That was why, when Professor Davis announced we had to pick a partner for our midterm project, Helen choosing to work with Lock sent me sideways. Luck was on my side, though. We had an uneven number of students in the class, so after some cajoling, Davis allowed me to wedge myself between Lock and Helen.
Her reasoning for the partnership was sound. Lock’s brain was in proportion to the rest of him—big, meaty, and able to crush lesser mortals. She was also right that if it had just been Helen and me, we’d spend our work time fucking and flunk the assignment. The difference between us was I didn’t care. I should have. My dad would dance on my metaphorical grave if I fucked my academics the way I’d done my athletics. Maybe spending so much time with Helen, I’d found a streak of rebellion deep in me, and I was thinking about leaning into it. Luck found me again that I had a girl who was far wiser than me and took her grades seriously.
She swatted my hand off her when the door pushed open, Lock ducking his head inside. We were in a private study room to work out the breakdown of the project.
“Yo.” Lock lumbered into the room, threw his backpack down on the table, and folded himself into a chair. “I have a half hour before I have to head to work.”
Helen straightened, crossing her legs and opening her laptop. My dick twitched at her being a serious schoolgirl. Those smooth, muscular, tan legs pressed together. Her straight spine leading to plump little hips and a ridiculous round ass. Long, shiny hair flowing down her back in tumbling waves. Red, red lips pursed in concentration, then moving to shape words as she and Lock bounced ideas back and forth.
“What do you think, Theodore?” Helen slapped my arm. “Do you have any ideas?”
“No. What you guys were saying works for me.”
God, I was sick in the head. What the hell was wrong with me? I was sitting there with an erection, no idea what was going on around me, while my girl and Lock were both looking at me like the weak link.
“Are we boring you?” Helen teased.
I cleared my throat. “No, I’m here.”
Lock glanced up from his laptop, giving me a long look that said he didn’t find any fucking thing about me spacing in the middle of our first group meeting amusing.
“I have twenty minutes now,” he said lowly. “Can we get the preliminary planning done?”
“Yeah. I apologize. My weight, from here on out, will be pulled by me.” My laptop open, eyes turned away from Helen, I shifted my mind to Shakespeare and the project that was going to take up twenty-five percent of my grade.
Lock cracked his knuckles. “Let’s get started.”
* * *
After the study session, I trapped Helen in a quiet stairwell so I could kiss the Shakespeare out of both our brains. She was the one to push me away, but she did it laughing.
“What was going on with you in there?” she asked.
I raked my hand through the side of my hair. “God, nothing. My mind just wasn’t there in the beginning. I’m square now. I know what I need to be doing for the project.”
She nibbled my chin. “Good, because Lock will squash you like a bug if you even think about being a deadbeat.” Then she bit my chin a little harder. “I need to get my ass in gear. I have homework and I want to take a nap before work.”
Pulling her closer, I took two handfuls of her ass. “This isn’t an invitation, is it?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I have shit to do, Theodore, and you do too.”
I gave her ass a squeeze. “Who knew you’d be the responsible one of us?”
The change in her was swift and complete. Her mouth turned down. The light in her deep brown eyes fluttered out. Her expression shuttered. The muscles in her body tensed, bracing to fight or run. “Just because I’m poor doesn’t mean I’m not responsible. I haven’t had anything handed to me. I work for everything I have, including being here at this university. So yeah, I’m forsaking a couple orgasms for good grades so I can stay here.”
My hands flexed. I could have said a lot. A whole lot. But I chose to say one thing. “I haven’t had anything handed to me.”
That was most of the truth. As much as I was willing to get into.
Her eyes rolled, sensing the bullshit in my statement. It wasn’t what she thought, but I was full of shit. I may have grown up rough, but I’d lived on easy street for years now. Still, my memory of the hunger might have dulled, but I hadn’t forgotten it.
“Okay.” She pushed off me, and I let her go. “Text me if you’re going to pick me up tonight. It’s cool if you’re not. I’ll take the bus.”
She trotted down the steps like I wasn’t going to follow her. It was crazy how we could go from making out to being miles and miles apart. But that was my decision. I could give Helen my history so she’d understand me, but she’d already taken the majority of my headspace. I couldn’t give up anything else to her and walk away whole.
We were outside when I was through chasing her. Taking her shoulder in hand, I spun her around to face me. “I pick you up every night.”
“I don’t take anything for granted.” She reached up to cup my face. “I like you, I’m not going to take advantage of you, and I don’t want to fight. We’re really different people and we think differently.”
“We’re not that different.”
“We are, and that’s cool. I still like you. But a lot of the time, I’m in survival mode. I get that it’s hard for you to understand, but I need you to try. Because I really would like you to be someone I can just be chill with, you know? I don’t want to feel like I’m fighting when I’m with you.”
“I can do that for you, Tiger.” Dipping down, I touched my mouth to hers. “I actually have to go see my father anyway. I think I was hoping you’d offer me an out. But you’re right, your grades are important, and I’m not going to mess with that for you.”
She poked at my chest. “Your grades are important too.”
I waggled a brow. “Sure they are. Now, leave before I forget everything I just said and drag you back to the stairwell.”
Helen pulled away easily, tossed her board on the sidewalk, and skated off. I stood there, hands on my head, reeling. The messy, crazy, wild, reckless girl I’d caught smashing my car had herself more together than I did. I didn’t quite know how to wrap my head around that, so I didn’t. Turning in the opposite direction, I dragged myself to President Whitlock’s office.
* * *
My father had lost his mind. He was absolutely bananas. Needed to be committed. The cuckoo’s nest had been flown over.
“I’m not an escort service.” My fingertips dug into my knees. “This isn’t happening. You can’t pimp me out.”
He exhaled heavily through his flared nostrils. “This isn’t a discussion.”
I’d been summoned to President Whitlock’s office. It was never a good sign when my dad wanted to see me, but I knew I was in for pure delight when he requested my presence in his office.