Basic Chemistry: LOVE 101 - WILLOW BAY NOVELLA

by Layne, Harlow

  I growl at the thought of her on a date with anyone else. Her brows furrow for a moment but then quickly even out.

  “Are you here alone?” She asks, sounding curious.

  I shrug because I guess you could call it that. “I came alone, but once the show’s over, I’ll hang out with the guys. Until then, we can hang out if you want.”

  “Ugh,” she sighs and takes another swig of her beer. “I feel like a loser. First, my date cancels on me, and now you’re taking pity on me.”

  I bump her elbow with mine. “It’s not a hardship hanging out with you. In fact, I think you’re a cool chick.”

  She lays her hand on my arm while smiling up at me. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better, but thank you.”

  All I can think about is her touch. The way her petite hand feels so soft against my skin as little zaps of electricity shoot straight to my cock.

  When she removes her hand, I can finally think straight. “I’m not that nice of a guy,” I admit.

  “You’re being nice tonight.”

  Because I have an ulterior motive, but she doesn’t need to know that.

  The music cuts off, and the lights dim even more, indicating Crimson Heat is about to come out on stage.

  Kenton is the first one out, going to sit behind his drum kit. Cross and Greer are next out, picking up their guitars and plugging them in. They strum a few cords and make some adjustments. The second Walker steps out on stage and walks to the microphone, the crowd goes wild. Even though they’re only playing in a bar, it certainly doesn’t feel like it in this moment. It sounds like a sold-out stadium.

  Roxie claps and screams right along with the rest of the crowd with a huge grin on her face.

  “Hello, Loganville,” Walker shouts into the microphone. “How are you this fine Saturday night?”

  If the noise the crowd is making is anything to go by, they’re having the best Saturday of their lives.

  Roxie can’t stop whistling and staring up at Walker in awe. I can’t believe she’s into that broody motherfucker. She turns to me with bright eyes full of excitement.

  “Which one is your friend?”

  Turning back, I look up to Walker, who’s getting the crowd riled up. “The singer.” I lift my chin to Walker, and he points directly at me.

  “Do you see that beautiful bastard right there?” Walker keeps pointing at me with an evil smile on his face.

  What the fuck is he doing? I swear if he fucks this up for me, I’m going to kill him. He’ll never have the chance to become famous.

  The entire room looks at me, and for the first time in my life, I want to duck and run away.

  “That man, Merrick, is my best friend. He has been since we met the first day of kindergarten. He’s been by my side and encouraging me to follow my dreams of being up on stage since we met. If it wasn’t for him, I would have been thrown out of Willow Bay at least a dozen times. Thank you, man, for always believing in me.”

  I lift my beer to salute him.

  “Give them what they came for,” I yell.

  Kenton counts down by hitting his sticks together, and then they start playing. The whole crowd sings along and dances in a tantalizing rhythm.

  Watching Roxie experience Crimson Heat for the first time is exhilarating. Seeing someone fall in love with their music is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I can’t imagine how Walker and the rest of them feel every time they play.

  Once the first round of songs ends, I turn to Roxie, who, along with everyone else, seems to be having the time of her life. “Have you ever heard their music before?”

  “No, but now I want more. Can I download their music or buy a CD or something?” She bounces as the next song starts.

  “Nothing yet, but they’re working on it. I’ll be shocked if they aren’t signed on to Titan Records by Christmas.”

  “Really, so soon?”

  I’m sure it doesn’t feel soon to Walker, who’s been working on having his music in people’s hands for the last six years.

  Draining the last of my beer, I hold it up. “Do you want another?”

  She pulls out her phone and looks at the time. “Sure, why not?”

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes with new drinks.”

  I don’t take my eyes off Roxie as I make my way to the bar, not caring who I bump into. It only takes a few minutes for me to grab two more beers, but by the time I’m making my way back to her, there’s some fucker trying to get her to dance with him.

