Page 112 of Darkest Obsession

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’d hate me.”

“I already hate you, it can’t get any worse.”

He turns to me sharply. “I’m serious, Clover.”

“Don’t say my name all serious.”

“I just told you I was serious.”

If I don’t stop myself now, we’ll spend all night bickering. We can’t afford to do that. Kola’s still missing. Molly’s locked up in jail for the time being, but the rumor around campus is that she’ll go to a mental health facility instead. The police keep asking her about Kola, but she lawyered up and they can’t get a word out of her.

She’s rich, Kola isn’t. That might be enough to determine what happens to our friend. And it’s not like we’re allowed to skip classes or anything – oh no. We get back to our lives and we’re just supposed to keep going like one of our fellow students isn’t missing. Our deans have grief counseling and trauma trained dogs for us to pet. That’s seriously it. My best friend’s gone.

Thomas sneaks his hand into mine and I squeeze his.

“You’re already afraid of being with me,” he whispers. “I tell you the truth, I lose you forever.”

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

He leans over and kisses my cheek. He’s so earnest and soft that I want to believe him.

“I care about you, Clover. That’s dramatic.”

“Whatever.”

He turns my cheek this time, so I’m facing him. Before I can protest his gruff manhandling, Thomas kisses me again properly on the lips this time. I press my palms against his chest, wanting to push him away, but my fingers curl around the fabric of his shirt and I draw him against me. I don’t want to stop kissing him. Thomas leans back further and stretches his legs out to touch the ground. I scramble on top of him and he holds me up as I kiss him against his Jeep.

My thighs wrap around his waist and he grunts as I grind my hips against him and push him back harder into the hood of the car.

“Fuck’s sake,” he whispers. “You’re getting me so hard.”

Yes. Maybe that’s what we need. Maybe I can push all these confusing damned feelings for Thomas out of my head if we have sex. Cheap, meaningless sex would make sure I don’t have to look into those gray eyes anymore and feel anything. I could know with absolute certainty that he was just another dick like Jude, or Kit or any of the dozens of guys I “dated” during high school.

I can’t stop kissing him and move on to the “next phase”. Kissing him gets addictive. I grab his cheeks and then his hair, and then I let him touch every inch of me. I’m so wet. I want him so badly, but Thomas stops abruptly and sets me on the ground.

Well, he drops me. Because he’s Thomas.

“OUCH!”

“Sorry! I thought I gave a warning!”

My butt throbs. I can’t tell if I’m just clumsy or if Thomas is a pure idiot.

“Asshole!”

He reaches down a giant asshole hand to help me up.

“Didn’t mean it. I swear.”

Once he helps me up, I give him a hard shove, which Thomas definitely deserves.

“I deserve that.”

“Yes.”