#Nerd (Hashtag #1) (21 page)

Trent stepped up to the keg, and I joined him. “You need to rein Zach in,” I told him.

“What’d he do now?”

“Tried to get me arrested.”

Trent choked on his beer. “He what?”

“He needs to be brought down a couple pegs.”

“Man, I’m sorry. No one knew he would go that far,” Trent said.

As if he knew we were talking about him, his voice echoed through the room. “Omegas rule!” he roared. Everyone cheered and held up their drinks.

I found him in the crowd and watched him take a seat on a couch in the next room as his buddies settled around him.

I turned to Rimmel, who was talking to Ivy, Missy, and Braeden. “I need the plaque,” I said in her ear.

She reached into her jacket and pulled it out. I took it and started across the room.

“Romeo!” Braeden called, but I kept going.

The crowd parted for me as I went, and soon I was standing across from Zach, who looked up and smirked. “Romeo. You made it.”

I tossed the nameplate at him. It hit his chest and bounced up, knocking the beer out of his hand. It overturned and sloshed all over him, soaking his shirt and part of the girl plastered to his side. She shrieked and jumped up, brushing quickly at her clothes.

“What the hell is your problem, man?” Zach growled.

“Nothing. Just following orders. Giving you what you asked for.” I sneered. “And just a warning, if I go down for something you ordered, I’m going to take you with me, and it will be one bumpy bitch of a fall.”

Zach shoved to his feet and stared me down. “Omegas have honor.”

I smirked. “Didn’t you know? There’s no honor among
thieves
.”

Zach’s eyes narrowed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re playing stupid now?” I said casually. “I honestly thought you were better than that.” I shook my head and turned.

“Drinking rally!” I yelled and held up my beer. The entire house erupted into cheers and yells. Cups and bottles filled the air.

People started chanting my number.
Twenty-four, twenty-four, twenty-four!

I turned back to Zach and smirked. His eyes turned dark, and I got some satisfaction in seemingly getting the popular vote in his own living room.

Rimmel was looking a little green around the edges when I went back to her side. I glanced at the drink in her hand, but it was still full.

“You need some air?” I asked.

She nodded enthusiastically. I took her hand and we weaved through the house to the back door, stepping out onto an old stone patio with grass growing up between the pavers. The air was cold and the wind was picking up.

“Ah, for once I’m grateful for the cold,” she said, taking a deep breath.

“You okay?”

She nodded and turned her face away. A couple people ran by me, laughing, and I took her elbow and moved to the edge of the patio. “Hey,” I said and tipped her chin up to make her look at me.

“We’ve been here like ten minutes and you’ve almost been arrested and in a fight
twice
. I’m scared to know what the rest of the night is going to be like.”

I felt my expression soften. The fear in her eyes was real. “You were worried about me?”

“Duh,” she said and rolled her eyes. “You
are
my ride.”

My mouth opened, and she burst out laughing. “You should see the look on your face.”

I smiled and pulled her close, anchoring an arm around her back. “That wasn’t funny.”

“Yes-huh.” She grinned and her head tipped back. The long strands of her hair draped over my arm.

“You were worried ‘cause you like me,” I said low.

Even in the muted light, I could see the blush on her cheeks.

“Say it,” I whispered.

Her eyes focused on something behind me. “People are staring,” she murmured.

“And…?”

“And it’s—”

I cut off her words with a kiss. It was meant to be an innocent, quick touch of lips, but the second I came into contact with her soft mouth and tasted the strawberry on her tongue, everything else fell away.

Need slammed into me so hard it almost knocked me over. The sounds of the party fell away and all I could think about was what she felt like in my arms.

I heard my phone go off in my pocket. Rimmel’s did the same. Then in the very back of my mind, I heard the dinging of an endless amount of smartphones.

I ignored it all.

I only broke away from her when someone bumped into me from behind, forcing me to pull back to keep our balance. “Sorry,” someone slurred and kept going.

Rimmel was dazed, and I chuckled.

