Fantasy Boyfriend (A Tattooed Bad Boy Romance)

by Stone, Vanessa

  Yesterday morning, as I knew I would, I had woken up with a mother of all hangovers. The only thing that kept me from totally regretting my evening out was that kiss with Luke. Of course, my girlfriends and I had all shared our experiences yesterday morning after we all dealt with the aftermath of the party. Becky, Desiree, and Selena had all managed to "score" and were more than happy to share blow by blow descriptions of making out with their respective dates, but not one of them had known much about the guy they'd gone out with before meeting them at the fraternity. Of course, it was the same with me and Luke, but I didn't score with him, and I pointed that fact out to the girls as we all compared notes.

  "I kissed him and that was all!" I insisted for the third time later that afternoon.

  "Are you telling me that you let that delicious-looking drink of a man get away with nothing but a kiss?" Becky scoffed in her usual friendly and teasing manner. "Why, if I had had him within arm's reach, I'd grab for his-"

  "You would've grabbed for his ass and anything else you could get your hands on," Desiree interrupted.

  The three of them erupted into laughter, but I wasn't so amused. While my girlfriends had never really teased me about my inability to find a guy that I felt lived up to my standards, I was beginning to feel a bit protective of Luke for some bizarre reason. Not that he needed protection. As a matter of fact, I had a feeling that he was more than familiar with the female sex. Hadn’t I noted that as a prerequisite on my list? He wasn't mine, either. In fact, if any one of my girlfriends approached him and even made out or had sex with him, it wouldn't really bother me. Would it?

  "Look, it wasn't that big of a deal," I continued. However, I did manage to curtail, as quickly as possible, the heat of a blush that traveled into my cheeks. "I started to kiss him on the cheek as my way of thanking them for taking me up to the bathroom, but he turned his head at the last moment.” I paused, as if reassessing my own words. “He is a good kisser," I admitted. "As a matter of fact, I felt a tingle the minute he grabbed my hand to take me out of the bathroom line."

  "What kind of a tingle?" Selena wanted to know.

  One thing I could say about my girlfriends and sorority sisters was that they were extremely focused on details. I knew that if I didn't provide those details, chances were they wouldn't leave me alone until they got them. I shrugged and decided it didn't really matter. I didn't think anyone like Luke could meet all of the stipulations on my perfect man list, anyway. "Down there," I admitted, vaguely pointing to my groin. “His hand was firm and warm. When I touched his forearms-"

  “When did you touch his forearms?" Desiree demanded. "Are you holding back on us, Jessica?"

  I shook my head and made a noise. "No, I told you he kissed me. We were standing close together and he had his arms around my shoulders-"

  "And you left that part out, too?" Selena gasped, glancing at the others. "Can you believe this? The first time that we hear of Jessica actually kissing a guy and she's leaving out all the juicy details!"

  "If you would let me finish, I'd be more than happy to supply the juicy details," I said. “As I was saying, we were standing face to face. He placed his arms around my back and we kissed. He even started French kissing me, and while he was, I placed my hands on his forearms. Okay?"

  "Okay," Desiree said. "Go on."

  "We kissed," I shrugged. "It was nice-"

  "Just nice?" Becky grinned.

  "Oh, for crying out loud," I exclaimed. "What do you want me to say? It was nice! His lips and tongue were warm, his arms were muscled, and he smelled really good-"

  "More details left out!" Desiree teased.

  I stuck my tongue out at her and then smiled. "I've never seen him around here before, have any of you?"

  "Don't try to change the subject," Becky insisted. "What did he smell like?"

  "I'm not sure, but I didn't recognize the cologne. It was kind of a woodsy, earthy scent. The first through that hit my senses was that it was kind of a combination between musk and sandalwood."

  "Dudette, it's making me hot to think about it," Desiree said, suggestively licking her lips.

