#Nerd (Hashtag #1)

by Cambria Hebert

“I thought that was your motto too?” Ivy said, lifting her sculpted brow at him.

  “That’s what they say.” He didn’t confirm or deny, and it frustrated me.

  The only thing I’d learned tonight was that my body burned for him.

  He slid off the bed and straightened his clothes. He seemed to fill up the small space. Ivy clicked on a lamp on her side of the room and dropped onto her bed to watch us. Romeo’s eyes slid down to my chest and he smiled slowly. Then he lifted his hoodie off the floor and tossed it to me. “It’s cold. You should put this on.”

  I glanced down at my chest and grimaced. Both my nipples were so hard you could see them through my clothes. I grabbed up the shirt and shot my eyes toward Ivy, but she couldn’t see. Her view was blocked by Romeo.

  “Walk me out?” he said, shrugging into his jacket.

  “Sure,” I said. After I put on the shirt, I grabbed the bag of food we’d only half eaten and picked up his shake and handed it to him.

  “Here.” I blushed. “You didn’t really get to eat.”

  “Funny thing,” he said, stepping close. “I’m not that hungry anymore.”

  Across the room, I thought Ivy might die.

  “I’ll be right back,” I told her, stuffing my glasses back on. She shook her head and mouthed, Oh my God.

  I grinned. I couldn’t help it.

  We stepped out in the hall and everything went quiet. Various sets of eyes all turned and fastened on Romeo.

  “Ladies,” he said and gave them all his megawatt smile.

  Then he draped an arm around my shoulders and led me to the stairs.

  As the stairwell door closed behind us, the entire hallway burst into chatter.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Romeo

  “So you and Ivy?” Rimmel asked when we stepped out of the building and onto the sidewalk.

  I mentioned it on purpose up there. I wanted her to ask about it. I was concerned Ivy might be using her to get to me.

  Arrogant? Yes.

  Impossible? No.

  I felt a stark need to protect Rimmel. Besides, trying to hide my one-time make-out session with her roommate or any girl on this campus was stupid. Word got around way too fast. The last thing I needed was for some bitch to corner Rimmel on campus and spill a bunch of details that they embellished just to make her angry. Shit, it already happened today.

  When I first found her tonight, I could feel the space between us. I hadn’t liked it. It made something in me feel hollow.

  “There is no me and Ivy. There never will be.”

  “But you two hooked up?”

  “We made out. I did more with you tonight than I did with her.”

  She ducked her head into my chest, and I smiled. She brought out these tender feelings in me I’d never experienced with anyone before. I used the hand that was already draped over her shoulder and tugged on her braid. “Some girls are probably gonna say shit, Rim,” I said. “Some bitches be devious.”

  She giggled and looked up at me as we stopped beside the Hellcat. “Some bitches?”

  I grinned. “Just keepin’ it real.”

  She shook her head. I dropped my arm from around her and caught her chin with my hand and looked in her eyes. “When that happens, come to me. I’ll tell you the truth, even if I think it’s something you don’t wanna hear.”

  She searched my eyes, looking for something. I don’t know what. I saw the doubt in her gaze, the wariness. It made my gut tighten. But then again, the words I just spoke made me feel that way too.

  I was painting myself into a corner. I was an asshole. Here I was telling her I’d be honest when I wasn’t entirely. Yeah, I’d be honest about all the women I’d been with. But how could I tell her about the frat? About what I needed to do to secure my pledge?

  She would never speak to me again.

  “Okay,” she replied softly, drawing me out of my own head.

  “You still mad at me?” I asked, releasing her chin.

  She cocked her head to the side. “Mad? No. Confused? Yeah.”

  “I can work with that,” I said.

  She smiled.

  “I gotta go to the Omega party tomorrow night. Come with me.”

  Her smile fell away. “That’s not my thing.”

  “Am I your thing?” I gave her a smile.

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  I put a hand over my heart like I was wounded. In reality, it made me respect her. Most girls fell all over themselves to give me the answer I wanted to hear. If I had asked anybody else to go with me, they would have said yes before I was done asking.

  And she wasn’t even playing hard to get. She was just being herself.

  “C’mon, you might have fun.”

  She made a face. “I doubt it.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “And fifty of your conquests,” she muttered.

  I grinned. “Somebody’s jealous.”

  She gave me a look. “Maybe fifty of mine will be there too.”

  I knew she was kidding, but just the words made me churn with a feeling I did not like. It was so swift I was shocked into silence.

  “Romeo?” she asked when I just stood there. “I was just kidding. You could have at least pretended to be horrified.”

  I grabbed her hand and brought it up to my lips to press a kiss to her palm. “I don’t like the idea of anyone touching you.”

  Her eyes dropped to her hand.

  “Come with me tomorrow,” I said, letting my lips brush against her when I spoke.

  “If I don’t like it, will you bring me home?”

  “Yes.” But I was going to make sure she had a good time.

  “Okay,” she agreed tentatively.

  When I tugged her hand, she tumbled into my chest. I leaned down and took my time kissing her.

  When I pulled back, she was breathless. “People are probably watching us through the windows.”

  “So?”

