Biker's Virgin

“Thank you, thank you.”

“And maybe don't rush to get out of the lab? Look, I know you're busy and focused and everything, but you need to breathe a little,” he offered with a sympathetic smile.

“I know, I know. Sometimes I feel like I'm way too stressed about school and so focused on classes and studying that I forget about everything else. And then I do stupid things… like leaving my phone in a lab.”

His laugh was warm and endearing. “Don't worry about that,” he said with a wink. “You've got me there to cover you!”

I couldn't hold back the smile that took over my cheeks. “Thanks again, Emerson.”

“Not a problem. Hey, um, I was wondering… there are a few things I'm really not too clear about in some of the reading for chemistry class tomorrow. It always helps me to talk about it with someone, kind of hash it out. Gets the neurons firing. Would you, um, would you be able to help me with some of it later?”

“Emerson, you just rescued my phone. Of course, I'll help you.”

He grinned. “Awesome. I'll come over at eight then if that's okay?”

“That's fine. See ya then.”

“See ya!” he reaffirmed and then jogged toward his apartment as I wondered what I'd just gotten myself into.

***

“So, you and Emerson are gonna be study buddies as well as lab partners, huh?” Leslie intoned, flashing me a cheeky grin. “I wonder what the next step is?”

“Come on, Les, you know there won't be a next step. And, we're not study buddies, alright? I'm just helping him out this one time. That's it. It's a one-off thing. I mean, he rescued my phone. One student returning a favor to another.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

I crumpled a ball of paper from my notebook and tossed it across the room at her. She barely managed to duck and avoid it.

“That's enough from you, smartass!” I said in a tone of mock authority just as there was a knock on the door.

Les checked her watch and shot me a knowing glance. “Well, he’s either punctual or eager. I’m going to go with both! Should I let Prince Charming in with your glass slipper?”

“You will do nothing of the sort. You are banned from the kingdom for the evening.”

She giggled. “Fine. I'll go sit in my room. I gotta memorize a whole bunch of lines for tomorrow's audition, anyway. You two can have the living room to yourselves. Don't get too rowdy in here, though,” she said with a wink as she got up and went to her room.

A strange flutter of nerves bounced around in my stomach as I got up to answer the door. I tried to shake it off. I hadn't been lying to Leslie. This was just returning a favor. At least, I didn't think I had lied to her. Unless I'd been lying to myself, as well. I gave my body another good shake, trying to rid myself of the unwelcome sensations before I opened the door.

I took a deep breath and, with my heart speeding up a tad, I opened the door and smiled. “Hi, Emerson,” I said in as neutral a tone as I could manage. “Come on in.”

“Hey, Brooke,” he said, giving me one of his heart-stopping smiles. “Thanks again for agreeing to help me out, it really means a lot to me.”

“No problem. Come on in, have a seat.” I pointed to the sofa.

I made sure to sit across from him after he sat down on the sofa, keeping the coffee table between us as a buffer. I wasn't quite ready to be in close proximity to him—not yet.

“Anything to drink? Uh, we don't have beer, just so you know, but we do have wine, bottled water, and green tea.” I felt a bit like a prude the moment the beer comment slipped from my lips, but I also didn't want there to be any uncertainty about why he was there. I was doing my best to keep the encounter strictly business.

“Just some water, thanks.”

“Sure. Be right back.” As I headed to the kitchen, the notion that his eyes were roaming my body as I walked made me both a little nervous and a little excited.

I came back and handed him a bottle of water as I took a seat. “Alright, so, what are you having trouble with?” I asked, getting straight to the task at hand and trying to avoid idle chatter.

“Oh, uh, well, right here, on page thirty-seven, the stuff with these new equations. I'm not quite getting the formula that gets you from A to B if you know what I'm saying.”

“Oh yeah, I struggled with that one a bit, too. It took me a while to get it, but once it clicks, it's actually pretty simple.” I explained the concept, illustrating it as plainly and simply as I could. It took a while, but he eventually got it. He went on to ask a few more questions about certain new concepts that we'd just covered in recent reading. By the time I'd answered his questions, about an hour had passed.