Fantasy Boyfriend (A Tattooed Bad Boy Romance) (3 page)

I was more than a little tipsy as I headed toward the
bathroom. I knew I shouldn't be drinking so much, but sometimes once I got
started, it was hard to stop. There was a bathroom on the bottom floor of the fraternity
building and one on the second floor. I slowly made my way up to the second
floor, thinking that the line there might be a little shorter than the one on
the bottom. I was wrong. As I waited in line for my turn, I leaned against the
wall, brushing my hands through my hair. I knew I was going to pay for this in
the morning. My head was already beginning to throb.

"You don't have to wait in line, you know."

I turned and saw Luke standing right next to me. My
heart gave a little thud and more than a little thrill ran through me. I
quickly glanced along the line of people in front of me and then right behind
me to make sure he was talking to me. He was.

"I can show you a secret bathroom," he
commented with a wink.

I was no fool. I don't care how cute he was or how
many tattoos he had, I was drunk and knew that I was vulnerable. It wouldn't
take much for any guy to take advantage of me. He seemed to sense my hesitation
and cocked his head slightly to the side, as if reading my mind.

"Don't worry, Jessica, I won't take advantage of
you," he assured.

Could I believe him? After all, I didn't even know who
this guy was. I had never seen him before tonight. For all I knew, he could be
nothing but trouble. Then again, I wondered in my drunken state of mind, if
that was perhaps what I'd been looking for. Why wasn’t I ever satisfied with
the guys I had dated? Were they too safe, too tame? While I certainly didn't
want to put myself in harm’s way, and I had no inclination of getting involved
in a relationship with someone who was overly jealous or manipulative, I
couldn't deny the attraction I felt for Luke.

Even in the semidarkness of the hallway, I smelled the
scent of an unfamiliar yet captivating cologne, something between a musk and sandalwood.
Not to mention that even the thought of those full sleeve tattoos he had captivated
me and were more than mysterious. I hadn't really gotten a good look at them
downstairs, but I would certainly love to be able to inspect them at my
leisure. The colors were bright, as if the tattoos were relatively new, not
over a few years old, at least. Not that I was an expert on tattoos or
anything, but I knew fresh ink from old ink.

I stared at him a moment, wondering if he was fooling
around with me, but then I grinned and shrugged, nodding for him to lead the
way. Maybe he was fooling with me. It didn’t really matter. I had a good head
on my shoulders and would know if and when it was time to back away. Until
then, I could have a little fun flirting for once. Grabbing my hand, he gently
pulled me out of the line and headed down the hallway towards a door at the far
end. As he opened it, I saw that it led upstairs into what I at first thought
was an attic space, only to find that several additional rooms had been
converted from that space.

A short hallway hugged what would be the outside load-bearing
wall of the fraternity structure, with three doors, one open and two closed,
along the left side of the space. At the far end stood another door, halfway
open.

"I didn't know there were more rooms up
here," I commented.

"They only renovated this area last summer, or so
I was told. Anyway, there’s a small bathroom with a toilet at the end."

He let go of my hand and gestured toward the far corner
of the attic. It wasn't terribly dark, but definitely darker than I had
expected. I hoped I wouldn't crash into anything as I made my way to the far
end, hands held out in front of me as my feet shuffled on the hardwood floor. I
entered the bathroom and found the light switch just inside the doorway. The
bathroom was no bigger than a closet and held a toilet and a small sink. That
was about it. It was enough for my needs, anyway. I closed the door, but didn't
find a lock on it. I certainly hoped that Luke was enough of a gentleman that
he wouldn't even think about coming inside. As I hiked up my skirt and quickly
pulled down my underwear and sat down on the toilet seat to pee, I also hoped
that he wasn't standing outside of the door listening. How embarrassing.

Within moments I had taking care of business, washed
my hands, and then realized there was nothing to dry my hands on. I waved them
in the air for a few moments before exiting the bathroom.

"Better now?"

I glanced at him, nodding.

"How do you intend to thank me?"

