Текст книги "Blue"

Автор книги: H. J. Bellus

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

When I perch up to look in the rear view mirror, I see he put his aviators on my face. I go to protest the action and finally give the fucker everything I have when I see Stephie and her clan waltz in front of the truck, waving. I turn slightly toward Tuck to hide the injured side of my face and do my best job of smiling and waving back.

“Thank you,” I whisper and lay my head on his shoulder. As soon as I relax into him I realize how fully exhausted I really am. The sound of the engine and the slight moves of his shoulder as he drives calm me a bit. My eyes get heavy as the silence in the cab combined with the lull of outside noises soothe me, while the breeze refreshes my heated skin.

The truck comes to a stop and I slowly lift my head to see Tuck’s house and Noah sitting on the front steps with a grocery sack between his legs. He smiles when he sees the two of us, and that damn thing is so contagious I can’t help but shoot back a pitiful grin.

He’s on his feet and opening the passenger side door before I grasp what’s going on.

“Damn, Blue, what’s the other guy look like?”

He reaches his hand out to me, and I take it and without thought, like it’s second nature. Looking over my shoulder, I watch Tuck do what he does the best, slink back into the background.

“What are you doing here, Noah?”

Noah and Tuck both laugh, and it’s obvious the joke is on me.

“I live here.”

My heart sinks so low in my chest it slams into my stomach as I feel the sting of their punch line.

“Don’t look so surprised, Blue. It’s not like we’re a lot of serial killers or something.” Noah guides me up the steps and into the familiar living room.

“Who else lives here?”

“Just the two of us.” A deeper voice answers, and I see Tuck leaning back on the counter in his open kitchen with legs crossed at the ankles.

“I managed to steal some clothes from your dorm room. I think Sophie and Lane were in the shower.”

A disgusted moan escapes me. “Let me bet, our door was left open and you pilfered through my underwear drawer like a creeper?”

“Damn, Blue, you have me nailed.” Noah chuckles as he tosses the bag in my lap. “I also picked up some first aid shit at the store. Us football men just rub some mud on that shit and get on with it.”

“Oh my god. You sound like my dad.” I laugh hard at Noah and his ridiculous statement. “Going to have to avoid FaceTime with my mom tonight. She’ll freak.”

I hear a can of pop open in the kitchen and turn to see Tuck in the same position, but tipping back a beer.

“Fucking healthy, Tuck.” Noah shakes his head and strides down the long hallway, leaving me sitting on the couch.

Well, hell, this is a wee bit awkward-ish…in the most awkward of ways.

I hear my ring tone and know it’s my mom. Tuck holds my phone out from his stance in the kitchen, not making a move toward me. Pulling myself from the couch, my face throbs with pain, and know I need to get some ibuprofen down the hatch sooner than later. With the plastic bag gripped in my hands, I walk toward him and take the phone and let out a breath when I see it’s just a call and not FaceTime.

I let my belly lean on the counter next to Tuck, so that our shoulders and arms rub each other, flop the grocery sack down, and poke the green call button flashing on my screen.

“Hey, Mom.” I force my voice to be chipper and just what she’d expect to hear.

“Blue, sorry no FaceTime today. I have a tee time at the country club, and by god if I’m going to let that bitch, Dianne, beat me today. I need my game face on.”

“It’s okay, Mom.” I chuckle into the phone.

If anyone ever wonders where my competitive spirit comes from, they don’t have to look too far. I feel a slight vibration rolling off of Tuck and know he can hear my mom’s voice.

“How was school today?”

“Really good.” It’s all a lie, but I don’t need her to worry at all. “The bike’s holding up and I have everything down. Cheer practice was cancelled tonight, so I’m just going to settle in and catch up on some work.”

“Oh, why was it cancelled?”

I panic and look toward Tuck, elbowing him in the bicep. I only get a shrug and a hell-if-I-know look from him, and then he points to the lights.

“What?” I mouth.

“Power out,” he whispers.

“Blue, are you there?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess there’s a power outage at the practice facility, so a day off for me.”

I tear open the bottle of meds in the bag and pop three, and then I grab the beer from Tuck and wash them right down. I listen to my mom go on about how odd it is the power is out, and the more she talks, the worse I feel for lying to her, and the more of the beer I pound.