The back door slammed against the house with a sharp crack and someone yelled. “Where the hell is the nerd that suddenly got hot?”

I stiffened. Rimmel’s eyes cleared and filled with confusion.

Her phone went off again, and she pulled it out of her blazer and glanced down at the screen. She snorted loudly and shook her head.

“What?” I asked.

She turned the phone so I could see the latest Buzz. It was about her. I swore under my breath.

“I heard she was out here, putting the moves on number twenty-four!” the guy yelled again.

Some guys laughed and someone else chimed in to add, “You know that ass has to be fine to get his attention.”

People laughed, and I went rigid and turned around. My eyes landed on several guys wandering out near the grass. Of course it was Zach’s followers and one of them was a fellow Omega.

He glanced over and saw me; his face screwed into a smile. He swaggered over, probably thinking he looked cool when he really looked like he had a full diaper.

“I gotta hand it to ya,” he said. “You got some game.”

“You need to step away,” I said, my voice dead calm.

Some of my friends and people I knew stepped forward as if to show I wasn’t alone. I gave them all a grateful, subtle nod.

“Why don’t you step aside and give us all a look at her?” he said, ignoring my warning.

I kept my body firmly planted in front of Rimmel and crossed my arms over my chest.

Braeden materialized beside me, taking up the same braced position. “What seems to be the problem?” he asked.

“No problem. Just came to see the nerd who got hot,” the guy replied. I think his name was Jack.

“There aren’t any nerds out here,” Braeden countered.

Ivy came out the back door, followed by Missy. They were both clutching their phones. When they saw me, they rushed around me and to Rimmel. “The BuzzBoss is totally talking about you!” Ivy said like she was impressed.

“All I did was comb my hair,” Rimmel remarked.

I wanted to laugh.

Zach materialized behind his crew, and they parted to let him come to the front. “I’d be interested in meeting your date tonight as well, Romeo. After all, I did invite her.”

“He invited you?” Ivy asked Rimmel behind me.

This guy was seriously asking for it. He was doing everything humanly possible to screw things up for me. So I called his bluff.

I stepped aside and reached for Rimmel’s hand, drawing her forward. “Rimmel, this is Zach. He’s the president of the Omegas.”

Zach’s eyes latched onto her and a little bit of surprise sparked through them. Then his lips curved into a smile I instantly wanted to wipe off his face. He came forward, his stare never once leaving Rimmel.

“I have just one question,” he said.

“What?” she replied.

My hackles rose just because he was speaking to her.

“You give it up to him yet?” Behind him, his crew laughed.

Rimmel didn’t say anything; she just stood here with pink cheeks.

“Because you know when you do, he’s gone.” Zach finished.

I didn’t even have a chance to talk myself out of it. Hell, I barely even thought. I just heard his words and saw the calculating and nasty look in his eyes, and I was done.

Even though I was beyond angry, I moved Rimmel out of the way with care, placing her beside Braeden, and then I spun, plowing my fist into the side of Zach’s jaw.

He went down immediately, like a scarecrow in the wind.

I stood over him as he rolled onto his side and grabbed his jaw. My chest was heaving, and all I saw was red. Zach looked at me with sheer hate, launching himself up off the ground, and rushed me.

I was ready, and we locked together as he tried to knock me down.

I wasn’t falling. I outweighed him by fifty pounds easily and I was a head taller. He reared back his arm and took a cheap shot in my kidney. It was enough for me to let him go, but it didn’t help his cause.

He threw his fist at me, and I caught it. Holding his arm suspended in midair, I brought my free arm around and caught him in the face again.

He went down and didn’t move.

I turned back to Rimmel, who had a horrified, stricken look on her face. I snatched the car keys out of my pocket and put them in her hand. “Take the Hellcat and go to my place. I’ll meet you there.”

“But—” She began.

“Go,” I growled as commotion erupted behind me.

Someone rammed into me from behind, and I stumbled. I reached around and pulled Jack off me and tossed him into a couple of his buddies.

“Now!” I shouted, and she jumped.