I stared at him a moment, watching a slow grin
transform his features into a wickedly handsome young man. Because I was
already a little tipsy, my usual shyness had disappeared. Not that I turned
into a slut every time I chugged down a drink, but you could say that my barriers
were definitely lowered. I grinned in reply and stood on my tiptoes to give him
a kiss on the cheek. At the last moment, he turned his head and I found my lips
meeting his. His lips felt soft and warm. I was so surprised that I couldn't
react.

Seconds later, the kiss deepened and before I knew it,
he had slipped his tongue into my mouth. He stepped closer to me, wrapping his
arms around my shoulders and pulling me gently closer to his frame. The thought
of those hands, those arms, that sleeve ink, got me tingling all over. I made a
soft, mewling sound in my throat and pressed myself even closer. Almost of
their own accord, my hands found his forearms, tracing my fingers along the
length of muscles, and over the vein and the ink I knew was there.

Damn, he was hot. I had never really felt this kind of
pull or chemistry toward any guy before, and least of all, not here at the
university. Where had he come from? How come I hadn't seen him before? Stupid
girl, I suddenly thought to myself. Here you were, getting kissed by one of the
most handsome guys you'd ever seen, with tattoos no less, and you're thinking
about other things other than the sensation that his lips and tongue elicited
in you? Just as I was re-focusing my attention completely on the warmth of his
lips, the smoothness of his tongue, and the way it stroked and tangled with my
own tongue, I heard steps coming up the stairway.

I quickly broke off the kiss, taking a slight step
back even though Luke seemed loath to relinquish his grip on me. Nevertheless,
he also took a step back, and we both turned at the same time as a guy reached
the top of the stairs and stepped into the room.

"Who's up here?" the man asked.

"Just me," Luke replied.

"Oh, hey, Luke. Sorry to interrupt your make out
session, but I
gotta
use the head. No way in hell am
I waiting in that line downstairs."

As the frat member approached the bathroom, I stepped
away from Luke and began to make my way back toward the stairs, with Luke right
behind me.

"You leaving already?"

I glanced over my shoulder and smiled. “It's late, I'm
drunk, and I should be going," I said.

"You'd have more fun if you stayed," he
grinned.

I saw the whites of his teeth in the darkness, and
while more than anything I wanted to kiss him again, I didn't want to seem too
easy. If he wanted something from me, he would have to work for it. "No
doubt that's true," I said, heading down the stairs. "Nevertheless,
it is late, I am drunk, and I am going."

The next couple of days passed in a blur. The party at
the fraternity house had been Friday night, and it was now Sunday afternoon.
Tomorrow would be the first day of classes, but I was ready. I had already
filled my schedule, with enough time a couple of days a week to take on a
part-time job if I needed to. I had a full schedule on Mondays Wednesdays and
Fridays, although on Tuesday I just had a couple morning classes, and on
Thursdays, a couple of afternoon classes. Between the weekends and the two half-days
off, I could probably generate an adequate part-time income from something
around the neighborhood if I needed to. I probably would. I certainly didn't
like to be idle.

Yesterday morning, as I knew I would, I had woken up
with a mother of all hangovers. The only thing that kept me from totally regretting
my evening out was that kiss with Luke. Of course, my girlfriends and I had all
shared our experiences yesterday morning after we all dealt with the aftermath
of the party. Becky, Desiree, and Selena had all managed to "score"
and were more than happy to share blow by blow descriptions of making out with their
respective dates, but not one of them had known much about the guy they'd gone
out with before meeting them at the fraternity. Of course, it was the same with
me and Luke, but I didn't score with him, and I pointed that fact out to the
girls as we all compared notes.

"I kissed him and that was all!" I insisted
for the third time later that afternoon.

"Are you telling me that you let that delicious-looking
drink of a man get away with nothing but a kiss?" Becky scoffed in her
usual friendly and teasing manner. "Why, if I had had him within arm's
reach, I'd grab for his-"

"You would've grabbed for his ass and anything
else you could get your hands on," Desiree interrupted.

