Step-Lover

He’s a good guy.

Am I over Blade? I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever get over it, but I’m moving on, and that’s a good damned start.

School is hectic and between that and working nights at a bar down the road, I’m pretty much unable to think. Being busy has helped, and so has Yates. Strange name, I know, but my new boyfriend is his own kind of different. He’s probably not what I would have picked for myself, but I met him at school and we sparked up a good friendship that slowly developed.

Yates is clean. He’s working to be a doctor and he’ll be a damned good one. He’s a pretty boy—at least, that’s what Brody calls him. He’s got neat brown hair and deep brown eyes. He’s lean but fit and you’d never see him in a pair of worn jeans. You certainly wouldn’t see him with a tattoo. He’s not a fan of Brody, but he likes Ripley. Mom and Jack both think he’s nice, so really, it’s good.

Right?

“Are you late or something?” Melanie asks as I continue hopping until I run into the back of the couch.

“Yes,” I cry. “I slept in.”

She laughs. “Well, best you get running.”

I flip her the bird and grab a coffee she pushes towards me in a paper cup as I pick up my keys and run towards the door. I’m out before she can say another word. I drive like a loon towards school and when I find a park, I practically stumble out of the car as I charge towards Biology. I reach the classroom just as Professor ‘Mathias’ Ericson has started his speech.

I skid to a halt and flash him a smile.

Professor Ericson is hot. I don’t say this lightly. He’s a thirty-year-old god, dropped from heaven, rolled in chocolate, topped with sprinkles and placed in my classroom. I won’t lie—I go out of my way to never miss Biology, because perving on him for an entire lesson is the highlight of my week. Not to mention, he’s smart as all hell and makes class really entertaining.

He narrows his eyes at me as I sit on my chair. And what eyes they are. He’s got emerald-green eyes that are so freaking mesmerizing you just want to stare at him until you melt from their intensity. His hair isn’t your typical professor hair. It’s messy and almost, well, dreadlock-ish. I can’t explain it, but he has this bad-ass cool thing going on. His skin is olive, and he’s got killer dimples and a rocking body. He looks as if he belongs on a stage with a guitar and a leather jacket, not in a classroom.

Not that I’m complaining.

“It’s unusual for you to be late, Aria. Is everything okay?” he asks in that voice. Chocolate-covered orgasm.

I nod, smiling. “I’m sorry, sir. I thought I had time, but I got caught in traffic because I left a few minutes too late.”

He nods and smiles, then turns back to the class. It’s not a massive class, and I get along with most of the people here, except for Twisted Sister up the back. There’s one girl in this class, and I really have no idea why she’s here. I mean, she’s obviously smart, because she passes, but she’s so . . . dark and twisty. Okay, she’s not really dark, she’s actually stunning, but there’s something about her.

Thinking of her, I turn and look to see her sitting in her typical seat in the far left corner, as far back as you can go. There are at least fifty seats between her and the rest of the class. Today, her honey-blond hair is falling over her shoulders in luscious waves. As always, though, she has a hoodie pulled up, shadowing most of her face. There are rumors she has been seen with bruises on her cheeks. She’s got a killer bod, round ass and slim waist, but she hides it mostly in those hoodies and jeans. Her eyes are the most intense mix of yellow and green I’ve ever seen and if she didn’t scowl at everyone in a way that tells them she’s ready to stab, then she’d be a really beautiful girl.

“Right, class, if you can all start where we took off last week, that would be awesome.”

Good old Professor Ericson. Anyone who says awesome is totally cool in my opinion.

~*~*~*~

“Hey, Aria!”

I turn and smile as I see Yates walking down the halls towards me. When he reaches me, he leans down and kisses my forehead. He’s not a real fan of the old PDA. He does tuck a strand of hair behind my ear as he studies me. “How’d you go in class today?”

I shrug, but keep my smile. “Great. It was a breeze.”

“That’s a girl.”

He turns us towards the cafeteria and we talk causally about classes until we arrive. When we get our lunch, we join a close group of friends we both share.

“How hot is Mathias today?” My friend Julie sighs.

I grin at her. “I don’t know he’d appreciate you talking about him on a first-name basis.”

She waves a hand. “Oh poo. It’s what I’d be saying if we were in bed together.”

Yates scoffs and I giggle.

We all chat through lunch and when it’s class time again, I squeeze Yates’ hand and say, “Mom is having dinner tonight. She invited us around. You want to go?”

He nods. “Sure.”

“Great, swing by at six.”

He flashes me a smile and I head to my classes.

The day drags by and when I’m finally done, I head straight home. Melanie is out, so I take some time to run myself a bath and enjoy the hot water cascading over my skin. When I’m finished, I get out and dress in a green turtleneck sweater and a pair of skinny jeans. I pull on my favorite black boots and toss my hair up into a messy bun.