“Romeo…” Braeden warned me, and I turned away from her.

Zach was on his feet and approaching me once again. He threw out his fist and I dodged it, but he kept lunging. His lower lip was busted and bleeding and his jaw was already bruising.

I wasn’t proud of myself, but I sure as hell wasn’t sorry.

“Enough!” Trent yelled, and a bunch of Omegas swarmed through the crowd. Zach and I were both restrained and yanked apart.

I shook them all off and straightened my shirt.

“What the fuck, man?” Trent said, turning to me.

“Ask your president,” I spat. “I might be just a pledge…” I snarled, not caring that I wasn’t supposed to announce it. “But I will not roll over and take his shit anymore. He crossed the line.”

Everyone looked at Zach, who was standing there bleeding all over himself.

“I want him out of here!” he yelled, his voice slightly thick from his fat lip.

I held up my hands. “Oh, I’m gone. Omega can kiss my ass.”

Trent glanced at me sharply. I saw the warning in his eyes, the reminder that we were going to get rid of Zach together. I shook my head. “I’m out.”

He frowned slightly but nodded his understanding.

Braeden clapped me on the back. “I think we should go.”

After giving Zach another long, measured look, I turned to leave.

“This party is lame!” Braeden said loudly. “WOLVES, party at my dorm!” he yelled.

People cheered.

“Dude, how the fuck are you gonna fit all these people in your tiny-ass room?”

He grinned. “Sure as hell will be fun to try.”

Out in front of the Omega house, there was hardly anyone around; they were all too busy in the back, checking out the drama. We were silent a moment. Then Braeden said, “You don’t need them. You got more than enough talent to bring in the NFL on your own.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. “When did everything get so damn complicated?”

“When your life became about more than just football.”

“You sound like Yoda.” I grinned.

“It’s the beer.”

We both laughed and headed out to the parking lot.

I joked and was laughing, but really, he was right. For so long, my life had been nothing but football…

But now there was something more.

Rimmel

I felt stupid standing out here.

I hadn’t wanted to leave Romeo.

But it seemed my presence only made things worse.

So I took the keys and walked out. I hoped it would put an end to the fight. Clearly, there was a lot of tension there, and I really wanted to know the whole story.

And what was with that Zach guy? What a douche.

Up until that point, the party had been pretty fun. It was kind of cool to see how the other side lived. It was a lot more interesting over here.

I glanced at the house and wondered about Romeo. Where was he? What if he got hurt? Should I go back in and find him?

I pulled out my cell. I’d text Ivy.

Just then I heard gravel crunching under foot and a couple male voices floated my way. One of them was very familiar.

“Romeo?” I called out.

The footsteps increased and he came around one of the SUVs parked nearby. His eyes were wide and he let out a string of cuss words. Braeden was close behind and gave me a smile.

“Rimmel?” Romeo said. “I told you to leave.”

I looked him over, trying to see if he was hurt. He didn’t look to be, and some of the tension left my shoulders.

I shrugged and held up the keys to the Hellcat. “I can’t drive a stick.”

Braeden laughed. “Damn, girl. You gotta learn.” He glanced at Romeo. “You better teach your girl.”

Romeo scrubbed a hand down his face. “We’re out of here.”

Braeden nodded. “I’ll take Missy and Ivy home.”

“You promise?” I said.

He made a big X over his heart and nodded. I texted Ivy quickly to let her know Braeden was their new ride. “Thanks.”

Romeo plucked the keys out of my hand, guiding me around to the passenger side and opening the door. He leaned in and fastened the seat belt around me, and I couldn’t help but study his strong profile in the dark. I felt bad he’d gotten in a fight tonight because of me.

“You didn’t correct him,” I said when he pulled out onto the road.

He glanced at me quickly before turning back to the road. “Correct him for what?”

“He called me your girl.”

He paused. “Maybe I want you to be.”

Something inside me ached. “Surely after tonight you know we won’t ever work.”

He nodded slowly and the ache intensified. “Yeah. I know.” He turned the Hellcat onto the main road that led away from campus.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“My place.”

