Chapter Twelve
-Shot For Shot-
Taylor wouldn't talk to me. It was my fault that every time we passed someone on campus that was friends with Kathy on Facebook, they would sing a Taylor Swift song to him. I still thought this whole situation was extremely amusing.
"C'mon, how much crap did you and Jake give me about naming my imaginary boy parts Pepito?" I grinned at him and he continued to glare at me.
"That was different. No one was laughing at me," He muttered and I laughed again.
"So, people can laugh at me, but not you?" I asked and he nodded stiffly. "Douche bag."
"You're the douche bag," He snapped at me as we entered the room of our class.
"Whatever, you're the one dating a douche bag then and it takes one to know one," I childishly bit back at him. He poked his tongue out at me as we took our seats. We sat silently in our seats waiting for class to start. I could see Taylor out of the corner of my eye staring stonily to the front of the room. "It was cute," I leaned over and whispered to him.
"I'll kill you, Walters," He snapped, without looking at me.
"For what it's worth, I love that song," I continued, trying to keep the grin off my face.
"Shut up," He growled, I waited a moment before continuing.
"T-Swift would be proud of your tribute to her," I assured him and he finally turned his cold stare on me.
"We're done," He told me in a serious and grave voice.
"That's okay," I smiled sweetly at him. "Got my eyes on this other dude and already got my A in Mark's class. Have fun failing."
"What other dude?" He demanded immediately.
"Oh, you wouldn't know him," I replied, vaguely.
"What about me?" He asked, looking genuinely offended.
"You're..." I let my eyes trail up and down Taylor. "...Okay," I finished and he pinned me with his stare.
"I'm more than okay," He growled at me and I shrugged.
"I guess..." I trailed off and his mouth set into a hard, determined line.
"You will want me," He assured me and I couldn't hold back a smile.
"Okay Taylor," I agreed, while rolling my eyes.
"I will make you want me," He promised and he only became more serious when I snorted at him in amusement.
"Okie dokie, T-Swizzle." He chewed the inside of his cheek as he looked away from me silently fuming. I suspected his ego about being attractive was larger than his ego about being embarrassed and I had been right. This kid was so easy to play. I watched in amusement as he concentrated so hard I could pretty much see the wheels turning in his head as he hatched a plan. He was going to spend the rest of the day pestering me, but I'd probably get to make out with him again, which was secretly okay with me and he wasn't pouting about being busted singing anymore.
We finished up our class and had an hour to waste so Taylor had dragged me to the basketball courts. We pretty much had the court to ourselves as the usual suspects were in their own classes.
"This is the game," Taylor announced. "Shot for shot. I make a shot; you have to make the same one. You make it and you get to choose where the next one is taken from."
"Fair enough," I agreed. Taylor was good, but I wasn't that bad. Should be an easy way to waste the time until my next class.
"Miss the shot and I get to choose what happens next," He stated nonchalantly and I immediately froze up.
"What?"
"What?" He asked casually, looking back at me from where he was lining up the first shot.
"No," I shook my head. Him choosing what happens to me was a bad idea. After the way I riled him up in class, god knows what he had planned for me.
"You already agreed to play, Walters," he grinned at me.
"Not going to happen, Cadley," I glared at him.
"C'mon, buttercup. Don't be a spoil sport," he cooed, walking over to me. His arms wrapped around my waist and he brought my suddenly very on-edge, stiff body to his. I rested my hands on his chest in self-defence but the bastard was warm and nice to be held against and it made me even tenser. His cologne was strong and spicy and his grin was wicked. "Play with me," He whispered, his dancing brown eyes holding me in place. Playing with him was a bad idea. I opened my mouth to argue, but nothing came out. I was wrapped up in him with my mouth hanging open like a stunned fish. I shook my head slowly finally, trying to pull away from him. Pushing against his broad chest. I didn't like being this close to him. It was extremely unsettling. "It'll be fun," He promised, grinning at me. I shook my head again and he laughed quietly to himself. His thumb found my bottom lip and gently swiped across it. I stared him down as he smirk, watching my mouth. "Scared you might like it?" He asked, looking back up to my eyes and I made myself shake my head again keeping steady contact with his eyes that were maple syrup sweet. "Then what have you got to lose?" He asked and the question made my heart pound irrationally. What did I have to lose? My head, mostly.