  I’ve heard of people who say they see red when they’re angry, but I never believed it. That is until I see this motherfucker, who’s got no right to put his hands on Roxie, palm the curves of her hips. Pulling her against him, he grinds into her ass. When I see her try to pry his hands off and he pulls her tighter to him, I lose it. Now, I’m not one normally prone to anger, but my world goes completely red as I charge over to them and push him off her.

  He shoves me back a step and gets in my face. “What the hell, dude? What’s your problem?”

  Not backing down, I stand to my full height and use the three inches I have over him. “The lady doesn’t want your hands on her.”

  “Merrick,” Roxie calls from beside me as she tries to get in between us. “It’s okay. Please, let’s just go.”

  “Listen to your girlfriend,” he taunts.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Walker motion toward us, and I instantly feel like shit that I could very well be ruining his show. It doesn’t make me back down, though. This asshole needs to learn that you can’t touch a woman without her permission.

  “Back away, Roxie. This guy needs to be taught a lesson,” I narrow my eyes at him.

  The smirk he gives me pushes me over the edge, and I’m seconds away from punching him in the face when I see security making its way to us. That must have been what Walker was doing—calling them to break up the fight.

  Whoever this asshole is, he must see them too. For one brief moment, I think he’s going to run, but instead, he rears back and punches me straight in the nose. Pain explodes in my face making me see stars for a few seconds, and when it clears, he’s already being hauled out of the venue. Too bad they didn’t come a few seconds later, so I could have gotten my hit in.

  “Oh my god, Merrick, you’re bleeding. Let’s get you to the bathroom and get you cleaned up.” Roxie grabs my hand and is pulling me in the direction of the restrooms before I have a chance to tell her I’m alright.

  A little blood never hurt anyone.

  Every few seconds, she glances back at me with a worried look as she tries to push people out of the way.

  It’s then that I notice the band is back to playing. I look up to where Walker is and see his eyes tracking my every move as he continues to sing into the microphone. I wave at him, letting him know I’m fine. I’m better than fine. I’ve got Roxie holding my hand and rushing me away from the hundred or so people who don’t give a damn about us.

  People aren’t moving out of our way fast enough, going by the annoyed but determined look on her face, so I take matters into my own hands. Picking up my pace, I push ahead of Roxie and use my shoulder on anyone who doesn’t get out of our way. A few people look annoyed until they look at me and then step out of the way.

  I don’t know if it’s because they realize I’m friends with Walker or if it’s that I look that bad. I can feel liquid trailing down my chin. Reaching up to wipe it away, I come away with red all over my hand. I look down to see if any has made it onto my shirt, but it’s dark, and so is the room, making it difficult to see much of anything.

  Once in the hallway, where it’s a little quieter, we come face to face with a long ass line to the women’s restroom. Coming around in front of me, Roxie frowns as she takes me in. She looks to the line and then to the non-existent one for the men’s restroom.

  “Come on,” she pushes open the door but takes a step back at the dirty restroom. “Is it always like this?”

  “Here? Yeah,
that’s why I said I try not to use it,” I chuckle.

  “At least you don’t have any open wounds. If you did, you’d probably get an infection.”

  She isn’t wrong. This bathroom is what horror movies are made of. There’s not a clean spot anywhere you look, and there’s used paper towels and toilet paper littering the floor along with puddles of brown liquid. The sink has brown smudges all over it—and let’s not even get started with the smell.

  “Let’s hurry this up. It’s taking everything in me to not throw up,” she says before holding her breath.

  “I’m fine,” I try to assure her.

  “No, you’re not. We need to clean up the blood and try to get your nose to stop bleeding.” She starts to rummage through her purse, looking for I don’t know what.

  Opening the door, I start to push her out. “I’ll get some clean paper towels and wet them. You can wait out in the hall.”

  I don’t want to be in the bathroom any longer than necessary, and we can do whatever she wants out in the hall. I’m probably going to need to boil my hands after touching the sink and paper dispenser.

