The Only Exception

CHAPTER 6

On Tuesday I got away with not seeing Trey all day. He wasn’t in either of my classes, and luckily, he didn’t show up at work. But Wednesday was a different story.

“I think we should put all these rumors to rest.” Trey didn’t even say hi. He just plopped down at the desk next to mine and leaned over it.

“The rumors about you liking men?” I asked, fluttering my eyelashes, innocently.

“That’s slander, Miss Remy,” he said, with a hint of a smile.

“You said you wanted to put some rumors to rest.” I smirked in return. I could already hear groaning from the students behind us, but I didn’t care. They could say whatever they wanted at that point. I had to prove that we weren’t together.

“I’m saying that we should put the rumors about us dating to rest and put a plan into action. I think me taking you to dinner is in order.”

I groaned. “We aren’t dating, and we never will.”

I couldn’t believe that it was actually considered a rumor now that we were together. By the way the other people in class constantly whispered about us, it shouldn’t have been that big of a surprise.

“Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me on this project. So, if you aren’t going to date me, then you at least owe me a study session tonight, so we can figure out where to go with our paper and speeches.”

Unfortunately, he was right about the project. If he would have just kept his cocky mouth shut, I wouldn’t have fed into his banter, and I wouldn’t have had to work with him. But now I was stuck. “Fine. We can meet up tonight.”

“My place?” He raised his eyebrows. “I’ll order in.”

I shook my head. “No, you can come over to my place if you’re going to make it difficult.”

“Is your roommate going to be there?”

I caught his gaze. He was staring at me so intently that I could get lost in his eyes. Every girl says that a guy has beautiful eyes, but Trey really did. They were like the color of jungle grass mixed with the Emerald Palace from Wizard of Oz. I could have easily been hypnotized by his eyes and had to quickly look down at my phone. “I’ll text her and see when she’s out, then you can come over around then. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect. I can’t wait.”

And I hated to admit it; the butterflies in my stomach couldn’t wait either.

***

Sam had a night class on Wednesday nights from six to nine, so Trey agreed to come over at six. I didn’t want to seem anxious, but every minute that Sam was in the apartment I was waiting for her to leave because that meant it was closer to when Trey would be over. I was probably crazy to have him alone in my apartment, but just for insurance I kept my mace close by. I didn’t think I’d actually have to use it on him, but one could never be too careful. I learned that one the hard way at Taylor. Some guys could turn on you in an instant. Guys who you thought were your friends, but only thought of you as a piece of ass.

Even though we had just moved in, I still cleaned the apartment again, vacuuming every square inch and dusting everything I could see. I didn’t want him to think I was unkempt and there was still the lingering scent of pot, so that had to go. When Sam finally left, I plopped down on the couch, pulling out my laptop, syllabus, and the few print-outs I had regarding contraception legislation in Illinois. I was sure that Trey had his own arsenal of knowledge, but I had to be prepared.

At six on the dot there was a knock on the front door. I jumped up as if I’d just seen a ghost. “Pull yourself together, Monica, this is just a study session,” I whispered to myself and finally walked to the front door.

Trey was leaning on the door frame when I opened it. He wore his usual dress shirt and dress pants. I had to hide my disappointment that I hoped he would actually change into something less professional looking, but it seemed to be his uniform, and damn, could he pull off the dress clothes. Usually once classes were done I changed into my pajama pants, and even though I knew Trey was coming, I decided I didn’t need to make an exception for him.

“Good to see you dressed up for me,” he joked, walking past me into the kitchen.

I shut the door behind us and followed him. “I hope you weren’t expecting pearls and an apron.”

Trey shook his head, walking into the living room and setting his laptop bag on the chair. “It’s really weird, being in your apartment. It looks the same as mine except with different furniture.”

I raised an eyebrow, following him into the living room. “How do you have different furniture, if this is what comes standard?”

“I brought my own from home and put the rest in storage. I’d rather be comfortable if I’m going to be living here for the next nine months.”

“Oh.” He did have a good point.

“You can come see it at my place, if you’d like. I’m sure my leather couch is way more comfortable than whatever material this is.” He swiped his hand over the polka dot monstrosity on the back wall of my living room.

I plopped down on it. The cushions were so hard I swear I felt my ass bone break. “No, I think I’m fine here.”

“Whatever you say.” He took the seat next to me. He wasn’t so close that he was touching me, but being in that close of proximity to him still made me hyper aware of every part of his body. If I moved an inch to the left my elbow would brush against his, or his outer thigh would touch mine.

I shook the thoughts of his body against mine out of my head and picked up the print-out with the objectives for our paper. “Okay, first I think we need to discuss the five supporting topics that we each want to talk about for our points. If we can get the pros and cons to those, I think we should be able to write our paper from there.”

