Against the Rules (Kingston Brothers Book 3)

by Isabel Lucero

  While I told him my type was older guys, that was mostly just to get a reaction out of him. Instead, he showed his disinterest by quickly mentioning other students I could be into. I guess I shouldn’t take it to heart, and I suppose I don’t. He’s my teacher, of course he isn’t going to want to be in a relationship with me. It’s probably the number one rule in the university’s rule book.

  Maybe I should continue to enjoy him as eye candy, but not bother getting to know him or pushing my luck by flirting with him. He seems like the type to only get annoyed, not turned on.

  I call my sister, not thinking about the late hour.

  “What’s wrong? You okay?” she asks immediately.

  “Hey, yeah. Everything’s fine. Were you asleep?”

  I can hear her sigh of relief. “I may have dozed off while watching this documentary about serial killers.”

  “You’re such a weirdo.”

  She laughs. “It’s fascinating.”

  “I guess.”

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  I huff. “Yeah. Just missing home, you know? I miss the company.”

  “Aww. You miss me!” she squeals.

  “Yeah, yeah. Don’t get a big head. But yeah, I miss you and my friends. We always had people around, ya know? People to talk to.”

  “I thought you made friends.” Her voice is soft, taking on that motherly tone.

  “Yeah, but it’s still new. I’m just trying to adjust still.”

  “I got you. It’ll get easier. I can come visit for Thanksgiving.”

  I whine like a baby. “That’s still two months away.”

  “I know. Just stay busy with school, have fun on the weekends. Find a boyfriend…or actually, maybe don’t do that. Boys suck.”

  I laugh. “Then maybe I should find a man.”

  My sister scoffs and I can sense her eye roll from here. “Good lord. Don’t start.”

  “What?” I say with a laugh.

  “That damn teacher. Look, give him an apple for an A, not some ass.”

  “It’s gonna take a lot more than an apple to pass this class.”

  “Then take five.”

  I laugh again. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna try anything with him. Maybe I’ll find a guy around my age at the next party I go to.”

  “Or maybe in class. A nice, studious boy. Not a boy who parties all the time.”

  I roll my eyes. “Don’t even act like you didn’t party and hook up with boys when you were my age.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Right. Okay.” I take a breath. “Well, I guess I’ll let you go. We both need our beauty rest.”

  “Speak for yourself.”

  “Bitch.”

  She cackles. “Love you. Talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Love you, too.”

  I go to sleep feeling better after talking to my sister, but my dreams bring me back to Professor Kingston. He bends me over his desk and does sinful and delicious things to my body.

  11

  “Dude, they’re so good!” Cillian yells into my ear as we’re standing to the side of the stage at The Unwanted’s last concert in Cleveland.

  I look out at the audience and watch as people sing along to lyrics my brother wrote. What an insane life. I’m so proud of him.

  “I think this is their last song,” Royce says. “Do we meet him in the dressing room or what?”

  “He said we can stay here. I don’t even know how to get to the dressing room,” I tell him.

  “True.”

  When the last song is done, Sky—the lead singer—thanks the crowd for coming out and tells them new music is coming soon. The four of them exit the stage, and there are people waiting to give them water bottles and towels to wipe their sweat. Their manager is there, giving them praise, but Merrick comes right over to us with a huge smile on his face.

  “Whaddya think?” he asks, wiping sweat from his forehead.

  “I’m so proud of you,” I tell him with a grin. “It was so good. Way better than your garage days.”

  He cracks a grin. “Thanks.”

  “Dude! That was amazing!” Cillian says, shaking Merrick’s shoulder.

  “Yeah, fucking crazy!” Royce adds.

  Cillian and Royce’s girlfriends’ Midge and London are beaming at him. “This was the best first concert we could’ve asked for,” Midge says. London nods in agreement.

  “I’m glad you guys enjoyed it. Let’s head back to the room,” he says, drinking half a bottle of water before pouring the rest over his head.

