by Jenika Snow
Feeling resolution that he would put Mary and everything that had to do with wanting her out of his head he leaned back in the white plastic chair. The waitress made the second pass by his table and grinned down at him. Alex knew that look. It was one of interest, and what better way to put Mary and her hot little body of his head than by hooking up with a random chick? Shit, sometimes he even disgusted himself.
“Hey, aren’t you Alex Sheppard?” He leaned forward and rested his forearms on the wrought iron table. She wore a tight as sin white t-shirt, and the white bra she wore underneath stood out in stark contrast. Her nipples were hard, too, and Alex didn’t make it a secret as to what he was eyeing as he lowered his gaze to her chest.
“Yeah. What’s your name?” Her cheeks turned a shade of pink, and he knew that she would be in the bag if he laid it on just a little thicker. She was shy, but not shy enough that she hadn’t had the balls to talk to him.
She ducked her head and lifted her hand to tuck a strand of reddish hair behind her ear. “Jessica Locker.” She looked young, but legal, which made her game. “I just started at OSU, but everyone talks about you.” Her cheeks turned even redder, and he knew she was embarrassed by what she just said. “I mean, not that I sit there and talk about you, but well, you know, everyone knows you’re a really good player, and well, they all talk.”
She rambled on, and he couldn’t help but grin. He loved the innocent ones, and maybe that made him the biggest asshole alive, but he’d treat her real good, and then she’d have a nice memory of getting fucked her freshman year. And that’s what Alex did. He fucked, nothing more, nothing less. The girls that wanted more didn’t come looking for him, and that was just how he liked it.
“So, Jessica, you been to a frat party?” She opened her mouth to answer, but the sound of someone clearing their throat right behind him had Alex looking over his shoulder. Mary stood there, the little sundress she wore billowing around her thighs when the wind picked up. Fucking hell she looked good. The smell of the soap she used filled his nose, and that was all it took for his dick to get hard.
Weren’t you supposed to kick the idea of wanting her to the back of your damn mind? He couldn’t see her blue eyes because the dark Jackie-O sunglasses shielded them completely, but he could practically hear the condescending thoughts coming from her. How much had she heard or seen? For some reason he didn’t want her thinking of him as this massive partying, fighting man-whore, despite that being the God’s honest truth of who and what he was.
“I’m not interrupting, am I?” Mary asked, but again he couldn’t gauge her reaction with those big-ass sunglasses on her face, and her voice was neutral, bored even. For some reason that annoyed him. Did he want her to be jealous? God, he needed to grow the fuck up.
“No, I was just talking to Jessica.” The waitress muttered something unintelligible before turning and leaving them alone. “Here, have a seat.” He went to stand and help her with the heavy looking bag hanging from her shoulder, but she already had it on the ground and was pulling out her seat. Alex sat back down, and a strange sort of uncomfortable silence passed between them. “So, uh, about the tutoring,” he said to break up the awkwardness. She took off her sunglasses, and her eyes seemed insanely vibrant in the afternoon light.
“Let me grab my schedule, and I’ll let you know what days I have open.” She bent to the side and started riffling in her bag. The front of her dress gaped open, and he could see the lacy edge of her bra and the sloped mound of her breasts slightly spilling forward. His dick grew even harder, and he shifted in his seat. He cleared his throat when she straightened, and she gave him a strange look. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m good. So those days?” He spoke too quickly, and his voice had cracked at the end, like he was going through puberty or some shit. Her eyebrows lifted at the urgency in his tone, but he needed a distraction. The longer she stayed quiet and just stared at him, the more his cock stiffened at the thought of her full, perfect handful breasts, and the way the wind blew the tendrils of her dark hair around her face. The long braid she wore hung over one shoulder, and God did it look good on her, cute even. She set her tablet on the table and started typing. “I’m not sure what your class schedule is, or how long you need to be tutored, so we should probably figure that out first.”
Alex knew he might as well come clean about the whole probation thing, because he honestly didn’t know what kind of time it was going to take to get him to pass his mid-term. He was flunking that class, and unless she was a miracle worker, or took the test for him, he was fucking screwed.
“Okay, here is the thing.” He scrubbed a hand over his head, and then leaned forward, bringing his face an inch closer to hers. “I need to ace this class in order to come off of probation. My average fell below the restrictions for me to play.” She stared at him for several seconds before speaking.
“I figured it must be pretty bad since you didn’t say anything when I saw you at Adam’s house.” She smiled, and he felt himself return the gesture. “So, what days are you free, and we will start there.”
He rattled off the days he had no class, and the hours he was free on the days he did. She wrote everything down, and when he was finished she lifted her eyes to meet his.
“Okay, so I guess you want to pass pretty badly?” He cocked a brow in response. “Okay, I get it.” She looked down at her tablet and typed something into the calendar. “I can fit you in Friday, and we can set up a routine. Maybe three days a week, and at least an hour each session? They can be in the evening since that seems to be when we both have the extra time.” She continued to stare at her tablet and bit her bottom lip. Alex was transfixed at the sight of her straight, white teeth pulling at the red, full flesh.
