"I'm never going to pass this class."
Heather looked up from her laptop and rolled her eyes. "You always say that. And then you somehow pull off at least a C." One thing she hated about Mark- he never studied and still got decent enough grades to get accepted to Diffie University. She'd studied her ass off all throughout high school and struggled for every grade and ended up going to the exact same school.
Mark ran his fingers through his tightly coiled brown locks and sighed. "College is nothing like high school. I can't understand half of what Professor Lerner is saying in class."
"You sure that's not because you go out partying every night instead of sleeping?" Heather closed her laptop with a snap and smoothed her skirt over her legs.
"Maybe." Mark looked at her and grinned. "Wow, you look like a grown-up today. Job interview?"
She has the greatest legs.
"Right before class. I don't think I'll get it- hostess position at this fancy steakhouse downtown. It would've been perfect but I'm sure they're going to go with someone else."
"Why?" Mark asked. Heather stretched and her tight turtleneck rippled with her every move. He found himself staring at the way it pulled across her breasts and forced himself to look away. She'd be furious if she caught him.
"All the other girls who were interviewing were wearing blazers and dress slacks and shoes that cost more than my car payment. Drop dead gorgeous every one of them. If you're going to hire a hostess, you want someone who draws men in, not someone who turns them away." She gestured to her doll-like face and copper curls. "Men look at me and they treat me like a child. They're going to hire one of those other women and I'll... I don't know, go wait tables at that off campus diner we always pass."
An idea came to Mark.
A crazy idea
he thought before blurting it out. "What if I hire you to tutor me in this class- say $200 for the semester? I'll also help you pick some outfits that make you look like beautiful adult woman you really are."
Heather tapped her fingers against the cover of her laptop and considered.
Mark called me beautiful and I do need the money. What do I have to lose?
"Sure, when do you want to start?
"How about right now. We can head over to my house and you can school me on Napoleon's invasion of Russia."
"Ok, I have to run by my dorm room to drop a few things off and I'll head over after."
Perfect
Mark thought
, that'll give me time to set up for her.
**
Mark's house was one of the few standalone houses near the school that hadn't been converted into apartments. His family had owned it years before the university was built. Heather knew his parents regularly rejected offers to sell the house and land to the university so their sons would have off campus housing if they got accepted. So far only Mark had made it in, meaning he got the three story Victorian all to himself.
Butterflies fluttered through her stomach as she walked up on the porch. Spending time around him always made her feel nervous and edgy. What started out as a small crush when Heather met him in middle school had morphed into an all encompassing sexual fixation over the years. A slow slide from wanting to hold his hand, to wanting to kiss him, to wanting to beg him to fuck her until she couldn't walk. And he was oblivious.
Keep it together
she told herself as she reached out to open the door.
He doesn't think of you that way.
"Come on in," he called out from upstairs as she stepped over the threshold. "I thought we could set up in my sitting room- I've already got a roaring fire going."
The sitting room... right off his bedroom.
Heather's pulse raced. She took a deep calming breath before locking the door and heading upstairs.
Mark wasn't kidding about the roaring fire. He'd loaded the fireplace with enough logs to fill the entire space with flickering light and crackling heat. "Wow, you really went all out in here. Did you bring that table all the way from the kitchen?"
Mark grinned. "Yeah, I figured if we were going to concentrate we needed someplace warm and you know how old houses are- drafty and cold even on mild days. I got some snacks too." He proudly pointed to a tray of cheese and crackers and she bit back a laugh- he'd clearly open some of those child friendly cheese & cracker packs and laid them out out on a plate. "And wine."
"Can't study without wine." Heather took a step toward the table and yelped.
"Are you ok?" Mark rushed to her side.
"I'm not sure. I slammed my leg on something- down at shin level. It really hurts."
"Let me see," Mark said. He bent and groaned. "I forgot about that stupid decorative door stop and the table cloth got stuck on it. I should've moved the table over so you could see it better. I'll get you sit down so I can take a look at it."
Heather blushed. The pain was wearing off but she didn't let him know. Mark lifted her easily from the floor and curled her to his chest. She could feel the strength of his arms under her ass and back, the heat of his skin seeping through her skirt to the very center of her. She expected him to carry her to a chair and was surprised when he pushed open the bedroom door instead and sat her on the edge of the bed.
"We may need to prop up your leg and apply ice," Mark said. He dropped to his knees and slowly slid the zipper down her boot before gently pulling it off her foot. Then he grabbed her leg in both hands and leaned in close to the red mark on her shin. "Looks like you might have a little bruise but no bleeding and it doesn't look broken."
"Thank god," Heather replied. Her pulse pounded in her ears- his hands felt warm and strong and she wanted them all over her body in the worst way.
"Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?" He smiled up at her and then glanced toward her thighs. Heather winced- from his angle he could see right up her skirt and could likely tell how hot and bothered she was. Oh god, she'd never live this one down.