30 Nights (20 page)

I reached out and ran my finger along the side of the phone.

“I also realized that I haven’t invited you over to my place yet.”

Sitting up, I took the phone off speaker and pressed it to my ear. “I didn’t think that was something you would be interested in. Too personal.”

Sure, I’d dreamed that maybe things between us would eventually go to the next level, but I also knew that he was still dealing with his Grace problem. If he was serious about this, then maybe there was hope that we might actually become a proper couple.

There was a chance that he might come to love me.

“Well, it is. But somehow I think I need to do that. Make things a bit more personal.” This was most obviously Eric and not Professor Cyborg I was speaking to. Gone was the cocky edge, to be replaced with a note of uncertainty that grabbed at my heart.

As much as I wanted to jump on this idea, I knew it wouldn’t do either of us any good if I did. “Maybe right now isn’t the best time to make this decision. Think on it and we can talk tomorrow?”

“You’re right. Plus, I do owe you a coffee.”

“Double-double.”

“I won’t forget.”

“Good. Good night, Professor Cyborg.”

“Good night, Super Vixen. Sweet dreams.”

The line clicked and I was alone once more. Tomorrow, once I finished everything that Professor Mickelson needed and saw him off for his conference, then I’d pop in and see Eric. Visiting his place was a big step, but so was acknowledging our status in front of our peers.

Tomorrow, big things would happen.

21

T
he next morning started the same as most others. Up late, dressed, eating on the bus, bolting up the stairs to the office. Eric’s door was open, but he was on the phone. Seeing him like that, the receiver pressed to his ear, had me blushing. I hesitated long enough to give him a wave and watch him smile.

Then he winked at me and it felt as though the sun exploded in my heart.

If someone had told me that I’d skipped to my office after that, I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised. I was greeted by the smell of glorious coffee and an apple fritter waiting for me on my desk. There was a Post-it note attached to the cup.

 

 

That was precious. Taking the note as I sat down, I tucked it in my purse before swallowing down that first glorious sip of coffee. It was exactly what I needed to start my day off—caffeine, a treat, and a note from Eric.

I was humming when Jasmine came into the office. She stopped short and turned to stare at me. “You got laid.”

“Nope.”

“Liar. You only hum when you’ve gotten laid.”

“Nope, nope.”

She snorted. “Yeah right.”

“There was absolutely no penetration.”

“That’s . . . interesting. Oral?”

“He wasn’t even in the same building.”

“How? Because if this boy has a way of getting you off without being present then we need to find a way to sell this ability. I want to be rich. He could make us rich!”

Laughter bubbled from me. How could I stop it when I was so damn happy? “I promised him I would keep all pertinent details to myself.”

“No. That’s not happening.” She dumped her stuff on her desk and stuck her head out the door. “Eric!”

“Jaz, no! Get in here.”

“If you won’t tell me then I’ll have to go to the source.”

I threw myself across my desk and managed to snag her arm. “Shut up. I’ll tell you, just stop yelling.”

Women in their late twenties shouldn’t squeal like a preteen, but that’s totally what Jasmine did. “What did you do? Was there phone sex? Is that a card? It must be a card.”

“It’s a card, sort of. We did Day Fifteen.”

“You say that like I had them all memorized.”

“Role-playing.”

Jasmine’s chair was all the way around my desk. If anyone were to see us they’d think we were working on a project together. Fools.

“What were you role-playing? Like doctor and nurse?”

Yeah, I was never going to hear the end of this. “Not exactly.”

“Then exactly what?” She started laughing the moment my blush kicked in. “Oh my God, what did you do?”

I didn’t have the heart to say it above a mumble. She pinched my arm hard and I yelped. “Shit, okay. We played superhero and villain.”

Jasmine froze and I got to a count of four in my head before she burst into maniacal laughter. “You didn’t?”

“Maybe. Kind of.”

I waited for her to catch her breath. “Was he the hero?”

Closing my eyes, I braced myself. “No, I was.”

“Did you have names?” She grabbed my arm and jiggled me. “Please, dear God, tell me that you had names.”

“Umm—”

“Glenna—”

“Super Vixen and Professor Cyborg.” And there was another rousing fit of giggles from Jasmine. “It was hot.”

