“Ha, no.” I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder. “Follow me.”
I led him through the store and stopped at the romance section.
He scowled, crossing his arms like he was afraid to touch the books.
“Pick one,” I demanded.
He laughed. “Um, no.”
“You want Vi back, right?”
He nodded, cringing as he picked up a book with a half naked man on the cover. Sailboat Sexcapades. I personally knew it was a good pick—and about to be made into a movie.
“One of Vi’s…” I didn’t want to say complaints, so I said, “...comments about you is that you have zero skills when it comes to wooing.”
“What the fuck is ‘wooing’?” He flipped through the book, grimacing like the words were poison.
“Exactly my point.”
He met my gaze again and waved the book in the air. “Vi never wanted any of this crap.”
I rubbed my chin and looked at the ceiling, pretending to think. “Really? Because she’s a woman, and every woman wants to be romanced.”
He wrinkled his nose. The thing with Ollie was that he could go from looking like a confused tween to a sexy-ish nerd in a flash. At that moment, he looked like the tween. But then his face changed. He gazed at me through his long lashes. “I romanced her in all the ways that matter, if you know what I mean.” And just like that, he’d become the sexy nerd.
Oh, I knew how he romanced her. Even though I tried not to picture it, I’d been jealous that Vi had a constant source of sex. And now, in the bookstore, my nipples hardened against my thin sweater as I remembered Vi’s stories, stories I had brushed off as her being insane. Stories that ended with phrases like, “And then he swirled his tongue...”
I adjusted my bag and crossed my arms. This was ridiculous. This was Ollie in front of me. I probably outweighed him by ten pounds. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “Right. Read the damn book and report back to me tonight.”
“Tonight? I only get a day to read it?” He flipped to the back. “It’s three hundred pages.”
I snagged it from his hand and looked at the guy on the cover. A captain, naked behind the wheel of a boat. Now that’s the guy who should be making my nipples harden. “Despite the boating theme, it’s not Moby Dick.”
“It looked nature-y, so that’s why I picked it.” He took the book back. “Think there are any whale scenes?”
“No. But trust me, you won’t be able to put it down.”
“So you’ve read this one?”
“Oh yeah,” I nodded. “Me and fifty million other people.”
He gasped. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. We’ll go see the movie. It comes out Thanksgiving weekend.”
“Shut up.” He looked down at the book and shivered. Then he touched his nose and held his finger in the air. “What if I can’t read it because I have plans today?”
“Impossible.” I turned away, scanning the titles and admiring the cover models.
He followed me as I walked down the aisle. “How do you figure? I could have plans.”
“Vi is in Vienna, and Josh has a football party tonight.” I knew because I’d been invited. “Which I’ll be at.”
He poked me in the back. “No way. You can’t go.”
“Why not?” When he didn’t answer, I turned to him.
“Paper,” he said. “We have to talk about your paper.”
“On the weekend?”
“College is a twenty-four seven experience, Bella.”
Why had he started calling me that? It did things to me that made me want to jump him and cringe at the same time. “Ollie,” I said, to remind myself that he was Oliver Stoneridge and off-limits.
“What’s up?”
I pointed at Sailboat Sexcapades. “Read the book. I’m going to the party. Why don’t you come? We can discuss the book and practice your controlled drinking techniques.”
I mentally face palmed myself. What did I say that? If I wanted to hook up with someone who looked like that romance cover model tonight, I couldn’t be babysitting Oliver.
He studied me, and I could practically see his wheels turning as he mentally debated whether or not to join me. Please say no, I thought over and over. Such a bad idea. Please say no.
He smiled.
Please say no.
But when he said, “I’ll go,” I couldn’t help my grin. “I have a counterproposal,” he added.
“I’m listening.”
“I’ll read this in the library while you find sources for your paper.”
The thought of staying in the library on such a beautiful day made me shudder. “I thought you were going to do that.”