The three of them erupted into laughter, but I wasn't
so amused. While my girlfriends had never really teased me about my inability
to find a guy that I felt lived up to my standards, I was beginning to feel a
bit protective of Luke for some bizarre reason. Not that he needed protection.
As a matter of fact, I had a feeling that he was more than familiar with the
female sex. Hadn’t I noted that as a prerequisite on my list? He wasn't mine,
either. In fact, if any one of my girlfriends approached him and even made out
or had sex with him, it wouldn't really bother me. Would it?

"Look, it wasn't that big of a deal," I
continued. However, I did manage to curtail, as quickly as possible, the heat
of a blush that traveled into my cheeks. "I started to kiss him on the
cheek as my way of thanking them for taking me up to the bathroom, but he
turned his head at the last moment.” I paused, as if reassessing my own words.
“He is a good kisser," I admitted. "As a matter of fact, I felt a
tingle the minute he grabbed my hand to take me out of the bathroom line."

"What kind of a tingle?" Selena wanted to
know.

One thing I could say about my girlfriends and
sorority sisters was that they were extremely focused on details. I knew that
if I didn't provide those details, chances were they wouldn't leave me alone
until they got them. I shrugged and decided it didn't really matter. I didn't
think anyone like Luke could meet all of the stipulations on my perfect man
list, anyway. "Down there," I admitted, vaguely pointing to my groin.
“His hand was firm and warm. When I touched his forearms-"

“When did you touch his forearms?" Desiree
demanded. "Are you holding back on us, Jessica?"

I shook my head and made a noise. "No, I told you
he kissed me. We were standing close together and he had his arms around my
shoulders-"

"And you left that part out, too?" Selena gasped,
glancing at the others. "Can you believe this? The first time that we hear
of Jessica actually kissing a guy and she's leaving out all the juicy
details!"

"If you would let me finish, I'd be more than
happy to supply the juicy details," I said. “As I was saying, we were
standing face to face. He placed his arms around my back and we kissed. He even
started French kissing me, and while he was, I placed my hands on his forearms.
Okay?"

"Okay," Desiree said. "Go on."

"We kissed," I shrugged. "It was
nice-"

"Just nice?" Becky grinned.

"Oh, for crying out loud," I exclaimed.
"What do you want me to say? It was nice! His lips and tongue were warm,
his arms were muscled, and he smelled really good-"

"More details left out!" Desiree teased.

I stuck my tongue out at her and then smiled.
"I've never seen him around here before, have any of you?"

"Don't try to change the subject," Becky
insisted. "What did he smell like?"

"I'm not sure, but I didn't recognize the cologne.
It was kind of a woodsy, earthy scent. The first through that hit my senses was
that it was kind of a combination between musk and sandalwood."

"
Dudette
, it's making
me hot to think about it," Desiree said, suggestively licking her lips.

All of us joined in laughter, and then I shook my
head. "If I hadn't it been a little tipsy, I probably wouldn't even have
kissed him at all," I said. “I don't regret it, but I doubt if I'll ever
see him again, anyway. Which reminds me – have any of you ever seen him on
campus?"

The girls shook their heads, and it was suggested that
he was a transfer student or perhaps he had just moved into the area. Again, it
probably didn't matter. I certainly wasn't going to go chasing after him, and
it wasn't likely that I would even see him again. I didn't often go to
fraternity parties, especially after classes started. I was much more
responsible than that.

*

Monday morning was the first day of school. I had a
full schedule today, starting with advanced chemistry, moving on to psychology,
and then a brief break for lunch. After lunch my classes were all health-based
topics. The girls and I walked to campus together, before each of us went our
separate ways. I was fairly familiar with the campus so didn't have much
trouble finding my chemistry class. By the time I walked inside, it was about
halfway full. I sat near the back, like I usually do, close enough to see the
white board or any visuals, but not up near the front. I didn't like being close
to the front. Around each side of the classroom stood oblong shelves bearing a
variety of chemical bottles, microscopes, and test tubes of various sizes – typical
college chemistry classroom environment.

