A Modern Love Story (13 page)

“My God! You almost had me going there.” She pulled her hands through her hair. “Damn, Luc. You better be careful. I nearly took you up on that.”

She had? He cocked a brow and her cheeks went pink.

“Okay, okay. Point taken. You win this argument. No hot-stranger-sex.”

They walked out of the elevator, turning toward her room. When they got there, she turned and hugged him. He nearly groaned from the contact, her warm, firm body pressed against his, slipping across the sun block still slicking the surface of his chest. And then she almost undid him altogether—to his certain detriment,
and
to hers—when she cupped his face and gave him a quick, hard kiss on the lips.

“I know you’re just watching out for me. Thanks for that, Stretch.”

He cleared his throat. “Uh huh. No problem.”

“Come get us in an hour.” She slipped into her room.

Letting out a huge breath, he turned toward his own suite. “Damn. I need a fucking cold shower.”

*****

The night held her. She was a slave to it, to the possibilities it held, and the moments it promised. And because it did, Robbie never wanted it to end—even despite their fight a couple of hours ago. Or maybe, she mused, studying Luc over the rim of her Mai Tai, because of it.

Now, just what would he have done if she had taken him up on his offer? While she was dying to find out, she knew it was better left unrealized. At least, that was what she kept telling herself. Would he have rejected her again? No. She didn’t think he would have. Not if he thought he
was
her only solution, that he’d be helping her out by sleeping with her. No. She knew Luc would do anything for her, and she wasn’t about to put him in that position. You don’t do something like that, manipulate a man like that, if you really loved him. But, what if she told him she was in love with him, that she always had been, and
that
was the reason she wanted him? Not because she was hard up, but because being with him would mean everything to her.

She continued to watch him as he scanned the crowd, contemplating what she knew deep down was not a real option,
and
monumentally selfish of her in the end. Luc would rather walk off a cliff than hurt her. How could she possibly put him in a situation to where he’d
have
to sleep with her with the sole purpose of
not
hurting her feelings? No. She couldn’t do that to him either.

Robbie blinked as she looked into Luc’s gloriously dark eyes. “Huh?”

He chuckled. “What are you thinking about?”

“Oh.” She shook her thoughts clear, sipped her Mai Tai. “Nothing. Did you say something?”

“I asked about your apartment hunting. Are you sure that’s your first drink?”

“Shush. You know it is.” She absently flipped her hair back. “Lizbeth was gonna check out another place when we got back, but I think I like the one over by you and Conrad the best. God. No more dorms. I can barely believe it.”

“Was it that bad?”

“Are you kidding me? No space. No privacy. Public bathrooms.” She took another sip, and then slid a peanut from a little foil package to pop into her mouth. “Did I ever tell you we had to walk down the hall in
just
our robes when we went to shower?”

Luc froze, his beer an inch from his mouth. “Weren’t there guys on your floor?”

She pointed at him and nodded. “My point exactly. Now you’re catching up.”

He took a long pull off the bottle and set it down. “Yeah. It’s good you’re getting out of there.”

 
“So, on to you. You excited to get started on your business courses?”

“Not especially. It’s still school.” He shrugged. “But I’m excited to get going on the business itself.”

“I still can’t believe Mick is selling you Hooligan’s. Picture it,” she said, spreading her hands in the air. “Luc Cintrone—bar owner and business man. It suits you. It really does. You gonna keep the name?”

“I’m not sure. Thinking about it. What’re your thoughts?”

She laughed and put her hand over his. “It suits you. Keep it.”

“Ha. Very funny,” he grumbled, signaling the waitress for another round. “I probably could skip the courses, but I figure if I’m going to do it, do it right.”

“And Mick is showing you the rest of it, off hours?”

“Yup. Every damn thing there is to know about the bar business is getting grilled into my head. By the time I turn twenty-one, I should be able to run that place with my eyes closed. And the schooling will make sure I turn a profit while I’m doing it.” He glanced her way and smiled. “I think Mick is angling to have me sign the papers right on my birthday, followed by a stellar party, of course.”

“But not at Hooligan’s.”

“Nope. Don’t worry. I didn’t forget you wouldn’t be of age yet. We’ll find another venue.”

Of course he had taken her into consideration—even though it was his day, his moment, he still thought of her. God, how she loved this man.

She thanked the waitress as she set down her drink, and then noticed as Luc flicked a glance at a passing woman. Sipping her drink, she watched as he casually scanned the woman over while taking a pull from his beer.

Ew
, she was skanky. “You can do better than that.”

Luc jolted and looked at Robbie with raised brows.

“What?” she asked. “I’m not allowed to have an opinion on the girls you go after? Sounds like a double standard to me.”

