Catching Mallory: Wildcat Graduates Read online

  It’s good to see she always remembers to call when she’s done with work. I’d hate for something to happen to her and no one be aware of where she is or is supposed to be back. It must be my dad’s military background rubbing off on me. It’s always been drilled into us to keep someone advised of our whereabouts for our own safety, so we’ve just gotten into the habit of letting people know where we are and when we plan on being home. My sister, Gianna Grey, more lovingly called GiGi, was lectured on it more than I was, and that’s nothing to joke about.

  Mallory’s job isn’t far from campus and before I know it, my phone is ringing. It’s her. She’s decided to call instead of the usual ‘I’m home’ text, making me glad I’m alone to take her call. Something about the way her voice makes vibrations over the phone makes my dick take notice. Apparently, he also loves the way she sounds so sexy when speaking into the receiver.

  “Hey,” I answer, shifting my cell over my ear so I can sit up against my pillow.

  “Hey to you. I’m home, of course,” she greets me, a grin apparent in her voice.

  “You’d better be. I’d hate to discover you’re lying to me just to avoid my escorting you home.”

  “Who knows? Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad, having someone guarding my body on the way home at night.” She giggles, unaware of how much guarding her body appeals to me, especially at night. Damn, my boxers are getting a little too tight thinking about it. What the hell?

  “Don’t push your luck. Shouldn’t you be ready to go to sleep by now? You got up early to run with me this morning.” She doesn’t run with me all of the time, but I’ve really come to enjoy having someone to run with. We don’t exactly talk while we’re out, but having someone there with me, even in companionable silence, is satisfying in a way I never expected. She doesn’t even mind watching ballgames with me and the guys on television when we’re supposed to be studying for our computer classes. Like I said before, she’s perfect, yet unattainable.

  “I’m not tired yet. I guess I still haven’t calmed down from work. We were busy tonight. What did you do?” I can hear her rustling around with her clothes, and suspect she’s changing out of her uniform. Why can’t she be doing that over here? Oh, yeah, Boyfriend.

  “Nothing much, just enjoying Steven being gone and having the room to myself.”

  “That sounds amazing. It seems my roommate, Alexis, never leaves, and she’s a moody wench on top of that. She even left me a warning note on the door not to wake her up! Gah, she’s a real piece of work.” She moans into the phone and I hear a door slam in the distance.

  “Where the hell are you? I thought you said you were home already,” I question her accusingly, not sure if I should yell at her more or forget about the whole thing.

  “I am home,” she whispers, “but I’m sitting out in the hallway by my door. I barely made it inside before I was being lectured for being too loud when I was even quieter than I normally am. You’d think she was the damn Princess and the Pea.” I laugh hard at the image that creates in my mind. It’s dead on accurate. Alexis is nothing but a spoiled rich girl who has a superiority complex. She truly grates on my nerves.

  “Don’t let her boss you around. It’s your room, too.”

  “I know, but I just don’t want to do anything that will set her off. There are still two and a half months left of school, and we will have to share a room until then.”

  “Grab your stuff and come over to my room.”

  “It’s past midnight, Gavin. I can’t get in now,” she argues with me.

  “I know. Come to the window. I’ll let you in. You can sleep in Steven’s bed if you want. He won’t mind, and I know his sheets aren’t infested with anything. You won’t have to put up with Alexis and her bullshit if you’re over here with me.” I know she’s going to try and make excuses, but I hope her roommate’s snotty attitude will work in my favor.

  “But I have to work in the morning,” she protests, having no effect on me.

  “Go get your clothes and come over. You can leave early and no one will care, so quit arguing. I’ll expect you in fifteen minutes.”

  I hang up before she can say anything back to me and get out of bed, tossing the phone on it as I stand. I grab a sweatshirt and put on some shoes and a ball hat. Picking up my phone and keys, I then open my window and leave the room.

  Meeting her outside my dorm, I help her through the window and walk to my grey Dodge Challenger. Grabbing my gym bag from the trunk, I return to the dorm, my gym bag an excuse for only being gone a few minutes. As usual, the resident assistant on duty never even looks my way either time I walk through the lobby.

