Boxed Set:Taming the Rocker - Vol. 1-5 (2 page)

“Hey, there. Long time, no see,” I started.

She continued to ignore me. I knew she was playing hard to get in order to make me back off.
That’s not going to work this time, Sweetie.

We made our way to the doors of the building. When she got there, she looked all determined. I knew she meant business.

And I’m dead serious too.

“This is for students only. What do you want?” she asked.

Lila

I was getting real sick of this man’s shit, and that was putting it nicely. I don’t appreciate getting borderline stalked when I try to kill a little bit of time by going to the library. I was a little creeped out, to say the least.

I have tests to prepare for, damn it!
I wasn’t in the mood nor did I have time for this shit. I scowled at the sheepish grin on his face. Although he was really hot, I wasn’t into hooking up with guys from after-parties. I figured he must be some roadie who was used to getting leftover sluts and thought I was one of them.
Go the fuck away!

“Sorry to bother you, Lila. I want to talk to you more. I felt like we got a little bit cut off last night when your friend came over and demanded that you leave.”

I rolled my eyes, wishing he’d get the hint. “What did you want to talk about? I mean, I felt like we finished what we started.” My rudeness had no effect.

“Well…I didn’t get that feeling. I want to get to know you better. Do you want to hang out? Do you have class right now?” he asked.

“I don’t, but I don’t feel like hanging out either,” I said. He was
really
cute, but I didn’t really feel like getting caught up too deeply with a man right now.
Can’t you tell I’m young for a senior and trying to get through an accelerated degree in college? I know you remember me telling you that last night. After all, you’re here now.
Plus, I didn’t want to piss off my family by going off with some man that I barely knew. My father would flip out.

If he saw me with a hot guy that rocked a badass vibe like this man, he would be shitting bricks.

“Well, what about a coffee then? There’s a Starbucks around here. We can chill out there. I think that it would be kind of fun.”

There was no malice behind his intention to be with me. He didn’t act like he was trying to get into my pants either, which was a bit shocking. A part of me was a little worried, but I felt more alive than I had in a while. Someone wanted to get to know me and they weren’t connected with my father. He grinned wider as if he’d caught a change in my attitude.

Dude, I am not easy. You’ll just have to deal with that until I get to know your real intentions.
I sighed and discreetly checked him out, but avoided eye contact.

“Fine. I guess I can do that.”

Chase

I was so happy that she was willing to give me some time. Sure, she was playing hard to get. I jumped at this chance with her. My bodyguards had obviously overheard the conversation. They backed off right away.

I was grinning like an idiot. “Thanks. Let’s head over there now.”

I grasped her hand, and we ran across the brick patio. A couple of the students looked at her with a bit of envy. Thankfully, they left us alone. We probably looked really odd.  I didn’t give a shit. I just wanted to show her a fun time. She was really cute and I felt like things were just going to get more fun from here.

When we got there, we walked inside and I ordered an iced latte. She got one of those frou frou drinks that some girls love. I personally didn’t care for them but…whatever. When we sat down, I smiled at her. I couldn’t help the desire in my eyes. Even though I wanted to take things slow, I was a little obvious about admiring her beauty. After a minute or two, she finally spoke and jarred my ego a bit.

Lila

I didn’t understand this guy’s problem. Couldn’t he see that I didn’t really like him? I mean, seriously, he was cool and all…but still. I wasn’t really in the mood to be treated like a princess or be his girlfriend or anything like that. But, I didn’t really know how to tell him that. I was a girl simply trying to make it through school and then through life. I had to make sure everything that I did impressed my family.

I have to get this guy off my back.

“So why did you bother to come to my school and go after me? Do you think I’m going to listen to what you have to say and come with you if you do look at me like that?” I bluntly asked. I was happy that he paid for my Frappuccino…but still. I didn’t want to start something with this guy that I knew I couldn’t really handle. 

“I just wanted to get to know you better. You seemed pretty cool and way more awesome than those bitches at the party,” he replied.

I was immediately shocked that a guy like him would even give me the time of day. I was just a boring law student.
Nothing special here. I’m just a dork.
Yet, here he was trying to get to know me better. The fact that I really didn’t want to start anything was trumped by my desire to talk to him.

“Well, here I am. What do you want to know?”

“I was wondering what you were studying in school. A very straight-laced student like you rarely comes to the parties our band throws.”

I immediately blushed. I didn’t know why, but those parties kind of pissed me off. The fact that he was comparing me at all to the idiots at the party last night made me even angrier. I hated that I had to pretend to be nice to him.

“Well, I’m different from them. I only went so that my roommate would stop pissing me off,” I replied.

“Understandable. I just thought you were kind of cute, and I thought you might want to hang out. I never got to go to college, and you certainly piqued my interest,” he said.

“Well, I don’t want to do anything of the sort.” There was no way in hell I was going for him, but he didn’t seem to get the message.

“Do you want to at least hang out tonight? We don’t have to go to any parties or shit, just a night out. I’ll pay for everything,” he said with a pleading look. Although I did feel bad that he was trying so hard, I wasn’t going to fall into his game.

“Sorry. I have to study. Plus, I don’t even know your name.” I was a little embarrassed that I had forgotten it but I kept my cool.

“I’m Chase. And that’s fine. I’ll have you back at a decent hour.”

“Sorry. I need all night to study,” I said.