  She shook her head and gave me a bewildered look.

  “Remember what I said. If anyone bothers you, come to me. If you can’t find me, go to Braeden.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “I know. But I want to.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, not agreeing or disagreeing.

  “Hey, can we skip tutoring? I want to go home after practice and get ready. We can study later this weekend.”

  “Sure.”

  I watched her step up onto the sidewalk away from the Hellcat. Her thin legs stuck out from beneath the oversized shirt and the writing was huge across her back. My chest swelled a little when I saw my name practically branding her.

  “Hey,” I said, and she turned back.

  I rushed forward and caught her around the waist, lifting her off her feet so she was level with my face. She laughed and the sound filled me up inside. “Kiss me.”

  Rimmel reached out and slid her hand slowly over my shoulder and to the back of my neck. Her small fingers dipped into the hair at the base of my head and tugged me closer. She glided her soft, luscious lips over mine and tentatively dipped her tongue where they parted. I opened for her willingly and soon both of us were breathing hard, gasping for air.

  I swore under my breath when I realized we were outside. It was just supposed to be one kiss. Clearly, I couldn’t kiss her without losing it.

  I sat her down on the pavement and held on until I knew she was steady on her feet. “I’ll wait ‘til you’re inside,” I said.

  She went and I drove home.

  On the way, I realized something.

  Seeing her didn’t quiet the war inside me. It only made it worse.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Rimmel

  Ivy was waiting for me in our room like I knew she would be. When I walked in, she practically attacked me.

  “Ohmigod,” she gushed, running her words together. “You have been holding out on me!”

  I gave her a look. “What do you mean?”

 
; “He did not give you that hoodie because you were cold.”

  I sighed. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on between us, if anything.”

  “Didn’t look like ‘if anything’ to me.” She pulled out her phone and held the screen out for me to see. “Even the latest Buzz is about you two.”

  Hashtag heart? That was totally charming.

  But I needed to remember we weren’t together, not officially.

  “It probably didn’t look that way when you were making out with him at the bonfire,” I said coolly.

  She snapped her mouth shut. I rummaged around to get some PJs. Once I found them, I grabbed my little tote full of my bathroom stuff and went to the shared bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed.

  I wore Romeo’s shirt to the bathroom, then I put it back on once I had my sleep shorts and tank on. Everyone stared at me. I ignored them all. The thing was I was better off doing this than hiding in my room. I’d been hiding for the last almost six years of my life. I was tired of it.

  A couple girls smiled at me on the way out and I smiled back. I couldn’t help but wonder if they were only being nice because of Romeo.

  Ivy was in her pajamas when I got back to the room. I set my stuff aside and grabbed my book and got into bed.

  “About Romeo…” she said.

  I looked up. “Is that why you’re suddenly being nice? Because you think being near me will give you another shot with him?”

  She was taken aback by my frankness. I sort of was too. But Romeo seemed to be concerned about girls and how they were going to treat me. And part of me wondered who else he was worried about so much that he felt the need to plaster his name on me like I was a piece of property.

  “I’ve always been nice to you.” Her voice was mildly hurt, and I had a pang of doubt.

  “Yeah.” I agreed. “You have. But you’ve never wanted to sit with me at lunch or asked me to go to a football game.”

  She glanced down into her lap. “Honestly?”

  “That would be nice,” I said.

  “When I first saw his shirt on your bed and you said you were tutoring him, the thought ran through my mind.”

  I nodded.

  “But that was before I saw him with you. He’s totally into you.”

  “Don’t sound so surprised,” I muttered.

  She gave me a look. “We both know you aren’t his usual type.”

  She was right. It was the same thing I kept telling myself.

  “I don’t really understand either.” I admitted.

  Her face softened. “Your wardrobe could use some serious help. And a brush would definitely help your hair,” she said, and I laughed. “But you’re a really good person, Rimmel. You just need to let people in.”

  I frowned.

  “You’ve kind of been closed off. You don’t make it easy for people to get to know you or be your friend.”

  I couldn’t argue with that because I was closed off. I had been for many years. The reason I didn’t have any friends was because I never let anyone close enough.

  “Romeo’s kind of been the ice breaker. He makes you a little more approachable.”

  That surprised me. “He does?”

  “Well, duh.” She rolled her eyes. “He is so totally gorgeous.”

  I giggled. “He really is hot.”

  We both laughed.

  “I won’t lie. You being with Romeo and us being friends will totally help my social life,” she said after we quieted. “But even if you weren’t with him—or whatever you are—I would still hang out with you.”

  “Really?” I asked, looking her in the eye.

  “Really.”

  I believed her. She didn’t try to feed me some lame story about how she was happy for me and how we’d always been the best of friends. I felt like she said the truth.

  Besides, it would be nice to have a friend.

  “Thanks, Ivy,” I said.

  She smiled. “So are you coming to the Omega party now?”

  “He asked me to.”

  She squealed. “Good! Now I’ll have someone to hang with when Missy gets all hot and heavy with Braeden.”

  “She really likes him, huh?”

  Ivy nodded. “Oh yeah, more than she’ll admit, but I know.”

  “Yeah. I noticed too.”

