Chapter Fifteen

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Gracie~

My phone buzzed for the tenth time in the last hour and I let out an irritated breath that made my hair sway from the gust of air.

I swear to God Emmitt, I'm your tutor not your slave, if you've got a deadline that you forgot about I'm not on call 24/7. I actually have shit to do.

Snatching my phone from my bag, I saw three text messages from Emmitt, one from Maggie, one from Amanda and one from...Wes?

I had completely forgotten that he had put his number in my phone the night we met, just in case I needed him when I had gone to pick up Colt. I could barely control my own laughter as I read the name he'd saved in my phone that read "Wes the assassin".

Answering his text immediately, I felt an uncontrollable grin lift the corner of my mouth and spread across my face. It was the first time that I had had any contact with Wes in over a week and as much as I hated to admit it, just seeing his name, knowing he was at a party, but was choosing to check in on me flooded my stomach with butterflies.

I knew Wes, Chad and Blake were having people over tonight because Maggie and Amanda had begged me to come with them. Their invitations were tempting, but not enough for me to abandon my research paper. However a direct invite from Wes seemed to appeal to me, making me feel like a giddy teenager as I texted back and forth with him.

Don't be stupid Gracie, you've got a ton left to do and he's only inviting you to get in your pants. That's what he does. Maybe there are slim pickings at the party so he's sweeping his contacts looking for someone to fill the void.

Putting my phone away I turned my attention back down to my laptop and typed a few lines before my fingers stalled on the keys.

Screw it.

I shut my computer and stood with a smile on my face, packing up my things and hoisting my bag over my shoulder.

It's 9:30pm. I deserve a break. And I'm going to see Amanda and Maggie...not Wes.

I nodded my head with my internal pep talk, knowing that it wasn't true, but trying not to admit to myself how badly I wanted to see Wes. I knew he was a player, a fuckboy of epic proportions, but I wanted to see him nonetheless. Maybe I was an idiot or maybe I was a glutton for punishment - either way I found myself drawn to that house like a moth to a flame.

It took me only a minute or two to reach Wes' house. They lived so close to campus it was just a few blocks away which made the decision to drop by even easier.

Pushing through the crowded hall, I made my way toward the kitchen and heard Maggie squeal with excitement as soon as she saw me.

"I knew you couldn't stay away!" Maggie said, jumping up from the couch and grabbing a cup for me in the kitchen as she filled it with some kind of punch.

"Just one, I'm not staying long."

"Come on Gracie, you've gotta have a little fun," Maggie whined.

"I'm here aren't I?" I said with a sarcastic smile.

"Okay fine, I'll take what I can get. Mandy just got here too."

The house was crowded with people, but I scored a seat on the couch with a perfect view of the beer pong table. Trying to stay out of the way, I slid my sandals off and pulled my feet into the chair with me, with Amanda taking a seat on the arm of the couch next to me.

"Quit it." Amanda said flatly over her shoulder.

"Quit what?"

"Quit looking for him." Amanda said, looking down at me with a knowing half smile.

I scoffed at her words and took a sip of the punch in my cup, but allowed my eyes to continue to wander, scanning the room for the exact person Amanda had told me not to look for.

Where are you Wes?

My eyes danced around the room as I causally glanced in all directions until I finally saw him standing in the doorway of the guest room down the hall and he wasn't alone - far from it.

Trisha was adjusting her dress with her jacket draped over her arm and lipstick smeared across her face as she left Wes in the room and made her way toward her friends. My eyes tracked her movement as she whispered in their ears and urged them to leave, having obviously just received what she came there for.

I'm such an idiot.

I shook my head in disbelief of how naive I had just been when Wes entered my peripheral vision. He was sneaking across the living room as if he had the ability to go anywhere unnoticed and looked like he had seen a ghost once his eyes settled onto mine.

To be honest, I couldn't be mad at the guy, it's who he was and I couldn't expect anything else from him. He hadn't led me on or made me believe there was anything between us other than friendship and if I allowed myself to develop feelings for him, no matter how small the might be, that was on me - not him.

I gave him a smirk, trying to hide my disappointment and took notice of his mussed hair and unfastened belt as I walked over to him.

"Having a good night so far?" I joked, loving the way he squirmed beneath my gaze.

"I uh...that was...We...I didn't..."

Good lord, Trisha must have been a good lay if he completely lost his ability to speak.

"That good huh?" I said playfully, taking a sip of my drink.

"No! It wasn't...we...I um."

Why is he so flustered?

"So it wasn't good?" I asked, suddenly feeling sorry for the guy.

"No it just wasn't...It wasn't anything. Nothing happened."

Yeah well that nothing seemed to smear lipstick on your face and unhinge your belt. I'm not buying what you're selling, Wes.

