Free Crossing by Stacey Wallace Benefiel Page B

back to me and look up.”
    He does as I ask, and I quickly and expertly line his right eye. The instant I pull the pencil away, he’s looking at himself in the mirror. I lean into him in an attempt to get his attention. He faces me again and looks up without a word. I do his left eye.
    I step back to get a better view, but he pulls me closer again. There’s a noticeable difference below the belt. Noticeable.
    He glances at himself in the mirror again and then puts his mouth on mine, kissing me slowly, teasing my tongue with his. His hands move to my ass and he grabs it, which is good because I’m about to melt into a puddle of goo onto the nasty black and white tiled floor.
    Someone walks by us and says, “Get a room,” on his way into the bathroom.
    Liam raises his eyebrows at me again. “Whaddya say?”
    “To what?” More PDA outside of the RUMORS restrooms? Mascara? Blowjobs in the alley?
    He kisses me quickly. “To not a one night stand?”
    “Yes.” Like I had to think about that?
    “I’m hoping you live closer than I do,” he breathes, “because it’s going to be a hell of a long bus ride to my place.”
    “I live three blocks from here,” I say, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. “How do you wanna do this?”
    “Well,” he whispers into my ear, “I thought I’d get you naked and then insert tab P into slot V, but I’m open to other ideas.”
    I take a step back and gently slap him on the chest. “No, I mean, do you want to go out first and I’ll count to ten or whatever and then meet you outside?”
    He gasps, clutches his chest like I’ve wounded him, and then grabs my hand and pulls me out into the club over to our table. He takes my coat from the back of my chair and helps me into it.
    “Are you wearing make-up?” redheaded skank snorts from the edge of the dance floor. I notice she’s dancing alone.
    “Let’s get out of here,” he mouths, grabbing me by my coat lapels and planting his lips on mine in front of EVERY. FREAKIN.’ BODY.

Chapter Nine

    Strangely enough, I’m not panicking. Probably because I’m not entirely sure this isn’t a super crazy tequila-fueled dream and I’m really passed out on the bathroom floor at RUMORS.
    Liam’s holding my hand, hasn’t stopped holding my hand since we left.
    “I might not be very good,” I say, looking at him sidelong.
    He squeezes my hand. “You kiss like you are. I’m not worried.”
    A block into the walk to my house I ask, “Sure you still want to hit this?”
    “Yup.”
    Two blocks into the walk I say, “Sure you still want to jump my bones?”
    “Yup.”
    One block away from my house I say, “Do you have any condoms?”
    He stops and I kid you not, he growls. “Nope. Damn it!”
    I shrug. “It’s okay, I’ve got an IUD. No alien babies will be made.”
    Liam pulls me into a hug. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t have sex without protection.”
    I bite down on the inside of my lip. So close! Why did I have to be so stupid and ask about condoms? I could have waited until I had him naked and begging for it, unable to make healthy choices like most guys.
    “What about your roommate, would she have some?” he asks, his voice on edge.
    I shake my head. “No, but the girls next door will.” I take a step back and pretend to wipe my brow. “Phew. I thought I was going to miss out on the only non-self administered orgasm I was going to get all year.”
    “I don’t know,” he grins, “I might not be very good.”
    “Yeah,” I drawl, clicking my tongue. “You almost made me come during a backrub yesterday. It’s not going to take much. I’m not worried.”
    I pull him along the longest block of my life and then run up Kristin and Cam’s front steps. Not bothering to knock, I barge through the front door. The weed smoke is thick and Xanadu is playing on the TV. “I need some condoms,” I announce, before noticing that people other than Kris and Cam are in the room.
    Some