Undercover Professor (3 page)

“Becca, you said you play? What’s your game?” Andy turned his attention to Becca, who was applying lip gloss with a wand. One of her patented moves to turn men on.

“Oh, um. I’ve been into a little bit of Halo too. And sometimes that war world one.”

“World of Warcraft?” Lucy and Andy both clarified. She couldn’t stop the corner of her lips from twitching up.

Becca re-capped the gloss slowly, her pink nails caressing the tube, another move. Lucy stared at her cousin, full well knowing she had no patience to sit still for that long. The girl could barely read a four-page article in Cosmo, much less play a video game.

“What about you, Andy? I hear you’re on the job hunt. We can always use some part-time help in janitorial down at the YMCA, if you need something to pad your resumé.”

Dell’s tone surprised her. Of course he couldn’t mean it to sound that way. He was just trying to help. There was no shame in the work. A paycheck is a paycheck.

“Thanks, but I’m just looking to lay low right now. I’ll keep it in mind.” If Andy noticed the dig, he didn’t acknowledge it.

“If you’ll excuse me.” Lucy unwedged herself from under Dell’s heavy arm and scurried off to the restroom. This was way too weird. She should have told Becca no. She should have forced her to listen. Laying out snarky zingers sounded good in theory, but looking for her opening was nerve-racking in reality. She just wasn’t sharp enough.

At least this way she could keep her eye on Becca and Andy. And some sick, twisted part of her really wanted to see him again. See if that spark between them hadn’t been simply a one-time thing, spun from fabric softener and fresh clean khakis. Unfortunately, it was still there.

She came out of the bathroom and heard Andy talking on his cell phone in the hallway.

He caught her arm as he hung up the phone. “Hey, I’m sorry this is weird. I’m just glad I get to see you again so soon.” Pulling her out of the way of another patron, he crowded her against the wall, leaning in.

“Yeah, you could say it’s a little weird. But this ends here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why are you here with my cousin on a date? I have ethics. I do not date my friends’ guys. And I want you to leave her alone too. She’s much too good for you.”

He frowned, running a hand through his hair, moving to the other side of the hallway. “On a date? I didn’t ask her on a date. Honestly. It’s a miscommunication, I must not have been clear.”

Lucy narrowed her eyes, but he seemed genuinely disturbed.

“I’m new in town, and I’m just looking for some friends to hang out with.” He shrugged. “She must have misunderstood. I don’t want to date her. I don’t really have time to date anyone.” He snapped his mouth shut, like he had said too much.

She crossed her arms over her chest and raised a brow. Nice of him to be honest, at least.

“I didn’t know I’d meet you the next day, I was just looking for people to hang out with.” He moved to rest his shoulder on the wall next to her. “And I’d much rather hang out with you.”

“Hmm.” Darn it, she sort of believed him. Becca was not above twisting an honest request to meet new people into a date. The girl had done worse.

Nonetheless, it didn’t mean she could throw herself at him tonight like some sort of hussy. Maybe if he talked it out with Becca, he could clarify the situation. Maybe Becca would understand and step aside.

No matter, he still didn’t have a job, and he lived with his mom. She tried to move away, but he dropped his hand to her waist, stopping her cold and revving up her engines with one move. He was new in town; perhaps those things could be excused.

“Becca’s a great person, and cute as all get-out.” Lucy defended her cousin weakly.

“Well sure, she’s cute. But I really didn’t mean to go on a date with her, not when someone else caught my eye.” He leaned in closer. He must have sensed her weakness, like a shark sniffing blood in the water.

“That’s impossible.” Lucy’s voice cracked, and she swallowed hard.

“It’s true.” He leaned forward, his lips brushing her earlobe.

Lucy inhaled, pressing herself closer to the wall, clinging to it for safety. He was as intoxicating as she remembered. That light in his eyes, the tilt of his chin mesmerized her as it did before.

He tilted his head down, nudging her chin up to angle to his lips. Lucy let the delicious feel of him, the smell of him, his warmth flood over her. All she had to do was move her head, and she’d be able to taste him again, that combination of soft and firm. Fire and sparks. His arm on her waist clenched, tugging her into him.

