The Shameless Hour (The Ivy Years #4)

To be fair, Bella had always been kind to me. Even now, she gave me a bright-eyed smile. Instead of continuing her climb toward her room on the fourth and highest floor, she took a seat beside me on the stair, folding her hands. “Throwing yourself a private party?”

“Yeah. But if I can get this open, I’ll share.” I angled the bottle away from our faces, and slowly let up on the cork.

Nothing happened.

“Can I give you a hand?”

Yet another embarrassment. Clearly, the kind of guy who knew how to uncork champagne was not the kind of guy whose girlfriend would cheat on him.

Bella smiled at me, and that smile packed a punch. I’d always had a thing for Bella, not that I’d admit it out loud. I’d noticed her last year, when I was just a lowly freshman. There was something so lively about her. Bella had a perpetual sparkle in her eye, and color on her cheeks — the kind you get from laughing, not makeup.

She and I didn’t get acquainted until move-in day this year, when I’d helped her carry a couple of boxes up the entryway stairs. She was a senior and had a fourth-floor single under the eaves of the building — a room with slanted ceilings and a window that looked like Hansel and Gretel might have peered out of it. “Great room,” I’d said, setting the boxes down. I loved the heck out of the Harkness architecture, where no two rooms were the same.

Old things. I couldn’t get enough of ’em.

“It’s kind of a hike, though,” Bella had panted while I’d tried not to notice her chest as it rose and fell beneath her Harkness Hockey T-shirt. Standing there in her room on Labor Day, I’d felt suddenly conscious of our proximity to one another. Some girls dressed to look sexy, with short skirts and tight-fitting tops. Bella managed to exude sex appeal wearing sporty clothes and no makeup.

She’d always turned my crank, even though I found her a little intimidating. Not only were we entryway buddies, she and I were taking the same Urban Studies course this semester. I noticed her more often than I cared to admit.

And now? We were going to drink together. I’d been planning to make my pity party a private one. But I could use a friend to distract me from my misery. If only I could get the bottle open.

Bella waited with a patient if slightly amused expression on her face. “Have you done this before?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Can I give you a tip? Try twisting gently.”

“Twisting?” The instructions I’d dug up on the internet this afternoon hadn’t said anything about twisting.

“Trust me. I’m very good with my hands.” She gave me a playful nudge with her elbow.

My neck heated, as it always did when Bella used innuendo. And she used plenty of them, so I really should get over myself already. But Bella was sexy in a way that always made me break out in a sweat. The way she looked at me made me overly conscious of my body, and all the ways it might be put to use.

Theoretically.

Moving on.

Hunkering down to the task at hand, I gave the cork a gentle twist the way she’d told me to. Under my palm, I felt it begin to give. Half a second later, a satisfying pop echoed through the entryway, and the cork flew into the air, ricocheting off an oak moulding before crashing back down onto the stairs.

Bella put both hands on her knees and laughed. “Not bad for a virgin.”

Holy…! My heart skipped two or three beats. Was it that obvious? Was I marked in some way? Was I GLOWING LIKE A BEACON?

She got up to retrieve the cork, and then handed it to me. “Here you go. A memento to celebrate your first time.”

Oh. I blew out a breath. She was only talking about the champagne bottle, estupido. My shoulders relaxed a fractional degree. “Here,” I said, handing her the bottle. “You can have the first sip.”

“What a gentleman.” Bella took the bottle and tipped it carefully to her mouth. She took a sip, but then had to wipe her mouth quickly when the foam rushed over the bottle’s lip. She laughed. “I’m fine with the whole down-and-out vibe we have going on here. But next time we’re slumming it in the hallway, I’ll bring bourbon.” She passed me the bottle.

“Sounds like a plan,” I said, taking a sip. Even though my heart was bitter, the wine was not. It was magnificent.

“Why are we out here, if you don’t mind my asking?”

My chuckle was dry. “My room is a little crowded right now. Not the common room, but…” I just shook my head.

Bella giggled. “Really? Both your roommates are getting busy?”