The Perfect First (Fulton U, #1)(38)

Her smile brightened and she nodded. “Can you do me a favor? As much as I enjoyed our walk of shame…”

LJ’s eyes bulged like a cartoon character behind her.

“Do you have something I can change into?” She pulled at the hem of her now wrinkled and rumpled button-down.

“Sure, I can find something for you. Let’s go upstairs.” I guided her toward the steps.

LJ mouthed, What the hell? and I waved him off, snapping my head back to face her when she looked over at me.

Our steps creaked up the uneven wooden stairs. LJ’s head dipped so low as he watched us climb the steps that he tripped and nearly face-planted. That was what he got for being an ass.

“It’s this one.” I opened the door to my room and let her step in. The pile of clothes on my bed was still there, the messy desk still covered in books and papers. I cringed at how different this was from her pristine place. My Nerf gun arsenal clattered to the floor as the door hit the wall.

“What are those?”

“Nothing.” I kicked them under a stack of dirty clothes. The couch in the corner held my gear and even more clothes.

She was probably afraid she’d catch something from being in there.

“Wow.” Slowly turning in a circle, her gaze swept over everything.

“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone.” I grabbed an armful of laundry and kicked open my closet, dumping it on top of my sneakers.

“Don’t clean up because of me. I was just thinking how much this looks like a real college room. You’ve even got the naked girl calendar thing.”

I darted across the room and batted it off the wall. It slid straight under my bed. “Berk got it for me as a joke.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. She was very pretty.”

She’s got nothing on you.

Seph sat on my bed, bouncing a couple of times with her arms behind her, propping herself up. The warning ringing in my head might as well have been a bullhorn. I should’ve handed her some shorts and a t-shirt in the hall and pointed her toward the bathroom. Having her in my room, on my bed—that was a step too far, a temptation much too hard to resist.

“Let me get you something to change into.” I spun around and tugged open my middle drawer. “There aren’t many things that will fit.” I lifted the big ball of clothes and shoved them to the side.

“Do you have a brush?”

“No, but I have a comb. It should be somewhere on my bed, maybe.” As soon as she left, I was cleaning this place up.

Underneath the tangle of sweatshirts, tshirts, and pants was a folded shirt. It sat at the bottom with a pair of my old high school sweats that had gotten mixed up with my clothes when the semester started.

“It’s not going to look the best, but here’s what I have.” I spun around and the clothes slipped out of my fingers. Recovering, I caught them midair and stood there frozen.

Seph’s hair fell in waves around her face, longer than I’d have expected, like back in the club, but now I could see every deep and light brown tone. She ran her fingers through the strands.

I dropped the clothes to the front of my jeans, hoping I didn’t punch a hole straight through them.

She looked up at me with the sun shining through my window and lighting her hair up like a halo. “They look perfect.” She made grabby hands motions with her fingers.

Stumbling like my legs had fallen asleep, I got closer until I stood beside her.

“What’s up? Is the booze just hitting you now?” She picked up the comb from beside her and ran it through her hair. Tilting her head to one side, she tackled the ends, getting out the tangles.

I cleared my throat. “No, I’m good.” Setting the clothes on the bed beside her, I watched her fingers work, releasing the last of her hair. “Did you want some help?”

Her eyes lit up and she smiled. “Sure. I don’t know why I still do these. As a time killer, I guess.” Turning her back to me, she combed at the front of her hair.

My fingers shook. Flexing them, I took a deep breath. I followed along with her work, unraveling the last braid down the back of her head. Her soft, silky strands brushed across my hands. I ran my fingertips along her scalp, raking them across her skin.

Her head fell back and she let out a moan. “Oh, that feels good.” Her low moan might as well have been her wrapping her fingers around my cock and tugging me forward.

I did it again, letting my fingers explore her hair, massaging her scalp. Her small sounds of appreciation had the blood pounding in my veins.

“Reece, hurry up! My stomach is eating itself,” Berk called from downstairs.

Her head snapped up straight and she looked over her shoulder at me with wide eyes. Our moment was over, and I was kicking my own ass for saying no to being her first. In my head, that was the right choice, the honorable one—not that I’d been particularly honorable throughout my life, but damned if I didn’t want to be that guy for her.

“Then start the food yourself,” I shouted back to him. Getting off the bed, I put the clothes on her lap. “I’ll meet you downstairs.” I looked back at her from the doorway as she combed out the rest of her hair. “Bacon and eggs good for you? We might have some bagels down there too.”

“Whatever you make, I’m sure it’ll be perfect.”