Give Me Something (6 page)

“
Lila!” I turned to see Tucker high tailing it after me.  “Wait up!”

I flicked my gaze back to Nick, who was still watching from the bleachers. He shook his head with a smirked.  I knew he wouldn't doubt me after that little show.

“Oh hey, Tucker,” I said, pretending to be surprised as he made his way over to me.

“
Hey yourself,” he sighed and grinned while catching his breath.

“
What's up?”

“
Were you going to leave without so much as hello?”

“
Well, I just came to watch Nick.  I didn't even know that you played.”

“
Really?” he smirked in disbelief.

“
Nope.” I stated flatly.

“
Right.” He shook his head.  “Well, since you're here, why don't we grab something to eat?”

“
Maybe some other time. I've got a ton of homework,” I explained as I started to walk away when I felt his hand in mine.  With a gentle tug, he quickly pulled me around until I was chest to chest with him.  His stellar blue eyes stilled me, leaving me unsure of what to do or how to do it.  In that moment, he caused me to lose the ability even think.

As he leaned down to whisper in my ear, his nose skimmed across my cheek.  The hairs on the back of my neck stood as he hovered closely.  “You're making this a lot harder than it needs to be.” He pulled back, releasing my hand and backed away with the same wicked grin he'd given me last night.  I watched him walk away and tried to regain my composure when I heard Jenna's sugary sweet voice offer up her observation.

“Looks to me like you're going to find out what all the hype is about.”

I suddenly wondered if maybe I was in way over my head.

Chapter 4

I walked around campus until the sun set, trying to mentally work through what I'd gotten myself into by agreeing to this job with Tucker.  By the time I made it back to my building, I was pissed off.  Who did he think was anyway?  Nice guy or not, I'd never let a mark have that kind of hold on me before.  Maybe I wasn't cut out for this one.  I walked into my dorm room and pushed the door shut.  In the dark solitude of my four walls, I rested my forehead against the door and tried to figure out what my next move should be.  I started to reach for the light switch when I felt a very familiar set of hands on my shoulders.  I shuttered, not because I was startled, but because of how he made me feel with just one touch.

“How'd it go?” Nick whispered in my ear.  I could feel the stubble on his face against my cheek.

“
It's kind of creepy that you're waiting around for me in the dark,” I chuckled, fighting the urge to fall into him.

“
I guess I'm kind of a creepy guy,” he replied.  I felt his lips curl into a smile against my skin.

“
You really need to give me my key back,” I said, flipping on the light while glancing at him over my shoulder.

“
That wouldn't be much fun, now would it,” he said, still smiling, as he took a step back.  Once again the lines of Nick and Lila's relationship were blurred.  “So, tell me what happened.”

I was unsure of how to break the news to Nick that I didn't think I could go through with it.  “Okay, I guess.”  I turned to look at him and leaned against the door.  “He's so different, than what I'm used to dealing with. I don't think I can – ”

“God, you look good tonight,” he said, cutting me off.  He placed one hand on each side of me against the door, framing me between his tattoo-covered arms. “I love your hair like this.”

Train of thought...derailed.

“
What are you doing?” I asked as he lifted one hand up and ran his fingers through my hair, his eyes tinted with desire.  It was the same look I thought I saw last night before he kissed me.  His fingers made their way through my hair, to the back of my neck.

“
I've been thinking about...” His fingers strummed along my neck as he moved his thumb under my chin and tilted my head up.  “Us.”

I flattened my palms against the door, bracing my wobbling knees. “Us?”

“Yeah.  I've been thinking about that kiss all day.”

“
Really?” I anxiously replied. “I thought it was fake.”

“
There's nothing fake about me and you, Rae.” He pressed his forehead to mine.  “It might have started with false intentions, but I felt something.”

OMG. This is happening!

“You did?” I asked as the air was sucked from my lungs.

“
You didn't?”

“
I... I... Yes.  I felt something.”  I watch as his tongue traced the corner of his mouth. 
Please kiss me.  For real. 
I rose up on my toes, eager to close the gap between us.  “I always feel something with you, Nick.”

I saw a grin spread across his lips.  As he hovered only inches from me, I felt my pulse race in anticipation.
Kiss me. Kiss me.  Kiss me.
I closed my eyes and waited for his lips to land on mine, to confirm everything I'd always thought that we could be.  Seconds seemed like hours.  I couldn't take anymore.  I opened my eyes just as he was pulling away.  He removed his hands from the door.  “We can't do this.”

I fell back into the door, deflated, and closed my eyes again, hoping that when I opened them again he'd be back in front of me.  Instead, I felt Nick grab my hands and pull me away from the door.  I could feel the warmth of tears in the corners of my eyes when I opened them to follow him.  I tried to quickly wipe them away before he saw.  Real tears were the worst.  They were a sign of weakness and I didn't have time to be weak.

“Don't cry,” he said as we sat down.  “It's not that I don't want you, Rae.”  He wiped the tears from my face.

“
Then what's the problem?” I asked, grabbing his hand and pressing it to my cheek. “I've wanted to be with you since
that night. 
Do you remember?”

“
Of course I remember.  I wouldn't forget something like that.  But, we can't, we shouldn't...” He shook his head.  I wasn't sure which one of us he was trying to convince. “Right now.  We've got a really good thing lined up with Tucker.  It's too big to risk.  We can't get sloppy and complicate it.”

I was pissed.  This was the second time to night that I've had an
almost
kiss.  First Tucker's graze at the ball field and now Nick.  “Sloppy?”

“
Yes.”  He brought his other hand up, cradling my face. “If you and me are going to be together, I want it to be for real.  Without any outside interference.  Let's finish this job and then we can give it a real go.  Okay?”

