Outside the Box

by Rochelle Paige

  Jason was right. As far as I knew, Aubrey wasn’t dating anyone now and hadn’t at all this school year. And I sure as hell would know if she was because it seemed like all the guys were keeping tabs on her for me now even though we weren’t together. They’d mention seeing her on campus just to get a rise out of me.

  “Maybe she just isn’t interested in dating,” I argued.

  “Or maybe there’s a certain guy she wants to date and she’s waiting for him to pull his head out of his ass and ask her out,” he countered.

  “But what if she hasn’t changed?” I worried aloud.

  “Luka. Man,” Jason said as he grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eye. “You’re judging this girl too harshly. So what if she’s dated a bunch of guys on campus? That was her decision to make at the time. The same decision that a shit-ton of single girls make every day. None of the gossip ever mentioned one-night stands or friends with benefits. And it sounds like she always broke up with one guy before moving on to another.”

  Just the thought of Aubrey and other guys, even in the past, made me see red. It wasn’t fair, but it was the truth.

  “I know,” I growled in response.

  “I’m serious, man. I get that you and Kat were high school sweethearts and she didn’t have very much experience before you guys hooked up. But that sure as hell didn’t stop her for from getting that experience while you were her boyfriend. Don’t make Aubrey pay for Kat’s mistakes by not asking her out,” he cautioned.

  His warning stunned me for a minute as I realized that that’s exactly what I was doing. I had no idea where this thing with Aubrey might go, but I would be an idiot to not even try with her because I’d been burned by my ex.

  “I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s what you’ve got me around for. Besides which, if you don’t get off your ass and ask her out, then I might have to because she is seriously hot,” he threw in, taking the conversation to a place he should have known better than to take it.

  I grabbed him by his shirt collar. “Don’t even think about it, Jason. I’m not fucking with you on this.”

  He had the nerve to laugh in my face. “And there you go. If our serious conversation didn’t knock some sense into you, then now at least you’re wound up enough that maybe you’ll do something about it today.”

  I pushed him away, not appreciative of the fact that he could read me so easily. And I sure as hell didn’t like the idea of Jason with Aubrey at all.

  “Yeah, well, watch out or what I’ll do is bash your head into the ground.”

  “How about you ask your girl out on a date instead?” he suggested.

  “Yeah, I just might do that,” I answered with a smile on my face as I walked out the door to go to class.

  ****

  By the time Aubrey showed up at the library for our tutoring session, I was strung tighter than a wire with tension. I couldn’t get Jason’s taunt out of my head. Although she wasn’t dating anyone else now, there was no guarantee that wouldn’t change unless I did something about it.

  She walked in the door of our usual cubbie and the sight of her robbed me of breath. Her blond curls flowed down her back and her blue eyes twinkled at me. But that wasn’t what caught my attention. Fall was in the air, so she’d changed her wardrobe up a bit and was wearing black boots that came up to her knees over jeans so tight that I had no idea how she’d managed to get them on.

  Any other thoughts in my head were completely erased. All I could think was I wanted to see her in those boots without the jeans, sweater, or anything else for that matter. I wanted to see her strip off her clothes for me. I wanted her to kneel down in front of me with those damn boots on so that I could hold those pretty curls in my fists as she sucked my cock. So that I could see those pouty lips as I drove in and out, fucking her face.

  I was so distracted by that vivid vision in my head that I didn’t catch most of what she was saying except the words payment and check. I tried to gather my wits as I asked her to repeat herself.

  “I just realized the other day that we’ve had nine sessions already, but I have paid you anything yet,” she said.

  Shit, this was damn awkward. My mind was on asking her out and getting her into my bed and she was thinking about owing me money.

  “How about I let you take me out to dinner instead?” I replied.

  “Dinner?” she repeated.

  “Yeah. You. Me. Out for dinner,” I repeated.

  “Like a date?” she asked.

  “I think that will work even better,” I said.

  “Wait. What?” she said, confused.

  I stood up and walked towards her until I had her backed up against the closed door. “I like your idea better. How about I take you out on a date? Dinner tonight?”

  I watched as she studied my face like she was trying to figure something out. “Yes, I’d like to go on a date with you.”

  “Good. That’s settled, then,” I replied, very happy with her answer.

  “Except that doesn’t solve our problem,” she pointed out.

  “Problem?” I asked, not certain what problem we could possibly have now that I’d finally asked her out and she’d said yes.

  “I owe you money for all the tutoring you’ve done for me,” she reminded me.

  I shook my head in response. “No, you don’t.”

  “Of course I do,” she argued. “You’re my tutor and I’m supposed to pay you for your help. It’s your job.”

  “Yes, that’s normally true. But here’s the thing. There’s no way in hell I’m taking money from you,” I tried to explain.

  “But that doesn’t make any sense,” she disagreed. “Professor Davidson told me to expect to pay you more than the other math tutors because your time is so valuable.”

  I reached up and cupped my palm around her face, swiping downwards until my thumb rested over her incredibly kissable lips. “He was right when it came to the other students I’ve helped before, but he was wrong when it came to you.”

  “But why?” she asked.

