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  He nodded. “Thanks.”

  “Okay, so...what’s the deal?” She turned to address him.

  He motioned her over to the table, and they sat down. He picked up his backpack and started pulling stuff out. “I just need someone to write for me. I have something called dysgraphia.”

  She didn’t know what that was. “Is that like dyslexia?”

  “Similar. A lot of younger children have it, but most grow out of it. I didn’t.”

  “What does it mean exactly?”

  “Pretty much just really bad handwriting.”

  She was skeptical. “There has to be a little bit more to it than that.”

  “I mess up some letters, like p, q, d and b. Some people mess up spelling but I don’t have that problem. I just...it’s hard for me to write. My parents put me through years of occupational therapy for it in elementary and middle school. It fixed my spelling but...” He started tapping his fingers on the tabletop. “I just can’t write well. It takes me forever, looks terrible, and gives me headaches. There isn’t a way to fix it, not all the way. But it’s not...I’m not dumb. I get really good grades, and I understand everything perfectly.”

  She nodded, starting to get it. “Okay...I see.”

  “It’s a legal disorder, you know. I’m supposed to have a scribe for all my school work. I use a laptop for whatever I can.”

  “So it’s not typing? You can write sentences and everything, it’s just writing longhand?”

  He nodded. “I type all my assignments, even math.”

  “Okay...so what do you need me for?”

  “Accounting class mostly. I’m good with numbers, but I can’t do it on the computer because...” He pushed the sheet toward her, a lot of little boxes and lines that each number had to go into. He was right. There was no way to do it on the computer.

  “I just need you to write.”

  “Okay...yeah. Sure. I just...I guess I don’t see how you can type but not write. I mean, I believe you, I’ve just never heard of it, is all.” He obviously didn’t like asking her for help, and she didn’t want to put him in a bad mood.

  “I’ll show you.” He picked up a pen and the accounting paper, then started filling in his name, the date and the class. He held the pen in a weird position and seemed to be focusing hard. He did okay on his name. It was readable. The date took him a long time to write and was slanted weird and barely legible. His whole body was tense as he labored over the piece of paper. By the time he got to the class line, he looked frustrated and his grip on the pen was tight. He wrote incredibly slowly and carefully but the letters still didn’t look right. Some were even in capital letters when they weren’t supposed to be.

  She wanted to tell him to stop, that she understood now, but he was determined to finish the word.

  When he finished, he sat back and looked at his handiwork, and shook his head. “I’m told it’s got something to do with the inability to visualize and learn the motor patterns of letters.” He shrugged. “Anyway, so that’s my problem. It’s got nothing to do with being dumb or—”

  “You said that already, and I believed you the first time,” she assured him. “But...who used to do this for you?”

  “I’d do it myself, sometimes, but other than that it was Anderson...but if I don’t have to ask him...”

  “Yeah, I get it.” She nodded, liking this Beck better in some ways. “So, shall we get started?”

  “Do you want something to eat while we work? I don’t have a lot but...” He stood up and walked into this small kitchen.

  “Actually, do you have any sugar?” she asked. “Candy or something?”

  “Umm,” he looked around, “a bag of Skittles?”

  “That’ll work,” she said with a smile.

  “All right.” He dumped the bag into a bowl and set it on the table.

  She leaned forward. “I only like the red ones.” She picked a couple out and popped them into her mouth.

  “I only like the yellow ones.”

  They munched on their Skittles as they got started. He moved his chair closer to hers so that he could see the paper as she wrote. He had the textbook and a calculator in front of him and she had a pencil poised over the paper. He started listing off numbers and told her where to put them. It was easy for her, of course, to just copy down numbers as he said them.

  Her mind started to wander, getting lost in his voice even though he was speaking softly. His shoulder was against hers, and she could feel the heat radiating from his body. His knee brushed hers as he leaned in and corrected where she was putting a number.

  She didn’t know why he affected her so much. Beck didn’t scare her but he had a certain quality that made her uneasy but attracted to him at the same time. Maybe it was the mystery. He could be a total jerk but when he needed something, he got uncomfortable. It was almost endearing.

  She tried to shake the thoughts out of her head and focus on what she was doing. Beck was fast at this, whatever it was, and named off the numbers almost as fast as she could write them. It was a lot of writing and Car knew it would have taken Beck forever to do it himself.

  Once they totaled the columns of the worksheet, she set down the pencil. Beck let out a breath and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I’ve spent four hours doing one half that size.”

  She didn’t respond. She didn’t really know what to say. He didn’t like asking his best friend for help so he labored through his disability, which wasn’t really fair.

  A look at her cell phone told her what time it was. “Anderson doesn’t expect me for another fifteen minutes.”

  “You should go. It could take you a while in this snow.”

  She leaned back in her chair. “Not that long, it’s only a few blocks away. I think I’ll wait for my hand to start working again. My Jeep’s a stick, kinda hard to drive with one hand numb.” She was exaggerating, of course. She sort of liked his company when he was in this mode, even though he didn’t say a lot.

  Beck shrugged. “Whatever, want something to drink?” he asked, getting up. “I’ve got water...and more water.”