“Okay, Mom, I’ll let you go. Go kick ass and take names. Text me your winning score.”

We exchange our goodbyes, and I hang up the phone and bury my face in my hands.

“You suck at lying.”

“I never lie to my parents, ever. That was just the cherry on the top of my fucking day.”

Tuck turns me around and has me seated up on the counter before I know what’s happening. My legs open for him as he steps in between them. I can’t help but focus on his blood crusted knuckles. Reaching over, he turns on the faucet and dampens a paper towel and begins cleaning my lip. I place my palm on his forearm and try to grip onto his shirt. He flinches and becomes uncomfortable, but I don’t care and refuse to lose the contact.

I let out a contented sigh as I watch him open a tube of antibacterial cream, and I shoot an eyebrow up in his direction. He melts my heart when he smiles back at me.

“I could use rubbing alcohol to clean you up.”

I wedge one of my legs between his. “And I could knee you in the nuts.”

A chuckle vibrates low in his chest as he uses his inner thighs to squeeze my leg. I let go of his arm and grab on to the back of his neck, dragging my hand up to his beanie.

“I won’t take it off. Trust me.”

Leaning forward, I’m shocked when he doesn’t move. My lips brush his, and I inhale his scent. He pulls me to the edge of the counter and then relaxes, cupping my ass, and I smile at him.

“Why are you fighting this?” The question pours from me onto his lips.

“You’re way too beautiful for me, Blue.”

Cupping his face, his cheeks sting my palms.

“You don’t feel this, do you? I’ve never wanted another person in my entire life, and you won’t let me in, Tuck.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

“You won’t like what you see, Blue. You’re meant for a castle and king. I’m just the poor peasant.”

“You have no idea what I’m meant for.”

Before he has the chance to throw me another excuse, I seal my lips to his, and it’s a short distance, considering we were lip to lip. I let go of his beanie, hoping he’ll be comfortable with me if I leave it alone. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling myself deeper into him. Our kiss turns passionate and heated as our lips attack each other. I’m the first to open my mouth, and Tuck doesn’t hesitate to take full advantage, exploring it deeply with his tongue. He forces me back as he leans into me, and my head crashes into the cabinet behind me. The pain sears the back of my skull, but I don’t let it stop me. Tuck winces as he hears the crashing sound, and I take advantage of his mouth, lapping up his taste and sinking my teeth into his bottom lip.

Noah’s voice slices into our passion. “Tuck, Blue, I’ll go grab us dinner.”

We pull away and I peer over Tuck’s shoulder as he buries his face in the crook of my neck. I focus on the smile pressing into my skin. Noah sends me a look, and there’s no hiding what we were doing. It’s written all over my swollen, love-struck lips.

“Pizza okay with you two?” A blush covers Noah’s light skin.

“Yeah, sounds good,” I reply.

“I’ll be back in fifteen.”

He shoots out of the kitchen as if his ass were on fire, and once I hear the front door slam shut, Tuck and I break down into fits of laughter.

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I say, “I feel like we’ve been busted by a father figure or something.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Tuck finally lifts his head and looks me in the eye. I love how soft his eyes are now. “I’m sorry if it comes across that I treat you poorly or whatever. You’re too much, Blue. Too much beauty, life, and, shit…I don’t know.”

Tuck pulls away, placing his hands on the top his beanie, and for the first time I see real pain covering his face and don’t push him any further.

“I need to shower.” My fingers grip the yellow countertop until my knuckles go white. It’s the only way I won’t reach out for him.

“Follow me.”

“Hey.”

He stops in mid-step, turning back to me. “What?”

I hold up the tube of medicine he was going to put on me.

“After your shower.”

“Now.”

It only takes him three long strides before we are back in the same position, but this time it’s only business as he applies the medicine and then helps me off the counter, gently setting me back on the ground.

“See, you know how to treat a princess, Tuck.” I slap him on the ass as he walks me down the hall to the bathroom. He doesn’t respond, only shaking his head.

We enter the small bathroom, and it’s so clearly a man’s place. I watch as he kicks together a pile of towels and boxers into the corner.

“This shower is a tricky bastard. I’ll get it going for you.”

I let Tuck fiddle with the shower and gaze in the mirror at the impressive bruise forming on my face. It’s going to take a whole hell of a lot of concealer to hide this one.

