Confessions of a Heartbreaker (20 page)

"So I was thinking that we should probably start using the buddy system from now on." I gently kiss the top of her head again if only to reassure myself that she's really safely tucked away in my arms.

I hear her stifle a little chuckle before saying, "The buddy system?"

"Yeah, you know, like in kindergarten. Partnering up for safety reasons so one of us doesn't get lost. Now if you prefer to think of it like the Marines-
no man left behind,
you can. That's going to be us from now on."

She looks as though she's mulling over the idea.  And listen, whether she wants it or not, it's going to happen because you know what, I'm the dude in this relationship and what I say-

"I guess if it's for safety reasons then we should do it."

Yep, she's darn lucky that she agreed before I had to get all hard assed about it... and you know, beg and plead until she sees it my way.

"Well, it's definitely not because I
like
you or anything crazy like that." My eyes slide to hers.  Because I so
like-like
her that it's not even funny anymore.  But then again, I'm not sure if it was ever funny...

"Nope, we're just a couple of random friends who need to stick together when we're at parties. Good idea."

"No, I was thinking more along the lines of anytime you leave the house, we should use the buddy system. I can be your go-to guy." I turn the idea over in my head a few more times. "Kind of like your very own personal bodyguard." Because from now on I totally plan on guarding that body... oh yeah...

She hits my chest with her hand. "Be serious, will you."

I tilt her face up towards mine so I can look directly into her beautiful green eyes. "Trust me, sweetheart, I couldn't be more serious." It's almost cute the way she thinks I'm playing around... of course, I'm not and sooner or later she's going to realize that.

She holds my eyes, searching them silently. After a long moment she finally says, "You're nothing like what I expected."

The corners of my lips twitch upwards. "Are you saying I'm not as smoking hot as you'd always heard I was?  Because I'll be honest with you, that kind of hurts my feelings."

Again she slaps at my chest. A small smile curves her lips upwards.  "No! I mean you're not the guy I thought you'd be.  You know, from all the stories I'd heard..."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment since you pretty much told me I was nothing more than a walking STD."

A genuine smile spills across her lips and I can tell she's thinking about the first time we met. "Well, weren't you?"

I don't even hesitate. "Yeah, pretty much." Okay... so I've never actually had an STD... but I get the point she's trying to make. Apparently my reputation as a ladies man has proceeded me. And, well, Marissa Sandberg's antics only reconfirmed that notion.

Just a little side note- I have a strict rule when it comes to going all the way with chicks-
no glove, no love.
That's my motto because I sure as hell don't need some oozing sore on my you-know-what... Enough said.

Then she says more seriously, "I don't think that about you anymore, Parker. You've actually turned out to be one of the good guys."

"Total shocker, right?"

She tilts her face until our lips are touching before whispering against my mouth, "Yeah, but it's a good kind of shocker."

Without another word, she slowly slides her lips across mine and you better believe that things are heating up downstairs. I'm pretty much standing at attention like I'm saluting a five star general. Which after the whole Naked Natalie fiasco- (totally scarring experience by the way) I almost want to get up and do a little victory dance, but I'll refrain from making a total asshat out of myself. This time anyway. Also, doing a happy dance would require me to let go of her and that's not going to happen anytime soon. Because this is exactly what I've been waiting for- her in my arms, our bodies wrapped around one another (okay- so maybe I pictured us naked but I'll take it), where I can take my sweet time exploring her mouth.

Even though I want that more than anything, I find myself slowly pulling away until I can kiss the tip of her adorable little nose. Yeah, I know- totally barfy but I can't help it. This girl is perfect. Everything about her is so
freaking
perfect. I've already said it a multitude of times but I'm in so deep that I'm all but drowning in her. Yeah, that’s right- I just used the word
multitude
correctly in a sentence…

"Why are you pulling away?"

I shrug my shoulders feeling uncomfortable about the direction my lecherous thoughts have taken. The last thing I want is for her to think that I'm looking for a little thank-you-for rescuing-me-adoration (of the sexual kind which I normally wouldn't be opposed to). "I just thought with what happened... you know..."

"You're not Chris." She frowns as her voice hardens. "You could never be anything like him."

True that.

I'm
nothing
like that douche bag. I may not have a spotless record where the ladies are concerned but I've never forced anyone to do anything they didn't want to do. Another wave of anger rolls through me as I think about Hartley trying to force himself on her. "I would never hurt you." My eyes slide away from hers before I add, "And FYI- I've never felt this way about anyone else before."
In my life
. I'm not going to lie- it's a little scary. But it's turning out to be a good kind of scary- like when you're sitting at the tippy top of a huge ass rollercoaster right before it plunges straight down to the bottom. Of course, I'm going to try my best not to scream like a little girl.  Or puke my guts out.

"I’ve never felt like this either," she confesses quietly.

I can't deny how relieved I am to hear her admit that. Thank God it's not just me who feels this way. We're both in this together because it would seriously suck some major ass to be wanting this girl in the worst kind of way only to have her not give a damn...

Okay, so you're probably thinking that it would be some pretty righteous payback to have this girl drop me on my ass for all the times I've left some chick hanging... and I don't necessarily disagree with that statement but just the same, I'm glad she's into me as much as I'm into her.