She gathered her tattered indignation. “No. I, we, this is... No.”

She needed to figure out what this meant before letting him fog her head again. “It doesn’t matter if I ‘caught your eye.’ In fact, I’m a little insulted.”

He backed away, frowning.

She nodded judiciously. “Yeah. Insulted. Are all women just interchangeable to you?”

His mouth dropped open, flapping up and down, like he was forming a retort.

“For your information, I have some very strict requirements for the men I date. And I’m sorry, you don’t meet them.”

He tilted his head. “But I take it Dell, Mister Win-win
I got some free balls and a phone number
, he meets your strict requirements?”

“Yes, yes, he does.” She nodded, hating that he was so composed and quick, while her brain struggled to keep up with her mouth. “I mean, so far, he has.” She blocked out the fact that his pokey kiss left her cold, and the heavy weight of his arm on her shoulder made her squirmy. Doesn’t matter. That was not on the list.

Andy watched her with a predatory gleam in his eyes. “C’mon, you’re hardly married. Have you even kissed him? Did his kisses make you quiver?”

Lucy inhaled sharply. “That’s none of your business.”

“What’s that?”

“If Dell and I kissed, if we screwed around, if he made me swing from the chandeliers, whatever, it’s none of your business. I have to get back. You clear things up with Becca, and be nice about it.”

“And then?”

“And then we can talk.” She marched resolutely down the hall through the restaurant to the table, settling next to Dell again.

* * *

Drew watched Lucy across the table, the pink blush on her cheeks rising every time she made eye contact with him.

Becca’s fingers crept over his thigh, squeezing his knee. She was cute, but all signs pointed to crazy. He told Lucy the truth in the hallway. When he met Becca, he was only interested in the research. And he wasn’t looking for a relationship with anyone. His time here was brief. Wait for Mom to heal, finish up the article and presentation and get back to Portland. A girlfriend was not in the works for him, even if she did have kissable pink lips. A quick fling, sure. The challenge Lucy presented intrigued him, nothing more.

He didn’t think she had overheard much of his conversation on the phone. Next time he’d be more careful. He hated lying to Lucy, but circumstances dictated he keep up the farce. What were the chances he’d run into a gamer that she knew? But since he was only staying for a few more weeks, it didn’t really matter.

Glancing at Dell, the big guy flexed his hand tightly on Lucy’s shoulder as a subtle reminder that Becca was supposed to be his date tonight. Regardless that his intentions were only to meet gamers and get some contacts for research, and that Becca had lied, he didn’t want to piss the guy off. Besides, the man’s hands were like giant bananas. Watching them caress Lucy’s slender shoulders made him cringe.

“And then it turns out they were out of my size in pink, but all they had was peach. I mean, could you just imagine? I was shattered. Just shattered!”

“Shadoobie.” Drew murmured the next lyric to a Rolling Stones song. An echo came from across the table. From Lucy. He started, looking at her hard. She snapped her eyes up, looking thunderstruck. This was getting weird. He had to get her alone and dig deep into that head of hers, figure out what made her tick. Not everyone quoted the Rolling Stones in conversation.

“Whoa, you guys are huge dorks.” Dell laughed, hugging Lucy close for a second. She blinked owlishly, but she smoothed her features before he let her loose, keeping his arm over her shoulder.

“Ha-ha, yeah. Those Rolling Stones. Guilty.” Drew laughed, trying not to sound as dazed as he felt. Shaking his head, Drew took another drink of beer and winked at Lucy over the top, causing her lips to quirk up in a charming smirk.

“Hey, you know that American Idol tour is coming in a few weeks? I think they even do a few Rolling Stones songs.” Becca smiled up into his face. When had she gotten so close?

“I heard they were coming to Milwaukee, that would be really fun,” Dell chimed in.

“Are you serious? You watch that?” Lucy coughed on her sip of beer, half laughing.

Until she caught the look on Dell’s face.

“Of course I do. They are some really talented musicians.”

“Oh, right. Of course.” She sobered.

