CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Sabrina
Crosby and I sat cuddled under a blanket on the sofa in the psych building—our new favorite spot. The tablet we’d propped up on the table in front of us displayed the tightly-packed crowd in Time’s Square anxiously awaiting the new year just minutes away. People wore elaborate hats and glasses and were bundled up for the frigid twenty-degree weather outside. I’d take the warmth of Crosby’s body any day.
Four days had passed since our night on the same sofa. And Crosby remained the same. Fun. Considerate. Kind. Had it been me showing up on campus or the hot sex we’d been having multiple times a day that caused the transformation? I liked to believe I brought out the best in him, because I’d definitely seen him at his worst.
Crosby pulled me closer into him. “What are you thinking?”
“Just how crazy life can be.”
“Agreed.”
The people on the screen grew more excited over the impending ball drop, kissing for the camera or waving to family members back home.
“Did you have a lot of girlfriends back in Texas?”
Crosby snickered. “Where’d that come from?”
“Just wondering.”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t call them girlfriends.”
“So, no one special?”
“You asking if you’re my girlfriend?”
“What? No. I was just curious what you were like?”
He pulled in a breath then released it slowly, saying nothing.
Had bringing up the past ruined the mood? Set him on edge? Pissed him off? Damage control. “I’ll tell you what I picture. I picture you strutting across campus with a hoard of girls following you around hoping for a mere glance from your pretty blue eyes.”
He laughed. “Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t strut.”
“Fine. Saunter. You sauntered across campus.” I laughed. “I also picture all the other guys on campus wanting to be you. You know, bumping your fist when you passed them in the hallways and calling you Bro whenever you entered a room in hopes that you’d wanna grab a beer or chill with them at their frat.”
“They certainly didn’t wanna tie me to a tree.”
My heart clenched at the reminder of all the life changes he’d endured in such a short period of time. “I’m sorry it sucks that much for you here.”
He turned his head and looked me in the eyes. “It doesn’t suck so much anymore.”
His sexy tone of voice mixed with the implied meaning of his words brought ripples between my thighs. And the searing look in his eyes told me what he wanted. What I wanted. But I needed to distract him if we were going to see the countdown and ring in the new year together. “So, you planning on making any New Year’s resolutions?”
The sexy way he chewed on his bottom lip was a true testament to the consideration he gave my question. My eyes zeroed in on his teeth worrying his lip, knowing exactly what that lip tasted like. What those teeth felt like when they nipped at my skin. “I’m not sure. You?”
I tilted my head, considering the upcoming year and all I planned to accomplish. “I think I’m gonna declare a major.”
“Pre-law?”
I smiled. “How’d you know?”
“You are the most stubborn and determined girl I’ve ever met.”
I laughed. “And you love it.”
“I don’t hate it, that’s for sure.”
My stomach fluttered at the assurance in his tone. “I know a resolution for you.”
He arched a brow. “You’re making my resolutions for me now?”
I dislodged myself from his arm and climbed into his lap, straddling him so I could look him in the eyes. “I think you need to spend all your free time making me happy.”
His head fell back as a laugh tumbled out of him. “Oh, that’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“And how am I gonna do that?”
I leaned forward and pressed my mouth to his. The aftertaste of hot cocoa and the sound of the countdown on the television welcomed us into the new year as we spent the remainder of the night in each other’s arms.
If that was an indication of what the new year would be like, the future looked increasingly bright for both of us.