An Illicit Pursuit Read Online Free PDF Page B

him.”
    What a tease! I don’t know whether it is his
words, the way his eyes appraise my lips, how he holds me tightly
in his arms, or his penis hardening beneath his slacks against my
belly that is the reason for my legs to go shaky. I shudder and
shiver, as if I had a fervent orgasm. I dare myself to stare into
his intense gaze this time, even though it won’t help me much with
my shaky legs, and I see the truthfulness of his words. The desire
and lust are brewing in those hazel depths, and I can only imagine
what else he’ll do to me when that day he mentioned comes.
    He loosens his grip and releases me. Unable
to pull myself together, I stumble and nearly fall on my butt, but
he holds me up and slips an arm around my waist as we walk to my
car. I can’t bring myself to say a word, and from the silence
that’s persisting between us, neither can he. I drop him at the
parking lot of UCLA and drive back home.

CHAPTER 3 - PAT

    I smell Adam’s scent everywhere. In the car,
in the elevator, at Zach’s home. I sniff my dress, it’s his scent
again. I strip down, throw the dress into the laundry basket, and
step into the shower. I feel a strong urge to sniff myself for the
last time, before the water and soap takes it away from me. I hear
the front door. Must be Zach. He may surprise me in the shower, and
before I know it, he’ll smell Adam’s scent on me. Quickly, I
turn on the hot water, soap my body, and shampoo my hair.
    When Zach knocks on the bathroom door, I’m
already wrapped up in my bathrobe, smelling of soap and shampoo.
Not a trace of Adam is left on me. My heart is pounding hard with
the fear that Zach will sense it, anyway. He’ll figure out my lie
and hate me forever.
    I open the door slowly. All I can offer Zach
is a tight-lipped smile. I’m lacking acting talent, or, better name
it, lying talent.
    “How was your day?” Zach asks after kissing
my lips.
    He has to ask about it directly. What am I
going to say? “Good. It was good.” I walk past him and sit on the
bed in Zach’s bedroom, drying my hair with a small towel.
    He takes off his jacket and his shirt and
sits next to me. “It’s very hot. I’ll grab a shower, too.”
    I trace the stains on the carpet with my eyes
to avoid his gaze while he frees himself from his clothes. One look
in my eyes and he’ll know it.
    While he’s in the shower, I quickly change
into a t-shirt and sweatpants and go to the kitchen to cook dinner.
Zach is sharing the apartment with another student, Michael, who’s
never at home. Which is great for Zach and me to be alone and do
whatever we want. But now, I wish he was here to distract Zach and
give me some time to compose myself.
    I boil elbow noodles and get the cheese sauce
ready, although there are four boxes of Kraft’s macaroni and cheese
sitting in the pantry. Must be the guilt that makes me want to cook
a nice, homemade meal from scratch for Zach and not some
industrially produced food. Besides, focusing on something other
than what I did today helps me relax.
    Zach comes to me, dried and in fresh clothes,
smelling like the shower I was in a few minutes ago. “Smells
delicious,” he says and opens the lid of the pan with the cheese
sauce.
    I start chopping tomatoes and onion for
salad, careful not to chop a finger along the way, because my hands
are shaking.
    Zach brushes my cheek with his index finger.
“Are you okay, baby?”
    “I’m fine.” I force another fake smile. I’m
not made for lying to someone I love. How can people cheat on their
spouses for years and years?
    I feel his questioning gaze on me, and I slow
down the chopping or I’ll end up with a finger less in addition to
losing my boyfriend.
    “You’re lying,” he says, making me freeze and
sending my heart trumpeting. “Are you mad at me? Is it because I
didn’t go with you today?” Sliding his arm around my waist, he
pulls me against his chest. Now I can’t avoid his gaze. “I knew I
should have gone with you,” he