“Okay, it’s ready. My room is right across the hall if you need me.”

Tuck left himself open for so many comebacks on that one, but I let it go. As he passes, I snag his wrist to stop him. Bringing his hand to my lips, I plant a light kiss on each blood crusted knuckle.

“Thank you, Tuck.”

He throws his head back and stares up at the ceiling. “You’re going to ruin me, Blue.”

I hear Noah walk in the front door, so I let Tuck go and lock the bathroom door behind him. If the man wanted to take this further, he could have me in this damn steaming shower, but he doesn’t. I hear the deep voices of the two men down the hall and let my curiosity get the best of me.

Cracking the door a bit, I try to listen to their conversation, but with the noise of the shower and the distance to the voices, I can only make out Noah’s enthusiastic tone. After several minutes, I give up and climb in the shower, remembering Tuck’s soft brown eyes, gentle touch, and the words he spoke. I’ve been pissed and intrigued by the man, but nothing has hit me as hard as when I saw the pain covering his face. It was deep and real. It almost seemed as if he wanted to reach out to me as well, but forced himself to hold back.

I growl at the man soap and two-in-one shampoo and conditioner in the tub. Since there’s not much of a choice, I use it and rinse off quickly. Turning off the shower and sliding across the smiley face shower curtain, I see someone left me two fresh towels and a brush on the counter. I could’ve sworn I locked the door. Well, whoever it was, I hope they enjoyed my rendition of Everybody by the Backstreet Boys.

I open the bag and take one look at my clothes and holler Noah’s name out the cracked door.

“What?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

I throw on the clothes he packed and twist my hair into a quick side-braid and walk out into the living room. Both men instantly crack up laughing when they see me dressed in short spandex volleyball shorts and a sequined cheer top which is basically a glorified bra.

“Really, Noah?”

He shrugs, takes a bite from his slice of pizza, and talks through his food. “I felt like a fucking weirdo going through your drawers.”

“Yeah, you’re even more of a weirdo for picking this, you sicko.”

“Here, I’m going to shower.” Tuck gets up from the couch and puts his empty pizza box to the side. “I’ll get you a t-shirt.”

I follow him back to his room and watch him dig around his drawer. He pulls out a long sleeve black shirt and silently seeks approval.

“Thanks.” I snatch it from his hands, and of course make sure to make contact with his flesh.

“Go eat while I shower.”

I wait in his room, hoping like hell he will pull his shirt over his head and I can finally see those defined abs, but he just walks into the bathroom and comes back with the grocery sack and my gym bag.

“Thank you.”

I hear the bathroom door shut and the shower turn on, so I go to the living room.

“Noah, I’m going to kick your ass.”

“Blue.” His laughter fills the room again. “I’m sorry.”

“You look so sorry. Did you pigs leave any food for me?”

“On the counter.”

Noah took me to his favorite pizzeria two times for lunch, so he knows exactly what I like on my pizza and ordered me a whole one. I’m sure with the intentions of him and Tuck polishing it off. I throw a slice on a paper towel while still talking to Noah. Their living room and kitchen are pretty much one big room with no barriers besides a low bar.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me you lived with Tuck?” I flip open every cupboard and finally find one filled with plastic tumblers from the dollar store.

“You never asked.”

“Is your water safe to drink?”

I can’t see Noah’s face, but can hear his chuckles.

“In the fridge.”

“Thanks, jerk.”

It takes me a few minutes to get settled on the couch on the opposite side of the living room from Noah with my pizza on my lap and glass of water by my side. We sit staring at each other for a long time before either of us is willing to talk. The sound of the shower fills the room. I have questions and want them answered now.

“Tell me about him.” My words are the first to break the silence.

“I’ve told you. He’s a good guy.”

“Noah.” This time my voice comes out a bit too whiny.

“Tuck is closed off. A shut book. A simple guy. He goes to school, plays football, and goes home for the holidays.” Noah leans forward on the tattered red fabric recliner. “Want to know how many girls I’ve seen him talk to in three years?”

“How many?”

“One. Want to know who?’

“Me.” I take a bite of pizza. “Well, is he gay then?”

“Tuck, gay?” His laughter this time is uncontrollable.

“I mean, I have great tits.” I set my pizza on the couch and cup them for emphasis. “And I’ve all but thrown myself at the man.”

