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Cara
I have no words to describe tonight, but I can tell you how I feel. I’m no poet so don’t laugh.
Your smile brings me joy
Your laugh gives me hope
Your friendship brings me peace
And I hope one day you bring me love
Wow that was awful, but it’s the truth. I don’t regret anything and I pray you don’t either.
I got you a sausage and ricotta calzone. I know you used to get them back home. If I haven’t made this more awkward with this note. I’m free and would love to share it with you. Or just talk.
Please don’t shut me out.
I hope to hear from you soon.
XO Connor
I set his note aside and take a large bite of the amazing food. I really like Connor, but I don’t think I am ready to settle for just one guy. This is college, and I feel like if we start something serious I’ll end up breaking his heart. I set the calzone down and get up from the table. Grease covers my hand so I wipe my hand off then grab a drink from the fridge. The note is sitting there. Teasing, tempting. I pop the cap of my tea and take a drink.Enough stalling Cara just text him.I send him a message, before I can back out. A knock on the door makes me jump.What the hell? Was he outside this whole time?I shuffle to the door, then slowly open it. Connor shoves it open the rest of the way and wraps me into a huge hug. I instantly feel calm, and sigh, snuggling into the hug. I pull back a bit and meet his eyes.
“I don’t regret it Connor, but I do think we should talk.”
He nods and shuts the door and takes a seat on the couch. He rubs his hands on his thighs and won’t meet my eyes. After a few deep breaths he claps and shakes his head. “Okay I’m ready. Just go easy on me, because I really like you Cara,” he says quietly.Oh my heart. I rush over to him and straddle his lap, shocking him. I reach down and wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him hard. “You are too adorable, Connor. I like you too, but if I’m honest I kinda like someone else too, and I don’t want to get into anything serious, so if you are okay with this. Friends with maybe benefits. Then I would love to continue this.”
He looks at me in shock and I can see the wheels spinning in his head as he thinks over what I said. I climb off his lap and move to the side, next to him. After a few moments of no response, I’m worried I broke him. “Okay,” he says louder than I expected.
“Okay?” I ask hesitantly. He turns to look at me and smiles.
“Okay. If it means I get to keep you in my life, I am okay with it.”
I give him a grin and lean down to kiss him. “You’re stuck with me, Connor Hannaberg.” He stands up, and I worry he’s leaving, but he grabs a drink and the food, bringing it to the couch and handing it to me. He sits back beside me, before plopping me on his lap and handing me the remote. I take it and give him a kiss, “You’re kinda amazing.” He gives me a big grin then leans back to get comfortable. We dig into the now cold food—but it’s still delicious and watch The Expendables. When the food is gone he tosses it to the side and dominates my mouth and shows me what he can do with his fingers. He better be careful or I may fall in love.
Nineteen
Jase
Layton has always had issues with PTSD and addiction. It’s something I have come to accept, and lately it’s been getting better. Well, until Cara arrived. Now he seems to have a new addiction: her. I should probably be jealous that my guy is obsessed with someone that's not me, but I can’t because I’m just as bad as he is. Always watching her. Waiting for the day I can finally join psych class and try to become her partner. May seem silly, but that’s the plan. East has to get her to fall for him and then blow her off so I can swoop in and make her trust me. Do I want to do this? Fuck no. But I have to. One stupid fucking decison has changed the course of our lives and now we are the guinea pigs of one Penelope Smith.
“Hey.” Layton comes up behind me and gives me a hug. I take another sip of my coffee and look out the window over the kitchen sink. I relax into his arms and sigh.
We stand like that for a few moments until he becomes impatient and starts to kiss my neck. I spin to give him a kiss when someone gags behind us. “Not in the kitchen again. Maria just deep cleaned this house.”
Layton starts to shake behind me and I know he’s laughing. I turn and glance East's way, “We wouldn’t dream of it, baby brother.” I place a quick kiss on Lay’s lips, then slide past him to the fridge. “What do you guys want to eat? I’m fucking starving,” I ask, digging through the sparse items we have. “We need to go shopping,” I say but East and Lay yell, “Not it,” at the same time. I slam the door shut and give them a glare.
“What are you guys, five? We can’t keep depending on Maria to do the shopping. She’s only meant to clean the house.”
East shrugs and steals my coffee. “Just pay her more, if you're seriously worried.”
I snatch my mug back and growl. Lay comes around the counter and gives me a look. “I’ll go with you, J. We can load up on snacks, things we know East won’t touch.” He gives me a grin and I love that he’s starting to feel better and joke around again. We had a few bad days there and I thought we may have to call Shelly in to have a chat with him. As much as I hate the woman, she is a fantastic therapist. “Sounds like a plan, Lay,” I tell him, returning his grin. East mutters something and leaves the room. “So how about we go grab some breakfast in the dining hall? I’m seriously starving after last night,” I tell him with a kiss on his pouty lips. He tries to deepen it, grabbing my hair, and clawing the back of my neck, making me growl. I feel myself hardening and he reaches down to grip me through my basketball shorts. I pull back and grab his wrist. “Food, babe.”
He pants, but nods yes. I back away and adjust myself, before slipping my shoes on and walking outside through the back door. The morning chill hits my skin, and I welcome it. I need to cool down. I start down the path and Lay catches up to me a few minutes later. He shoves a hoodie at me and I take it with a smile. I slip it over my head and put my arms through the soft sleeves, before reaching over and taking his hand. It took us a while to get comfortable to the point of showing PDA in public, but now it’s like a second nature. I love Layton Willis and he’s my forever.
We get to the dining hall and it’s packed. A few guys from our fraternity catch my eye and wave us over. We weave in between the mass of hungry coeds and I let go of Lay’s hand to slide into the booth. “Hey what’s up?” I ask Cole, who’s shoveling scrambled eggs in his mouth with a large spoon. He chews and swallows before responding. “Not much, bulking up for the game on Friday. Are you boys ready to dominate those bitches from CCU?” The table lets out a loud roar and I smile.
“Fuck yes. Those bitches are going down. I’m so over their shit. Last year was a fluke.” Layton walks up with two trays piled high with eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits with gravy. My mouth waters and he gives me a wink, setting the tray down in front of me, before sliding in beside me. I dig in and moan when the peppered country gravy hits my tongue. For college cafeteria food, I have to say it’s pretty damn good. Lay places his hand on my thigh, giving it a little squeeze, before taking a bite from his own plate. I glance his way and he has a small smile on his lips. He loves to tease me in public, it’s a bit of a game of his, and I’m usually all for it, but this morning I didn’t bother with boxers and if he keeps this shit up everyone at the table will know. I place my hand over his and squeeze, giving him a subtle shake of my head. He pouts but let's go. The guys carry on talking smack about CCU, so I lean over and whisper in his ear, “Later.” I move away and finish eating. The guys say something that catches my ear and I pause. “Wait, what was that?” I ask Todd. He glances my way and shrugs. “I said, there’s a bitch in the room next to mine. Always complaining about the noise. I banged Trish against the wall last night and the springs creaking from my neighbor’s room plus her huffing ‘to shut the hell up’ really put me out of the mood, so I ended up having to fuck Trish’s mouth. She was pissed, just about bit my dick off.” The guys laugh and commiserate with him while I hide my smile. Todd is next door to Carson and I think I just found an accomplice to help us. “If you're looking to get back at her, I have some ideas.” I tell him. He glances my way and rubs a hand down his chin. “Fuck it. I’m in.” I lean closer and give him some ways to make her even more miserable. He laughs and shakes his head. “That’s awesome man.” I sit back and continue eating, ignoring the glare from Lay. It may be a dick move, but it’s harmless in the long run.