  I leaned down, my lips almost touching hers as I cupped the other side of her head with my other hand. “Because it’s you,” I explained before I moved my thumb, the only thing separating our lips. I placed a light kiss on her mouth. “What’s going on between us isn’t about money. It hasn’t been since our first session. So you’re not going to pay me.”

  “That’s not fair,” she whispered, her tongue flicking out to wet her lips and lightly grazing against mine.

  “I don’t care about fair, Aubrey. Not when it comes to you. Do yourself a favor and don’t plan on me playing fair with you. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it my way. And my way means you don’t pay me for helping you with math because it allowed us to meet and get to know each other. That’s payment enough for me,” I rasped before I crushed my lips against hers. I tilted her head up towards mine so I could get to her mouth more easily, nipping at her lips.

  “Luka,” she sighed as her mouth opened and my tongue swept inside.

  Her hands crept up to my shoulders, and the feel of them on my body along with the taste of her in my mouth made me grind my hips against her. I could feel pre-cum leaking from my dick, and I wanted inside her so badly. One little kiss was enough to almost send me over the edge. If we weren’t at the library right now, I wasn’t sure that I would have been able to pull away instead of ripping her clothes off and burying myself deep inside.

  “Tell me you understand,” I commanded.

  “Yes, I get what you’re saying,” she agreed.

  “Then get your sweet ass into that chair so we can get some studying done before I take you to dinner,” I ordered, pointing at a chair at the end of the table.

  Aubrey chuckled when I sat down at the other end of the table, as far away from her as possible.

  “Something funny?” I asked.

  “You usually sit next to me,” she pointed out.

  “Tha
t was before I got a taste of you. If I sit over there tonight, then neither of us is going to get anything done. You’ve got another quiz coming up next week, so that’s not an option,” I explained.

  Aubrey flashed me a sassy grin before she opened her notebook and began studying. I adjusted myself so I’d be a little more comfortable and tried to get some of my own work done too, but with the boner from hell in my pants, I didn’t think I was going to get a lot done before we left. That was okay, though, because I felt like I could do just about anything knowing that Aubrey was mine tonight. And after that kiss, I needed more time with her to see where this thing would take us. I might have resisted this thing between us because I’d let fear rule my decisions, but there was no turning back for me now.

  chapter 5

  aubrey

  I tried to concentrate as hard as I could on the numbers swimming on the notebook in front of me, but it was just impossible. Not with Luka sitting next to me. Luka, who had just asked me out on a date, told me I couldn’t pay him to be my tutor, and kissed me. I had not seen that one coming at all. This night was turning out way better than I had ever imagined.

  I glanced up when I heard Luka slam his book shut.

  “You done?” he growled.

  Since only about fifteen minutes had passed, I was pretty sure he knew damn well that I wasn’t finished with my studying. But I figured what the hell because I wasn’t going to be able to finish it anyway.

  “Yeah, I’m done.”

  “Thank fuck,” he muttered under his breath as he shoved his stuff into his backpack and started to gather my books up next.

  I grabbed my books from him and put them into my bag. “All set,” I said as I finished.

  “Let’s go,” he commanded as he picked up both our bags and held the door open for me.

  I couldn’t hold in the smile that escaped as I walked past him and he grabbed my hand. He practically dragged me out of the library to his car.

  “What about my car?” I asked as I climbed in.

  “I’ll bring you back here to pick it up tonight.”

  “Works for me.”

  “It better work for you, ‘cause that’s the plan,” he said with a smirk on his face before closing the door.

  “Bossy,” I mumbled, not entirely certain how I felt about him taking charge like this after waiting so long for him to make a move of any kind. It was a little confusing since it felt like he’d moved from cold to hot so quickly. I wasn’t sure what to think about that and what it might mean.

  Luka climbed in and gave me a long look before starting the car. “How hungry are you?”

  I hadn’t really eaten much today since I’d picked at my food during lunch with Lexi. In fact, I’d found it hard to eat a lot on any of the days when I knew I was going to see Luka because of the butterflies that wreaked havoc on my stomach. My crush on him was probably the best diet plan in the world. But oddly enough, now that I found myself going on a date with him, they had settled down quite a bit.

  “I could eat.”

  “Do you like to try new things?” he asked.

  I perked up at the question. “I’m here with you, aren’t I?”

  Luka chuckled at my response. “I meant are you adventurous when it comes to food? Or do you prefer the same old, same old?”

  “There aren’t too many places around here that I haven’t tried because I’m a townie, so I don’t think you’ll be able to surprise me very easily,” I challenged him. “But I’m willing to try something new if you think you’ve got a restaurant up your sleeve that’s up to the task.”

  “One thing you should know about me is that I’m very competitive. Never challenge me to anything unless you’re ready for the consequences, because if you throw down the gauntlet, then I’m going to pick it up,” he warned me.

  “I grew up with three older brothers, Luka,” I shared with him, “so I don’t scare easily.”

  His hand reached out to hold mine. “I wasn’t trying to scare you. That’s the last thing I want to do. Just wanted to share a little about me and how I am. I may be rusty, but that’s what this dating thing is all about, right?”

