“Um…sure! Come on in,” I blurted uncertainly, hobbling down the stairs with some difficulty. Okay, a lot of difficulty; before I’d even made it halfway, Mickey had scaled the steps effortlessly and slung my arm over his shoulders. I felt his hand clamp tightly around the curve of my waist, raising goosebumps up and down the flesh on my back. My eyes flew to his, and I was surprised to see none of the sultry charm or flashy attitude in them. Instead, Mickey shot me a sweet smile and pulled me closer to his side as we made our way down the last few stairs.
“So do you wanna talk in the living room?” I offered, clearing my throat emphatically at Sam, who luckily took the hint and disappeared upstairs with a warning glance for me and a warning glare for his teammate. Although it wasn’t necessary, Mickey escorted me all the way until my butt was firmly planted on the couch, and I waited until he was seated next to me before turning to face him.
“So what’s up?”
“I just wanted to check on you. That was a pretty nasty fall,” Mickey said nonchalantly, his kind demeanor melting back into the cocky, charismatic one I’d grown accustomed to. I nodded grimly, looking down at my clasped, sweaty hands and then back up at Mickey.
“You’re telling me. I’ve got six broken bones because of it.”
Mickey frowned at this, his blue eyes turning dark and angry like the ocean before a storm. “I tried to catch you, you know.”
“Are you kidding? The doctor said you saved my life!”
“That’s a lie.”
“No, I don’t think it is,” I responded quietly and seriously, staring Mickey intently. To my surprise, his eyes were fixated on my boot, pupils wide and jaw clenched tightly. What’s his problem?
“Benny…I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you,” he mumbled before suddenly jumping up off the couch and making a dash for the front door. I struggled to stand with my crutches, finally just abandoning them all together as I jogged into the foyer just in time to catch Mickey’s arm.
“Mickey, wait-“I was cut off by him slamming his mouth against mine, swallowing my cry and making my lips burn from the contact. Just as I was about to wrap my arms around his neck and deepen the kiss, Mickey pulled away and I heard the door slam shut as I cracked my eyes open. Confusion washed over me, replacing the brief pleasure and spark of desire that had burned bright and fizzled fast at Mickey’s surprise kiss. Deciding not to be one of those girls who overthink everything, I turned back around to retrieve my crutches from the living room so I could head upstairs and not think about what just happened.
*** *** ***
When Monday morning finally rolled around, I was more excited to go to school than I’d been since the very first day of pre-k. After four days of wandering around the empty house, bored out of my mind and eating up everything in sight, I’d gained six pounds and the knowledge that falling over a railing wasn’t nearly as thrilling as people thought. I was ready to be back in action; to go through the familiar motions and ignore the same people that I’d been ignoring since freshman year. After much persuasion and a little extortion, I was finally able to convince Sam that not-quite two weeks was enough time for me to renounce my claim on the pain-in-the-ass crutches and clunk around in the boot while I was at school. While I was glad to be rid of the glorified walking sticks, I was finding it much more difficult to travel around campus with a heavy boot strapped to my left leg and a bulging brick of plaster weighing down my left arm. It was only ten a.m. and I’d already broken two beakers in Chem class and been asked to leave, much to my humiliation.
“Hey Benny, wait.” I turned at the sound of Mickey’s voice behind me, rolling my eyes at the cliché-ness of my situation. Usually in movies when the heroine gets saved by the hunky male lead she ends up with a couple scratches and a new boyfriend not looking like the Hulk Jr. I met Mickey’s enchanting gaze with a sour expression and raised eyebrows; if it wouldn’t hurt like a bitch, I would’ve had my hip cocked with one hand planted firmly on my waist too.
“What?” I snapped, settling for an icy tone and pursed lips as Mickey fidgeted uncomfortably.
“I just, uh…wanted to see how you’re doing.”
“You mean before or after you kissed me?”
Mickey sighed, running a hand through his wavy brown hair agitatedly. “After, I guess.”
“Well, I’m confused, for one. I mean the timeline of our-our-whatever goes pretty much like this: you ask me to tutor you, then we hook up in an empty classroom, then you save me from a crushing and painful death, and finally you kiss me and then run away. Call me crazy but I think those are pretty mixed signals, Mickey.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. But you haven’t exactly been clear with me either, Chambers.”
My jaw flopped open in disbelief, and without meaning to I took a step closer to Mickey.
“What hasn’t been clear to you? Obviously I like you! Why else would I make out with you and let you touch me like that if I didn’t? Are you calling me a skank, Mickey Lafitte?” I hissed, pouring all of my pent-up frustrations and emotions into my rant as I inched closer and closer to Mickey until we were practically nose-to-nose. His eyes were wide and incredulous, and I watched as he took that final step, closing the distance between our bodies so that my boobs brushed against his muscled chest. My nipples instantly hardened and I felt my legs begin to tremble in anticipation as Mickey’s hands slowly closed around my waist and jerked me more firmly into him.
“I like you, too,” he whispered into my ear, letting his lips graze against my earlobe in a way that had me creaming so badly I was tempted to squeeze my legs together. Just as I was about to link my fingers in Mickey’s thick hair and pull his face down to mine, the bell rang and students began to pour into the hallway like little fish. Mickey’s lips twitched up into a mysterious half-smile as he disentangled himself from me and backed away slowly.
“See you later, Benny.”
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Okay so I know this was a complete crapfest chapter but I stayed up all night writing it for my number one TTA fan, nicnat44, who asked me to update :) So here it is! I hope you guys like the progression of Benny and Mickey's relationshio :) And pic of Benny on the right! Please please comment and vote! i'll try to update again by Wednesday because i'm going to Maine tomorrow :( But thanks guys! xoxox
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Tutoring the Alpha
WerewolfBenny Chambers wants nothing to do with any of her fellow students at the University of Virginia; after all, she's only planning on being there for another two years before it's off to London to be a pediatrician. Skulking around campus with her ear...
