Room Mated: Standalone Reverse Harem Romance

“That place is a dump,” Paige muttered.

“Right—so that means lower overhead.”

“What about licensing?” Darren asked.

“In some cases, that falls under the purview of the manager or business consultant, but in others, it’s something the lawyers deal with. Are you from here?”

“Yep,” he said. “I was born a few miles from here.”

“Okay, then you look into that. Who knows, maybe you’ll need the info someday.”

We discussed it a while longer, and I was surprised at how much the students got into it. But then I remembered how much of what I learned last year was hypothetical. It was good for them to apply what they’d learned to a real-world situation.

After everyone had their assignments, we set another meeting time for a week out. And as the students filed past me, Paige, who’d been so against me before, told me how excited she was to work on the profit margins. Huh. Who knew I’d actually inspired students? It was certainly news to me.

Kylie lingered until everyone else was gone and then we walked out of the building together. “That was brilliant,” she said once we were outside.

“It was better than doing nothing.” Which is what I’d done for the rest of the semester except for a few group chats.

“No, I’m serious. You really got them interested in the project.” She grinned. “Though they think it’s pretend.”

“It is, for them.”

“It really got me thinking. There’s a lot more to running a bar or club than just mixing the drinks. As a business student, I need to think about those kinds of things. Some of the issues the others brought up had never even crossed my mind.”

“They came up with quite a lot, I’ll admit.” I lowered my voice. “Of course, we don’t have to worry about licensing, since we’re running a speakeasy.”

“I think you mean a conversation club.” The smile she aimed at me made my day brighter. An urge to hold her hand overcame me, but I knew it wasn’t wise while we were so near the business building. Still, my fingers ached to touch hers. I was just about to give in when a voice came from behind us.

“Do you guys live in Henderson, too?” It was the redheaded dude from the cohort.

“Hi, Darren,” Kylie said, probably just to remind me of his name. She was my right-hand woman in the group. “Yeah, we’re headed to Henderson.”

“Cool,” he said, catching up to us. “I’m on the second floor. What about you all?”

“The sixth,” I said. Darren looked at Kylie.

“Um, the third,” she said. Uh-oh, she needed to get better at lying if we were going to run a speakeasy.

“Cool,” Darren said again. Didn’t he know any other responses? “What room?”

Kylie’s dual-colored eyes widened. It was clear she didn’t know what to say—but I did.

“Dude, are you seriously asking for her room number? She’s in your cohort.”

The kid’s cheeks flushed, making his many freckles look connected. “Right, sorry,” he said to Kylie who shot me a grateful look. I was pretty pleased with myself for the rest of the walk. I’d saved Kylie and shot down a dude who liked her at the same time. Score two for me.

No one else was around when we entered the suite. I expected Kylie to make a beeline for her favorite study spot at the table, but instead, she dropped her things on the sofa, taking my hand. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

She grabbed my other hand, too, and then stood on her tiptoes to kiss my lips. Suddenly, I didn’t care what the answer to my question was anymore.

I wanted to wrap my arms around her, but she kept hold of my hands. It was kind of hot that way. The only parts of us touching were our hands and our lips. Oh, and the way she leaned forward on her toes, making her breasts brush against my chest. I certainly didn’t mind that.

All tension drained out of my body as I moved my mouth over hers. She tasted so sweet. It didn’t matter if she’d just woken up or had tended bar for hours, her mouth always tasted good. And felt good. Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer, and I jerked my hands free so I could lean in, cup her face, and kiss her properly.

“Mm, that was nice,” she said minutes—or possibly hours—when we finally broke apart. Her eyes were shut, and her lips looked swollen.

“It makes me a hypocrite, though,” I said.

That made her look up. “Why?”

“Because I told Darren he couldn’t pursue you because you’re in the same cohort.”

She smiled up at me. “That doesn’t make you a hypocrite, and even if it did, I wouldn’t care. Not when you kiss me like that.” She shivered. “It does things to me.”

“Me too,” I said softly.

“Thank you for stepping up today. With the cohort and everything,” she said. “You’re a good teacher.”