Just when it was time for class to start, the professor
made his entrance, bearing an armload of books in one hand, a ratty old leather
satchel in the other. I had had him for one semester last year and knew him to
be a fair, yet demanding instructor. I sighed as the professor introduced
himself and began to give his first-day-of-class speech. It was repeated
verbatim from the previous year, and I could surmise, for years before that.

Several moments later, I heard noise behind me and
realized that a student had arrived late. Nice way to make a first impression
on the first day of school, I thought. As I saw movement out of the corner of
my eye, I glanced over my shoulder and could barely contain my surprise when I
saw Luke sauntering in. He looked just as good as he had the other evening.
This morning he wore a short-sleeved shirt and my eyes immediately went to his ink.
God, I found that ink so sexy. To my incredible surprise, and even though the
classroom was still only three quarters full, Luke recognized me, grinned, and
sat in the chair next to mine. I stared back at him in open mouth surprised,
only closing my mouth when he winked at me. Forcing myself to play it cool, I
turned my attention back to the professor, even though all I wanted to do was inspect
Luke’s tattoos. My fingers itched to trace a path along one of them, but even
though it was daylight and he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, I forced
myself to resist the urge to look down and get a closer look at them.

Nearly twenty minutes later, with my eyes nearly going
cross-eyed with boredom as the professor continued to give his introductory
preview of this semester’s class goals and projects, I was surprised when I
felt a nudge on my leg. I glanced down and saw that Luke had moved his leg
closer to mine. He held his right arm down by his side, next to his leg. In his
fingers, he clasped a small square of paper. I glanced up at him briefly and
saw him gesturing with his eyes for me to take the note. What was this? Passing
notes like a couple of elementary school kids?

He continued to stare at me, grinning, and I finally, and
as surreptitiously as possible, reached my left hand over to take the note from
him. I had a self-conscious feeling that the professor was going to see and
call me out for it. Nothing like being reminded of elementary school when you
were in college, right? Crossing my legs, I placed the note on my notebook
tablet and carefully and quietly unfolded it.

Go
out with me Saturday night?

I stared down at the note for several moments, my
heart thumping with excitement. He wanted to go out on a date? I got hot just
thinking about it. I didn't have any classes on Saturday, and although I had a
feeling I would already have a full load of homework, I figured what the hell.
I pulled my pen from the small clasp on my notebook and wrote the three letter
answer underneath his question.
Yes
.
After that, I scribbled my cell phone number.

In moments, I had passed the note back to him, just as
surreptitiously as it had made its way toward me in the first place. I hid my
smile, feeling a thrill of success that we had managed to pass a note back and
forth without anyone being the wiser. The silliness of it also made me smile. I
knew then that regardless of Luke's class schedule or mine, he would find a way
to get in touch with me before Saturday. I found myself so distracted, I didn't
even realize when the professor finally stopped talking and class was
dismissed.

By the time I focused my attention on the fact that
everybody was getting up and filing out of the classroom, I looked to my left
and realized Luke had already left. I shook my head, smiled, and then gathered
my things, casually walking out of class as if nothing unusual had occurred. As
I made my way to my next class, I looked forward to the coming weekend. While
he certainly wasn't the type of guy I normally would even have considered going
out with, there was something about him that captivated me. I didn't like to
think of myself as a superficial person, but there was no doubt that Luke was
one of the most handsome guys I'd ever met. The fact that I didn't even know
his last name, where he came from, or anything else about him did little to
deter my enthusiasm.

I couldn't wait to get together with the girls this
evening and share what had occurred. While I didn’t typically throw caution to
the wind, I figured that it was time that I deserved to experience a little
adventure in life. I would be careful and protect myself, but at the same time,
I was young. Plenty of time for work and studying, and I would be diligent
about that, I promised myself. I hadn't allowed myself too much dating last
year, not that there were that many guys to choose from that met my standards,
but this year, maybe things would be different. Maybe I would to be a little
more daring, a little more adventurous. I would have to wait and see.