  A minute later, I come out of the bathroom with a stack of soaking wet paper towels to a relieved-looking Roxie.

  Before I can say a word, she grabs the stack and starts wiping my face, starting with my chin. “I can’t believe that asshole hit you,” she shakes her head and huffs. It’s cute she’s angry trying to protect my honor when it was me who was trying to protect hers.

  “I can’t either, especially when security was coming. Hopefully, he won’t be allowed back in the place,” I grumble.

  “Your friend needs to find better places to play because this,” she points over my shoulder to the bathroom door. “Is the most disgusting place I’ve ever encountered. Are all men’s restrooms like that?”

  “Not that bad, but they can be pretty… gross. Most of the time, they’re clean. Don’t let that one ruin your experiences in men’s bathrooms.”

  She grimaces and shakes her head. “I don’t plan to spend much time in one ever again if I can help it. I might have PTSD and never be able to use a public restroom again after seeing that.”

  I want to say it wasn’t that bad, but yeah, it was. The smell alone would do the trick. I swear it’s a close replica of the bathroom in that Saw movie.

  “Now, stop moving so I can get you cleaned up,” she rests one hand on my cheek and uses the other to wipe the now-drying blood away. “At least it looks like your nose stopped bleeding.” She stops what she’s doing and looks up at me. She’s shorter without her heels on tonight, making her have to crane her neck to meet my gaze. “Thank you for coming to the rescue.” She bites on her lower lip, and my dick goes from a semi ready to thrust inside of her in a nanosecond. “I… I started to get scared until you arrived.”

  And there went my dick.

  I hate that she was scared.

  “He shouldn’t have put his hands on you,” I spit out.

  “I know,” she says softly. It does little to tame the beast inside that wants to go find that guy and rip his head off.

  Her thumb caresses my cheek, and it takes everything in me not to kiss her right here and now. I’m not sure why I’m holding back when I want nothing more, but I do.

  One touch to the side of my nose and the pain that feels like someone’s jabbing a metal rod up my nose and straight to my brain has me pulling back.

  “I’m sorry. Shit,” she moves back into my space, and this time lightly dabs around my nose. She does this a few times before she takes a step back and looks as if she’s trying to observe her handy work.

  “I think I got it all.” She looks pained as she takes me in. “You’re probably going to have a black eye tomorrow. Maybe two.”

  “Not really my best look, but I’ll live.”

  She looks down the hall and then back to me as she worries her bottom lip. “Do you get in many fights?”

  “Can’t say that I do. I’m a pretty chill guy, or at least I like to think I am. I’ve had a couple of altercations, but nothing major. That asshole…” I don’t want to think about him. If I do, I’ll want to hunt him down, and then I’ll probably get kicked out of school for what I’d do to him.

  Taking me by the arm, Roxie turns us, so we’re facing each other, but others can get by in the hall. “Hey, don’t let him ruin your night.” Her voice is soft and seductive, and the way she’s looking at me, I can’t fight what I’m feeling any longer.

  Sweeping down, I envelop her face in my hands and crush my mouth to hers. For a brief second, she stiffens and then opens for me. My tongue sweeps in, and all I taste is heaven. Besides the beer from earlier, I can also taste something that is distinctly Roxie—and I like it.

  Angling her head for better access, I plunder her waiting mouth and grind my dick against her stomach.

  Roxie gasps. Putting her hands to my chest, she pushes, and I immediately step back, giving her space.

  “Merrick,” she says my name in a breathy whisper. “We can’t. It’s wrong. I’m your teacher.”

  “I know exactly who you are, but I don’t care. I’ve wanted to kiss you—and more—from the second I saw you standing in front of my class. I won’t deny I was a little disappointed when I found out you were the teacher and not the TA.”

  “Because you know it’s wrong,” she moves to step back, but I grip her waist and pull her to me.