Trey didn’t say anything. I was expecting some witty remark, but there was nothing. I turned to make sure he wasn’t texting or just not paying attention. But he was. He was staring right at me; his broad smile lighting up his entire face.

“What?” I asked. “Do I have something on my face?”

He shook his head slowly and leaned forward. “No, it’s just, well, it’s kind of hot to see you so intent on something and working so hard on it.”

I groaned. “Can you stop hitting on me for like two seconds?”

“What? I was being sincere. It’s really cool that you have so much planned out; it shows that you’re organized and not just remaining idle. I wouldn’t expect that from a liberal.”

“Really?” I sat up, setting down the sheet of paper. “You’re going to throw in the liberal card? Just because I believe in a woman’s right to contraception, I’m some hard core liberal that should also be lazy and expect things to be handed to me?”

Trey held his hands up. “Whoa, whoa, I didn’t say that. I was trying to compliment you by saying that it was nice to see how hard at work you are. Most people wouldn’t work this much on the first week of an assignment; especially when it isn’t due until the end of the semester.”

The tension was still resting on my shoulders, but I let them relax slightly, letting out a deep breath. “I just want to get this working together part over with and then we can both move on with our own part of the assignment.”

The deal was that we had to work together to come up with the points we would talk about in the debate. That was the main part that required partner participation, other than that, we were on our own to figure out our arguments for each of our points. I really hoped to wipe the floor with Trey, but I knew his dad probably paid for private debate classes for him since he spoke his first words, which were probably ‘right to bear arms.’

“Are you saying you don’t enjoy working with me? I think we could be good together.” He raised his eyebrows slightly. I tried not to focus on the slight crinkle of his nose when he smiled that brought out the row of freckles on the bridge of his nose. What I wouldn’t give to be one of those freckles.

“Okay, Mr. Politician, if you’re so into us working together, why do you think we make a good team? Because I haven’t seen it.” I crossed my arms over my chest. Thank God I didn’t change into my pajama top, or I’d have to worry about the no bra issue.

He folded his hands on his lap. “Because you aren’t the type of girl to just bend at a whim. You’ll fight for what you want, but at the same time, you actually know what you’re talking about.” He leaned closer, his lips were so close to me I wondered what they would feel like pressed against mine. “And, unlike a lot of other girls I’ve met, you like to challenge me with facts instead of mindless rambling. All your arguments are valid, and I can actually have an educated debate with you, like we did at Mario’s. That’s the reason I jumped at the chance for us to be partners. I could talk politics with you all day long.”

Everything he said was exactly how I felt about him. I just hated to admit it. I also hated to admit how badly I wanted him at that point; to throw every single one of my morals and reasons for hating him out the window and pounce on him.

“I want to kiss you right now, so badly,” his words were barely above a whisper. At first I thought I made it up, but then he leaned in closer, his bright green eyes staring right into mine.

“Asking, takes away the spontaneity.” I could barely get the words out. I was too focused on the moving of his lips.

“I would never want to force you to do something you don’t want to do. So, I’m asking you. Can I kiss you?” He placed his hand on my cheek, running his finger down the length of my jawline. The feeling of his hand on me sent an electric tingle straight down below my belly button. I hadn’t felt that way for a guy in a very long time. He wasn’t forcing me into anything, just the opposite; he was asking me if it was okay. And I didn’t know what my answer should be.

I didn’t hear Sam come in the door until she screamed, “What the hell is this?”

I gasped, jumping back against the other end of the couch. “Sam! I thought you had night class?”

She set her bag down on the kitchen counter and then stomped into the living room with her hands on her hips. “Yeah, we got out early. I didn’t think the governor’s douchebag son would be here when I came back.”

“We—we—we were just working a project,” I stammered.

“Uh huh.” She rolled her eyes. “Look you have your rules about what I can do in the apartment and I have mine.” She pointed a chewed up fingernail at Trey. “And I say he has to go.”

Trey stood up, putting his laptop bag over his shoulder. “That’s fine. I wouldn’t want to ruin the roommate dynamic.”

“Wait!” I stood up and put my hand on his arm. He looked down at it and then his eyes met mine. I felt a lump in my throat. The moment never faded between us, and I didn’t want him to leave. “We never finished our five points for our assignment.”

“The offer still stands to work on it at my place,” he said, putting his other hand on mine. There was a part of me that wanted to say no and knew it was a bad idea to be so close to a person whose father I hated with every fiber of my being. But there was a bigger part that wanted to go so badly. That part won over.

“Okay, let me grab my things, and I’ll be right over.”

Trey smiled and patted my hand. As he walked toward the door Sam hissed at him, but he kept walking and closed the door behind him. I waited a whole thirty seconds before I let out a huge breath.