“Blue, if you really like him, you have no idea how much he’s already given you.”

“Then why is he so quiet and reserved? And scared of me?”

“Not my story to…”

I cut him off and mimic the rest of what he’s going to say. “…to tell. God, I can’t stand your damn brotherhood of football.”

“It’s called best friends, Blue. I love him like a brother, and I can tell you’re special to him. I just don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?”

The bathroom door opens and our conversation is over. I try to peer down the dim hallway in hopes of getting a view of Tuck, but he’s too swift.

Chapter 11

“That was a bullshit call.”

A loud voice jolts me from my sleep. Looking around, I see football film still streaming through Tuck’s MacBook to their television. I fell asleep listening to Noah and Tuck talk football after I filled my stomach with pizza and drank a couple of beers. A total no-no, diet-wise, but my give a fuck button is busted.

Somehow I managed to curl up in a ball on the couch using Tuck’s thigh as a pillow. Mentally, I curse myself for startling awake, because this is a position I don’t want to leave.

“Sorry.” Tuck pats my hip.

“What time is it?”

“Past ten.”

Noah’s lean body stands up and points at the paused screen. “See that son of a bitch right there? That’s who you need to get by in our game opener and you’ll be racking up the yards.”

“Yeah, if your greedy ass isn’t passing the ball all over the field.”

“Fuck off.” Noah turns the TV off. “Blue, your phone has been going crazy.”

“Where is it?” I mumble, half asleep.

I feel my head being mashed between his thigh and rock hard abs and again can’t complain.

“Here.” My phone is placed in my hands and roll onto my back to see my screen filled with frantic texts from Sophie.

“Everything okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, just my roommate freaking out. Funny she even knew I was gone. She’s never home, and I mean never. She’s always out fucking Lane somewhere.”

“So, you sit in your dorm alone?”

“No, I have my stuffed animals.”

“Funny, Blue.”

Tilting my head back on his thigh, I look up into his face and don’t break eye contact. “No, I go to class, work out at the gym, spend three hours at cheer practice, eat dinner and do homework, and then I go on a glorious nightly run. I only sleep there.”

I want to add and pine over you and our shared kiss.

“Jay’s worried about you.”

“I know,” I say, rolling my eyes and typing out a quick message to Sophie.

“You need to slow down a bit.”

“Whatever. I bet your day is the same as mine. I could tell you the same thing, Tuck.”

“You’re a stubborn shit.”

“Not as stubborn as you.”

Another cellphone goes off in the quiet, dimly-lit living room, and I look back up to him.

“It’s mine,” he replies while digging into his pocket.

“You can answer it.”

“Nah, it’s fine.”

I give him a moment to silence the call.

“Hey, Tuck.”

“Yeah,” he answers, and I can tell he’s distracted by whoever is calling him.

“Ask me what my favorite part of my day is.”

He looks down at me with a crooked eyebrow.

“Blue Williams, tell me your favorite part of your day.”

“My nightly runs. I feel free and optimistic and it’s the only time in the day when a sense of completeness fills me.” I raise my palm to cover his cheek. “It’s you, Tuck.”

“Blue, I…”

I push my finger into his lip and shake my head, not wanting to hear his excuses, and then get up from the couch.

“Thanks for feeding me tonight, and, well, kicking that guy’s ass.”

I shove my feet into my tennis shoes and look for my bag, then finally spot it at the end of the couch. Walking over, I don’t look back at Tuck as I bend over and grab it. My hand grips the brass doorknob and I still don’t have the urge to look back. The creak of the door as I open it is deafening in the small house.

I’m pulled back into Tuck’s hard chest as a low growl fills my ear. My body gives in to him and allows him to drag me about the house. My bag is thrown on the couch as I follow the gravity. I’m so attracted to Tuck. He spins me into his room and I back up as he flips off the lights. The backs of my legs hit the edge of his mattress as he pushes me all the way back onto it, and I hear Ed Sheeran fill the room, and the words couldn’t fit this situation more perfectly.

“Don’t break my heart, Tuck.”

“It’ll be your fault if I do. I told you to stay away, Blue.”

Propped up on my elbows, I can barely make out his figure as he walks about his room, but the moment his body covers mine, I lose sight of everything. My cheerleading, school, goals, and everything possibly close to my heart vanishes with his touch. When his lips meet mine, I pour every ounce of gratitude into him as we kiss and know there’s no threat to being caught.

