Need Me (Broke and Beautiful #2)(6)

As far back as his first date in high school with Janine Conway, he’d dated older women. He liked older women. They had more in common with him. Shared similar interests, such as The Moth podcast or Diane Lane movies. Not to mention, they were easier for him to communicate with. If they wanted something, miracle of miracles, they told him instead of playing head games and confusing the hell out of him. They didn’t fiddle with their hair or drag him along on group dates with their always-laughing friends. He could hear himself think with older women.

But there was more to it. A lot more. His parents’ situation had instilled a healthy fear in him from a young age. A clear picture of what could happen if you let sex overrule your common sense. You got trapped. And when it was all over, you were left with nothing but bitterness. So when he got the urge to be with a woman, he made sure he could keep his head. He maintained control over his emotions, and if for some reason he ever felt the control slipping, which he hadn’t felt until today, he got out. Quickly.

How could he get out of this situation, though? He couldn’t very well meet with the administration and ask them to remove Lolita from his class. On what grounds? That he wanted to drag her onto his desk and bury himself between her legs? That would go over like a dream.

What’s more, he hadn’t even spoken to the girl. Hadn’t exchanged a single word with her. For someone like him, who placed more value on someone’s thoughts than their attractiveness, it made him a little disappointed in himself. And rather absurdly, it made him feel unfaithful to Ms. Perribow. She’d been sitting in that lecture hall today with her brilliant, witty thoughts, and he’d only been able to think about jumping Lolita’s bones. Shameful.

Ben rang the buzzer for 4D and was let inside immediately. Six minutes late now. An egg would be boiled at this point. Totally edible. He was halfway up the stairs when he heard a loud crash from below and a very distinctly Southern, feminine voice say, “Ouch.” And, “Shit.”

He contemplated minding his own business in the interest of minimizing his lateness, but it was a girl. She could be hurt. He couldn’t very well take out his current frustration with a certain golden-eyed blonde on this girl. It wouldn’t be fair, and it kind of made him a dick for even considering it. Ben reversed his progress and covered the hallway in eight quick steps. He heard shuffling coming from inside what appeared to be a closet. After pulling open the door, he was unable to see a damn thing in the dim glow the hallway light provided, so he stepped inside, peering into the room.

I’m being tested. It’s the only explanation. He only caught a brief flash of the most beautiful, bent-over ass in history, mint-green panties peeking out from beneath a jean skirt, before the door closed behind him and cast the closet into darkness.

A beat of silence passed. “Whoever you are, please tell me you didn’t just shut that door.”

Her husky voice affected him like fingertips coasting down his stomach, toward his belt buckle. It made him think of skinny-dipping, which made no sense. He’d never gone swimming naked in his life. “I, um.” He reached behind himself and tested the doorknob. Jesus, it was locked. “Based on how you said that, I’m assuming you don’t have a key.”

A long moment stretched on without her responding, but he heard a slight hitch in her breathing and wondered at it. Then it hit him. Of course, she would be worried. Moron. A strange man had just locked himself into a closet with her.

“Oh. Oh, hey.” He held his hands out, dropping them when he remembered she couldn’t see him. “Listen, I’m here for the party upstairs. I’m six minutes late, probably seven now.” An egg timer went off in his brain. “I heard a crash and came to check on you. Please don’t be nervous.”

“Ben?” He heard her gulp. “You are that Ben?”

“I’m . . . a Ben.” Confusion had him shaking his head. “Do we know each other?”

A long pause. “I’m . . . I’m Roxy’s roommate. Louis told us Ben was on the way, but I didn’t think or even consider . . .” An incredulous laugh. “Why would I?”

“Okay, maybe I’m the one that should be nervous.”

“Nervous around me?” Her voice seemed strained. “I’m harmless as a June bug.”

Since she couldn’t even see him, he didn’t bother to hide his amused expression. He’d heard about Roxy’s roommates from Louis, but only briefly and in passing. His best friend had been a little tied up since meeting his girlfriend, and boy’s night had been put on temporary hiatus. At least until Louis managed to convince himself she wouldn’t disappear into a cloud of smoke. But Ben remembered hearing about the Southern roommate who’d given Louis a hard time, which had immediately earned his and Russell’s unqualified approval. That kind of thing rarely, if ever, happened to their overachiever buddy, and it was cause to celebrate.

Ben opened his leather satchel and felt around for his cell phone. “I’ll give Russell a call. He’ll come down and let us out.”

“Oh.”

Did she sound disappointed? If that was the case, did that mean she wanted to be stuck in the closet with him? How could that be, when she hadn’t even seen his face before the door closed? Up until now, he’d been trying to forget the glimpse he’d gotten of her tiny green panties. The ones that had been wedged in between two sweet little ass cheeks. God, after the day he’d had, a day that had put him in the eye of a sexual frustration cyclone, this was a test he wasn’t prepared to pass. His hand closed around the hard case of his cell phone, and he hit speed dial for Russell. No answer. He tried Louis. Twice. Again, his friend didn’t pick up.