Stealing Harper(79)

I turned around to look at her and she was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Traitor. I looked back at Blake and he let out a short laugh at my question mark expression.

“That is, unless you’re busy or don’t want to. It looks like you were headed somewhere.” He looked pointedly at the hand that wasn’t holding onto the door.

It took me a few seconds to look down at my hand and realize he was looking at my face wash. “Oh . . . um, not. No. I mean. Busy. Not busy. I’m not busy.” Wow, that was brilliant.

Blake’s lips twitched and his head fell down and to the side to hide the grin he was failing at keeping back.

Trying not to continue looking like a complete idiot, I took a deep breath in and actually thought about my next question two different times before asking it. Okay fine, I thought about it four times. “So, what can I do for you?” Yeah, I know. Now you understand why that required a lot of thought.

“I was wondering if I could talk to you for a few minutes.”

“Uh, you do realize it’s almost one in the morning, right?”

His head lifted and he looked slightly sheepish. That look on this man was so different than anything I’d ever seen and I almost didn’t know how to respond to it. “Yeah, sorry. I think I fought with myself for so long on whether or not I should actually come up here and talk to you, it got a lot later than I realized.” He jerked the rose up in front of him like he’d just remembered it was there, “This is for you, by the way.”

“And here I was thinking you just walk around holding roses all the time.” I awkwardly took the rose from him, looked at it for a few seconds, then let it hang from the tips of my fingers. “So, Blake . . .” I trailed off and searched his eyes for a second before his flashed and he took a step back.

“Can I talk to you out here for just a minute? I promise I won’t keep you long.”

Yeah, well, the fact that I’ve turned you down for the amount of time it takes to make a baby and now you’re standing at my dorm room door at one in the morning is kind of creepy. But of course, we have history, you’re incredibly hot now and I’m thinking about as clearly as Candice does. So, sure. Why the hell not? I followed him out into the hall and shut the door behind us, but stayed pressed up against it.

“Rachel,” he ran a nervous hand through his hair and paused for a second, as if trying to figure out what to say, “the school year is about to end and you’ll be going back to Cali over the summer. I feel like I’m about to miss any chance with you I may have. And I don’t want to. I know you liked me when we were growing up. But Rach, you were way too young back then.”

“I’m still five years younger, that hasn’t changed.”

He smirked. “You and I both know a relationship between a thirteen and eighteen-year-old, and a twenty-one and twenty-six-year-old are completely different.”

So? That doesn’t help my argument right now. “Well you and I have both changed over the last eight years. Feelings change –”

“Yes,” he cut me off and his blue eyes darkened as he gave me a once over. “They do.”

I hated that my body was responding to his look. But honestly, I think it’d be impossible for anyone not to respond to him. Like I said. Adonis. “Uh, Blake. Up here.” He smiled wryly and dear Lord that smile was way too perfect. “Look, honestly? I have an issue with the fact that you’re constantly surrounded by very eager and willing females. It’s not like I’d put some claim on you if we went on a couple dates, but you ask me out while these girls are touching you and drooling all over you. It’s insulting that you would ask me out while your next lay is already practically stripping for you.”

His expression darkened and he tilted his head to the side, “You think I’m fucking them like everyone else?”

Ah frick. Um, yes? “If you are, then that’s your business. I shouldn’t have said that, I’m sorry. But whether you are or not, you don’t even attempt to push them away. Since you moved here, I’ve never seen you with less than two women touching you. You don’t find that weird?” Seriously, am I really the only person who finds this odd?

Suddenly pushing off the wall he’d been leaning against, he took the two steps toward me and I tried to mold myself to the door. A heart-stopping smile, and bright blue eyes now replaced his darkened features as he completely invaded my personal space. If he weren’t so damn beautiful I’d karate chop at him and remind him of personal bubbles. Or go all Stuart from MADtv on him and tell him he’s a stranger and to stay away from my danger. Instead, I tried to control my breathing and swallow through the dryness in my mouth.