Breathe Page 6

  I can’t say that to Kyle though. He’s become restless in his search for her. He maintains he’s not sure why it is she would have left, but I suspect that’s not the truth. Not sure why he feels the need to lie to me. I want him to find her.

  What the hell happened to that family?

  After work, I run home to grab a shower and change clothes before I have to pick up Gia.

  When I pull up to the campus, she’s already outside in the breezeway talking to some guy.

  He’s tall, and lean with a smooth dark complexion. I guess some would consider him good looking. Undoubtedly, when Gia specified she had a type, he’s exactly what she had in mind.

  Sucks to be him though because she’s mine now.

  I don’t see Quinn, Gia’s friend, and roommate approaching until she’s almost right in front of me.

  “Don’t worry about him. Her tastes seem to have changed as of late,” She says making me smile.

  “You know him?” I ask, nodding in their direction.

  “That’s Sean. Her ex.”

  Just like that, my smile fades. I wasn’t worried when I thought it was a stranger trying to hit on her, but seeing her alone with someone she has history with is something else. Undeniably, my confidence wavers just a bit.

  “Trust me when I say you have nothing to fret about,” Quinn says reading my suddenly solemn expression. “She’ll never take him back. Gia doesn’t do second chances…Something to keep in mind.” And with those parting words of warning, she departs.

  I cut my eyes back to the ex-lovers and see this Sean dude walk away with his hands tucked in his pockets, sulking as Gia starts strolling over to me.

  My smile returns when she greets me with her heart-stopping grin. “Hey.”

  “Hey, yourself.” I lean down and kiss her lightly on the lips. When I pull back, she softly bites down on her bottom lip causing my dick to twitch. Such a subtle gesture is damn near erotic.

  “So, you can totally say no, but I was wondering if you wanted to go to my place tonight. No pressure or anything,” I quickly add. “I just figured we could order takeout, watch a movie, and talk or whatever.” I hold my breath waiting for her response. I really do just want to be alone with her.

  “Or whatever?” she says lifting her eyebrow at me.

  “I mean…Not that I…I just thought-” I stutter.

  “I’d love to go to your place,” she interrupts, saving me from embarrassing myself any further.

  Happy she agreed to come over. I give her a quick peck on the lips and open the passenger door for her. She smiles to herself at the gesture and pride swells in my chest that I’m the one that gets to make her feel special.

  I close her door and swiftly make my way around to the driver’s side. I look up briefly, and when I do, I notice her ex is still there standing next to his car across the parking lot. I catch him staring but he doesn’t move, and his glare doesn’t waver.

  I resist the urge to march over and ask him what his problem is because I know exactly what his problem is. I have Gia, and he doesn’t. I’m certain any man would go mad losing a woman as beautiful as her.

  Instead of a confrontation, I simply offer him a sly smirk before I open my door, hop in, and take off; with my girl.

  As soon as we get to my place, I dial the Chinese restaurant and order the dishes that we decided on during the drive over. I hang up the phone and drop it on the counter and immediately wrap my arms around Gia.

  Surprising me, she pulls me down into a hungry kiss, and all I want to do right now is say, “fuck the food” and rip her clothes off.

  She’s the one to break the kiss finally. When she does, her whole body shudders, turning me the fuck on even more. I pull back taking her hands in mine. I don’t want her to think this is why I brought her here, so I lead her to the couch and pull her into my lap.

  Since we’re here to get to know each other better, I figure now’s as good a time as any to pry a little about the ex. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Shoot,” she prompts picking at the invisible lint on my shirt.

  “So, that guy you were talking to just now at the school, he’s your ex?”

  “Sean? Yeah, he’s my ex. How’d you know that and why do you ask?” she asks eyeing me warily.

  “Quinn told me. I’m just curious as to why he was there. Is he in class with you?”

  Her smile spreads across her face knowingly. “Why? You jealous?”

  “Me? Nah. Not at all. I’m not jealous,” I ramble very unconvincingly.

  “Umm hmm.”

  “Seriously, I was just curious.” She snickers at my expense. I’m sure my face is an embarrassing shade of red right now.

  “To answer your question, no. He’s not in the same class as me. We actually broke up the same night you and I met at the club. He wanted to explain himself. As if what he had to say would actually pardon his actions,” she scoffs. “But I don’t care what he has to say, and I don’t do second chances,” she says confirming what Quinn just told me earlier tonight. “Why waste time on someone who’s already proven they can’t be trusted. Life’s too short for that shit,” she finishes.

  “I take it that you guys had a bad breakup then?”

  “Yes and no. I mean the situation was bad, but I don’t have any hard feelings towards him at all. I’m just done. He thinks he hurt me, but he didn’t. I was pissed. Not heartbroken. There’s a difference. We weren’t in love, so it’s not some big loss.”

