An eternity passes and I'm not sure what to do. What I want to do is run my own hand along his chest, but instead I clutch the stats assignment sheet to my chest and close my eyes as Talon's finger creeps further up my thigh. "Serena," his voice is husky, but then abruptly changes. "Look, I have to go work out now. What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?"
He pulls his hand back down to my knee and my eyes snap open. "Tomorrow?" God, I feel like some sort of groupie. I need to pull myself together and regain control of this situation. Now that I've spilled my guts to Talon Kelly, I can't just casually have hot, steaming sex with him. For some reason, even though he could have any woman in a 50-mile radius, he seems interested in me, but I know how guys like him work. Once and done. He doesn't even talk to girls after he sleeps with them. I know this because I made the mistake of pulling up his fan page on Facebook and reading the many, many comments from women who'd been "Clawed."
"Tomorrow," he repeats. "We still haven't picked a topic for our project. I want to get this done before spring break so it's not hanging over my head before the Green and Gray game."
My mouth drops a little at this. "Talon, I had no idea you actually cared about this report."
It's his turn to look insulted. "I know I'm just supposed to be a dumb jock, Serena, but I'm really good at math, I need to keep my grades up to continue being a jock, and after spring break I want to focus fully on my rehab so I can play in the Green and Gray game."
"I'm sorry, Talon. I shouldn't have assumed you weren't…well, I shouldn't have assumed anything about you. I don't even know you." I start to gather up my stuff to leave.
"You know me a little bit," he says. He stands up and hops around the chair toward the hall. "You know me more than most women, actually." He winks, and whispers, "and you're going to know me a whole lot better." Talon hobbles toward the weight room as I sigh and head toward the exit. He shouts toward me, "I'll text you about tomorrow."
I watch him limp to the weight room and realize he must have actually kept the paper where I wrote down my contact information. "Wow," I whisper. "Talon Kelly is going to text me."
CHAPTER NINE
I have a history exam in the morning, and when I turn my phone back on at lunchtime, I see a series of texts from an unknown number. I realize I have butterflies in my stomach, because I know they're from Talon. What am I even doing, I think, warning myself not to get attached. Talon Kelly is a playboy. Do not get attached here.
First message: No practice or film OR PT tonight. Can u meet about report?
An hour later, there was another message: I promise to wear a shirt
And, just a few minutes ago: R U avoiding the Claw?
I smile, glad I've had my phone off for a few hours. I'm surprised by the thrill I feel at Talon's impatience. Before I decide about tonight: R U going to keep referring to yourself in the third person?
Less than a minute later, my phone buzzes. The Claw makes no promises! My place at 7?
Will there be nachos?
Always, Serena. Better bring spare pants.
"What are you smiling about?" Alissa walks in the door and I instinctively snap my phone against my chest.
"Nothing, just a text."
She smiles. "I know that look. You're texting a guy. Oooh is it Talon?"
I flush and she laughs. "We're going to get together tonight to study. We have our report…"
"Yeah, sure. Study. Listen, you know what he's like, right? Like, you know he doesn't do relationships or anything?" She grabs some food out of the fridge and sits with me at the table.
"I know, Lis. I know all about the Claw. And before you ask, yes. I read the comments on his fan page."
She takes a bite of her sandwich and swallows, saying, "Not that I don't think you should do this. As you'll recall from our margarita fiasco, I, too have lusted after an Otter football god. And like I said, it was fabulous."
We eat in companionable silence for a few minutes before I ask, "Do you think I should tell him? That it's my first time, I mean?" I've been agonizing over this decision, because guys like Talon don't do relationships…and I don't think he'll sleep with me if he knows it's my first time.
"I wouldn't," she says. "You always remember your first time. Too much weight attached, you know? He won't want to be somebody's first."
I confess that I'm worried he'll be able to tell, both because of my hopeless ignorance of what to do and, "won't there be, like, blood?"
She laughs. "This isn't Downton Abbey, Serena. You've used tampons for years. More likely, it'll hurt. Talon is a huge dude. He's got to have a pretty big claw…"
We joke some more about Talon's unfortunate nickname, and I try to focus on my homework before I head over to his apartment. But my mind is all over the place. Talon asked about my background. He knows my whole story. At minimum, we are friends now, so this doesn't fit his MO. I'm not some adoring fangirl waiting outside the locker room.
And do I even want to take things to another level with this guy? What happened to
