#Nerd (Hashtag #1)

by Cambria Hebert

  “Where’s your outline for your paper?” I said, interrupting his flirting. She wasn’t too happy about the interruption and glanced over and gave me a dirty look. I looked away.

  “Maybe I’ll see ya tonight,” he said, turning away.

  She muttered some silly reply and left.

  “Your outline?” I asked again.

  He gave me a sheepish look.

  “Oh my God.” I groaned. “Please tell me you have an outline.”

  He shrugged.

  “A topic? Resources?” I tried.

  “I’ve been really busy at practice. Coach has been running us into the ground.”

  “Those excuses might work on everyone else in this building, but not me,” I snapped.

  His sinfully blue eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

  “I told you I wasn’t going to do your assignments.”

  “I didn’t ask you to,” he bit out.

  I blew out a breath. “No, you didn’t. Sorry.” I turned away to get a pen out of my bag. I really didn’t want to get into some kind of argument with him. He was already garnering enough attention for doing nothing at all.

  Romeo had gone silent. He was staring at me, and my stomach did a little flip. “Did you just apologize?” He seemed surprised.

  “Umm…”

  “Girls never apologize.”

  I snorted. When I realized what I’d done, I slapped a hand over my mouth and nose. When I peeked up through my hair, I saw the broad grin stretched across Romeo’s face. He was laughing at me.

  I turned away. “Do you have a list of approved topics?”

  The paper appeared beneath my nose. I scanned it quickly and found a topic I was familiar with. “Do this one,” I said, pointing it out.

  I didn’t wait for him to reply. I pushed back my chair and stood. “Let’s get some reference books. Then we’ll start the outline.”

  I wandered down an aisle I knew had what we would need and didn’t bother to see if he was following. Truth was I probably would do his assignment if it got me out of here quicker.

  I spotted a row of books that looked to be useful and stared up at them, pondering the titles. Romeo moved up beside me with quiet grace. I figured that was a benefit of being so athletic. Most guys his size weren’t as graceful. He moved so close I could feel the heat radiating off his frame.

  His warmth was delicious, and I fought the urge to lean closer. Being a Florida girl made it really hard to get used to the seasonal changes here in Maryland. Every time I stepped outside my dorm and the crisp fall air met my skin, I was shocked. But standing here in this narrow, silent row with Romeo’s body heat threatening to wrap around me to keep out the chill, I wasn’t shocked.

  I was something else entirely.

  I cleared my throat and blindly reached for one of the books. At this point, any book would do. Of course, the books I wanted were above my head, mocking my short stature. The tips of my fingers brushed the front of the shelf and I rose up on my very tiptoes to try and get a little higher.

  In my desperation, I lost my balance and teetered over. I probably would have landed in a heap on the floor, but a solid arm wrapped around my waist and tugged me back. Romeo anchored me against his chest, holding me there while he reached up with his other arm and brought down a book.

  He didn’t let go.

  Leaving his arm wrapped around my middle, he lowered the book in front of my eyes. “Is this the one you wanted?”

  His voice was just above my ear, the question a mere whisper against my hair.

  I shivered.

  His arm tightened around me.

  My eyes tried to droop closed. He smelled good again today. Clean, deep, and my eyes popped back open.

  What the hell was I doing!

  I straightened and took the book. “Yes, thanks.”

  He dropped his arm but didn’t move back. I took a breath and pointed at another book on the high shelf. “Grab that one too.”

  He did and I moved off, down the aisle and around to the other side. He followed, but this time he didn’t crowd me.

  After we chose a few more books and articles, we settled back at the table and got to work. It was easy to forget about the effect he seemed to have on even me when we slipped into the assignment. Time flew by as we worked.

  Romeo was surprisingly intelligent, and he didn’t just sit there and make me give him all the answers. Before I knew it, we had an entire outline and his introduction. My back felt stiff from sitting on the unforgiving library chair, and I pushed back from the papers and stretched a little.

