College Girl (28 page)

“Where did you get this scar?”

I swallowed.

“Car accident.”

“Bad?”

She stopped and looked at me
silently. When her fingers traveled to my jaw, I relaxed.

“
That
was a chain-link fence.”

“Chain-link fence?” she repeated.
“How? Did it attack you?”

“Youth and stupidity.”

She smirked.

“That’s not an answer.”

“I was sixteen, and I was trying
to get back to the house before curfew. It was dark; I was careless.”

“Wow. … Get back before curfew. I
didn’t even have a curfew. I guess I seemed so boring that Mom and Stephen
never even contemplated that I needed one. Now look at me … I’m a freaking
hell-raiser. Dropping Calculus, telling my parents I’m back at the dorms,
having a torrid affair with my TA—”

I grabbed her hand in mine.

“Alex, if you call me your TA or
Professor Bennett
one more time, I’m
going to put you over my knee and spank you.”

She stared at me in shock, and
when she licked her lip, suddenly the thought of spanking her became unbearably
tempting. But that hadn’t been my point.

“I’m not your TA. Right or wrong,
I’m the man who is deeply in love with you.”

I wrapped my arms around her as
tears filled her eyes. The truth was I had no fucking right to hold onto her.
But I didn’t care what was right any longer. I just wanted her.
All of her.

Alex

The sound of a phone woke me out
of a deep sleep. Rolling over, I reached for Ryan. He kissed my forehead.

“Go back to sleep,” he whispered.

I smiled and drifted off. Then the
next thing I knew, someone was banging on the door. I sat up and looked for
Ryan. Gone. And his bag, which had been in the corner by mine, was gone, too. I
searched for any sign of Finn. Also gone. So were his bowls.
Shit
.
Shit, shit, shit
! Someone knocked again, and I jumped out of bed,
lunging toward my clothes, which were strewn across the floor. As soon as I was
dressed, I crept warily toward the door. Looking through the peephole, I
cursed.

This was a fucking nightmare. That
was the only explanation. I waited to wake up. I had done this a few
times—realized that I was having a nightmare and then woken myself up.
But it didn’t happen this time. I looked through the peephole again just to be
sure. Yep, it was Ryan’s misanthropic friend James McDevitt outside. When he
started smacking the door with an open palm, I finally swung it open.

“Happy to see me?” he asked.

“What the hell are you doing here?
Where’s Ryan? And please, don’t even
think
about fucking with me.”

“You want to invite me in?”

I hesitated. That was just about
the last thing I
wanted
to do. But
what other choice did I have? When I opened the door wider, he walked by me,
looking around.

“Would you like the good news or
the bad news first?”

“The bad,” I said with a sinking
feeling.

“Quite the pessimist, aren’t we?”

“Spit it out!”

“Ryan’s father went into the
hospital last night.”

I swallowed and felt my pulse
beating in my ears.

“Is he … okay?”

“He’s alive.”

I exhaled.

“Why didn’t Ryan wake me up?” I
mumbled, more to myself than him.

“I imagine he didn’t want to
interrupt your post-coital bliss.”

Watching as James McDevitt’s eyes
drifted across the room, I turned and winced at the box of condoms on the
nightstand.

“And he sent you?” I asked in
disbelief.

“You would have preferred he left
you here? I mean
,
there is a Greyhound station. I
could drop you off.”

I smirked.

“I appreciate you coming to pick
me up. Do you mind if I grab my stuff?”

“Take your time.”

He walked over to the phone at the
desk and picked it up.

“Yes, I’d like to order room
service.

I listened in awe as he ordered
two full breakfasts. Then he hung up and looked over at me.

“Yes?”

“How long have you and Ryan known
each other?” I asked.

“Since I was … your age. We were
roommates
freshman year. By the way, did Mr. Bennett tell
you his twenty-ninth birthday is coming up next month?”

Shaking my head, I felt the color
drain from my face. That would make him
more
than a decade older than me. But that wasn’t what really bothered me. It was
the fact that Ryan hadn’t told me that it was almost his birthday. Then again,
he hadn’t woken me up to tell me that his father was in the hospital, either.
For the past two nights, I had felt closer to him than anyone else.
Now, though?
I didn’t know. And my only option was to go
back to school, get my books, and try to avoid fucking up my third term as
badly as my second.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

My ticket back to school nodded
before turning on the TV. Grabbing my bag and my phone, I locked myself in the
bathroom. Life had been perfect last night, so I probably should have expected
it to come crashing down sooner rather than later. James had been right,
though. I was a total pessimist. But it served a purpose—at least in my
mind. If I didn’t get too optimistic, it was less likely that I would be
disappointed. Unlocking my phone, I saw a text from Ryan.

