Learning To Love (The Griffin Brothers Book 4) (3 page)

Olivia

We just both said we
liked each other, and now we’re just standing here. I don’t know
if Luke meant that he just likes me as a friend, or as something
else. Hell, I don’t really know what
I
meant, if I’m being honest with myself. He’s definitely beyond
hot, and this new side of him I’m seeing is messing with my head a
little. Not enough to initiate anything, though. I need tutoring from
him and that’s it. One of us needs to say something. Might as well
be me.

“So, your car is
pretty cool.” Actually, sexy is a more accurate word, but I’m not
going to say
that
.

“Thanks. I wanted
something eco-friendly but sporty at the same time.”

“Eco-friendly?”

“It’s electric.”

“Oh wow.” Yeah,
there’s definitely more to Luke than just a hot man-whore. This is
so
not good. My
resolve to keep this professional is dropping by the minute. I need
to get out of here.

“Is that a good wow?”

“Oh…umm…it is,
yeah. I try to be eco-friendly, too, although I don’t recycle or
anything as much as I should.”

“Anything helps.”
He gives me a big smile as he says it. It should be illegal for him
to smile like that. His whole face lights up, and his eyes become
sparkling emeralds. He could probably sell anyone anything with that
smile.

“I guess that’s
true. So, I’ll see you in a few days?”

“Yeah. I mean, unless
you want to go get something to eat.” I feel my breath catch at the
thought of going out with Luke. But I just promised myself that I’d
keep things professional. I need to stick to that plan.

“I’m not sure
that’s a good idea.”

“Of course. Why would
you want to go out with me? Just forget I said that. I’ll see you
later.”

I can tell he’s hurt,
but I don’t know why. He must have a bunch of other options, and
although I know I’m pretty, I don’t think I’m
that
special. “Luke, come on. You must have every girl on
campus’ number. I’m sure you can find someone who’s more—“

“More what, Olivia?”

I take a deep breath
and answer him honestly. “More willing to go home with you after
dinner.” There, I said it. I didn’t admit that I’m a virgin,
but I let him know that I don’t put out.

“I didn’t ask you
to go home with me, Olivia. I asked you to have a fucking meal with
me. God, you must really have a high opinion of me, huh?”

“I only know what
I’ve seen around campus, and what I’ve heard other girls in my
classes say when they’re talking about you to each other. What do
you expect me to think?”

“Nothing. I expected
nothing. Or at least that’s what I should’ve expected.”

He throws open his car
door and gets in before I can say anything. What can I say, though?
I’m the last person who should be judging someone else by what I
hear and see, and not by what they’ve told me themselves. Luke
looks at me with his jaw clenched before gunning his engine and
driving away. I screwed this up, and I need to find some way to
apologize. His words and actions today showed me a nice guy. I was
trying to protect myself by remembering the rumors about him instead.
That didn’t help either one of us. I’ll see him in two days for
my first tutoring session, and for both our sakes, I need to fix
this.

I get in my own car and
drive to my apartment. As soon as I walk in the door, one of my
roommates, Jenny, comes out of her room. “I was hoping that was
you, Liv.”

“Hi, Jenny.”

“Spill, girl. I heard
you were with Luke Griffin at the Student Union, and he ignored every
other girl who tried to talk to him. I didn’t know you had it in
you.”

Jenny is the ultimate
party girl and I should have known she’d have the gossip about me
and Luke right away. “He’s tutoring me. There’s nothing else to
tell.”

“Oh, yeah, I heard he
tutors. I should’ve known it was something like that. I mean, no
offense, but you’re definitely not his type.”

She looks me up and
down, and I am once again happy that I’m moving out. My roommates
have never been mean to me, but I know I don’t fit in. I should be
happy with being myself, and for the most part, I am. But it still
hurts a little, knowing people see me as not good enough for someone
like Luke. I don’t think he sees me that way. He
did
ask me out. I could say that right now, but I don’t think it’s
anyone else’s business. I just shrug and head into my room to do
the last of my packing.

* * *

Luke

It’s been a couple of
days since I saw Olivia. She texted me yesterday to make sure we were
still meeting today. I told her yes, because I committed to tutoring
her. Although, I’m not sure it’s such a good idea anymore. I
mean, I want to help her, but I also want her, despite what she said
about me, and how she turned me down for dinner the other day.