  All of us joined in laughter, and then I shook my head. "If I hadn't it been a little tipsy, I probably wouldn't even have kissed him at all," I said. “I don't regret it, but I doubt if I'll ever see him again, anyway. Which reminds me – have any of you ever seen him on campus?"

  The girls shook their heads, and it was suggested that he was a transfer student or perhaps he had just moved into the area. Again, it probably didn't matter. I certainly wasn't going to go chasing after him, and it wasn't likely that I would even see him again. I didn't often go to fraternity parties, especially after classes started. I was much more responsible than that.

  *

  Monday morning was the first day of school. I had a full schedule today, starting with advanced chemistry, moving on to psychology, and then a brief break for lunch. After lunch my classes were all health-based topics. The girls and I walked to campus together, before each of us went our separate ways. I was fairly familiar with the campus so didn't have much trouble finding my chemistry class. By the time I walked inside, it was about halfway full. I sat near the back, like I usually do, close enough to see the white board or any visuals, but not up near the front. I didn't like being close to the front. Around each side of the classroom stood oblong shelves bearing a variety of chemical bottles, microscopes, and test tubes of various sizes – typical college chemistry classroom environment.

  Just when it was time for class to start, the professor made his entrance, bearing an armload of books in one hand, a ratty old leather satchel in the other. I had had him for one semester last year and knew him to be a fair, yet demanding instructor. I sighed as the professor introduced himself and began to give his first-day-of-class speech. It was repeated verbatim from the previous year, and I could surmise, for years before that.

  Several moments later, I heard noise behind me and realized that a student had arrived late. Nice way to make a first impression on the first day of school, I thought. As I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, I glanced over my shoulder and could barely contain my surprise when I saw Luke sauntering in. He looked just as good as he had the other evening. This morning he wore a short-sleeved shirt and my eyes immediately went to his ink. God, I found that ink so sexy. To my incredible surprise, and even though the classroom was still only three quarters full, Luke recognized me, grinned, and sat in the chair next to mine. I stared back at him in open mouth surprised, only closing my mouth when he winked at me. Forcing myself to play it cool, I turned my attention back to the professor, even though all I wanted to do was inspect Luke’s tattoos. My fingers itched to trace a path along one of them, but even though it was daylight and he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, I forced myself to resist the urge to look down and get a closer look at them.

  Nearly twenty minutes later, with my eyes nearly going cross-eyed with boredom as the professor continued to give his introductory preview of this semester’s class goals and projects, I was surprised when I felt a nudge on my leg. I glanced down and saw that Luke had moved his leg closer to mine. He held his right arm down by his side, next to his leg. In his fingers, he clasped a small square of paper. I glanced up at him briefly and saw him gesturing with his eyes for me to take the note. What was this? Passing notes like a couple of elementary school kids?

  He continued to stare at me, grinning, and I finally, and as surreptitiously as possible, reached my left hand over to take the note from him. I had a self-conscious feeling that the professor was going to see and call me out for it. Nothing like being reminded of elementary school when you were in college, right? Crossing my legs, I placed the note on my notebook tablet and carefully and quietly unfolded it.

  Go out with me Saturday night?

  I stared down at the note for several moments, my heart thumping with excitement. He wanted to go out on a date? I got hot just thinking about it. I didn't have any classes on Saturday, an
d although I had a feeling I would already have a full load of homework, I figured what the hell. I pulled my pen from the small clasp on my notebook and wrote the three letter answer underneath his question. Yes. After that, I scribbled my cell phone number.

  In moments, I had passed the note back to him, just as surreptitiously as it had made its way toward me in the first place. I hid my smile, feeling a thrill of success that we had managed to pass a note back and forth without anyone being the wiser. The silliness of it also made me smile. I knew then that regardless of Luke's class schedule or mine, he would find a way to get in touch with me before Saturday. I found myself so distracted, I didn't even realize when the professor finally stopped talking and class was dismissed.

