Not Just Another Romance Novel (19 page)

“Are you sure we have to wait until Friday?” he muttered.

I giggled. “I’m just giving you something to look forward to.”

“I always look forward to time with you, sweets.”

Good Lord, he was swoon-worthy.

“The feeling’s mutual.”

“Are you busy tonight? Can you come to the bar?”

I frowned even though he couldn’t see me through the phone. “I have a big test tomorrow in Clinical Psychology.”

“Stupid school always getting in the way.”

I laughed. “Right? But I don’t have anything going on tomorrow night.”

“Stop by if you can. Bring your friends.”

“That sounds fun. I’ll talk to them.”

“Piper?”

“Yeah?”

“I like looking at you while I’m up on stage.”

“I like looking at you while you’re up on stage, too.”

He chuckled. “I have to run, but I’ll talk to you soon.”

“I’ll be waiting by the phone.” I said it as a joke, but it was sort of true.

I still couldn’t believe this local rock star wanted anything to do with me, but I’d take it. I thoroughly enjoyed his company. I really liked him.

So why was it Scott’s face that popped into my mind as I finally pushed myself into the orgasm that had been waiting since my phone rang a few minutes earlier?

20

I felt pretty good as I turned in my test the next day. I’d gotten back on my crutches in the hopes that staying off of my ankle would help it heal quicker. I had allowed Shannon to drive me to class so I wouldn’t even have the pressure of pressing down on the gas pedal. It was healing slowly, but I figured if I took really good care of it today, tomorrow it might not hurt so bad.

Scott finished the test first, naturally. He’d tapped the eraser of his pencil against the paper twice and then got up to turn it in. He walked out of the room, presumably to our tree. I finished second. Austin and Shannon were still working. I debated what to do. I could sit with the test and pretend to check my answers until either Austin or Shannon finished, or I could go out and face Scott.

I took the coward’s way out.

I couldn’t face Scott with the knowledge I’d fantasized about him—however brief it may have been—while I’d been pleasuring myself the night before.

So I stared down at my test as I thought about the Master’s last few emails to me. He had been pleased with my auditory sample. He told me I sounded sexy. He asked me for a picture, only if I was comfortable. I gently let him know I wasn’t ready for that—or anything else, really—and he said he understood. And that was the end of it. It ended as abruptly as it had started.

All in all, my day as a submissive had been…interesting. I learned a lot, most important that I wasn’t cut out for a dom/sub relationship—at least not online. It wasn’t necessarily a fair judgment of the lifestyle since it wasn’t in-person, but it was enough of a taste for me to realize I was far too stubborn to follow someone else’s directions all the time.

Besides, my schedule felt full as I found myself falling for a rock star. If I was a submissive, I’d feel the need to commit to being with just my Master full time. And I wasn’t ready to give up Dax.

If I was being really honest, though, I wasn’t ready to give up my crush on Scott, either.

As soon as that thought entered my head, I banished it.

It was ridiculous to think about Scott that way. I had to figure out some way to get the hell over it. I just wasn’t sure how. And staring down at my finished test while he waited outside didn’t seem like the answer to all of my woes, yet I just wasn’t in the right place to face him one-on-one. Things had been too strained between us. But what hurt the most was how much I missed our friendship.

I sighed, perhaps more loudly than I’d intended. Austin shot a look over at me, and I smiled apologetically. In less than a week, I’d be back home with my family.

I pondered that thought while I stared down at my test.

For someone about to earn an advanced degree in psychology, I sure had a lot of issues of my own to work out.

I was close with my mom. She and my dad had divorced when I was young, and then she married Heath when I was eleven. I’d met my stepbrother, Easton, about a month after my mom started dating Heath. They’d only dated about six months before they knew it would last forever. My dad and I weren’t close. He remarried as well, and he’d moved across the country to the east coast to start over with his new family. We saw each other once every other year or so, but it always felt like I was intruding on their family fun.

Heath was a nice enough guy. His wife had died, and he’d been left alone to raise a little boy before he’d met my mom.

I never called him “Dad,” so it didn’t feel so weird that I was seriously considering hitting on Easton. For
research
.