I’ll call as soon as possible. Hotel’s taken care of. I’m sorry about
McDevitt.

I turned on the shower and got in,
letting myself come apart a bit. Fuck. I wanted to call Ryan, but if he was at
the hospital with his dad, I didn’t want to interrupt him. Getting out of the
shower a few minutes later, I wrapped a towel around myself and sent him a
text.

How’s your dad? Let me know if you need anything. A

I sighed. Now wasn’t the time to
be needy, insecure, or demanding. I just had to wait until I heard from him
again. Combing out my hair, I got dressed and organized my stuff. Then I
stepped outside the bathroom.

“Lovely.”

Most of the remaining condoms were
blown up like balloons, and James was reclined on the bed fondling the bottle
of lubricant as he watched TV. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and jeans,
and I realized this was the first time I had seen him in anything other than a
suit and tie.

“Are you twelve?” I muttered.

He turned and looked at me. Then
he grinned and held up the bottle.

“Did you seriously let my buddy
deflower you?”

My cheeks flushed, and I glared at
him.

“You’re an ass.”

Someone knocked at the door, and I
watched as he jumped up. He set down the bottle of lubricant before going to
the door and swinging it open. Standing back, he waited for the hotel staffer
to wheel in the room service cart. The man tactfully ignored the condoms blown
up all over the room. Plus, the food smelled really good, so there was that.
James directed him out to the balcony and then took out his wallet and tipped
the guy, who turned and left without a word.

“Mimosa?” he asked.

“Are you going to be sober enough
to drive me back to school?”

“Please, young one.”

I smirked. He had been here less
than a half hour, and already he was getting under my skin. It didn’t bode well
for the trip back to school. Wow. Ryan must have been really desperate if he
had sent this guy to pick me up.

“Breakfast?” he prompted.

He gestured for me to go ahead of
him, and I sat down in one of the two chairs on the balcony. He lifted the lid
on one of the plates, and I sighed.

“Dorm food is really going to suck
after this.”

He sat down across from me.

“You never did tell me how you
ended up playing innocent schoolgirl to Bennett’s naughty professor …”

“First, I’m eighteen, not
thirteen. Second, I already told you—he was my TA.”

He laughed as I took a bite of
waffle.

“Sorry, I just never saw Bennett
as the type to go trawling at his place of employment.”

“
Trawling
? You mean like showing up at the library because he saw
some creep following me?”

“Ryan Bennett, white knight?” he
smirked.

“You sound surprised.”

He shrugged.

“I am. I never saw Bennett as
having the fortitude to stay in character for so long.”

“
In character
?”

“To bang a chick,” he offered
helpfully.

I took another bite and studied
him.

“Which one of us are you trying to
insult? Me for not being worth it, or your friend for being a sociopath?”

His dark eyes glittered.

“Neither. I’m impressed with
Bennett for playing through … and you, my dear, must have been one helluva
fuck. Or at least I hope you made it worth his while.”

I swallowed and realized it hadn’t
been smart going toe-to-toe with this guy. He was a fucking professional
asshole. I stood up.

“Your mother must be so proud of
you. Thanks for breakfast. Can we go now?”

When I turned to go back inside,
he grabbed my wrist. Looking down at him with all the coldness I could summon,
I swore that I would not cry in front of this asshole.

“Alex, I’m trying to help you,” he
said mildly.

I laughed.

“Yeah, I’m sure you are.”

“You don’t get it, do you? You,
little girl, are the rebound. Bennett is going to snap out of this funk of his,
and he’s going to get sick of vanilla. I just don’t want to see you get too
invested in something that isn’t going to happen. Do yourself a favor and don’t
get all starry-eyed because he popped your cherry. You’re a pretty girl. There
will be other guys after my buddy.”

A wave of revulsion hit me.

“Gee, thanks. Guys like you? I’ll
pass.”

His grip on my wrist tightened as
he stood up. He wasn’t as tall as Ryan, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a lot
bigger than me. I stood impassively as he leaned toward me, and when his other
hand reached around the back of my neck, I was fully prepared to knee him in
the nuts. Then his mouth came down on mine. Rather than fight it, I dropped my
free hand to my side and didn’t respond.

