Under the Mistletoe: A Sexy Bad Boy Holiday Novel (The Parker's 12 Days of Christmas)

by Ali Parker

  “Are you expecting anyone?” I asked. I feared that the moving company got the date wrong and we were going to have to pack up our lives today.

  “No,” she said, settling down in her chair.

  “I’ll get it,” I said and left the room. I peeked through the window next to the door and came face to face with Alex.

  I stood up straight, jumping back from the glass.

  I slowly opened the door. Was this really happening? How?

  “Alex?” I asked, afraid I was hallucinating from lack of sleep.

  He wore a pair of khaki shorts and a tight pale blue t-shirt that showed off his amazing body.

  “I got your address from the student directory,” he said.

  “But, why?” I blurted out.

  He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Last night I could tell something was wrong, so I wanted to see you.”

  I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. I was elated to see him, as I was every time he was nearby, and it helped that he was concerned for me, but why? We only started talking two days ago, what was his motivation for traveling two hours to check in on me?

  “You must be worried about failing class to come out here,” I said, trying to make light of the strange situation.

  He chuckled. “I would like my tutor’s mental state to be intact in order to help me.”

  My chest deflated. I wasn’t sure why I thought there might be something more between us. He clearly needed me for my brain and nothing else.

  If that was the case, he might as well go home. I told him that I wasn’t able to help until later in the week. It would serve him right for showing up unannounced.

  Grandma came in from the other room struggling to carry a box.

  “Stop,” I said, rushing toward her. I didn’t need her in the hospital with broken bones. “I’ll get—”

  Alex appeared at my side and grabbed the box before I could.

  “What a gentleman,” she said, preening.

  I narrowed my eyes. We were just about to sit down for breakfast. She couldn’t wait a few minutes for me to come back?

  “Where are you going with this?” He asked.

  “The garage, just through the kitchen,” she said. “I’m Joan by the way.”

  “Alex,” he said with that sexy grin of his.

  When he was out of the room, I turned to her. “What was that about?”

  “A handsome, strong boy comes into my house he’s going to get to work.”

  I clamped a hand over my mouth, stifling a laugh. “I wanted him to leave.”

  “Don’t be rude, Lily. Now make him a plate of food. He’s going to need his strength.”

  Alex and Grandma talked over breakfast, barely allowing me one word. I watched the two of them. Her eyes were bright, and they crinkled at the corners as she probed him for information about his life. I took in as much as I could. He was so polite to her even though she wanted him to help with moving all the boxes out of the house and into the garage. He said he didn’t mind, but I knew that’s not why he came here.

  While he didn't have to do anything for us, his pleasant attitude warmed my heart, and I couldn’t help that my crush on him turned into so much more in such little time. I was in trouble.

  Chapter 9

  Alex

  Lily and I made plans to study again on Tuesday. It was hard to agree to that since I wanted to see her sooner, but after barging in on her life on Sunday, I didn’t want to seem too desperate. I almost didn’t drive two hours to see her, but after hanging up with her Saturday night, something was pushing me to make the trip. The strain in her voice niggled at the back of my mind before I made the decision.

  I kept telling myself that I needed her to be in the right frame of mind to help me pass our class. If she wasn’t able to concentrate on our work together, then she would be of no use to me. But that wasn’t the whole truth. I had an urge to want to see her all the time, even when we weren’t studying. Meeting her Grandmother gave me more insight to this amazing girl. I never liked a girl in such a short amount of time before so I knew without a doubt she was special and I wanted to keep her close to me as much as possible.

  She wanted to study at the library this time as she didn’t want any distractions. She reserved a small study room so we could talk without disturbing the other students. The room was all glass, so we didn’t have much privacy, but being in her presence was good enough for me.

  First, we went over the assignment that was due at the end of the week.

  As she reviewed it to herself, I stared at the adorable crinkle of skin at the bridge of her nose.

  “This is better than I expected,” she said.

  “You weren’t expecting much, were you?” I asked.

  Her jaw dropped. “No that’s not what I meant.”

  I sat back and crossed my arms. She was even cuter when she was flustered. I took it up a notch.

  “You know,” I said. “When I picked you, I didn’t think you hated me so much.”

  “I don’t hate you!” She said quickly.

  “Sure, sure,” I said. “I recall you rolling your eyes at me in class. You're too good for me, I know it and you know it. I thought you'd be willing to share your knowledge with a dummy like me.”

  She opened her mouth and then closed it quickly. The shock in her eyes lessened to confusion. “You’re messing with me,” she said, her cheeks reddening again.

  I grinned, unable to hide it anymore.

  “I didn’t think a frat boy like you would allow your ego to be bruised so easily.”

  “Ouch,” I said, pressing my hand to my heart. “You're harsh.”

  She giggled and leaned her head back.

  My eyes dropped to the smooth skin of her neck. I rubbed my fingers together, remembering how her skin felt under mine. Jumping back to that night in my mind, those feelings rushed back to me. How I wanted to find a more private part of the library and continue with our little conversation.

  “Anyway,” she said, shaking her head. “We should get back to this.”

