Relief flooded me. I wanted Teresa to wait until she was thirty and knew how to handle a loaded gun before she started dating again. “I’m glad to hear that.”
She nodded, letting out a little breath. “But if you still want to meet him, I can set that up.”
“I’d like that.” No reason not to put the fear of God into a “good friend.”
She rocked back on her sock-covered heels as she looked up at me. “I really like Avery, by the way. She’s so sweet and pretty. And smart, which makes me doubt why she’s here with you.” She flashed a quick grin. “I do like her.”
The change of subject warmed me. “She is. I’m glad you like her.”
“Well, she’s got my seal of approval.” Teresa stepped back into her bedroom, pausing. She looked like she wanted to say something and then shook her head. “Good night.”
I waited until I was almost 100 percent positive my little sister wouldn’t catch me sneaking into Shortcake’s room before I knocked on her door as quietly as I could and then opened the door halfway.
All thoughts of having a nighttime confession went out the window.
Resting on her elbows, Avery Morgansten was a fucking sight to behold. Her hair hung down her shoulders and her face tilted to the side. There was an impish quality to the look she sent me, part seductress, part naïve. I knew she had no idea how damn good she looked lying there, which made her so much hotter.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hi.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“I wanted to say good night.” That so wasn’t the truth, but I couldn’t remember why I was seeking her out other than I wanted to see her.
She clenched the bedspread. “You already told me good night.”
“I did.” I slipped into the room, closing the door behind me. I was drawn to her like pencil to paper. “But I didn’t. Not in the way I want to say good night.”
Her soft inhale was my undoing, but as I made my way to the bed and sat beside her, I knew that I was always undone around her. And she had no freaking clue.
My gaze drifted over her upturned face, soaking in the slightly flushed cheeks and parted lips, down to the soft swells under the thin shirt she wore. “I’m glad you decided to come here.”
Her eyes were incredibly wide when they met mine. “I am, too.”
“Really?” I leaned over her, placing my hand on the other side of her hip. “Did you just admit that?”
The corners of her lips tilted up. “Yeah, I sort of did.”
My body followed that barely there smile, drawing me toward her until my upper body hovered over hers. “I wish I had my phone to record this moment.”
Her chest rose sharply as she dragged her gaze to mine. “I’ve . . . had a wonderful time.”
“So have I.” I took a breath I didn’t need. “So what do you think you’re going to do for winter break?”
She wetted her bottom lip and a wild bolt of need shot through me. “I don’t know. I thought about taking off for D.C. one of the days. I want to see the Smithsonian and the National Mall. I’ve never been.”
“Hmm, that could be fun.” My mind was coming up with many different things that could also be fun. “I could be your tour guide.”
The grin kicked up a notch. “That . . . that would be fun.”
“It would be.” Without knowing it, I’d moved close enough that my breath teased her flushed cheek. “Pick a date.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
“January the second,” she said immediately, and for some reason, that blush of hers deepened. “Will you be available then?”
My lips curved up. “I’ll be available whenever you want me to be.” My heart thudded in my chest when her smile spread, becoming dazzling. I knew that I hadn’t come in here for this, but I was going to kiss her. There would be no stopping me. “Guess what, Avery?”
“What?”
“Remember how you just said you were having a good time?” I tilted my head so that my mouth slanted over hers. “It’s about to get better.”
“Is it?” she whispered.
My nose grazed hers. “Oh, yeah.”
“Are you not going to kiss me again?”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Long lashes specked with red swept down as my lips brushed over hers. It was such a gentle kiss, but it was like a clap of thunder in my veins. Dropping my weight onto my other arm, I splayed my fingers along her cheek as I pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips and then the other side.
Sliding my hand along the nape of her neck, I tasted the skin of her jaw, the flesh below her ear. A deep chuckle rumbled through me when she shivered. When I pressed my lips under her ear again, flicking my tongue, she made a sound that blew the thoughts out of my head.
“Good night, Avery.”
I kissed her, pressing my lips to hers, working at the seam of her mouth until she opened, allowing me in. The taste of her skin had sparked a fire deep inside me, but the feel of her warm mouth ignited a blazing fire. I couldn’t get enough of her lips, of her kisses or the soft, breathy sounds she was making.
I groaned as I slid my hand out from underneath her, guiding her onto her back. Her body immediately stiffened, and I knew I needed to tone it down. The last thing I wanted was to scare her.
God, that was the last thing.
Cupping her cheek, I softly kissed her until her body relaxed under mine and then, shocking the hell out of me, her small hand ended up under my shirt, pressing against the bare skin of my abs.
It was like being branded.
Heat roared through my veins as my body jerked on reflex. Air punched from my lungs. She wanted to touch me? Holy hell, she could touch me. I pulled back, reached down and yanked my shirt over my head.
Avery’s mouth parted as her gaze moved over my chest, the tattoo, and then down. It was like a touch, but better. My body was burning to feel hers.
