Chapter 11
Do It Again
I meet with Professor Stack before class later that week. I tutored in his department last year, and unfortunately, I’m going to have to work again this year. Most of my education is being paid for by scholarships, but I need money live. My mom gives me some money, but being a waitress in a small town doesn’t leave much extra cash in her bank account.
Tutoring is not an ideal job for someone who’s not fond of people, but it’s better than some job where I’d have to work with the public. I worked in a coffee shop, for a minute, in high school. I made it through the first week of training, but it all fell apart after that. If someone complained about the way I made their coffee, I shrugged and told them to make their own at home. When people left their trash on the table, I’d yell for them to leave me tip since I had to clean up their shit. The final straw was when I told a woman she was a terrible parent for buying a frozen coffee for her five-year-old son after he threw himself on the floor in a fit. My boss agreed with me but said we can’t always say what we think to our customers. That was the end of my barista career.
Stack says he already has several students requesting a tutor so he needs me to start right away. I thank him but resist the urge to pout as I make my way up to my seat. I hate the idea of having to start working this week.
“Why the ugly face?” Robert asks as I squeeze past him.
I sigh dramatically as I drop into my seat. “I have to spend my already limited time teaching babies about human anatomy.”
Robert snorts. “You mean Adrian’s still trying to figure out what all the girl parts are for?”
I shake my head, laughing, then explain about having to tutor.
After class, I get ambushed, as Adrian gets his revenge for the surprise lousy kiss. Robert and I are walking down the hall, discussing the paper Professor Stack assigned. I’m looking at Robert when I feel someone rush up on me, then put his hands on my biceps. Before I can protest, Adrian is pushing me until I’m against the wall. I look up, ready to show him all kinds of pissed, but my words get stuck when I see the desire in his eyes. As he lifts one hand to my face and places the other at my waist, I swallow the protest.
His mouth crashes into mine and I fist his shirt in my hands, needing something to anchor me. Instantly I discover something unexpected—Adrian can kiss. Not like “oh this is my boyfriend and we like to make out.” No, he kisses like “I’ve done nothing but think about you for weeks and now I’m going to take what I want.”
He moves his hand from my cheek to the back of my head to pull me harder against his mouth.
I need to push him away. I can't stand here in the middle of this hall and let Adrian Elliot… Oh holy crap, his tongue… his hands… the way he's holding on to me, feels like desperation.
Forget pushing him away, I need more. Just as I commit myself to this, he begins to pull away. He gently drags my bottom lip between his teeth, forcing another full body shiver from me.
Through his ragged breaths, Adrian whispers against my lips. “I wanted you to know what it’s really like to be kissed by me.”
I say the only thing I can at that moment. “Do it again.”
I see his mouth curl up on one side a half second before he follows my command. This time I don’t hold back. I drop my hands from his shirt and grab his hips, pulling him closer to the other part of my body that is loving this kiss. I have to physically restrain myself from jumping up and wrapping my legs around his waist. I may be completely falling into this kiss, but I will never admit to him how great it is.
It’s probably only this good because I’ve not been with a guy in almost a year. Yep, that’s all it is.
He pulls back first and places his forehead on mine, as we both try to catch our breath. There are people clapping, and someone yells for us to get a room, but neither of us moves.
I can feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he speaks. “That good for you?”
I nod, then curse myself. I wasn’t going to admit how great it was.
He nods once, now staring at my mouth. "I knew it’d be amazing, but holy shit. If your mouth is any indication of what the rest of you feels like…" He pauses looking for the right words. After a shake of his head, he says, “You should probably put a lock on your bedroom door."
Then with his cheesy wink, he turns and walks away, leaving me with wet panties, and a gaping Robert. It’s then I realize that Adrian is a tornado, threatening to tear through my stable life.
Robert, not one for subtly, begins fanning himself with a book. “Girl, that kiss made me horny, so I can guess what it did to you.”
Looking in the direction Adrian went, I consider fanning myself too. “Who woulda thought a dipshit like Adrian Elliot could kiss like that?”
Robert groans. “Just think, if he’s that good with his mouth, he’s probably that good with his other parts.”
With a great sigh, I begin walking. “This is going to be a problem.”
“Problem?” Robert scoffs. “You’re practically roommates with a hot ass guy who kisses like a porn star, and he’s obviously interested in showing you the rest of his porn star moves. I’m not seeing the problem, sweetie.”
“Let me fill you in,” I say, holding up one finger. “First, he’s interested in games, and I don’t do games. Second, he’s not at all my type. I mean, the only qualification he meets is that he’s male.”
“Riiight,” Robert mutters, sounding more than skeptical. "Well what I saw, didn't look like you were lacking any attraction to him."
Am I attracted to him, or am I just horny? I shake my head and hitch my bag up my shoulder. "What you saw, was a girl who hasn't had sex in almost a year. I was having flashbacks, that’s all."
As we leave the building, the sun’s so bright we both shield our eyes with one hand. Robert stops and begins digging around in his messenger bag. He pulls out two pairs of sunglasses and holds one out for me. I look at him questioningly.
"You keep two pairs of sunglasses in your bag?"
"Of course,” he says, pointing to my face, “I refuse to get those nasty wrinkles on my forehead from squinting."
I put the sunglasses on, then link my arm through his. "Of course. Forehead wrinkles are something every twenty-year-old guy should be concerned with."
Shaking his head, Robert corrects me. “No, just twenty-one-year-old guys who are trying to attract other twenty-one-year-old guys."
***
Adrian
I’m crossing the quad when my phone rings. Pulling it out of my pocket, my body tenses when I see it’s my dad.
“Hello,” I answer, sounding as disgusted as I am.
“Don’t use that tone with me. I’m still your father and you need to respect me.”
Right, because you’ve totally earned that respect.
“What can I help you with, father,” I ask, trying the passive aggressive approach.
My dad clears his throat. “I’m calling to remind you of how important it is that your behaviors reflect positively on me.”
How could I possibly forget when I get this reminder call at least once a week? Man, would I love to tell him to fuck off.
“To motivate you to try harder to not humiliate me this year,” my asshole dad goes on, “I’ve made a decision.”
This oughta be good.
“If I receive one more report of your childish behavior affecting your placement at the school, or, God forbid, another arrest, then I will be taking back custody of the boys.”
I stop walking and clench the phone, as the anger furls in my stomach. “You can’t do that.”
My dad scoffs. “I can and I will. You’re making me look like I have no control over my own children. So, I’ll let you ruin your life, and Brandon can ruin his with some lame military career, but the other three will come back to live with me.”
And suffer daily emotional and physical abuse? No fucking way.