  By the time I focused my attention on the fact that everybody was getting up and filing out of the classroom, I looked to my left and realized Luke had already left. I shook my head, smiled, and then gathered my things, casually walking out of class as if nothing unusual had occurred. As I made my way to my next class, I looked forward to the coming weekend. While he certainly wasn't the type of guy I normally would even have considered going out with, there was something about him that captivated me. I didn't like to think of myself as a superficial person, but there was no doubt that Luke was one of the most handsome guys I'd ever met. The fact that I didn't even know his last name, where he came from, or anything else about him did little to deter my enthusiasm.

  I couldn't wait to get together with the girls this evening and share what had occurred. While I didn’t typically throw caution to the wind, I figured that it was time that I deserved to experience a little adventure in life. I would be careful and protect myself, but at the same time, I was young. Plenty of time for work and studying, and I would be diligent about that, I promised myself. I hadn't allowed myself too much dating last year, not that there were that many guys to choose from that met my standards, but this year, maybe things would be different. Maybe I would to be a little more daring, a little more adventurous. I would have to wait and see.

  Chapter 5

  I carried the last slice of pizza up to my room from the kitchen. We had ordered three large delivery pizzas, a mix-and-match pepperoni and sausage, one with “the works,” and one with just plain cheese on top, which is what Desiree preferred. I took the last piece of one with “the works,” peeled off the sardines, and with a paper plate in one hand and half a can of soda in the other, I made my way up the stairs, made a U-turn, and walked down the short hallway and to my room. I had filled the girls in about my first day of class, and they had done likewise. Nothing terribly exciting for any of us, except for the fact that Luke was taking advanced chemistry and happened to come into class late and sit down next to me. The others were making a big deal out of it. I was curious, no doubt about it. I hadn't pegged Luke for an advanced chemistry kind of guy. Then again, I didn't really even know what kind of guy he was.

  I sat down on my bed, munching on the now cold piece of pizza, contemplating. Finally, brushing the crumbs of the pizza off my bed, I pulled open the drawer of my bedside table and reached inside for my diary. Flipping open the pages, I reviewed what I had written the previous week about my dream guy. As I reviewed my criteria, I began to shake my head. No way was a guy like Luke going to meet my criteria. In fact, as of right now, the only thing that I could put a checkmark next to was the word "tattoos."

  I plumped my pillows and sat back, bending my knees and placing my diary against my knees as I began to jot some comments down on the blank page. Was I being silly? Was I being foolish? It was the first day of school for crying out loud, and I really had no business focusing so much attention on a guy, not even a guy as handsome and captivating as Luke. I didn't even know his last name! What was I thinking, agreeing to go out on a date with a guy when I didn't even know his last name?

  The girls seem to think I was silly worrying over such details. All that mattered to them was that he was handsome, sexy, and of course, that he was real-life flesh and blood. That thought had me glancing toward the small stack of books on the bottom shelf of my bedside table. They teased me endlessly about my reading tastes. Smut books. Bodice rippers. Soft porn. I knew that they were just teasing and I didn't take their comments seriously because most of the time, while my romance novels certainly had some sex in them, I was captivated by the chemistry of the relationship between the hero and heroine.

  What exactly was it that I was looking for? I wanted a guy like the romance writers portrayed in my favorite books. Basically, I wanted someone I could count on, someone I could trust. Yes, someone that could protect me, not that I specifically needed protecting, but one that I knew, if the chips were down, would put me first.

  I might be a hopeless romantic, but I had no respect for men who turned their backs on women and children. I knew the days of chivalry were over, and that I, as a woman, wanted to be thought of as independent and self-sufficient, but thousands of years of evolution were still ingrained in me. I didn't necessarily expect men to open the door for me, pull out a chair for me, or dote on me. Nevertheless, I did want to know that the guy I was with wasn't a sissy, a pushover, or a coward.

  So Luke had tattoos. He certainly had charisma, which could or could not mean that he was a womanizer. For all I knew, he could be gay! I doubted it, at least not the way he flirted and he had asked me out, after all – but you never knew. Was he an alpha male? Again, I couldn't be sure. He certainly seemed confident and assured of himself, although whether he was that way because he knew he was good looking or because he was actually confident remained to be seen.