"My self-respect for starters," I murmured quietly and his smirk widened into a grin.
"That's a little harsh, buttercup," He chuckled. "I'll look after you," He promised and a bolt of anticipation rushed through my stomach. I chewed my lip and shook my head again. He was very charming while he was behaving like this; all cooing and coaxing, to try and make me make the biggest mistake of my personal life. He hooked his finger under my chin and lifted my face to look at him. I watched as he moved forward and brushed his lips against mine. I closed my eyes against the action and sighed. If I could have stopped myself, I would have. But his lips were like melted butter, warm and delicious. "Am I allowed to do that?" He asked, resting his forehead against mine.
"Definitely not," I replied quietly, and he chuckled again.
"We both know where this is going to go, buttercup," He grinned at me.
"Nowhere fast, T-Swizzle," I tried to assure him, but he didn't look like he believed me.
"You continue to think that. Here's the deal, you win you can have whatever you want, short of ending the assignment early. I win, I get whatever I want short of dragging you into a dark corner and having my way with you against your will."
"So what you're saying is you promise to, at the very least, not rape me?" I laughed, finally finding the courage and strength to actually push him away from our embrace. "Charming."
"You know what I mean," He grinned, reaching out to grab my hand to stop me from walking away from him. "Everything will be flat out on the board, no one doing anything they don't want to do." I studied him for a long moment, knowing I really had little choice but to agree to this. Damn him.
"Fine," I agreed and a wide wicked grin slid onto his face. His hand that was still holding mine pulled me to him and before I knew it, he was kissing me again. Only this time it was no holding back. This wasn't just a brush of lips; this was what I had craved for after the brushing of lips. I always just let him molest me, I should have been slapping his face and storming away but I never could. I hated him and myself just a little bit for it as I nipped at his mouth with mine the same way his mouth did to me. His free hand caressed my face gently, as his lips did their best to coax mine into complete domination. I responded to every bit of him as his tongue swiped at my top lip and my hand clenched the flimsy material covering his chest in response. Taylor was bad news and every second of right now was proving that. I didn't need another player messing me around. I didn't need his kisses making my stomach flutter or his hands on me giving me goose bumps all over my body. I needed to get this assignment done and then run for the hills. My self-preservation sucked when it came to Taylor. He pulled away from me and I kept my eyes closed for a moment as I got my bearings back. "Every good deal must be sealed with a kiss," He murmured.
"That a rule?" I whispered and he laughed, I opened my eyes to find him shaking his head at me.
"Nah, just a good excuse," He chuckled.
"I hope you don't make many good deals with your family then," I muttered, looking down at his chest and he laughed louder this time.
"You know you can let go of my shirt any time you want, buttercup," He stated and I looked at where my hand was still fisting his shirt and then up to his face. I chewed my lip as he smirked at me and hated how unsettled I was and how perfectly not ruffled at all, he was. So, instead of letting go, I pulled him to me and pressed my lips to his again. No tongue or heavy action. Just enough to make my point. If he could run around kissing me senseless whenever he wanted, I would like the same consideration. I'm pretty sure it worked, as his body kind of froze up for a moment before it relaxed into me again. I pulled away at that point, let go of his shirt and grabbed the ball down by his feet in one swift movement and started walking away. When he hadn't followed me, I looked over my shoulder to him. He was studying me, looking like he was trying to figure out me out. I gave him a small smile.
"You coming or what?" I asked. He looked a little confused but a small smirk appeared anyway as he stepped towards me.
"Prepare to be annihilated, buttercup," He warned as he passed me, taking the ball with him and that bolt of anticipation ran through me again.