“Well, I didn’t expect that,” Drew muttered as Becca and Dell talked about the upcoming concert.

“Yeah,” Lucy murmured, holding her beer up for a toast. “Shadoobie.”

He met it, enjoying the inside joke.

“You and me should go to the show, what do you think?” Dell smiled at Lucy.

“What show, American Idol?” Drew could tell she was trying not to laugh.

“Absolutely. It would be a blast. Our fourth date, right?” Dell pulled Lucy close and moved in for a kiss. Her eyes opened wide in surprise, and she turned her head to avoid the contact.

Drew stared. Lucy was so easy to read, yet Dell seemed to not even pay attention. She was like the directions to Super Mario Bros., clean and concise. Meanwhile Dell was still playing Donkey Kong.

“I think it would be really special. Maybe Andy and I could come too, that would be awesome, right?”

“Maybe. If the timing is right,” he murmured. Wondering if there was even time to pursue this attraction he had for this interesting person. Maybe he should walk away from her, just save everyone some stress when he left.

“So, are you ready to go? Maybe have a nightcap at my place?” Becca interrupted his thoughts.

“Gosh, I wish I could, but I have this...thing.” Drew helped Becca on with her coat, tucking her scarf around her neck firmly. As she tried to snuggle closer, he smartly buttoned up her coat.

He couldn’t watch this any longer. Trying to be respectful of another guy’s date was draining. He might be a cad, but he was honest, in his own way.

“A thing?” Becca looked distraught.

“There’s a midnight release of the new X-Men... I was going to wait in line outside until the doors opened.” He opened the doors for the group, ushering them out into the freezing winds, which had developed into a nasty sideways sleet.

Becca’s face predictably fell, with a disgusted little sneer. “In this weather?”

Well, kudos to her, she didn’t mock a comic book, just his brains.

“Yep, I’ve been excited about this one for months. See, in the last episode the evil scribe and the four-armed translator...”

“I’ll make sure everyone gets home safe,” Dell interrupted, to Drew’s delight. He didn’t want to have to make up a whole plot to distract them.

“Good night, Andy, will you call me?” Becca leaned up into his chest, pulling his own scarf snug around his neck, hauling him down for a kiss. He turned his face, and she landed on his cheek.

“Sure,” he said, because it was easier than being honest. His gaze slid to Lucy again as she wound a rainbow scarf around her neck.

Dell gave him a quick manly fist bump. “Later, man. Good meetin’ ya.”

“The evil scribe and the four-armed interpreter, huh?” Lucy sauntered by, zipping up her fleece, pulling a woolly hat low over her ears. The rainbow pattern matched her scarf and mittens.

“Wait.” He snagged her arm, pulling her into the alcove of the restaurant, out of the wind.

Lucy glanced at his hand, allowing him to pull her aside. “Yes?”

“When can I see you again?” God, he sounded desperate. But something wouldn’t let her walk away. Maybe it was the cheerful rainbow scarf, so bright and simple.

“I can’t quite tell if you’re a jerk, or just an idiot.” She smiled at him anyway and the words were like an endearment.

“When?” he pressed.

“Sorry, pal. Until you clear it up with Becca, the answer to that is next door to never. I do not date guys who date my friends.” She danced away from his reach, sauntering down the sidewalk into the wind, leaving just the scent of lavender behind on the wind.

“What took you so long? It’s freezing out here.” Dell and Becca huddled together.

“I dropped a mitten.” She held her hands up, showing both colorful mittens. “All clear. Shall we?”

The three linked arms and walked down the sidewalk. Dell leaned close to say something to Lucy, and Becca peeked over her shoulder to smile coyly at him.

Damn. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong girl. Totally, 100 percent, wrong girl.

Chapter Three

“Mom, do you need any help in there?” Drew called into the shower. He sat waiting, bath towel ready. She had turned off the water a moment ago and hadn’t said anything.

“Not yet, can you just hand in that rose lotion, dear?” Her voice wobbled with pain and weariness. Having your hip replaced was almost an outpatient procedure these days, but it was still damn hard rehabilitation.