  The clock hanging above the exit had me blinking. We’d been sitting here for a little over two hours. Time was up.

  “If you follow the outline and write a couple sentences on each bullet point, your paper should be no problem to finish over the weekend,” I said.

  “Do you ever do anything other than study and homework?” he asked. His voice wasn’t condescending or even sarcastic, so I tried not to bristle.

  “What makes you think all I do is homework?”

  The corner of his lips tilted up. “Because you knew where the reference books we needed were. Because you’re really good at homework.”

  “I did an assignment on your topic last year. I used those books.” I defended myself, bending down to snag my bag off the floor. “And yes, I have a life outside of schoolwork.”

  “Are you going to the bonfire tonight?” he asked, shoving his papers in his bag. He had no organization at all.

  “No.”

  He glanced up in surprise. “No?” Then he smiled. “Is fun not your thing?”

  I stuck out my tongue.

  “I didn’t realize a fire in the middle of a field was considered fun.”

  He was already standing, towering over me, but once I spoke, he dropped back into his chair and rotated so his body faced me. “It’s not necessarily what you’re doing. It’s who you’re doing it with.”

  He flashed me one of his smiles that lit up the entire room.

  It was hard not to be affected by him. Especially when that smile was directed at you and so were his incredibly clear blue eyes. Suddenly, I understood why so many girls fell at his feet. He had an uncanny ability to make whoever he was focused on his entire universe.

  I’d never been the center of anyone’s universe before. Okay, maybe I had, but it was different and it had been very long ago.

  And then there was the other time I felt like this…

  I jerked away from his attention, my elbow sliding across the table and knocking into my water bottle. It fell over on its side and the cap popped off. Water gushed out over the surface of the wood, and I shrieked. My chair clattered against the floor as I jumped to my feet and pulled my books out of the way.

  Romeo also stood, but it was a fluid, silent movement. As I fumbled around looking desperately for something to stop the water from covering everything, Romeo reacted.

  In one smooth motion, he reached behind him, palming the back of his cotton shirt, and slid it up over his back until it was free of his head. He tossed the shirt onto the water, and as it soaked it up, he picked up my now empty bottle and recapped it.

  Excited murmurs filled the once silent room around us.

  Giggling and loud sighs floated in our direction.

  The book in my hand felt like it weighed a million tons as my gaze latched onto Romeo. He was standing there without a shirt.

  Completely bare-chested.

  His body was incredibly honed and sculpted. If he wasn’t standing there breathing right in front of me, I would have thought he was a sculpture. Every single muscle in his torso and chest was precisely defined. The corded muscles in his arms were sleek and long, stretching out across his broad shoulders and meeting with his wide, solid chest. His waist tapered down into a V and he had these muscles…

  I swallowed.

  These muscles that stood out just above his low-slung jeans. It was like indentations on either side of his hips.
/>   My mouth felt dry as I stared at those hollow dents.

  “How much of your stuff got wet?” he asked, his calm tone breaking into my muscle-induced trance.

  “Umm, what?” I said, snapping my eyes to his face.

  He chuckled and I felt my face flame. He totally knew I was checking him out.

  “Is your stuff ruined?”

  “Oh,” I said, tearing my eyes from his golden skin and down to my things. “No, it’s fine,” I mumbled. I glanced at the table where his shirt was completely saturated. His wide hand palmed the fabric and mopped up what was left of the liquid.

  The way his back muscles moved as he leaned over the table to swipe it stole my attention. I forced my eyes away. Not only should I be embarrassed about the mess, but also for staring this way.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, reaching out to help him.

  He tossed a grin over his shoulder. “I got it. No worries.”

  The librarian cut through the small crowd gathered around our table (all girls) and gave us a glare. “What’s going on here?”

  Romeo straightened from the table, clutching his drenched shirt. “We had a spill,” he explained. “But it’s taken care of.”

