Bad Professor (An Alpha Male Bad Boy Romance) (33 page)

"Am I cute?" I smiled at him as
we made our way to the truck.

"Impossibly so." He helped me
get into my side and then walked around to his side.

Butterflies danced around my stomach and
lust teased me with the idea of a hot make-out session. I wasn't usually the
type of girl to jump in the sack with someone, and I wasn't going to be
sleeping with Tate that night, but cuddling up to him sounded divine.

"You like to ice skate?" He
maneuvered the truck out of the overcrowded field and turned us the opposite
way from town.

"I sure do." I leaned my head
back and took a shallow breath. The smell of his cologne was delicious, and I
started to wonder if I'd had a little too much to drink.

"Good. I'll take you soon, if you're
up for it." He reached out and squeezed my hand. "I'm sorry about not
calling. I really wanted to, but my life is too complicated for anything more
than a friendship right now."

His words drilled into the center of me,
wiping out my hope for something more happening between us. Of course, his life
was too complicated to consider taking me out for a date. Why guys had to think
it was all or none, black or white always left me confused.

"No, it's good. I'm interested in a
friendship. I just got out of a nasty relationship, anyway." I moved up to
turn the heater on higher and swallowed the hot ball of rejection lodged itself
in my throat.

I had berated myself ten different ways by
the time Tate pulled the truck to a stop.

"Well, shit. The road’s
blocked." He let out a frustrated growl.

"It's okay. We'll go another
time." I pulled out my phone. "Besides, it looks like my friends are
ready to get home. It was nice just getting away."

"Yeah, but we didn't learn anything
about each other." He growled again and turned the truck around. "I
should have brought the fucking bike. At least we could have gone around the
blockage."

For someone who wanted a friendship, he
sure seemed upset.

I forced myself to make idle chit-chat
with him until we got back to the party. He was either bipolar or I was making
shit up where the two of us were concerned. Why things couldn't just go the way
I expected them too in one area of my life was beyond me.

"Hey, let's go out for something to
eat soon." He glanced over at me as we parked back out amongst the cars.

"Sure. You have my number." I
gave him a tight smile and got out of the truck without another word. Not only
had I almost kissed him earlier and looked like an idiot, but I'd left the
party thinking something was going to happen more than the disappointment of
hearing that I was being friend-zoned.

"Whatever. You don't even know
him." I walked back in to find Amy talking with Kade in the kitchen.

At
least something is going right tonight.

Chapter 14

Tate

She was upset, and I was kicking myself.
Why the fuck I felt the need to friend-zone her was beyond me. I had every
intention of taking her up to the lake, getting to know her better, and making
her pant with a long, hot make-out session in Sam's truck.

I texted him as I watched her walk back
toward the house. My jacked up sense of self-protection had kicked into gear
and ruined the night. I could see by the slight rounding of her shoulders that
she was hurt.

"Dammit." I hit the steering
wheel and let my head fall back as I waited for Sam. He walked out a moment
later, looking rather confused.

I got out of the truck, but left it
running.

"What the hell, man?" His
eyebrow lifted sharply.

"They blocked the road." I
shrugged and pulled my bike keys from my pocket. "I'm going home. Stay if
you want to."

"What happened? I just saw Val walk
back in the house looking like you kicked her in the chest." His brow
pulled tight, and I was trapped.

"I friend-zoned her. I don't know
why. I really like her, but I guess I'm just a pussy." I ran my fingers
through my hair and pulled hard. "Ugh, I fucking hate myself
sometimes."

"Then get in there and fix things.
She's quite possibly one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen, Tate, and she
didn't seem like a bitch, at all." He pushed at my chest. "What's
wrong with you?"

"No, I'll catch you later." I
didn't wait for his reply, but jogged to my bike, got on, and drove like a bat
out of hell the whole way back to the house. I was furious with myself by the
time I got home. Not only had I ignored her all week after she returned my
kindness, but then I'd dropped a bucket of cold water in the middle of whatever
was starting between us.

"What the fuck is the matter with
you?" I jerked my coat off as I walked into the house to find my mom still
up.

"With me?" Her lips turned up
into a smile.

"No, Mom. Sorry." I tossed my
coat onto the couch and walked into the kitchen as indecision tore up my
insides. "Me. I'm an idiot."

"Why is that?" She followed me
into the kitchen and wrapped me in a hug from behind. "You're one of the
smartest guys I know. If you messed up, then you fix it, right?"

"Right. I wish it were that
easy." I untangled myself from her hold and walked to the back door to
stare out at the thick snow that had covered the ground. "I'm
scared."

"What? You scared? No..." She
laughed and sat down at the kitchen table as I turned to face her.

"I really like this girl, Mom. She's
not like the other girls that I've been interested in, and honestly, she's so
far out of my league that it's almost funny." I crossed my arms over my
chest and glanced down toward the ground as I began to pace back and forth.

"What do you mean, she's out of your
league?"

"She's a Scott. As in David Scott's
daughter." I shrugged and glanced up to find my mom sitting calmly.
Not the reaction I expected.

"And?" She reached for a coffee
mug that sat just in front of her. "What's your point?"

"My point? This man is like a god
around here. He's a billionaire." I moved to stand on the other side of
the table and pressed my hands to it as I gave her a look. "You don't know
the Scotts, obviously."

"Honey, everyone knows who David
Scott is. Just because he's a wealthy guy who treats everyone like crap doesn't
mean his kids are the same, right?" She reached out and squeezed my hand.
"Is the girl like her father?"