  Letting myself in, I find Mallory already in pajamas and watching television. “Comfy already, I see.” Laughing at her grin, I toe off my shoes and toss my keys and cell onto my desk, right beside hers.

  “Like you’d expect anything less,” she retorts, her body stretched out, stomach down, along my bed. Her shirt is riding up her back, and her pajama shorts, a lot shorter than I anticipated, are shoving her long, silky legs right in my face. Damn, I need to get better control of myself, or she might just get more than she bargained for.

  “Whatever. Move over and make room for me,” I say, pulling the sweatshirt up over my head and draping it over the desk chair. I notice Mallory staring at the Superman tattoo I have on my chest, and when I turn it toward her for better inspection, she jerks her head away in an attempt to avoid my eyes. She’s so cute when she pretends she isn’t ogling me.

  Climbing into bed leaves us very close together, since the bed sits next to the wall. Mallory has taken control over the remote, and for once, I don’t mind relinquishing it to someone, to her. She’s found some sort of horror movie, and I’m quite surprised she chose it. I never pegged her for a horror buff.

  She isn’t really scared at all as we watch the movie, and we fall into an easy conversation with each other. We talk about our siblings and families, except for when the music startles her, causing her to jump and cling to my side. Damn, every touch of her hand on my bare chest sends fire coursing through my body, and straight to my dick. He’s more than eager to feel her hands all over him, and it’s almost become impossible to hide.

  Final credits play, and her long, frequent yawns make it clear that she’s finally calmed down enough to sleep. Me? I’m the complete opposite. Totally. Wide. Awake.

  “You ready to sleep, yet?”

  I turn toward her and our faces are closer than anticipated. Our noses are so close I can feel the heat emanating from it against mine. Our eyes meet, and alI I want to do is crash her lips to mine, draw her to lay on top of me, and devour her mouth as I grab onto her hair.

  Instead, we continue to stare at one another, our breaths becoming faster. Her eyes slowly close and she takes a deep breath, only to release it slowly. I close my eyes as well, for a few moments, before turning the television off and getting up to lock the door. If I hadn’t moved away from her, I would have made her forget all about that prissy-pants boyfriend of hers, and that’s a fact.

  “Oh, do you need to use the bathroom before we go to bed? Sounds like everyone is pretty much asleep by now.”

  “Yeah, I’d probably better go. Is it clear?” She climbs off the bed, and I escort her down to the floor’s bathroom. The hall is quiet and no one uses the showers this late, so we have no trouble making it there and back.

  “Where do you want to sleep, his bed or mine? I’ll sleep in his if you want mine. He won’t care.”

  “I don’t feel comfortable sleeping in his, but I can’t kick you out of yours. We can share, unless you kick like a mule.” She must notice the uncertainty I’m feeling, and continues, “Besides, it’s not like I haven’t fallen asleep in your bed before when we were watching a game or movie.”

  She scoots over towards the wall to make room for me, and forgetting all of my reservations about sleeping together, I climb in beside her. Her back is to the wall, and her hands are tucked under her face as she lays o
n her side looking at me. I’m lying on my back, an arm behind my head, when she begins to speak.

  “Thanks for letting me crash over here tonight. It’s nice being able to hang out and not worry about setting Alexis off. Even during the day she’s not much better. I’m surprised she has as many friends as she does with her attitude.”

  My free arm reaches over and moves a lock of hair from her cheek to tuck behind her ear. Her chocolate brown hair is softer than I imagined it to be, and I’m tempted to run my fingers through it as I pull her mouth to mine. “You can always crash over here if you need to. I’m not letting you suffer just because your roommate is a bitch.” I can see her smile faintly with the light from the hall that filters in under the door jam.

  “Yeah, she is, but I don’t want to intrude over here all the time. Steven will get tired of me after too long.”

  “Steven wouldn’t like you being treated like that by her, either. He thinks you’re fun to have around,” I pause and look at the beauty before me. “I like having you here, too,” I say quieter than before.

