Finn's POV
Aidan Demos was a sexy man in general, but his sexiness reached new heights when he was driving a truck. I really had a thing for wrists and hands, so his steering was turning me on to inappropriate proportions. I mean, he held the wheel at the top with his left hand and gripped the joystick with his right, which was hot enough already. Then add in the confidence with which he steered the car and the strength in his grip?
It was a damn good thing I'd brought a backpack. I covered my erection with the big ass chemistry notebook that he didn't require.
"Are you trying to win brownie points right now? Finn, if you fail my class you fail my class whether or not you skim the pages of the textbook in front of me," he drawled. His voice was deep, apathetic, and authoritative, which turned me on to no end. Oh and the way he sometimes turned his head to give me a little tiny scowl?
Adorable.
This guy was killing me.
"You assigned a quiz for Monday," I reminded him. I bit back the words like an asshole. "I'm just trying to use the hour we have together to study."
"God, the amount you talk about chemistry it's a miracle that you're failing."
Was that an invitation to not talk about chemistry? I didn't want to. I wanted to talk about the picture of Jack that he had taped to his air vent. I wanted to talk about why he had a blanket in the backseat or why he owned a truck in the first place. I wanted to talk about what was inside the bag he had on the floor of the passenger side. I wanted to talk about the little dancing dog he had on his dashboard — why did he have it? Why did he love dogs so much? Had he ever had other dogs? I was filled with so many questions. I wanted to get to know every inch of him.
"Oh, now you're quiet? That's the real miracle."
I wanted to know why he was always had his dry, snarky sarcasm that he used to interact with people.
"I'm just thinking," I told him. Maybe I needed to lead by example. "So! I guess you miss my chatting, so I've got your back." He groaned, but didn't object. "My full name is Finn Jeremy Evans, which is really funny because my best friend's full name is Jeremy. I came here from Maine because I really liked how the school was known for it's LGBTQ culture and its marine bio program. I'm majoring in marine bio—"
"Oh my God, kill me now. Why are you telling me your life story?" He rubbed in between his eyes and groaned. A muscle in his jaw flexed.
"Well, aren't Fayweather faculty supposed to get to know their students and stuff?"
"No. Well, probably. But I really don't want to. I don't care. I've been a chemistry professor for fifteen years and I've learned the name of one student so far."
Me. I was the only name he knew after fifteen years? There was no way that was true, but it made my chest fill with helium.
"Well, no worries! I have this idea that I'll go first and then you can go second," I told him. I made sure to send him a wide smile, because I saw him eyeballing it when I'd first hopped in the car. Did men like smiles? I wasn't sure, but if there was any chance that he would like it I'd do it all the time. "So anyway, I'm a marine bio major. I'm not quite sure which path I want to take, I just know that I want to be working with big sea animals. I have a little brother named Devin and a mom named Theresa, but my dad is kind of out of the picture. Umm, let's see. I don't really love any sports, but I used to play baseball in high school and it was okay. My favorite color is gray, kind of like your eyes." I broke off when I realized what the hell I just said.
He grinned. "Oh?"
That grin transformed his face. His cheeks lifted, revealing a cute little dimple, and those beautiful gray eyes I loved twinkled. It became glaringly clear why Aidan Demos had to be grumpy all the time. He was so beautiful that his smile could give people heart attacks.
Suddenly I literally did not know how to English. "I-uh. W-well. Um. Yeah...um. I like gray, yeah." Plus my face was definitely feeling hot. Once quick glance in the rear-view mirror and yup, my cheeks were turning red because I was a pale little uke with no chill whatsoever. "It's um a good neutral."
"A good neutral..." He shook his head, definitely amused. Usually that would make me happy, but today I was dying of embarrassment. "Gray is boring."
"No way!" I looked at his profile, flabbergasted. How could he look into the gray of his own eyes and still say that? "How is it boring? Gray comes in so many different shades. People don't really notice it, but it's the pretty stuff in life that's gray. Mountains, winter landscapes, foggy days, stuff like that."
"Boring. I like fall. Fall is better than winter."
I smiled at his resolution. He tended to speak like there were no other options beyond his own opinion. It was cute because it reminded me of a toddler putting his foot down. But it was sexy as hell also, because I was horny 100% of the time I was near Aidan and also because his determination made him seem like a man who would get his way. Even if he had to tie you do his bed, he'd do it...
I shook my head and refocused. "Fall is dumb."
"You're dumb."
My jaw dropped and I gaped at him. He stared at the road, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. The dimple was fighting to return. "I'm pretty sure that's not a growth mindset. Aren't you an educator?"
He shrugged and his smirk widened. "Well, sure. It's called scaffolding. You'll start stupid and work your way up to average."
Before I could even think, I'd lightly shoved his shoulder. Then I hated myself, because he was my professor. I braced myself for him to get pissed, but the moment never came. He just chuckled, low and sexy, and kept driving.
What was going on? He sees me drunk and saves my ass once and now we're buddies? Or maybe it started before that, when he'd told me to call him Aidan. Or before even that, when I yelled about being gay in his class. It had made him roll his eyes and wipe a hand down his face, which was definitely to cover a smile.