  “There’s nothing wrong with the way you make me feel. In fact, everything about it is right.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s wrong, and I could get fired.” She pushes away again, and this time I let her go. She needs her space, but I know she feels some type of connection to me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have kissed me back.

  With my dick screaming in my pants not to let her go, I watch as Roxie hastily walks down the hallway. When she reaches the opening, she turns back. I expect to see regret in her eyes, but all I see is lust.

  6

  For the entire week, Roxie has been ignoring me. When I try to talk to her after class, she gives me a weak excuse as to why she has to go and then leaves like the room is on fire.

  I’m surprised she hasn’t canceled our tutoring session tonight. I’m not sure why I call it that. I guess it’s technically called tutoring, but all she’s really doing is helping me find resources and guide me on my research paper. At least she doesn’t seem like she’ll give us lots of homework, which is good because my other classes are burying me.

  When I get to Roxie’s office, I find another student from my class waiting outside in the only chair. What the fuck is she doing here? I take the space on the other side of the hall and lean against the wall as I stare at Roxie’s closed door.

  Did she forget about our session?

  No, I don’t believe that for a second.

  Right as my phone indicates it’s six o’clock on the dot, her door swings open, and there she is with a serene smile on her ruby red lips. She looks to me and then quickly to the girl sitting in the chair. I’ve had a few classes with her, but I have no idea what her name is.

  “Casey, Merrick, come in. I hope you don’t mind, but I can only meet for thirty minutes tonight. I have an appointment at seven that I need to get to.”

  “Oh, that’s fine,” Casey says, moving into the room, her long brown hair sliding over her face like usual. She’s always hiding.

  “Is it for a date?” I ask as I walk by her.

  “That’s none of your business since I’m the teacher, and you’re the student.”

  Oh, she has no idea how much it is my business. And I will find out. I’ll follow her to wherever she’s going, and I’ll ruin her damn date if I have to. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let her get involved with some other man.

  Roxie narrows her eyes at me as if she can tell what I’m thinking. Tough shit. I guess she should have answered my question when she had the chance.

  I sit back in the seat across from Ms. Hart’s desk with my laptop out the entire ti
me while she and Casey talk about Casey’s research topic. I’m not doing any research. All I can do is look at her while I pretend to be doing something other than planning how I’m going to sabotage her date.

  “I’m sorry to cut this short, but I really must go. Casey, if you need any more help, I think we’re going to meet next week at the library to find more research materials. You’re more than welcome to join us.”

  I want to protest, but instead, I train my glare on Casey and watch as she shrinks into her chair beside Roxie and stutters out. “I think I’ll be good, but thank you.”

  I’m such an asshole. Casey’s never done anything to me, and now I’ve gone and scared her. I’m not that guy. I can’t let this crazy obsession I have with my chemistry teacher turn me into a raving lunatic.

  I let a small smile break through and offer an olive branch. “If you need help, please join us.”

  “Um… that’s okay. I normally work on Thursday nights, anyway. I just wanted to make sure I was on the right track. Thank you for helping me, Ms. Hart.”

  “You’re most welcome, Casey. I’m here anytime you need help,” Roxie stands and starts to pack up. I wait until Casey’s gone to close the door and see if I can get some answers.

  I press up against her back but keep my hands to myself because I know once I touch her, I won’t be able to stop. “Are you really that scared of me that you had to have little Casey act as a buffer?

  She stiffens and doesn’t bother to turn and look at me. “I’m not scared of anything, least of all you, Mr. Landry. Now, if you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if you’d back off. I really do have to go.”

  I don't budge from my spot. “Are you going on a date?”

  “Again, it’s none of your business, but no, I’m not going on a date. I have a doctor’s appointment to go to.”

  “Are you okay?” I ask instantly.

  I’m pissed she had Casey cockblock our time together, but I don’t want anything bad to happen to her.

  “I’m fine. It’s not for me,” she pushes my chest and steps around me to head down the hall. “If you would please go now, I need to leave. I’ll see you tomorrow morning in class.”