#Nerd

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.