Impossible Girl (Sexy Nerd Boys #2.5) (5 page)

By the time Tuesday rolls around again, I’m debating whether or not to go to my scheduled tutoring session with Dex. Friday night
was not
a date, but I did have fun. I expected a call or text from him, but Saturday and Sunday came and went without a word. By Monday, I felt like a loser for waiting by my phone all weekend for a guy. I’d even considered texting him, but I felt like that might come off as too desperate or needy. I never text guys, ever.

So, it’s two minutes to noon and I’m standing outside of the Tutoring Center, gnawing my bottom lip in indecision. I could walk in there, not even mention Friday night or the fact that he hasn’t called, and rub it in his face that I don’t care. If I don’t go, he might think I’m upset that he didn’t call. I guess that decides it. I push my shoulders back and strut into the building with false confidence. Fake it ‘til you make it; that’s a thing people say, isn’t it?

“Remy.” His eyes light up as I enter the room and my stupid traitor of a heart starts pounding in my chest.

“Dex.” I nod at him and maintain a mask of nonchalance.

“Listen, I meant to call or text you this weekend. I had a great time hanging out Friday. I’d love to do it again sometime this week if you’re free at all,” he says, his voice laced with sincerity. Damn him, I was ready to write him off as a jerk and move on with my life.

“Sure.” I nod curtly, still trying to keep my poker face.

“You’re mad at me?” It’s more of a statement than a question.

I roll my eyes and pull out my calculus book and homework for this week.

“Why would I be mad at you?” I challenge.

“I would assume because I didn’t call or text you, but you didn’t call or text either. So, it’s not like I was ignoring you or blowing you off. I was out of town Saturday and Sunday,” he explains in an irritated tone.

I sigh, I guess he’s got a point. It’s not like I should
expect
a call anyways. I’d been hoping for one though.

“You’re right,” I say dropping the icy edge to my voice. “I was just being pissy. We should definitely hang out soon.”

And with that we get down to our tutoring session. Dex must be some sort of genius because, by the end of the hour, I actually understand what’s going on in calculus.

“Thank you so much, I might actually have a chance of passing the test next week!”

“You’re a good student.”

I shove my stuff into my bag and stand. We look at each other awkwardly for a minute.

“So I don’t know if you’d be into it, but there’s this cool paintball arena not too far that Asher and I go to sometimes. I thought we could go too. Make it a group event,” he suggests running his hands through his delectable locks again.

“That sounds fun, but I have to warn you that Nikki is competitive as hell.”

“So am I. I’ll book it for this weekend.”

My smile falls a little against my will Not that paintball doesn’t sound fun, but I don’t want to wait until the weekend to hang out again. God, I am such a girl.

“But maybe we could hang out sooner than that too. Watch a movie or something?” he suggests. I bite my lip and gaze up at him.

“That sounds good.” Just then, the door to the tutoring lab opens and Trey saunters in. “Text me,” I say hurriedly to Dex before Trey can make things awkward again.

Trey makes no attempt to hide his appreciation of Remy’s ass as she walks out of the tutoring center.

“Mmm-mmm,” He makes a noise of appreciation once she’s gone, then turns to grin at me.

“So, Rem is a real firecracker in bed isn’t she,” Trey says, slapping my arm and grinning jovially. My fists clench.

“I wouldn’t know. We’re just friends.” I considered lying for a split second so I could stake a claim to her, but that isn’t what she needs. Remy has enough men in the world treating her like she’s a piece of meat.

“Oh come on man, I know Remy and that girl is all about being ridden hard and put away wet.” He gets this faraway look in his eyes, as if remembering exactly what Remy looks like when she’s being fucked. I clench my jaw so hard, I think my teeth might crack.

“Oh dude, has she done the thing with her tongue when she -” I slam my hand down on the table and fix him with a murderous glare.

“That’s enough,” I say tersely.

“Whoa, man what’s the problem? It’s not my fault that she’s been with half the guys on campus! If you act like a slut, people are going to talk about you like one.” Trey holds his hands up in front of himself. Like that would stop my fist from planting in his face.

“The problem
man
, is that Remy deserves to be respected. Regardless of who she’s been with or what she’s done with them. That’s not something to be discussed in public, as though she has no right to privacy!”

“Whatever you say, man,” Trey relents with a shake of his head. It takes me several minutes to calm down and begin tutoring this stupid fuck.

Remy

I can’t keep the smile off my face for some reason when Dex’s text flashes across my screen.

I wait for another text, hoping that he’ll ask if I want to hang out. A knock at the door startles me. I look down at my ratty paint clothes and grimace.

“Who is it?” I ask through the door.

“Just a sexy cowboy with some movies and popcorn.” His husky voice sends a thrill down my spine. How is it that he can cause such a physical reaction in me without any effort and yet he seems immune to all of my charms?

“Hold on a minute,” I call out.