“That’s cheating.” He looked into my eyes. “I’m not a cheater.”
The weight of his words hung in the air between us. He was not a cheater, and no matter how this flirt fest was shaping up, we had to remember that. He and Vi weren’t together anymore, but at the same time, he wasn’t free of her. And I wasn’t looking for anything more than a Mr. Tonight, at least until I found Mr. Right. Ollie Stoneridge—with his gangly, skinny frame, his messy curls, and his dumb hand cast—was certainly not my Mr. Tonight. Or my Mr. Right.
Oh God, he couldn’t be. Not an option. Wrong for many reasons.
Still, he stood there in the stacks looking at me so intensely. Our bodies were closer than when we’d started, like they’d moved to each other automatically. He gulped. The movement of his neck when he swallowed made me want to lean in and kiss the smooth skin.
“It’s not…technically…cheating,” I said in a shaky voice. I didn’t know if I referred to the paper or the potential of that neck kiss.
He stepped forward so we were chest to chest. In a hushed exhale, he whispered, “Tar.”
That one syllable falling from his lips dripped with frustration, fear, sexiness, and regret. He didn’t want me flirting with him. He was in love with my roommate, no matter their official status. He didn’t want the temptation of me, and frankly, I didn’t want the temptation of him.
So I took a step back and pushed down the threatening hormones to give us the out we both needed. “We’ll work on my paper together.” I started to walk away, then spun when I realized he wasn’t following me. I met his gaze, and as if nothing had passed between us, I asked, “You coming, Nerdilicious?”
He relaxed, and just like that, he was back to Ollie. Vi’s Ollie. The awkward tween version. Thank God. I circled my arm in a let’s-get-going motion.
He held up the book. “Gotta buy my assignment first. Meet me at the library in an hour. Bring coffee.”
I gave him a thumbs-up and, without another look back, strutted out of the bookstore, glad to have the hour to myself. Outside, the fresh air sobered me. If thinking of Ollie was waking up my body and turning me on, that could only mean one thing.
I seriously needed to get laid.
Chapter Five
Oliver
Josh was doing something to his hair, flipping it back and forth with gel, when I asked him if it was okay if I crashed the party that night.
“You changed your mind?” he asked.
I nodded.
“I’m glad you’ll be there. Maybe you’ll find someone to hook up with, get your mind off of Vi.”
It wasn’t Vi who I needed to get my mind off of tonight. I’d almost kissed Taryn in the bookstore. Luckily, she’d backed off because I don’t know if I could have. “Seriously, in a room full of football players, nobody’s going to want to hook up with me.”
“Don’t be so sure. You’d be surprised at what women want.”
I opened my desk drawer and pulled out Sailboat Sexcapades. “Did you know that women want to be made love to while hanging over the deck of a luxury yacht?”
“Ah, so you’re reading that for Poli Sci, huh?” he teased, grabbing it from me.
“Taryn’s making me read it.”
He smirked. “She going to show you how to do the moves?�
��
I took the book back and smacked him with it. “I’m supposed to learn about romance to try to win Vi back. I picked this one because at least it’s on the water.”
“Good luck with that. Let me know if you learn anything I can use.” He finished messing with his hair and grabbed his backpack. “I’m heading to the house to prep for the party. See you later?”
“Yep.” After he left, I found my glasses, opened the book, and started reading about Captain Spencer Lexington.
Taryn’s text interrupted me.
Taryn: Where you at?
Shit. I’d been so engrossed in the stupid book that I’d lost track of time.
Me: On my way. Sorry.
But instead of jumping up, I finished the chapter. The captain dude was banging this chick, Matilda, all over the damn boat. He’d been all up in her tits, her mouth, everywhere. By the time he “released,” I was as hard as a rock. Between picturing the porn that was Sailboat Sexcapades and the fact that Vi and I hadn’t had sex in over a month, I was a mess. There was no way I could go to the library to help Taryn with her paper until I did something about my own “release.”