  “Oh,” she said. The irritation in her eyes quickly changed into something else… something like admiration.

  Oh, gross. The librarian was totally checking him out.

  “Sorry for the disruption,” he said and gave her a lopsided smile.

  He totally knew what kind of effect he had and he was eating it up.

  “Well,” she said, still looking at him. “As long as everything is cleaned up.”

  “It is,” I said, suddenly irritated.

  The librarian transferred her gaze to me and it hardened. “Rimmel.” She sighed. “I should have known the commotion was caused by you.”

  Embarrassment speared me as people snickered. I began packing up as Romeo entertained his audience.

  I turned to leave, ready to disappear in the crowd, but I didn’t get very far. Romeo wrapped his hand around my wrist and tugged me around. He was wearing his varsity jacket over his bare chest. The front was open and showed the indent of his abs all the way down to his jeans.

  “See you Monday?” he asked.

  “Sure,” I mumbled.

  The crowd parted and let me through, swallowing me up as I went. Romeo’s rich laugh filled the back of the library as I moved toward the door.

  “That’s my tutor. Coach’s orders,” I heard him saying.

  Something inside me shriveled just a little. Yeah, I was his tutor and yeah, I wasn’t any happier about this arrangement than he was. But to hear him explain away his association with me like it had been forced on him hurt my feelings.

  I realized I wasn’t in his circle. I was so far removed that we were in different zip codes.

  It still hurt anyway.

  Chapter Eight

  Romeo

  I could hear the music and see the orange glow of a massively large bonfire already raging in the distance. I glanced at Braeden in the passenger seat and he grinned.

  Bonfires during football season were a tradition here at Alpha U. They happened almost every single weekend. There was this perfect spot on campus—away from all the buildings, out of the watchful eye of the staff.

  Although, everyone knew we partied here. It was sort of an unspoken rule that as long as no one caused any serious trouble, the adults would pretend to not know.

  I slowed the Hellcat as I turned onto the narrow dirt road that wound through trees with leaves and limbs that reached across the sky to create a tunnel-like effect. The windows were down so our loud music competed with the music blaring at the party. It pumped through my system and vibrated the steering wheel beneath my hands.

  I could already feel the energy of the night swirling around and a little jolt of adrenaline released itself into my bloodstream. We curved around the final bend in the dirt and tons of cars parked haphazardly in long grass came into view. Beyond them a large field opened up, a clearing in the center of all the trees.

  There was an empty spot just off the dirt path and I slid the Hellcat into it with ease. I shut off the engine and pocketed the keys.

  Braeden was looking at me, shaking his head. “You’re the only guy I’ve ever met who gets his own personal parking spot at parties in a field.”

  I rolled my head toward him and grinned. When I opened the door, the music pumped even louder, and I threw my arms up in the air and let out a loud whoop. “Wolves!” I hollered.

  Everyone joined in, and soon everyone was howling at the moon.

  I laughed as a full beer was passed into my hand in less than a minute. The team was in a prime spot near the fire. Braeden and I took up position with them. Everything out here was cast in a red-orange glow that stretched out across the ground until it gave way to darkness. The trees loomed in the near distance, their coloring leaves shaking lightly in the night air.

  I took a swig of beer and watched some of the girls who were dancing on open tailgates. One of the girls had long blond hair, cut-off shorts, a cropped top, and a pair of cowboy boots. She was shaking her ass like it was a fine art. Beside her were several other girls, all doing an impressive job of showcasing their dancing skills.

  Hells yeah. The view from here was good.

  It was a good party. The beer was flowing, the team was in high spirits, and the ladies were ripe for the picking. I was into my third beer of the night when my cell went off in my pocket. After another swift chug, I fished it out and lit up the screen.

  KISS A DUDE

  “What the fuck?” I muttered and looked around for anyone pranking me.

  No one seemed to be amused by the text I just read.

