Impossible Girl (Sexy Nerd Boys #2.5) (6 page)

Dex is practically squirming the entire drive to my apartment. I do my best not to laugh at his obvious discomfort. I’m sure he thinks I’m going to try to seduce him again, this time with the ammunition of a prize owed for my teams win today on the paintball field. But, I have too much pride for that. If and when we finally have sex, it’s going to be insane and passionate, not something that I strong arm him into. Although, I’ve already decided that I am going to use my prize request to get a kiss from him. I need to know if his lips are as soft as they look.

“Want to come up for a little bit?” I ask. His gaze remains fixed forward as he clearly engages in an inner debate, before finally giving a curt nod and switching off the engine.

As soon as we’re in my apartment I feel sticky with sweat. I imagine I don’t exactly smell like a rose. Not how I was hoping to feel when I get my first kiss from Dex.

“Would you mind hanging out for a few while I hop in the shower?” I bite my lip and hold my breath for his answer.

“Sure darlin’,” he agrees, settling into my couch.

I take a lightning fast shower and when I’m done I pull my wet hair into a messy bun and pull on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts before heading back out into the living room. Dex is watching the show
The Cosmos
so I sit down next to him and watch in silence for a few minutes.

“Alright, the suspense is killin’ me darlin’,” Dex says after several minutes.

A smile spreads across my lips and I turn to him with an innocent look on my face.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you want for winning?” he asks, a nervous look in his eyes like he’s not sure he wants to know. I’ve never seen a guy treat sex like it’s a firing squad before. I’m torn between amusement and offense.

“Relax cowboy, when we have sex it’s going to be because you absolutely can’t control yourself one second longer, not because I won a silly game,” I assure him, allowing the heat to seep into my eyes so that he can get the full effect of what I’m saying. He swallows thickly and I notice the tell-tale bulge in his pants. Good.

“So what
do
you want?”

“Just a kiss.” I lick my lips and wait for his response. I can see his pulse pounding in his throat and it’s all I can do to stop myself from leaning forward and running my tongue along it to elicit a moan from him.

“Okay, just a kiss,” he agrees.

He leans forward but I push him back against the couch and climb into his lap to straddle him. His eyes go wide and I can feel his excitement pressed firmly against my center. I run my fingers through his thick, blond hair like I’ve been envisioning doing for the past two weeks. As soon as his lips part in a moan I go in for the kill, devouring his lips. I suck his tongue into my mouth and take control of the kiss. He gives as good as he gets, challenging me for control with his lips, teeth, and tongue. Dex meets my tongue stroke for stroke, and nibbles my bottom lip when I pull back for air, his hands grasp my hips, keeping me from grinding into him like I so desperately want to.

My heart is thundering and my panties are soaked. I’ve never been this worked up in my entire life, and if he can do this to me with just one kiss I can’t wait to know what sex with him is like.

“Remy,” he gasps, his voice filled with desperation. I know that we’ve both just about reached the limits of our self-control. I reluctantly climb off of his lap and seat myself on the opposite end of the couch so that I’m not tempted to jump him again. “That was somethin’ else.”

“That’s an understatement,” I agree with a laugh.

“Go on a date with me?” he asks, vulnerability seeping into his voice. My heart leaps with hope, the word ‘yes’ is right on the tip of my tongue but I bite it back. I’m standing on the edge of a cliff and I’m too afraid to take the leap. If I let him in, I’ll give him the power to break me. When he leaves it will break me. I shake my head ‘no’ and avoid his gaze. I can’t bear to see the disappointment in his eyes, or for him to see the same in mine.

“I’m not giving up darlin’. We’d be good together, I know that you can see that, too.”

I hope he doesn’t, because I desperately want to say ‘yes’.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asks.

“Going to a party at Trey’s frat I think. Nikki wanted to go,” I answer with a shrug. I don’t really want to go. I’m not in the mood for my usual debauchery.

“Oh.” His voice is tight, like he’s holding back what he wants to say. I wait but he doesn’t say more.

“I should go to sleep before things get out of hand again,” I say with a laugh to lighten the mood. I finally look up and see that his eyes are somewhat hard as he gazes off, clearly lost in thought. He nods and heaves his large frame off of the couch. He bends over next to me and kisses my cheek gently.

“Night darlin’.”