Even though my right hand had the dumb cast, I unzipped my pants and tried jerking off with my left. The motion and rhythm was all off though, and I felt so pathetic that it chased the mood away. Then all I felt was grumpy.
I was a goddamn mess.
Zipping up my jeans again, I threw the book into my backpack and took off for the library.
Saturday afternoon wasn’t exactly a hot time in the university stacks, which made it easy to find Taryn. She sat at a table in front of her open laptop, scrolling through her phone. I plopped down next to her, annoyed at her for no reason.
A blank Word document shone from the laptop. “I see you’ve gotten far,” I snarked.
She put down the phone and turned to me. “You okay? You look like you want to punch something. Have you been drinking?”
She sniffed the air around me while I checked her out. Her hair was up in a ponytail and her face was bare of makeup. She had these little freckles on her nose that I’d never noticed. She wore the same jeans and flip flops from the store, but she’d changed her shirt. Instead of the cardigan, she wore a black T-shirt that stretched across her ample chest.
It was a Star Wars T-shirt with a Princess Leia graphic spread across the front.
My dick, which had just settled down on my walk to the library, found new life and danced under my jeans. “Jesus Christ, Taryn.”
Her eyes grew wide. “What is your problem?”
“Where did you get that shirt? Where’s your sweater?” I lifted her backpack and started unzipping it.
She grabbed it back, scowling at me. “It got warmer out, so I changed. Not a fan?” She sat up tall and pushed out her chest, showing off Leia. “It’s Princess Le—”
“I know who it is.” I rubbed my hands over my face, trying not to look.
“What is wrong with you, Nerdilicious?”
I pointed at her laptop. “You’re supposed to be working on your paper.”
“I was waiting for you.” She grimaced like the sight of me made her sick. “Was Josh mean to you? We promised honesty, so spill.”
Why did she have to be so damn adorable while she coached me to get my girlfriend back? “I hate you.”
She recoiled, jerking back on her seat. “Huh?”
“I’m sorry. But I started Sailboat Sexcapades, and it made me really…” I looked around and lowered my voice, waving her closer. When she leaned in, I whispered, “Horny.”
She sputtered a laugh, hiding her mouth with her hand. “Seriously?”
“You said to be honest. I haven’t had sex in… Well, since whenever, and you made me read that damn book. It’s like porn.”
She raised her eyebrows. “So? Take care of yourself.”
“I would but…” I held up my cast.
She laughed again. “That sucks for you.”
“Tell me about it. And now you’re here with your Star Wars T-shirt and you smell like vanilla.” I stopped babbling and looked at her. “Why do you always smell like vanilla anyway?”
She reached for her bag on the floor next to her and pulled out a plastic bottle of lotion. “Vanilla Bean. Reminds me of the bakery life. I was told it mixes well with my natural scent, whatever that is.”
Jesus help me. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again. “I want to work on your paper, I really do. But I can’t concentrate.” I leaned closer and whispered, “If I don’t take care of myself soon, I think my head’s going to explode.”
She stuck her face in front of mine so that we were almost nose to nose and scrunched it up. “Both heads?”
“I’m pathetic,” I said, ignoring her quip. “Help me.”
She raised her eyebrows and looked at my lips again. “I don’t know if that’s appropriate, Oliver.”
Her outright flirtation wasn’t helping. “That’s not what I mean. I’m a ball of sexual frustration right now. You don’t get it.”
“I get it. Women get like that too.”
I sputtered a laugh. “Right,” I said, drawing out the word. “Vi’s never been a ball of sexual frustration.”
“That’s because she had you.” She smirked as she shook her head. “So much to learn, young Padawan.”
We sat in silence, each waiting for the other to say something. Finally, she gasped. “I have an idea.”