  I can venture a guess but don’t want to assume so I question, “May I ask what happened?”

  She answers without hesitation. “I walked in on him fucking my roommate.” My eyes widen hearing that. I unfortunately assumed there was infidelity involved, but her roommate? Talk about an awkward living environment.

  “I’m sorry that happened,” I offer.

  She waves her hand like she’s swatting away the useless pity. “He overestimates his significance to me. Like I said, I was mad not hurt. By him anyway. Her part in it did affect me though.”

  “Why’d it hurt from her but not him?”

  “Because Sophie was supposed to be my best friend.”

  “Sophie. Sophie Donovan? She’s your old roommate?”

  Throwing her head back, she scoffs. “Figures you’d know her.”

  “Now look who’s jealous,” I tease. “I don’t know her at all. I had a lead that she had some info on a missing person I’m trying to find, that’s all. That’s actually why I was at the club that night,” I explain. “I found her to be quite callous in fact. I can’t imagine you being best friends with somebody like her.”

  “Callous? Yeah, that’s a nice way to put it. Well according to her we were never really friends so…” Her phone buzzes, interrupting the conversation.

  Looking down at her phone, she lets out a chuckle. “What is it?” I ask curiously.

  “It’s just Quinn. She wants to know what I want to do for my birthday that’s coming up. I guess she’s trying to plan something.”

  “Oh yeah? When is it?” I ask excitedly. I want to know so I can be sure to plan something special myself. Because she’s already very special to me. I’ll be sure to talk to Quinn, so my plans don’t interfere with hers.

  When she doesn’t answer right away, I ask again. “So? Your birthday? When is it?”

  She sighs out before answering, “November seventeenth.” I tilt my head at her, remembering hearing that very date earlier today.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, it’s just funny. My friend told me just today that that’s his sister’s birthday too,” I say, shaking my head at the coincidence.

  “That is funny,” she says before turning in my lap to straddle me.

  “You comfortable?” I ask looking up at her gorgeous face.

  “Very,” she seductively releases. I grab her hips, and she grinds down on my growing erection. Our lips clash as we start to devour
one another.

  Placing her hand between our bodies, she lightly runs her fingers over my hardening cock, gradually applying more and more pressure with her hand. All she’s done is touch me through my pants and I’m damn near ready to blow my load. I’m aching to bury myself inside her.

  “I can think of quite a few things I’d like to do with that,” she teases, gripping me tighter. She trails kisses up my neck, stopping behind my ear. She flicks her tongue over the sensitive flesh making me shiver.

  Oh shit.

  I’m doing my best to refrain from attacking her, but she’s not making it easy to be a gentleman. “Like what?” I ask, my breath catching in my throat.

  Before she can answer, the doorbell rings, letting us know our food has arrived.

  I groan out my frustrations making her laugh. “Guess you’ll have to use your imagination. I’ll pay for the food while you…calm down,” she taunts, letting her eyes drift down to my painfully hard dick.

  I grab her by the hips again and playfully throw her off me. “I’ll pay, you cock tease.” That makes her laugh even harder as I get up to adjust my pants and grab my wallet.

  Chapter 8

  Gia

  Nathan and I eat in comfortable silence, stealing glances at one another every few minutes. When we catch each other, we just grin like two morons. I can’t believe how easy it is to just relax with him. With him, I don’t feel those same reservations I’ve felt with other men. He makes me feel sexy, desired, and confident. I don’t feel damaged.

  “So,” he starts, placing his empty takeout container on the coffee table. This should be good, I think to myself. “You really have never dated a white guy before?”

  “Seriously?” I ask unamused.

  “Is that a no?”

  “Oh my God, Nathan. What does it even matter? We’re hanging out now right?” I really don’t understand why this matters so much to him at this point. And frankly, it’s already starting to get on my nerves.

  “What’s the big deal? Just answer the question,” he keeps pushing.

  “No.”

  “No, you’ve never dated a white guy, or no you won’t answer the question?”

  “Ugh. No, I’ve never dated a white guy,” I finally answer hoping that now he’ll put this nonsense to rest. Clearly, that was just wishful thinking.

  “So, I’m your first. Yes!” He dramatically releases trying to make me laugh. All I can do is shake my head at him. “So is that really a preference or just a coincidence?”

  “Coincidence? That doesn’t even…Listen, like I said before, it’s just not my usual type. I just never considered dating someone…not like me,” I try to explain without offending him.

  “But you made an exception for me?” There’s that smirk again. I’d smack it off his face right now if it didn’t make me so weak in the knees.

  “Did you really leave me with much choice?” I counter with a smirk of my own.

