“No, I don’t, but how very fitting.”
I bet she would gnaw my hand to the bone if she could, grilling the flesh there with her glare, so she wouldn’t have to eat it raw.
“So it goes like this.” Summer sighs, walking without looking back at me.
“One day, a bunny was strolling through the woods when he came across a pit. He looked down and saw the big bad wolf stuck at the bottom, unable to climb out. The bunny remembered all the times the wolf had chased him, so he started unloading. ‘You piece of shit, you got what you deserved. I hope you rot in there.’”
She stops her ascent up the stairs and looks back at me.
“‘I hope a bear finds you and fucks you in the ass.’”
Oookay. Now I don’t know if that’s part of the joke or meantfor me.
“‘I hope hunters put your taxidermied head on a wall and use it for target practice.’”
Summer resumes climbing.
“The bunny kept spewing venom for ten solid minutes, then got tired and decided to head home. He took a couple of steps, then remembered he still had a few things to say about the wolf’s mother. So he went back, leaned over the edge, and slipped straight into the pit. The bunny stood up, dusted himself off, put a hand over his heart—”
She stops, inching closer to me, before placing her palm over her chest.
I want mine there.
“—and with the utmost sincere voice he could muster said, ‘I know you probably won’t believe me, but I feltterribleabout what I said, so I came back to apologize.’”
My laughter echoes around us, making her think it’s okay to try to tear away from my grip. But she’s not getting rid of me just yet.
“I’ll accompany you to make sure you’ll get to your dorm safe and sound.”
“Aren’t you sweet!”
She might mock me, but her hand stays in mine.
Progress!
I walk her to her room, inebriated on her scent, until she slips from my hold and slides inside. But she doesn’t slam the door in my face.
Is this an invitation?
Her slender fingers move to my shirt, unbuttoning it torturously slow. Each button popping open dismantles both my sanity and my barely-there control.
It’s a trick. She’s playing me. And despite that knowledge, I let her. Or more like my dick lets her.
Bracing myself against the doorframe, it takes everything in meto hold back when she unbuttons the shirt all the way down, teasing me with memory instead of skin.
Then the door slams in my face, yanking me out of the fantasy where I was already inside. Not just her room.
A second later, it cracks open, only for my shirt to fly in my face.
“Put your fucking shirt on and stop walking around half-naked.” She slams the door again before she’s even finished the sentence.
“Are you bothered by the fact you drool over my half-naked body or that others might?” I shout loud enough for her to hear me, though I’m sure she’s plastered at the door. I swear, her heat is radiating from the other side when my palm lands on the wooden surface.
“Good night,Chocolate Bar Thief!” Summer returns, and I almost high-five myself for being right that she’s still so close to me, some flimsy, less than two inches being the only thing separating us.
That nickname, though . . .
Well, it’s not like I didn’t bring it upon myself with my petty thievery. I’m surprised it took her this long to mention it. Yet, I don’t intend to let it slide unpunished.
