Evelyn was a freak. And I loved her for it to the bits.
Her legs gave out and I gripped her waist tighter, holding her close to me. "I got you."
I fixed my clothes and then kneeled in front of her to fix hers as well. She placed her hand on my shoulder for support, her eyes closed as the shocks of the orgasm still rocked through her body. I picked her up along with my jacket that had fallen near our feet and her eyes snapped open. "Atlas," she mumbled.
Fuck. I loved the way my name sounded in her voice. Like a plea and a gentle caress.
"Just a minute," I said and turned around, making a beeline to an office chair that was placed near the other wall along the window. It had some dust on it but I ignored it and sat down, placing Evelyn on my lap. A strong gust of wind blew in from the open window and she shivered. Immediately, I wrapped her in my jacket.
From the last time we had spent the night together, I knew she got cold afterward. Good thing I had my jacket in my locker today. Her lithe fingers pulled the jacket closer to her body and I wrapped my arms around her, hoping to provide her some warmth. We sat like that for who knows how long. With her on my lap and our hearts beating in sync, slowly calming down.
After a while, I heard her groan against my shoulder. "This was not supposed to happen."
My lips quirked up in a smile. "But it did," I said, squeezing her waist.
She pulled back and glared at me with her pretty eyes. "It's all your fault! I was doing just fine before coming to meet you. If you hadn't said anything to Samantha, none of this would have happened."
"My fault huh?" I raised a brow at her. "If you were doing fine all this while then you wouldn't have kissed me. And if I recall correctly it was you who had gone "kiss me dammit", wasn't it?"
"Why did you even tell Samantha that you didn't want to work with me?" she asked, completely ignoring what I had said.
Oh, so this is how it's going to be.
"Well, you were ignoring me and I had to talk to you. And I knew the only way you would come to me was when I did something drastic," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."
Her glare was back on in full force. The way her cheeks puffed slightly and her lips formed into a pout whenever she was angry made her look so fucking adorable. I wanted to laugh and kiss her at the same time. When she saw my pursed lips, she smacked my chest and I couldn't hold it in anymore. I threw my head back and laughed.
"Asshole," she grumbled.
"Only for you," I replied and kissed her tiny nose.
She suddenly stilled, her face going blank like the way it had gone that night after which she was hell-bent on going back home. Panic constricted my chest and my grip tightened on her waist. "Rosy," I called.
Her gaze flicked to mine, eyes filled with doubt. "What are we doing, Atlas?" she asked, her voice so soft and vulnerable that it hurt.
I sighed. "I don't know."
I really didn't. Evelyn and I had been always snapping at each other that having a normal conversation with her had always felt like a far-fetched idea. I wouldn't lie and say that I had never been attracted to her though. Because damn I was.
She was beautiful. The most beautiful woman I had ever seen. And that smart mouth of hers that always had something to say and rile me up just made me want to kiss her until she forgot how to speak. I just didn't know if she felt the same. But this project made us spend more time in each other's vicinity and I started seeing the signs. Maybe she was as attracted to me as I was to her.
"We shouldn't have done this. I shouldn't have come to you. This is wrong. I shouldn't have..."
She started panicking and tried to wiggle out of my hold to get off my lap but I held her tighter. With one hand on her waist, I grabbed her chin with my other and made her look at me. "Shh. Breathe, Rosy. Breathe."
I rubbed her back and she visibly relaxed. "Everything is okay," I mumbled.
"Everything is not okay," she snapped. "Don't you see it? What has become of me? I was supposed to hate you and here I am jumping on you like a bitch in heat. What the fuck is wrong with me? I don't know what I'm doing."
I winced at her words. The amount of shame and hatred in her words pierced my heart like an arrow. "I was just supposed to study well, graduate and get a good job," she mumbled, her voice getting smaller and smaller. "What am I doing?"
I didn't say anything and let her sit calmly for a while. The fact that she hadn't dashed out of here yet was enough of an achievement. Once she had calmed down and had stopped trying to run away, I spoke again. "Is it so bad that we are attracted to each other? You don't have to avoid me, you know."