He arrowed a steady gaze at her. “You don’t ever meet them.”

“Yeah.” She ripped open another bags of peanuts, tossed one in her mouth. “Why is that?”

“I don’t
date
like you date.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He held up his hands. “Just that I’m not looking to get serious. When it’s someone who matters, you’ll meet her.”

She tried to shrug off the ache in her chest, but it turned her tone sour. “Fair enough.”

“What?”

“What?” She flashed him a conjured smile. “Nothing.”

“I know that tone. Spill it, Squirt.”

“I just feel bad you haven’t found anyone to matter yet.” Someone like
her
.

“Who says I haven’t?”

“But you…” Jealously mixed with flat out curiosity. “What’s the problem then?”

He took another drink, scanned the room. “She doesn’t see it yet.”

Even though she wanted him for her own, she felt nothing but hatred toward the girl who would deny him. “Then she’s an idiot. Not worth your time.”

He chuckled and tipped his head as if in agreement.

Robbie bit her lip as she worked her angle on what she wanted to ask. Best to just go with direct. “Is it Kelly Marquette?”

Luc looked stunned. “How do you know about her?”

She gestured vaguely, took a long swallow of her Mai Tai. “Conrad shares more than you do.”

“Oh.”

“So…is it her?”

“Hmm? Oh, no.” He seemed distracted, lost in his thoughts.

“What is it?”

His eye darted around before coming back to hers. “What did Conrad tell you about her?”

“Not much. Just that you were dating her for awhile. Why? Was there more to tell?”

“I didn’t know if he told you… Well, she had a pregnancy scare.
We
had a scare.”

“Really? What would you have done? If she
had
been?”

“Stuck.”

“You loved her?”

He sat back and let out a breath. “No, not at all. But you don’t abandon your kids. That’s why I was with her so long, otherwise I probably would have broken it off long before then.”

Robbie realized how tight her chest had become during the conversation, and she made herself relax. “I’m glad it turned out for you, Luc.” And me, she thought, nearly cringing at her own selfishness.

“Me too.” He tipped his bottle at her, took a swig. “Thank God you never found yourself in that position.”

“Yeah.” Suddenly, the room felt very hot, and anywhere else was better to look than at Luc. He seemed to notice this with perfect clarity. She laughed, nervous-like, and shifted in her seat.

“Who the hell was it?”

Did she know his eyes could get
that
dark? “It was nothing, Stretch.” She gestured—nearly grabbed in panic—at the passing waitress. “Could I get another please?”

Luc leaned forward, tugged on a tendril of her hair. “It’s okay, Squirt. Just talk to me.”

Robbie froze a tick, surprised by his sudden calm. “Who are you, and what did you do with Luc?”

He kicked back with a grin. A strained grin, but a grin nonetheless. “Go ahead.”

“All right. If you really want to hear about this.”

He gestured his bottle at her, indicating he did.

Okay. This was different. “The guy’s name was Robert Matthews. Second month of college, he had the great honor of being my first.” She watched his passive expression. “We hadn’t planned on… Well, we just hadn’t planned ahead. One thing led to another, and a month later I was hyperventilating in a paper bag thinking I was
prego
.”

His brow winged up. “A paper bag?”

“Lizbeth’s idea.”

“Hmm. Go on.”

“Anyway, it turned out I was just late. End of story.” He nodded, shrugged, but the white knuckles gripping his bottle belied his calm. She smirked and leaned in. “But, you know what I learned from that little situation?”

“Not to ever have sex again, too much trouble?”

She laughed, a deep throaty sound, and trailed a finger up and down his arm. “No way. I like sex.” He nearly spit out his beer, but she continued…
and
without losing her cool. “In fact, I
love
sex. But what I learned was how to get very, very,
very
skilled at putting a condom on a man.” She glanced around, then leaned in further. “There’s a trick to it, you see. Slight touches, gliding my fingers across that sensitive skin, and since my mouth is usually near…” She licked her lips, shrugged. “There are things that I learned to do, through lots and lots of practice, that would drive any sane man crazy, all by simply partaking in safe sex.”

Every muscle in Luc’s body tensed to the point where Robbie nearly felt it. His eyes looked like they were about to roll right out of their sockets, and if he clenched his jaw any tighter, she was sure shattered teeth would be involved.

She couldn’t hold back anymore.

She clapped her hands together as she threw her head back and laughed harder than she had in a long time. Tears squeezed out the corners of her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. “Jesus, Luc! You actually believed me! You should have seen your face!”

“Yeah, I bet it was
real
funny.”

“I’m sorry, Stretch, but you had that one coming.” She held her stomach as she sat back. “Honestly, where I left off, that was the end of the story. Safe sex every time after that, and only with the one guy. Is that better?”