I don’t know what it
is about her, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Olivia
since that night at the bar. It hasn’t stopped me from fucking
other chicks, but I’ll admit that I imagined it was her I was with
more than a few times. Yeah, I’m an asshole, but we’ve already
established that I don’t promise girls anything other than an
orgasm or two. At least they got that, even if I did pretend it was
her screaming my name sometimes. Okay, if I’m being honest, I
imagined it was her
every
time.

After she said no to
dinner, I went out to one of my usual clubs and picked up a girl. For
the first time in my life, I couldn’t get it up. Even putting
Olivia’s face on hers wasn’t enough. I just wasn’t into it. I
left her apartment with her pissed at me, but it is what it is. I
went back to my place and started thinking of Olivia in my bed, which
is another thing I don’t do—girls don’t come to my place. Ever.
But thinking of her spread across my sheets got me that missing hard
on. I stroked myself to one of the most intense orgasms I’ve ever
given myself, imagining it was her hands on me.

I’m starting to get
hard again just thinking about it. Which is not a good idea at the
moment, since I’m in the middle of a classroom full of
kindergartners. I love these little guys, and they deserve my full
attention, so I think of the cougar moms who hit on me, and that
softens my cock right up. Don’t get me wrong, I love all women and
have been with some several years older than me in the past, but if
you’re old enough to be my mom, I’m not doing you. It’s just
too weird.

I manage to finish up
the afternoon with the kids and high five them all before walking
them outside to their parents and buses. I get them all taken care of
while fending off the moms, and then I see her. I knew Olivia was
meeting me here but actually seeing her takes my breath away. She’s
got on a green coat that hits the top of her thighs and skinny jeans
tucked into boots with a wedge heel. Her hair is loose around her
shoulders, making me want to grab onto it and kiss her senseless.

Again, not the place
for these kind of thoughts. Plus, she’s made it very clear that she
wanted nothing to do with me in a personal way. This is all about the
tutoring for her, and it needs to be for me, too. But if that’s the
case, why is she smiling as she walks towards me? She’s also
holding a Starbucks cup and a pastry box. I guess she needs a snack.

“Hi, Luke.”

“Hey, Olivia. Thanks
for meeting me here. I’m not sure if it’s out of your way, but I
know you wanted to meet somewhere public, and I have some lessons to
plan.”

“It’s fine. I
appreciate you finding time for me.”

This is all so formal
and I’m hating every second of it. Even though nothing’s going to
happen between us, we should at least be more than civil to each
other. I don’t know how to make that happen, though. I’ve never
had to try with a girl before. Maybe that’s some of Olivia’s
appeal, but I don’t think that’s all there is to it. I lead her
to my classroom and let her walk into the room in front of me.

“This is super cute,”
she says as she takes in all the decorations around the room. “Did
you do this?”

“Yeah. The teacher
wanted me to fully take over and make the classroom my own. It was
fun.”

“I bet. Those kids
are adorable. Their moms, too.”

“Umm, well, the kids
are definitely cute. The moms, not so much.” I realize how that
sounds. “I mean, I guess they’re cute, but I’m not into older
women.”

“Good to know.” I
lead her to my desk and one of the only two adult sized chairs in the
room. Before she sits down, she remembers what she’s holding. “Oh,
these are for you. I got you a hot chocolate and a cupcake. I hope
that’s okay. I thought you might need a snack, and I wasn’t sure
what you’d want. It was kind of cold out for a smoothie.”

“It’s great.
Thanks. How much do I owe you?” I take out my wallet to pay her
back.

“You don’t owe me
anything, Luke.” She’s looking at me curiously. “Has no one
ever treated you before?”

“Not really, no. I
mean, my parents and my brothers have. But a girl? No.” Actually,
not even the guys I’ve hung out with have ever picked up a check.
That’s what happens when your family are billionaires, I guess.
I’ve never really thought about it.

“Is it alright that I
did, or is it weird? I wanted to thank you, and well, apologize for
my behavior the other day.”

