#Nerd

He grinned. “That’s what we call the small players on the team.”

“I’m not on your team.” I pointed out.

“No. But you are mine.” The ownership in that statement made my blood run hot. This was moving fast. Like way fast. He must have seen the fear on my face because his eyes softened and he dropped down beside me and took my hand.

“I can be intense sometimes,” he allowed. “I don’t mean to freak you out.”

“It’s okay,” I murmured, looking at our joined hands.

“When I set my sights on something, I tend to just go for it, full speed ahead.” He brushed the pad of his thumb across the back of my hand. “We’ll take it slow, okay?”

“You and me?” I said, still not really believing this was happening.

“Yeah.” He smiled.

I should have said no. I didn’t want to. I hadn’t wanted something this much since well, ever.

“Okay.”

He gave me an enthusiastic kiss and then bounded up from the bed. “I did come here to kiss you again.” He began. “But that’s not the only reason I’m here.”

I was still trying to catch up to the fact that there might be an us. “Okay?” I asked tentatively.

“I need a favor.”

Chapter Twenty

Romeo

Braeden was waiting for me exactly where we said to meet. I pulled the Hellcat slowly down the dirt road that led to the bonfire party spot. No one ever came out here during the week. He was leaning against his huge truck when I parked right beside it.

“Sorry I’m late, man,” I said.

“Everything cool?” he asked, eyeing me from his comfortable position against the truck.

“Yeah, it’s cool.” Normally, if I was late because of a hook-up, I would brag and we would laugh. But I didn’t want to tell him who I’d been with. I felt like I wanted to keep it to myself just a little bit longer.

“So what’s up?” Braeden asked, not pressing me for the details. “Why did you want to meet out here?”

“I didn’t want anyone to see us,” I replied.

He straightened from the truck, his interest piqued.

“I gotta do something. Something I could get in trouble for if I got caught.”

“For the rush?” Braeden assumed.

I nodded yes at the same time I said, “I’m not supposed to say.”

“Got it,” he replied immediately. “You need help?”

“I need a lookout.”

He nodded.

“Dude, if we get caught, there won’t be much I can say to help either one of us.”

He grinned. “Even better.”

That’s one of the reasons I liked Braeden so much. He was crazy as hell.

“Beer’s on me this weekend,” I promised.

He pumped his fist in the air. “Sweet!”

“We need to go to the faculty and admin building. I need to get in the dean’s office.” I started to say more but stopped because Braeden started laughing. The wicked gleam in his eye made me laugh too.

“Dude, you need to rush a frat. You’d eat the shit up they make you do.”

“I like my freedom,” he drawled. “I’m a wild stallion, can’t be tied down to nothing. Not even a kickass frat.”

“What about Missy?” I taunted.

A slow smile spread across his face and he ran his hand through his thick, eternally messy dark hair. “Dude, she’s fucking hot.” Then he held out his hands like he was squeezing something. “And she’s so good in bed.”

I slapped him on the back. “You’re totally whipped.”

He knocked my hand away. “Shit, like hell I am.”

I could have stood here and ribbed him all night, but we had shit to do, and the longer I dragged it out the more anxious I got. “Okay, so let’s take your truck across campus and park in a lot near the building, but not too close. We can jog over. I just need you to stand lookout in case someone comes. Just text me or something to let me know I gotta get out of there.”

It only took a few minutes to drive to an empty lot and park. It took even less time to jog to the building. I left my varsity jacket in the truck and Braeden did the same. Both of us were dressed in jeans and dark-colored shirts so we blended into the night fairly well when we stuck to the shadows of the building.

The good thing was the streetlights on this side of campus were fewer and farther between because classes weren’t held over here and there weren’t any dorms. Students wouldn’t have any reason to come over this way at night.

Unless of course you needed to steal something.

When we got to the building, we tried the back door, the one that faced the parking lot. It was locked. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as we scaled around the perimeter, looking for a way in. When every single door appeared to be locked, I felt myself start to sweat. I had to get inside.

“Pssst,” Braeden called from several yards away. He motioned for me and when I got to his side I saw that he’d managed to get a window open. It wasn’t a huge one, but I could shimmy in.

“The fuck did you do?” I whispered, pointing to the way the metal frame around the old window was bent and the lock was somehow popped out on the inside.

He grinned. “I got skills.”

I held up my fist for a pound. Then I mouthed, “Wait here.”

I hoisted myself up into the window and shoved my feet in first. I had to wiggle a bit to get my shoulders to pass through the opening, but after a few tries, I dropped down onto the floor with a soft thud.

I was in someone’s office, but I knew it wasn’t the dean’s. It wasn’t nearly big enough or nice enough for the head of the college. I moved stealthily through the room and peered out into the hallway. It was dark and empty.

I slid along the walls. It was eerily silent and still inside. There was no light at all, so I used my cell phone to provide enough to see. Everything smelled like floor polish with maybe a hint of lemon. Except it didn’t make it smell fresh. It smelled like the cleaning crew just added the lemon to take away the harsh smell of the cleaners.

It didn’t work.

Maybe when we left we’d leave that window open in a poor attempt at airing out the place before everyone showed up to work in a few hours. Poor people. No wonder half the faculty at this school was cranky as hell. They were probably high off stanky cleaning fumes.

One of the hallways widened at the end to create a square, open room, kind of like an entryway. The wall to my left was lined with chairs and what appeared to be a sad-looking fake plant. On the other side was a wooden desk set up with various office supplies.