And his mom hated,
hated
being reliant on anyone. It was embarrassing to have her grown son help with these everyday tasks. He explained he had a sabbatical for a semester, to research and write this paper, so this was helping him as much as her.

She told him, “Don’t shit a shitter, kid,” but agreed anyway.

He truly did need a place to go where he wasn’t recognized to research, to get unbiased reactions from female online gamers. He was too well known in Portland, so tucking himself halfway across the country in Milwaukee, growing the beard and dressing like a shlub, was his best option. Plus, he was under deadline. His Comic-Con presentation coincided with the article release in
Wired
magazine. The timing was vital.

She poked her hand out with the lotion bottle. “Okay. Close your eyes.” She pulled open the curtain, and he aimed the towel at the feet he peeked at. She had painted her toes before the surgery, a bright cheerful red. They were chipped now, and he reminded himself to repaint them for her.

He shuffled forward, wrapping her with the huge towel, letting her tuck the edges tight before he lifted her up, hoisted her over the edge of the tub and put her gently on the ground. She braced her hands on his shoulders, and he picked up the clean pink underpants waiting on the counter. Crouching at her feet, he tapped the good leg first, and she lifted her foot, grunting a little under the strain.

“Next foot.” He shut his eyes as he shimmied them up under her towel. Next on, a pair of stretchy cotton pants that didn’t rest too heavy on the incision. She turned, pulling on a bra and shirt.

Her eyes were glassy with pain. She quickly ran a brush through her short damp hair, and he helped her hobble back to the living room and the easy chair she was camping out in. He fetched her pain pills, and a glass of water.

She sighed, propping her feet back up in the lounger as he remembered he wanted to redo the polish. He hurried to the bathroom and plucked the same color from a drawer, folding himself to crouch before her on an ottoman.

“So,” she sighed. He slowly painted the first nail over the color. “So, how is your research going? Meeting interesting girls?”

“I am. Actually, I met some who live here in the building. Lucy, and her cousin Becca.”

“Sure, I know them. Up a floor, right? Nice girls. Becca is a preemie nurse, she’s a hard worker. And such a sweetheart. Can you imagine, working with those tiny little babies all the time?”

Andy nodded, concentrating on not making a mess. The thought of working with really small babies all the time sort of made his stomach turn. All the tubes, the needles, the little arms and legs and diapers—it was just too much to think about in depth. He liked kids, sure. He liked them so much, he couldn’t stand the thought of them in pain.

“Lucy, though, she seems more your type. Less sugar, more spice.”

This observation made him pause and glance up. She watched his slow progress with half-lidded eyes. He was surprised to hear her assessment. In all honesty, Lucy was not his type.

His type was young, giggly, with a killer rack and a nice butt. His type was vapid, looked great in a cocktail dress and even better without. They had that wide-eyed excitement to just be with him, he didn’t have to give much effort. Young. His type was easily replaceable.

Lucy wasn’t giggly. She wasn’t blonde or sparkly, and she made it pretty clear she didn’t want to be anywhere near him. And her boobs were real. Ahh, yes, nice and real. In essence, she was absolutely not his type. Yet he was obsessed.

“Do my hands next? You’re very talented. If this whole popular professor PhD thing doesn’t work out for you, you could always get your cosmetology degree.” Susan held a straight face for a few seconds, then snorted and giggled so hard she winced in pain from jostling around her hip.

“What makes you think Lucy is my type?” he asked a moment later, not sure he wanted to hear the answer. He moved slowly through the toes, the soft sound of a game show on the TV. His only answer came as a soft snore. She fell asleep without discussing it further.

Picking up a grocery list his mom had made, he wrote a quick note and dropped it by her glass of water explaining he was out on errands and to call his cell if she needed anything.

He looped the messenger bag over his shoulder and made his way down to the corner coffee shop. It was liberating to not having to meet for office hours or go over class agendas with teachers’ assistants, or conquer his entire reading list. As much as he loved teaching and staying on top of the trends, it was a nice break to do this freelance research. Helping other “nerds” figure out what women gamers really want was a fun topic. He felt like an explorer, daring to traipse into the jungle without a guide.