"It is bad!" she insisted. "Don't you see what happened the moment we were together? I'm not a person who acts on impulses and look what I did. What I'm doing."
Sighing, I grabbed her hands in mine and rubbed circles on them. "You are overthinking it. It's not a big deal."
"It's a big deal to me!" she snapped, snatching her hands away from me.
Slight irritation clawed at me and I folded my arms across my chest, pinning her with my gaze. "So what? You are just going to ignore whatever it is between us?"
"Yes," she replied instantly. In the next moment, she was scrambling off my lap and getting rid of my jacket. She threw it towards me and I caught it with one hand.
"And what if today's events repeat? If you are not able to control your impulses?" I asked, rolling my eyes at the word she had used for the attraction we felt. Like it was some sin.
"They won't," she said. "This is never happening again."
***
"We are never doing this again!" Evelyn muttered as she struggled with her shorts.
"That's what you had said last time, Rosy," I said, chuckling as I leaned back against the headboard of my bed with my arms behind my head. She glared at me but didn't comment. How could she when I was stating facts?
After our little rendezvous in the attic of the library and Evelyn's confident declaration that she could ignore the attraction sizzling between us, we had lasted a whole four days. She had come over to our house to discuss last-minute details about the interviews with the team and to give us the order and interview questions we were supposed to be prepared for. To no one's surprise, she had kept me last on the list as if that was going to help somehow. I had rolled my eyes not so discreetly when she had told me my spot on the list and handed me the interview sheets.
Then while the rest of the guys had started to go out and about to enjoy their weekend, she had stayed back to help Kris. So of course I had to stay in and watch over them.
I blamed the tight, short shorts that displayed her gorgeous long legs for our current predicament. Because that tempted me to take my shirt off and roam in the kitchen pretending to cook my cereal while she sat with Kris in the living room. One thing led to another and we both ended up in my room and on my bed. Naked.
She was about to wear her shoes when I lifted the dark green silk fabric in my hand. "You are forgetting something," I remarked, twirling her bra in my hand.
Rosy being Rosy had immediately jolted off the bed and rushed to get dressed once her high had subsided, fully intending to run away again. But I wasn't going to let her this time.
She groaned, taking a step forward. "Give me that."
"No can do," I said. "Finders keepers."
She scoffed. "Very mature of you Griffin."
I gave her a cheeky smile. "I know right!"
Glaring at me, she lunged for the garment and I immediately stretched my arm back, holding it away from her. "It's not funny Atlas," she grumbled and got on top of the bed on her knees to reach my hand.
I scooted farther away from her and she unconsciously climbed on top of me. When I spread my legs, she lost her balance and fell on me, and I quickly wrapped my hands around her to hold her close.
"Trust me, Rosy. It's hilarious," I said, pushing the stray strands of her hair away from her face.
She glared at me again and tried to wriggle out of my hold but I tightened my grip on her. Realizing that she wasn't getting away, she gave up and placed her forehead on my chest, muttering under her breath.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked, lifting her eyes to meet mine. My heart almost stopped at the look in her eyes. Frustrated, sad... scared.
"Nothing, Rosy," I mumbled, rubbing her back softly. "I don't want you to do anything you don't want to. But..."
She raised a brow at me. "But?"
I cupped her cheek and rubbed it with my thumb. Evelyn's eyes fluttered close as she sighed and leaned into my touch. "But I want you to not ignore this. We are clearly attracted to each other and definitely compatible."
"What do you want to say?" she asked with her brows knitted together in confusion.
I pressed my lips together, contemplating how to say the words I wanted to say without setting her off. But no matter how much I thought about it I couldn't find a way to make it sound less unappealing to her.
"Atlas?" she prompted and I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.
"I was wondering if you would be interested in a no strings attached relationship with me."
Evelyn went still on top of me, her face void of any emotion while her eyes stared at me blankly. I bit my lip as I eyed her, worry creeping into my veins with every second. "Rosy," I called, my hands squeezing her waist in an attempt to snap her out of her thoughts.