  “Thanks.” Her voice is softer now, and I know she is close to sleep.

  Unable to close my eyes and fall asleep, I look at her lying beside me and take in her scent. It’s lightly floral, a fragrance I can’t quite place, and a tiny bit fruity at the same time. How can Keaton not want to be with and talk to her as much as possible? I know he has been busy with football games and practices, but now he should have more time for her. I’m not sure I would be as patient with my girlfriend as she is with Keaton. I couldn’t keep away from her that much if we were that close to each other. I would need to talk to her often, letting let her support me the same way I would support her. I swear, if he hurts her…

  I must have looked at her for an hour before I finally was able to sleep. Right before I closed my eyes for the last time, Mallory leans into me, places her hand across my waist and her leg on top of mine, and moves her head to the crook of my arm.

  “Gavin,” she grumbles in her sleep and makes my body freeze for a moment before releasing the breath I was holding. Hearing her say my name like that, breathless and throaty, is sexier than hearing it over the phone.

  Feeling her at my side, clinging to my body, is amazing. So much so, that I wrap my arms around her in order to hold her as close as possible. That is how I fall asleep, and the same way I find us when my alarm wakes me the next morning.

  I turn the alarm off before it wakes her up completely, and brush the hair away from her scrunched up face. “Five more minutes,” she whines and buries her head into my shoulder a little more, making me laugh to myself. She’s so cute in the morning when she’s not fully awake.

  “Okay,” I whisper into her hair, and continue to watch her as she lies draped across me.

  Pressing my lips to her hair, I inhale deeply and let her scent wash over my senses. I’ve never felt so content to just lie here with someone. None of the girls I’ve dated have ever made me want to be this close to them. I’m not innocent by any means, but having any sort of relationship that included something like this has never happened to me before, and it’s not exactly happening now because she isn’t really mine. Sometimes I wish it wasn’t ingrained in me to always be a gentleman. If it weren’t, I’d have no problems taking her from him and keeping her all to myself, where she’s meant to be.

  “Wake up, M&M. Time to get you out of here before everyone else wakes up.” She begins to stir and the stretching of her body presses it further into mine, slowly torturing me.

  “Mmmm, but I was sleeping so good. She always wakes me up too early with her twenty million alarms going off before dawn.” She yawns one more time and opens her eyes to look up at me. “Sorry I laid all over you. I hope I wasn’t hogging the bed.”

  “You could never do that. We were both fast asleep anyway,” I reassure her, leaving out how I pulled her closer to me of my own accord, needing to hold her body against mine.

  She gives me a smile and I return it before leaning toward her. “Come on, sleepy head. Let’s get you up and ready to go. I’ll swing by in an hour and walk you to breakfast. We’ve got warm-ups and a meeting before I have to get ready for the game today.

  “Ugh, okay, but your bed really is too comfortable. I could have slept for at least another five hours.”

  I stand up and stretch out my back before helping Mallory out of my bed. She takes the hand I offer and I pull her to her feet. Our bodies are close once again, and I’m positive she feels the attraction between us, just like I do. Still holding my hand, she bites her lip and we stare at each other. What I wouldn’t give to have her forget all about anyone else and wrap her arms around my neck.

  “Thanks for letting me crash here last night,” she says, uncharacteristically shy. Wonder what that’s all about?

  “Anytime, okay? Do you want me to walk you back to your dorm? It’s still kind of dark outside.” I really don’t like her walking by herself, but it’s a fairly clear, straight shot from here to there, so it should be safe enough.

  “Nah, I’ll just have a little quick jog over there to finish waking up. I’ll have a quick shower to get ready for work before breakfast. Text me when you’re downstairs,” she questions and I nod before walking over to the window and looking to see if there is any activity outside we should watch for.

  She throws on her sweatpants and t-shirt over her pajamas, and gathers up her bag and cell. I can feel her standing behind me before she asks, “Is there anyone out and about yet?”

  “Nope, all is quiet. You ready?” I turn toward her, moving away from the window to give her enough room to climb out.