  We spend hours in the dressing room with the band before their manager says they need to be back at the hotel and ready to leave first thing in the morning. They have to get back to their record label to discuss what’s next.

  “I’m glad you guys made it out,” Merrick says, giving us all a hug. “I’ll let you know when I’ll have a break. Maybe I can come back home soon.”

  “Sounds good, man.” I give him a hug. “I’ll talk to you soon. Take care of yourself, yeah?”

  He nods then says goodbye to everyone else, leaving us to go to the hotel we’re staying in for the night.

  Monday morning comes too quickly, but I find myself excited to see Nova. And that’s not good.

  Of course, she’s the first to come in for her class, and I’m starting to think she does that on purpose.

  “Hey, Professor,” she greets, but this time it’s not in her usual flirty way. She sounds like any other student saying hi to their teacher.

  “Hi, Nova,” I respond, erasing the chalkboard.

  She stays quiet while I start writing problems on the board, and then she breaks the silence.

  “How was your concert?”

  “It was really good,” I reply, glancing over my shoulder to get a look at her. “How was your party?”

  “It was fine.”

  “Doesn’t sound like it was too fun.”

  “Your concert was probably better.”

  I chuckle. “I don’t doubt that.”

  When I’m done, I turn around and face her. She gives me a small grin. “So, someone at the party told me about a concert that was nearby. Apparently, the members in the band are from here.”

  I stare at her, curious. “Someone just happened to talk about a concert this weekend, huh?”

  She ducks her head and plays with a pen on her desk. “I may have asked about it.”

  I fight my smile off. She was thinking about me. “I see.”

  Nova glances up, embarrassed. “Not for any particular reason. Anyway, so, rock stars grew up in this little town.”

  “I’m assuming you found out a little more than that.”

  She bites on her lip, then lets all pretenses go, slamming her hands on the desk. “You’re related to a rock star!”

  I laugh. “Still just my baby brother.”

  “That’s crazy though! Did you have VIP access?”

  “We stood to the side of the stage.”

  “Wow. That’s awesome.”

  I make my way to my desk and straighten some papers. When I glance over at Nova, she’s watching me in a daze, her eyes a little hooded while she chews on her bottom lip.

  I clear my throat and grab her attention. She meets my gaze then shakes her head, her hand coming up to her cheek as if she’s attempting to hide a blush. “Sorry. Daydreaming. I mean…not like that. Just remembered this dream I had.” Her eyes widen. “I mean, I was just zoned out, thinking about something.”

  Before I can stop myself, I say, “Thinking about what?”

  She stares at me through long, dark eyelashes, and I can see her fighting with herself on what she wants to say.

  Just as I thought she would, she throws caution to the wind. “I had a dream about you.”

  My brows shoot up. “Oh?”

  She nods. “That desk was in it, too.”

  Behind my pants, my cock stirs. Jesus Christ.

  Nova places the end of the pen on her bot
tom lip, watching me with a lustful gaze that sets me on fire.

  Before either of us can say or do anything, students trickle in, but our eyes stay connected for several seconds before I ease my gaze away.

  I spend the rest of the class period avoiding all eye contact with her, and luckily she doesn’t stay behind to ask any questions today.

  At the end of the day, I wish there was someone I could go talk about this with. Sure, there’s my brothers, but Royce and Cill would just give me shit like they always do. And it feels wrong to even admit to crushing on a student. I’m a thirty-five-year-old man. I don’t have many close friends to talk to, and every friend I do have is a professor, so I’m definitely not saying anything to them.

  So, like usual, I’ll deal with this alone. Maybe I should call Lorraine, or one of the other women who are interested in me. The only problem with that is I’m not interested in them.

  12

  It’s already been a month of school, and I’m doing well in all of my classes except calculus. Communication between me and Elijah is typical student/teacher type conversations. He avoids eye contact with me as much as possible, and I don’t bother lingering before or after class to try to flirt.

