Crushing on the Bully (4 page)

“Soda?” she said opening the fridge.

“Sure,” Skull said and held up his hand from across the kitchen.

It took Clarissa a moment to realize that he meant for her to toss it to him. She held the can tightly debating on whether or not to toss it. Her aim had never been great and she wasn’t in the mood to clean up a mess. Skull wiggled his fingers to signal that he was ready to catch it, but Clarissa slid it across the counter instead.

For a moment it bobbed on the edge and she feared that her way wasn’t the safer alternative to tossing a can across the room, but Skull’s hand appeared around it just as it began to fall. Clarissa let out a sigh of relief and retrieved a can for herself before heading into the living room.

She sat down on her the left end of the sofa, which was her favorite spot to rest, read, or just sit, and curled her feet under her and nested her back into the arm of the sofa. She normally would face the other way, but it seemed rude to turn her back to Skull, after all, he was a guest in her home.

Skull grinned at Clarissa and she blushed. Her eyes darted around the room and settled on her bookshelf. It was too far away for her to make out the titles, but she knew where all of her books were. She mentally listed them in their shelving order trying to not think of how cute the guy at sitting on the other end of the sofa was.

Clarissa looked away, closed her eyes, and did not open them until she had taken a few deep breaths. She wasn’t sure what mystical force was drawing her to Skull, but she was going to blame it on her hormones. It was lust and the rain nothing more. She imagined that even cave people driven inside by the rain were drawn to the warmth of another body.

“More interesting things, eh?” she asked, hoping that Skull didn’t turn it into some perverted punch line.

“Yea, well there’s motorcycles for one,” Skull chuckled.

“Yea, okay,” Clarissa nodded, “Nearly getting killed because we’re not wearing helmets, isn’t fun.”

“We didn’t nearly get killed, but if it bothers you that much why don’t you buy a helmet?” Skull asked.

“I just might,” Clarissa said and crossed her arms.

“You don’t have to be so snippy about it, Bookworm,” he chuckled.

“Don’t you understand how dangerous it is?” Clarissa demanded.

“Fine! I’ll find you a helmet to wear before I take you out again,” Skull sighed.

“And what about yourself?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Clarissa didn’t want to let Skull know how much she worried about him, out there on the streets and highways riding that damnable bike without the proper safety equipment.

Clarissa arched an eyebrow, but Skull didn’t answer her question. He moved closer to her so that his face was just inches from her own. She wondered if he’d kiss her again, but then decided not to take the chance that he wouldn’t. Clarissa leaned forward slightly and brushed her lips against Skull’s. They were soft and warm against hers. Their lips moved hesitantly together. Clarissa had never initiated a kiss before, but she found it to be easier than she had thought. Skull’s tongue slipped past her lips and into her mouth. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she moved into his lap. Clarissa ran her fingers through his hair and pressed her body close to his.

Skull cupped her ass cheeks and gave them a firm squeeze causing a soft moan to escape Clarissa’s lips. She ground her hips against his and the movement sent small bolts of pleasure through her body. Skull’s hand slid under her shirt and brushed against the bottom of her breast. Clarissa blushed and pulled away.

“We gotta stop,” she said and slid back onto her part of the sofa, hugging her knees to her chest and looked down at her feet.

“You okay, Bookworm?” Skull asked.

Clarissa rolled her eyes without looking up at him. That was one reason she stopped the action. It was getting too close to the down and dirty and she wasn’t going to give her first time up to a guy who didn’t know how to quit being a jerk.

“That’s not my name,” Clarissa said and walked back into the kitchen.

Clarissa leaned her head against the refrigerator and took a deep breath. Her pulse was racing and she could feel its vibrations throughout her body. She hadn’t wanted to pull away from Skull, but she wasn’t going to let her hormones get the better of her.

Clarissa heard the kitchen door creak and knew Skull had joined her. She was afraid to look up at him, because she didn’t know what to say and she wasn’t quite sure he wasn’t going to push the issue. If he was that big of a jerk he’d find himself kicked out on his butt, rain pounding the pavement or not.