My eager hands roam up his back as my lips soak up his taste. I feel Tuck push into my center and moan into his mouth as I feel his excitement too.

“No hands and no touching, Blue.”

He grabs me by my biceps and pushes them up and over my head, pressing them down into the mattress.

“Why?”

“Want this or not?”

I breathlessly try to say, “Yes.”

I feel his hungry mouth back on mine, devouring me. My hips buck up into him, pleading for more. A kiss is almost torture. I need more, want more, have to have more to survive.

“Tuck.” I feel a flush run through my cheeks as my simple word comes out as a yell.

He buries his face in the crook of my neck, sucking and licking every inch of my flesh. His hands rip my oversized t-shirt off in one fell swoop, and then my bra is gone before I can blink.

He pins my hands above my head again with one of his large palms. When his teeth sink into my perked up nipple, I scream. His other hand covers my mouth as he sucks harder, teasing me with his mouth. My hips writhe up and down, trying to get to more of him.

“You touch me once, Blue, and this is over.”

I couldn’t care less what his demands are in this moment, as long as his lips don’t leave my body. Clenching my eyes, I focus on the sensation he’s sending through every single part of my body and hum in appreciation. His lips make a trail down between my breasts to my belly button, and I giggle when he swirls it with his tongue. In the next moment he has me naked, ripping off my shorts and underwear in one motion.

The sound of the rest of my clothes being tossed off makes me smile, but when he gets up from the bed, I groan, already missing his contact.

“Tuck.”

I’m not a whiny person, but right now I’m the biggest whiner on the planet.

He hooks his arms around the back of my thighs, dragging me to the edge of the bed, and then his lips begin to wander up the inside of my thigh. I have to cover my own mouth to muffle my screams. It takes every ounce of willpower not to reach down, rip off his stupid-ass beanie, and tug his hair.

He leaves his sweet taste behind as he drags his tongue the entire length of my inner thigh, and then he hits the sweet spot. I can’t help but let my moans of pleasure out as my hands fist into his blanket on the bed. Just one sweep of his tongue threatens to send me into a burst of pleasure. I try to slow things down by concentrating on something else…fuck, bunnies or stuffed animals or some shit like that. I don’t want to go before he even does anything spectacular.

But the moment he grips my ass, nearing the point of pain, and buries his face deeper in me, adding his fingers to the mix, I let my body move along with him.

“Tuck.”

I repeat his name over and over until I can no longer hold in any of the pleasure about to blossom in me. When he scrapes his teeth along my skin, I explode and stars fill my vision, and I break Tuck’s rule and grip onto his forearms holding my legs. My hips writhe, riding out each flick of aftershock of my orgasm.

“Holy shit.” I run my hands through my hair and rest them on top of my head. “How the hell am I going to pay you back for that?”

“Just sleep here with me tonight and kiss me one more time.”

“Are you asking for a goodnight kiss, Tuck?”

His fully clothed body covers mine again, and it reminds me how completely exposed I am.

“I’m naked. You’re not.”

Tuck puts his lips on mine and smiles. “You’re fucking gorgeous, Blue. I need to stay away from you.”

“Just kiss me.”

He begins kissing me passionately again and it’s the sweetest thing ever with both of our tastes mingled together. Tuck keeps it short this time as he picks me up, cradling my naked body as he walks around the bed. He flicks on a little night lamp.

“Tuck.”

He just shoots me a crooked grin.

“I’m naked. You’re fully clothed and off limits. So, either turn the lights off or give me my clothes.”

He’s such a gentle giant as he lays me down on the bed and then grabs my clothes and tosses them toward me.

“I’ll be right back. Need anything?”

I shake my head as I struggle to get back in his black shirt, trying to give him minimal view of my tits. I have to have something on the man that he hasn’t already had.

Moments later, Tuck comes back in and shuts the door with a smile covering his face and two bottles of water in his hand. “Here, grabbed it just in case.”

“Thank you.”

He doesn’t waste time turning off all the lights, climbing in behind me, scooping me up in his arms, and pressing me into his chest.

“Why won’t you let me touch you?”

My words dissipate in the dark air and I can’t muster up the energy to ask again before sleep takes over.