Breathless #2 (The Breathless Romance Series - Book #2) (7 page)

“For special occasions. I think this one I originally
got for my cousin’s wedding, and fortunately it still fits. I couldn’t show up
to meet your parents in a jersey, you know.”

As we got closer and closer to my hometown, closer to
the club where my parents would be waiting for us, I felt my heart beating
faster and faster. “So,” I said, my throat and mouth dry. “I have to confess
something to you.” Johnny grinned.

“Your parents didn’t actually invite me and you’re
springing me on them with no notice?” I laughed in spite of how terrified I
was.

“No, actually; my mom absolutely insisted that I invite
you as soon as I mentioned I was seeing a guy.” Johnny grinned again.

“And as soon as you told her I was the hottest guy
you’ve ever been with?” I blushed.

“I might have told her about some of your… sterling
qualities.” I cleared my throat. “But no, that’s not what I have to confess. My
parents are rich.” I paused, shaking my head at how baldly that had come out.

“Well they belong to a country club; I definitely
didn’t think they were on welfare or something.” I smiled nervously.

“Well yeah; obviously…” I licked my lips. “But I mean
like, they’re really wealthy. If I had wanted to go to like, Yale or something,
they would have done whatever it took to make that happen. They were really
disappointed that I went to a small in-state college instead of an ivy league.”

“Are we talking like Bill Gates money here?” I
shrugged.

“Not quite that bad, but they’re definitely aware of
their status. They tried to set me up with a bunch of guys from the club in
high school. Mostly it just annoys me.”

“Did you go on any super expensive dates?” Johnny
grinned. “Could’ve been fun to get them to spend all that money on you and then
stonewall them when you got to the end of the night.” I giggled.

“No, I just didn’t date anyone at all for my last year
in high school. Hence why I was in the top 5% of my class.” I fidgeted with the
skirt of my dress, smoothing it over my knees. “It just gets on my nerves
sometimes, is all. And I wanted you to be ready for the fact that they can kind
of be jerks about it.”

“Makes sense. I don’t think I’d like you as much as I
do if you were the type to go along with the whole pompous money thing.” I
smiled, relaxing a little bit.

“Well, it sort of embarrasses me, and I plan on making
my own way after college. Becoming a teacher. I guess it’s the typical ‘poor
little rich girl’ thing to do, but I don’t want to get a job in a big office
because my dad knows someone, you know?” Johnny nodded slowly.

“I do think you should take advantage of it while you
can. Make ‘em pay for everything. Take a trip to Cancun for Spring Break—or
France!” I laughed.

“I’ve been to France,” I said. “I could see about
getting them to pay for a trip to Amsterdam. That could be fun.” We joked about
it the rest of the way, and I started to feel better about introducing Johnny to
my parents. At least, I thought, my dad couldn’t have much bad to say about
him; he had been in a frat in college, and I had a vague notion that he liked
sports, though I’d never paid enough attention to know which ones in
particular.

When we arrived at the country club, I saw the valet
take one look at the truck and his eyes widened as Johnny hopped out, coming
around to forestall the shocked man’s move to open my door for me. He lifted me
out of the cab and carefully put me on my feet, steadying me and leaning in for
a quick kiss before he turned to the valet, who was still looking at the
enormous, tricked-out truck with surprise. “Just park it wherever you have
room,” Johnny said graciously. He handed the valet his keys and a five, and I
beamed to myself. Johnny might or might not have grown up with money like I
had—but he definitely had good enough manners.

The truck, which had seemed gaudy and too masculine to
me before was now cemented as one of my favorite things about dating Johnny.
Seeing it next to the sleek BMWs, Ferraris, and
Maseratis
in the parking lot gave me a little thrill. It was as if I had proudly
proclaimed to everyone at the club that I didn’t care what their standards
were—I liked Johnny and that was that.