Closing the distance separating us, Jordan lays her lips softly against mine. Everything about the way she touches me is gentle, tentative almost. A groan escapes from my lips as I open my mouth to her. And yeah, of course I want nothing more than to go to town all over her sweet mouth, but I'm not going to. I'm using a little something I like to call
restraint
- it's a totally new concept for me. But like I said before- I'm not about to push this girl. Especially after what Hartley did. It's a promise that I've made to myself and I won't be breaking it.

"Here's a little FYI for you in return," she whispers against my lips, "I've never been with a guy before."

I pull back just a bit. "You've never made out?" I'm sure the look on my face is completely priceless. Because come on, she's seventeen and she's totally banging. Of course she's fooled around ...
right
?

"No," she laughs nervously, "I've never slept with anyone before."

I can feel my brows sliding together. "But you said that you've been with guys like me ..."

And unfortunately I know exactly what guys like me are after... In all honesty, I thought Jordan had some experience under her belt. At least that’s always been my impression... she just seemed so capable of handling herself. So confident. And so not afraid to put me in my place. Which, yes, I totally love (again, incredibly sick- I'm in no way denying it).

She takes another deep breath before saying, "I was in a relationship last year... and I kind of thought that he would be the one to, well- you know..."

Yeah, I do know and even though I don't know the guy she's talking about, I already hate the dude.

"He was a player," she eyes me for a moment and I'll admit that I squirm under the intensity of her green gaze because I remember just how adamant she was about relegating me to that dreaded place called
the friend zone
. "But I was in love with him," then she quickly amends before shrugging, "Well, I thought I was in love with him..." Looking away, her words trail off.

But I want to know the rest of the story. I want to know what happened because already I can tell that this story doesn't end well and even though I totally dislike any guy who ever held a little piece of Jordan's heart- I hate this douche even more for being dumb enough to hurt her.  Am I seriously the only one who can see just how freaking awesome she is?

"I'd never really been with anyone else before him." Her eyes slide slowly back to mine. "And he knew that.  I think that was part of the draw. Even though she smiles, it's brittle and hard around the edges. "
Fresh meat
."

My stomach clenches because unfortunately, I know exactly what she's saying. Now have I ever been guilty of the same thing?  No.  I like my girls experienced.  Virgins tend to be too clingy when it’s all said and done.

"Anyway, the whole time he was telling me how much he liked me, he was messing around with two other girls on the side. And then one night at a party, I accidently walked in on him with one of them.  He just laughed and told me that I was a frigid bitch.  He told me that he was tired of waiting."

I cringe at her words because they pretty much echo what Hartley just accused her of being. Yeah, I should have pummeled that asswipe until there was nothing left of him.

"I'm really sorry, Jordan." I kiss her forehead lightly after murmuring the words. "Listen, I'm glad you told me but I'm not in any kind of rush to move things along." Yeah, those aren't exactly words I thought would ever tumble out of my mouth, but they're true. With her, they're absolutely true.

Now it's her brows that are drawing together in confusion. "Wait just a second, are you saying that you
, Parker Montgomery
, don't care about getting laid?"

Whoa, such language... and yeah, it's kind of a turn on. What am I saying? It's a
major
turn on. If I could roll my R's all the while making a purring sound from deep in my throat, I would.

I grin because I'm really not lying... I don't care. Okay, I care... Come on, of course I care. I want this girl in the worst kind of way... but after tonight that’s not going to happen.  We’re going to slow this train down. I don't ever want to come across like Hartley. Then I wipe the smile from my face before saying, "Yep, that's right. I'm totally uninterested in having a sexual relationship with you." I tap the side of my head. "It's more of a mind connection I'm after."

"Uninterested, huh?" Then she says with a fair amount of disbelief, "
Mind connection
? Have you been miraculously reformed?"

I think about Natalie and Marissa and all the countless others. I think about how I can't get Jordan out of my head and haven't been able to since I met her. How I can't even work up the smallest amount of
enthusiasm
for another girl. "Yep, totally reformed," I confirm. And you know what? I think it might actually be true. I'm not just blowing smoke up her ass.

"That's good to know."

Then she rests her head against my chest as I hold her to me. No, I don't ever want to let her go. Not even to say good bye at the end of the night.

"I think I'm falling for you, Parker Montgomery," she whispers quietly.

I stare out the windshield of the truck into the swirling darkness, "That's good because I've already fallen for you."

Just as those words leave my mouth, my cell rings again. This time I don't even bother glancing at the screen, I just answer it.

"Hey- what's up?" My brows slide together as my mom shrilly unloads on me. "Alright, just calm down. I'll be right there." And then I click the phone off. Jordan pulls away until she's able to meet my eyes.

"What's wrong?"  I hear the concern, the fear, lacing her voice.

"That was my mom."  I'm still reeling from everything she just said. "The police are at my house. They want to talk to me about assaulting Chris Hartley."

Chapter Seventeen

"Dude, I was seriously this close," Max holds his thumb and pointer finger about a millimeter apart, "to getting a cavity search."

Slamming my locker door shut, I turn towards him. "And that's-" I pause, not quite sure what the appropriate response would be in this particular situation, "a
good thing
?" But since I've known this guy practically forever, I have a pretty good hunch what the answer is going to be.

And I'm not disappointed.

He gives me a knowing smirk. "You should have seen her...
totally
hot. And the way she filled out that uniform..." He rubs his beefy hands together with relish. "I could have really gone for a little hot cop, hook-up action." He elbows me in the ribs. "You know what I'm saying?"