Stone Creek by Davis, Lainey (reading diary .TXT) 📕

stuck around with any of those dweebs if they knew what they were doing in bed." We both burst into laughter at this.

We head into the math building. We have our first class together and as soon as the professor walks in, I can feel my relaxation slip away as student mode takes over. I'm back in the zone where I feel most comfortable: controlled, studious, professional.

CHAPTER SIX

 

 

"Hey, Dahlia, what are we doing for Halloween?" Linda looks up from our homework session. "The guys in 410 want to hit up frat row and asked if we'd go."

Frat row. I wrinkle my nose at this idea. I checked out those frat parties freshman year. I am just not into that scene. I'd much rather hang out with a small group of friends and talk where we could hear one another, not shout above music.

"Oh, come on. It's our last Halloween as irresponsible youth. I'm texting Tim that we'll go."

"Fine, but I'm not wearing a 'sexy' something costume," I say.

"Suit yourself, girl," Linda laughs. I think she has a thing for Tim from upstairs. It's been just over a week since The Night, as Linda and I have been calling it, and apparently Linda spent that whole time in a deep discussion with Tim at the Tap Room when I basically kicked her out of the apartment.

I know they've been hanging out in the evenings all week, too. I've had my nose to the grindstone, spending all day in class and then tutoring Neal in the Earl in between his games and practice sessions. Much like the incident in the library, we act as if nothing has happened and don't mention our night together. Something has definitely shifted between us, though, because Neal is flirty with me all the time, and I surprise myself by returning the mood.

I whisper "logarithm" to him just to see if he was telling the truth, and I smile when he throws his pencil at me. It goes back and forth this way, him calling me "wild eyed woman" and muttering as he works on problems. Yet we still manage to work our way through the material. The last homework set we went over, Neal didn't even need a single prod from me to get the problems right.

The day before Halloween, he and I are sitting in one of the office rooms in the hockey building. I think these are rooms where coaches meet with new recruits and their parents. There's a group of chairs and a small table. It's perfect for study sessions, but of course I don't like to bring Neal in here because…well, because of what happens with Neal when we're alone together in private. I left the door open while we work and I'm actually reading a book while he does problems, because he doesn't seem to need my help. Suddenly, I feel him whacking me in the arm with his pencil. I look up over the page. "You need help?"

He grins. "I was just remembering what you look like naked."

I immediately flush deep red. "Jesus, Neal. Knock it off."

I feel like I've given him some sort of entrance. He starts poking my leg with the pencil and says, "I remember grabbing hold of your round ass while I sank my dick in your pussy."

My awful nipples betray me and stiffen immediately as I, too, remember the feel of his hands kneading the flesh of my butt. I grit my teeth. "This. Can. Not. Happen."

He hits my arm with the pencil again, and I push back from the table, arms crossed and hopping mad. He looks over his shoulder and leans back in his chair, shutting the door to the classroom. I move to get up and open it again, but he takes my arm and starts rubbing it. "I thought you said you don't come in these rooms for tutoring, Dahlia."

I glower at him, hating myself right now. "All the chairs were full out in the common room." I start to pack up my stuff to leave. "You seem to have a pretty firm grip on this material, Neal. Let me know how your quiz goes tomorrow."

He tugs on the hem of my shirt and looks up at me. I stand frozen beside him, knowing I need to leave now or deeply regret it later. He says, in a quiet voice, "Could you walk that day after I left your room? Or did I fuck you raw?"

I feel a flood of arousal course through my body as my skin turns, if possible, an even darker shade of red. I can feel the flush from my arms to my ears now. I look away and don't answer him.

"You had sex before that, right?"

I roll my eyes, still staring at the wall. I keep my gaze anywhere but his face. "Of course I did, Neal. I would have told you if I was a virgin."

His thumb is on the bare skin of my stomach now, prodding, rubbing. "But?"

I sigh, exasperated, but I meet his eye and yank the shirt free, shoving his hands off my body. "It was just…it was just the first time I enjoyed it, ok?"

I see his face shift, an expression of pure delight causing him to smile, which I find confusing. Everything about this interaction confuses me. This is definitely not how I expected him to act after a one-night stand. He claps his hands and slaps them on the table. "So what you're saying is that I gave you the best sex of your life?" He pumps his fist in the air.

I roll my eyes at him and keep walking toward the door. "I refuse to answer that question," I say, but then he grabs my hand.

His fingers rub my palm as he looks up at me, his eyes soft. All signs