We went into the club, and I could see the people
inside glancing at us as we made our way through the lobby to the dining area;
everyone had to notice that Johnny was incredibly hot, and the fact that he was
dressed for the occasion made it even better. I smiled all around, leading Johnny
to where my parents had said they would meet us, at the entryway into the
dining room. Mom was dressed to the nines, while Dad was in a simple sport coat
and slacks, not even wearing a tie. I felt my nervousness boosting up inside of
me again as we came up to them; what would they say?

“Mom, Dad, this is Johnny,” I said, keeping my voice
barely under control. Mom’s eyes widened and I watched her take in how good
Johnny looked, saw the approving glint in her eye.
That’s right,
I thought triumphantly.
He’s hot, and he’s talented and smart and definitely good enough for
me, no matter how much his family makes.
Johnny shook hands with my dad and
hugged my mom.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Johnny said, all
smiles, looking as confident as he did anywhere else. “I can see where Becky
gets her good taste and beauty,” he added, nodding at my mom slightly. Mom
blushed—grinning at the compliment. Dad gave me a look that told me that at
least for now, with nothing else to go on, he approved.

“I heard that you’re a Greek man,” Dad said, while we
waited for the hostess to seat us. Johnny nodded.

“Phi Kappa Alpha, pledged my freshman year.” Dad
grinned.

“If the Phi Kappa guys are anything like what they
were when I was in school, I’m surprised you’ve got the time to come to dinner
with us.” Johnny laughed.

“I got special dispensation; after all, with someone
as great as Becky, how could I possibly put a party over anything she wanted me
to do?”

The hostess came back and led us to my parents’
preferred table, and I felt only the slightest of flutters deep down as we all
sat down. Would Johnny know the right moves? He took the napkin and unfolded
it, placing it immediately in his lap even as he listened to something Dad was
saying about his favorite prank that he had pulled. I kept having little
flickers of concern, but Johnny was more than polite, he was totally charming,
and I started to relax as the waiter came and took our orders; Johnny knew what
he wanted from the menu, knew how to order it.

For the special occasion, my parents insisted that
Johnny and I should have wine—at least a glass—even though I was underage. No
one at the club really cared; as long as I wasn’t getting drunk and driving as
an underage adult, there would never be any consequences, and Johnny was of
age. Johnny said he’d rather not take any chances, and I tried not to beam at
the right answer that left him so easily. I tried not to jump in and answer for
him, but Johnny seemed to have a handle on the conversation; Dad mentioned that
he loved hockey—something that shocked me. I had never known that Dad even had
any interest in hockey at all. I fleetingly wished that he could have given me
at least a little education on the sport; it would have done me good in dating
Johnny. I saw Mom frown. “It’s such a violent sport, and so many of the players
seem so—so ill-bred.” I closed my eyes, embarrassed.

“I’ve always been passionate about hockey,” Johnny
said, reaching under the table to give my hand a squeeze. He barely glanced at
me, a look of reassurance in his eyes. “It kept me on the straight and narrow
through high school, and even more importantly, it brought me a scholarship to
college.” I smiled, relieved at the fact that Johnny was able to express
himself so well, that he was able to keep up his politeness even when Mom was
being a jerk to him.

The food came in courses, and Johnny ate cleanly and
politely, answering questions about the frat life, about his position on the
team, about his studies. I managed to chime in from time to time, keeping up my
end of the conversation, but I knew that the real point of the evening was for
my parents to get to know Johnny and to make their judgments about him. I
smiled over and over again, looking at Dad and Mom, looking at Johnny, looking
around the room. It was obvious to me that Dad at least was in favor of Johnny.

Before dessert, I stood and excused myself; I didn’t
really have to go to the restroom, but I needed a moment to myself. Mom raised
an eyebrow, but by that point I was confident that Johnny could handle anything
that they threw his way. I walked away from the table and towards the bathroom
I knew almost as well as my bathroom at home.