He paid for his latte, flirting with the coffee girl. She gave him an irritated look, and he blamed it on the beard. It made him look dorky. Which was the point, of course.

He pulled out a notebook and pen, as well as the prequel of the series Lucy was reading, and settled into a table facing the window.

Drew knew what women wanted. But when he tried to put it into words, to write it down, the words seemed to stick in his brain.

Turning to a fresh page in his notebook, he wrote
Women Want...

Respect. Duh, there’s a whole song about it.

Women want confidence in a man, but not cockiness, which is why so many great online gaming relationships started up, but fizzled when the people met. It’s easy for guys to be confident in a game. Not so easy when faced with a live female across the table.

He doodled in a little dragon next to the margin of the blank page.

With a frustrated sigh, he flipped his notebook to a few discussions he had with some girls at the comic store. Of the three, two were students. Not surprising, since he was in a college town. One took online classes; the other was in tech support. Both said they liked to play to blow off steam. The third girl was a bit edgier; she was pierced and tattooed and looked dangerous. She was a waitress and singer in a punk band. But she had been pleasant too. She said she liked gaming because it fed her imagination, she could really sink herself into the world and let go of reality.

He jotted down
escape
on his list of why women game.

Then he stared at the page for a bit. Nope, nothing coming to mind yet. More research needed. He opened his book and read a few pages. A familiar bouncy gait caught his eye out the window. Lucy hurried down the sidewalk. He shoved his stuff back into his bag and raced out of the store, glad he had gotten a to-go cup.

She turned the corner and he followed quickly, admiring the way her back end looked in the black skirt and heels before he caught up with her.

“Hey, Lucy. Wait up.”

“Oh, Andy.” She turned, and he could have sworn she hurried faster. “No time to chat, I have to run these errands...”

He quickly caught up to her with a brisk jog. “I think we’re going to the same place. The grocery store? My mom made a list.”

Nice line.
My mom made a list. God, he sounded like a tool.

“Um, neat. Yeah, I’m on my lunch break from work, had to get some stuff.” She turned to go into the fresh food market, and he gallantly held the door open for her.

“You’re not going to grocery shop with me, are you?” She sighed, pursing her lips.

Drew grinned. “Sure, why not? I can help you carry the bags home.”

She harrumphed, but he caught the hint of a smile as she started stuffing apples into a mesh produce bag.

Consulting the list, he took a small vine of grapes and popped a few into his mouth before he plucked some salad fixings, and got a bottle of bleu cheese dressing.

With a shake of her head and a disapproving scowl, she hurried up to the meat counter.

“So, is Susan out of town or something? I haven’t seen her in a while.” Lucy waited for the employee to come over, glancing at her watch. She ordered a half pound of turkey lunch meat, bouncing on her heels impatiently.

“No. She actually had hip surgery.” He got a quarter pound of ham, even though he knew there was some in the fridge right now.

She gave him an odd look. “She had hip surgery? I didn’t know that.”

“Well, I’m sure she’d be happy to tell you all about it, if you want to stop over.”

Lucy blushed as she hustled down the breakfast cereal aisle, picking up two boxes of instant oatmeal. “We’re not technically friends. She always managed to catch me when I was in a hurry, and um, well, she likes to chat.”

Drew grabbed a box of granola bars, consulting his list again before he backtracked to pick up some cereal for his mom. Meeting her in the next aisle as she ground a pound of coffee, he leaned against the machine. “She’s very chatty. I know, she can go on and on.”

“Not unlike someone else in the family,” she muttered.

“But she does like you. Now, since you know you have my mom’s seal of approval, when can I see you again?” He picked a bag of the ground coffee, putting it in his basket.

She pulled the bag of coffee out and folded into neat little pleats. “Well, you’re seeing me right now.” She clamped it firmly before charging out of the aisle to the dairy department.

“No, you know what I mean. When can I see you again? Like, a date.”

“I’m sure I made this clear. Never.” She mocked him, tossing her hair over her shoulder and batting her eyes. How could she be so irritating and so adorable at the same time?