  Rich? Doubtful. All of the rich guys that I had met in my life were snooty, self-important pricks who thought they were better than anyone else. It seemed like Luke relied on his charm more than an aura of wealth, which led me to believe that his charisma was not the result of money or family influence, but habit. Was he great in bed? I had no idea, and I wasn't sure I wanted to find out. He was certainly a good kisser, but that didn't guarantee anything. The last thing I wanted to deal with was another uncomfortable, awkward, and less than pleasurable experience in bed, which I had experienced the last time I had slept with a guy.

  Thinking back on that experience, at first I had been amused, but then, after moments of fumbling and what began to feel like rough sex, I had grown alarmed. He had quickly finished “the deed” as I called it, before he awkwardly climbed off me and immediately disappeared into the bathroom. It had been an entirely unsatisfactory, uninspired, and rather embarrassing event. Not surprisingly, the guy had never attempted to contact me again, and I had kicked myself upside one side and down the other for being so foolish as to even think he could meet my criteria. No, my previous "suitor" had failed miserably.

  How well did I really know Luke? To be honest, I didn't know him at all. He might be good looking, but that was no guarantee that he knew what he was doing in the bedroom. He could be impotent for all I knew! So, as I re-examined my list, I shook my head, thinking that Luke, handsome though he was, would never be able to live up to my standards. I completed writing down my thoughts, and then, deciding I was wasting my time even thinking about such possibilities, I put my diary away and reached for one of my romance novels. What I found between the pages was my reality. Until someone came along that could meet every one of my requirements, I would be relegated to a living my fantasies out through the pages of my paperback novels. For now, I was content to do so.

  Chapter 6

  It was late Saturday afternoon, and I was getting ready for my date with Luke. I didn't really know what we would be doing, but he had passed me another note in chemistry class yesterday morning and simply instructed me to dress casual and be ready for some fun. We had agreed on a pick-up time, which I realized as I glanced at the clock, was fast approaching. I had changed my clothes more times that I could count, still not sure what he meant by casual. Casual could mean a lot of things, from torn, ripped up jeans to a nice pair of chinos.

  Becky and
Desiree were off somewhere shopping, and then each of them had dates tonight, as well. Earlier this afternoon, Selena had actually informed all of us with a self-satisfied grin that one of her professors had asked her out. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but I didn't think it was a good idea. Selena was smart, majoring in criminal justice, and had a good head on her shoulders. Still, I wasn't sure about the twenty-year difference between herself and a college professor. Was he married? She didn’t know, but had not seen a wedding band on his finger. Still, that didn’t mean anything. He could have taken it off. Dating between students and teachers was discouraged, though even the Dean knew that such relationships between consenting adults were difficult to monitor. Nevertheless, I felt uneasy about it. What if things didn’t work out? Would Selena be risking a grade in a class that would have a serious impact not only on her GPA but her course of studies?

  The others had giggled with excitement, more interested in what might happen between the two rather than the ramifications. Then again, Selena wasn't one to jump into relationships, at least not most of the time, without looking first. Who was I to judge? I was going out tonight with a guy whose last name I still didn't know. I suppose that I could ask questions tonight, get to know Luke a little bit, and he could get to know me. I wasn't particularly concerned about where we were going because Boston had so many options. Perhaps we would go out dancing or to a bar and grill, but this time, I would refrain from drinking – much. That last hangover had been a doozy and I wasn't in any hurry to do a repeat. Plus, I wanted to keep my head about me on this first date.

  I wasn’t overly paranoid, but I was also aware that dating in college could be tricky. Some guys thought nothing of putting stuff into drinks, coercing their dates to have sex with them, and I had even known one girl last year who had been raped on her first blind date. There was nothing wrong with being cautious. I should have told Luke that I wanted our first date to be in a public place.