My stepbrother was only two calendar years younger than me, but he was old for his class while I’d been young for mine. He’d been a freshman in high school when I’d been a senior. We’d never been especially close just because we’d always been in vastly different periods of our lives.

He’d filled out recently, though. He was a junior in college majoring in business. I didn’t get involved in his personal life, but he was an attractive guy. I’d heard him sneaking in and out of the house when he was a freshman and I was up late reading, so I couldn’t imagine what kind of trouble he’d get into now that he could legally drink.

Austin stood up to turn in his test, snapping me out of my thoughts of my stepbrother, and I stood to turn mine in, too. He took it to the front for me while I gathered up my crutches. When he returned, he smiled at Shannon and then picked up my bag to help me outside.

Scott was waiting under the tree. I wasn’t sure if I should be relieved or nervous when I saw him there. He was reading a book, and it reminded me of the Instagram account I followed with the hot guys reading books. He looked intelligent sitting there, but he also had this confident air about him like he didn’t really care what people around him thought. His black frames glinted in the sunlight when he turned his head to look in our direction.

He’d caught me staring.

I glanced away quickly, focusing on taking one step at a time on my stupid crutches. My armpits were starting to hurt in addition to my ankle.

A little bench sat close to our tree, and Austin led me over to it. Scott shut the book and stood.

I watched him stretch, and I wasn’t sure how I’d never noticed his lithe body before. I supposed I’d just never really thought about it.

And now it seemed like all I could think about.

I saw a peek of his stomach when he stretched his arms over his head, and that little slice made my mouth water. I tore my eyes away, forcing thoughts of my budding relationship with Dax into my mind.

Dax, who liked to sit on my couch without a shirt.

Dax, with the unrivaled body.

Even Scott’s couldn’t possibly be as perfect as Dax’s.

I shook my head to rid it of the stupid comparison I hadn’t consciously made. This was really getting out of hand.

“What did you think?” Austin asked when Scott joined us near the bench.

“Piece of cake. You?”

“The neurology part killed me, but the rest was easy. Piper?”

“The data section got me.”

“You ready for the next Stats test?” Scott asked.

Our professor had informed us we had another test. This one wasn’t worth nearly as much as the midterm, and it was only over two chapters, but it was two killer concepts. We were taking it the Monday before Thanksgiving, and all of my other classes had been cancelled for the week. As soon as I finished my test, I would be hopping on a plane toward home.

It seemed odd how quickly it was approaching. I hadn’t even realized it was only four days away.

A little pang shot through my chest when I thought about how much I would miss him. I just wasn’t sure if the “him” in question was Dax or Scott.

Maybe both.

“Not really,” I admitted. I wasn’t ready at all. I needed my friend’s help, but I wasn’t sure if he was still my friend. I wasn’t sure
what
we were anymore.

“I’ve got some time this weekend if you want to meet at the library,” he said. I couldn’t read his tone. It almost made me feel like he wanted me to decline.

“I’d love that, Scott,” I said softly.

Shannon emerged from the Psych building and walked over to our little group. “What did you think?” Austin asked her.

“I think I need a shot of tequila after that shit. Anyone up for drinks?”

It was early to start drinking, especially since I knew I’d toss back a few at the bar. “I’m going to go home and take a nap. Anyone up for checking out MFB tonight at Emerson’s?”

Shannon and Austin jumped right on that suggestion, but Scott shrugged. His reaction seemed par for the course lately.

“I’ve got some things I need to do tonight.” His feeble excuse seemed pretty lame—and also par for the course—but I let it go.

***

It was kind of a relief to be able to go home and take a nap without worrying Master Sebastian would send me a new task. It had only been one adventurous day, but I enjoyed the freedom that came with turning off my push notifications on my email app.

But when I was finally comfortable in my bed, ready to sleep away the afternoon, I found I couldn’t. My mind swirled with thoughts about the men in my life over the past few weeks. I wanted to be excited about my date with Hayden the next day, but I actually sort of dreaded it. Dr. Prestbury was a nice enough guy for a college professor, and even though Hayden fulfilled my athlete category, I sort of pictured him as a bit of a Poindexter just because of his uncle.