I tugged the comforter down and planted my hands on either side of her head, tangling them in her hair. There was a primal part that took over when her hands flattened over the lower part of my stomach. My entire body tightened.
I dropped my forehead to hers. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
She dragged in a deep breath as I lowered my body onto hers. The feel of her softness under me had my pulse pounding like I had run a mile in sand. I clenched my jaw shut as she shifted under me, spreading her thighs and allowing our bodies to meet.
“Fuck,” I growled as a tremor shook me to the core.
Claiming her lips in a kiss that scorched my skin, I slowly rolled my hips against her. Fuck-a-dee-fuck, pleasure rolled down my spine. I wanted to sink into her, completely lose myself in her. Her hands gripped my sides as I rocked against her, trailing a path down her neck, to the swell of her breast and lower with my hand. I hooked her thigh around my hip, settling deeper against her. Our bodies rocked and her sweet, soft moan echoed in my thoughts.
“I like that sound.” I thrust my hips forward, and she moaned again. “Correction. I love that fucking sound.”
I don’t know what it was about her, maybe it was everything, but it had never felt this good before, this strong and intense with anyone else. Not even my first time when it had felt like I’d jumped over a hundred-story building.
My fingers tangled with hers as her tongue flicked over mine, bringing me to an almost painful point where I thought there’d be a good chance I was going to embarrass myself. Even knowing that, I couldn’t stop. I slid my hand up hers, under her sleeve, over delicate skin and—
My hand stilled as my fingers came to a patch of rough, raised skin. Half of my brain was existing at cock level, but the other part took control. I followed the path of skin, dumbly realizing it formed a thin, straight line down the center of her wrist—the wrist she always co
vered with a bracelet.
No. No fucking way.
My heart literally stopped as I lifted my head, staring down into her unfocused gaze.
“Cam?” she said softly, wiggling under me.
I turned her arm over and I looked. There was no mistaking the deep scar that ran several inches up her vein. My thumb followed it as I realized that this cut—oh God, this cut—had to be severe.
An ache formed in my chest, pouring through my veins. Muscles tightened and lumps formed. I wanted to wipe the scar away, to erase whatever it was that had caused this, because I knew she had done this to herself.
“Avery . . . ?” My gaze moved to hers, latching on. I could barely breathe. “Oh, Avery, what is this?”
A moment or two passed when she stared up at me, the blood leaching from her face, and then she tore her arm free. She clambered out from underneath me, yanking her sleeve down with such force I thought she’d tear the arm off her shirt.
“Avery . . .” I twisted toward her, reaching out.
“Please,” she whispered, climbing to the end of the bed. “Please leave.”
Stomach sinking, I pulled my hand back. “Avery, talk to me.”
Her entire body trembled as she shook her head.
“Avery—”
“Leave!” She shot from the bed, taking a step back like a wounded, caged animal. “Just leave.”
Every instinct demanded that I not leave, but the wild, horrified glaze to her eyes was more than I could bear. I went to the door and then stopped, trying once more. “Avery, we can talk—”
“Leave.” Her voice cracked. “Please.”
The muscles along my back tensed at the broken sound of her voice. I did what she asked. Not because I wanted to, but because it was what she wanted.
I left.
Eighteen
The moment I realized that Avery was never coming to astronomy class again, I literally couldn’t believe it. But it had to be the truth. Since the ride back from my parent’s house the Friday after Thanksgiving, I hadn’t heard a peep from her. No response to my calls or my texts. The times that I knocked on her door, there was never an answer even though her car was in the parking lot.
She hadn’t even answered the door for eggs.
When the weekend came again and the following Monday morning passed without Avery being in astronomy, I knew she had taken an incomplete.
A motherfucking incomplete.
It was insane for her to go that far to avoid me, and for what? Because I had seen the scar? I didn’t understand and I wasn’t stupid. She was obviously embarrassed and had gone to great lengths to hide the scar, but it hadn’t been fresh. It was something she had done years ago, so why did she hide from me now?
I talked to Brittany and even Jacob, since Avery didn’t show in the Den for lunch. Neither of them knew what the hell was going on with Avery. I hadn’t mentioned the scar. I never would, but I had hoped that they had some insight. They had none.
It was driving me crazy—the silence and the confusion. And the longer it went, the more acid that seemed to collect in the pit of my stomach, the worse the knots and the ache in my chest were getting.
Short of camping out in front of her door, there was little I could do, but I was determined to talk to her. And it happened on the last day of finals, at the start of winter break. Like a total stalker, I’d been staring out my front window, waiting for Ollie to return with pizza, when I saw her cross the parking lot with her hands full with groceries.
When I heard the soft footsteps in the hall outside, I threw open the door. Avery was in front of her door, her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, and the weight of her bags dragging her shoulders down. There was no doubt in my mind that she was trying to ghost through the door before I saw her.
That hurt.
And that fucking pissed me off.
“Avery.”