Well, fuck. He was either going to have to go find some chick to fuck, or jerk off big time after this. He was hard and aching, and the longer he sat here with her, the more he wanted her. His dick also didn’t give a shit that he was trying to stay away from her. The damn thing wanted her like a fiend.
“Yeah, that sounds good. Whatever you think will help, and whatever extra time you have will be greatly appreciated.” Alex was proud of himself for actually forming coherent words, Jessica the waitress came back around and asked Mary if she wanted anything, but after she said no Jessica wandered back inside, but not before she glanced at him and smirked in a pouty way. Alex kept his eyes on Mary, although he should have been checking out Jessica and figuring how he was going to get her in his bed tonight. “So, what’s the damage?”
She put her tablet away and looked up at him with an adorably confused expression. “The damage?”
He smiled. “How much do you charge? What do I owe you, Mary?” She looked away sharply, and he didn’t miss how her cheeks turned rose in color. He was curious as to why his question had suddenly made her feel so uncomfortable, or why she kept squirming in her seat and refusing to meet his eyes. “Everything okay?” He threw back the question she had asked him when she first arrived.
She cleared her throat and finally turned back to him. She still wore a pretty blush, and as much as he tried not to smile because he didn’t want to embarrass her, he couldn’t help it.
“Uh.” Suddenly her napkin in front of her was very interesting since she kept unfolding and folding it. “I actually had something else in mind for payment.” Her statement had his dick jerking violently behind his fly, and going from semi-hard to rock solid. All he could think about was her asking him for sex in payment for the tutoring, but of course that was a horny boy’s wet dream right there. Shit, he could imagine her red pouty lips parting as she told him that his cock was worth more than any dollar he tossed her way. God dammit, he was such a fucking prick to be thinking about shit like this. She was good and clean, and he was a dirty bastard with a filthy mind.
He licked his lips, cleared the hoarseness from his throat, and tried to force his voice to sound halfway normal. “You have something else in mind?”
She nodded
and started playing with the end of her braid. God, he would give her all the cock she could handle, and she didn’t even have to tutor him. And it wasn’t just about him being a whore, because he was fucking hard-up for her, and in a really bad way. It seemed like it took fucking forever for her to answer, but really it had been seconds.
“I have this little problem, and I think you might be the perfect guy to help me out with it.” Holy fuck. The filthy things that came to mind had him feeling shitty, but of course that didn’t stop him from thinking them. He didn’t know if she was a virgin, but she certainly looked virginal. He also couldn’t imagine her saying she only wanted one-night of bliss, but wanted him to be her first. Alex wasn’t in the business of popping cherries, but shit he would have broken his rules for her. “So, I have this wedding next month, my sister’s actually, and I am kind of being forced to bring a date.” She looked up at him, but didn’t give him a chance to respond. “It wouldn’t be like a date-date, but more of you helping me out big time, and well, paying for the tutoring.” Alex was stunned speechless.
“You want me to be your date to your sister’s wedding?” That wasn’t even in the same X-rated ballpark as he was thinking.
“Well, it’s a little more than that. I…” She looked around before turning back toward him. Leaning in closer and lowering her voice she said, “I actually need a bad boy to bring home to my parents.” His lips twitched, and he watched her irritation over the fact he thought this was humorous cover her face. “I need you to pretend to be in love with me in front of my parents and their rich, snobby friends. I want them to see your tattoos, want them to raise their eyebrows and feel scandalized. I don’t want to be their cookie cutter daughter, and I want you to help me prove to them that I don’t have to be with a Harvard graduate to be happy.” She took a deep breath once she was finished, and he could tell she was expectant of his answer. “I’m just sick of feeling out of place with them, and since I am kind of obligated to go and all, and am being all but forced to bring a date, I thought you could help me out since I’m helping you out. It would only be for the first weekend in October—”
“All right.” He hadn’t meant to cut her off, but she really didn’t need to sell him on spending the weekend with her. It wasn’t about not having to give her money to tutor him, because that wouldn’t have been an issue and he would have been more than happy to compensate her for her time. Alex anticipated the time he would get to spend with her now and then. Yeah, it was a good month away, but damn it would be a good fucking weekend. Staying away from her had just suddenly gone out the window, because there was a shit load of images that slammed into Alex’s mind, ones that were not innocent, and that concerned him and her doing things that required a hell of a lot less clothing. Maybe wanting her in the dirty way he did made him a bastard, but he never said he was anything but. He would be good to her, make her smile and blush, but in the end he wanted more from her. One night might not be enough, but it would have to be, because that was all Alex could guarantee anyone.
“Really? I thought I’d have to lay it on thick, you know, really talk you into going.” Her cheeks were red, and he grinned.
“Nah, I’m all about going. I get tutored by a gorgeous and smart woman, and I get to go to some swanky party. Pretending to be head over heels for you shouldn’t be hard.” He gave her a wink, and she glanced away quickly, her embarrassment tangible. “I’m in.” She glanced up and smiled, and that cute little dimple popped up.
