#Nerd (Hashtag #1) (4 page)

Rimmel

I showed up early and stayed late.

There was just something about this place that I needed extra of today.

Well, I knew what it was. The consistency, the fact that I knew what to expect here. I knew what I was getting when I walked in the door.

Animals were so much better than people. They didn’t expect anything, they didn’t judge, and they were real all the time. I loved the honesty animals lived by. Nothing about them was fake. They showed how they were feeling without apology.

It was why I wanted to become a veterinarian. I wanted to give back everything I’d been given. I wanted to be their voice when they couldn’t speak. I wanted to be the friend they always were. I wanted the ability to make them feel better when they were sick.

I wasn’t good with people… but animals… animals were my passion.

Once I was finished mopping the back room, I emptied out the bucket and set everything in place to dry. I flicked off the lights and wandered into the room where we kept all the cats.

Metal crates lined the walls, some stacked together. The floors were made of white tile and the walls were painted white as well. Posters of animals lined the walls along with some other images of celebrities that supported animal rescue. Against the far wall were a bunch of cabinets that held food and supplies for the cats.

Cats weren’t quite as open with their affection as dogs, but it was something I understood. Cats remained aloof and reserved; they were very independent. They liked to study people; they liked to really know who they were dealing with before they got too close. Some cats never bothered to get too close to anyone.

Life taught me to be the same way.

In the corner of the room, on the bottom of the stack of cages, was Murphy. He was curled up in the corner of his home with his face tucked into the curve of his body. I sank down onto the floor in front of the door, unlatching it and swinging it open.

He perked up his head and stared at me, the light green of his eye was always the focus against his midnight fur.

It was even more a focal point because there was only one.

Murphy came to the shelter badly injured and malnourished. He lost his left eye shortly after. No one was ever sure what happened to him. That was over a year ago. He was no longer too thin and frail. His fur wasn’t dull and matte, but sleek and shiny. The left side of his face was intact, but where there should be a large green eye, there wasn’t. The skin and fur had been stitched together where it healed. And in place of his eye was a curved sort of line, a scar, but it was covered with hair.

“Hey, Murphy,” I said softly, holding out my hand for him to smell.

He touched the tip of his cool nose to my finger and I smiled. Keeping my actions deliberate, I slid my fingers up onto his head and scratched behind his ear. The sound of deep purring filled the space around us, and I smiled.

“Sorry I didn’t come by yesterday,” I told him. “I have to tutor someone at school. He’s going to be a real pain in the butt.”

Murphy yawned and pulled away from my scratches.

I smiled. He was as bored by Romeo as I was. ‘Course, if I were honest, Romeo didn’t really bore me. That was one of the reasons I dreaded going there so much.

The cage above Murphy was empty. “Looks like your neighbor got adopted,” I said.

Michelle, one of the shelter employees, came in behind me. “Yep, earlier today.”

“That’s great,” I said. It was the primary goal of this shelter to care for animals but ultimately find them permanent and loving homes.

But no one ever wanted Murphy.

Maybe it was why I loved him so much. I felt sort of an odd connection with the cat no one wanted. He didn’t fit the image of a good family cat. He was blackest of black, which made it harder for him in the first place. Black pets were always the last to get adopted. Maybe because they didn’t appear as friendly and cuddly as the others. Maybe because they looked a little dangerous… and maybe it was because of the stigma that black cats brought bad luck.

But even when someone got past the color of his fur, they would notice the scar and missing eye. He appeared damaged. He appeared to have had a rough life (which, yeah, maybe he had), and no one wanted to deal with damaged. It made them uncomfortable.

So Murphy was continuously bypassed. He was ignored. He’d lived in that cage for the last year as all the other cats came and went.

If I didn’t live in a dorm, I would have already taken him home with me.

“What are you still doing here?” Michelle asked as she bustled around the room.

I gave Murphy one last stroke and then latched the door and stood. “I wanted to spend some extra time cleaning in the back. It was a mess.”

Michelle smiled. “You’re the only college student I know who would rather clean than hang out with her friends.”

That’s because I didn’t have any friends.

“Did Sarah tell you that I wouldn’t be here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for a while?” I asked, ignoring her statement and the hollow feeling it gave me inside.

Michelle turned from what she was doing and gave me a smile. “Are you tutoring a guy?”

I smiled slightly at the gossipy tone in her voice. “Yes.”

“Tell me he’s super hot.”

I laughed but shrugged. “He’s okay.”

Michelle groaned. “
That
good?”