“But you just said…” My voice faded away as confusion took over. Confusion and ache did not mix well.

“I know what I said,” Romeo replied, keeping his eyes trained on the road. “I don’t care.”

A little bit of that ache went away, but I didn’t allow myself to hope. “Tonight was just the beginning. The past few days were just a glimpse at what’s to come if you don’t take me home.”

The car swerved abruptly as Romeo pulled to the side of the road. It was barely in park when he surged across the seat and took my face in his hands.

“I can’t take you home right now.” His voice was thick and husky. “Please don’t ask me to do that.”

“Romeo,” I whispered.

I can’t even explain the kind of emotion that erupted in the air and encircled us at that moment. He kissed me like I was the breath in his body, like I was the blood in his veins. I kissed him back just as fiercely, as if his lips were the cure to the ache in my chest.

I grabbed onto his wrists and squeezed, holding him close as our lips melded together. My heart thudded in my chest and everything between my thighs throbbed with need. Romeo’s fingers bit into the back of my neck, but it didn’t hurt, and I urged him closer.

When we broke apart, he rested his forehead against mine as we both pulled in heavy gasps of air. “Baby,” he murmured, his voice breaking on the word. “You’re making me crazy.”

“What happened back there?” I asked.

“Don’t bring him into this moment,” he whispered. “This moment belongs to me and you.”

I reached up to cup his face and he tilted his cheek into my palm.

“Stay with me tonight.”

I didn’t really have to think about it. I already knew. My body wanted him so badly I almost hurt. The need, the want, the feelings swimming around inside me all eclipsed that little bit of fear I felt at giving myself to him.

I brushed the backs of my fingers across his cheek. “Yes,” I whispered.

His eyes lifted to mine, staring at me through the dark, looking for confirmation of what I just said.

He saw it.

He kissed me again.

And then he put the car in drive.

By the time he parked near his house, my knees were shaking. It wasn’t because I was having second thoughts, but I was nervous. I was about to have sex with Romeo. I was going to do something that would make him a part of me forever.

Most college girls probably didn’t think about it like that, but I did. I knew I was the kind of person that couldn’t do something like this without it altering me at least in some way forever.

When the car was off, he turned and looked at me through the dark. “If you changed your mind, I’ll take you home right now.”

“I didn’t.”

He came around to my side of the car when I was climbing out. His body was a good shield against the cold air as he wrapped his arm around my waist and walked us inside. The only light he turned on was in the hall leading back to his bedroom.

It filtered into the large space, giving the room a soft glow. In the center was a gigantic bed. It made my bed at the dorm seem like it belonged in a dollhouse. The comforter was white and flung up like it was a last-minute effort to make the bed. Up near the dark wooden headboard, there were pillows lining the mattress, making the top of the blankets look lumpy.

There was a set of windows off to my right, but they were covered with curtains. There were a few more traditional pieces of furniture, like dressers and nightstands. Hanging on the wall directly across from the bed was a large flat-screen TV and below it was a fireplace. I smiled when I saw it because I could imagine Romeo watching football games in bed.

But it didn’t really matter what was in the room.

What mattered was
who
was in here with me.

His hand lightly pressed to the small of my back, and I turned. His arm slid around me and I was brought up against him. “You’re shaking,” he said, a frown lacing his tone.

“I know.”

“We don’t have to,” he said. “I’m a patient man.”

“Are you really?” I asked, my tone slightly rueful.

His white teeth flashed. “For you I would be.” The sincerity in his voice was my undoing.

“No more talking,” I whispered.

He groaned and lifted me off my feet. My legs wound around his waist, and I sighed when my center came into contact with his muscled body. He didn’t take me to the bed as I suspected he would.

Instead, he carried me across the room and sat in a leather chair I hadn’t even noticed. My feet were pinned between his back and the cushion, and I rocked a little in his lap to get closer.

A low growl filled the room and he reached up to strip the blazer off my body and peel it down my arms. When it was gone, he leaned up and kissed me, splaying his hands out over my ribs.