“It’s okay, Bookworm,” he said.

Clarissa turned to face him, determined to tear him a new one and tell him to get the hell out of her house, but she came face to face with his brown eyes and couldn’t.

“Look we can just chill and watch television or something,” Skull shrugged.

“I don’t own a television,” Clarissa sighed, “I don’t watch it, it rots your brain.”

“Do you really believe that?” Skull laughed.

“I do,” Clarissa said, trying to resist the urge to ramble on about everything she hated about it, “it bores me to tears.”

“You must not be watching the right things,” Skull chuckled.

His laugh vibrated through the room and she almost agreed with him, but Clarissa wasn’t going to lie just because she was attracted to him.

“I don’t like it, okay?” she smirked.

“That’s why you’re Bookworm,” he laughed.

“Because I don’t like television?” Clarissa laughed.

Skull shrugged, but didn’t say anything else. For a few minutes they stood trying to avoid making eye contact. Clarissa focused at a discolored spot on the far wall. It had always annoyed her, but today she was glad to have something besides Skull to concentrate on.

“Hey, I’m going out to a bar tomorrow night, would you like to come?” Skull asked.

“I don’t drink,” Clarissa said, biting her tongue so she didn’t say she was still a year and a half too young to drink.

“Neither do I, well, at least not there,” Skull chuckled, “but we can still go hangout.”

“I don’t have to work tomorrow night, so all right,” Clarissa said.

“I’ll pick you up at five?” he asked.

“Bring helmets or we’ll walk,” Clarissa smirked.

“Pushy,”

Skull grinned and stole another kiss before heading to the dryer to retrieve his clothes.

Clarissa washed up dishes from the night before while she waited for Skull to get dressed. Her cheeks flushed pink when she thought about him being nude in her bathroom again.

“See ya later, Bookworm!” he called out and Clarissa heard the front door shut behind him.

Clarissa knew she'd could go out and tell him goodbye. Skull would have to pause to put his boots on, but not wanting to seem overly interested she decided against it.

Chapter Four

Clarissa stood in her closet wrapped in her favorite towel. She shifted the clothes around trying to decide what to wear tonight. She had never been to a bar before and wasn’t quite sure what you were supposed to wear. Normally, she’d ring up Julie, but she still hadn’t forgiven her for the scene at the mall. Besides what would she tell her bestie?

‘Hey, Julie, I’m going out with Skull tonight. Yea, he’s taking me to a bar and I have no clue what to wear. Wanna come over and help me pick something out?’

That wouldn’t go over well at all. Julie had always flitted from guy to guy, but had a mental ideal of the type of man she wanted to marry. She also thought that her ideal man would be good for Clarissa, too. Although, since Justin had fit most of the qualities of Julie’s checklist, Clarissa wasn’t so sure she was buying into it. He had left her just so he could sleep around at college without feeling guilty.

Clarissa stepped further into the closet and pushed her large selections of skirts out of the way. She didn’t want to have to try to keep a skirt from blowing up in the wind while she was cuddled up to Skull’s back. Clarissa had always preferred skirts to pants, so her selection of jeans provided slim pickings. Her phone buzzed signaling it was fifteen to five. Clarissa always set her phone to give her a fifteen minute warning. Without it, she was always running late. Clarissa pulled a pair of acid wash jeans from their hanger and slipped into them.

“Now for the hard part,” she sighed, “I still have to find a top.”

A knock on the door startled her and she scraped the heel of her foot on the doorway.

“Just a minute!” she called out, trying not to sound as anxious as she felt. Why the hell did he have to show up early? She hurriedly fastened her favorite bra into place and pulled a black tank over her head. She ran her fingers through her hair and glanced at her reflection.

“Hey,” Clarissa said as she opened the door.

“Hey,” Skull grinned at her. Clarissa glanced over him quickly, trying not to make her attraction obvious. Today he wore a pair of black denims that had chains attached to either leg and a black tee that did little to hide his fit chest and abs. When her eyes glanced over Skull’s hands she realized he was holding two helmets.