“Okay, well great.” She started messing with her napkin again. “That settles that then. So back to the actual tutoring. I can meet you here on Friday for our first session if you want, or is there somewhere else you would feel more comfortable going to?”
His erection had gone to half-mast during their conversation, but now the damn thing was at full blown hardness and threatened to burst through the fucking zipper of his jeans. All it had taken was her asking him to go somewhere else, and he had only been able to think of that one thing.
“Could we possibly do this at my house?” A rush of testosterone moved through his veins when he saw the pink coloring that covered her chest and neck grow a deeper shade of red. Ah, so he wasn’t the only one with his mind in the gutter.
“Wherever you feel most comfortable,” she said but didn’t meet his gaze. She went to stand, and he did as well.
“You have to leave already?” God, he sounded needy. “I mean, you just got here. Maybe you want to sit down and join me for lunch?”
She started playing with the end of her braid and stared at him.
“I actually have to get back, but thanks for the offer.” Before he could feel like a dumbass she grinned at him. “Listen.” She bent down and grabbed her bag, and slung it over her shoulder. “How about I give you a call before Friday just to make sure everything is still good to go?”
“Yeah, all right.”
“I saved your number in my phone, and I know you have mine.” She smiled again, and he couldn’t help but notice the way her lip gloss glistened under the sun, and imagine what her lips would look like wrapped around his dick. She lifted her hand in a wave and turned to leave. And like a freaking creeper, Alex stood there and watched her go. Was it wrong of him to want to hope there was a big gust of wind that would blow her dress up?
“Shit.” Scrubbing a hand over his mouth he sensed someone step up to him. Jessica stood there, her teeth tugging at her lip, and her eyes slightly lowered. Yeah, she was trying to appear sexy. He had seen that exact expression a thousand different times, and although he had found it attractive each and every time, it did nothing for him right now.
“So, uh, about our earlier conversation.” He reached in his back pocket for his wallet and pulled out some money, handing it to her.
“Thanks, Jessica, but maybe some other time?” It was just a saying, because really he was only thinking about one girl, and until he had her no one else would sate this ridiculous appetite he suddenly had.
Chapter Five
Holy. Shit. Mary walked quickly to the OSU library on 18th Avenue, trying to get her mind off other things, but only being able to think about her little meet-up with Alex. It had taken a hell of a lot of strength on her part not to look over her shoulder. She had felt his eyes on her so palpably it was like he had been actually touching her. She was rather proud of herself for at least acting semi-normal, but toward the end it had been damn hard when she had felt the way he looked at her, like he wanted to do really wicked things to her body. It was also a little unnerving and distracting when she noticed his erection, which he either didn’t care that she saw, or thought it was something that would go unnoticed. Even now, just thinking about the way his biceps had bulged underneath his t-shirt, and of the way his abdomen muscles had been clear as day through the thin material, had goose-bumps forming along her flesh. She must be a masochist, because the only thing Alex would be sure to give her was a broken heart. There had been plenty of girl talk around campus, and she would have had to be hard of hearing not to catch all the horrid details of the hearts he left in tatters. Mary found it all rather ridiculous that the girls around campus knew how Alex Sheppard was, yet they still ran up to him like he was some rock star. The red stone, arched entryway building came into view. When she reached the entrance she pulled the door open and walked inside.
Taking a seat at an available computer, she started searching titles for her courses, but concentrating on anything was pointless, especially when all she could think about was how her parents would react when she brought Alex to Margo’s wedding. A lot of eyebrows would raise, a lot of gasps would sound, and slightly covered mouths would be obvious as they whispered how scandalous it was that she brought “trash” to their uppity little gathering. Maybe it was a bit childish to want to shock the lot of them, but all her life she had felt like an outsider, like the square peg trying to be shoved into the circle slot. A small part of her also grew warm at the idea that Alex agreed to go with her. For a wealthy communit
y that her family ran in, they were worse than the ones they looked down on. They lifted their noses to the lower class, had the most scandalizing secrets, and stabbed each other in the back. But face-to-face they were all smiles and catty humor. Mary wanted to show them that it didn’t matter how much money a person had, or what they looked like. They were still human beings and deserving of respect. Hearing her mother repeatedly ask about bringing a date, her sister’s nagging about what she should and shouldn’t do, and the overall anxiety that seemed to plague her on a daily basis made her feel unsteady and out of place Inviting Alex to join her had seemed like the perfect release.
Release.
Such a simple word, but it meant so many different things. The one meaning she was currently thinking about was the sweet release that she knew she would surely have by being with Alex. Mary wasn’t a virgin, but she certainly wasn’t an expert on sex. Alex on the other hand was, and that could be very intimidating. But no, Mary couldn’t go there, wouldn’t. She wasn’t in the habit of letting her heart get broken, and she also wasn’t the type to have random sex. Emotions were always involved, for her at least.
The vibrating in her bag drew her out of her thoughts. She reached for her phone, and the number that flashed across the screen had her stopping mid-stride. Why was he calling her? The only plausible explanation was that something was wrong. Anxiety immediately took root in her belly, and she slid her finger over the screen to answer the call.