He kissed like he wasn’t in a hurry, even though I felt the persistent need between his legs. I couldn’t help but rock against it every few minutes and then gasp at the sensations the movement sent through me.

His hands were all over me. Across my stomach, down my back, and he filled his hands with my breasts more than once.

Eventually he stripped off my T-shirt and reached for the necklace. “That’s important,” I whispered and he nodded. He placed the necklace gently on the small table beside the chair and then reached around me for the clasp on my bra. It gave way easily, and the fabric sprang open in the back.

Before he pulled it away he looked up at me, just to make sure it was okay.

I held his gaze as I reached up and pulled each strap down one by one and then tossed the entire thing off into the darkness.

His lips fastened on one of my nipples immediately. I arched into him and cried out. It felt so damn good. My fingers dug into his back, and I realized he was still wearing his shirt.

I pulled at it, wanting it gone, wanting to feel his skin beneath my fingers.

He left my breast to pull it off and toss it aside and then came back, lavishing even more attention on my needy flesh.

I let my head fall back, and he reached behind me to tangle his fingers in the long strands of my hair. I closed my eyes and gave myself up to the sensations rocking my body, and he sucked and pulled at each breast.

When I started moving restlessly against him, he pulled back and I crashed my lips to his. I dragged my nails down the sides of his spine and kissed him with every ounce of passion I had inside me.

Without breaking the kiss, he got up with me still in his arms and carried me across the room to the bed. Instead of laying me across it, he let me slide down his body until my feet touched the floor.

I kicked out of my boots and he did the same. My eyes were presented with the wide expanse of his chest. He was so sculpted and smooth. The ridges of each muscle in his body were incredibly defined. Without thought, I traced those lines with my tongue.

His hand found its way into my hair and held me to him as I kissed his chest and abs. When I leaned up to kiss across his shoulders, my fingers found the waistband of his jeans and dipped inside.

He muttered my name, which sounded more like a prayer, and I reveled in the power I seemed to hold over him. In that moment, he seemed as vulnerable as I was, and it made us totally equal.

I was no longer the #nerd with no friends. He was no longer the popular jock with a million conquests under his belt.

I was just a girl.

He was just a guy.

And there were just a million different emotions spiraling around the room with us.

I reached for the button on his jeans and let it free. Then I kissed along that V-shaped muscle that always drew my eye. He groaned and pulled me up to crash his mouth over mine and delved his tongue deep into my mouth.

The way my silky hair brushed against my bare back only heightened my senses, and I pushed against him farther, loving the feel of our bare chests meeting.

Romeo scooped me up into his arms and kissed me again, then laid me across the bed. He left me long enough to shuck his jeans, and then he reached for the waistband of my leggings. They joined his jeans in seconds flat.

“Fuck,”
he cursed as he dragged his fingers up the insides of my legs. I was shaking so much now that I couldn’t make it stop. When he got to my center, he curved his hands out to slide up over my hip and then up to my breasts once more.

He kneeled on the bed between my legs to stare down at me before pressing me into the mattress with his body. He was so warm and delicious feeling that I licked my lips.

We kissed some more, our hands roaming over one another, learning everything we could. His hips rocked into me steadily, and eventually my body joined in the rhythm. Soon we were swaying together, the movements growing more desperate with every thrust.

“Romeo,” I whimpered when I felt like I couldn’t take any more.

“I got you,” he whispered and slid down my body, trailing kisses as he went. He hooked two thumbs in the waistband of my panties and tugged the fabric free. He smoothed his hands over my shaven area and sucked in a breath.

Two fingers dipped down to my center and met with silky juices. “Shit, Rimmel,” he groaned. “You’re so fucking wet.”

I was beyond talking. In fact, I barely heard what he said. I was so far gone on the cusp of passion that nothing else mattered.

One of his fingers slipped into my opening and slid in and out. My moan filled the darkness. Another finger joined it, and for long, blissful moments, he pumped his fingers in and out, stretching my walls and making me pant.