He was about to respond, but I took off. I walked out the door.
I don’t need this shit!
There was no way I was getting into this mess right now. I would rather eat dirt than try to start a relationship with a guy I just met.
And at some slutty party, no less.

Chase

Shit. I fucked up.

I lightly cursed as I tried to finish my coffee. I thought about going after her, but it wasn’t going to work. I hated it, and the fact that she ran away from me when I asked her out made me even more pissed.

Maybe it was something I said.

I sighed and stood to follow her. Before she crossed the street, I called her name. She warily glanced back, turning around.

“What do you want? Didn’t you hear what I just said?” she sounded pretty annoyed.

I knew I looked a little desperate as I handed her a Starbucks napkin with my name and number on it.

“Here’s my number if you change your mind. If you ever feel like trying something new or different, call me.”

Before she could say anything, I walked away and left her standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

Lila

What the hell just happened? Seriously, what the hell? How in the world did I get his number?

I wanted to be angry, but I was more confused than anything. I wanted to find out why he did that to me, why he was trying so hard to get to know me when I obviously showed no interest in him.
Whatever.
I knew I’d probably just throw the napkin out when I got the chance.

I put the napkin in my purse.  Who knew, maybe I’d set Natalie up with him just to spite him. The rest of my classes were pretty easy. I was soon on my way back to the apartment where my roommate and I lived. It was right by campus, so I didn’t have to buy a parking permit or anything. Sometimes it sucked when it was cold or raining, but most of the time I didn’t really give a damn. When I walked in, I was immediately hit with the interrogation squad known as my roommate.

“When were you going to tell me?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” I replied. I had no idea what she was talking about. 

“I heard that Chase was here today, and he was super interested in you,” she stated.

I blushed a little bit and nodded. “Yeah. He kept bothering me and then he took me to Starbucks. He proceeded to buy me coffee and ask me out. I said no and then he gave me his number.” It sounded so cheesy when I said it. Natalie immediately got excited.

“Oh my God…that’s awesome! Why didn’t you stay with him? I mean, come on, he’s a rock star. And you need to live a little and have some fun.”

I looked at her like she was crazy.
Why would I go for that?
I mean, she knows that I don’t really like dealing with guys at all, and that I find relationships annoying. I’ve kissed a few guys and had sex with one, but that was about it. The idea of a relationship wasn’t appealing at all. I didn’t want to tell Natalie that though. She would drive me crazy.

“Well if
you
want to go out with him, fine, but
I
don’t want to,” I said. I started to put my book down.

“Why don’t
you
give him a chance? You need to live a little anyways. Plus, if you don’t really like him after the first official date, you don’t have to go out with him ever again. It’s better for you to at least try it out, and if you don’t find it fun, well then, fuck it…just dump him and move on. He’s a fucking rock star, Lila, so it’s not like his heart will get broken.”

I thought about it for a second. I mean, sure…I wasn’t really in the mood to go out with him. But, she did have a point. I didn’t have to agree to a second date. I needed a bit of space to calm my thoughts.

“Maybe. I’ll think about it,” I said as I walked to my room.

Before I walked in, I heard Natalie respond, “You would be crazy to miss this chance. I mean, fuck, it may be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m just saying…if I were you, I’d be all over that.”

I chuckled, walked into my room, and flopped down on the bed. I decided to sleep on it and try to figure it all out later. I might be crazy for saying no, but I knew that I needed to decide for myself if this was the best choice possible. I needed some time to think, and right now, I thought reading and working on my homework would be the best solution to this madness.

Lila

The next day, I was happy to have late classes. My phone started to buzz just as I woke up. I groggily grabbed it and looked at the screen. It was my father. I immediately grew annoyed as I started to pull the phone up to my ear, pressing the green button to unlock it and allow the call in.

“Hello?”

“Hey there, Sweetie. How are you?” my father asked. He was a local judge in the city, one of the best, and he was tough on me. He wanted me to succeed. He was one of the main reasons why I worked so hard in school.

“I’m good, Dad. I just woke up, so you caught me at a decent time,” I replied.

“You’re sleeping in this late? I didn’t think you had it in you. I thought you would be up early to study.” His tone was chiding.

This might seem like normal fatherly banter to other kids. In my heart, it was like hearing that I was a horrible person. My father always wanted to see me do well. I wanted to be the perfect child for him. Plus, if I didn’t do well and get through school, he wouldn’t have a heir to his company. Besides, anyone seeing his daughter as a failure would also look down on him. I always had to stay on my toes.

“Sorry. I was up late studying and I wanted to make sure that I got a good night’s rest before my exam today.” That was kind of a lie. I didn’t really stay up late to study. But, if it made Dad happy, then…fuck it. That’s what I was going with.

“Oh, you were studying! That’s great, Sweetie. You know, you make me really proud. I’m so happy you’re going to a great school and moving on to bigger and better things. I’m proud of all your achievements. You don’t settle for less than your best. I love that about you,” he gushed.

I smiled. He always got like this before he had something serious to discuss with me. It was a way of buttering me up before he talked about the really important shit with me.

“Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it. I work hard
for you
,” I said.

“I know you do. By the way, I heard that
Alec Worthington is working hard as well. You know his father and I go way back. I think he’s the perfect man for you. I’m sure he’s going to take over the family business someday. The two of you would look good together. I’m shocked that you two haven’t talked at all recently.”