I felt my forehead wrinkle with her response.

She shook her head. “I know you, Rimmel. You downplay everything. So if you’re saying he’s okay, then I know you’re drooling on the inside.”

I laughed. “I don’t drool.”

Michelle turned serious. “Have fun. Get to know him. Maybe—”

I held up my hand and halted her words. “It’s just tutoring.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“Yes, it does.” If she only knew I was tutoring the campus celebrity, then she would understand.

Michelle sighed. “Rimmel,” she said and came to stand before me. “You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“Huh?” I pushed the glasses up on my nose.

“You are such a good person. You have so much to offer. Let him get to know you.”

A lump formed in my throat. She was just talking, just words. She was just trying to be nice. Michelle didn’t know what I did.

Or maybe she did realize. Maybe she was just trying to make me feel good.

It only made me feel worse.

I glanced back at Murphy. My kindred spirit. Underneath, he was a good cat. Loyal and loving. But no one ever bothered to look past his rough exterior, because in reality, looks meant more than everyone wanted to admit.

Romeo was just like everyone else. My exterior would keep him at arm’s length, exactly as it should. I didn’t belong in Romeo’s world. I was like a round peg to his square hole.

“I should be going,” I said, grabbing my bag from the table. “I’ll see you Saturday morning.”

I hurried out of the shelter before she could say anything else.

The air was cold and crisp. I stood out on the sidewalk, stared up at the inky night sky, and shivered. I still wasn’t used to all these seasonal changes. In Florida, it was always warm. I really needed to remember a jacket.

My scooter was parked outside the shelter. I didn’t have a car and driving this made getting around sometimes a little easier, but it wasn’t a very warm way to travel. As I climbed onto the seat and strapped on my helmet, I knew soon I was going to have to park this thing for the winter.

My dorm was on the second floor of the building, and I had to use my ID to let myself in. Girls milled around, the hallways filled with giggling and the scent of perfume. I could hear a few TVs behind doors and a few more with music playing.

My dorm was one of the ones with music. I let myself in and the sounds of Bruno Mars grew louder. I dumped my bag on the end of my neatly made bed as Ivy, my roommate, turned from her mirror.

“Ugh!” she burst out. “I have nothing to wear!”

Her bed was covered in rumpled tops and jeans. The floor was littered with boots and flats. It wasn’t anything new. She was always searching for the perfect outfit, and it was rare her side of the room was ever neat.

“What’s wrong with what you have on?” I asked, sinking down onto the bed.

“This!” she demanded, motioning toward a pair of yoga pants and a loose top. “This is loungewear!”

I didn’t care about clothes. They seemed like a waste of energy… and also something that got you noticed. Sometimes being invisible was better.

“I’m sure whatever you pick will be fabulous,” I replied and scooped up my shower tote with everything I needed to shower before bed.

“Hey, so how’d tutoring go?” she asked.

Ivy and I weren’t really friends, but we were roommates who lived in very close quarters. She wasn’t the silent type; she was bubbly and talkative and she asked a lot of questions. It was easier to answer her than try to evade.

Besides, I kinda liked talking to her.

I rolled my eyes. “He’s a complete douche.”

“Is he at least hot?”

My lips curved into a smile. I wondered what she would say if I told her it was Romeo. She’d probably pee her pants.

Before I could say anything, Ivy turned back to the mirror. “Never mind. Of course he isn’t hot. What hottie goes and sits in the library three days a week to get tutored? Lame.”

I swallowed Romeo’s name on my tongue. I knew she didn’t mean it as an insult, but it still stung. I went to the library all the time.

I let myself out of the room and went down the hall to the bathroom. Suddenly, I was very tired.

Romeo

I woke up to the sight of my mother standing over me, wearing a disapproving frown on her lips and holding a mug of coffee in her hands.

With a groan, I rolled over and clutched the blankets up around my waist. The last thing I wanted was to give my mother an eyeful of my morning wood. “What?” I half growled.

“Do not speak to me like that,” she intoned, not even stepping back an inch. Valerie Anderson was not easily intimidated. If anything, she was the intimidator. I knew by the way her perfectly arched brows drew together that she was trying to intimidate me.

It wouldn’t work.

It never did.

I got the same kind of
never back down
attitude passed into my genes.

“Why are you glowering at me?” I paused to glance at the clock and cringed. It was the freaking butt-crack of dawn. “The sun isn’t even up.” I finished with a groan. I got no sleep thanks to my little kidnapping and swim last night, and now this.