I used the facilities and washed my hands, blotting at
my makeup and reapplying my lipstick. I was so glad that Johnny was doing so
well with my parents; even if my mom was being rude to him, she had to admit
that he had good manners, and that he was gorgeous to look at. I took a deep
breath and stole a few more moments of relative quiet; no one was in the restroom,
and I knew that I’d have to put on my best smile as soon as I walked out of
there. I thought about Johnny’s big truck out there in the parking lot, about
the way he handled himself; I hadn’t had to tell him about which fork to use,
or what to do with his utensils when he was done. He hadn’t made the mistake of
looking irresponsible by drinking and driving, he had hit all the right notes
with my dad, and everything was right with the world around me.

I stepped out of the bathroom finally and saw Johnny
standing a few feet away, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “I told them that I
actually needed to use the facilities too,” he said, coming towards me quickly.
There was no one in the hallway, and as he moved in to kiss me, I felt my heart
beating faster. One of the waiters, one of the club members, could come along
at any moment and see Johnny with his arms wrapped around me, his lips sealed
to mine. He deepened the kiss, his hands starting to wander along my
curves—nothing that he wouldn’t do in the middle of the quad on campus, but
enough to make my body heat up all over.

He broke away from my lips, both of us breathing
heavy. “Where can we go?” Johnny asked me, his voice low, tense with desire. I
looked around. There was a coatroom nearby; I had actually worked it as my
first summer job when I was 15—I knew there would be no one in there. I took
Johnny by the hand and led him through the hall quickly. If anyone who worked
at the club saw us, they’d know what we were up to immediately, and they’d probably
throw us out.

As soon as Johnny saw the sign on the half-open door,
he grinned. “Perfect.” He pulled me in with him and I shut the door behind us,
tingling all over at the naughtiness of what I knew we were going to do. I’d
known a couple of boys who brought girls into the cloakroom before; most of
them had gotten caught, and their parents had been shamed for weeks for the
fact that their sons couldn’t manage proper decorum. It was even worse for the
girls who let themselves be talked into going in there—they were labeled as
sluts, shunned by the hoity-toity club members.

Johnny pushed me up against the door, pressing his
hips against mine, pinning me there as he kissed me again, touching me all
over. “I’ve been distracted all night, seeing you in that dress, thinking about
what you look like underneath it,” he murmured against my lips. He cupped my
breasts, giving them a squeeze through the fabric, and I moaned, my pussy
already starting to get wet as he dipped his head to kiss and nip along the
column of my throat.

“My—my parents love you,” I said, my breath hitching
in my chest as Johnny nuzzled against the tops of my breasts, kissing along my
cleavage. It wasn’t a very revealing dress—I knew my parents would have been
appalled if I had chosen something that was too short, or with a neckline too
low—but it was enough that Johnny could slip one hand down the front and tease
my nipple with his fingers, or reach up underneath the hem and start stroking
me through my panties.

“How much would they love me if they knew I was about
to screw your brains out in a closet?” He asked, chuckling.

“Probably not very much,” I said. Johnny laughed
again, kissing me on the lips while his hands slipped my panties down
underneath my dress. I reached down and found the ridge of his erection at the
front of his dress pants, rubbing him up and down through the fabric. The idea
of having sex with him right here, with everyone my parents cared about only a
few yards away from us, was so incredibly thrilling that for a moment I almost
wanted to get caught. It would serve my mom right, after she’d been so snotty
to Johnny about playing hockey.

Johnny moaned against my neck as we both touched each
other, getting hotter and hotter by the minute, more and more turned on. He
pulled me away from the closed door and turned me around, pushing me up against
the wall. “We’ll have to be fast,” he said, panting as he pulled my hips back.
He lifted my skirt up over the curve of my ass, and I heard his zipper in the
close quiet of the coat closet as he tugged it down. “I just wish I could get
you fully naked. God, Becky; you’re so fucking hot.” Johnny reached up between
my legs and started fingering me, rubbing my clit with one finger while two
others plunged deep inside of me, making me moan and push my hips back to get
better contact.