The Sophomore (College Years #2) - Monica Murphy Page 0,51
ready to say something, but she’s already opening the door.
“Thanks, bye,” she says hurriedly as she climbs out of my Mercedes, shutting the door behind her.
I throw the car into park and cut the engine, ready to chase after her. Though I shouldn’t.
Yeah. I totally shouldn’t.
I do though. I exit the vehicle and make my way after her, calling her name.
She literally turns around and holds her finger to her lips, shushing me.
“My neighbors are sleeping,” she whisper-yells.
I can’t help it. I laugh.
And keep following her.
Ellie stops in front of a door on the ground level, which doesn’t thrill me. She should be on the second floor at least. I haven’t been to her apartment yet, so I had no idea. At least the complex is quiet. Gated. Newer, and in a decent part of town.
I still worry about her safety though.
“This your apartment?” I ask, already knowing that it is.
“You didn’t have to follow me to my door,” she says, sounding irritated.
“I wanted to.”
“Okay. Whatever. Thanks again for the ride, Jackson.” She sticks her key in the deadbolt at the same time that I approach her, stopping just behind her.
“Can I come in for a little bit?”
She shakes her head, keeping her back to me. “I have roommates. I don’t want you to wake them up.”
“I can be quiet. Do you have a room to yourself?”
She nods. “You can’t come in, Jackson.”
I press my hand against the door, crowding her from behind. “Why not?”
“I don’t want you to,” she admits.
We’re quiet. I can hear her breathe. There’s a warm breeze outside, and it stirs the wild strands of her hair. All I want to do is smooth them down. Run my fingers down her neck. Kiss her there. Pull her into my arms and not let her go for the rest of the night.
But I can’t. I can’t do it.
I’d fuck everything up.
“I never did tell you what’s bugging me,” I murmur, giving in to my urges and tucking a few strands of her silky soft hair behind her ear.
She goes completely stiff. “What is it?”
Leaning in, I whisper close to her ear, “It’s you.”
Ellie turns to face me so fast, I rear back a little, giving her the room she needs. She shoves at my chest, her face screwed up in anger, her eyes blazing with fury.
“Don’t give me that bullshit, Jackson. I’m so tired of you acting like a possessive asshole yet you won’t do anything about it.”
I frown. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You act like my boyfriend, yet you won’t touch me. Or you will touch me, but you never take it too far. Afraid you might break me or whatever,” she says, her words hot. Girl is mad. I kind of like it. “I won’t break, Jackson. I’m tougher than I look. I can handle you. I’ve been handling you for years.”
“You haven’t handled all of me,” I boast, unable to resist.
She socks me right in the chest again, and this time, it kind of hurts. “See? It’s shit like that. You flirt with me. You’ve kissed me. You freaking felt me up in the car last night, yet you won’t do anything else. I don’t understand you. Glaring at Carson like you want to rip him apart when he talks to me. It’s stupid! You’re being really, really stupid right now, and you need to stop. Or—”
Ellie presses her lips together, cutting off whatever else she was going to say.
“Or what?” I ask when she remains silent. I press both hands against the door, caging her in, standing so close to her you probably couldn’t slip a piece of paper between us. I can feel her heat, her chest rise and fall when she breathes. She’s beautiful, even after working a long shift, even with God knows what staining the front of her shirt. She’s even more beautiful than usual because she’s all worked up, pissed off at me, and God help me, I like it.
“I was going to say, you need to do something about it,” she admits, her voice small. “You know how I feel about you. There’s no point in my explaining it. But I don’t know how you feel about me.”
“I care about you, El. You’re my fri—”
She shakes her head, the look on her face making me snap my lips shut. “We have more than friendly feelings toward each other, and you know it. Admit it.”
I remain quiet. To admit what I feel for her could change…