Boarded by Love Read online

  Allen was dating her? I had never seen him with this girl or the Ellen girl, so really what did I know? I move my gaze from the redhead to Ellen, seeing that her eyes are filling with tears. I have to look away. I hate when girls cry.

  “I can’t work.”

  “It will be okay, I swear.”

  “If I can’t work, I can’t pay my bills.” Ellen stresses, moving her hand along her cheek.

  “But if you get caught doing this, boss lady could find out and fire you. Think, Ellen. Use your brain. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  Ellen looks away, and for some reason, I find myself drawn into this drama. I want to ask who boss lady is and why the girl can’t work, but I have no business knowing anything. I really should walk away, but I’m not done talking to the redhead. I basically know everyone, and the fact that I have never seen her before has me deciding I need to change that. I don’t even know her name, and I find I desperately need to know it. I want them to work out their little issue so that the redhead can divert her attention back to me.

  “Fine,” Ellen says and then turns to walk away.

  I watch as Ellen dumps the flyers she has in her hands, and the redhead lets out a sigh. When I turn to talk to her, she’s already walking away, pulling flyers down as she walks. I rush to catch up to her, and when I do, I notice she’s smiling, and then I see that she has sweet dimples. I like dimples. She has a very girl-next-door look to her, so not someone who Allen would hook up with.

  That’s probably why he was cheating on her; she wouldn’t give it up. She is probably a virgin from the sticks of Tennessee. Her daddy is probably a preacher while her momma runs the bible school and focuses solely on making sure their beautiful, sweet little girl does something wonderful in this world. But then her eyes cut to mine, and something about the way her eyes darken has me thinking I’m completely wrong about her.

  “Why are you following me?” she asks as she pulls down another flyer.

  I shrug my shoulders. “I wasn’t done talking to you.”

  She drops her hand from the tree and turns to look at me.

  “Oh, really? What do you want to talk about?”

  “The weather?” I ask.

  “It’s cold,” she says with a look that tells me she’s bored.

  I smile. “Maybe you could tell me your name?”

  “Why?”

  “So I can call you something else other than the most gorgeous girl on campus.”

  It’s cheesy, but hey, it works.

  Her eyes widen as she shakes her head. “Does that actually work on girls?”

  Or maybe it doesn’t.

  “Usually.”

  She smiles. “That’s so sad. You might need to come up with something better. Anyway, see you around.”

  I watch as she turns her back to me and starts walking away once more. I watch as her ass sways back and forth, and I can’t believe that my line or my charm wasn’t working on her. This should be an easy bag, but I can tell she’s a tough nut to crack. I think I should walk away, chalk this one up as a loss, but then again, I never lose.

  So I do the next logical thing, I follow her.

  Chasing after her, I fall into step with her once more. She’s quick, but I’m quicker. Looking over at me, she rolls her eyes.

  “Are you stalking me?”

  I scoff. “Not at all. I just want to talk to you, know your name. I’ve never seen you before. Are you a transfer?”

  “Sheesh, are you the CIA? Why so many questions?”

  I smile as she stops, turning to look at me. A smile is pulling at her glossed-up lips, and it takes everything out of me to look from her lips to her eyes. “I told you I want to know you.”

  “Why?” she asks with her eyebrow arched as she put her hands on her hips.

  I shrug. I could either lie or be brutally honest, and since I didn’t like to lie to girls, I say, “You have a great ass, and much to my delight, your face is even better. So I think it’s easy to say I’m pretty attracted to you.”

  She blinks a few times and then smiles. “Wow, you are something else.”

  I grin. “Is that a good thing or bad?”

  She smiles back and then turns to walk away. Looking over her shoulder, she calls, “Good thing.”

  I couldn’t stop smiling if I tried, but then I realize she’s making a run for it, again. “Hey!”

  She turns around, walking backward, her face bright as she looks back at me. “What?”

  “Am I going to have to chase you all over campus just to find out your name?”

  She laughs before bringing her bottom lip between her teeth. Very sexy. “Maybe?”

  She continues to walk backward, her body calling to mine, and soon I’m nodding as I pick up the pace to meet up with her. “Are you in a rush, or are you trying to get rid of me?”

  She looks over at me. “Both.”

  I laugh. “You haven’t even given me a chance.”

  “Well, you see, I decided to start dating, and the guy I picked basically ruined the male gender for me. I have decided that I want nothing to do with guys till I graduate. Maybe then I can find a man worth dating.”

  I want to kill and kiss Allen West all in one. I want to kill him for ruining the male species, but then I want to kiss him since he let go of one of the most gorgeous girls I have ever seen.

  I smile. “Maybe the man you’re looking for is chasing you across campus.”

  “You?” she asks with her mouth pulling up at one side. She’s spectacular, and I know that I have to have her. I don’t know what it is, but I am completely smitten with one look into this girl's eyes. That has never happened to me before.

  I shrug my shoulders as my face breaks into a wider grin. “Maybe.”

  She laughs. “So what, you gonna convince me you are the guy of my dreams?”

  “I wouldn’t have to do much convincing. I’m pretty much the greatest guy on campus.”

  She shakes her head, her eyes dancing with amusement as she says, “Wow, you are full of yourself.”

  I shrug. “Well, when you’re this sexy, and have an amazing knack for pleasing women, you become very confident.”

  Her eyes darken as she holds my gaze. “I’m speechless.”

  “Don't worry, that happens a lot to girls. It’s my sexiness.”

  She laughs again as she rolls her eyes, and I can’t help but smile at her. She looks around us and then back at me. As we hold each other’s gaze, lust washes over me. I want to wrap her up in my arms and hold her tight against my body as I kiss the hell out of her. Her lips are begging for me to kiss her, and I’m on the brink of doing it, but something is holding me back.

  “So bringing back the question from earlier, are you new, a transfer?”

  She shakes her head. “Nope, this is my second year.”

  “Mine too. I’m surprised I’ve never seen you before.”

  She shrugs. “I’ve kept to myself.”

  I nod. “Oh, what are you like a hermit or something?”

  She smiles. “No, I work a lot. After that and school, I tend to sleep a lot.”

  “Me too,” I say as I cross my arms across my chest. “I was actually about to go back to my house and go to sleep after I finished my homework, but I saw you first and had to talk to you.”

  Her cheeks fill with color as she looks away.

  “I still don’t know your name.”

  She looks up at me and says, “Claire. Claire Anderson.”

  I smile. She’s beautiful, classy, and Claire fits her perfectly.

  “What’s yours?” she asks, crossing her own arms under her breasts. The top button of her Henley pops open, giving me a few glimpses of her delectable white skin and black lace bra. I promptly forget my name. When I don’t answer, she looks down before glaring up at me, rebuttoning her shirt.

  “Sorry, I think seeing the lace of your black bra just made me forget my name.”

  The glare she’s pinning me with drops, and she