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Austin brought his hand to his heart, anticipating the squeeze at the sound of her name, the familiar tightening in his gut at the mention of his princess. He closed his eyes, waiting for the sorrow to spread.
“Austin?”
Opening his eyes, he dropped his hand to his lap and snorted, snickering into the phone. His heartbeat held steady—rhythmic and calm.Well, how about that...“Casey. You know, Casey is, umm... she’s been really good to me. Goodforme I think.” He grinned and shook his head.
“You think you’ll stay living with her?”
“I want to.” He turned, staring through the building’s door into the lobby. “You should come visit. Meet her and see the city. Want to?”
“Yes! Oh, that sounds so fun!” A shouting match echoed through the phone as something crashed. “Oh shit, I gotta go. Chaos in the kitchen!”
“Go ahead. We’ll talk later. Love ya.”
She groaned. “Ugh, love you too.” The call ended, and Austin pulled himself from the step. After ramming his key in the door, he jogged up the stairs. His briefcase banged into the railing as the distant beat of an all too familiar pop song met his ears.
“Oh, God,” he moaned, pushing the door open into the apartment. Austin stepped inside and cringed, the memories of Lauren’s pre-teen years flashing through his brain.
Casey consumed the living room floor. Propped up on her elbows, she rested her stomach atop the carpet—her lips mouthing the lyrics as she bopped along to the nostalgic nineties beat. A flood of notecards and an open textbook surrounded her, and Austin grinned at the curls in her ponytail as they bounced from side to side.
“Dear Lord, make it stop.” He dropped his briefcase to the table and removed his jacket and shoes—tossing his keys and wallet to the surface as well.
“No way!” Casey stretched, rolling from her belly to her back. “Don’t you dare!”
On tiptoes, Austin hopped through the maze of notecards and gripped the knob to lower the volume on the ancient speaker. Justin Timberlake disappeared from the room as Casey rolled her eyes.
“I’m having flashbacks to my childhood.”
“Oh, no way! You’re an N’SYNC fan too?” She giggled. “I pegged you for a Backstreet Boys groupie.”
Austin snorted and dropped to his knees. With a smirk, he crawled between her legs and planted a kiss on her lips. “You’re tearin’ up my heart. Everyone knows N’SYNC is the superior boyband.” He shifted and pressed his lips to her neck, eliciting a sharp intake of her breath. “But if I have to listen to it any longer, I’m going to be the one running out of here singing Bye, Bye, Bye.”
Her laugh filled the small space, each giggle tumbling from her lips a stitch on his once-broken heart.
“Like you could measure up to Justin Timberlake.” She grinned, raising her hands to cup the back of his head. She tugged and pulled his mouth back onto hers.
A flurry of shivers sizzled along his skin as the weight of his body connected with hers. She moaned, running her fingernails through his hair, tightening her legs around his middle. “Trapped,” she murmured with a smile.
Bracing his hands on either side of her body, he snickered as her thighs squeezed him in place. His palm met one of the notecards she’d flung across the floor. Peering at her print, Austin read,State vs. Nation: what’s the difference?He flipped the card over. She hadn’t answered.
“What’re you looking at?” Casey frowned and pinched his side.
“This notecard. You haven’t answered the question.” Pressing his lips to her forehead, he pulled away.
“No, don’t go!” she pleaded and gripped the collar of his shirt.
“Casey girl, what kind of tutor would I be if I seduced you instead of helped you study?”
Snorting, she climbed onto his lap. “I didn’t know seduction was on the table. Tell me more.” She dragged her finger down the length of his chest.
Austin smiled, pushing away the growing excitement her traveling finger incited in his belly. “Oh, I have a few ideas,” he whispered and pressed his lips to the delicate skin beneath her ear. “But you have to study first.” Lifting her body from his lap, he set her beside him.
“Oh, my God, you suck.” She rolled her eyes and dropped her head against the couch.
Austin leaned forward, scooping up the notecards littering the floor. “You can suck something of mine later, but right now... political science it is, Casey girl.” He grinned and pulled theState vs. Nationcard to the top of the pile. “Come on, let’s start with this one.” He tapped the card, his cheeks reddening with heat at the glare she delivered.
“I’m not sucking anything of yours if you make me look at this stuff any longer.”
Snorting, he lifted his gaze to the ceiling.
