Sweet Rome (Sweet Home, #1.5)(12)

“It’s mint. The flavor in his mouth is—” She started on about the f*cking initiation task, but I needed more of her, and at that moment, what I wanted trumped everything else.

Cutting off her answer, I groaned loudly and dived back in, finishing what I started. She anticipated my aggression and gripped my hair, bringing me in to her as far as I could go, meeting every rough move with her own. My hands began to roam. I needed to feel more of her body. I was about to explore her every God-given curve—but then Shelly had to choose that moment to let her friggin’ mouth fly.

“Enough! What the hell, Rome? Get off her, now!”

Tanya moved behind Molly and untied her blindfold, glowering at me behind her back. My attention went straight to Molly, though, and the startled look she gave me when her eyes flitted up to mine and she realized it was me.

“Hey, Mol,” I said, still not ready to let her escape my hold.

“Hey, you,” she answered, and f*ck, at those simple words, I wanted her again. I started to reach for her once more, until the bane of my goddamn life grabbed my arm and pulled me back, slapping my cheek in the process.

That did it. Shelly finally broke me and I reached out and grabbed her wrists. “Don’t f*cking hit me. Ever. Again.”

I hated being hit. Yeah, that’s a stupid thing to say. No one likes it—well, unless you sway that way in the bedroom—but for me, it just reminded me of what I’d had to go through for most of my life: pointless beatings.

“Rome tasted of mint. That’s what you wanted, right, for this ridiculous initiation task?” Molly snapped, not seeming intimidated at all by Shelly’s shit and immediately stopping me from exploding in rage.

I stared, couldn’t stop staring, as her determined gaze met mine. I needed to leave before my anger became too much or I completely snapped and began nailing Molly to the floor. “She’s right. I’d just chewed gum.”

With that, I stormed through the full room, only pausing briefly to meet Ally’s sympathetic gaze at the exit. I hit her with my best “don’t start” glare, then got the hell outta Dodge.

“Rome, Man! Wait!” Austin shouted from behind.

Swerving to face him, I held up my hand. “I’m good… I… shit, I just need to be on my own.”

“What the hell just happened? Who’s that chick? And why the f*ck were you kissing her?”

I glared at my best friend, clenching my jaw. “Carillo, I’m telling you to leave it. I can’t be around Shel right now, so I’m gonna split, okay?”

“You sure?” I could see the questions in his eyes, but simply nodding, I headed up the stairs to the top floor, Ally’s private balcony calling my name.





4





Three bottles of beer, two long hours of people watching, and five texts from the folks. No… wait… I checked my phone. Make that six.



Daddy: Can’t avoid this for long, boy. Spoke to Martin Blair tonight. Looking like a summer wedding next year after graduation. Don’t f*ck this up. And from now on, MAKE the arranged dinners I plan. Not a request.



I cleared the message and tipped my head back, searching the constellations above just for something to distract my mind.

Didn’t work.

Summer. A summer wedding.

Perfect.

My mind wandered to what it would be like being married, or even being in love. I couldn’t imagine it—what my ideal girl would look like, what the hell we would talk about, if she would be able to cope with my mood swings, my past.

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of my dark mood, hearing laughter and music down below me in the yard. Kegs were popping, folks were doing shots, but none of it appealed, and to top it all off, I still smelled Molly’s vanilla scent on my shirt.

Damn.

I kinda liked her. The way she kissed, the way she clung to my hair, pulling me close with her fists, and, mostly, the way she wasn’t fazed by all the football shit, didn’t look at me and instantly think, Tide QB, must try and tame.

I was in the middle of chastising myself for thinking too much about Molly when suddenly, the door to Ally’s room clicked open, and I craned my neck to try and see who was there. “Al, that you?”

There was no answer, so I got to my feet, ready to kick out whichever horny bastards had sneaked in. I just wanted to be left alone. I walked into the bedroom and stopped dead.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, I thought idly.

Molly. Fucking English Molly, gripping the bedpost in shock. Molly in a tight, figure-baring toga, staring at me with those huge, stunning eyes, and Christ, if her hanging on to that post didn’t give some pretty interesting ideas.

“This room is off-limits, Mol,” I said gruffly as I zoned in on her full lips and caught the way her eyes drank in my bare arms. She was affected by me.

Good, not just me, then.

I quickly took a swig of my beer to stop the nerves. I felt nervous for the first time in my friggin’ life, and that never happened—not in football, not even when dealing with my folks—but here we were, a geeky librarian with shit dress sense weirdly unnerving me.

She lifted a key into the air and said quietly, “Yeah, I know. Ally gave me her key to use her bathroom.” I stared at her for a moment longer and turned back to the balcony, needing to put some space between us… and get away from Ally’s damn inviting bed.