“Awesome,” she said and her smile broadened.

“Well, I don’t need you to have a panic attack on the back of my bike, Bookworm,” he chuckled.

“Just let me grab my purse and we can leave,” Clarissa said.

“Shoes,” Skull said.

“Huh?” Clarissa asked confusedly.

“Shoes,” he said again, pointing down at her feet this time.

“Oh, yeah, those things,” she laughed.

Clarissa blushed furiously as she walked back into her room to retrieve her purse.

“Calm down,” she told herself, “It’s not a big deal. Just go out and have fun.”

After taking a few deep breaths and slipping into her flats she met Skull at the door.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Come on,” Clarissa said as she locked the door and sprinted off to the steps. She didn’t want to experience another elevator ride with Skull. Her thoughts went to lustful places when she thought about being in such proximity to him.

Outside, Skull helped Clarissa with her helmet. He fixed it over her hair and fastened the straps. Clarissa blushed as his hands brushed against her cheek and she had to fight the urge to lean into his touch.

“So where are we going tonight?” she asked.

“I told you the bar,” Skull grinned.

“I know that,” Clarissa said, “What I meant was, which one?”

“You’ll see when we get there,” Skull said, climbing onto his motorcycle.

“It’s not like a biker bar or something is it?” Clarissa asked.

“What makes you think that?” Skull laughed and held out his hand to help Clarissa onto the bike.

Ignoring his outstretched hand she clambered onto the bike and settled against his back.

“Well, I don’t know,” Clarissa rolled her eyes, “Maybe the bike.”

Clarissa waited for Skull to assure her that their destination wasn’t a biker bar, but he didn’t. Instead he revved the bike’s engine and pulled out onto the street. Clarissa’s stomach tightened and it felt like her heart dropped down into it. What did people do at bars anyway? She knew there would be alcohol, but she wasn’t worried about that. She had never been tempted to drink. Clarissa had witnessed Julie hung-over too many times to ever want the experience.

Clarissa had also been exposed to enough television against her will to know that most bars and clubs had dance floors. Clarissa didn’t think Skull was the type to enjoy dancing, because she didn’t think she’d survive being dragged onto the dance floor. She had never been coordinated enough to follow a beat. Julie said it was because she was too self-conscious, but Clarissa thought it was just the result of being her father’s daughter. Thankfully, she wasn’t as clumsy as he could be at times.

As they drove Clarissa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She needed to clear her mind. Worrying about what awaited her at the bar wasn’t going to make her feel any better. Instead she found herself concentrating on how good Skull smelled and how his back felt against her stomach and breasts. Her nipples were hard again and Clarissa bit her lip. Skull had a way of undoing her and Clarissa couldn’t stay away from him.

No other guy had ever affected her this way. Justin had tried more than a few times to talk her into going all the way, but she always refused. She had always known deep down that Justin was a real jerk, because he’d bring it up again and again, pushing the limits of their make-out sessions closer and closer to Clarissa’s limits, like he hoped she’d forget her morals while she was lost to the passion of the moment.

After pulling away from Skull the previous evening, Clarissa had thought that she’d never see him again. She half expected that he would leave while she was in the kitchen, but he had stayed. More than that he had asked to see her again. Maybe her first impression of him had been wrong. Maybe Skull was just running late for class or something that day at the grocery store.

The bike came to a stop and Skull killed the engine, but Clarissa didn’t move. She wanted to state in motion forever, because stopping meant that she had to face what would come next and she wasn’t sure she was ready. After a few seconds she forced herself off the bike and removed the helmet, then ran her fingers through her hair hoping it still looked as good as it had when they set out.

Clarissa nearly squeaked in surprise when Skull took a hold of her hand and entwined his fingers through hers. His palm felt warm against her and the intimate gesture made Clarissa blush. She tried to look nonchalant about it, like guys that she was really attracted to held her hand all the time. Every day in fact.

“This is a biker bar!” Clarissa frowned looking up at the sign that read ‘AlleyCat Pub.’

