A Deal With The College Playboy

8. Horny Lab Partners

ELLIE

There should be a law against looking good on a Monday morning.

I mean seriously, who the hell rolls into campus looking like he just stepped off the cover of a Calvin Klein ad? His sleeves were rolled up, his smirk was magnetic, and the worst part was that he wasn't even trying. Beck just somehow existed, and every woman in the vicinity started to swoon at the sight of him.

Why on earth did I have to set my sights on him of all people? I could have gone with Isaac Thatcher, the geek from my embryology classes who looked like he would burst into flames if a girl even talked to him. But no, I had to set my sights on someone unattainable. Someone who sent a shiver down my spine every time I looked at him.

And someone who somehow managed to piss me off even when he wasn't trying to.

I still hadn't forgotten what happened last night at his place, and how humiliating that was. I hadn't forgotten the way Salma embarrassed me, and how much my blood boiled as I stood in that room and listened to her insults. Normally, I have a very tough skin. Ordinary insults don't bother me. But when it's coming from someone who's so clearly better than me in every way, I can't help but feel the sting a little bit. When the insults are coming from way above you, then it's definitely going to hurt.

Here’s the thing, I’m not one of those bitchy girls who just love to hate on the popular girl. Yeah, there’s a little bit of jealousy involved, but I’m only human after all. If Salma was a nice person, I would have no problem with her being so hot and popular. Life wasn’t fair, after all. We couldn’t all be the Queen Bee on campus. But when evil incarnate was wrapped in a body like hers, it wasn’t hard to despise it.

For as long as I’d known Salma, she’d made it her personal mission to make everyone despise her. The boys always drooled after her, because all they cared about was a deep cleavage and her sexy legs. But every girl I knew hated her, except for the ones in her circle like Leslie Matthews, who was the snitch that told her yesterday that Beck and I had gone upstairs together.

But I quickly shook that thought out of my head. I didn't give a flying f**k about her, or anything she had to say about me. So what if she was the hottest girl on campus? So what if every guy threw themselves at her feet? That was her own choice, and how she chose to live her life. As for me, I couldn't care less. I had other things to worry about then little miss fake tan.

I had just made my way to the Baxter building when Beck suddenly spotted me outside the bio lab, before I even had time to pretend I hadn't seen him. Of course that would happen to me, given my luck. He walked over with that stupid confident stride of his, with his backpack slung over one shoulder and his biceps looking so perfect as he made his way towards me that I had to look at the ground instead.

Oh God, why did he have to look so good?

"Morning, Buzzkill," he said. "You look nice."

"What do you want, Ryder?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Haven't you seen the board yet?" he asked. "We're lab partners."

"Please tell me this is a joke," I said, hurrying over to the bulletin board. Sure enough, for the human anatomy lab sessions, Beck Ryder was placed right next to Ellie Carter. And it took all the effort I could muster to prevent myself from screaming.

"So, ready to get hands-on?" he said, flashing me a grin that clearly told me he wasn't bothered by what happened yesterday at all. I gave him the most unimpressed look I could muster, even though my insides were melting into a useless puddle of hormones.

"Fine," I said. "Let's just get this over with."

"Aw, come on," he teased, bumping his arm against mine as we stepped inside. "You and I are going to have so much fun. It's the human anatomy, for heaven's sake. Please let me have some fun."

"I'll let you have something alright," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "Maybe a slow and painful death."

He laughed at that, and I hated that I liked how it sounded. Beck's laugh was warm and unfiltered, and just the right amount of cocky. It was the kind of laugh that made you want to hear it again, even if you had to do something stupid just to get it.

We found a table toward the back of the lab, and I pulled out my notes, trying way too hard to focus. But every time his knee accidentally brushed mine, my brain short-circuited. He just smelled so freaking good, and his cologne was making it hard to concentrate as the teacher started talking.

"Hey, I'm sorry about last night," he suddenly said, leaning over. "Salma was being a b***h, and I should have stopped her sooner. But clearly you didn't even need my help to take her down yourself."

"It's not the first time she's been out to get me," I shrugged, even though I appreciated the fact that he was apologizing. "And we both know it won't be the last."

"I talked to her about it, and she's never going to do that again," he said. "I don't believe in bullying, for any reason. And what she was doing was clearly bullying."

"Beck, it's fine," I said. "I don't need a bodyguard. I appreciate you talking to her, but I can handle her on my own."

He looked like he was going to say something else, but then he shook his head and turned his attention to his notes, while the class continued. I barely paid any attention to him, focusing instead on the diagrams that were popping up on the screen.

Until...

"That diagram kind of looks like a d**k," he said after a few minutes, leaning over my shoulder and pointing at my rough sketch of the femur and pelvis.

"It's not a d**k," I snapped, yanking the paper closer to me. "It's the hip joint."

"Then why did you draw it with veins?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because it's vascularized, you dumbass," I replied, turning around and glaring at him. "We're literally studying blood supply. Jesus Christ!"

He raised both of his hands in mock surrender, laughing again as he said, "Sorry, Buzzkill. I didn’t realize you're feisty today as well."

I gritted my teeth in annoyance, hating how flustered I was. I needed to calm the f**k down. But it was hard to focus on anything when he was sitting so close, when he smelled like expensive bodywash and sin, and when I could still remember how warm his hand had felt in mine before Salma had crashed our little moment and lost her damn mind.

"Okay," he said after a while, scanning the worksheet. "So, I take the muscles of the thigh, and you take the bones?"

"You just want the thigh muscles so you can talk about glutes without sounding like a perv," I said flatly.

"I'm not even gonna lie," he smirked. "That was my plan."

"Of course it was," I muttered. "Horny bastard."

His eyes twinkled like he loved pissing me off, and God help me, I think he did. We worked in silence for a bit after that, but it wasn't real silence. It was heavily charged, like both of us were waiting for someone to say or do something reckless.

And I wanted to. God, I wanted to. I wanted to just lean across the table and kiss him, just to see what that stupid smirk would look like when he was completely disarmed. But I didn't. I just sat there, scribbling notes and pretending like my heart wasn't about to burst through my ribcage.

Eventually, the class ended and the rest of the lab groups started packing up. Beck glanced over at me, casually slinging his bag over his shoulder. I thought he was going to say something, but it looked like he was debating whether he should say it or not. I wanted him to talk to me, but I also didn’t want to put up with him, if that makes any sense.

"Hey," he said finally, and I looked up.

"What?"

"Do you wanna come over later?" he asked. "We could... go over this again and really 'study'. Or we could watch a few episodes of Demon Slayer."

The way he said 'study' made it sound like a f*****g invitation to sin. And for the life of me, I couldn't figure out if I wanted that or not.

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is that your subtle way of saying you want to feel me up in your room, Beck?"

"I mean, only if you're into that," he said, winking at me.

"And what about your girlfriend?" I asked.

"Salma isn't my girlfriend," he replied.

Well, someone needed to tell her that then.

"I guess I can come over," I said, feeling slightly giddy at the thought of being alone with him. Who knew, maybe it could happen today, and I would be done with this already.

"Great," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Catch you later, Buzzkill."

"Ellie," I snapped. "My name is Ellie."

"Whatever you say, Buzzkill," he replied with a smile. And as we walked out of the lab, I couldn't help but smile to myself. Maybe I was crazy, and maybe this whole thing was still going to blow up in my face. But for now, Beck Ryder had invited me over for "studying." And I planned to take full advantage.

Let's see how hands-on this gets.