In one swift move, Chris pulled Robyn's shirt down and threw a blanket over her as Mel opened the front door. Her eyes narrowed when she looked at Chris. "What the fuck are you doing here?" "What are you doing home?" Robyn countered, zipping up her jeans. "My sister and her husband had a fight so they came home early. I didn't feel like staying there while they were arguing, so I said goodnight to the kids and left." She looked at Chris and snarled. "If I'd known you'd be here, I would've stayed far away." Chris took a step back, pulling Robyn close as if he needed protection. Or was he trying to protect her? "Chris, this is my roommate, Mel." Robyn did her best to maintain some civility, but the other girl wasn't cooperating. "Mel, this is.... Apparently, you know who Chris..... is." "Unfortunately." "What did I do to deserve this?" Chris frowned. "I know you?" "Seriously?" Mel gasped, then turned on Robyn. "I told you going out with him again was a bad idea." "But I like bad ideas." Robyn sighed, and Chris laughed. "I'm glad you think this shit is funny," Mel shot at him. "I'll be the one picking up the pieces when you're gone." "Who says I'm gonna leave her?" "Chill out, Melissa." Robyn stepped between them. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you Chris was coming over tonight, but he's here now, so let's just try to be nice to each other." "He aint shit. he doesn't deserve it." "Wow." Chris took a step toward the door. "I know when I'm not welcome." He reached for Robyn and took her hands. "I'd better say goodnight." "No." Her body still throbbed. He had to be feeling it too. "I'll see you tomorrow. We'll make other plans." He held her face in his hands and kissed her. "Thank you for dinner. It was delicious." He pulled her close and pressed his lips to her ear. "And so was dessert." She answered him with a smile. "Mel, I'd like to say it was nice meeting you, but...." Chris winced. Robyn followed him to the door, whispered "Sweet dreams," and closed it behind him. "Good night asshole," Mel growled. "I hope you're not planning on—" "Don't you ever treat one of my friends that way again!" Robyn advanced on Mel, her voice low. "Do you understand me?" "So he's a friend now?" "He's a better one than you are being tonight." "I'm trying to protect you." "From what? From having a good time? From laughing, from kissing, from possibly having the best sex of my life?" "From getting your heart broken." "Okay. I get that. If I'm making a mistake, if I end up getting hurt, so be it. I can take care of myself." "But you're not thinking straight. You're not thinking about the future. There is no future with him." "I don't care about the future. All I care about is right now, and right now, I'm having a good time with Chris. I'll go out with him whenever I want, as often as I want. I don't need your protection or opinion!" "Fine, but don't come crying to me when he runs off with the next pretty thing." Mel stomped off to her room and slammed the door. Robyn dropped her head in her hands. Would she see Chris again? She wouldn't blame him if Mel had scared him off. She didn't know Mel could be that mean. She sighed and sank down on the couch. Still warm from their body heat, it brought back not just memories of his touch, but all the sensations that went along with it. Her body started to throb again. Maybe doing the dishes would help distract her. She went to the kitchen, smiling as she set the dishes on the counter where he'd kissed her and touched her thighs. Oh, she was distracted all right, but not the way she'd intended. Without thinking, she slipped her hand inside her shirt and brushed her fingers across her nipple. Ooohhhh. It felt much better when he touched her, but.... Oh, screw the dishes! She needed a stronger distraction. She went to her room, locked the door, took off her clothes, and finished what Chris had started. She would welcome sleep with a smile. -- "You look like you could use a beer." Chris said, "I could use something a lot stronger than that." Like a certain fine ass track star. mike opened a bottle and handed it to him. Chris sat on the couch and downed half of it in one swallow. "What happened?" "Her roommate happened." "That sucks. Roommates can be a real pain in the ass." "Ya think?" Chris polished off his beer. "Sorry, man, I wasn't talking about you." Mike got him another beer, but opened a bottle of water for himself. "I know." "The woman hates me." "Robyn?" "No, Mel." "Why?" "Beats the hell out of me." He shuddered. "And she looked like she wanted to." "Gonna go out with her again?" "Mel?" "No, Robyn." "Oh. Yeah, definitely." Chris took a drink. "Sorry, my brain is shot." "I can tell." Why the hell am I thinking about Mel? He closed his eyes and called up the image of Robyn at her door. Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed a pretty pink. Her tousled hair spilled over her shoulders in all directions; her shirt and jeans fit nice and snug. And barefoot too. Very sexy. He felt himself rise just a tad in his jeans just thinking about her. Damn it! Something else bothered him. Mel had said she'd be the one picking up the pieces when he left Robyn, but right now, he couldn't imagine doing that to her. Most of his relationships didn't last through next Tuesday, but he couldn't see an end to this one yet. Hm... do I like that or not? "So other than the psycho roommate, how was your night?" "Great. She's an amazing cook, even better than mama." "Wow." "Don't tell my mom I said that." "Hey, if I lie to her, she won't feed me anymore." "I got no problem with that. More for me." "So how far did you get with her?" "You're talking about Robyn, right?" "Yeah, dumbass." Chris held up three fingers. "And then psycho roommate walked in on us." "Oh, man, that had to hurt." "Uh-huh." "But anticipation can be a lot of fun." "Anticipation makes you insane." "That explains a lot." "Yeah." He'd never dealt with anticipation before. He couldn't wait to see her again, but not just because he wanted to finish what they'd started. No, he couldn't wait to talk with her and laugh with her. He wanted to argue with her some more. He'd fought with women before, but when Robyn fought back, she challenged him and made him think. Fighting with her excited him... almost as much as foreplay. Chris frowned and wondered if he should enjoy that as much as he had. "You okay, man?" He jumped. How did mike know? The guy had a gift for reading people. "Yeah, I'm fine." He got up and headed to his bedroom. "I just gotta figure out how to get some sleep tonight." "No running around the football field?" "Nah bruh. That's not gonna cut it." "Do you want to talk about it?" Chris looked back at his friend and laughed. "Mike, you're way too sensitive. Are you sure you're a nigga?" "Taylor says so. You didn't answer my question." "I don't even know what to talk about." Chris shut his bedroom door then opened it again. "That means no." "I got it." But before the latch clicked, he popped the door open again and spun back to the living room, pacing and snarling at Mike. "Why am I so...? Why can't I find the words?" "Confused?" "Yeah, that's one word." He plopped down on the couch and ripped his hands through his hair. "I promised Robyn a good time—nothing more." "But you want more." "Yeah." "And that scares the shit out of you." He growled at Mike, but his friend wouldn't retreat. "I promised Ashley I'd wait for her to graduate." "I remember." "One year. I'd wait for her to join me here, and I swore I wouldn't see anyone else." Mike nodded. "Shocked the hell out of me, but I knew you'd do your best." "But she didn't care. My leaving for college wasn't the problem. She said my future was too uncertain. I had no plan. 'What if you get hurt and don't make it in the NFL? What will you do then?' I couldn't answer her." "You can now." "Yes, I can." "So why is that keeping you from being with Robyn?" "It isn't. It's something else." "You don't want to get hurt again." "Stop reading my mind, Mike." "I can read you like a freaking book. Want to know what I think?" "You're gonna tell me, whether I want to or not." "True. I think you might get hurt again." "That's comforting." "But I think you've gotta take the chance. Robyn's worth it." "I know she is." Chris looked straight into his best friend's eyes and saw his uncertain face mirrored back at him. "Am I?" "You are, and you always have been. You got me through some pretty horrible shit when we were in high school. You're good enough for me. But if you don't believe that, Robyn won't either." Mike punched Chris' shoulder and yawned. "Goodnight." Chris sat on the couch until he couldn't keep his eyes open. Was he good enough for Robyn? Maybe. Could he risk that rejection again? He wasn't going to figure this out tonight, not with his body still revved-up and his brain spinning its wheels. He dragged his sorry ass to his room, undressed, and crawled into bed exhausted—completely drained, and not in a good way. Every time he closed his eyes, images of purple lace, pretty toes, and perky pierced nipples bombarded him. Sweet dreams. A goodnight blessing? No, a curse. Sweet dreams, yes. Sleep, no.