I’m not sure what the hell I’m doing at this stupid frat party. That’s a damn lie. I’m here because the idea of Remy hooking up with some random guy has been making me sick to my stomach all day. So, here I am, aiming to find her and hopefully take her home before that happens.

The kiss last night was out of this world. I’ve never felt so much from just one kiss. Maybe it’s been too long since I’ve gotten laid, but I think it’s more than that. It’s made me even more determined to convince her to give me a chance at a date. The house is packed and I realize that my chances of finding Remy are slim.

I head straight for the backyard, still trying to find Remy. I stumble upon a couple in a dark corner making out and turn to give them privacy. Just before I step away, a voice gives me pause.

“Rem, why are you so tense? Usually you’ve already got my dick in your mouth by now.”

I turn back to face the situation. My stomach churns as I confirm what I just heard. It’s Remy and Trey sequestered in the corner.

“I just don’t really feel like it right now,” she says as she starts to push past him. Then our eyes meet and she stops. I can’t imagine the look on my face right now, but it can’t be good based on her reaction.

“Dex, I didn’t know you were here,” she says lamely.

“Hey, Dex.” Trey walks over and slaps me on the back. I turn a murderous glare on him and he backs off. “Alright, well if you change your mind Rem, you know where to find me.” He winks at her and then walks away. Remy and I stand facing each other, the silence stretching out between us like an ocean.

“Dex…” she says again, taking a step towards me. “Let me explain.”

“There’s not much to explain Remy, you’ve made it clear that you aren’t interested in dating me. You’re free to do whatever you want with whomever you want.” I clip out the words like they’re razor blades on my tongue.

“This is exactly why I can’t date you. I’m not anybody’s girlfriend. I’m just the school bike, everybody gets a ride,” she says sardonically.

“If that’s true Remy, it’s nothing more than a choice you’re making, it’s not who you are.”

“I don’t even know how to be anyone else. Do you want to know when I lost my virginity?” she challenges, not waiting for a response. “I was thirteen, and I realized that I could get a lot of attention from high school boys if I put out. So I was in middle school and I would sneak out every night to do whatever the neighborhood high school boys wanted me to do. I got quite a reputation which just made me all the more popular. I’ve never had a boyfriend, or gone on a date because no one has ever asked me.”

“I asked you,” I grind out, trying not to scream at her. My fists balled at my sides so I don’t grab her and shake some damn sense into her.

“I can’t date you. I can’t date anyone. I promised myself that I wouldn’t ever end up like my mother, knocked up and alone.”

“And, your solution to that is to screw guys who don’t even care about you?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I feel like a complete dick.

Remy’s face burns bright red with rage and I’m honestly not surprised when she cocks her hand back. I am a little surprised by how much it hurts when she lands the punch.

She’s gone before I can apologize.

I stomp into my place and immediately slam the door, then smash my fists against it for good measure. But nothing seems to relieve the tension and rage coursing through my body.

“Rough night?” Asher asks, coming up behind me.

“Yeah you could say that.” I run my hands through my hair in frustration.

“What happened? Didn’t find Remy at the party?”

“Oh no, I found her,” I bite out, stalking to the couch and flopping down. Asher grimaces at the implication.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Asher says grabbing two beers from the fridge and bringing me one.

“It could’ve been worse. They were just making out. I know she’s not my girlfriend, but goddammit! I thought that there was something going on between us. And then I said something really stupid and she punched me.” I gulp down some beer and start to absentmindedly peel the label off. “Am I just being a total dipshit chasing after this girl?”

Asher stares at his beer for several seconds trying to decide what to say.

“I know Remy a little bit,” he says. I whip my head up and glare at him. His reputation is no better than Remy’s. If he’s ever touched her, I’m going to flip out.

“Not like
that
,” he assures me with a chuckle. “I’ve run into her at a few parties, and we’ve talked a little. She’s a sweet girl and I think that she hooks up with so many guys because she’s afraid to let anyone get too close. I also know that I haven’t seen you get caught up in any girl in the year that I’ve known you. You’re the only one who knows if she’s worth it or not. But if she is, then you shouldn’t get deterred just because she did what she’s used to doing. If she’s not used to guys sticking around, then you need to show her that you won’t be scared off that easily.”

I take another gulp of beer and nod.

“You’re right.” I slap him on the back affectionately.