  “Yeah,” she yawns into her hand, and I laugh at her.

  “You sound ready. I hope that jog wakes you up better than I did.” She slaps me on the shoulder and moves in front of the window.

  “It’s all your fault. Your bed was so comfy, it sucked me right in as soon as I laid down on it.” She places her bag on the ground outside, and starts climbing through the inward opened window. Whoever designed these windows really made it easy to go in and out of them. No wonder Noel and Cade have the girls over there all the time.

  “Whatever,” I reply, my hands moving to her waist to steady her as she continues out the window.

  Once she is completely outside, she throws her duffle over her shoulder and leans down to look at me through the open window near the floor. “See ya later, Knight.” Mallory winks then turns to jog back to her dorm. Like the complete hopeless fool I seem to be around her, I watch her jog away until I can no longer see where she is. Closing the window and blinds, I grab my things and head for the shower, wondering what the hell is going on with me and Mallory.

  The guys and I had a longer ball practice this afternoon than normal since break begins the day after tomorrow. Some people have already left, choosing to skip out on their last classes for the week. It’s nearly eight o’clock when we make our way to the dining hall to eat. Noel is lucky he broke his arm a few weeks ago because Coach has really been working us hard this week since we will be gone next week.

  Sitting down at the table, I turn to Cade and Noel, “Where are the girls, tonight?”

  “They already ate and went back to their dorm to study,” Noel replies and takes a drink of his water.

  “Yeah, and I think they said Mallory had to work again tonight,” Cade acknowledges, while our teammates, Dillon, Roderick, and Tavon fill the remaining seats at our table, and join in the conversation.

  “Can you believe how much Coach is making us practice this week? Between games and practices, my ass is tired,” Roderick says in between bites of his lasagna.

  “I hear that,” Tavon replies, nodding his head in agreement. “I’m beginning to hear him yelling at me to run faster in my sleep. You’re lucky you broke that arm, Daniels,” he turns to Noel and continues, “Your arms would be killing you, too.”

  “Maybe, but I haven’t exactly been warming the bench, ya know. He makes me work, too.” Noel
laughs and we laugh with him.

  “Still, you’ve gotten off lucky, and you know it!” Tavon raises his eyebrow back at Noel, only making him laugh harder.

  “Whatever. You’re just jealous I can still throw better than you.”

  Once we’ve all stopped laughing at Tavon, we begin talking about the upcoming break and where everyone is going when Mallory walks up to the table.

  “All us cool people are going to Galveston,” she greets the guys then sits down beside me, “Except for Knight here.” She points her thumb at me and grins, “He gets to go back home and wish he were there with us on the beach.” Everyone laughs at that, but I continue to eat my food. I hate this subject. I hate her going to be with that jerk of a boyfriend.

  “You afraid to swim,” Roderick challenges, throwing his straw wrapper at my tray and misses.

  “Maybe Noel needs to give you throwing lessons, too,” I throw back at him.

  “A-ha! You’re not denying it, so it’s gotta be true,” he exclaims, everyone laughing harder than before.

  “I’ve seen Gavin swim,” Dillon interjects, “but he does suck at it though.” The laughter continues until Mallory is unable to breathe.

  “Stop, please. I can’t laugh anymore. Can’t...breathe,” she manages to say in between the gasps for air she takes.

  “Whatever. It’s not like you have any big plans either, Dillon. Didn’t you say you were going back home to Dallas and ‘not anywhere fun’? Did I hear that right,” I ask, daring him to say otherwise.

  “I heard him. Sounded like a little girl whining about losing her baby doll,” Cade chimes in, making Mal almost stop breathing completely, as she hits me on the leg.

  “Please...No...More,” she wheezes.

  Patting her on the back, I look at the guys. “We’d better stop before she actually stops breathing this time.” Leaning towards her, I study her red face as she slowly catches her breath. “You gonna be okay, there?”

  “Holy shit, I forgot how y’all can be when you’re all together,” she pauses and takes another deep breath. “You six are gonna be the death of me one of these days.”