Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(38)
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I saw Griffin’s hand come out to push back Kellan’s shoulder, but I refused to look at the nudist. “Well zip your head back in your pants and get back in the game. We need you on board.” Sighing, Kellan looked up at him. “I’m on board, Griff. I’ll be there, okay.”
“You better.”
Just as it sounded like Griffin was turning to leave, I watched Kellan shake his head, his lips twisting. “Hey, Griff? You mind not walking around my girlfriend’s place buck naked? I’d really prefer her only staring at my junk, if you don’t mind.”
My eyes widening, I inadvertently looked back at Griffin. Smirking at me, he took himself in hand. “Dude, if she’s peeking at another man’s schlong, then that’s between the two of you.” Raising his eyebrows at Kellan, he shook his blond head. “The Hulk needs to breathe.” Kellan bit his lip, struggling to not laugh. I had no such luck with my control and had to slap a hand over my mouth. Griffin glared at both of us, then sauntered back to Anna’s room. Once the door was closed again, Kellan burst out laughing. I joined him, the tears springing into my eyes gladly obscuring the afterimage of Griffin’s pierced manhood.
Between giggles, I managed to laugh out, “The Hulk? Does it turn green when it grows?”
Holding in his stomach, Kellan shook his head. “Oh God, I hope not.
Come on, let’s get out of here before we find out.” Grabbing my book bag, we hastily escaped from where we could hear Griffin start to wake up Anna. Once in the hall, our laughter slowly sub-sided. When I could breathe without giggling, I smiled over at Kellan.
“Thank you for trying. Seeing Griffin in all his glory…will be one of the things that I definitely won’t miss.”
Slinging his arm over my shoulders, Kellan shook his head. Still laughing over his ass of a band mate, he said, “I wish I could say the same, but the green mutant’s coming with me.”
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Laughing a little myself, I raised an eyebrow at him. “You have any…nicknames?”
Kellan gave me a charmingly crooked smile. “None that I’ve given myself, but from what I’ve heard said in the bedroom, it would probably be something like, ‘The Oh-God-yes-harder-faster-don’t-you-dare-stop-yes-f*ck-me-now-you’re-freaking-amazing Machine’.” He shrugged.
“But that’s kind of a mouthful.”
Frowning, I elbowed him in the stomach and shrugged his arm off of me. Sometimes he could be just as much of a jackass as Griffin…almost, anyway. Laughing, he came up behind me and spun me around. As I squealed in protest, he lifted me up over his shoulder and smacked my bottom. “I’m just joking. Come on, let’s get you to class.” As I squirmed against him, he added, “Maybe while you’re learning, I’ll go get some of those handcuffs…then you can give me a better nickname.” I stiffened in his arms, wondering if he was serious about that; his only response was to laugh.
After depositing me at my place of higher learning, Kellan went off to go do…whatever he did while I was in school. Maybe think of new ways to mortify me. Hopefully he really was joking about the handcuffs.
Over the past weeks I’d gotten to know some of the other graduating English majors and I met up with a few of them before my Critical Practice class. It was an intense course and we’d all agreed to meet early and study for an hour before we went in. Sitting in a group of six or seven like-minded individuals, contemplating the importance of interpretive practices when studying literature and culture, I felt more like my own person, with my own hopes and dreams, and less like one of Kellan’s entourage. It made me feel whole, complete, and made the process of him leaving slightly less nerve-wracking. Slightly…I still wasn’t ready for that day to come.
The nearly two hour course was a brain burner, and by the time it was over, I was grateful for my slightly easier ethics class. Even if ethics brought Candy…and not the apple-flavored kind. Gritting my teeth, I did what I did nearly every day when I walked into the classroom—I 108
ignored her and her friends. It was fairly easy to do since she’d started ignoring me too. After her failed attempt to make me jealous enough to break up with Kellan, she seemed to give up on it. Either that or she was busy plotting and scheming a more masterful plan than merely spreading gossip. I liked to believe the woman had more important things to do with her time, though.
Quickly absorbed in the lecture, I forgot about all about Candy sitting a few rows in front of me with her friends. Once the class was over, I grabbed up all of my stuff and went over the paper I was going to write tonight during slow times on my shift. The teacher was having us do a paper on the ethical responsibility of various websites. I was thinking of doing mine on a popular medical advice site, showing the importance of giving potential patients the correct information.
Already outlining my debate in my head, I bumped into Kellan in the hallway. Grabbing my shoulders, he held me in place in front of him.
Lost in thought, I blinked at him stupidly for a second before smiling and engulfing him in a hug. “Hey, you’re picking me up inside.” Laughing at my obvious comment, he scruffed up his hair with his hand. “Yeah, it’s pouring out there. I thought I’d go for a swim instead of waiting in my car.” I cringed away from the water droplets flicking me and he laughed a little more.