When Monday morning rolls around I drag myself to class half-heartedly. I haven’t been able to get the image of Dex’s hurt expression out of my mind since Saturday night. Nor have I been able to stop hearing his words on repeat in my mind. I’m glad I punched him, he deserved it.

“Remy!” My head snaps up at the sound of Dex’s voice. He’s jogging towards me.

“Dex.” My mouth is hanging open in surprise. I honestly didn’t think he was ever going to speak to me again.

“I’m glad I caught you on your way to class.” He stops in front of me, his eyes full of resolve.

My eyes narrow and my hand twitches with the need to slap the shit out of him...again.

“I want to apologize for being such an ass. What I said was completely out of line and I’m sorry. I also need you to know I’m not giving up on you. I’m not going to let you push me away.”

My mouth falls open again. Number one, who says this shit in public? Number two, he’s not going to write me off?

“Okay,” is all I can manage to say, “I have to get to class.”

“Alright, can I come over later?” I nod and he leans forward to kiss my cheek. “Later, darlin’.”

“Was that Dex Thomas that I just saw you with?” Elaine asks with surprise. Elaine is a business major as well, which means we’ve had pretty much every class together since freshman year. We don’t have much in common outside of our major, but she’s a sweet girl.

“Yeah. Why, do you know him?”

“I wouldn’t say I
know
him. He went to my high school, but we never talked or anything,” she explains as we take our seats.

“Oh, is there any good info you can give me on him?” I try to contain my excitement. I’m like an addict and I can’t resist a peek into Dex’s past.

“All I really know is that he moved up here from Texas freshman year,” she says avoiding my gaze, it’s obvious there’s something she doesn’t want to tell me. Something that she thinks I’ll react badly to. “And...well, he got around a lot in high school. He had a bit of a reputation, ya know?”

“I wonder what happened that made him change,” I muse. He’d hinted that he didn’t use to be so chaste, but I just can’t figure out what’s with the one-eighty.

“I don’t know. I just know that he was supposed to go to MIT instead of here. It was this huge deal because he’s like some sort of genius and got a full scholarship to MIT. But something happened. He stopped hanging out with his old crowd, stopped going to parties, and decided to come here instead of MIT. It was weird.” she lowers her voice conspiratorially. I wonder if I ask him what happened if he’ll tell me. MIT is a huge deal. Why would he decide to come here instead? I decide that I’ll just grill him tonight.

“So I heard something about you today,” I say teasingly as we lounge on my couch.

Dex raises an eyebrow in question but waits for me to continue.

“A little birdie told me that you were quite the man-whore back in high school.”

“Yeah, I was,” he replies. He doesn’t say it like he’s bragging, but in the way he would say the sky is blue, it’s just a fact.

I feel jealousy snake through me at the idea of him with women lining up to get a taste. I would’ve been in that line, that’s for sure. I wait for him to say more and half expect him to say something like ‘I heard you’re a whore now.’ The fact that he’s just willing to move past what happened Saturday night and doesn’t judge me or want to fight about it is surprising. No one has ever wanted to look past my mistakes and see the real me. For the first time, I actually regret that I’ve gotten around so much. And, I regret going to that party when what I really wanted to do was hang out with Dex.

“So what changed?” I ask. He takes a deep breath and appears deep in thought, clearly measuring his words carefully.

“I got a girl pregnant,” he finally says. “I was all set to go to MIT, I had the world at my fingertips, and then I get a call from this girl. I only vaguely remembered her from a party a few months prior. She was really upset about the whole thing, mostly scared I think. She was getting ready to leave to go to school in New York. We talked about abortion but neither of us felt comfortable with that idea. We were set on adoption, but, the minute I held that little princess in my arms, I couldn’t let her go. I told my mom that I wasn’t going to go to MIT. I was just going to find a job, take care of Maya, and that would be it. My mom didn’t want me to give up on college though. So she’s become Maya’s guardian while I go to school and get my degree. And that is pretty much my story.”

“Wow.” I’m speechless. “What about the girl?”

“She went to New York. I haven’t really talked to her since she left. She signed over parental rights and walked away without looking back.”

“So you see Maya a lot?” I can’t wrap my head around the fact that Dex is a father.

“Every chance I get,” he says with reverence in his eyes. I think my uterus just skipped a beat.

“Maybe one day I could meet her?”

He looked at me, surprised. Then smiled, “I would like that.”