Drew felt that goofy grin cross his lips again. She bolted down the dairy aisle, and he took a moment to regroup.

Dr. Drew, PhD, would have some witty comeback. Dr. Drew, PhD, wouldn’t be chasing her around the grocery store, begging for a date. But instead, he was schlubby Andy, with the unruly facial hair and the goofy T-shirts, who wanted to talk about gaming. He rushed to follow Lucy’s lead, pulling out some cheese, detouring to milk and eggs, picked up some yogurt and butter.

He caught up with her in the frozen food aisle. “Come on, I mean it. This is fun, this bantering thing we have here. Let’s do it some more, over a drink, maybe dinner.”

“I think we did that last night, while you were out. With. My. Cousin.” She clenched her teeth. “Remember? Becca?” She pulled out some frozen veggies, and he did the same, not even glancing at what he grabbed as he hurried to keep pace with her.

“I told you, it’s not like that. I was just trying to meet some other gamers, to get to know some people.”

Lucy hurried up the pain relief aisle.

“That’s right. I forgot—she misunderstood. Seriously, just leave me alone.” She blushed, an intoxicating shade of pink over her cheeks, highlighting the freckles.

“Right, I swear.” His phone rang.

“Jesus, just leave me alone.” Her cheeks were positively rosy now, and she was glowing a little bit. It wasn’t that warm in the pharmacy aisle.

He shuffled the basket to his other hand to dig his phone from his pocket.

“Leave you alone? Let me just get rid of this person, and we can talk about that over a salad and bread in the deli, come on. Hello?”

“Andy! Hi! Oh my God, I had the absolute best time last night. Did you have fun? Did you like Lucy and Dell? When can we do it again?”

“Oh, Becca. Hey.”

Lucy turned, propped a hand on her hip and glared at him.

He cleared his throat. “Hey, Becca.” He interrupted her frantic chatter. “I’m just about to check out at the grocery store, but I do need to talk to you about last night. I just want to clarify that it wasn’t a date. I didn’t mean...”

“Oh you silly. Of course it wasn’t a date. When kindred souls like us meet, we don’t have to do that dating thing at all. We can just bypass that and really get to know each other.”

“Kindred souls? What? No. I’ll call you back.” He snapped the phone shut, horrified at how she was jumping ahead twelve steps. Scary, scary, scary.

Glancing back up, Lucy boldly plucked a box of tampons from the shelf and gave him a snarl.

Oh man, was he a bonehead.

Here he was, hitting on her, and she just wanted a moment to get her feminine hygiene product. He spun and searched the shelves for some sort of jock itch item, to even it out.

Her phone rang as she picked up some deodorant. “Oh, hi,
Becca
. I had a great time last night too. Hmm, I’m not sure. I couldn’t get a good read on Andy. Do I think he’d look good in a tux?” She turned to inspect him as she backed down the aisle, and he stood nailed to the floor. He had already trailed her around the whole grocery store, embarrassed her. The least he could do was let her slip away gracefully.

“Yeah, I guess he might. I mean, he has that scruffy beard, but unless he’s hideous under it, he could shave.”

He rubbed his hand over his beard and grinned sheepishly at her as she turned the corner. Consulting his list, he realized he missed half the items, and headed back over to produce to grab a bunch of bananas his mom asked for.

He had a coffee meeting with a gamer girl in half an hour. He needed to get the groceries back and buzz over to the coffee shop, but he didn’t want to bump into Lucy in the elevator until he could come up with a new plan of attack.

She was a tricky pickle, but she would submit. She would be his. And it would be a sweet treat before he returned to his real life in Portland.

* * *

Lucy played indoor soccer Monday nights. Their team usually lost, but everyone enjoyed themselves. After cleaning up, she hurried to their sponsor bar, The Dirty Goat, and plopped down in a stool next to her teammates. Tuesdays she had off, and she sighed with relief at a relaxing day ahead of her.

“Hey, Lucy. Some guy was in here looking for you a few times,” Craig, her favorite bartender said as he brought down a pitcher for the team. They predictably hooted and hollered, and Lucy felt a blush rising.