  “Oh...yeah, I’ll go for one of those.” She crossed the room to lean against the low wall that separated the kitchenette from the rest of the room.

  He handed her a cold bottle of water and took one for himself.

  “So what’s your story?” she asked.

  “My story?” Beck asked, ambling over to a chair in his sitting area.

  “Yeah, you know, life story, parents, siblings, crazy ex-girlfriend, history, whatever.”

  “You first.” He gestured for her to sit down on the couch.

  “Okay.” She sat down and opened the water. “Um, parents are happily married, Mom’s mostly a housewife, Dad owns a small company. No siblings, recently moved here from Maine.”

  He shrugged and took a drink of water. “Is Anderson banging you?”

  “No!” she exclaimed, a little offended. “What kind of question is that?”

  He seemed a little amused. “Chill.”

  “Oh, here we go.” She rolled her eyes.

  “What?”

  “There you go, going from normal to jerk in 3.5.”

  He laughed and one corner of his mouth turned up in a wry smile. “Yeah, that’s me, the jerk.”

  “Well, you are, most of the time anyway, and you know it.”

  He nodded slowly. “Yep, I suppose you’re gonna try to change me or something? Dig deep and pull out all my warm and fuzzies?” He laughed. “Are you really that desperate?”

  She closed the cap on her water and stood up. “All right then, that’s my cue to leave. This was wonderful,” she said sarcastically. “My favorite part was when you mocked me. Let’s do it again sometime.”

  She started to walk toward her bag but Beck grabbed her wrist as she walked by. She glared down at him. “Let go,” she said firmly.

&nb
sp; “Sit down,” he said, just as firm.

  “Why? So you can mock me again? Call me desperate?”

  “I call ‘em like I see ‘em,” he said frankly. “Sit. You’ve still got some time before Anderson will worry.”

  He almost sounded like he wanted her to stay, but why? He was just making fun of her. Why would she stay when he was being rude? She should just leave...but of course, she wasn’t going to, given that damn indescribable attraction that she felt toward him.

  “Fine.” She jerked her arm away from him and sat back down. “Your turn then.”

  He answered too quickly. “The parents are unhappily married, one sister, no girlfriends.”

  “How old is your sister?” Car asked, trying to sound casual.

  “Thirteen. She doesn’t live here.”

  Car nodded. “Fair enough. But I didn’t mean current girlfriends obviously. Come on, give me a horror story.”

  “No past girlfriends.”

  “And you’re a senior in high school?”

  He nodded.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I don’t care.” He shrugged.

  “That’s...odd.”

  “Why the hell would I want a girlfriend?”

  “Umm, so you have someone you can spend time with?”

  “I have yet to find a girl who meets both of my requirements.”

  She laughed and leaned back on the couch. This was going to be good. “And what are your requirements?”

  “I have to want to hang out with her, and I have to want to fuck her.”

  “Ah, sounds so simple, yet...?”

  “Found a lot of girls I want to bang, and I have found few girls who I don’t mind hanging out with, but I haven’t found a girl who is both.”

  “Well...” She couldn’t believe she was saying this. “We’re hanging out right now. Am I fuckable?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Are you offering?”

  “No!” she said too quickly. “I’m just saying it can’t be that hard to find a girl that you want to do and hang out with.”

  “Right. Well, yeah, granted that you aren’t fucking Anderson, you’re totally doable.” He shrugged casually. “I’m not real picky, a nice pair of legs and I’m in.”

  “Thanks for the graphic.”

  He did that half-smile thing again. “Well, I didn’t mean literally, but yeah...usually ends up that way. I never kiss those girls though.”

  She frowned, surprised he’d volunteered that. “What’s that about?”

  “Makeup doesn’t taste good, you know. Usually I’m just in it for a quickie anyway. The whole spending time thing really isn’t my style.”

  “And quickies mean you don’t kiss?” she asked dubiously.

  He sighed. “Look, I have sex with girls for the sex, that’s it. I’m not against kissing. It’s just that when I kiss a girl they start to think it’s something more than it is. I decided to avoid the confusion.”

  “You have sex with girls without kissing them?”

  “Uh, yeah? All the time.”

  “What kind of girls are these?”

  Beck laughed. “You’d be surprised how many of them are not as shallow as you think. A lot of them are just looking for what I am—a good romp and get on with it.”

  “How do you get them hot, if you don’t kiss?”

  “You haven’t seen me naked.” His lips twitched. “It usually doesn’t take much more than that.”

  She slapped her hand to her eyes. “Why did I ask?”

  “Ah come on, don’t tell me you’ve never gotten hot for a guy before he even touched you.”

  “I’ve only ever had sex with one guy.”

  “And you never got hot for him before he touched you?”

  “No.”

  “Hm, interesting. But really, only your ex?”

  “I dated him for two years, and I wasn’t real sexually active before the age of sixteen.”

  Her mind screamed at her to get up and leave, but those gray eyes were boring into hers. She tried to read his expression but she couldn’t. His face was blank, as always.

  His eyes flicked away from hers. “You should go.”

