Page 3 of The Nice List

I push off the bar to stand straight—surprised that she doesn’t back away from me crowding her space—as I pull my Zippo from my pocket. “You’re a little rebel, huh?” My eyes stay locked onhers as I flip it open and strike the flame before lifting it to light the end of the cigarette dangling from her pouty lips.

She takes a deep drag before pulling it from her mouth and passing it to me with a coy grin. “I guess so. I mean…Itryto be a good girl, but sometimes, doing something bad just feels good.”

“Is that why you came out here with me? To do something bad?” I take a pull from the cigarette—imagining what the pink lipstick ring she left on the butt would look like on my dick—before setting it into one of the ashtrays on the bar. “Because I gotta tell ya,pretty girl, sharing a cigarette is setting the bar pretty low for thebadthings we could be doing.”

Livvy

I ignore the heat that rises in my cheeks as I reach around Cory to grab the lit cigarette he discarded in the ashtray. I feel my nipples harden as my chest brushes against his and I’m thankful that my sweater is thick enough to conceal them. I’m sure I look like a kid to him. He’s a grown ass man and I’m barely eighteen, but the more I’m around him, the closer I want to be.

Maybe it’s just a rebellious phase, like he said. Or maybe it’s me finally letting myself feel whatever I want to feel without worrying about what everyone else expects.Livvy is smart. Livvy is a good girl. Livvy never gets into trouble.

I exhale the smoke before looking into his eyes. “I came out here because you invited me and that sounded better than watching the game since I’m not much of a football fan.” I shrug. “And you’re probably right about my current experience with being bad, but something tells me you could help me raise the bar.”

“Oh, I definitely can,” he says in a husky tone as he reaches for me.

He wraps around the side of my neck with his thumb softly rubbing the pulse point on the other side of my throat. Then, his other hand grips my waist to pull me against him.

I let out a needy whimper as I feel the hard ridge in his jeans press against my lower stomach. Without giving myself a second to overthink my actions, my hands dive into his hair, gripping his head to pull him into a kiss.

I’ve kissed guys before, but none of them have ever made me feel like this. My stomach muscles tighten, and I can feel my clit pulsing with need as wetness seeps into my panties. I squeeze my thighs together, trying to relieve the sudden ache as he deepens the kiss to stroke my tongue with his.

“Cory,” I moan his name when he pulls back to kiss down my neck.

He stops and lifts his head to look at me with a hint of concern masking the arousal. “You should probably know that your sister and I…”

“I know you two used to be a thing…sort of,” I tell him, cutting off his explanation. “It doesn’t matter to me. I mean…it would if she had feelings for you, but she didn’t. So…”

“So,what?” He smirks. “Are you using me to rebel against your big sister,pretty girl?” He places a finger to my lips to stop my reply. “It’s fine if you are. I just wanna know what I’m getting into.”

I giggle nervously when he drops his hand. “It’s not that. I swear. I wanted…thisbefore I knew who you were.”

“This?” He leans in to kiss me again, much softer than before. “Or this?” His hand returns to my waist, pulling me against him again as he nips at my lip.

“Yes…” I moan. “All of it. I want…you.”

He chuckles as he pulls back to look at me. “And you’re not worried that I’m just using you to make Alexis jealous? Because I’m sure that’s what she would say if she found out…”

I let out a sarcastic laugh, cutting off his worried statement. “She actually did say that earlier.” I shake my head. “If you wanted to get her attention, you wouldn’t have invited me out here where she couldn’t see us. You would have kept talking me up in the bar, right in front of her.”

“Prettyandsmart.” He smiles at me with a look of pride.

I shrug, trying to ignore the way that look makes me want him even more. “Smart enough to know that she’ll come looking for me soon. I better get back inside before she does.”

Cory nods. “Yeah. I’ve got to get back inside, too. Zack will have my head if I’m not back inside to help with the half-time rush.”

My smile drops as I realize that this —whatever it was—is over. I turn to walk back inside but Cory is at my back, holding the door closed with a hand on each side of my head before I can pull it open.

He crowds my back, making me hot despite the winter air as he leans down to whisper in my ear. “You’re just going to walk away from me without another word?”

My shoulder brushes against his chest as I turn to smile up at him. “This was fun,bad boy. We should do it again sometime,” I say with confidence that I don’t quite feel.

He barks out a sinister laugh before he leans forward to steal one more chaste kiss. “Oh, we will. I look forward to seeing how bad you can be with me.” He pushes off the door and waves for me to enter.

I spend the next hour wishing I could find a way to talk to him without my sister hovering before an idea pops into my mind while I’m reapplying my pink lipstick in the bathroom before the game ends.

Rushing back to my barstool—thankful that Alexis is too busy celebrating the Tornado’s win to pay any attention to me—I grab a napkin from the bar and a pen from my purse. I write a note before adding my phone number and blotting my pink lipstick kiss in the corner of the napkin just in time to slide it across the bar when Cory brings me my third Shirley Temple.

His eyes flash to mine after reading my note.

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