  “No, not really,” he laughs.

  Deciding to give him a dose of his own medicine, and not at all because I’m actually curious…Yeah right! I throw him the same question in reverse. “Have you?”

  “Have I what?”

  “Ever dated a black girl,” I clarify. My eyebrow arches waiting for him to answer, which doesn’t take long since he doesn’t hesitate.

  “Yes I have, but you are the first mixed girl I’ve dated.”

  “Who says I’m mixed?” I ask incredulously. That’s pretty fucking presumptuous of him.

  “It’s kind of obvious,” he goes on, not taking the hint that he’s going a little too far.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Really? Come on Gia…” he trails off, wisely not finishing whatever stupid comment he was about to make. Instead, he asks an alternative stupid question, “What’s your issue with white people?”

  “I don’t have an issue with white people,” I reply with my face scrunched in confusion.

  Gah! He just doesn’t know when to quit!

  “It sort of seems like you do. Or is it just an issue with being white?”

  “I think I’ll revisit my no dating white guys rule now if they’re all half as annoying as your ass. If I’m sitting here with you, how is it that you think I don’t like white people? Why do my personal preferences have to mean I have issues with anyone?!” I barely realize my voice has elevated. I’m on the verge of shouting at him at this point.

  “I don’t get it. What’s wrong with being biracial?”

  Having had more than enough of this bullshit interrogation, I finally snap. “Because I don’t want to be a part of a race that doesn’t want me!” I scream.

  And that finally shuts him up. Neither of us speaks. You could hear a pin drop amongst the silence that now fills the room.

  Until this very moment, I don’t think Nathan quite comprehended just how sensitive of a subject this is for me. I’m pretty sure he thought I was just being stubborn and giving him a hard time for fun because I see the shift in his eyes the moment realization hits.

  “Gia…”

  “Just. Let it go. I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

  He just nods when words escape him. He opens and closes his mouth over the next several minutes; clearly second guessing everything, he starts to say now.

  A few more minutes tick by when he finally says, “Those white dudes are hella annoying. I see why you don’t date them.”

  My laughter escapes me before I can process what he said. “You’re such a dork,” I say as the mood lightens.

  He stands up and smiles, coming to wrap me up in his arms. “I’m here when you want to talk. I may not fully understand what it is you’ve been through, but I want you to know you can talk to me about anything.”

  Accepting his sincere words, I kiss him lightly on the corner of his mouth and whisper, “Thank you.”

  He lifts my chin to kiss me sweetly on the lips. The kiss quickly goes from sweet to intense in a matter of seconds.

  He starts trailing soft kisses down my neck. I move to straddle him and thread my fingers through his soft hair, pulling his mouth closer to mine, making our kiss harder. Almost painful. As soon as I part my lips, his tongue swoops in to tangle with mine. I release a moan prompting him to hold me tighter. He flips me on my back to switch our positions and our lips never part.

  I slip my hands under his shirt, tracing the hard lines of his stomach with my fingertips. He shivers from my touch and responds by thrusting his hips towards my center, allowing me to feel his long hard cock against my core.

  Things show no signs of slowing down when I wrap my jean clad legs tightly around his waist to feel the pressure all the more. Seeming to read my mind, Nathan pulls back realizing we are about to cross a line. What he doesn’t realize is that I want this.

  Looking down at me, he whispers, “We don’t have to Gia. We can wait.”

  I look up into his eyes, his gorgeous greens gazing into my grey ones. I breathlessly tell him, “I don’t want to stop.” At those words, his lips met mine again in an instant.

  Standing to his feet, he pulls me up with him. Gripping the backs of my thighs, he lifts me and holds me tight against him by my rear. He carries me to his bedroom and drops me on his mattress, falling on top of me. He pushes up my blouse, kissing down my stomach until he reaches the top of my jeans. Once he’s unfastened the button and lowers the zipper, he stands to remove them from my body.

  He pulls his shirt off over his head, and my eyes drink him in. His body looks like it was carved from stone.

  I mean damn! I knew he was in shape, but the man is ripped. His chest and left shoulder are covered in ink that runs down to his elbow. I can’t make out what it is, since my mind is in a bit of a lustful haze.

  His pants and boxers are the next to go. My breath hitches, taking in his bare body and masterpiece of a cock.

  I sit up to remove my shirt leaving me in nothing but my black lace
bra and matching panties. He pushes me back on the bed, falling between my legs, grinding himself on me. His hands explore my body taking their time like he’s trying to commit every inch of my body to memory.

  He pulls my panties to the side, sliding two fingers slowly inside of me. My breaths become rasp and shallow as I watch him remove his fingers from me and slowly suck them into his mouth tasting my arousal for him.