#Nerd

But this time it wasn’t by my jacket.

It was by my arms.

Her eyes showed surprise, but beneath that emotion I saw something more. I saw desire and need. I saw attraction.

The urge to kiss her slammed into me so hard my arms jerked her closer. Her breath whooshed out of her and her eyes rounded.

Slowly, I lowered my head, taking my time and anticipating the moment. My gaze fixed onto her full lips and I imagined sucking them into my mouth and rubbing my tongue over their softness.

Just breaths away from our first touch, she sucked in sharply and ducked her head. The hair piled high on her head whacked me in the mouth, and I drew back slightly. Rimmel’s forehead dropped to my chest, and her hand came up to twist in the cotton of my T-shirt.

Why did she pull away? I could feel her desire. I could practically taste it.

The moment was gone so I peeled my arms away from her and stepped back. “I’ll get you another soda,” I said, noting the raspy quality of my voice. On my way, I grabbed up my own soda, popped the top, and took a healthy swig. The cold, spiky caffeine prickled the back of my throat and erased some of the spell she’d just cast over me.

“So what kind of homework do you need help with?” she asked, sitting at the bar in the kitchen and tucking her legs beneath her. Her cheeks were flushed and the glasses were slipping down her nose.

If she were anybody else, I’d have her in bed right now.

What if she was a virgin?

The thought was so abrupt and so shattering that I spun around and grabbed the edges of the sink. I squeezed the rounded granite and stared out the small window that looked into some trees behind the house.

She probably was a virgin. I mean, look at her. It wasn’t like I’d never taken a girl’s virginity before. Frankly, it never seemed like that big of a deal.

Until now.

Was I going to be able to take her virginity because of a dare? An initiation?

I had to.

My reputation. My status. My pride was all on the line.

“Romeo?” A small hand lightly touched the small of my back. All the muscles in that area tightened and my eyes slid closed. When I didn’t pull away, her touch grew a little bolder and her fingertips pressed into my shirt. “Are you sick?”

She was standing so close her sweater brushed against my side. Concern radiated off her as she leaned around to try and catch a glimpse of my face. I turned my head and looked at her.

Our eyes collided and my entire world seemed to realign.

Ahh, fuck.

Chapter Fifteen

Rimmel

I thought he was going to kiss me.

For a second, I saw it in his eyes. I wondered if that same look had been reflected back at him.

But when he leaned in, I ruined it. My stupid brain got in the way and stopped him.

I wish I hadn’t. I wanted to know what it would be like to kiss Romeo. I’d imagined it more than once. I also wondered what it would be like in his arms.

I knew now.

It was the same feeling I got when I watched my favorite movie for the hundredth time. The same feeling I got when I was tired and cranky and wanted nothing more than to go home and put on my favorite ratty hoodie. It was that feeling I got when I finally was able to put it on.

Relief.

Comfort.

Familiar.

Even though he was almost entirely muscle, being wrapped up in him wasn’t rigid; there was enough softness to him that made me want to curl closer, to run my hands around to his back and tug him just a little bit nearer.

But he let go and I stepped away. I don’t know how long it took for my heart rate to return to normal, but when it had, I noticed him hunching over the sink like he was suddenly ill.

Didn’t it just figure?

I practically melted in this guy’s arms and he got sick.

Way to make him want you, Rimmel.

I shook my head. There were so many things wrong with that single thought it scared me. I pushed it aside and moved into the kitchen behind Romeo. My hand hovered over his back for long seconds before I got up enough nerve to actually touch him.

When he didn’t pull away, I increased the pressure of my hand. I spoke to him. I don’t recall what I said.

He looked at me.

Yes, he’d looked at me many times before. But never like this.

I felt as though a hand punched into my chest and squeezed. The look laid bare in his sparkling blue eyes was raw and intense. It awakened feelings in me I thought I’d buried a long, long time ago.

Romeo turned from the sink. One of his hands curved around my hip and tugged me just a little bit closer. My limbs grew heavy, like I was sinking in a pit of sand. He leaned down and I stretched up.

This time I wasn’t going to pull away.

“Roman.” An unfamiliar voice broke into the heavy curtain of desire between us. “Oh!” the woman exclaimed in surprise when she saw he wasn’t alone.

We jerked apart like lightning struck between us.

“Mom,” Romeo said, his voice slightly strained. I turned my eyes on his mother as she stood there staring at us.

Clearly she was surprised. I couldn’t understand why. Surely I wasn’t the first girl to ever be in his apartment. And we weren’t even… well, we were studying.

Well, sort of.

“I saw your car and thought I’d come see if you wanted to join your father and me for dinner,” she said, fingering a golden necklace around her throat.

She was a beautiful woman with blond hair, a perfectly made face, a fresh manicure with red fingertips, and dressed in a red sheath to match. Her eyes weren’t blue like Romeo’s, and I wondered if he’d gotten those from his father. She was taller than me by several inches and looked like she worked out on a regular basis because she wasn’t just thin; she was toned.

I remembered what Romeo said about her being a perfectionist about the way the house looked. Clearly that perfectionism extended to her own appearance.

“I’m a little busy right now, Mom,” Romeo replied. “But thanks.”

“Who are you?” his mother said frankly, eyeing me without apology. I wanted to cringe, but I didn’t. If this woman thought appearance was everything, then she must be dying inside as she looked at me.

I stepped forward and extended my hand. It was covered by the purple material of my sweater. I grimaced and shoved it away, offering my hand once more. “I’m Rimmel.”

For a brief moment, I thought she might refuse my hand, but then she reached out and lightly grasped my fingers. “I’m Victoria, Roman’s mother.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly when she pulled back. She didn’t like me. It was painfully obvious. My stomach clenched a little. I knew I shouldn’t care what her opinion of me was, but I did. This was one of the reasons I chose animals over people. I cared too much. It made me feel sick inside when people looked at me the way she was right now. I couldn’t understand why others were so judgmental of each other. I was entirely too sensitive and it was easier to just blend into the background and go unnoticed.