His smile was so big that the corners of his mouth reached the width of his face. He picked up the jelly, hair-removal cream, and chocolate chips in one quick movement, and said, “Let’s go, Doc.”
And we’re back to being, us. Whatever the hell that is.
Eleven
“Are you sure about this?” I whispered, as Luke and I climbed the first set of stairs to Grant’s apartment.
A million and one thoughts flew through my head. What if he doesn’t live here anymore? What if he’s sleeping with a girl? What if he really does shoot us?
Luke stopped, mid-stair, and turned around to look at me. His green eyes twinkled in the crappy hallway light above our heads.
“Cammie. Cammie. Cammie.” The corners of his mouth rose a bit. “Just live a little, Doc.”
I gave him a curt nod, and we continued on our trek to door number three. The hallway still reeked of mildew and fresh paint, just like it had last year. I had hated spending time here. Grant’s apartment was small and always a bit messy. It drove me crazy, which is why we often hung out at my house instead of here.
“Give me the key, amateur,” Luke said, voice quiet yet bursting with amusement.
I pushed past him and rolled my eyes. Amateur, my ass. Before I fished the keys out of the pocket, I leaned in and put my ear against the hard door. I didn’t hear a thing. Not even the TV. I looked back at Luke and shrugged. I grabbed my keys from the inside of my hoodie, finding the one to Grant’s and carefully put it in the lock, turning it ever so slightly. I felt Luke brush up against me from behind, and I took in a small inhale of air. His scent was husky, covered up with cologne, and it completely sent my senses into overdrive.
Luke whispered into my ear, literally making my heart beat out of my chest, “Your hands are so steady with that key. Very skilled…I wonder what they would feel like—” Before he could say anything else, I jabbed my elbow into his stomach, leaving him with a loud grunt.
He caught his breath quickly. “I was just going to say—”
“SHH!”
Luke growled in response from behind me and as much as I wanted to smack him again, I found myself liking that throaty growl. I liked it a lot.
Once the door was quietly pushed open, I stepped over the threshold with Luke right behind me. He was walking like a cat. For as big as he was, his footsteps were quiet and stealthy. Unlike me…I sounded like a freaking hippopotamus.
As soon as Luke made his way to my side, he grabbed my wrist. His breath was warm and minty when he bent down to whisper in my ear, “Lead the way to his room…”
My lower stomach tightened with an aroused feeling which paired perfectly with the exciting anticipation of doing something totally illegal. It was a rare feeling for me, so I basked in it.
I tiptoed through the small living room (which was still a mess, by the way), and made a turn towards the back bedroom. It was a small room; just enough room for a full-size bed and a small dresser, but the amazing thing about the apartment was that it had a tiny balcony right off the back of the bedroom. It was pretty much the only thing this apartment had going for it, including its douche-bag tenant.
When we walked into Grant’s room, an awful stench of musty dirty clothes hit us in the face. I instantly reached up and covered my scrunched-up nose, and once again, fought the urge to laugh. I could feel it building up inside me, but when Luke leaned down to whisper in my ear again, I straightened right up.
He had no idea that him whispering into my ear like that, our bodies nearly touching, was sending me into a whirlwind of hormones. It was totally turning me on, and I was finding it hard to breathe. It was honestly becoming extremely difficult to pretend like it didn’t make me want to strip my clothes off and have him claim me.
Something had changed between us. Something had changed from the second we’d set foot on our way to Grant’s. Maybe it was the little insight I’d gotten on his time in Afghanistan, or maybe it was just becoming too difficult to fight my attraction to him, but I was finding it really hard to ignore the desire simmering below the surface.
Realllly hard.
“What the fuck is that smell?” Luke whispered, and I hid my smile before I whispered back.
“He’s a fucking pig, Luke.”
Luke’s tone was soft. “What is it with you and pigs? Didn’t you call me a pig the other day?”
I giggled quietly. “Yes, but he’s a sloppy pig. At least you’re well put-together…”
My eyes went wide. I just complimented him. Shit! I didn’t mean to do that! Before I could conjure up something snarky to counteract it, our heads snapped to where Grant was sleeping peacefully in his disheveled bed. He murmured something inaudible, and it had us literally frozen in our spots. If only we had the song, “Freeze,” playing in the background, we’d truly be winning.
When Grant rolled onto to his side, I cocked my head. The weirdest noise had just come from his bed. It was a squeaky-swishy sound, like plastic rubbing together. At first, I thanked God that the redhead wasn’t in bed with him. But that thought was quickly replaced when my eyes finally adjusted to the dark room.
“Holy—” I started to whisper before I grabbed onto Luke’s forearm. If I hadn’t grabbed onto his forearm, I swear I would have fallen over.
“Cammie…what the—?” Luke’s voice was laced with laughter, and I almost died right then. Almost.