Scared of Beautiful (Scared #1)(45)
“Maia, you know how I feel about that,” he replies simply, and then stops talking, as if to say that the conversation ends right there.
“Well,” I push on anyway, “I can fund a private scholarship through my company, that money technically doesn’t belong to me.”
Jackson rolls his eyes. “The money still comes from you, Maia, and I don’t need charity, okay?” He says the last part low, and I decide to leave it alone for now.
The just friends version of us becomes easier as we settle into casual conversation, leaving the topics of Atlanta and college funding well away from the banter. Jackson knocks back the beers steadily, and while I can see that he is nowhere near drunk, I still know that he is in no position to drive back to the campus. I wonder, for a brief moment if that was his intention, or has been, all along. And the thought doesn’t sit well with me, not at all.
Chapter 24
Jackson
I’m careful not to let Maia see how my eyes steal glances, roaming along the smooth skin on her neck. And how I adjust myself by shifting in my seat when she brings the beer bottle to her lips, and a thousand indecent thoughts fill my mind. The girl is beautiful and sadly for me, I happen to know just how beautiful every part of her is, and feels. And to know that I won’t be touching any part of that tonight is nothing short of corporal punishment. Torture. I’m aware that the number of beers that I have knocked back renders me incapable of driving back to campus. And it wasn’t intentional on my part, at least not consciously. And if my subconscious has f*cked up, I may very well spend the night sleeping in the Mustang.
“How are you getting back?” Maia asks.
“I’m not sure,” I reply nonchalantly. “I’ll probably just hang out in the Mustang for a while till I sober up I guess, not a big deal.” I shrug my shoulders.
She looks away in contemplation, at war with her own thoughts, and eventually looks up at me and says, “You can hang out in the apartment for awhile to sober up. The Bean is closing soon. It’s nearly midnight. But just as friends.”
She adds the last part on quickly. Just in case I decide to get the wrong idea. Truth is I’m not even trying to get into Maia’s pants tonight, but let’s be real. I am a red-blooded male who happens to think that the sexiest, most perfect woman is sitting before me. My head might tell me that going with her was a bad idea, but my dick is all in. In fact, it’s already speeding towards the apartment block.
“Okay,” I reply, trying to cull the happy lilt in my voice.
Maia pays the bill and for once I choose not to argue with her. I finger the small box in my jacket pocket that holds a delicate platinum infinity charm on a thin platinum chain. This encompasses every ounce of savings I had left, hence my need to seek employment now. I had planned on giving this to Maia before we came back from Atlanta, except things didn’t go according to planned. I hope she’ll accept it as a friendship token. The charm matches one of my tattoos. The cold chill that blasts us as we step out onto the street causes Maia to shiver instantly. I consider wrapping my arms around her, but I get the sense that that may be pushing the friendship a little.
Thankfully the heat is already on in her apartment, and we settle onto the couch as she makes us two espressos with a machine that costs more than my car. We settle into the plush lounge and for a few minutes, nobody says anything. We don’t need to.
“Wanna watch something?” Maia asks, breaking the silence.
“Sure,” I smile.
After a few moments of playful debate over rom com or horror, we finally settle on some zombie love story and settle back into the couch. The movie is bad, so bad in fact that Maia falls asleep after the first ten minutes. I watch her chest rise and fall steadily, her eyes closed in peaceful slumber. I could stare at her all night, and imagine that minus all the bullshit of the last month, our lives could go on forever with just this much peace.
After a while, my eyelids grow heavy and I drift off to sleep. Largely because the zombies have resorted to eating each others faces off, in the name of true love. Who makes this shit? In the early hours of the morning, I wake to find the lights out, the TV off, and a blanket placed lightly over me. Maia is no longer next to me. I walk over to the kitchen for a glass of water and notice the thin stream of light from her lamp, seeping through the master bedroom door. I walk over, glass in hand and stare over at Maia as her head rests gently against her pillow. I wish I could make sure her world was like this all the time; no fear, no mistrust, no anxiety. I have no idea how to do that. She’s been so hurt, still is so wounded. I wonder to myself whether this is one of those times when people say love is just not enough.
She stirs, and I take a step back. Her eyes open slowly and focus on me standing in the doorway. Looking every bit the stalker that I feel like. She holds my gaze intently, and my dick springs to life, hoping that what I’m thinking is what she’s thinking. This time I won’t say no. I don’t have it in me a second time. f-uck it! What do I have to lose? I take a few tentative steps into the bedroom. Maia’s eyes don’t leave mine. She watches me apprehensively at first, but slowly, the closer I get to the bed, the more I see her eyes fill with a lustful glow.
As I reach the bedside, she pulls the sheet down in invitation, and my dick solidifies at the sight of her in a grey Brown t-shirt and a pair of boy shorts. Before I have an opportunity to lower myself onto her, Maia sits up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She hooks her fingers into the belt loop of my jeans and pulls me, her head level with my crotch, her eyes never leaving mine. Maia brings me into her until I’m planted between her legs, her head dangerously close to my dick. The thought of what comes next is enough to cause me to close my eyes in sheer pleasure. Her hands move slowly to undo my belt buckle and roll down my zipper, before she drops my jeans to my ankles and pushes my boxers down to follow. Sliding her hands up the back of my thighs, she tortures me, teasing me by kissing my thighs, the bottom of my stomach. My hand grabs the back of her head in guidance.