  He seems to be getting hotter and hotter every day though, and it’s really hard to keep my dirty thoughts to myself.

  “Girl, that guy is totally checking you out!” Ayanna exclaims.

  “Who?” I ask, looking across the restaurant.

  She pops a fry in her mouth. “Dude by the door. Black hat.”

  My eyes find his. He smiles, and I respond with a tiny grin. “I guess he’s kinda cute.”

  “You’re insane,” she says, chewing the fry. “Okay, fine. What’s your type?”

  I shrug. “I don’t think I really have a type.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Are you already into someone? Is it Lorenzo? Because while he’s cute, I think he might be a man-ho.”

  I laugh. “Yeah, no. It’s not him.”

  Her dark eyes widen. “So there is a him!” She takes a sip of her Coke through the straw. “Okay, spill it.”

  “There’s not really anybody, honestly. Just a stupid crush.”

  She waves her hand in the air, telling me to continue. “Uh-huh. And?”

  “It can’t go anywhere. It’s dumb, really. I don’t even know him. He’s just really nice to look at.”

  “I’m gonna slap you if you don’t just tell me. Do I need to start guessing? Okay. John? Mitchell? Roy? Will? Steven?” She gasps. “Is it Luca?”

  I shake my head. “Uh. No. None of those guys.”

  Ayanna levels me with a look. “If you don’t tell me…”

  “All right, all right. But you can’t freak out and you can’t say anything to anybody. I mean it!”

  “Okay, jeez.”

  “I’m kinda crushing on Professor Kingston.”

  I bite my lip and watch her intently. She freezes right before she’s about to put a fry in her mouth. After dropping it to the plate, she goes from shocked silent to hysterically laughing.

  I pick up a fry and throw it at her. “It’s not that funny!” But I can’t help but join her in her laughter.

  “Dude, Kingston? For real? I mean, yes, he’s fucking hot. But yeah, I don’t see that happening.”

  “I know. I mean, he’s my teacher. I know there’s a rule against it.” I don’t tell her what already happened. I don’t need that bit of info getting to anyone else, but man, I wish I could talk to someone about it.

  She waves her hand. “Not even that. I mean, fuck it, right? You know how many professors are sleeping with students? But Kingston? He wouldn’t do that.” Ayanna keeps shaking her head. “Nah. He’s too by the book, you know?”

  Starting to get that, but again, I can’t say too much. “I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like he looks at me differently. Not like a student.”

  “But?”

  “Then there are times where I feel like he goes out of his way to ignore me.”

  Ayanna wipes her mouth. “Girl, you need to find a guy to make you forget about good ol’ Professor Kingston. That guy over there keeps looking at you, so I’d start with him.”

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  “Pft. Of course I am.”

  The next day in calculus, Professor Kingston hands back our previous test. My grade is not good.

  He taps the paper and looks into my eyes. “See me after class.”

  My heart races, then Lorenzo leans over. “Ooh. You gonna be in trouble or what?”

  “My grade for this class is in trouble.”

  “Well, I’d offer to help you, but I’m afraid I’m not much better than you,” he says, turning his paper around to show me the grade he got.

  “Still a little better than me.”

  Once everyone leaves the room, I head to Professor Kingston’s desk and wait for him to speak.

  “Your test scores are getting lower and lower. Your overall grade is being heavily affected by that. Your homework scores are okay, but they could be better.”

  His voice doesn’t hold any annoyance or frustration. Just a concerned teacher hoping one of his students doesn’t fail.

  “I’ve never been good at math,” I admit. “I’ve just skated by, but I probably need help.”

  “Well, we have an online discussion board.”

  I make a face. “Online anything won’t help me. I need to be with people.”

  “There’s Wednesday night reviews from six to eight. I’m not sure where they meet up, but…”

  I cut him off. “I’ll be working during that time.”

  He folds his arms across his chest. “You’re not giving me much to work with here.”