  “Yeah.” She stood up and walked over to the table, grabbing her bag, putting her things back into it, and heading for the door. She had her hand on the knob when he touched her shoulder, causing her to turn around quickly.

  “Your phone.” He held it out to her.

  “Right, thanks.” She slipped it into her pocket and looked back up at him.

  Suddenly his lips were on hers and they were kissing. Stunned, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back feverishly.

  This kiss was hot, fast, and desperate. He had one hand on either side of her torso, holding her in place, his fingers tight on her ribs.

  She didn’t know what was going on except that she didn’t want it to stop. His tongue was hot and demanding, exploring her mouth, leaving hints of lemon as he went.

  She moaned and leaned closer. He was so damn tall.

  After a few seconds, he pulled his lips away, holding her against the door while they caught their breath.

  “What—” he started.

  “You taste like lemons.”

  ”You taste like cherries.”

  They looked at each other for a moment, trying to figure out where this was going. God, did it matter? She knew exactly what she wanted and knew Beck could give it to her.

  “Are you leaving, or not?” Beck asked evenly.

  She shook her head slowly and that was all Beck needed. He dropped his head and kissed her again, his hands moving to her ass and pulling her off the ground. He pushed her back against the door with his entire body, keeping his lips over hers the whole time. She moaned and her legs wrapped around his waist tightly, not wanting to let go.

  As she began to get reacquainted with his tongue, her pocket started to vibrate.

  Beck noticed it too and pulled his lips away again. “It’s probably Anderson.” He rested his forehead against the door beside her head but didn’t put her down.

  She slipped her hand between them and grabbed her phone out of her pocket, trying to calm her breathing as she answered it. “Hey.”

  “Hey, you still at Beck’s?”

  “Yeah, umm...” Beck shifted his hips and she bit her lip to keep from moaning. “Yeah, we’re still doing homework. I’ll probably be another hour or so, okay?”

  “Sure thing, just wanted to make you weren’t stuck in the snow.”

  “Yep, don’t wait up.”

  “I won’t. See ya.”

  She ended the call.

  “An hour?” Beck said. “I dunno about that, but I’ll try.” He didn’t lift his head as he spoke.

  “Shut up. Besides, I thought you didn’t kiss girls.” She tried to push on his chest so she could see his face but he didn’t budge.

  “Yeah, well...” He turned his head to speak directly into her ear. “You taste good.” He kissed her ear and it tickled, which caused her to shudder as he pressed his lips to her ear again.

  He continued tasting her ear lobe while he snaked a hand up her shirt and under her bra. She gasped at his forwardness but when his warm hand met her soft skin, she pushed closer.

  “Mmm, these are nice,” he whispered before pushing his lips against hers again. She reveled in the feeling of his soft lips and warm hand, but she wanted more.

  She pushed her tongue farther into his mouth. The lemon taste was still there. Her legs wrapped tighter around his waist, which brought their hips together. He groaned and parted their lips for a moment, leaning back and using his hips to keep her supported while he pulled his sweatshirt off.

  She almost giggled at the sight of his muscular arms and grabbed his biceps. They felt just as sexy as they looked.

  “We should—”

  “Bedroom.” She cut him off.

  “Yes, bedroom.” He wrapped an arm around her but didn’t put her down until they reached the bedroom.
/>
  When her feet hit the plush carpet, she immediately reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it off. They seemed to be racing to see who could get their clothes off first. She only had her bra on when he backed her against the wall again.

  His hands made short work of her bra. He unclasped it and she yanked it the rest of the way off, dropping it to the floor.

  He had been right. She had been hot for him already but the sight of his naked body definitely would have done the job on its own.

  As much as Carmondy enjoyed his kisses, she didn’t feel like waiting anymore. Beck seemed to have the same idea. He gripped the back of her thighs and lifted her up, preparing to settle her down onto his hips, but he stopped.

  “What?” she asked, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and getting as close as he would let her. The smooth brick wall behind her was cold. She pushed her hips against his, urging him on.

  “Condom.” He began to set her down.

  She held onto him tighter and shook her head. “We’re covered.”

  He pushed her back so they leaned against the wall and he could see her face. “You sure?”

  “Positive,” she breathed, wanting to be against his skin again. “I’ve been on the pill for a year and a half.”

  Without another word he closed the small distance between them, his hips pushing her legs wide as he made their bodies flush.

  Carmondy gasped and dropped her head back against the wall for a moment. She felt his warm breath on her cheek while he waited for her. He didn’t kiss her, just waited.

  Car moaned quietly before deciding that this was the best feeling in the world. She rolled her hips against his and that was all the confirmation that he needed. He started into a rhythm right away. She fought to breathe while biting her bottom lip to keep from crying out. The urge to kiss him was strong but she was too lost in the moment to move properly.

  Beck didn’t have the same problem though, as he moved his hips back he was also kissing up her neck, to a sensitive spot behind her ear.

  Once she had relaxed a little, she started to move with him, going with the flow. She stole a downward glance and watched as he kept a steady, fast-paced rhythm. She gripped his shoulders and forced herself to tear her eyes away from where their bodies were meeting. Parts of her body started to tense up, causing him to groan loudly and grip her hips even tighter.