“I’d like an explanation for the graffiti on your front door,” she said coolly.

Fuck.

My mother might be an intimidator, but she was even more of a perfectionist. On top of that, the “mess” was on the front door, where—
gasp
—the neighbors could see.

“It was a prank, Mom.” I scrubbed a hand over my face.

“Yes. Well, you know how I feel about the appearance of our home. Clean it.”

“Can’t the gardener do that?” I whined.

“It is not his job to clean up after your friends.”

“Fine,” I muttered and sat up as my father walked into my bedroom behind her. What the hell was this? They never came over here, yet here they both were.

“Valerie, give the boy a break. Can’t you see it was the Omegas?”

Her eyes turned sharp and she looked over her shoulder. “You mean the exclusive fraternity that you and your father were both members of, Anthony?”

“One and the same.” he replied, then looked around her at me. “Congratulations, son. I knew they’d rush you.”

“Dad.” I sighed as my gut tightened. “Did you have something to do with this?”

He might be acting like this was an expected occurrence now, but last year, he was sorely bitter that I hadn’t been rushed by Alpha Omega. He might not have said as much, but he thought it was my fault. For weeks, he looked at me like I was lacking something.

I felt my gaze flatten as I stared at him, waiting for his answer.

“Are you asking me if I had to make a call?”

As in call your old buddy the dean to complain so I would get a spot?
“Yes.”

“Of course not. You have a spot because you earned it.”

I watched his face as he spoke. I learned a long time ago how to read him and read between his words to hear the lie. My stomach unclenched when I saw he was telling the truth.

I blew out a breath, relieved. Truth was I wanted that spot in Omega. But I only wanted it if it was real—if I truly earned it. I didn’t want something my father had to buy.

“C’mon, Valerie, give him some space. I’m sure Roman has training to do before classes,” my father said.

“Of course,” she said, glancing back at me.

I got my blond hair from her and my blue eyes from my father. Even though it was barely morning, she was already dressed in a tailored pair of jeans and a cashmere sweater. Her hair was sleek and cut to her chin. Her makeup was perfect. In fact, there wasn’t a time I could remember seeing her without makeup.

My father wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her toward the bedroom door. He was dressed in a black three-piece suit with a designer label. He had short, dark hair that was graying at the temples. He was a large man, over six feet tall with a broad build. Over the years, he’d lost some of his muscle mass, but he was still big enough to not look skinny.

My father had the kind of smile that could make people eat shit right out of his hand and think it was caviar. He was a natural born leader, but never had to use force to get what he wanted. Charm was a much better weapon.

It made him a wildly successful lawyer.

“Roman,” Mom said, turning back. “No hurry in cleaning off the door. Just focus on training and tomorrow’s game.”

“Thanks,” I said. In other words, now that she knew it was the
exclusive
symbol of the Alpha Omegas, she wanted everyone to see. I didn’t bother to remind her that it didn’t matter if it was there or not, the main house was so big it hid this one from view. Not to mention, there was a giant privacy fence around the entire property.

I pulled on a loose pair of sweats and ignored the cool morning air against my bare chest. Inside my home gym, I turned on some music, the kind that would hopefully pump me full of energy, and then hit the weights.

After about an hour and a half of training, my muscles were quivering and my legs felt like Jell-O. I showered and blended up a fast protein shake to go. I had a full morning of classes, one this afternoon, then practice until early evening.

Then I had to go to tutoring.

I chuckled to myself as I walked across the property toward the driveway and my car. My tutor was a mess. I kind of felt sorry for her. I thought about all the rules she’d given me and I laughed again.

Her and my mother would get along famously.

All thoughts of my uptight tutor fled when I approached my sweet-ass ride and admired the body. When I graduated high school, my parents bought me a Dodge Challenger Hellcat.

It was lime green with black rims, a black stripe on the roof, and a black hood scoop. The interior was black leather with a lime-green pinstripe on the steering wheel. The engine was a supercharged V8 (that’s what made her a hellcat), and it had a stereo system that rattled the windows.

It was a chick magnet.

If there was a girl that was sort of wavering on giving it up that night, all I had to do was put her hand on the gearshift between the seats, wrap my hand over hers, and “show her” how to shift.

It sealed the deal.

Every. Single. Time.

I slid into the buttery leather and turned the key, letting the engine purr to life.

Tonight was the pregame bonfire. Couldn’t really call it a pep rally because it was just a bunch of students getting drunk in the name of football.

