Everything for Her(6)
Looking back to him, I see him reaching into his pocket and taking out his phone. He stands there waiting, and I decide to give in.
Letting out a huff, I ramble off my number, thinking there’s no way he can hear it over this noise. I don’t even know this guy. Why would he want to call me? Obviously, I’m not trying to go home with him, so I’m not a sure thing, and that’s all any guy in this place is looking for.
Paige walks over as he puts his phone away, and she looks between the two of us.
“You ready?”
“Yeah. I’m right behind you,” I say as I watch her walk toward the exit.
Looking into his sapphires, I’m lost again. It’s like being in the center of a tornado. Only I don’t know if he’s the wind that’s going to wreak havoc, or if he’s the calm in the middle that will hold me steady.
He reaches out and runs the edge of his knuckles along my jaw, as if testing the softness of my skin.
“I wanted more.” I can barely hear the words, but I catch them.
I don’t know what he means, and I’m not sure how to respond. Instead, I’m frozen in place as he touches me. I should tell him to stop, or walk away, but something about him is mesmerizing, and I can’t stop myself from leaning into it.
“She’s waiting.”
I look over to see Paige leaning against the wall, watching us, and I know I should go.
He drops his hand and takes a step away, smiling at me like before. It’s an easy smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. There’s something there, something I can’t read, but I want to. I have this need to know everything about this stranger.
Taking a deep breath, I walk a few steps away from him, breaking the spell. Once I’ve cleared away the fog, I’m more like myself. I turn back to see he’s watching me, and this time the smile hits his eyes.
Once we get outside, my phone vibrates in my back pocket, and I pull it out to see if it’s him. Paige pulls me into a cab and tells the driver the address as I read the text.
You tasted sweeter than I ever imagined.
I’m buzzed with excitement while texting him back.
What do I call the man behind the curtain?
I smile as I wait for his response.
OZ.
Chapter Three
Mallory
Sunday night, I pick up my phone again, checking to see if I have any new messages, and disappointment hits me again. This is worse than waiting for grades to be posted in college.
“Don’t chase, Mal,” Paige says, not even looking up from her laptop. We’d finally gotten everything unpacked and settled in, and we decided to spend the rest of the night vegging out while studying and ordering Chinese food. Neither of us had the energy to cook because it would mean going to the store, which we still haven’t done. You’d think after living in a dorm for four years we’d be excited about having a kitchen, but takeout is too damn easy.
“What? I was checking my emails,” I protest, quickly pulling up my emails like she can see my phone or something.
“Sure. And I’m not cruising Tumblr over here.”
I roll my eyes because she’s right. I was checking my text messages. He hasn’t texted me since Friday night. I should get back to reading up on Osbourne Corp, learning all I can, but I keep clicking our text messages to see if there’s something new, and then reading the last one he sent on Friday.
OZ.
I drop my phone next to me and pick up a textbook and read over the highlights I’ve made. I’ve read them so many times I think I can recite them at this point. I last about ten minutes.
“But isn’t it my turn to text back?” I pick my phone up and hold it out, showing her that he texted me last. Maybe I was supposed to say something back. I’m not good at this dating thing, seeing as I’ve never really done it before.
She sets her laptop down next to her on the couch and bends over, looking at my phone screen. She studies it for a long moment, like she’s mulling it over.
“If you want to text him, text him,” she finally says, leaning back on the sofa and going back to playing around on her laptop. “Not like you can read those books anymore. They look like they are about to fall apart,” Paige teases me about my worn books.
“Really?” I ask again. That’s not what I thought she’d say. Paige is not about dating. At least, she wasn’t when we were in college. I’d thought about doing it a few times, when I’d been asked out, but I ended up siding with her because I wanted to stay focused. School was the most important thing, and I had the rest of my life to date. I must be more excited about the prospect of dating than I thought, because the first guy to show me attention, I’m already pining after. And Oz is definitely not someone I should be chasing. I’ve seen guys like him in action. I went to school with them. They think money can buy anything, and they burn through girls like I burn through ninety-nine-cent ebook sales. I hate to judge him before I even know him, but a girl has to be smart. He probably thought when he flashed his American Express card it would have me desperate to crawl all over him. I wasn’t impressed. Like being in a museum—look at all the pretty, expensive things, but whatever you do, don’t touch.