declared after a long moment of silence.

“Yeah, I know. We’ll get together every week,” I said, my voice a little strangled even to my ears. “We’ll always have
Teen Wolf
night.”

“That’s right,” Pepper agreed, pointing at both of us in mock threat. “We watch it together. Reruns, fine, but new episodes are off-limits.”

But it won’t be the same.

The three of us would never share our lives together in the same way again. Pepper would be living full-time with Reece. Even in the fall when Emerson and I moved back into the dorm together with Suzanne (she had agreed to move in with us), it would never be like before. Em would hardly ever be there. She’d be with Shaw. And it would only be a matter of time before Suzanne had a boyfriend, too.

We were moving on. Growing up. It was right. Good. And I was happy for all of us.
So why did this suck so much?

Pepper hugged each of us, her arms squeezing tight. “You sure you don’t need help moving your stuff to Mulvaney’s?”

“No, I got it. Reece already helped me get everything in the car.” There was nothing left for me next door. Just an empty room like this one. “I can take it from here. I’ll head over this afternoon.”

She nodded and we all hugged again like it was the last time we would ever see one another. “At least shoot me a text when you’re on your way over and I’ll meet you at Mulvaney’s to officially introduce you to the staff.”

“You don’t have to do that. You’ll be busy settling into your new—”

“No, I want to. Reece has to go into work later at the new location anyway, so I’m happy to do it.”

“Okay,” I agreed.

Pepper left then and Em and I turned to face each other. She bumped her knuckles with mine with exaggerated slowness. “So proud of you, friend.”

I blinked. “Me? Why?”

“I know your parents were pressuring you to go home for the summer, and I know you didn’t want to. Good for you standing up for yourself.”

“Working with Dr. Chase is a great opportunity.”

She shrugged. “Spin it however you like. You’re here and free for the summer.” She grinned then. “Now don’t get into too much trouble at Mulvaney’s.” Her pretty grin then turned into a giggle. As if the idea of my getting into trouble was so outrageous she had to laugh.

I laughed as if that was ridiculous. “Oh, you know me. Troublemaker extraordinaire.”

I had a flash of myself at the kink club with Annie. I had been on the verge of getting into trouble that night. And that had been the goal. To shake off my self-imposed constraints and not be so boring for once. To be wild. If Em knew that, she might not laugh at the suggestion. She might actually be worried I would do something reckless and get into trouble living above Mulvaney’s.

She considered me for a moment, her lovely blue eyes sharp with speculation. “On second thought, a little bit of trouble might be good for you.” She held up her thumb and index finger, pinching a small amount of air. “Just a little bit. Nothing to land you in jail or anything.”

I seriously laughed at that. I’d never so much as gotten a speeding ticket. “Oh, really? Is jail when you’ve gone too far then? Is that when things have officially gotten out of hand?”

“Yeah. Jail is a no-no. But you’ve been the good girl long enough. Maybe you need a wild summer.”

It burned on my tongue to tell her about the kink club right then, but I held back. First of all, she didn’t approve of Annie, and once I weathered her disapproval for hanging out with the girl who abandoned her at a biker bar, she would demand all the details. Considering most of those details involved Logan Mulvaney and a kiss that left me all hot and bothered, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. The very idea made me wince. “I’ll be working . . . doing research, remember?”

“Not every moment of the day. You’ll have plenty of time for play.”

“I’ll be fine,” I assured her.

“Who wants to be
fine
all the time?” She snorted, standing and grabbing her bag. “Be crazy. Have a fling. Get that asshat Harris out of your system for good. Nothing like a good romp between the sheets to make you forget the prick and move on. And who knows? Maybe you’ll meet the
one.
”

I sighed, not quite knowing what to do with this new Emerson. She had turned into the eternal optimist who believed in love and happily ever after.

But some of what she was saying had a kernel of truth. I’d just had a taste of what she was describing with Logan, and Harris’s memory was already dimmer. When I did think of Harris these days, it was with more clarity. The relationship hadn’t been working for a long time, but habit had kept me chained to him. And the fact that my parents loved the idea of us together.

Could a romp between the sheets with Logan exorcise my ex totally? Tempting. Too bad it couldn’t happen. Any other guy, maybe. But not Logan. It would be difficult to have a fling with Reece’s younger brother and keep it uncomplicated.

She pressed a quick kiss to my cheek. “You staying here for the summer is going to be good for you.”

“Yeah?” I asked as she moved to the door.

“Yeah. Look. You’ve played the perfect girlfriend, the perfect daughter forever. Maybe you need to spend the summer and just find the perfect you.” She smiled at me to soften her words—as though she knew they stung. And they did.

I’d always viewed myself as strong, smart, and independent, but she’d just called me out. I was a fake—not nearly as independent as I had pretended to be. I could think of no reply.

“I’ll text you,” she said, her smile soft and encouraging.

I nodded, her words tumbling through me with a truth that I didn’t want to acknowledge. And yet she’d thrown them out there, forcing me to see them. “Bye.”

The door clicked shut after her. Alone in our empty suite, I fell back on the bare mattress and stared at the ceiling, confronting the idea of me being someone else this summer. A girl who didn’t have to worry about what her parents thought. A girl without a hovering boyfriend.

I could be anyone I wanted.