A few minutes later, I pulled into a large parking lot and drove to my regular spot. No one ever parked here but me. By some unspoken rule, this was my place.

Braeden’s jacked truck was parked next to me. The lifted tires made my Challenger look tiny beside it. As I got out, he came around his hood, grinning, and held out his fist. I pounded mine against his as he asked, “How was it?”

I grinned. “Initiation is on.”

“So,” he pressed as we began walking.

I lifted my single strap book bag over my shoulders and settled it into place.

“What kind of shit do you have to do? How rough is it gonna be?”

“Nothing I can’t handle, man.”

We passed a group of giggling girls standing off to the side of a coffee cart. Braeden slapped me in the chest. “You got some admirers.”

I grinned and gave them the
what up
gesture with my chin. “Ladies,” I said. “You coming to the bonfire tonight? Gonna support the Wolves?”

Several of the girls ducked their heads shyly, but a couple of the bolder girls lifted their chins and looked right at us. One of them I was pretty sure I had sex with last weekend broke away and walked toward us.

I slowed my steps and let my eyes sweep over her skintight jeans and low-cut top. “Pretty chilly out here this morning,” she said. Her gaze dropped to my blue-and-gold varsity jacket.

I ignored the hint and draped an arm across her shoulders. “Looking pretty hot to me,” I drawled.

She wiggled a little closer. “I’ll be cheering from the stands tomorrow night.”

“I like to see team spirit.”

Braeden laughed.

“Oh, I’ve got spirit,” she purred and fingered the edge of my jacket.

I pulled away. She was desperate. I took in her face and committed it to memory so I knew to stay away from this one. If I slept with her again, she’d probably think we were in a relationship.

She gave my wrist a little tug and I let her pull me back and gave her one of my charm-dripping smiles. “You better get that sexy ass of yours out of the cold and to class.” As I spoke, I deftly disengaged myself from her and put some distance between us before she even realized what was happening.

By the time she noticed, I was already turning around and walking away.

“Dude,” Braeden said and bit down on his knuckle. “You’ve gotta tap that.”

I laughed. “Been there, done that.”

“Then I gotta tap that.”

We both laughed and turned the corner around the building. Something slammed into me. I reached out automatically and grabbed onto the person bouncing back as a book flew to the side and landed on the pavement. A strangled sound cut through the commotion, and I tightened my grip and looked down.

Dark, tangled hair was everywhere. My hand completely overtook her shoulder, and she wobbled on her feet for balance.

“Whoa,” I said as a grin curved my lips. “Watch where you’re going there.”

The girl glanced up quickly from beneath black-framed glasses. Recognition lit up inside me.

“Hey, Teach,” I said.

“Hey,” she squeaked, breathless. She pulled back to bend down and get her book. As she bowed, her oversized messenger bag slid around and hit her in the back of the knees and she stumbled.

I caught her around the waist and righted her, then bent and picked up her book. It was a textbook.

Geez, did this girl ever stop studying?

I handed it back to her and she quickly wrapped her arms around it, hugging it to her chest. “Thanks.” She glanced at Braeden and then away. “I have to go.”

She rushed away, but I couldn’t help calling her name. “Rimmel.”

She halted. Her body almost froze like she was shocked I’d remembered her name. She peeked around her curtain of hair and gazed at me.

I grinned. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Braeden straightened beside me and I felt his gaze turn to interest.

Rimmel flushed a deep pink as her eyes widened.

“And don’t worry,” I added, just because I knew she’d hate it. “I won’t be late. I know how you hate that.”

“Dude,” Braeden said from beside me.

Rimmel made a little squeaking sound and then rushed away without looking back.

If I didn’t have such a good self-esteem, I’d be offended.

“She don’t look like your type,” Braeden said.

I laughed. “She isn’t. That’s the tutor coach assigned me.”

Braeden laughed. “Shit, man. That’s just mean.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, glancing at him as we walked.

“You playing with her emotions like that. That poor girl doesn’t have a chance in hell with you.”

Something inside me recoiled. “I was just teasing her. I wasn’t hitting on her.” He was right. Rimmel wasn’t my type. Far from it. I wasn’t even flirting with her. I just liked to see her flustered.

“You better be careful, man. A girl like that, she don’t understand the difference.”

I grunted in reply. He was wrong. I didn’t know Rimmel very well at all. But I did know she wasn’t stupid. It kind of irked me that he implied she was.

But then someone from across the lawn shouted my name, and I shouted back. Several people started chanting my name and I laughed.

Just like that, thoughts of my tutor faded away.