“It’s actually more
than alright. Most people expect me to pay for everything. It’s
nice to have someone buy me something. Why do you think you need to
apologize?”

“I shouldn’t have
judged you based on what other people say about you. I know how hard
it is to live down things people say, and to live up to expectations
that are placed on you. You were nothing but nice to me, and I was
kind of a bitch to you.”

“Kind of?” I ask
her with a smile.

“I’m really sorry,
Luke. Can I take
you
to dinner?”

“No.” I see her
face fall. “I’m all for you buying me drinks and pastries and
shit, but if we go to dinner, I’m paying. My mom would kick my ass
if I let you pay.”

“Really? This is the
21st century, Mr. Caveman.”

“Yes, really. And I’m
so not a caveman. That would be my brother, Ryan. I
am
a gentleman, however, despite what you may have heard.”

“I honestly don’t
care about what I’ve heard, Luke. I meant what I said.”

“Thanks. I appreciate
it. Now, let’s get to work so I can take you for some dinner.”

“I didn’t say I was
going to dinner with you tonight.”

“Oh, yeah. You
didn’t. I just assumed—which I know I shouldn’t.”

“No, you shouldn’t,
but if you ask me nicely, I just might say yes.”

I know I shouldn’t
say what I want to, but damn she’s hot when she’s being snarky
with me, so I go ahead and do it anyway. “Beautiful, sexy Olivia,
will you please do me the honor of joining me for dinner tonight?”

She blushes and just
stares at me, her mouth opening and closing, and I want to kick
myself for letting the words out since I’ve obviously spooked her.

* * *

Olivia

Luke Griffin just
called me beautiful and sexy. Me. Umm, wow. I know I need to say
something, but my brain doesn’t seem to want to function. Luke’s
starting to look a little freaked out, though, so I have to pull
myself together.

“Yes, Luke. I would
love to go to dinner with you.”

“Thank God. I was a
little worried there for a minute.”

“Do you really think
I’m beautiful and sexy?”

“I wouldn’t have
said it if I didn’t mean it. You have to know you’re beautiful.”

“I know I’m pretty,
but I’ve never had a guy tell me I’m beautiful.”

“You’ve been around
the wrong guys, then.”

“Yeah, I really
have.” I try not to let anything show on my face that will give
away what I’m thinking about.

Luke doesn’t need to
know about my past. He’s just tutoring me, and although he’s
showing some interest, I don’t think it will last. I said I wasn’t
going to listen to gossip about him, but I can’t forget what I’ve
heard, either. Although I feel an attraction to him, I won’t give
my virginity to someone who doesn’t love me. It’s the one thing I
have left to call my own.

We get down to business
after that. I show Luke my latest essay, and he goes over it with me,
pointing out things I can do to improve it. He’s patient with me as
I grumble about his suggestions, and I begin to see that what he’s
telling me really
will
make my paper better. I concede as he gives me a triumphant smile.
Then he does his lesson plans while I work on the revisions.

We finish up and I
follow him to a local diner for a casual dinner. We have a nice time
talking about things like my work with Candi and his hockey playing.
I want to ask him if I can watch him play sometime, but I don’t
have quite enough courage for that yet. I let him pay when we’re
done and it seems to make him happy that I offer up no protest.

We’re outside saying
goodbye at my car. He opens my door and then leans down to kiss my
cheek. “Goodnight, Olivia. Thanks for having dinner with me.”

“Goodnight, Luke. I
had a really great time.”

He smiles as he closes
the door and I can’t help but smile back. Yep, I’m in trouble
with a capital T.

Luke

It’s been a month
since I started tutoring Olivia. She texted me yesterday to tell me
she got a B on her latest essay. I knew she’d get it. She’s
really smart—she was just over thinking things when she was
writing. She’s not going to need my help for much longer.

I’m not sure how I
feel about that. Actually, that’s bullshit. The thought of not
seeing her anymore hits me harder than being slammed into the boards.
We share a meal after every tutoring session, and although I haven’t
done more than kiss her on the cheek, I go home and jack off every
night to thoughts of her. I can sense that she’s not ready for more
from me, and I’ll take what I can get for now. Maybe I can convince
her that we should still hang out when she’s done with tutoring.