Even though I wanted nothing more than to just be with him, I knew he was right.  We had to get the money and get rid of Marco Belletti.  “Okay.”

“Okay.” He dropped his hands from my face and pulled me into his chest.

“
Nick?” I said, not wanting to disturb the amazing feeling of being in his arms.

“
Yeah?”

“
After this we're done, right?”

I felt him squeeze his arm tight, securing me to him. “Yes.  I promise.”

$ $ $

Two days.  That's how much time had passed since I'd heard from Tucker.  Nick's promise of being together almost made me forget about not hearing from him.  When Tucker showed up at the coffee shop I worked at, I was surprised by the instant flutter I felt in my stomach when I saw him.  I chalked it up to the nervousness that now accompanied any thoughts of completing this job.  The way he walked into a room was enough to make any girl excited to see him.  I stood behind the counter and painted on a smile as he approached.

“Hi,” he grinned as he rested his hands on the counter and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.

“
Hi,” I whispered, taken a back by his direct PDA.  “I thought maybe you had forgot about me,” I remarked as he pulled back.

“
I couldn't if I tried.”

“
Cheesy,” I chuckled.

“
Made you smile, didn't it?”

“
I guess.  You are pretty good at that.”  It was so easy to flirt with him.  Something about the cool blue of his eyes kind of made me want to.  I was one step away from being completely lost in them when Nick suddenly popped in my mind. 
Focus on the job, Lila.  Not the eyes.
  “Can I get you a coffee?”

“
Actually, I'll take a latte, because that's how much I've been thinking about you.
A latte
,” he laughed.

“
You're really trying to win an award today, aren't you?”  I said, writing his name on a paper cup with a black marker while trying not to laugh at his over-the-top routine.

“
Okay, I'll stop.” His smile faded and his eyes locked on mine with a sense of purpose.  “We're going out tonight.  I'll pick you up at six.”

“
I don't remember you asking me out.”

“
Are we really going to keep playing this game?”

I tilted my head and gave him my best
I have no idea what you're talking about
face.  “What game?”

He snickered. “The game where you act like you don't really want to go out with me, but on the inside you are dying to.”

I was dying to go with him, but not for the reasons he was hoping.  I tossed the idea of toying with him a little more around.  “So you think you've got me all figured out, huh?”

“
I think I do.” He smiled confidently.

“
Well, then I guess I don't really have a choice but to give in.”

“
It would make this whole thing a lot easier if you did.”

I decided that I might as well jump right in.  The sooner I convinced Tucker to give me the world, the sooner Nick and I could be together, but not before one last remark to drive Tucker to his knees.  Guys like Tucker hated to be called out, but I took a chance that my feisty side would do something for him.  “Well then Mr. Arrogant, what exactly did you have in mind?”

“I prefer Mr. Confident,” he playfully corrected me, taking the latte from my hand.  “But, if it's arrogance you want, you got babe.”  He grabbed my hand and pulled me over the counter toward him until his nose grazed mine.  “We're going out tonight because, whether you want to admit it or not, you know I'm the best thing that's ever gonna happen to you.”  He pressed his lips against the same spot on my cheek as earlier, only this time, it was more than just an innocent little peck.  This time he lit spark – a spark that I was not anticipating.  To add fuel to the fire, he whispered, “Wear something sexy,” as he was backing away. 

Heat spread through my core in a slow, sensual burn.  The thought of stripping my apron off, and everything else I was wearing struck me along with the images of letting him take me right there on the counter.  I glanced around the crowded coffee house and regained my sanity.  “Okay,” I whispered between labored breaths.  With that he released my hand and walked away, but not before giving me one last panty-dropping smile on his way out the door.

“Holy shit, Lila.” Brynn's voice over my shoulder, pulled me back from the lust-filled stare I was giving Tucker as he swaggered out the door. “I just about had an orgasm watching that conversation.”

“
You're ridiculous,” I said as nonchalantly as I could before returning to my work.

She grabbed my hand as I was wiping down the counter. “What's ridiculous is the amount of sex oozing off of him.  What is going on between you and Mr. Kline, anyway?”

“I don't know,” I answered leaning back against the counter.  It wasn't a lie.  I knew what I was supposed to do with Tucker, but after that little scene I was starting to doubt the conceivability of the whole thing.  “Don't you have some work to do?”  In all the time I'd worked with her, I'd never seen Brynn as much as steam milk.

“
Nope,” she said with a pop of her lips.

“
How have you not been fired?”

“
I flash the manager my tits every once and a while,” she responded flatly.  “Now tell me what's up?”

“
He's just... I think... nothing,” I stammered, trying to come up with some logical explanation.

“
You pretty little liar!  I can see in your face that it's a lot more than nothing.  Spill, presh.”

I really wanted to confess everything to her.  Maybe having an outside opinion of the jacked up situation I was in would help, but I couldn't.  Nick and I worked together, alone, and that meant telling no one about what we did.  “We're going out tonight.  It's really not a big deal.”

“It's a huge deal,” she grinned. “I knew he was into you when he asked for your number!”

“
Thanks for that, by the way.  You know how I feel about Nick, so why would you give Tucker my number?”

“
Please,” she said, propping herself upon the counter to sit.  “I was doing you a favor after the shit Nick pulled that night.”  Of course she'd heard about the kiss.  She went on to describe how pissed off Tucker was about the way Nick had acted.  “I really thought that Tucker was going to kick his ass when he got back to the house, but then he asked me for your number and said the only good thing that came out of the whole night was the fact that he could take you out now that Nick blew his chance.”