me still in his arms, and twirled about the room. Buddy followed at our heels, barking and jumping. “Babe, that’s amazing. You deserve it.”
“I think I might throw up if you keep spinning me,” I squeaked. Tate immediately stopped, placing me gently back on my feet. He cupped my jaw, pulling me in for a kiss. Once my knees stopped quivering, I slid my hands down his arms, certain—or at least, fairly confident—that I wouldn’t fall if I just held onto him.
“Thank you,” I said. “I couldn’t have done it without your help.”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. You’re the smartest girl I know. You would have learned the language and aced that test with or without me.”
Scooping his arms behind my neck and lower back, Tate dipped me, his nose brushing against the hollow of my neck. “But it wouldn’t have been nearly as fun as it’s been with me.” He winked.
“You got that right, Archie,” I said through a smile.
“I have a surprise for you,” he said. “I wasn’t planning on giving it to you tonight. I was going to wait until after midterms. But, well, you’re here. And you deserve something to celebrate.”
A present? Other than Harrison, I didn’t think any guy had ever surprised me with a gift for no reason.
He took my hand and pulled me into his bedroom, grabbing a wrapped box from his closet and setting it on the bed. “This is only the first part of the gift. I have to get the rest of it ready.” He spun around to face me, grinning and excited, like he’d been waiting to give it to me. I didn’t even know what it was, but his thoughtfulness made him that much more sexy. My body heated as I stared at him, my nipples peaking beneath my shirt. Tate growled, dragging me to his lips for a fevered kiss. “Goddamn, just when I think you can’t get any sexier.”
He left the room, closing the door behind him. With a timid hand, I reached for the box, pulling at the satin red bow. Folded perfectly inside the box was a fluffy pink robe. It was neither overly sexy, nor totally casual, and it had just the tiniest touch of beads and lace decorating the seams. I thought back to my old cotton robe that he’d seen me in a few weeks ago. The pink color had long since faded, and it had frayed along the edging. Shimmying out of my skirt, I yanked my shirt overhead and paused, looking down at my basic cotton panties and sports bra. A groan echoed in my spinning head and I braced myself on the dresser. Could I have chosen less sexy underwear for tonight?
Jeez, think before leaving your apartment, Shelby. Even if you’re just going to work.
I mentally face-palmed myself before wiggling out of my underwear and tucking my clothes in the corner of his bedroom.
The robe was so soft across my sensitive skin, like I was wrapped in a cloud. Twirling in front of Tate’s full-length mirror, I tied the belt loosely around my hips, the strip of skin between my breasts glistening with a sheen of sweat. The robe was short, the hem only hitting about mid-thigh, leaving a lot of my legs showing. With a quick tug of my ponytail, my hair tumbled down my shoulders in messy waves, and I scrunched it with a hand, licking my lips.
My body was on fire—ready, swollen, and more than wanting this. Wanting Tate. I wandered around his room—he only had a couple of photographs in frames. One of him and a group of guys in some sort of beer pong championship. I assumed the other picture was him and his parents, sitting on a beach somewhere breathtakingly beautiful. His mom was perfect—the quintessential debutante mother. I swallowed hard. My mother had been that woman once. She had spent her days on PTA boards, planning charity events, and attending functions in gowns that cost more than my monthly rent. That had been her life. I gulped. That had been my life.
The door clicked and swung open on the other side of the room, and I jumped, startled. Jesus, how drunk was I?
I spun to find Tate standing in the doorway, shirtless, in only his mesh basketball shorts. They hung low on his narrow hips, and the white contrasted with his bronzed skin. He was lean and solid. All that basketball practice was paying off, and his pecs and biceps