Chapter 3

The remainder of the day passed with cruel slowness. She was anxious to get home and see her friends. Thankfully, after lunch the hours seemed to move a little quicker.

“Ms. White, are you going to go to prom with me this year?”

Lily looked up from her desk and the papers she had been grading and rolled her eyes at the senior as he prepared to make his way out of the last class of the day.

“Sorry Davis, just can’t happen, buddy.”

The jock smiled and flashed her his Colgate white teeth. The kid was good looking, but he was just that, a kid, even though he was eighteen. No way in hell she was going to touch that.

After the last student filed out, she hurriedly gathered her things and stuffed them into her bag. It was already after four. By the time she got home it would be close to five. That was if she was lucky and managed to slip away without encountering any friendly chitchat from her fellow teachers.

However, luck was not on her side, and an emergency faculty meeting had been called.

“Who the hell calls a meeting as you’re walking out the door,” she said to nobody in particular. Begrudgingly, she turned away from the double-doored entrance and made her way to the faculty lounge. So much for having time to get ready.

***

By the time Lily made it home it was ten minutes after seven. She bolted through the door of her apartment, throwing her things to the floor and stripping on her way to the bedroom. She knew Kyle: he was going to be early. So though technically she had 15 minutes to get dressed, she knew she probably had five at best.

She went to her closet and tugged out her new black dress. She’d wanted so badly to take a shower and do her hair up perfectly, but that wasn’t going to happen now. “Who the hell has a two hour meeting over fundraisers and potluck dinners,” she ranted aloud to herself as she grabbed a wet cloth from the bathroom. It was going to have to work in place of a shower.

She was in the process of ripping the tags off her new black and red lace panties and strapless bra when she heard the front door open.

“I’m here,” Kyle called. There was no such thing as knocking or using a doorbell where Travis and Kyle were concerned.

“Where are you?”

“I’m getting dressed. Last minute freaking meeting. I got home like five minutes ago.”

“Nice,” came his reply.

“I’m almost ready, though. Give me about five minutes.”

“No worries.”

“There’s beer in the fridge.”

“Already on it,” he said with a chuckle.

“Good, then grab one for me while you’re at it.”

After slipping the panties and bra on, Lily pulled the black dress over her head, adjusting the only strap it had diagonally over the opposite shoulder. The dress hugged her curves like a second skin, accenting her full breasts and the slight flare of her hips and backside. Gathering her hair she tugged it on top of her head once more. There was no time for curling, so she just arranged it and secured it with pins. She tugged strands down around her long neck and her face. The wisps curled perfectly.

She glanced at the mirror and was satisfied at her look. Her complexion was soft and creamy, so she rarely had to wear any makeup. She used her fingers to rub away any smudges of mascara, and then she applied a deep matte red lip color to her full lips.

She retrieved her shoes from the closet and made her way back out to her living room. Stopping in the doorway, she leaned down and tugged on a shoe. Then, to keep her balance, she clutched the doorframe while tugging on the other. When she looked up, she was staring into not only a pair of dark brown eyes but a glittering pair of blue ones as well.

“TRAVIS??!!” she squealed as she hurried across the room and launched herself into his outstretched arms. He jerked her roughly against his hard frame and lifted her from the floor. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, clinging to him as if he were a life raft. Taking a deep breath, she allowed his heady scent to fill her up. The emptiness she’d been feeling earlier was gone.

He spun her around, holding her in an embrace that only he could. He pressed his slightly stubble-covered cheek against hers as he held her tightly. “Boy, you’re a sight for sore eyes, Tiger,” he said against her ear as he gently placed her back on her feet. He took a step back and openly stared at her.

“Wow!” he said, his beautiful blue eyes growing wide.

She flushed under his gaze, feeling exposed all of a sudden. Her nipples strained against the fabric of her bra, and she was thankful for the extra padding and support, because that was the last thing she needed to happen.

Trying to distract herself from the heat rising through her limbs, she turned and looked at Kyle, who was standing beside them. “I thought he was meeting us there?”

“It was a little surprise,” he said sheepishly as he tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

“And what a surprise it is.” She took a step back and looked at them, frowning.

“I think I’m going to change. I feel way over dressed.” Travis was wearing a light blue t-shirt that hugged his massive shoulders and chest like a second skin. Not only did it hug him beautifully, but it made his eyes that much brighter. The front of the shirt was tucked behind the simple buckle of his belt. His wore a pair of faded jeans with holes strategically placed around the thighs and the knees. On his feet were his trademark black leather biker boots with the silver buckles on the sides.

“Don’t,” both of them said in unison.

“Tiger, you look ravishing,” Travis said as he tucked his bottom lip between his teeth and slowly moved his eyes up her body from head to toe once more. It was a look she’d seen him give women hundreds of thousands of times, but never once since knowing them had that look been directed at her. The pit of her stomach fluttered, and she had to shift to appease the sudden ache that was developing between her legs.

“Yeah, Lils, you’re stunning,” Kyle agreed. When she moved her eyes from Travis to Kyle her breath hitched. The hungry look in his brown eyes stole her breath. What in the hell was happening?