Still, he was my professor. In two days I was going to sit in a lecture hall with 150 copies of myself getting their asses kicked by his quiz. He was going to pass back an exam that I got a 50-something on. He was going to remind us about lecture on Wednesday and we were all going to file out of the classroom.
"You look serious."
I jerked out of my thoughts at the sound of his voice. He was looking at me with mild curiosity, which was alarming for two reasons. One, he never seemed to feel anything for anything except apathy. Two, he was driving.
"Watch the road!" I blurted, pointing obnoxiously out the windshield. He rolled his eyes and looked back with enough time to swerve and not hit a poor soul on their bike. "Aidan! Look, you almost killed that guy!"
"It's Providence, the pedestrians fend for themselves."
He might be the worst driver I'd ever seen. I groaned and held on to the oh-no-I'm-dying handle. "I'm gonna puke. Also, I totally can be serious if the time calls for it."
"Why on Earth does right now call for you to be serious?" He swerved a little too close to the curb for comfort. Had he been driving his poorly the whole time? Had I been too focused on his beautiful face and my own arousal to notice? Yikes.
"Because you've nearly murdered half the population of Providence."
"I'm pretty sure it would classify as manslaughter, so chill out." He reached over to adjust the radio station, so he looked away from the road and ran through a yellow light as it turned red. I facepalmed. He fixed it so that he liked the music, then looked back up. "Look, there's the parking garage! We've arrived safely, you're welcome."
He turned fast enough to make me fall into his side, so he reached over and steadied me with a hand to my chest. My heart beat a little quicker, maybe because of adrenaline from near-death, but probably because his ripped arm was locking me in place and keeping me safe. "Please slow down in the parking garage," I begged. "There are people walking here."
He groaned and hit the breaks so hard that I would've hit my head on the dashboard if his arm hadn't been there. I gasped and he chuckled. "Better?"
I glanced at the speed o-meter and rolled my eyes. 2 mph. Nice. He was such an asshole. "You are such an asshole."
He raised his eyebrows at me. In his distraction, his hand dropped so that his arm still secured me, but his hand was on my outer right thigh. "Feisty. You probably shouldn't be sassing your teacher."
"You probably shouldn't be..." I trailed off, distracted by his hand. It was pinning my thigh to the seat and I could imagine how good it would feel if he pinned my entire body to a bed. "Um... I can't think of a comeback."
He pulled back his hand and shrugged. "Bummer."
I was quiet until he pulled the truck into a parking spot and hopped out. I shoved my textbook in my backpack and followed his lead. "So, you're getting out too?"
He faced me with a bitchy expression. I shivered under the weight of his gaze and he examined me inch by inch. Once his eyes reached mine, he scowled. "Last time you were in Providence, a grown man took you out back and tried to have his way with you. I'm definitely going to walk you to your friend's car."
My heart fluttered and I couldn't even hold back my smile. Maybe Aidan was the sweetest man in the world and that's why he had to be grumpy all the time. He didn't want people to find out the truth about him. "Oh. Thank you."
We walked side by side until we reached Jerry's car, then I faced him. I'd remembered to put sixty dollars in my wallet before leaving. I dropped my backpack to the ground and unzipped it, rifling round for my wallet.
"What on Earth are you doing now?"
I didn't answer him until I had my wallet in my hands. I opened it and pulled out the money. "Um, I don't know how much you wanted? But I took out sixty because the price of gas is rising so I figured it would be a lot of money. I don't have a car, though, so I wasn't really sure... But you have a big truck, so I probably should've taken out more..."
I shoved the sixty dollars at him and he glanced at it, unimpressed. He crossed his arms and gave me a deadpan stare. "I'll probably end up driving almost two hours, which takes up a fourth of my tank because my truck guzzles gas like a mother fucker. Which, by the way, is probably $25 to fill back up to the top. So put away your pile of cash."
"I can give you a twenty. Well, or forty, because you took your time to help me out."
He looked to the ceiling like he was trying to communicate with God. "Finn. Finn Evans. Listen to me. I don't want your money." He settled his gaze on me and I shivered with the glint of unwavering authority I saw in his eyes. "I want you to put that away."
My hand nearly moved itself to tuck away my money. "Um, yes sir."
He snorted. "Okay, enough teasing, Finny. Unlock your friend's car." I fumbled for the keys and did as I was told. He smiled and took the bag from me so he could put in in the passenger seat. He shut the door, walked around, and opened the driver's side. "Here you go, little Finn. Drive safely."
The keys shook in my hands and I moved wordlessly toward him. He raised an eyebrow and pointed at the ground, making me glance down. I'd dropped my wallet on the ground. Shaken up and completely aroused, I swooped down to snatch it and walked towards him.
He snorted and shook his head at me. "You're ridiculous."
I was almost scared to get close to him. But I did anyway, and the top of my head brushed against his chin when I sat in the driver's seat. I looked up at him and he gave me that killer grin. "What do you mean?"
"Just that you think I want your money. Oh, and that you'll tell me that you have a brother named Devin, but you won't explain why you always hang little things in your hair like a weirdo." He reached over and tugged on the little bell that was tied near my temple and hung down to the bottom of my ear.
"Oh! Well—"
"Tell me later, Finny. You've got a long ride back. Don't forget to buckle." And with that, he shut my door and walked away.