Sam turned toward me. “Um, what the hell was that?”

I quickly gathered up my papers and my laptop, shoving them in my messenger bag. “It’s nothing. We’re just partners for a debate assignment.”

“Uh huh, and partners sit that close on the couch.”

“Sam.” I shot a glare at her, throwing my messenger bag over my shoulder. “I’m just working with him on an assignment. I’ll be back afterward. Don’t wait up.”

I didn’t wait for her response and stormed out of the apartment, only to make the few steps to Apartment 12B. I knocked on the door, and Trey opened it just as I finished my knock.

“What took you so long?” he asked, leaning on the door frame.

“Can we just get this over with?”

He stepped back, motioning for me to come in, and I followed as he shut the door behind me. His apartment was the same layout as mine, but his looked like he had a professional decorator. The old couch and chair were replaced by a plush, leather sofa on the back wall and a large picture of the Chicago skyline hanging over it. A matching love seat sat adjacent to it, and instead of the bulky big screen TV, there was a flat screen mounted on the wall with small speakers on either side. Maroon curtains were drawn over the patio doors, and the room was lit by a few lamps on some dark wood end tables on each side of the couch.

I followed him into the living room and got a glance at the open door to the room on my left. I knew it was his when he told me Sam banged on his bedroom wall. Inside was a large four poster bed complete with a big red bedspread that probably cost as much as my rent.

“I think our studying would be better in the living room instead of in my bedroom,” he whispered, his lips almost on my ear.

I jumped, not even realizing that he was there.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” His eyes brimmed with concern.

“I’m fine.” I gulped, walking into the living room and setting my bag on the dark wood coffee table. Even that was better than the glass monstrosity I was stuck with in my apartment. “I was just admiring your decorating.”

He sat down on the couch, and I took the seat next to him. The couch melded around me like butter. It was so comfortable that I could have sunk into it and slept forever. “Yeah, my mom has a penchant for decorating.”

“What do you do with the other bedroom if there is just one of you?” I hitched my thumb in the direction of the closed door.

He shrugged. “Storage.”

“Then why have another bedroom?”

He leaned forward, clasping his hands together. “Because I wanted to live in this apartment complex, and they didn’t have any one bedrooms available. What’s with all the questions?”

So I wouldn’t kiss him. If I just kept talking I wouldn’t think about kissing him.

“Um, just curious, I guess.”

I reached down and fumbled through the papers in my bag. My hands were shaking so badly I felt like I would drop all of them.

“Monica?”

I yanked my head up, blinking slowly. “Yes?”

“Screw being polite,” he mumbled just before he placed both of his hands on the side of my face and crushed his lips against mine. I didn’t want to kiss him back. I didn’t want to like it so much, but his lips were so soft, and his kiss so longing, that I couldn’t help but get lost in it. This was the first kiss I’d had in months, and it was well worth the wait.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he deepened the kiss; his tongue easing its way into my mouth. He tasted even better than he smelled, like sunshine and peppermint. He was so delicious it was intoxicating. His hands slid down my back, resting just above my butt. I ran my fingers through his hair, tugging it lightly. A soft moan escaped his lips onto mine. I tugged his hair again, and he slowly inched forward. I pressed my back against the couch, never breaking our kiss. For a guy that didn’t believe in contraception laws, he was the most sensual kisser I ever kissed. If he was going to keep kissing me like that, he would probably need to start.

I broke the kiss slightly, nibbling at his lower lip. He moaned with pure ecstasy. Turned out I wasn’t that bad either. I licked at the spot my teeth hit and then slid my tongue back into his mouth. He pressed his body against mine, running his hands along the curve of my hips.

I was so lost in the moment that when his phone rang on the coffee table I jolted, severing the kiss and knocking him off the couch and onto the floor.

“Oh my God! I’m sorry!” I put my hand over my mouth and leaned over the couch.

He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling and smiling.

“Are you going to get your phone?”

He raised an eyebrow in my direction and then grabbed the phone from the table, sliding it to his ear. “Hey, John Boy. I’m going to have to call you back. I’m working on a project.”

Trey ended the call and set the phone back on the coffee table. Then he slowly sat up, his face just inches from mine. “Now where were we?”

“Um…” I bit my bottom lip and ran my fingers through my mess of hair. “I think we should probably work on our assignment.”

He shook his head, standing up and then taking the spot next to me on the couch. “I’ll respect your wishes, Miss Remy, and we can work on our assignment. But if you don’t stop teasing me like this we’re never going to get it done.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Chapman,” I said with a slight smile, sitting up on the couch.

“For now, I’ll let you plead temporary amnesia,” he said and lifted my chin to him. “But I’m never going to forget what it felt like when you were biting my lip instead of your own.”