by Roy, Chelsea
Brent idly wondered if Aimee had any kind of social life. She seemed available to meet with him whenever he needed it, which was a whole damn lot. He couldn’t deny he liked spending time with her. She was funny and smart as hell and they had a good time together. She could dish it just as well as take it, and from his experience it was rare to find a girl like that.
As he sat waiting for her in the coffeehouse just down the street from the campus, he felt a little bad for monopolizing so much of her time. The only plans he’d been aware of over the last two weeks was a scuba diving trip she’d taken off the coast.
He’d arrived a little early and knew he looked like an eager boy waiting for his date to arrive. He smoothed his pomp in an attempt to calm himself down. He knew he looked vain doing it but it helped put his nerves in place. He wasn’t so sure why today was different, or why he felt so nervous. They had a good rapport.
Brent breathed a sigh of relief as Aimee breezed into the store, her backpack looking like it weighed nothing even though he knew it had to be heavy as hell. Her face lit up when she spotted him sitting there on one of the sofas with an iced latte.
“Irish cream?” She asked him breathlessly, as she gently eased her backpack to the floor. She plopped into the plush velour seat next to him after grabbing her drink and blew out a breath.
“Would I get you anything else?” He asked her drily. She grinned at him, her brown eyes sparkling. He felt his gut clench and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Brent had known from day one how pretty Aimee was and it had never bothered him before. He was pretty sure he was slowly being hooked by her personality, which was a first for him. The last thing he needed to do was ruin a good thing by putting the moves on someone who was ensuring he’d pass a class. If they slept together, chances were he’d screw everything up royally, she’d end up hating him, and he could kiss his passing grade goodbye.
“Well I would hope not!” She joked, and took a long draw from the icy drink. She exhaled and slumped back against the sofa. Her eyes were closed and Brent took the rare opportunity to examine her unobserved.
Aimee was without doubt one of the prettiest girls he’d ever seen. There were gorgeous girls and sexy girls; girls who were cute, and girls who just rocked it. Brent didn’t discriminate, he’d been with girls of all types. Aimee, with her delicately proportioned features, was classically pretty. She was a face you’d see memorialized by a famous painter or gracing the big screen as one of the great beauties of their time. Her lack of awareness of her appeal made her that much more beautiful. She was just Aimee, with no artifice or pretense, making her personality the most attractive thing about her.
“Why do you put up with my sorry ass?” Brent muttered, more to himself than anything else. He still couldn’t believe Aimee was willingly taking the time to tutor him in a subject that was clearly remedial to her. She cracked open an eye and grinned at him.
“For free Irish cream lattes, of course,” she quipped, taking another long and purposely noisy draw from her drink. She giggled at the disgruntled face Brent made.
“I’ll owe you lattes for eternity then, if that’s your only requirement of payment,” he responded. She could seriously charge money for her help and in some ways he wished she would. He’d offered it to her more than once but she kept shooting him down. If he paid her, he wouldn’t feel like he was so much in her debt. The way he saw it, their relationship was unequal and that made him extremely uncomfortable.
“And I’ll keep collecting them from you as long as you’re willing to buy them for me.” Aimee’s smile softened as she looked at him and Brent’s heart gave a quick thump.
Her words didn’t really mean anything, he was sure of it, but they were both talking about something long-term. He was also pretty sure Aimee was looking at him a little differently, but that could just be wishful thinking. Brent slowly blinked his eyes and looked at Aimee again. Whatever he’d seen there had been erased and Aimee was smiling her normal, friendly smile at him. He sighed, hating the conflicting feelings she inspired yet wanting to delve a little deeper.
“You ready to get started?” He asked, and flipped open his book. She bumped his shoulder against her own, her silky hair brushing against his back. A tingle ran up his spine and he had to repress a groan. Aimee was too damn appealing for her own good.
“For you?” She responded saucily, “I’m always ready.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Aimee raced toward the coffeehouse, her long, dark hair flying behind her. She wished she’d had time to pull it back because the wind was blowing something fierce and strands kept whipping into her eyes. She was late to meet Brent to study for their midterm and being late was a pet peeve of hers. She especially hated to be late when she knew she’d be seeing Brent.
