(Shadow)
•••••
Melanie pov
The class about Commercial Contract this morning was challenging and caused us to be busy with projects. Since Stacey, Derek and I take the same class, we've decided to be in the same group. We have to create a database of oil and gas monetisation key terms conducted in some regions in the country — which is quite demanding. And that's why the three of us are at my house now, in the living room, surrounded by books and papers.
I glance at the clock hanging on the wall, my back leaning against the sofa as I sit on the rug. 3 PM. A sigh leaves my mouth. This is going to be a long day.
"Have you checked the consultant's website?" Derek asks Stacey, his fingers typing on his laptop in a fast mode.
"We have to be their clients to obtain such information." Stacey shrugs. "I'm sure many major companies have done that, because
they have enough money to make the subscription. But unfortunately, we don't."
She sighs, flipping through some pages of her book, lying down on her stomach.
"Well then, let's see the data we've got from these articles," Derek says, his eyes scanning the content on his laptop screen.
A chuckle escapes my lips. Derek might seem a little bit off sometimes. Dark, mysterious and usually awkward around people. But he's now being talkative when doing this project with us. I guess that he's indeed a nerd, just like me.
"Anyway, you're quite good at programming," Stacey says, watching in awe as Derek creates the database on the screen.
I shift my attention back to my laptop while my mind wanders somewhere else. About what happened this morning. I can't help the smile on my face as I think about it.
Too bad that Vaughn left without finishing what we were doing earlier. He looked really annoyed.
Oh, I already miss him.
I shake my head, laughing in disbelief. Since when did I become such a naughty girl?
When i look up from my laptop, I'm surprised to find that Stacey and Derek are looking at me with a lost expression.
Shît. They must be wondering why I've been smiling to myself, daydreaming while listening to their arguments about the project. This is strange because I usually get caught up in my studies.
In short, I've been acting like a lovesick fool.
I quickly avert my eyes from them. Back to the laptop, girl.
The doorbell rings, making me wonder who it is. I get up and trudge to the door. When I open it, my eyes widen as I find Vaughn standing in front of me.
He looks at me with the kind of stare which can make any girl drop to her knees, his eyes smiling as a smirk creeps on his lips. "Hey, beauti—"
"Vaughn!" I exclaim. My voice is so loud that Derek and Stacey must have heard it, just as I intend to. "Just in time!" Excitement fills my voice, my eyes telling Vaughn to act along.
He frowns. Right. He doesn't know that we have company.
And I'm not telling anybody about what happens between Vaughn and me. Yet.
Not until we figure out how to deal with Jake.
It's not that I don't trust Stacey and Derek. With how famous Jake and Vaughn on campus, a word spread about us will travel to every single soul in Boston University. And Jake will surely find out.
I drag Vaughn to the living room and let out a fake laugh. "Surprise! Here comes the tutor."
Stacey and Derek stare at Vaughn in disbelief.
I grin sheepishly and throw a meaningful glance at Vaughn. He quickly gets the point and sighs.
"You didn't tell us you would bring a tutor." Stacey smirks, her eyes filled with mischief, as if mocking me for trying to fool her.
"Like I said. Surprise." I let out a burst of nervous laughter before turning to Vaughn. "We're having a project about the commercial database," I tell him.
He smirks. "Right How can I help you guys?" '
-------
Stacey watches in awe as Vaughn teaches them about the complexity of energy commercialisation, pointing various sources where they can get enough data. No matter how bored you are or how lazy you are... when you have Vaughn Cooper as your tutor,
you can't miss it. And it's not about his lookswhich, I must say, help but it's about how you can gain so much knowledge from him. You wouldn't want to skip such an advantage.
As for now, Stacey keeps bombarding him with more questions. Derek, however, is glued to his laptop. I notice that he's back to his shell again when Vaughn is around. Just like when
Jake popped up before him last time. That's strange. Vaughn hasn't even talked to him, but — maybe his aura is already intimidating Derek.
"T've got this covered in the previous project
I worked on with Jake," Vaughn responds to Stacey's question. "You can get a lot from that. I think Jake put the book somewhere in his room." With that, Vaughn stands up. "Thanks, Vaughn." Stacey giggles as he walks, off to Jake's room.
I raise my brow at her and smirk. "See? You guys should thank me later."
"He's brilliant," Stacey gasps. "I learn more from him than from the professor."
"He's good at explaining," I say.
"Are you sure there's nothing going on with you two? I smell something fishy." A smirk touches Stacey's lips.
That makes me alert while I'm hovering my mouse, and my hand accidentally knocks Derek's coffee on the table that it spills on some papers in front of me and my clothes.