  I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and decide to go for it. “Do you think…I mean, I’m sure you’re busy, but do you think you could tutor me?”

  It takes several seconds of uncomfortable silence before he speaks. “I think we have tutors available. I’m not sure who they are or their schedules, but I can find out.”

  I hike the strap of my bag higher onto my shoulder. “Oh okay. Thanks.” I’m sure the disappointment is obvious. I mean, who better to teach you than your teacher?

  “Like I said on the first day of class, I have office hours, but there are times when multiple students show up, needing different things.”

  “That’s okay.”

  Before I can get a few steps away, his voice stops me. “I’ll help you. Just let me know what your days off are.”

  I spin around, a huge smile on my face. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I owe you one.”

  “You don’t. It’s my job.”

  “My next day off is Sunday. When and where do you wanna meet?”

  “I’ll get back to you.”

  He studies his computer, easily dismissing me, but I can’t help but leave with a little pep in my step.

  13

  What the fuck was I thinking? Oh wait, I wasn’t. No, scratch that. I definitely was thinking, but I was thinking about the wrong fucking thing. I wanted to be alone with Nova. I wanted extra time with her.

  And now I have to find somewhere we can study. My initial thought was the school library, but if other professors see me studying with a student—a female student at that, one-on-one, and outside my usual office hours, eyebrows will be raised, and I don’t need that kind of scrutiny. Typically professors don’t tutor their students like this. But of course I just had to open my mouth and offer to help her.

  She just looked so sad. And she does need help. It’s not her fault, nor mine, that her schedule doesn’t allow her to join the study groups. But truth be told, those are full of students who know what they’re doing, and I think Nova needs a lot of help.

  I’m only doing my job. There’s nothing wrong with helping a student pass.

  “Hey, E!”

  I come out of the den and see Royce walking in the front door. “Hey. What’s going on?”

  “Not much. Just stopping by to drop off your di
shes. London says to tell you thanks for letting her take the leftovers home on Sunday.”

  “Not a problem.” I follow him to the kitchen where he places the casserole dishes on the island. “And I know it’s kinda early, but we’re gonna have a Halloween costume party at the bar this year. London and Midge’s idea.”

  I grin. “They love their parties.”

  He shrugs. “I can’t tell her no. So, we’re gonna start promoting that next week. Nothing crazy. People will be encouraged to come in a costume, and there will be prizes, and Halloween themed drinks.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  “Yeah, so get a costume, because you’re not getting out of this.”

  I groan and rub the space between my eyebrows. “I don’t dress up.”

  “Well, you will this year.” He hops onto the counter. “So, what’s up? You look tired and stressed.”

  “Thanks.”

  He laughs. “Sorry.”

  “I’m fine.” I take a few seconds to decide if I should tell him my problem or not. It’s not like I’m afraid he’s going to run to the school and say anything, but I guess I’m just used to taking care of shit myself. “I have to tutor a student.”

  “Oh. Do you normally do that?”

  I tilt my head back and forth, leaning my hip on the counter. “Not really. I mean, I make myself available if they need help. I never want them to fail, but I don’t typically hold tutoring sessions.”

  “So, you just took on some extra work? Well, I can see how that’s stressful. Shit, I still don’t understand calculus. I mean, why do letters and numbers have to go together anyway?”

  I shake my head at him, smiling. “Yeah, well.” I don’t bother finishing. For some reason, my mouth won’t form the words I want to say.

  Am I embarrassed to be attracted to a student? Is that what this is? Or maybe it’s just the age difference in general. If I met her in any other situation, I’d probably still pause over the age gap. I’m not sure how old she is, but I definitely have over ten years on her.

  “The problem is,” I start, ready to admit to Royce that I’m attracted to this woman…this student I’m about to tutor, but instead, I say, “I don’t know where to do the tutoring. If I do it on campus, students and staff will think that’s a regular occurrence, or may think I’m playing favorites.”