  I hit the button and sent the screen dark so I could shove it back in my pocket. Over the rim of my SOLO cup, Trent caught my eye.

  Our gazes locked for one second and he gave me a knowing look.

  Shit.

  That text wasn’t a joke. It was fucking for real.

  It was part of rush for the Omegas. They had said the other night I would be texted certain tasks that I had to complete.

  What the hell kind of pervert wanted to watch me kiss a dude? I downed the rest of my beer and tried to think of a way out of it.

  I glanced back at Trent. He was on the team with me. He was also an Omega and the guy who helped me out with the stairs during the night I was taken to the rush meeting.

  He must have known I would get texted tonight. I wondered if he knew what they asked me to do. Shit, they would want me to do this at a huge party where everyone would see. I thought about Zach and the way he stared at me that first night.

  I wasn’t going to let him win. No way in hell. If they wanted me to kiss a dude, then I would.

  But first I was getting another beer. I wasn’t drunk enough for this shit yet.

  I went to the keg and filled up my cup and chugged half of it right there. As I was chugging, a slim hand wound around me from behind and flattened against my chest. I looked down, my lips curling up in a smile.

  I covered her hand with mine and spun to see who was there. It was the girl with the shorts and boots. Her eyes were heavy lidded and she licked her lips when I caught her gaze. “I’m thirsty,” she purred, stroking my chest.

  I was taller than her so when I looked down, I was afforded a first-class view down the front of her top. “We can’t have that,” I said and handed her my beer. “Hold this.”

  I turned and pumped another cup full of the amber-colored liquid and turned back. She was drinking out of my cup.

  I shrugged and started drinking out of the one I got for her. She wasn’t quite as hot up close as she looked from across the field, but those boots were doing it for me and she had a nice ass. I slung my arm across her shoulders. “Hang with me.”

  She giggled and leaned into my side.

  When we made it back to the team, I was feeling the buzz. I usually drank slower, paced myself, but given the
text I received, I had extra motivation to get smashed.

  Trent was watching me and I knew he probably would until it was done. I glanced around at all the crowds of people but didn’t see anyone else watching. ‘Course, that didn’t mean they weren’t. There was a ton of people here, and I knew a lot—if not all—of the Omegas were here.

  “Yo!” I hollered. “I got something to say!”

  The roar of the crowd around us lowered to a soft buzz and a couple of my fellow Wolves yelled, “Speech!”

  I grinned and held up my beer. “A toast!” I yelled, swaying a little to make myself appear even drunker than I was.

  “To the Wolves, all our supporters, and to those poor losers that have to get pounded by us tomorrow night!”

  Shouts of agreement and cheers lifted up over the fire and floated through the sky. Everyone drank to the toast and then quieted back down, looking at me expectantly again.

  “One last shout out to my brothers, my teammates, the defensive linemen, like my buddy Braeden here.” I released the girl with the boots and flung my arm around Braeden’s shoulders and pulled him in. Some of my beer sloshed over the rim of my cup and onto him. “Who keep the assholes at bay so I can throw some sah-weet passes!”

  Everyone cheered again and started drinking.

  I swayed, pretending to be super drunk, and glanced at Braeden. He was probably gonna deck me for this.

  “I love you, man,” I roared and then pressed my lips to his.

  It was over in two seconds flat. Long enough for me to press our lips together and then jerk back. Everyone around us roared with laughter and whistles cut through the music.

  I lifted my beer and howled at the moon. “Wolves!” Then I downed the rest of the cup.

  Braeden was looking a little shocked, and I gave him a short, clear-eyed gaze, hoping he’d let me explain later.

  A heartbeat passed and then he lifted his beer and followed my actions.

  I found Trent in the boozy crowd. He gave me a slight nod with a half-smile on his lips.

  Done.

  I threw my arm back around Boots and pulled her in. “I just kissed a dude,” I said loudly. People around us snickered. “I’m gonna need you to erase that from my memory.”