The Dating Game

EIGHTEEN

I glance over the words, beginning to recognize them as the same words I had read over yesterday. I refresh my mind on the Milky Way and all of its interesting facts as I continue to read over his shoulder, though this is much less interesting than reading the book myself.

He still hasn't even spared me a single glance since I walked in here, and as much as I hate to say it, we have some business to take care of. Tasks to be crossed off of the to-do list. Things need to start moving if we still want to win this ridiculous game.

"Chase," I say, placing my hand in front of the inner binding of the book, blocking the words on both pages.

"Michelle, what's the big deal?" he complains, finally taking a moment to rip his eyes away from the words on the page and look at me instead. For a few seconds, he doesn't say anything. He just keeps his widened eyes focused on me before blinking them away with a smile.

"It's Thursday," I remind him when he regains focus on the situation.

But he looks confused. "And?"

"You're seriously making me say it?" A groan escapes my lips as I prepare myself to speak the weirdest sentence I will probably say in my entire life. "Chase, you've barely touched me this week and there's only today and tomorrow to get the rest of our touching done."

His first response is to let out a stupid chuckle. I want to shove him away for being an asshole and laughing at my obvious embarrassment, but then he actually speaks.

"Who are you and what have you done with Michelle?" he teases.

"Ugh, stop, I'm serious."

"Okay, but what are you saying?" he asks. Then I notice heat rising to his cheeks slowly. "I mean, what can... I do?"

My mouth begs to drop open at his genuine question. Is Chase Matthews hesitating? The Chase Matthews that was basically begging for me to kiss him after barely even talking to him? The Chase Matthews that always takes the initiative?

Although, it's a fairly valid question. I haven't exactly been the most open to his affection in the past couple of weeks, so I can understand his confusion. I guess it is kind of hard to talk about what's acceptable and what's off-limits—not until we actually get there.

So I guess I know what the next step is.

"Well" I begin to say, knowing damn well I'll probably regret this decision later. "I know one way we can find out."

Chase's eyes grow wider than I've ever seen them as he stares at me in shock. "Like, seriously?"

I roll my eyes. "Yes, seriously. I don't know why it matters since nobody's stalking the classrooms to make sure we're touching each other, but I want to win and I want to do it without cheating. So let's do this."

Before he says another word, he smiles and shakes his head so slowly it almost doesn't look like it's moving. Then he places both of his hands on my waist as the first step. We make direct eye contact and when his eyebrows prompt a new question for me, I nod my head.

That's his cue to go in for the kiss.

I allow it willingly, kissing him back with a new, calm energy brewing between us. His hands stay glued to my waist as I snake mine up his chest and rest them at the back of his neck, pulling him closer into the kiss. Our breaths struggle to keep up with the kiss as it continues to intensify, and soon we're both gasping for air.

That's when one of Chase's hands moves from my waist and grabs the bottom of my chair to drag me closer to him. It surprises me at first, but my entire conscience is focused on this kiss right now, so it's difficult to think about anything else.

Suddenly, he starts to trail his hands from my waist down to my thighs, caressing me slowly and gently with the warmth of his hands. It brings a new sensation to me, something I'm usually completely unfamiliar with when it comes to Chase—attraction. His hands on my thighs like this, it's enough to make me think he's the sexiest man on Earth right now. Even when he slyly slips his tongue into the kiss without warning.

Normally, I'd probably push him off after feeling his tongue in my mouth, but honestly, it's exactly what this kind of kiss needs. Some more excitement. Plus, I'd be lying if I said I'm not enjoying it right now.

Slowly, as the kiss continues to become more intimate, Chase's hands begin to move from the tops of my thighs to the bottoms before he picks me up from my legs and shifts my body to sit on the desk instead. Damn, Matthews. I don't remember thinking that move was hot at all when he did it to me in my kitchen, but now—I'm practically melting because of it.

He repositions his hands at the base of my back, almost grazing a bit lower but not quite. They sit just at the right spot; the spot where I can't get mad at him for touching my ass since he's technically not touching it. Smart boy, I suppose. But then his hands move from my back to slipping just slightly inside my sweater and I gasp.

Why did I gasp?

And why did he stop because of it?

"Did I do something wrong?" he asks on the verge of panic. I just stare at him in confused frustration, wanting nothing more than to shut him up and kiss him again. So, of course, that's exactly what I do.

Instead of answering his stupid question, I impulsively rip off my sweater and toss it on the floor before grabbing his face and pulling him back in. He presses his hands against the skin of my back as he returns the kiss but then he pulls away.

"Michelle, are there-"

"No, Chase," I complain through my teeth, pulling him into a string of kisses in between words. "No windows. Keep going."

He continues without another question, his hands roaming much further than my back. Now, they make their way up to the back of my neck, pulling me impossibly closer to him. And then they slip down my collarbones as he leaves three hungry kisses on my neck, making my heart pound inside of my chest. My only reaction to my racing heartbeat is to fumble with the hem of his shirt, to which he diligently responds by tearing it off and revealing the upper body of a real athlete. And then, as if things can't get any more heated, his hands finally find my chest, grazing gently over my bra.

The contact alone is shocking enough to make a brand new sound erupt from my mouth. And when it happens, I freeze.

And then the bell rings.

I slowly drag my eyes up to meet Chase's, only to see the most ravenous glint shining in each of them. I glance back down at his chest, and then his abs, and then even lower before I feel my cheeks start to heat up. I was so close to doing more than just kissing Chase Matthews for a moment there.

This can never happen again.