Out of Line

I grabbed my fourth drink of the night, tipping it back and drinking deeply. It tasted like crap, but I didn’t care. Not tonight. Seeing him had thrown me off-kilter. I’d been so sure I could get over him. Sure that eventually I wouldn’t miss him or need him or want him. Then he’d had to go and kiss me. That had ruined everything. My body had responded immediately to him, as if it remembered the things he could do with his hands and tongue.

And it wanted more. I wanted more.

Marie came over to me, gri

“Yeah.” I forced a smile for my roommate. We weren’t friends, but I didn’t hate her. “Crazy, huh?”

“A welcome crazy.” Marie nudged me with her shoulder. “I was starting to think I bunked with Mother Mary or something.”

I rolled my eyes. “Believe me, that’s not the case.”

“Coulda fooled me.” Marie took a long sip of her beer. “Although, I saw you on the beach the other week. Surfing. Who was that fine hottie you had with you? And more importantly, who is he to you?”

I tensed. “Him? No one. Nothing.”

“Can you tell me where to find him? I’d like to be his something.”

If Marie thought I would give her Fi

A soft laugh sounded from outside, and I glanced over my shoulder. Of course he’d heard that. I turned around and smiled at Marie. Luckily, she was too distracted to see the falseness behind the gesture. That, or she didn’t care.

“Actually,” I said, leaning closer. “I think he’s gay.”

“Really?” Marie gasped, her cheeks flushed. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, gri

Marie sighed. “It’s true. All the good ones are gay or taken.”

“Sadly so,” I said, keeping my voice solemn, even though I wanted to cackle with glee. I pointed at a cute guy across the room, who was watching us. “But he looks single and straight.”

Marie licked her lips. “Wish me luck.”

“You don’t need it,” I said, smiling. “But good luck.”

Marie took off, a swing in her step that hadn’t been there a second before, and crossed the room to the guy. Within seconds of Marie leaving my side, Cory arrived. He threw an arm around me, throwing us both off balance. I didn’t know how many drinks he’d had so far, but it had to be a lot.

Too many for him to be trustworthy.

Maybe he needed some fresh air to sober up. I fa

Cory straightened and let out a hiccup. “Sure. Let’s go.”

He stumbled across the room, looking way too close to passing out, and I followed him. As soon as we stepped out into the night air, I took a deep breath. All of the colognes and booze had mixed into an unpleasant odor inside, and the fresh ocean breeze was a welcome change. I looked out toward the ocean and wrapped my arms around myself, reminded of another night just like this one.

The night I met Fi

God, I missed him.

I gritted my teeth and turned to Cory, forcing a smile. I wasn’t going to think about Fi

“Yeah, I’m glad you came.”

He wrapped his arms around me. It felt nice to be held by him. Secure, even. But I didn’t itch to jump his bones. Didn’t want to climb into his bed and lick him from head to toe. Maybe I was doing something wrong. Or maybe there was something wrong with me. Either way, I was done for the night. I wanted to go home.

I looked up at him, intending to tell him goodbye. I opened my mouth…and he was on me. His lips met mine, and it felt…nice. There might have been the slightest stirrings of desire, but it was so quiet a tiny breeze would have put out the fires. Cory groaned and crushed me against his chest, his tongue sliding in between my lips. I tried to feel something…anything…but it didn’t work. There was nothing there, just like the other time he’d kissed me. Yeah, I was broken.

Why was it that only Fi

Just as I was about to pull back and make my excuses to go home, something crashed behind us. Cory jerked back from me and looked around. I, of course, knew who was out there. How could I have forgotten about Fi

Probably never would be.

“Who’s out there?” Cory asked, stalking toward the noise. “Show yourself.”

I grabbed Cory’s elbow, trying to bring him back. I didn’t want them to see each other. “Don’t worry about it. It was no one.”

“Someone’s watching you,” Cory said, his jaw squared. “And I bet I know who it is.”

“No!” I cried, trying to pull him back toward me. “There’s no one out there. Let’s go.”

“I can see him.” Cory pointed at where he supposedly saw Fi

Fi

“I knew it was you. Why are you following her around?” He pushed Fi

Fi

Cory pushed him. Fi

I couldn’t sit by and let Cory get hurt because I’d kissed him in front of Fi

Fi

Cory shoved me aside roughly, and I fumbled to regain my balance. “Yeah, let the freak stalker take his punch. I’ll slam his white trash ass in jail so fast, he won’t have time to say lawyer up.”

“Stop being such a jerk, Cory. He’s not a stalker,” I said, tugging Cory back. My anonymity would have to come to an end. If I didn’t tell Cory who Fi

“Ex-boyfriend,” Fi

I blinked at him. “We don’t have to do this, Fi

“Good luck?” Fi

Cory laughed. “Well, too late. She’s already mine.”

The hell I was. We would have a talk about Cory claiming me like that, but not now. Not in front of Fi

“Not until he tells me that he’ll stop following you around all the time.” Cory pulled free of my hold and stumbled back into the reach of Fi

Fi

“It was only a matter of time until she came to her senses, you know.” Cory smirked. “You might be fun for a while, but that’s all you’ll ever be to her—a fling.”

I stiffened. I didn’t like this side of Cory. Not one little bit. “Cory, stop it. You’re being nasty. It’s gross.”