Page 132 of Forever Defiant
“Um... you want me to tell you how? Doesn’t QB10 show you?” I teased.
“Shut up. Who, then?” I heard rustling and assumed she was out of bed. “Dustin?” She hesitated. “No, they’re at practice. He wouldn’t miss practice.”
I could hear her thinking.
“Savannah. Listen to me,” I said, lowering my voice. “I did not have sex this morning. Happy?”
“Oh. Why didn’t you just say that?” She sounded sleepy again.
“Where are you?” I asked her. “Your bed, or his?” I passed a guy as I went into the coffee shop; he gave me a curious stare. I winked at him in reply.
She was right. I was too happy. Who was I right now? Had Slater reset my inner bitch? That wouldn’t do at all.
“I’m at Dante’s.” She yawned. “I need twenty minutes. Meet you at the library?”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
“Okay, wait until I check.” I heard her moving around, and I’m pretty sure she dropped the phone at one point. “Okay, second floor, meeting room 3-D. I booked it for an hour. You’ll need to wait for me to get access.”
I had so many questions. “I’m at the coffee shop. What can I get you?”
“Mmhmm, nothing, no drinks allowed in meeting room 3-D. It’s why they lock it. I’ll meet you outside.” She hung up.
It took me a moment to realize it must be a tutoring room she had access to. During our brief time together, she gave me a quick explanation of her role as a tutor and how rooms were booked in blocks for student liaison needs. I couldn’t hold back when I protested that the way the empty rooms were not used when the library was busy, especially during exams, was an abuse of power. She’d said it wasn’t, but her protest had been weak. I was still sure it was, but now, like a giant hypocrite, I was quite happy to be abusing that power by using the room for privacy so Savannah and I could dig.
I was on my second latte when she arrived. Her blonde hair was in a neat ponytail, and her lipstick and mascara were subtly applied, not obvious. Her jeans, shirt, and blazer were tidy and well kept. Beside her, I looked a little rough.
Savannah looked me over. “You had sex in the car with him, didn’t you?”
My eyes widened, and I grabbed her arm as I led her away from the populated coffee shop. “What is wrong with you?” I demanded.
“You look sleep deprived, you’re smiling at people willingly, and you have a love bite, right—” she pressed her finger into my neck — “there.”
“Ha ha. Nice try. I do not.”
She reached over and took my cup from me, helping herself to a swig. “You really do. You should have worn your hair down.”
My hand hovered over my neck. I vaguely remembered Dustin’s mouth on my skin as he pushed harder into me last night, the groan on his tongue as he got close to finishing, and I was already at climax. I remembered his mouth pulling at my skin.
“I have a hickey?” I whispered furiously as we reached the library.
“Yup.” She dropped my caffeine in the trash outside the library.
I gaped at her. That was a four-dollar latte.
“Oh, did you want that?” She shrugged when I said nothing and led the way inside. I followed her, feeling very self-conscious. Was it big? Was it noticeable? Is that why people were greeting me today? Did I look easy? Savannah took the stairs up, punched in a code to unlock the meeting room door, and we went inside. As she locked the door, I was already using my phone as a mirror.
“He gave me a hickey?” I asked the room as I stared at it. It was small, dark, and unmistakably a bite from a passionate embrace.
“His car doesn’t look like there was enough room in the back seat,” Savannah commented dubiously as she sat down. “Was it cramped?”
“We were in the front seat.” I saw her look. “Just...” I sighed. “It worked, okay. I had no complaints.” I glared at my screen again. “Until now.”
“You couldn’t wait until you got home?” she asked, a small smile playing around her mouth as she pulled out her laptop and notebook.
“He’s persuasive.” I sat down. “Okay, so, where do you want to start?”
Savannah blinked. “With Dust? Um... I don’t need details.”