“Only you would think someone with the name Professor Cyborg was hot.”

No, I loved her but I totally wasn’t going to let her ruin this memory for me. I turned and grabbed her by the shoulders. “He had the ability to control me through the use of anything electronic, including my phone. He laughed at me and then demanded that I use a vibrator on myself. He was the one in charge, telling me how fast or slow I could make it go. He was the one telling me to touch myself until I couldn’t hold out any longer and I came hard. I screamed so loud that my throat is still sore this morning. Still. Sore.”

The longer I spoke the wider her eyes got. “Whoa.”

“It was amazing. And you’d think it was stupid and silly, and maybe it was a bit, but after a short time it was hot and he sounded so dark and tortured and commanding that I nearly came just from the sound of his voice.” Jasmine’s mouth had slipped open and I pushed it shut with my finger. “Catching flies.”

“I can’t believe you did that. No way.”

At the sound of someone clearing his throat, we both looked up to see Eric standing in the doorway, his arms crossed as he leaned against the jamb. “I can verify that yes, we in fact did.”

Even last week I would have wanted to die knowing Eric had overheard even a part of our conversation. But the look on his face, the smile and sparkle in his eyes were enough to tell me that he was in fact quite amused by everything.

I leaned back and nodded his way. “Professor. I hope the rest of your evening was enjoyable.”

“It was. I had a bit of a run-in with a remote control, but I eventually bent it to my will.”

It was in that moment that Jasmine lost her mind. Her face turned red as she fell from her chair in laughter. “You two. Killing me.”

Eric and I looked at each other and burst out laughing as well. I pulled Jasmine back up into her chair. “We’re consenting adults with sex cards. What do you want us to do?”

“I don’t want to know!” It took her a minute to get herself under control. She wiped her eyes and caught her breath. “I’m going to have to redo my makeup.”

“Please, you’re beautiful no matter what.” I gave her arm a squeeze. “Eric, why are you even here? You never stop by.”

“I heard Jasmine call my name. And I wanted to make sure you got your coffee this morning.” It was weird, but I could tell from the way he spoke that he was looking for a bit of praise. Strange, given how confident he normally was.

“I did, thank you. And thank you for the treat.”

Jasmine pulled back. “Is this another sex thing?”

“No! He bought me an apple fritter.”

“Any good?” He stepped farther into the room. “I bought it at the little bakery near my house.”

“It was delicious.” Yeah, I probably had a dopey grin on my face, but he’d made me so happy in such a short period of time, I couldn’t help it.

“I wish you’d found these cards years ago.” Jasmine reached out and draped her arm around my shoulders. “I haven’t seen you this happy ever.”

“Jaz—”

“Hush. If Professor Cyborg over here is the reason that you’re smiling and happy then I’ll forever be grateful. You’re my best friend in the whole wide world, and I want nothing more than for you to have the life you deserve.”

It could have been a result of the utter sincerity coming from my friend who normally teased me within an inch of my life, or I was simply going loopy from all this unexpected attention. Either way, I couldn’t stop from tearing up. “Thanks, Jaz.”

Eric cleared his throat. “I should leave you two—”

“Oh no you don’t!” Jasmine pointed her finger at him. “You go nowhere until I know your intentions with my best friend. If you do anything to hurt her I’ll be forced to beat you until you beg for forgiveness.”

“Never.” He pressed his hand to his heart. “I swear.”

“Good. Because I actually like you and I’d hate to have to mess you up. So what are your plans now?” She bumped her shoulder against mine.

“Nothing. Well, we haven’t had a chance to talk about anything yet.”

“Are you still using the cards? Because if there was anything that I could help you out with, I’m more than happy to.”

“You’re terrible. What one could you possibly help with?”

“Day Twenty-seven.”

Now, I had to admit that I didn’t remember off the top of my head what was written on that particular card. Even as Jasmine stood up, pulling me along beside her, I was clueless as to what was about to happen. I looked at Eric, who looked both surprised and confused, before Jasmine turned my face toward hers.

I’ve had more than a few fantasies about kissing another woman. I’m not gay, not by any stretch, but wanting to kiss a woman didn’t necessarily have anything to do with sexual desire.