Distracted, her foot slipped on a wet spot on the sidewalk and Aimee could feel herself start to tip over. Her arms windmilled before she was yanked upright from behind. Her breath came in gasps as she tried to steady herself. The hands holding her up let go, and she swung around to thank her rescuer. Brent stood behind her grinning, his hands tucked into his back pockets. Her eyes slid closed in utter humiliation at her clumsiness. Of course it would be him.
“You okay there? Something on fire? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you move that fast.” Brent’s voice was gently teasing, and Aimee knew he’d never say anything mean to her or make fun of her. He just wasn’t built like that. She sighed and opened her eyes.
“I didn’t want to keep you waiting,” she admitted. “Aside from the fact that it’s terribly rude, we have a lot of material to review tonight.” Their midterm was worth thirty percent of their overall grade, so they had to do well. Aimee had no concerns over her own grade but she did worry about Brent being ready. He was incredibly smart but science bored him to death.
“Yeah. About that…” Brent shifted on his feet and looked uncomfortable for a minute. Aimee was surprised because Brent always seemed really sure of himself. He was the kind of guy who planned for everything but could roll with whatever surprises came his way.
“Yes?” Aimee prompted, when Brent seemed disinclined to continue. Her hair blew around her face and she grabbed the mass with her hand before quickly tying it into a loose knot at the nape of her neck. The air was unusually chilly for October and Aimee shivered.
“I was thinking we could study at my place.” Brent finally said in a rush. Aimee’s eyes widened in surprise. He cleared his throat. “Look, you’re doing me a huge favor by helping me study and if we’re at my house we can get comfortable. I’ll order in dinner and feed you.”
Aimee hesitated. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go to Brent’s house. She did, more than almost anything. She had wondered more than once about the space he lived in and what his life outside of class was like. She just knew boundaries were already blurred pretty badly from her perspective. She had developed a massive crush on Brent and hanging out with him in his home would only make it worse.
“I…” Aimee stalled, her common sense warring with her heart.
“Please?” He asked her, his green eyes imploring her. “I’ll order whatever you want. Even sushi.” Aimee smiled at him, knowing what a concession that was for him. She loved sushi and he hated it. Her eyes took in his styled black hair and his long sideburns. She glanced quickly at his full lips before looking back into his eyes. She was so stupid.
“Okay,” she agreed, “But I won’t make you buy me sushi.” Brent smiled hugely at her and Aimee’s breath caught. She knew Brent was always very careful not to be flirtatious with her but that didn’t stop him from being naturally attractive. She cursed herself for falling for him when she knew nothing would ever come of it.
“You won’t regret this,” he promised. Aimee’s gaze dropped and she frowned to herself. Somehow she doubted that.
CHAPTER FIVE
Brent walked alongside Aimee. She had gone uncharacteristically quiet after he invited her over and that worried him. Maybe he’d made the
wrong decision to invite her over to his and Eric’s apartment, but he didn’t think so. With the amount of studying they needed to get done tonight, being able to sprawl out and get comfortable was a necessity. He also couldn’t deny he wanted to see Aimee in his space and hoped she meshed as well with Eric as he suspected she would. He grinned.
“I’d be a bad host if I didn’t warn you about my roommate, Eric,” he said as they climbed the steps to his second-story apartment. The stairs were narrow and their shoulders brushed as they climbed.
“Oh? Is he a Neanderthal or something?” Aimee joked. Brent laughed.
“Not quite that bad. He’s more like an overgrown puppy whose main goal in life is to be petted and stroked.” Aimee gave a deep belly laugh and with chagrin, Brent realized how his words came out. “Okay, perv, not like that.” He had to chuckle as Aimee had a hard time catching her breath from the giggles she couldn’t contain.
“How then?” She finally managed without laughing.