I know he already saw me in gross paint clothes on Friday, but I’d prefer if he didn’t think I was always such a slob, even if it is mostly true. I scurry to my bedroom and quickly change into a pair of dark skinny jeans and a black scoop-neck tank top. I glance in the mirror and shake my head, I look like I just crawled out of a cave with my messy hair and no makeup. I finger comb my hair fruitlessly and then give up and go answer the door.

“Took you long enough,” he teases once I fling the door open.

“Excuse me, but you showed up at my door unannounced. It’s not nice to catch a lady off guard like that. I wasn’t decent,” I accuse with a flirty smile. I step aside to let him in and we both settle onto the couch like we did the first time he came over.

“So what movie did you bring?” I ask.

He sets a bag of microwave popcorn, a box of raisinettes, a box of dots and the movie
Choke
on my coffee table.

“I figured if you liked Fight Club, you were probably a Chuck Palahniuk girl.”

“I loved this book, haven’t seen the movie though.” I grab the movie and pop it in.

“Dots or raisinettes?” He holds up both boxes.

“Dots,” I say snatching the box out of his hand. I settle against him, enjoying the way his manly scent engulfs me in this close proximity. He puts an arm around me and I feel like I could happily die here in his arms.
Don’t be stupid, that’s how you get your heart broken
my inner voice warns.

We talk and joke during the movie. My favorite thing about it is that the main character is a sex addict. The constant sexual themes and nudity seem to make Dex uncomfortable, which is kind of adorable.

“Have you ever had sex in a public bathroom?” I ask during a scene where the main character hooks up with a woman from his sex addicts anonymous group in the bathroom. Dex blushes and clears his throat.

“Not a public bathroom. I did fool around with a girl once in a bathroom at a party, so semi-public I suppose.”

“Semi-public sex is the best. The extra adrenaline rush that comes with the possibility of getting caught.” I bite my lip and gaze at him seductively.

A distinct bulge in his pants grows and I can’t help but feel somewhat triumphant. He
does
want me.

“Tell me something crazy you’ve done.”

A smile spreads across his lips and his eyes light just a little. He looks more carefree than I’ve seen him before. My stomach flutters.

“I did a coal walk once,” he reveals with a deep chuckle.

“Oh my god, did you burn the hell out of your feet?”

“No,” he scoffs. “It’s basic physics darlin’. Nothing more than introductory thermal conductivity.”

“I love when you talk nerdy to me,” I add a fake lilt to my voice and pretend to swoon.

“What about you, what crazy thing have you done?”

My face falls a little.

“Nothing. I’m not much of a risk taker.” And, the biggest risk I could take is sitting two feet from me. He could break me when he leaves.

“Maybe you should try some time. A risk can be a good thing every once in a while.”

If he wants me to take a risk, I’ll take a risk
. I place a hand on his inner thigh and nuzzle his neck. He leans into it briefly but then stiffens and pulls back.

“Remy,” He says my name like it’s a plea. Unfortunately, not like it’s a plea for me to give him more, that’s a plea I’m familiar with. This is more of a ‘please don’t do this’ kind of a plea. A shameful feeling settles in the pit of my stomach as I scoot as far away as the couch will allow. I’m so stupid, and obviously undesirable.

“Darlin’, don’t be angry with me,” he says quietly, looking at me with sadness in his eyes.

“I’m not angry,” I respond tersely. A burning feeling in the back of my throat threatens me with tears of embarrassment. Seriously, how many times does one guy need to reject me before I get the damn hint?

“Remy, you have to realize that I want you. I want you so much it makes me crazy.”

“Then why the hell are you friend-zoning me so hard?” I demand in frustration. His eyebrows shoot up with incredulity.

“Friend-zoning you? Remy, all I’m trying to do is stay out of the casual hookup zone.”

“Well, I don’t have a boyfriend zone so just give up on the idea.”

He sighs and looks back at the movie.

“How about we just stay in the movie zone for the moment?” he jokes.

“Fine.” I try to keep the evidence of my bruised ego out of my voice. I settle back against the couch, no longer cuddled against him.

“Remy, you are the most beautiful woman in the world.”

His words do something funny to my chest because he’s saying them without any ulterior motives. He actually thinks I’m beautiful.

“Do you want to see the painting I did on Saturday?” I offer. I’d been so inspired by the night sky up on that secluded hill that I’d decided to do a watercolor of it.

“Absolutely.”

I go to my bedroom and grab the watercolor from my closet, carrying it out to the living room. He once again takes it in his hands like he’s afraid that the slightest brush of his palms may irreparably damage it, gazing at it for what feels like hours.

“It’s so beautiful,” he says finally, his voice low and full of awe. “I feel like I’m there.”

“You really like it?” I ask, seeking reassurance. You’re not just being nice?”

“I’m not just being nice, this is incredible! There’s so much feeling in it, I almost feel like it’s touching something inside of my soul simply by looking at it.”

