Mary didn't bother commenting on that or her feelings on the whole typical male aspect of his decision to take that class. "Maybe we can meet up tomorrow and I can let you know what openings I have, and some other details on the tutoring? We could set up a schedule, too."
"That sounds good." A beat of silence passed, and she could hear some shuffling of papers through the receiver, and then the sound of something heavy falling.
"Fuck." His curse was soft but clipped. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud." Mary found herself smiling. "Maybe we can meet around lunchtime, like say noon or one? There is that sandwich place on the corner of High Street that we can meet at. It's called Rocko's."
"Yeah, I know where that is. I have a break between Calculus and Sociology between eleven and noon, if you want to meet then?"
"Yeah, okay." He cleared his throat again, and Mary found herself pulling at a stray thread at the hem of her shirt. "All right then. I guess I'll see ya then. And thanks again for taking the time and all that."
They disconnected, and she let herself fall back on the bed. The shadows from the setting sun washed across her cracked and stained ceiling in swoops and swirls of patterns. A thought occurred to her, and even though she should have pushed it aside, she played with it. Her going rate for tutoring was twenty dollars an hour, but maybe Alex would like to compromise on all of that, because what she wanted from him had nothing to do with monetary value.
Chapter Four
Alex sat at one of the patio tables outside of Rocko's. Although September was technically fall the weather was still in the high eighties, like it was today. His iced tea sat in front of him, and the condensation left a ring of moisture on the white paper tablecloth. His heart raced, and he felt like a fucking pussy for the excitement inside of him at seeing Mary. Dammit, she was going to tutor him, he hoped, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't anticipating spending some time with her.
He couldn't quite place why he had this sudden, almost instant infatuation with her, but damn if he could just switch it off. Usually when he was drawn to a female it was only for a few hours, just enough time to get her off and shoot his load. But he never had this desire, no, this need to want to see a female. It made him feel irrational, like some kind of teenage girl who couldn't control her emotions. Besides, Mary Trellis wasn't the type of girl he went for, and he had a feeling she wasn't into guys like him: ones that partied, obviously failed classes, and fucked far too many girls to make him seem like a decent guy
Feeling resolution that he would put Mary and everything that had to do with wanting her out of his head he leaned back in the white plastic chair. The waitress made the second pass by his table and grinned down at him. Alex knew that look. It was one of interest, and what better way to put Mary and her hot little body of his head than by hooking up with a random chick? Shit, sometimes he even disgusted himself.
"Hey, aren't you Alex Sheppard?" He leaned forward and rested his forearms on the wrought iron table. She wore a tight as sin white t-shirt, and the white bra she wore underneath stood out in stark contrast. Her nipples were hard, too, and Alex didn't make it a secret as to what he was eyeing as he lowered his gaze to her chest.
"Yeah. What's your name?" Her cheeks turned a shade of pink, and he knew that she would be in the bag if he laid it on just a little thicker. She was shy, but not shy enough that she hadn't had the balls to talk to him.
She ducked her head and lifted her hand to tuck a strand of reddish hair behind her ear. "Jessica Locker." She looked young, but legal, which made her game. "I just started at OSU, but everyone talks about you." Her cheeks turned even redder, and he knew she was embarrassed by what she just said. "I mean, not that I sit there and talk about you, but well, you know, everyone knows you're a really good player, and well, they all talk."
She rambled on, and he couldn't help but grin. He loved the innocent ones, and maybe that made him the biggest asshole alive, but he'd treat her real good, and then she'd have a nice memory of getting fucked her freshman year. And that's what Alex did. He fucked, nothing more, nothing less. The girls that wanted more didn't come looking for him, and that was just how he liked it.
"So, Jessica, you been to a frat party?" She opened her mouth to answer, but the sound of someone clearing their throat right behind him had Alex looking over his shoulder. Mary stood there, the little sundress she wore billowing around her thighs when the wind picked up. Fucking hell she looked good. The smell of the soap she used filled his nose, and that was all it took for his dick to get hard.
Weren't you supposed to kick the idea of wanting her to the back of your damn mind? He couldn't see her blue eyes because the dark Jackie-O sunglasses shielded them completely, but he could practically hear the condescending thoughts coming from her. How much had she heard or seen? For some reason he didn't want her thinking of him as this massive partying, fighting man-whore, despite that being the God's honest truth of who and what he was.
"I'm not interrupting, am I?" Mary asked, but again he couldn't gauge her reaction with those big-ass sunglasses on her face, and her voice was neutral, bored even. For some reason that annoyed him. Did he want her to be jealous? God, he needed to grow the fuck up.
"No, I was just talking to Jessica." The waitress muttered something unintelligible before turning and leaving them alone. "Here, have a seat." He went to stand and help her with the heavy looking bag hanging from her shoulder, but she already had it on the ground and was pulling out her seat. Alex sat back down, and a strange sort of uncomfortable silence passed between them. "So, uh, about the tutoring," he said to break up the awkwardness. She took off her sunglasses, and her eyes seemed insanely vibrant in the afternoon light.
"Let me grab my schedule, and I'll let you know what days I have open." She bent to the side and started riffling in her bag. The front of her dress gaped open, and he could see the lacy edge of her bra and the sloped mound of her breasts slightly spilling forward. His dick grew even harder, and he shifted in his seat. He cleared his throat when she straightened, and she gave him a strange look. "You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm good. So those days?" He spoke too quickly, and his voice had cracked at the end, like he was going through puberty or some shit. Her eyebrows lifted at the urgency in his tone, but he needed a distraction. The longer she stayed quiet and just stared at him, the more his cock stiffened at the thought of her full, perfect handful breasts, and the way the wind blew the tendrils of her dark hair around her face. The long braid she wore hung over one shoulder, and God did it look good on her, cute even. She set her tablet on the table and started typing. "I'm not sure what your class schedule is, or how long you need to be tutored, so we should probably figure that out first."
Alex knew he might as well come clean about the whole probation thing, because he honestly didn't know what kind of time it was going to take to get him to pass his mid-term. He was flunking that class, and unless she was a miracle worker, or took the test for him, he was fucking screwed.
"Okay, here is the thing." He scrubbed a hand over his head, and then leaned forward, bringing his face an inch closer to hers. "I need to ace this class in order to come off of probation. My average fell below the restrictions for me to play." She stared at him for several seconds before speaking.
"I figured it must be pretty bad since you didn't say anything when I saw you at Adam's house." She smiled, and he felt himself return the gesture. "So, what days are you free, and we will start there."
He rattled off the days he had no class, and the hours he was free on the days he did. She wrote everything down, and when he was finished she lifted her eyes to meet his.
"Okay, so I guess you want to pass pretty badly?" He cocked a brow in response. "Okay, I get it." She looked down at her tablet and typed something into the calendar. "I can fit you in Friday, and we can set up a routine. Maybe three days a week, and at least an hour each session? They can be in the evening since that seems to be when we both have the extra time." She continued to stare at her tablet and bit her bottom lip. Alex was transfixed at the sight of her straight, white teeth pulling at the red, full flesh.