“He’s just this really nice guy, you know? He likes to be around people and isn’t afraid to get in your space to get what he wants.” Brent didn’t know how else to explain Eric to Aimee. They stood outside Brent’s door while he searched for his keys. Finding them, he made a big show of holding them up and jingling them so Aimee would smile again. It worked, and she did. Before he could unlock the door, though, it was pulled open and Eric stood there grinning at them.
“Hey kids,” he said. He leaned against the door and smiled. His body completely blocked their entrance into the apartment. Brent glanced over at Aimee and watched her eyes widen a little. Brent felt a stab of jealousy at the appreciative look on Aimee’s face. He’d never seen Aimee look at him like that.
“Brent said you were a really nice guy,” Aimee said flirtatiously. “Surely a nice guy wouldn’t make a girl stand outside in the cold.” She smiled winningly at him and Brent almost growled as Eric flushed before stammering out an apology. He opened the door wider to let them in.
“Back off,” he muttered to Eric quietly as he walked by. Eric socked him in the arm and Brent grimaced. Eric was lean but the dude packed a punch.
Brent was so distracted by Eric’s unusual reaction to Aimee that he didn’t notice Aimee had come to a dead stop in the middle of the living room. He plowed into her, knocking her off balance. For the second time that day, his arms reached out to catch her before she tumbled to the ground. Unfortunately, their momentum didn’t stabilize and they teetered for a second before going down. Brent twisted his body so he took the brunt of the fall, and Aimee landed atop him with a grunt. He winced as all fifty pounds of her backpack slammed into his thigh.
“Oh, God!” She wailed. “I’m so sorry!” She lifted her head off Brent’s chest and looked at him. He huffed out a laugh. Her dark hair was wild around them and he could faintly smell her shampoo.
“That was completely my fault. Although, if you wanted to get me horizontal, all you have to do is ask. I’m easy that way.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, trying to joke off his reaction to her. She flushed scarlet, which he hadn’t expected at all, and then tried to get up. Her backpack and their position made it difficult and when her elbow crashed into his nuts, his eyes watered. He couldn’t help groaning as a wave of nausea rolled through him. He could hear Eric laughing hysterically from near the doorway and pried his eyes open to see the fucker bent over, gasping for air as he laughed.
“Jesus, Brent, I’m so sorry!” Aimee stopped struggling to get up and lay still on his chest. She looked at him with misery on her beautiful face. Brent felt a reluctant grin tug his lips, despite the fact his balls felt like they were going to shrivel up and die. Aimee looked so upset that he couldn’t stop himself from bringing his arms around her and tugging her up into a hug. She relaxed into his shoulder and Brent exhaled softly. As much as he hadn’t wanted to admit it, he was craving this kind of closeness with her and he would take what he could get.
“How about I try to help you up?” He suggested. “And God forbid Eric stop laughing long enough to actually help either of us.”
“What fun would that be?” Eric asked. “You guys are like watching a live comedy performance.” Aimee’s face burrowed deeper into his neck, probably trying to escape the entire situation and Brent shot Eric his middle finger behind Aimee’s back. Nothing was going like he planned.
CHAPTER SIX
Aimee let Brent help her to her feet. Her backpack dropped to the carpet and she busied herself with looking at his apartment. Brent was amazingly kind and patient with her, even after crashing into his man parts. She winced. That was so not how she wanted Brent to think of her in relation to his dick.
Truly taking in Brent’s apartment, she was amazed to see instruments on the wall, old records, and concert posters. Some of them even had signatures on them. They were arranged artfully along the walls and not at all what she expected from a bachelor pad.
“You guys are really serious about music,” she observed out loud. She jumped when Eric slung his arm around her shoulder and smiled down at her. Even though she had an enormous crush on Brent, she wasn’t blind to Eric’s stunning looks. He was tall and lanky with shoulder-length golden hair shot through with streaks of light blond. His features were refined and elegant and his smile open and honest.