Her back stiffened like she’d been shot full of steel. She didn’t turn around or address me, and as my gaze drifted over her, I could see the pink tips of her fingers, strangled from the bags she carried. Some of the steam went out of my anger.
I sighed. “Let me help you.”
“I got it.”
“Doesn’t look that way.” I stepped closer. “Your fingers are turning purple.”
“It’s fine.”
She walked into her apartment and I shot forward. Hell to the fucking no. She was not going to disappear on me.
I took a bag from her, and she jerked like she’d been shocked. She dropped a bag. Items spilled forth. “Shit,” she muttered, stooping down.
I knelt, picking up items I really didn’t see. Her head was bowed as she swiped up a bottle of hair conditioner and then her chin lifted. Our gazes met. Dark shadows had bloomed under eyes, smudges that had not been there before. Was she sleeping? What was she doing during this time? Did she miss me as much as I missed her?
Avery looked away as she snatched a box of tampons from me. “If you laugh, I will punch you in the stomach.”
“I wouldn’t dare think of laughing.”
There was also no way in hell that I would let go of anything else because I was getting in that apartment and she was going to talk to me.
Seeming to sense she wasn’t going to get rid of me, she sighed heavily, like the whole world was about to collapse in on her, and marched into her kitchen.
She sat the bags on the counter, ripping items out of them. “You didn’t have to help, but thank you. I really need to—”
“Do you really think you’re going to get rid of me that easily now that I’m in here?”
“I could only hope.” She shut the fridge door.
“Ha. Funny.” I watched her head back to the counter. “We need to talk.”
She stacked the frozen dinners and headed back to the freezer before she spoke. “We don’t need to talk.”
“Yes, we do.”
“No, we don’t.” Not once did she look at me. “And I’m busy. As you can see, I have groceries to put away and I—”
“Okay, I can help.” I strolled forward, heading to the counter. “And we can talk while I help you.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Yeah, I think you kind of do.”
Leaving the freezer door open, she spun on me. Her eyes narrowed as cold air wafted out. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Where in the hell did that come from? “It doesn’t mean what you think it does, Avery. Jesus. All I want to do is talk to you. That’s all I’ve been trying to do.”
“Obviously I don’t want to talk to you,” she snapped, picking up a pack of hamburger meat and tossing it into the freezer. “And you’re still here.”
Whoa. Anger pricked over my skin and I struggled to keep control of my temper. “Look, I get that you’re not happy with me, but you have to fill me in on what I did to piss you off so badly that you won’t talk to me or even—”
“You didn’t do anything, Cam! I just don’t want to talk to you.” She spun around, stalking toward the front door. “Okay?”
“No, it’s not okay.” I followed her into the living room. “This is not how people act, Avery. They don’t just up and drop a person or hide from them. If there’s—”
“You want to know how people don’t act?” She flinched, and for a moment, she didn’t speak. “People also don’t constantly call and harass people who obviously don’t want to see them! How about that?”
“Harass you? Is that what I’ve been doing?” I laughed hoarsely, unable to comprehend where this conversation had gone. “Are you fucking kidding me? Me being concerned about you is harassing?”
She took a step back, her eyes wide. “I shouldn’t have said that. You’re not harassing me. I just . . .” She stopped, smoothing her hands over the top of her head. “I don’t know.”
My heart rate kicked up as I stared at her. “This is about what I saw, isn’t it?” I gestured at her arm. “Avery, you can—”
“No.” Her right hand immediately circled the bracelet, as if she could somehow hide what I already knew. “It’s not about that. It’s not about anything. I just don’t want to do this.”
My patience stretched thin. “Do what?”
“This!” She squeezed her eyes shut and when they reopened, there was a fine sheen. “I don’t want to do this.”
Air went out of my lungs like I’d been punched. “Good God, woman, all I’m trying to do is talk to you!”
She shook her head slowly. “There’s nothing to talk about, Cam.”
“Avery, come on . . .” I started to take a step toward her, but stopped when she moved back, away from me. The look that shot across her face was part fear and part confusion, but it was the fear that drew me to a stop.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There was no way she was afraid of me, but the look on her face was like being shot through the heart with an UZI.
That reaction was killer. Had I hurt her somehow? The question was brief as it flashed through my thoughts and I knew the answer. I hadn’t hurt her.
Avery ducked her chin and looked away.
My patience snapped. “Okay, you know what? I’m not going to rake myself over fucking hot coals for this. Fuck it.”
The moment those words left my mouth, part of me wanted to take them back. The other part of me wanted to scream them again from the top of my lungs. I headed for the door and then stopped, cursing under my breath. What came out of my mouth made me wonder if I was a glutton for punishment.
“Look, I’m heading home for winter break. I’ll be back and forth, so if you need anything . . .” She continued to stare at me like she had been, and I laughed again, realizing that all I was doing was making a complete and utter ass out of myself. “Yeah, you don’t need anything.”
I stepped out into the hall and then my body seemed to demand that I make an even bigger ass out of myself. I faced her. Avery hadn’t moved from her spot.