  “I just hope she doesn’t get hurt. Guys like him don’t always stick around.”

  Her words speared me. I knew we were talking about Braeden, but Romeo was his best friend. They were certainly a lot alike.

  My face must have given away my thoughts because she immediately said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  I smiled. “No. It’s totally fine. It’s true. I hope Missy doesn’t get hurt.”

  And I also hoped I didn’t either.

  The next day seemed to drag by until classes were over and I went to the shelter. When I was there, time always seemed to fly. Ivy texted me early in the evening… and kept texting until I told her I’d come home and help her pick out an outfit.

  She couldn’t possibly want my help. We both knew I was a total fashion victim.

  I was getting nervous for tonight. I’d never been to a frat party before. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I told myself it was probably a lot like the bonfire when Ivy called me to come pick her up. That didn’t seem too bad. It seemed like there was a lot of places I could find to hide out.

  After I spent some time with Murphy and a few of the other cats, I went back to the dorm. Ivy had clothes all over her bed and piled on her floor. She easily had triple the amount I had.

  “What took you so long?” she said when I walked in. “I have nothing to wear!”

  “Looks like you have half a department store,” I observed.

  “I am not wearing shorts,” she said, looking over her stuff. “I froze my ass off last time.”

  “So wear jeans,” I said and sat on the bed. My stomach fluttered with anxiety and I glanced at the clock. I wasn’t sure what time Romeo was coming to get me, but I knew it wouldn’t be for a while yet.

  I hadn’t talked to him all day. I kind of liked the break. Not that I didn’t want to talk to him—I did. I thought about him constantly. But it was nice to have a breather and actually be able to think for a little while without being taken in by his compelling sapphire eyes.

  Ivy pulled out a pair of strategically ripped-up jeans in a faded blue shade and shimmied them on. She had a lot more curves than I did and filled out her jeans in all the right places.

  “I like those,” I said. “You look good.”

  “Yeah?” she asked and looked in the mirror.

  I nodded. Then she went rummaging through her tops and tried on about five—that all looked good—before she decided on one that was tight, low-cut, and black. Next she added about twenty bracelets to her wrist, a pair of gold hoop earrings, and a pair of black boots.

  She made looking good seem effortless.

  “What are you wearing?” she asked as she plopped down in front of a makeup mirror and picked up her foundation.

  “This?” I asked.

  She spun in her seat. “No. Absolutely not.”

  “What’s wrong with it?” I asked.

  “You’re wearing sweatpants,” she said like it was obvious.

  “It’s cold out…” I said.

  She muttered something under her breath and picked up her phone and hit a bunch of buttons. Then she turned back to the mirror and started making up her face. “Put on those black leggings you have.”

  “What black leggings?” I asked.

  She rolled her eyes. “The ones you sleep in.”

  “You want me to wear pajamas?” I gaped. That was worse than sweatpants.

  “Leggings aren’t sleepwear.” She paused, then added, “Well, to anyone but you.”

  I gave her a look.

  “Did you buy them in the pajama section at the store?”

  “No,” I said and sighed.

  “Put the
m on,” she ordered. “Then put on a white T-shirt. The least baggy one you have.”

  I didn’t argue because I really didn’t care what I wore. I did worry about how cold I was going to be in just a T-shirt, though.

  She finished up her makeup a few minutes later, looking gorgeous as always. “Sit,” she said, pointing to the chair she just vacated.

  “I’m not wearing makeup,” I said. I had no idea how to apply it or where any of it went.

  “I’m going to do your hair,” she said.

  I was okay with that. I plopped down and she pulled it out of the bun and started brushing it out. It was so long it fell halfway down my back. It was dark, the color of chestnuts, and once she had it all brushed out, it shined in the light.

  Ivy produced a large wand-looking thing that was plugged into the wall and started wrapping my hair around it. “Seriously,” she said as she worked, “if I had hair like this, I would totally rock it every day.”

  “You’d totally be annoyed by it every day.” I corrected.

  “It’s all about the products,” she said and launched into some lesson about shampoo and conditioner. I only half listened.

  Halfway through curling my hair, there was a knock on the door, and my stomach dropped. Was that Romeo already?

  “Come in!” Ivy called, and Missy slipped into the room. She had a small tote over her shoulder.

  “Hey,” Ivy called. “Look at this bitch’s hair,” she said, stepping back and pointing at me with that thing in her hand.

  Missy shook her head and sighed. “It’s a damn shame.”

  “Does it look bad?” I worried, trying to crane my neck to see in the mirror.

  Ivy pushed me back in the seat. “Hell no. It’s awesome. That’s why it’s a shame. You don’t even appreciate it.”

  Missy made a sound in the back of her throat like she agreed.

  “Did you bring it?” Ivy asked her.

  “It’s in my bag.”

  She nodded and kept working. They chattered on about Braeden and other people they knew who I did not, and I totally tuned out. I was glad Ivy had someone to talk to other than me for a change. I really liked her, but she talked a lot.

  After what felt like forever, she put the curling thing down and made me flip my head upside down. She ran her fingers through the locks, messing up everything she’d just done. Made no sense to me.