Okay, it did, but I wasn’t in the mental space to fully examine that given what was happening.

Jasmine’s lips were soft as she pressed her mouth to mine. Unlike when Eric kissed me, there was nothing hard, no rough edges. I knew Jasmine’s scent, recognized it was her that I was holding as I opened my lips. It felt strange, but good strange as the tip of her tongue brushed against mine. She didn’t go deep into my mouth, nor did I want her to.

The gentle kiss was wonderful and drew to a natural conclusion before I grew uncomfortable. When we pulled away, Jasmine grinned and I couldn’t help but suck on my bottom lip.

“You’re so straight.” Thankfully, she didn’t laugh at me, even though I knew she thought it was hilarious.

Well then, that was another card I’d have to add to the corkboard.

We both turned and looked at Eric, who was clearly fascinated with the entire thing that had played out in front of him. He swallowed hard and looked between us. “So that happened.”

What none of us were immediately aware of was that Eric wasn’t the only the only one who’d witnessed the kiss. Jasmine stiffened and bolted away from me before I clued in to what had happened. “Nell!”

“Don’t talk to me.”

The joy I’d been feeling only moments ago soured in my stomach. “Oh, no.”

Jasmine ignored both Eric and me as she chased after Nell. Eric looked as sickened as I felt and came farther into the office. We both tried not to watch as Jasmine caught her at the end of the hallway. It didn’t take a genius to see that they were fighting.

Eric reached out for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Think they will be okay?”

“I hope so. They’ve had issues in the past. I think Nell is a bit jealous about how free Jaz tends to be with her affections.”

“And seeing her kissing her friend would be enough to solidify her concerns.”

“Oh yeah.” I cringed when I heard Nell’s voice rise to a screech, before Jasmine hauled her into the stairwell. “Today just went from awesome to shit.”

“I’m sure everything will work out for them.” He turned and placed a kiss on my forehead. “We can delay our conversation until tonight. Say around six o’clock? I’ll pick you up and take you out to supper. Then we can figure out what we want to do next.”

As much as my heart ached for what Jasmine was going through right now, for once I had a chance to take some happiness for myself. Getting up on my tiptoes, I placed a kiss on his cheek. “That sounds amazing.”

“I better go. I have to grade assignments. I should have finished them last night, but I got distracted.”

“I can’t imagine why.” Not only had we had great non-touching sex, but I’d distracted my super-serious professor from his job. I was fucking awesome! “Go. I’ll talk to you later.”

As Eric walked away, I couldn’t help but wish the rest of the day away so we could have our time alone. Oh well, I’d have to deal with the rest of the crap that was inevitably coming my way. First, I’d help reassure Jasmine that she and Nell would be fine. It might require a bit of groveling on her part, but it would work out. Then, I’d tackle the rest of Professor Mickelson’s report. He’d be on a plane tomorrow and out of the office for the rest of the term. That would give me plenty of time to have my fun with Eric.

I couldn’t wait!

Jasmine barely spoke to me the rest of the morning. Once she’d come back from her fight with Nell, her face was lined with tear streaks and her hair was no longer hanging straight down her back. She only pulled it up into a bun when she was annoyed or upset and didn’t want it to be a distraction. Clearly, she was both.

After three hours of uncomfortable silence, I couldn’t take any more. “Jaz, are you okay?”

“No.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Do you want a coffee? I’d be more than happy to get you one from the kitchen.”

“No.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry about what happened.”

“It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t kiss me, I kissed you. And despite what some people think, I don’t have unrequited lust for you. You’re straight and my best friend. It was just a kiss and nothing more than that.”

That made me cringe. “Would it help if I spoke to Nell? Tell her about what was going on?”

“I told her. She doesn’t seem to care.”

I wanted to do something to help, but I’d learned from past situations that it was better if I just kept my nose out of things. Jasmine and Nell had been down this road more than once, and always seemed to bounce back. With some time, I hoped this wouldn’t be any different.

“Well, let me know if you need anything. I have a feeling I’ll be here most of the day again to get this presentation the way Mickelson wants it.”

Jasmine nodded and put her earbuds in.