That was exactly how I felt when I painted it, like I was putting a piece of my soul on the canvas.

“Could you make me one?” he asks with a hopeful smile.

“You can have that one. I actually was thinking of you when I made it. I thought you might like to have it.”

For some reason I really like the idea of him having a piece of my art hanging on his bedroom wall, where he can look at it before he goes to sleep at night. Maybe he’ll think of me.

“Thank you, I really do love it.”

“You’re welcome.” I lean forward and give him a small kiss on the cheek.

“So how are we splitting up teams?” Remy asks as we all stand in a circle on the paintball field, ready for combat.

“How about Ethan, Dex, Asher, and I against you four.” Nikki suggests with a wicked gleam in her eyes. “That way we can make it
interesting
.”

“Love it,” Abby agrees.

“Okay, so what do the winners get?” Ethan asks, his gaze trained on Abby.

“Winners choice,” Remy cuts in. “Anything the winner wants; the loser has to do.” Her gaze is fixed on me the entire time and I know that if she wins I’m going to like giving her whatever she wants all too much.

Asher smirks at Eve and tugs his lip ring between his teeth. She blushes and holds his gaze.

“You’re going down Angel,” Asher warns Eve, his words dripping with promise.

Oh fuck, I really hope no one actually expected me to be in charge of where Asher sticks his dick.

“Game on,” Nikki shouts and we all scatter.

Ethan, Nikki, Asher, and I get slaughtered. It’s actually extremely embarrassing how badly we get our asses handed to us.

Covered in sweat and paint we all decide to head to the leprechaun for a few drinks.

“Hey Ethan, that guy is all over your girl,” I lean over to inform him, nodding my head towards the girls at the pool table and the frat loser doing his best to charm Abby. I’m surprised to see a smile spread across his face.

“Don’t let her hear you call her ‘my girl’, unless you want a ten-minute lecture about how women are human beings, not property.” he laughs and takes a swig of his beer. We both glance over and see Abby giving frat boy a death glare, but he doesn’t seem to be taking the hint.

“So you aren’t going to go tell that guy to back off?”

I’d go over there if some guy was hitting on Remy, and she isn’t even my girlfriend. Not for lack of trying on my part, obviously.

“Trust me, it’s difficult for me not to. But I learned the hard way that if I don’t let Abby handle this kind of shit herself, she thinks I don’t respect her. I respect the hell out of that woman; never seen her fail to handle a douche like that guy either.” His voice is full of reverence for Abby. I guess we all do things that we never thought we would for people we love. I glance over again as Ethan takes another swig of beer. Abby leans over to take her turn and frat boy grabs a handful of ass.

“Seriously though, he just grabbed her ass.”

Ethan’s hands coil into fists, ready to strike, but he doesn’t move.

“Come on baby break his nose or I’m going to have to, and then you’ll be pissed at me,” he mutters to himself as he watches the scene unfold. Sure enough Abby cocks her arm back and plows her fist into frat boy’s nose causing blood to spurt everywhere. Bouncers come out of nowhere and, after talking to the girls, they lead frat boy towards the door. Abby, Eve, and Remy make their way over to us while Lee and Nikki continue to play on the pool table.

“Did you see that guys? Abby is such a fucking badass,” Remy squeals with excitement.

“Is your hand okay Red?” Ethan asks, concern lacing his features as he reaches for Abby.

“I’m fine, just realizing though that I’m going to have to tell my therapist about this. She’s going to give me that disappointed look I hate.”

“Your therapist?” Remy asks.

“Yeah, she’s wanted me to work on ‘overcompensating’ for my past abuse by overreacting to normal unwanted sexual advances,” she explains with a shrug. But I notice a flash of pride cross Ethan’s face, suggesting that Abby’s openness about her issues is a new development.

“Well if you would let me defend your honor, then you wouldn’t have to do it yourself,” Ethan points out with a smile, pulling Abby into his arms.

“Tell you what, why don’t you take me home and I can reaffirm your manhood,” she offers, leaning into him with a flirtatious smile. My heart squeezes with jealousy. Not over Abby of course, but at the closeness they share. I look over at Remy and I swear I see a flash of the same feeling cross her face as well. But is she envious for the same reason I am, or does she have feelings for Ethan? Or did I misread her altogether and that look meant something else entirely?

“Are you ready to head out?” Remy asks, biting her lip in an all too enticing way. She hasn’t told me yet what she wants for winning, and I have a feeling that as soon as I get her back to her apartment I’m going to find out. The question is, will I be able to resist her this time? I don’t have the same excuses and reasons to resist as I did last time. She’s had a few drinks but she doesn’t seem to be drunk. Plus, I feel like I’ve started to get to know her, so she’s no longer a stranger I’d be taking advantage of. I let out a long breath and steel my resolve.

“Yeah, let’s get you home darlin’.”