I yelp. "Shît."
"I'm sorry, Melanie," Derek abruptly rises from his seat as I stand up, staring at my now soaking shirt.
Why is this poor guy apologizing? It's not even his fault. Silently, I scowl myself for being clumsy.
Stacey clears her throat, suppressing a laugh, like she just caught me. I guess that I'm so easy to read.
"It's not your fault, Derek," I assure him. "I'll go change."
I walk into the hallway and enter my room, not even bothering to turn on the lights, leaving the room dim with a little ray of sun coming from between the curtains.
Once I open my closet, I let my hair loose from the messy bun before taking off my shirt. Luckily, my bra is still dry so that I don't need to change my underwear. It's when I pick one of my t-shirts that I feel something off.
Like a pair of eyes are watching behind my back. I snap my body around, but there's nothing. Only my door, being slightly opened the way I left it just now. Somehow, the hair on the back of my neck stand which is why I'm not feeling good. I should have turned the lights on. I've never been a friend of darkness. I hurriedly wear my t-shirt and shut my closet. My bedroom door creaks open, and that startles me to the core. I let out a small scream, turning around, my back smacking the closet.
My heart thumps, and my eyes widen as I catch a glimpse of shadow behind my door. The lights from the hallway begin to fill the room as the door moves, and my vision starts to recognize a silhouette of a tall and thin figure with curly hair.
"Derek?" I call.
"Uh, Melanie..." he falters as I walk closer to the door.
Once I open the door wider, I see him in my doorstep, scratching the back of his head as if in trouble.
"I was looking for the restroom, but I guess I went into the wrong way," he says.
"You almost scared me to dèath." I sigh, putting my hand on my chest. "The restroom is on the other side, by the way. But you can also find another one at the end of this hallway." I point at the direction I just told him.
"Right. Thanks, Mel," he says, but before he can walk off, Vaughn emerges.
"Hey, is everything okay?" Vaughn asks me. "I heard your scream just now."
"I'm okay," I say, wanting to laugh at myself for being paranoid. "I was just startled." Maybe I've watched too many horror movies.
Derek excuses himself and walks away. As always, he avoids eye contact with Vaughn.
I notice that Vaughn keeps watching Derek's back as the poor guy walks along the hallway.
A frown touches Vaughn's lips. "Who's that guy, exactly?"
"Derek is a friend from high school," I say. "We also have some classes together during our first year here."
But his brows still furrow, as if my answer isn't satisfying.
------
I make my way down the corridor of my campus after finishing my morning lab session.
Yesterday, Vaughn left my house earlier because he still had a class to attend in the evening. I felt bad that we consumed too much of his time — not that he was complaining. But I just felt pity for him that Stacey kept bombarding him with questions — it wasn't like my boyfriend was going to disappear at any moment.
I shake my head in disbelief, laughing. Boyfriend? What am I thinking? Have I already put a label for our relationship? I'm crazy.
"Keep smiling and just pretend like I don't exist," a voice makes me halt instantly.
I turn my head, only to find the person responsible for the smile on my face. Vaughn is leaning against the wall with his arms crossed on his chest, a smirk on his face.
"I thought you're meeting coach?" I stutter, not expecting to bump into him. And him to catch me daydreaming about him.
Yeah. I hope that he doesn't think so.
"I still got time until then." He pulls me to his chest and gives me a soft peck on my lips. "Since you told me you just finished your chemistry lab, I thought I could see you for a while."
He did not just kiss me on campus! I abruptly , snap my head to look around.
He chuckles. "Don't worry. There's nobody else , in this hallway," he whispers in my ear.
But my worry tells me other things as I grab his arm, dragging him before pushing through the ladies room door. Once we get inside, I shut the door with a loud thud, pushing him against it that his back smacks it hard.
And he's startled by my bold move. It's all written on his face. Of course, he must have not expected me to hide us in the ladies room. I'm as surprised as he is. I just did that impulsively without much thinking, too afraid that someone might catch us outside.
My mind has been haunted by Jake for quite a while now, for God's sake.
I whirl around and scan the ladies room. Fortunately, nobody else is here. All the cubicles are empty.
But then, the sound of footsteps outside the door along with faint laughter of girls make my eyes widen. Panic rises within me.
Shît. Shît. Shît. We're going to get caught. I drag Vaughn again, now toward one of the cubicles. Just as the door to the ladies room creaks open, we manage to hide in time, and I slam the cubicle door shut.
"I can't believe Professor Hill just gave us another homework." A girl scowls, and I hear her slam something against the sink counter, probably her bag. "Gosh. I look like a panda with these eyes. Let me just touch up a little bit. That cute guy I told you is in my next class."
