The Nerdy Tech's Bodyguard

2 - SELF PRESERVATION

Once she couldn’t hear them anymore, Jorja turned around and headed to the school’s library.

“It’s okay, Richard. You can come out now.” She waited for him to answer, but it seemed he was embarrassed about having been rescued by a girl. But Jorja caught his Avon Mesmerize cologne and knew he was around somewhere. “Come on, Richard, you know I would never prank you. Why don’t you walk me home?” At least she hoped she could walk home. That tequila was starting to hit her pretty hard.

“Jeez, Richard, would you just walk out.” Tired of waiting, Jorja pushed open the doors to the library to look for Richard, but the room was dark. Stretching out her hand, she felt along the wall for the light switch. She felt a little wobbly from all the liquor, so as soon as she flipped on the switch, she slid down the wall to rest. Two seconds later, something collided with the wall above her head and pieces of broken plastic rained down on her. “What the hell?” she muttered. Her brain was too foggy to make sense of what had just happened.

“Watch out!”

Slender fingers and big hands grabbed hold of her shoulders and yanked her forward. They both hit the floor as whatever had hit the wall caused a cascading effect and other objects tumbled down like a set of dominoes. If she’d still been sitting there, her skull would probably be cracked open by now.

The silence after the deafening sounds of all that slamming debris stunned her.

“You did that.” Jorja looked over her shoulder at Richard. He was a cute, sweet, nerdy guy, but a tad innocent for her tastes. She liked her men how she lived her life: rough. Enthralling grey eyes, pointed nose, and kissable lips set in a chiseled face that promised all sorts of things, she felt pretty confident he hadn’t a clue he was broadcasting. He kept his shoulder-length curly hair in a man's bun. If he bench pressed like his brothers, he’d be panty melting hot, Jorja thought to herself. He already had a height that made him impossible to ignore.

Still, she’d had the hots for him since the first time she saw him. But she’d never acted on them. Despite him being older than her by one year, she knew she had far more experience and would eat him alive. Besides, he looked like the type of guy you dated through secondary school, got married to right after and made a dozen children. And if there was anything Jorja had promised herself the minute she was old enough to understand, it was that she would not allow herself to be tied down to a man in Nurseville, pushing out babies every year like her mother and her grandmother before her. She was going to break that cycle.

“I could have gotten killed,” she growled.

“Don’t snarl at me,” he hissed back, pulling his lanky frame into a sitting position. “It wasn’t for you anyway.”

“No, it was for them. And do you think you would have been able to live in peace in this village if they’d gotten hurt?”

“They would have learned to stop messing with me. I wanted to show them I could stand up for myself. I’m tired of them picking on me all the time.”

She stared at him and finally saw all the bruises on his face and neck, probably going well down his torso and legs. They’d caught up with him again. Dammit. She did try to protect him, but there was only so much she could do, and Jonas simply wouldn’t call off his friends. Not even seventeen and he already had his own gang. The males his own age followed Jonas around town like he was the reincarnation of Malcolm Luther King Jr. She had no idea what happened between them, but Jonas made it clear he thought of Richard Black as their own personal punching bag. The problem was, while Richard didn’t like that position, he never fought back. He just took whatever they dished out so they had no reason to stop tormenting him. Maybe if he had his own friends, people in his corner that could back him up. But he was a loner, always had his head either buried in a book or digging through computer hardware. This meant he had no one except Jorja to watch out for him. And once she got on that bus tomorrow, he wouldn’t even have that.

“Richie, you have to learn to stand up for yourself.” Without thinking, Jorja reached out to touch his hand. But he pulled it away, which hurt her feelings… especially her drunk feelings. She didn’t want him thinking she was like the others. “I wouldn’t hurt you.”

“I know that,” he said, shrugging.

If he did, then why did he keep moving away from her? Annoyed, she scooted closer to him. “If that’s true, why do you always seem to be avoiding me?”

“Self-preservation,” he replied simply, refusing to elaborate further.

“What do you mean by that?” Jorja questioned.

Instead of answering with words, Richard used his actions. In a sudden movement, he yanked her over and somehow yanked her right onto his lap. She gasped in surprise, not sure what shocked her more: his actions or his strength. But she had no time to debate that as she found her arms around his neck, her thighs on either side of his hips. For a lanky teen, his thighs sure did feel good beneath her.

Richard rested his hands on her hips. Jorja knew she should climb off, but she was too eager to see where he was going with that.

She stared down into his face, her brown eyes devouring him on the spot. There would be no doubt that she wanted him, and so she silently gave him permission to do whatever he wanted. To her utter surprise, Richard wanted her too. It was evident by the tent in his pants.

Jorja watched him gather his courage; then he moved in, his lips rising toward hers. She could feel his minty fresh breath against her mouth and she could easily imagine how hot the kiss would be. She knew he’d taste wonderful and the kiss would be magical - like nothing she’d ever experienced before.

She also knew kissing him would be the dumbest thing she could ever do. So, too drunk to temper her actions, she flew off his lap.

Jorja ran her hands through her hair. “We…we can’t.”

“We can’t what?” he snarled, pushing himself to his feet. “You sought me out.” He stood and she could see he was wearing one of his Naruto T-shirts. He must have dozens of those and dozens of his One Piece tees. He was an Anime fan. A real nerdy tech.

“Don’t be mad, Richard. It’s not—”

“Forget it.” He glanced at the watch on his wrist. He had a weird thing about time, which she found fascinating since no one else in town did. “I have to go complete my chores or my dad will flip.”

“Let’s walk home together then.” She didn’t like him being out there on his own. Never mind societal rules would say he’s the man and should be protecting her. He was a gentle soul. Jorja knew that and appreciated it.

“No, I don’t need you.” he practically spat in her face; then he grabbed his oversized backpack filled with his laptop and text books and papers and hauled it onto his shoulders. For such a slender man, she had no idea how he managed to haul that bag around.

“It’s too dangerous for you to walk over there at this time of night.”

“That’s none of your concern.”

He turned to walk away but stopped and glanced at her over his shoulder. “Good luck, Banks. You know, tomorrow. You’re going to be great.” Then he took off at a fast pace.

Jorja didn’t bother going after him. He was wicked fast when he needed to be, and she was way too drunk to keep up.

Instead, Jorja slowly made her way home, all the while day dreaming of what it would have felt like to be kissed by Richard. Knowing that Richard was as into her as she was into him, made her wish things were different. But they weren’t. She still needed to get out of Nurseville if she wanted to make something of herself. Then maybe she’d see herself as his equal with something to offer in a relationship besides her sexuality.