A Love Like This (Book 1) (19 page)

Tucker holds a finger in front of his lips and whispers,
 
“
Shh.
”

“
What the hell are you doing in my room?
”

He kicks off his shoes pulls his shirt over his head and climbs into bed next to me.

“
You can
’
t be here,
”
 
I whisper looking over at Sarah
’
s bed.
 
That woman could sleep through a hurricane.
 
Tucker doesn
’
t say a word.
 
He presses his lips against mine then positions his huge body over me.
 
I wrap my arms around him as he kisses my neck.
 
 
“
You should really go,
”
 
I say breathlessly stroking his hair and caressing his back.
 
 
He kisses my lips my neck then moves
down.
 
He unzips my pajamas and slowly, gently flicks his tongue over my nipples.
 
I
 
melt
 
like chocolate under his touch.
 
I
’
m trying to steady my breathing as he kisses my stomach.
 
He
’
s under my quilt tearing at my underwear.
 
His head is buried between my legs and I
’
m biting my bottom lip to stop myself from screaming with pleasure.
 
Tucker thrusts his tongue inside me.
 
My legs are wrapped around his head.
 
His tongue is on the right spot.

“
Oh Tucker,
”
 
I yell out.

“
Are you fucking kidding me?
 
Leila, wake up.
”

I open one eye and a ray of sun shines on my face through a crack in the blinds.
 
My quilt is on the floor, I
’
m hugging a pillow and the sheets are wound around my sweaty body.
 
I shade my eyes from the sun and glance over at Sarah.
 
She
’
s propped up on her elbows glaring at me with blood shot eyes.

“
I was trying to let you get there but you
’
ve been moaning progressively louder for twenty minutes.
“
 
She gently lowers her head
 
back
 
onto the pillow.
 
 
“
I mean how long does it take a person to cum?
”

“
Oh God, I
’
m so embarrassed,
”
 
I say pulling the sheet over my head.

“
Nothing to be ashamed of I
’
ve known you needed to get laid since the day I met you.
 
 
But my head is killing me so please go take a cold shower.
 
I
’
m sure Tucker will be more than willing to help you scratch that itch later today.
”

“
My itch will be fine,
”
 
I lie then roll over to face the wall.
 
Sarah
’
s snoring resumes in seconds.
 
I squeeze my legs together and a throbbing stronger than I
’
ve ever felt
 
before
 
courses through my whole body.
 
I
’
m afraid that if I close my eyes Tucker will end up in my bed again so I hoist myself up and head for the shower.

____
__

Tucker shows up at the dorm at around 11 AM.
 
Sarah answers the door wearing last night
’
s dress.
 
She has a face full of smeared makeup.
 
Her hair is matted and teased high on one side and perfectly straight on the other side.

“
Ugh what the hell happened to you?
”
 

“
Not in the mood for you right now,
”
 
She says and tries to close the door.
 

Tucker sticks his foot in the door jam.
 
“
I didn
’
t come here for you. Where
’
s Leila,
”
 
He says looking past
Sarah.
 

“
I don
’
t know where she is.
 
Why are you here so early?
 
You spent half the night on the phone and the other half in Leila
’
s wet dream just go home,
”
 
Sarah says trying to close the door again.

“
Really,
”
 
he says crossing
his arms and rocking back on the
hee
l
s of his feet
please
d
that he was able to invade Leila
’
s dreams.
 

“
I probably shouldn
’
t have said that.
 
Look, Leila muttered something about this room smelling like the circus came to town so she left.
 
Check the cafeteria,
”
 
Sarah says before closing the door in Tucker
’
s face.
 

Tucker walks out of the building and looks around the campus.
 
It
’
s a warm spring day and there
’
s a cool breeze rolling in off the bay.
 
He spots Leila sitting on a bench across the grass field.
 
She
’
s wearing a short yellow p
easant dress with tan wedged hee
ls. Her hair is pulled into a high ponytail and she is beautiful.
 
Tucker stops walking and watches her for a few minutes.
 
His heart is beating quickly and he wants to race over and carry her away.
 
The wind is blowing leaves from a nearby oak tree and a few leaves fall into her hair.
 
She
’
s reading
 
‘
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
’
which has been her favorite book since high school.
 
She doesn
’
t notice Tucker watching.
 
 
In that moment he knows that she
’
s the one.
 
He can see a future with her and it scares him.

He
 
is about fifty feet away when Mike appears out
 
of
 
nowhere and says something that Tucker can
’
t hear before sitting
 
down next to her.
 
Mike pulls the leaves from Leila
’
s hair and hands them to her.
 
Tucker
’
s mouth is a straight line and his fists are clinching and unclenching involuntarily.
 
 
He takes long quick strides across the field and reaches
Leila and Mike in seconds.
 
 
She
 
smiles and stands to hug him.
 
 
Tucker looks serious. His chest is sticking out a bit further than usual and his square jaw is set tight.
 
He
’
s wearing jeans that hang low on his waist and make his ass look like the letter C, black converse and a new white graphic t-shirt.
 
His dark blond curls are falling just above
 
his
 
midnight blue eyes. He reaches down and
 
scoops Leila up in his arms.
 
She wraps her arms around his neck.
 
 
He smells like soap and his hair is still a little wet from his shower.
 
She has flash backs of her dream and she shutters in his arms.

He puts her down but his arm remains firmly around her waist and his body is tense.
 

“
What the fuck are you doing here?
”
 
He says to Mike spitting out the words like
 
poison.

This is a side of Tucker Leila
’
s never seen.
 
He
’
s usually so laid-back but he
’
s looking at Mike as if he might go for the jugular at any moment.
 

“
Mike came here to apologize,
”
 
she says looking up at Tucker
’
s angry face.
 
“
Haven
’
t you two been friends forever?
”
 
 
Mike is standing now matching the intensity of Tucker
’
s glare.

“
Look man let
’
s just squash this,
”
 
he says offering his hand.
 
Tucker releases Leila long enough to extend his hand to Mike.
 
His jaw line is still tight and the vein on the side of his neck is pulsating.

“
I told Mike that we
’
re all going out tonight.
 
You should invite him,
”
 
Leila says.

“
Will you excuse us?
”
 
 
Tucker says
 
without looking at Leila.

The two men are glaring at each other as if they are long time enemy
’
s rather than best friends.
 
 
“
Gladly I
’
ll be in my room,
”
 
Leila says and sets off in a hurry.

When she
’
s out of earshot Tucker says,
 
“
The bet is off, if you want me to squash this than leave Leila alone.
”

“
Dude we
’
ve been friends since the seventh grade.
 
I
’
m not going to let some girl come between us.
”
 
 
Well not again, Mike thinks to himself.

“
Where are you guys going tonight?
 
We
’
ll have a few drinks and let bygones be bygones.
”
 
Tucker just stares angrily at Mike.
 
Mike raises his hands,
 
“
I promise to keep my hands off your girl.
”

Tucker exhales loudly,
 
“
We
’
re going to meet Riley at the Cave.
 
If you so much as look at her our friendship is over.
”

“
We make bets all the time what are you so pissed about.
”

Tucker combs through his hair with his fingers.
 
 
“
It
’
s different this time.
”

“
Man
 
don
’
t
 
tell me you
’
re falling in love.
”

Tucker turns to walk away,
 
“
I
’
ll see you tonight.
”