I let out a long sigh of relief, still breathing heavily against Vaughn's chest as the girls outside continue chattering. Now, I'm cornering him against the wall.
"You're right," another girl says. "It's only been almost two months, but I'm starting to think whether I've made my life a living hell by entering this university." Her complaint makes her friends burst into laughter.
Well, I guess that we're eavesdropping some fresh year students babbling about their lives.
I look up to see Vaughn and find amusement in his eyes. He stares at me before leaning closer to my ear. "You know, you're quite aggressive today," he whispers, making my cheeks heat up. "Don't worry. I like it," he suddenly runs his tongue on my earlobe, making me almost gasp as chills run down my spine.
Oh, no. Did I just trap myself inside the devil's cage?
"I hope you didn't forget how I didn't finish my breakfast last time," he whispers again, the sound of the girls chatting outside fading out and it isn't because they're leaving. It's because my mind is now occupied with another danger I've just gotten myself into. "I was so mad because I was fûcking hungry. I wanted my breakfast so fucking bad," he continues.
He squeezes my a$s, and I shut my eyes tight. The next thing I feel is his kiss on my neck.
"And now that I just got it back, I'm gonna make sure that I'll finish it until the last bite." His low voice when he whispers that sentence is laced with desire, making goosebumps appear on my skin.
With such little effort, he turns our position around, and now I'm cornered against the wall, his body pressing mine. Then he raises my chin up and kisses me slowly, shoving his tongue into my mouth. I grip his shoulder as we continue to kiss.
He pulls away and stares at me with a hungry look. Then his face leans closer to my chest as he cups my breasts, but he doesn't stop there. Only when he reaches my thighs, he stops.
Goddammit. I'm screwed. My head spins as I realize what he's going to eat for this 'breakfast'.
He kneels down and pushes my skirt up. This is one of those rare occasions again when I wear a summer dress and denim jacket to college. Slowly, he pulls my panties down, and my heart races inside my chest.
He inhales between my thighs like I'm some kind of heroin. Then he stares at me, his eyes piercing, before he captures my slit in his mouth without warning, making me let out a loud gasp that I have to cover my mouth in my hands.
His hands hold my waist under the skirt as he kisses me down there, making my body tremble with all of the emotions he makes me feel. I hiss, squeezing my eyes shut, my fingers grabbing his hair now. I hope that he would save me this time, since there are people outside. But that's highly unlikely to happen. Oh, God. How am I going to hold myself from screaming if he's doing this to me?
"Did you know that I just saw Vaughn Cooper earlier?" one of the girls outside suddenly echoes. My eyes snap open at the mentioning of his name.
I look down, only to find him unbothered, still enjoying his meal with his eyes closed.
"You mean, that hot quarterback?" another girl gasps.
"Yeah. That steaming hot one," is the answer, excitement in her voice. "Mind you, my eyes were blessed. He just exited the class when I bumped into him."
Yeah. I saw something like that once. Now, I wonder if it has happened many times. Maybe those girls bumped into him on purpose.
I yelp as Vaughn sucks my clit, pulling me closer to his mouth, grabbing my a$s.
"You mean, the ice prince," her friend mutters "He seems so distant, cold, elusive."
No. He's wild, passionate and bold. Just like he is at the moment, eating me to the core.
He shoves his tongue into my opening, and I have to muffle another moàn. God, why are they taking so long inside here?
Just after I curse them in my mind, I hear the door to another cubicle being opened. That makes me want to scream in frustration. My hands are now covering my mouth again as I'm trying to prevent my own gasps and moans from escaping my lips. Vaughn, however, keeps eating, sucking, and licking me. My juice is dripping, and with how Vaughn devours me right now, I'm thinking that he might even drink it until the last drop.
By the time the girl in the other cubicle finishes her business and gets back to her friends, I'm already trashing above him. I'm close to having the most phenomenal orgasm I've ever had. My heart thumps hard against my ribs, my eyes wide as I press my hands on my mouth.
Once the girls exit the ladies room while laughing with each other, I finally manage to let out a small scream as the orgasm takes over. Just as I thought, Vaughn gladly devours all of my juices, licking it to the very last drop, like he's destined to make me cum in his mouth.
I pant while he eyes me, licking his lips. My chest is heaving up and down as I'm still trying to catch my breath.
He stands up and corners me, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear before planting a soft kiss on my lips. "I just had the most , delicious breakfast." He smirks.
I'm still shaking, unable to respond.
"Come. Let's get out of here." He takes my hand in his and leads me toward the door.