I cleared my throat and motioned with my head down toward his unfastened belt, before lifting my eyes back up to meet his with a wide grin on my face.

His hands immediately shot down toward his belt, fumbling with the leather and metal, trying to fasten it as quickly as possible.

"Nothing happened in there." He repeated.

Wes, You can fuck whoever you want. It's your M.O., I get it.

"You don't owe me an explanation Wes...and um you've got some lipstick right here." I said with a smile, pointing to the right side of my own mouth to show him that he'd missed a spot.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, but I had seen enough and was going to let him get back to prowling for women, making it abundantly clear that I wasn't interested in becoming a notch on his bedpost.

"Hate to say I told you so," Amanda said, pouring the rest of her full drink into my dwindling cup and giving me a sympathetic smile.

"We're just friends, Mandy," I said, disliking saying the words that I knew to be true, but wished weren't.

"Yeah well I think your friend is trying to get your attention." Amanda said, narrowing her eyes at Wes who had just resurfaced from his bathroom with a clean face.

As I turned my head, I saw an expression on Wes' face that I hadn't seen before. I'd seen him look cocky, arrogant, angry, tough, and sexy as all hell, but this look was new... it was guilt?

"Gracie, can I talk to you?" Wes asked in a tone I hadn't heard before.

"Nope, she's busy." Amanda answered on my behalf without taking her eyes of the beer pong game that Maggie was playing.

Wes' lips were pressed into a hard line that barely finched into an unauthentic smile at Mandy's words as if he were trying to control his temper.

"I was asking Gracie." Wes' voice was much lower and serious as he spoke.

"Yeah? Well Gracie..." Amanda jumped from her seated position as if she were going to yell and make a scene on my behalf. I had to intervene and stepped between them, putting my hands out in either direction.

"Woah, jeez! Gracie has her own voice and can speak for herself, okay?" I said with a slight laugh at the protective nature of my best friend.

I looked up at Wes' pleading eyes as he stared down at me, giving me his full attention.

"Let's go in the kitchen,"  I offered, secretly loving the way his face lit up once I agreed.

He led the way into the kitchen, stopping at the kitchen table and moving cups and beer bottles out of the way as he pulled two chairs to one side, right next to each other.

What on earth does he need to talk to me about?

Once we had settled into the chairs, I couldn't help but smile at how nervous he seemed. It was cute and something I hadn't witnessed from him before. Confidence had never seemed to be a problem for Wes, but the guy in front of me seemed to be rehearsing lines inside his head.

"Listen Gracie, nothing happened between Trisha and I just now. I swear." He said desperately which took me off guard.

I gave him a reassuring smile and my shoulders bounced with laughter as I spoke.

"It's really okay, You don't owe me an explanation. I don't care who you sleep with. I'm not a cockblock Wes. We're just friends and I know that's why you invited me here." I said, trying to conceal my disappointment.

"But that's just it, I didn't sleep with her and I do owe you an explanation. I know it looked bad, but nothing happened. We started to, but she just wasn't...she wasn't..."

"Good enough?" I sassed, finishing his sentence for him.

"In so many words, yeah." he confirmed.

His confession made me toss my head back and laugh, confirming all of my suspicions and opinions about his playboy antics.

"Oh Wes, you are a snob and a half. Trisha is gorgeous."

"She's pretty, but she's not...I mean she's just not...."

He seemed to be choking on his words, but if he was trying to trash talk another woman's appearance I wasn't here for it and wanted to hurry the conversation along.

"She's not what, Wes?" I asked flatly.

"She's not...you."

His words dissolved my sarcastic smile instantly, making my breath catch in my throat in disbelief.

Did Wes, the playboy extraordinaire, just admit that he hadn't been able to sleep with another woman because she wasn't me...because he had wished she was me?

I swallowed hard at his admission and a part of me was flattered, smitten with the attention, but the bottom line was I needed stability in my life, not a fuckboy.

"I...I'm flattered, Wes. But I'm not looking for a fuck buddy or whatever you and Trisha were. Friendship is all I can offer you right now." I said meekly, trying to sound more convincing than I felt.

"I can do friendship," Wes said eagerly.

I raised a brow at him, sending him knowing smirk that seemed to put a smile on his face...his gorgeously chiseled face.

"I'm serious, I can do friendship. Just give me a chance. You make the rules and I'll follow them." He said, practically begging.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I lifted my hand and extended my pinky in his direction.

"Pinky promise then." I playfully challenged.

Wes let out a laugh that started deep in his chest, but did exactly as I had asked, keeping his word.

"I pinky promise, just friends." he said in a deliciously deep voice that made me want to take back my own rules for a second or two.

You're playing with fire Gracie...

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