Feeling his tongue push past my
lips, I winced at the shock of pleasure. Now I was pissed. I started to kiss
him back, and his hand let go of my wrist as his arm wrapped around and grabbed
my ass. Suddenly I bit his bottom lip—not hard enough to draw blood, but
hard enough to startle him. He pulled back and touched his mouth, laughing.

“The next time you touch me,
you’ll need stitches,” I said quietly. “How’s that for fucking vanilla?”

I walked back into the room and
grabbed my backpack and rolling suitcase, returning to snatch up the bottle of
lubricant and any condoms Ryan’s asshole friend hadn’t gotten around to blowing
up. Shoving them into my purse, I walked to the door where James was waiting.

“Stitches might be worth it,” he
grinned.

“Fuck off.”

I followed him through the hotel
to the parking lot where he clicked the locks on an insanely large SUV. I
sniffed. Of course he was driving the vehicle of choice for assholes the world
over. He threw my bags in the back before opening the door and taking my arm.

“I
don’t
need your help.”

He laughed and walked over to the
driver’s side. Sitting down, I took out my phone, willing Ryan to text or call.
Then I mapped the route to see how long I was going to be stuck in a car with
the devil. I exhaled.
Nearly five fucking hours.
I
glanced at James McDevitt.

“We’ve got five hours, so you
wanna tell me what your real problem with women is? Let me guess. Mommy didn’t
love you enough?”

We were already merging onto 101
when he took a hand off the wheel and reached beneath the neckline of his shirt
to pull out a chain. On it was a solitaire ring with a diamond the size of a
doorknocker.

“Like Bennett, I was engaged
once.”

I laughed and then caught myself
when he looked over at me with a touch of hurt in his eyes. Wow. Was it
possible he was actually human?

“I had just graduated from school,
and I was stupid.”

“Why stupid?”

“Well, she was two years behind
me, and she liked to party. Unfortunately, I was in love with her. Or I thought
I was. Then, she cheated on me with … pretty much everyone. I’m sure she got
around to Bennett at some point, but he’d deny it.”

“Then maybe he didn’t,” I snapped.
“Ever think of that possibility? And did you cheat on her?”

He glanced sheepishly in my
direction.

“Can’t get anything by you, can
I?”

“That’s called a double standard,
dickhead. You can cheat on her, but she can’t cheat on you? Wow.”

“Like I said, stupid.”

“And you decided to hate all women
after that? How cliché. Did you ever think that maybe the two of you weren’t
meant to be together instead of
all women
are out to get me
?”

He shrugged.

“Mark my words. Bennett and I
aren’t that different.
Bitter, twisted souls.
Don’t be
stupid like I was.”

“So, let me get this straight.
You’re saying that your friend is an asshole—like you—and I should
get out now while I have the chance so I can fuck anybody with a willing dick …
because that’s more fulfilling than mind-blowing sex with someone I love? Now,
that there is some undeniable wisdom.”

“Mind blowing? Really. And how
would you know?”

“You mean because I haven’t slept
with anyone else? Is everything rated by comparison in your world?”

“I’m just saying it’s impossible
to know the true value of something when you have nothing to judge by.”

I rolled my eyes at his logic.

“You really love him?” James
asked.

“What the fuck do you care?”

He laughed.

“I can see what he likes about you.”

“Yeah. That I’m a bitch, right?
Thanks.”

“You’re like one of his math
problems—challenging.”

“And you’re exhausting. Why did
you agree to come pick me up?”

“I enjoy a challenge myself. And
Bennett’s my buddy.”

I was about to say something about
him not acting like a good buddy. Then I realized that arguing was futile. He
was winding me up—and enjoying it. Well, I wasn’t going to give him the
satisfaction any longer.

“James, can I give you a piece of
advice?”

“Sure, why not? I’ll probably
enjoy this.”

I looked down.

“Stop expecting the worst out of
people, and try believing that someone out there will love you for who you are.
I’ve never been good at doing these things, but what’s the alternative? To end
up bitter and alone?”

When I looked over at him, he
wasn’t smirking. He was just staring at me. I turned and looked out the window.
Amazingly, for the rest of the trip, he was mostly silent, which worked for me.
We stopped twice. Once at a drive-through and once at a rest stop, which was
creepy and empty. James followed me to the women’s bathroom and made me give
the all clear when I was sure it was empty. For a second, I started to wonder
if he was part human. Then he took a call, and I listened to him for thirty
seconds before going back to my original analysis: he was a complete dick.