“Don’t worry about it,” Skull shrugged, “You’ll be fine, Bookworm.”

“Please quit calling me that,” Clarissa sighed.

She hated how conflicted Skull’s attitude made her feel. Last night he was the sweet guy who didn’t try to talk her into going farther than she was willing to, but today he was the jerk who was taking her somewhere he knew she didn’t want to go and lied to her. Clarissa was beginning to hate the word bookworm. Before it hadn’t bothered her, she had even dubbed herself that on more than one occasion, but when Skull said it, the label carried a sarcastic jab.

“Let’s just go inside,” Skull said and led her to the door.

Clarissa took a deep breath and dread filled her belly. She wasn’t looking forward to being surrounded by sweaty men, most of which were likely to be felons. When Skull opened the door Clarissa took a deep breath and held it as she waited for a cloud of smoke to waft out the door.

Clarissa blinked and cocked her head to the side. The bar’s interior was much cleaner than she had expected to find it and the air wasn’t stale with beer, piss, r smoke, either. Instead it smelled of chips and salsa although a few of the guys at the bar were throwing back beers. Many of the men were dressed like you’d expect bikers to be and looked just as intimidating as they did in the movies. On the left arm of every man was a star with a bold black X over it. The matching group tattoos made Clarissa think that the men might be part of a gang. What Clarissa couldn’t understand was why would the Goth-at-heart Skull would want anything to do with these guys.

“Hey, Skull, you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?” one of the men at the bar called out.

“I’m not his girlfriend,” Clarissa said, putting her hands on her hips.

“Not yet,” one of the other guys laughed.

“So, Skull’s not-girl-friend, do you have a name?” the first man asked.

“Clarissa,” she answered.

“Hey, kid, I’m Hugo,” the guy said and lifted his beer into the air, “and that’s Boss and Lobster.”

“Lobster?” Clarissa asked arching an eyebrow.

“Yea?” he asked.

“Where do you guys get these names from?” Clarissa laughed.

“There’s a reason I shave my head,” the guy laughed, “Why don’t you kids sit down and I’ll tell you about it?”

“Sure,” Clarissa grinned and moved towards the bar.

“Actually, Lobster, we’re here to play pool,” Skull cut in.

“Oh,” Clarissa said, “I don’t know how to play.”

“I’ll teach you, come on,” Skull said and took her hand again.

Hugo winked at her as Skull led her to the other side of the bar where a shabby-looking pool table stood. Clarissa tried to pay attention to what Skull was saying, but someone had turned on the jukebox and she couldn’t quite make out his words.

“What?” she called out over the music.

“Here, just let me show you,” Skull said and handed the cue and stepped up behind her.

Clarissa’s heart skipped a beat and she swallowed hard. He stepped closer and she could feel him pressing against her body.

“Hold it like this,” Skull said and carefully guided her hands to the appropriate places, “and then like this.”

Skull leaned forward slowly guiding Clarissa into the proper position to take her shot. Clarissa bit her lip and tried to concentrate on the white ball in front of her, but all she could think about was how close she was to Skull and how good it felt. She allowed Skull to move her arms and aid her in striking the cue ball. A second later the white ball crashed into the others and sent them scattering across the table. She waited for skull to move, but he stayed where he was. Clarissa turned her head and looked up at him.

“Good, now try it again, but by yourself this time,” Skull said, but Clarissa could tell he wasn’t as focused on the game as he was pretending to be.

“Okay,” she said and looked back to the table, but before she could even take aim her cellphone vibrated in her back pocket.

“Shit,” she said, jumping and pulling the phone from her pocket. For a moment she stared at the vibrating cellphone and hesitated. It was Maggie which meant she was being called into work. She didn’t want to leave.

“Just a minute,” she said and turned away, walking to the far wall, “Hello?”

“Hey, kiddo, I hate to do this to you,” Maggie said, “but I need you to come for a few hours.”

“Can’t,” Clarissa said.

“Um.. why?” Maggie asked.