And snap she did because, in the next second, she was scrambling to get away while elbowing me in the ribs. "Are you crazy?" she shrieked, sitting up. "You and me," she scoffed, "What were you even thinking?"
"Calm down first and think it through," I said, scooting closer to her. "Look, we both know that even if we say we won't sleep with each other the probability of us jumping each other's bones is high. If you would just look at exhibit A here." I lifted her bra that was still in my hands.
She swatted my chest before snatching it from my hand but she didn't make a move to leave. A positive sign. So I reined in the smirk that threatened to break free and continued. "At this point, ignoring the attraction will prove to be more distracting than accepting it. And we both know that neither of us can afford any distractions right now."
Me especially. With my agent and the board members breathing down my neck, I couldn't afford Evelyn taking up any more of my headspace than she already did.
Soon there would be scouts attending the games and I couldn't let them see me perform the way I did at the game with the Maple Park Tigers just because I caught a glimpse of Evelyn. Which I was going to catch a lot because of the media project. There was also the meeting coming up in a few months where the new board for the company would be elected. I had to make sure I had enough shareholders in my corner so the old geezers wouldn't be able to kick me out.
I needed to be on top of my game in every aspect of my life. And for that I needed to settle this thing with Evelyn. Fast.
Evelyn snorted. "And your brilliant solution for that is a hookup pact?"
"Yes," I said confidently.
We clearly weren't the type for a romantic relationship. Even if we were, it was an even worse idea than ignoring each other considering everything. I would be moving to wherever I would get drafted and Evelyn had one more year until graduation. And if she decided to attend Wellsfield for grad school as well that would be two years in addition.
We couldn't be on more separate life paths if we tried. So right now, no-strings-attached was the best solution for us.
"You truly believe it's the best solution for us, don't you?" she asked.
I nodded. "I do."
Evelyn was silent for several minutes. Doubt started to creep in with each passing minute because fuck, this woman always made me question my sanity.
"You don't understand," she said, finally breaking the silence. "It's not as simple as you make it sound. It's risky. You have your hockey and I have my career. And...and this project. I cannot afford to mess his up,"
"You won't be messing up anything. It's not—"
"You don't understand!" she snapped, looking more troubled than I'd ever seen her before. "What if someone finds out about us? Do you know how fast rumors spread on campus and then to the faculty? My entire career plan is hanging on the recommendation letters I would be getting from the Dean and the professors if I pulled this project off well. And if they hear anything that would indicate how unprofessional I'm being—"
"It's your personal life and they have no say in it. And if they write you off for it then they are the ones who are being unprofessional," I said, folding my arms across my chest.
I didn't like how ashamed Evelyn sounded when she had nothing to be ashamed of. She wasn't committing a crime for fucksake!
A wry smile curved her lips. "People are judgmental Atlas, and they judge hard. It might seem nothing to you but this"–she gestured between us–"became unprofessional the moment I took the position of the project lead. I cannot make it worse than it already is by agreeing to your proposition."
I didn't say anything, still processing her words and Evelyn stood up to leave. She didn't meet my gaze or say goodbye.
"Evelyn?" I called when she grabbed the door handle and she paused, her back facing me. "If you are attracted to someone, you are attracted to someone. It's not something to be ashamed of. I'm not forcing you, but give it a thought. I'll still be here."
Evelyn stood at the door a beat longer, igniting a sliver of hope in me which quickly vanished when she walked out without a second glance. A strange pit opened in my chest the longer I stared at the open door. The thought of this thing between us ending even before it had begun hurt more than I'd expected. Because fuck I wanted her.
I wanted Evelyn with me. And not just in my bed. I wanted her to sit with me at the cafe when we went there for the morning coffee, glare at me from across the room while we worked for the media project, hover around me with those smartass remarks of hers.
I may have suggested a no-strings-attached relationship but maybe a teeny, tiny string was already attached. One that was going to fuck me over for sure.