  “Rusty?” I asked, curious as to why a hockey hottie like Luka would refer to himself that way. It was hard to believe that he didn’t have plenty of opportunities to date.

  “It’s kind of a long story, but I haven’t been on a first date in a long time,” he answered.

  His reply didn’t really satisfy my curiosity since it wasn’t much of an explanation. “A long time like a couple of months or like a year?”

  “More like almost five years,” he admitted gruffly.

  At this shocking bit of information, I turned in my seat to stare at him. “Five?” I gasped.

  Luka pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant called Oasis Grill that had opened a couple of years ago. He parked the car and moved so that he was also facing me, my hands clasped in his.

  “Yes, five,” he confirmed. “Up until the start of summer break, I was still dating my girlfriend from high school. We broke up because I found out she’d been lying and cheating on me ever since we went to college. The whole thing was a major clusterfuck.”

  Luka went on to explain what had happened in May when he’d gone to help her move out of the dorm, and the story was just as bad as Lexi’s breakup with Brad when he’d cheated on her. Maybe worse because it had been going on for years before Luka found out.

  “I’m so sorry that happened to you,” I said softly. “Cheating sucks.”

  Luka chuckled darkly at my words. “Voice of experience?”

  “Not that I know of, no. Lexi had a messy breakup when her boyfriend went to college while we were still seniors in high school, but as far as I know, none of mine ever cheated on me,” I replied. I thought about my answer for a moment. “I don’t know. Maybe it was because I never gave them long enough for it to get to that point?”

  “Could be,” he answered. “What was your longest relationship?”

  “About nine months,” I said sheepishly. “And you were with your ex for almost five years?”

  “Yeah,” he replied on a deep sigh.

  I did some quick math in my head and realized that it hadn’t really been that long since they’d broken up. It was October now, so it had only been five months.

  “Are you sure you’re ready to date again? Or is this a rebound thing?” I worried aloud.

  “This is definitely not a rebound thing,” he assured me. I must have looked doubtful because he decided to say more. “What I went through with Kat was tough. I’ve known her all my life, and the fact that she played me like that gutted me. Am I surprised that I met you and was interested right away? Yeah, I’ll admit to that. But you aren’t a rebound for her.”

  “If you were interested right away, then why didn’t you ask me out back then?” I asked.

  Luka heaved another sigh. “Your longest relationship has been nine months. Mine was five years. You’ve got a bit of a reputation for getting guys to fall for you and then dumping them. My ex cheated on me. As attracted as I was, it didn’t seem like the smart move.”

  “Do guys really think I try to get them to fall for me so I can break up with them?” I asked, hurt by the idea.

  “Fuck,” Luka swore. “I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant was that you’ve been a serial dater in the past, never really taking your relationships that seriously.”

  “It wasn’t that I didn’t take them seriously,” I said, defending myself. “I just never found the guy who fit me the right way. They all seemed like they might at first, but then something always went wrong. At least for me. For sure there were times that it was because they got super serious way too fast and it scared me off. But I didn’t break up with all of them for that reason.”

  “Aubrey, I get it,” Luka said. “I was an idiot to listen to the rumors in the first place and to judge you by what your ex-boyfriends had to say about you. I’m pretty sure, if you met my ex, she wouldn’
t be very flattering, and I wouldn’t want you to base your decisions about me on anything she had to say.”

  “It’s a little scary to me that your last relationship was so long and only ended in May,” I admitted.

  “That’s okay because it’s a little scary to me that your longest relationship was only nine months long and you’ve had more boyfriends than I’ve had girlfriends,” he retorted.

  Luka made a good point, but I wanted to get one thing clear. “You do know that I didn’t sleep with every guy I’ve dated, right?”

  “And you know that I’ve slept with more women than just my ex-girlfriend, right?” he replied.

  “Alrighty then. Before this turns into a ‘what’s your number’ discussion, why don’t we go in and eat? I’m starving,” I said quickly.

  “That would be awkward for our first date, wouldn’t it?” he asked.

  “This whole conversation was a little deep for a first date,” I admitted.

  “Well, I did say I was rusty at this,” Luka joked, taking us full circle to the comment that started the whole thing in the first place. “So how about I take you inside and feed you?”

  I had been to Oasis Grill once or twice before and enjoyed their food, so it looked like Luka had failed at finding a new food adventure for me tonight. Or at least that’s what I thought as we walked in. It turned out that he had a surprise in store for me.

  “Luka!” The hostess welcomed him with a big hug and a flurry of words I didn’t understand as we walked inside.

  “Privet,” he greeted her before stepping back and introducing me. “Alexandra, this is Aubrey.”

  “Hello,” she said with a slight accent. “What a pretty girl you bring to see us tonight, Luka.”

  “Beautiful,” he corrected her. “So don’t embarrass me too much, okay?”

  “I do not make any promises,” she answered as she got us settled at a cozy table in the corner. Then she walked away without bringing us any menus or asking what we’d like to drink.

  “So I take it you’ve been here before?” I joked.

  “A time or two,” Luka teased. “I came in with my roommate shortly after they opened and was surprised to learn that it wasn’t a Mediterranean place but more of an Eastern European restaurant.”