  “Yes, how did I do, teach?”

  She smiled at me. “I’m nowhere near as smart as our teachers but thanks. You did really well with the first one here, just a suggestion. Professor Tarrington had an easier way to go about this formula that will definitely earn you some points.”

  “Really?” I asked.

  “Sure,” she said. “He likes when people pay attention in class.”

  “He does?” I slapped my palm on my forehead. “Wow, I had no idea professors liked when we paid attention. I feel like these last three years have been a waste.”

  She tapped me on the arm with the eraser end of her pencil. “If you keep this up then I might need to give you a mark with my red pen.”

  I leaned closer. “Would you?”

  She trapped her lip under her teeth again. A pulsing heat snaked down my body.

  “I think you’d like it too much,” she said after a moment.

  I leaned back. “I would.”

  She cleared her throat and moved onto the next piece of the assignment. I didn’t do so well on the next part, but Lily was confident that I understood a lot more than I should have for only a few hours of work.

  As much as I needed to concentrate on the work in front of me, I found it harder the more I was around her. Little movements drove me wild; the way she brushed her hair behind her ears and the way she fluttered her eyelashes when she was trying to think of an example to help me understand better. I jotted all of those small tidbits about her in my memory.

  Our time together passed too quickly, and before I knew it, we were finished working.

  “Professor Tarrington will be impressed with this work tomorrow,” she said, closing her book.

  “I hope he doesn’t think I cheated.”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t give you the answers. You came to them yourself. If you need me to talk to him for you?”

  “No,” I said. “I’m good.” For some rea
son, I didn’t want him to like her any more than he did as his prized student.

  “So about this weekend,” she said as she finished packing her things. “What time is the Reindeer Riot on Friday?”

  I turned away from her, pretending to look through my notes. I ground my teeth together. I completely forgot about that part of the deal. Now that I knew her better, I didn’t want her anywhere near my brothers or the other frat guys that attended our parties.

  “I’m not sure if you going to that is a good idea.”

  She placed a hand on her hip. “Why not?”

  “It just isn’t,” I said firmly. How could I tell her that over the span of less than a week I wanted her for myself? She’d never believe me, and I couldn’t mess up the good thing we had going between us.

  “What’s going on, Alex?” she asked, crossing her arms. She stood between me and the door, and I doubted she’d let me out without an explanation. Over the last few days, her confidence around me grew. While she was able to flirt with me as much as I flirted with her, she wasn’t as shy as she had been. “Wasn’t that the deal between us?”

  “Yeah—”

  “Three parties and you get a passing grade in Cost Accounting,” she interrupted. “I’ve done my part of the deal, and I plan on continuing until the end of the semester. Unless you want to renege on the entire thing?”

  “No,” I said quickly. I had to pass this class. For myself and my parents. Failing wasn’t an option.

  “So?” she asked, dragging the word out.

  I sighed. “So, I’ll see you Friday night at the house.”

  “Good,” she said and shouldered her new forest green backpack. “I’ll see you tomorrow in class.”

  “See you,” I said, watching her walk away. I raked my hand through my hair, trying to stir up any answers on how to keep her away from my brothers without staking a public claim on her. I had to keep us professional, but each time I saw her, that was getting harder and harder to do.

  Chapter 10

  Lily

  “All I want for Christmas is YOU!” Amber sang and bounced around the room.

  Now that the room was clean, I didn’t need to worry about tripping and hurting herself. I sat on the bed and buckled my heels. Since they were my own, I felt more comfortable with the height this time.

  Amber grabbed my hands and twisted me around. I skittered across the floor trying to match her steps.

  “Come on!” she said. “Why are you not more excited?”

  Her excitement was enough for the two of us.

  I still was mulling over the situation with Alex. There was no reason for me to be nervous about attending the Reindeer Riot. This was what I signed up for. But even though Alex was adorable and flirty the rest of the week during our study sessions and in class, something bothered me about his attitude on Tuesday about me not going. He seemed like he liked me but didn’t want me to come to his house for the party after agreeing that he would take me.

  Was he embarrassed by me? Or was my social awkwardness transparent to him? Could he see deep down that I only did this for Amber? She would never forgive me if I backed out of these parties after getting us kicked out of the Freaky Friday one. I’d be guaranteed a new roommate next semester if I did. It was hard enough getting to know someone so opposite from me. I wasn’t ready to do that again in a few weeks.

  When the song ended, Amber slugged from her water bottle and plopped down on her desk chair. Tonight we wore matching short brown skirts and tank tops. She positioned a little red plastic nose on her own and turned to me with a big grin on her face.

  I couldn’t help laughing at how ridiculous she looked. I was glad I opted for just the reindeer ear headband and gave her the honor of being Rudolph for the night.

  “I can’t believe you managed to get us invited to three parties this season!” Amber squealed. “It was hard enough for me to get invited to Freaky Friday. I wish I were as smart as you so that I could tutor hunky seniors.”