I rolled over and grabbed my laptop to type up more of my thoughts on my research.

I noticed as I typed that my section on the rock star had the most notes. I supposed that was fair given the fact that Dax and I had sort of entered into a relationship while the others had only been one date—if that. And as I reviewed my section about the CEO, I thought again how Dax could be the one to give me what I was looking for. The night before when he’d called me just because he wanted to spend his free time talking to me was proof of that. I had been on his mind, and that was what I wanted out of a relationship with someone.

My thoughts turned to Scott again, and I pushed them away. I pulled up a picture of Dax online and stared at his chiseled features for a second, filling my vision with the rock star of my dreams.

Later that night, we took a cab to Emerson’s. I was still trying my hardest to stay off of my ankle, and it wasn’t a good idea to drive after my painkiller and alcohol cocktail. Come to think of it, it probably wasn’t a good idea to mix painkillers with alcohol in the first place. Shannon and Austin both planned to drink, so a cab seemed to be the safest choice since our usual responsible designated driver skipped out on us.

When we got to the bar, it was already packed. There weren’t any tables available, forcing me to stand on my crutches. We made our way through the crowd, unable to find anything when finally an attractive man gave me a sympathetic look. He stood and motioned to his empty barstool. I smiled and gave him a grateful look. He looked like he was about to start a conversation with me, but then warm lips caressed my neck as strong arms slipped around my waist. I closed my eyes and leaned back into the man who’d invited me to this very bar as a shudder pierced my torso.

“Hey, good lookin’,” he murmured into my ear. His hot breath against my ear mixed with his scent nearly drove me to an orgasm. He just seemed to have that effect on women.

The attractive stool-giver-upper was talking to Shannon, so I didn’t feel as bad about swiping his stool. “You ready for your show, ridiculously sexy Dax?”

His voice was low in my ears when he answered. “I thought you were so high on painkillers you’d forgotten you called me that the other night.”

Grateful for the dark lighting of the bar as I flushed, I shook my head. I hadn’t forgotten the things I’d said to him. I had practically begged him for sex, and he’d denied me because he was a gentleman. A lesser man would’ve taken advantage of the situation. Something told me that was the kind of guy Dax used to be, but not anymore. At least not with me.

“How could I forget? I think it all the time.”

I saw a few girls eyeing me with envy as the lead singer’s lips returned to my neck. I couldn’t help the grin as it spread across my face. I was a damn lucky girl that this incredible man was giving me the time of day.

“So do I.” His tongue darted out to taste my skin. Oh God. When he did that, all coherence left me. I leaned into him so far that I felt the stool slipping beneath me.

He did his adorable man-giggle thing, and I scooted back to the center of my stool.

Dax leaned in toward my ear. “Wouldn’t want any more accidents interfering with our plans.”

I finally turned toward him, wanting to feast my eyes on the beauty of Dax Hunter.

And I was not disappointed. His hair stuck up in that messy way he had. His eyes were a piercing blue, set brighter from the white t-shirt he wore. The shirt had one arrow point upward that said “The Man” and one arrow pointing downward that said “The Legend.” Paired with black jeans and black boots, he was every part the rock star without being an obnoxious imitation. He was talented, he was sexy, and he was…mine?

Maybe mine.

The way his lips had been attached to my neck for the past few minutes, he was certainly working his hardest to claim
me
as
his
while we were on his turf.

It felt good to be the one he was showering with attention.

He smiled down at me, his beautiful grin setting me on fire.

Almost literally.

I stuck my arm on the bar for balance—I needed it when he smiled at me like that—and knocked over one of those little tea light candles restaurants sometimes set for mood lighting. 

Dax caught it quickly and set it upright, shaking his head at me as he laughed heartily. I flushed bright red.

He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. When he pulled back, his eyes were tender as they gazed at me. “I really like you, Piper.”

“I really like you too, Dax. You…throw me off balance.”

He laughed again. “That’s an understatement.” I loved making him laugh. I loved watching his face twist into this expression of utter glee. He ran his hand through his hair, which returned back to perfection as usual.