“Just this guy,” he waved toward Brent. “I just beat on the drums.” He smiled charmingly and Aimee looked over toward Brent, who was frowning at them. Aimee perked up a little. If Brent didn’t like seeing Eric’s arm around her, maybe he thought of her as more than just a tutor.
“Oh?” She asked, hungry for insight into Brent. She’d gotten to know him some during the hours they spent studying but she felt like there was so much more missing from the picture.
“He can play just about any instrument he picks up. His real talent is writing his own music.” Aimee wasn’t surprised to hear Brent was incredibly talented. He gave off the ultra-confident vibe of someone who knew what they were doing. Aimee was pretty sure it extended past music and into his social life. She was completely unequipped to deal with someone like him on that level and felt a little disgruntled at her own lack of experience.
“Are you guys in a band?” She asked curiously. Brent had never talked much about activities outside of school. Brent and Eric both shook their heads.
“Nah. We’re looking though. We scope out clubs and stuff, hoping to find guys who think like we do. We just haven’t found anyone yet.” Brent answered her instead of Eric.
“I’d love to hear you guys sometime,” Aimee told them sincerely. She secretly hoped she would be spending a lot more time at Brent’s now that the ice was broken and she’d met his roommate.
“First we have to get through this midterm,” Brent said. He looked at Eric, who still had his arm around her. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” He asked, a little unkindly in Aimee’s opinion. Eric just laughed and kissed Aimee’s temple before moving away to grab keys and wallet from an entry table. Brent had been right, Eric was an in-your-space kind of guy but not in a bad way. He was too handsome and charming for it to ever feel creepy.
“Don’t you kids do anything I wouldn’t do!” He advised, before heading out the door. Aimee glanced over at Brent who was still frowning.
“There’s a lot that asshole will do, so that wasn’t exactly good advice.” He told her wryly. Aimee smiled and knelt down to her backpack. She rooted around until she had her laptop and biology book pulled out and spread open on the coffee table.
“You ready to get started?” She asked, carefully keeping any innuendo from her voice. They’d already gone into deeply uncharted waters today and Aimee was pretty sure she should quit while she was ahead. She’d already embarrassed herself enough for one day.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Brent left the biology classroom feeling elated. He never dreamed he would feel good about his results on a biology exam, but Aimee’s help last night had cinched it for him. She had finished her exam a good twenty mi
nutes ahead of him, so he was sure she was long gone. He was disappointed because he wanted to share his good news with her. He pulled out his phone and sent her a text.
“Up 4 a latte?” He asked her, hoping she had turned her phone back on after the exam.
“Now?” Came her immediate response. Brent smiled as he walked out of the science building.
“Now.” He responded. He tucked the phone back in his pocket as he loped down the steps.
“Okay.” Aimee’s voice came from directly behind him and he spun around, startled. She stood leaning up against the side of the building, smiling at him. Brent felt a wide smile stretch over his face at the sight of her. She had tied her long hair back with a bandana for the exam and was wearing a hoodie and jeans with flip flops. She looked adorable and Brent couldn’t get enough of her. He was tired of fighting his reaction to her but he was trying to be good.
“You waited for me?” He asked stupidly. She nodded as she walked toward him. Brent wished she would keep walking right into his arms so he could kiss her until she couldn’t think.
“Your fate was in my hands so it was the least I could do,” she teased. He smiled down at her, liking that she was tall enough so that the top of her head came up to his shoulder.
They began walking toward the coffeehouse together and Brent had to stop himself from taking her hand in his. He glanced down at her when she rubbed her hands together.
“Cold?” He asked. He’d be surprised if she wasn’t. The class was an early morning one, and the breeze coming in from the ocean was brisk. Brent knew Aimee had dressed comfortably for the exam, but that didn’t mean she was comfortable now. Her dark head bobbed as she nodded.
Brent’s heart raced a little in his chest before he reached down and took Aimee’s hand in his. Screw it, if she was cold he’d be a good friend and keep her warm. Or at least that’s what he’d tell her if she asked. He held her much smaller hand snugly in his own and tried to keep his expression nonchalant when she glanced up at him.