  “It’s not like that,” I said, unsure of that fact myself. Alex traveled two hours to see in person if I was okay and then he didn’t want me to come to his party. I couldn’t wrap my head around what he wanted other than to get a good grade in the class. Maybe he was always a flirt, and I was reading the signals wrong. Though, if he was the type to kiss all girls who did him favors, then I might have to look out for him more than I thought.

  By the time we left the dorm, my mind was a jumbled mess. I wished I could be easy going like Amber and not think so much. But I was hard-wired to analyze everything which made my relationship with Alex much more complicated than it needed to be.

  We followed a trail of fake Santa's and other Christmas characters toward the frat house. I tried to feed off of Amber’s excitement, but the thought of seeing Alex and possibly dealing with the guy who didn’t want to be seen with me made my stomach churn.

  Maybe I would stay for a little bit, check out the scene then leave on my own volition. I could tell Amber I had a stomach ache. That way she could stay and have a good time while Alex didn’t have to worry about me embarrassing him.

  Ugh. The whole situation was awful, and I wished I never agreed to it. Spending time with him was amazing, and I looked forward to it, but if this were the cost, then I’d rather only see him in class.

  On the other hand, he hadn’t mentioned it again since earlier this week. Maybe he got used to the idea of me being around him that he wouldn’t back down on his side of the bargain. Grandma wanted me to make the most of my time in college, and this was the first step.

  I took a page from Amber and started off with a smile. My insides warmed, and no matter what Alex did tonight, I wanted to try and have fun with my roommate. Someday I would look back on these memories, and I didn’t want to feel any regret.

  My muscles relaxed, and I let out a deep breath I’d been holding.

  Amber and I joined in with a group of guys dressed as reindeer as well. We sang the Rudolph song, and I was already in a better mood when we arrived at the house.

  The guys went around back of the house while Amber and I stayed in the front.

  “I should find Alex,” I said.

  “Good idea,” she said. “Then you can introduce me to his other brothers. Officially this time.”

  I nodded and sucked in a breath through my teeth.

  Here goes nothing.

  The fraternity had transformed the interior of the house into a winter wonderland. Fake snow cascaded down from the ceiling, and white fabric covered all the surfaces along with more twinkly white lights. Pop variations of Christmas music pumped from the speakers.

  I couldn’t help admiring the costumes of the rest of the guests. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Christmas already arrived in the AKA house. A huge tree filled the corner of the room reaching the top of the high ceiling. Big colorful bulbs wrapped around the tree and they seemed to blink with the sound of the beat, matching the music.

  “This is so cool,” Amber said as we made our way through the crowd.

  I kept my eyes peeled for Alex, my gaze landing on each of the guys around us. Many of them had fake white beards, so I had to look closely to make sure I didn’t miss Alex in the mix.

  Loud shouting came from the kitchen, and I had a feeling that Alex was nearby.

  “In here,” I called to Amber, taking her hand. I wasn’t ready to face him alone just yet.

  “ONE! TWO! THREE!” the loud counting continued as we rounded the long island in the middle of the kitchen to see what the commotion was about.

  Two frat guys were doing pushups on the ground, each of them had a girl sitting on their backs, adding more weight to their challenge.

  Alex’s face was scrunched up with concentration as one of the girls smoothed her hands over his bare back, gripping onto him so she wouldn’t fall off. Both of the girls were leggy and blonde, dressed in much smaller outfits than Amber and I were. They looked to be seniors as well, having the confidence that most
of the senior class did.

  My heart dropped into my stomach, and I turned away from the push-up competition. I couldn’t believe I was dumb enough to think he was serious about the deal. He said I was supposed to be his date to these parties. It looked like I was wrong about everything when it came to Alex and his word.

  I rolled my eyes at Amber to brush off how I felt on the inside. But she saw right through me.

  “Do you need to freshen up?” she asked.

  I could have hugged her right then. “Yes.”

  On the way to the bathroom, I stopped at the front door. I glanced behind me and didn’t see Amber anywhere. I could go home and text her on the way telling her I didn’t feel well. That way I wouldn’t ruin her good time.

  After making my decision, I headed for the open front door.

  Someone stepped in front of me, and I skidded to a stop.

  “Hey there,” the guy said. He had dirty blonde hair with one side shaved. He wore a white button-down shirt with a bright red vest and red bow tie. His shorts didn’t quite match, but I had an idea he was a member of AKA, at least it seemed that way from his general cocky stance. “Where are you off to, Vixen?”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  He laughed. “That was corny. But I actually can’t remember any other reindeer other than Rudolph and Vixen.”

  I coughed out a laugh. “I was just about to leave.”

  “I can’t have that,” he said, handing me a solo cup. “You just got here.”

  “How did you know that?”

  “I saw you come in with your other reindeer friend. You’re hard to miss.”

  My cheeks burned. He was coming on strong, but his smile was sincere.

  Amber’s reindeer ears popped up behind him, and I gave her a double look. She indicated for me to take the drink.

  I glanced over my shoulder, still hearing the countdown in the kitchen. I wanted to have a good time, right? And here was a guy wanting the same thing for me.

  I turned back to him and offered a sweet smile, taking the drink from him.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.