She grabbed her stuff and started walking away, waving me behind her. As I followed her to the basement, I used every ounce of willpower to not fixate on her ass. We ended up outside a remote men’s room. She looked through the stacks and dropped her bag in front of me. “Nobody’s ever down here. Go inside with Captain Spencer, read your favorite passage, and take care of yourself.”
With a huff, I held up the cast again.
She rolled her eyes. “Do it lefty.”
“Don’t you think I tried that? I can’t do it lefty.”
Digging in her bag, she whispered, “I have something you can use.”
She pulled out the damn Vanilla Bean lotion. “Take this. And don’t forget your book.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You want me to use your lotion to jerk off.”
She shrugged. “Hey, I’m helpful that way. But you have to do something for me.”
“What’s that?”
“I want to know what scene from the book did it for you.”
I chuckled, but the fact that she wanted to know turned me on enough to actually follow through with this plan. “I hate you for making me read that.”
She studied the cover. “Probably wasn’t the best choice. It’s all sex, no romance.”
“Ya think? Thanks for figuring that out now.”
She giggled. Princess Leia bounced around.
Fuck. I snatched the lotion from her hand. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck, Oliver,” she sang.
Girls had it so easy.
The bathroom was empty. Standing in the last stall, I squeezed my eyes closed, thinking this would be impossible. But Captain Spencer was like the pink elephant in the room who wanted to be noticed. Of course I pictured the scene where he bent Matilda over the captain’s wheel, and as soon as I opened the lotion and got a whiff, I was hard. I tried not to care that instead of imagining Spencer and Matilda, I was fantasizing about me bending Taryn over the wheel. I blamed the scent of the lotion, which was more of a turn on to me than the stupid scene. Fucking Vanilla Bean.
Once I forgot where I was and got into my scenario, I was able to do the deed and immediately felt about a thousand times more relaxed and focused. After taking a minute to clean up and pull myself together, I washed my hands and packed the book and the lotion. Taryn would know that I’d just jerked off in the library, but she’d never know I was thinking of her while I did.
She was standing outside the men’s room when I opened the door.
“How’d you do?” she asked, as if I’d just taken a t
est.
I gave her a fake salute. “Success.”
She clapped. “Good for you, Ollie. I knew you could figure it out. Isn’t that what you do? Figure out problems?”
Of course she had to tease me, but I could take it. “You’re not going to tell Vi about this, are you?”
“Hell no.” She looked at me like I was crazy. “I don’t think she’s the type to find it amusing.”
Taryn was right. Vi never wanted to be involved in my self-management.
“Now fess up,” Taryn said. “Which scene?”
I hesitated.
“A deal’s a deal,” she said, holding her hands out and waiting for the book.
I dropped my backpack and bent down to open it. First, I handed her the lotion. “Thanks for that,” I mumbled. She took it and slid it into her bag. Then I pulled out the book. I flipped through the beginning chapters to find the scene. “There you go.”
Her eyes widened as she read. “Oh, yep. I’ve gotten off to that one too.”
My dick twitched again. “Shut up. Stop talking and put the damn book away or I’m going to need more lotion.”
She laughed and handed the book to me. “You can use it later. Now are we ready to work?”
“Yes,” I said flatly. “And thank you. Seriously, I’m glad I can tell you these things. Maybe we do make a good team.”
“Team Olivyn for the win.” She held up her hand for a high five, but when I tried to connect with her, she pulled it away and threw me a dirty look. “Ew.”
“Jesus, Taryn. I washed my hands.”
She shook her head and walked away. I followed, and this time, I checked out her ass just a little.
* * *
Taryn
After spending all day in the library with Oliver—with him wearing his nerdy reading glasses, skimming his erotic romance novel, and looking all settled in his post-orgasmic calmness—I was ready for a little partying myself. My paper had a topic and a few sources, so progress was happening on my end. Oliver…well, he was practicing drinking responsibly and reading sex books, but at least he wasn’t crying in the corner or, worse, bothering Vi in Austria.
Breaking the Plan: Mill Street Series #1 Page 5