"No. Not at all, from what I can
tell, but I'm honestly just waiting for the other shoe to drop." I moved
back and started to pace again. "She's so damn beautiful, Mom. She's into
me, from what I can tell, but I'm not the man for her. I'm tired of shallow
relationships. I'm ready to start looking for someone I can build something
real and long-lasting with. You know?"

"I sure do. I feel the same."
She got up and let out a loud yawn. "You're categorizing her into the
wrong group, Tate. You do this with everyone and everything. You can't
generalize people, though you've tried to your whole life. She's probably very
different from her family. Most people are."

I nodded. "Maybe so. Night,
Mom."

Anger burned through me as I pulled my
phone from my pocket. I needed to clear the air with her. I was no better than
the asshole who'd broken her heart a few days before. Taking her back to the
party without saying more than two words was a jerk move after throwing her
into the friend-zone.
What was I doing?
Everything about this girl made my body ache with need, my heart warm with the
potential of my first solid relationship.

I texted her the first thing that came to
mind.

Me:
Val, what did you have to do to get me that try out the other day?

Val:
I scored the first three points at the intramural games. Why?

Me:
Why did you do that for me?

Val:
Because I recently learned that being nice is free.

My heart melted in my chest as I read and
re-read her message over and over. She wasn't at all like her family and I was
a dick for closing myself off to her before anything could even start between
us. Why I would deny myself the opportunity to get to know a woman like her was
beyond me.

Me:
Forgive me for tonight. I don't know what I was thinking.

Val:
I don't know what you were thinking, either, but there's nothing to forgive.

Me:
See me again.

Val: I'm going to the library
tomorrow. You're more than welcome to meet me there. Nothing more than studying
between two friends, but the invitation is open.

Between
two friends... Shit.

I agreed to meet her just after lunch and
called Sam to make sure he was okay before starting the shower.

"Hey, you. You at home?" Sam's
voice was filled with sleep, which was a little surprising.

I'd almost expected him to stay at the
party, even though I left. He was the kind of guy who might walk into a room of
strangers, but they would all be friends of his within no time.

"Yeah, I'm about to jump in the
shower and then head to bed. I just wanted to apologize for tonight. I was a
jerk."

"Yeah, you were." Sam chuckled.
"It's whatever, dude. No one could tell you anything when we were kids,
and they can't now, either – me included. You'll figure this shit out with your
mom, your job, and with the pretty girl you tossed aside tonight."

"Tossed aside? Harsh, man." I
walked to the hall closet to grab a towel.

"Maybe, but I can tell you that if
you're interested, you need to get back in there. When I went in to say goodbye
to her and her friends, she was surrounded by a group of guys. I guess she
plays basketball or something? She must be damn good because those guys were
singing her praises. One in particular."

My stomach tightened with a combination of
regret and jealousy. "I'm an idiot, okay?"

"Yep, I agree. Get some sleep.
Tomorrow is a new day, and the girl must like you if she was willing to leave
the party with you, right?" Sam sounded hopeful.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure I fucked
that up." I let out a long sigh. "Alright. I'm getting off the phone.
I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Make it up to her, Tate. She'll
probably jump right back into whatever you guys were starting between
you."

"Thanks, man." I hung up the
phone and stripped down before getting into the shower. My internal bantering
continued to slam into me as I kicked myself left and right. I shouldn't have
been in the shower alone, hating myself. I should have been sitting in the cab
of Sam's truck with Val snuggled up beside me laughing and having a good time.

"I hate you so fucking much
sometimes." I ran my hands over my chest and turned to press my back to
the cold wall as the image of me and Val having fun turned into us going back
to her place.

Her
smile was brilliant, beautiful, intriguing. The soft laugh that kept leaving
her showed just how nervous she was. I wanted to be easy with her, but
something inside of me wouldn't relent.

I
could almost feel the softness of her skin as I reached out and slid my hands
under the edge of her sweater, splaying my fingers along her stomach and around
her waist.

"Fuck
me," she whispered.

"Yeah,"
I mumbled and moved up close to her, leaning down and pressing my lips to the
side of her neck. I sucked softly as she worked on my jeans with a franticness
that drove a stake of desire deep inside the center of me. "Nice and slow,
Valentine."

She
lifted to her toes and pressed her lips to mine, and I could see in her eyes
the neediness that I had seen the first night we'd met. She needed me, and I
wasn't going to deny her again.

Her
cries were intense as I pressed myself to her and gave in to the need to watch
her come over and over before I got mine. I rarely felt the need to give myself
over to a woman, but somewhere in my fantasy, I found myself willing to offer
up anything in that bed to give her pleasure.

"I
love you," she whispered as her fingers dug into my back painfully.

My
heart constricted in my chest.

I
buried my face against the side of her neck as I gripped her ass and continued
to drive into her. My fears were recognized in that moment. I wanted her body,
her lust, her desire, but I knew within no time, I would want her heart.

I gripped myself tightly, standing there
in the shower, and worked to bring myself to the edge of orgasm as I let my
hand be her body, working me hard and slow. My panting got louder as I closed
my eyes tight and hit my head against the shower wall.

I cried out hard as I came and felt my
knees go weak. Anger replaced lust as I turned and pressed my chest to the cold
tile.

She should have been in my arms for the
night, even if it was nothing more than a nice petting session. She wanted me
with her, but I had tucked tail and run.

A growl left me as the image of us tangled
around one another seared through my mind's eye. We could study at the library
the next day under the pretense of friends, but I'd make the mistake of pulling
us toward that, and now it would have to be me who brought us back out of it.