“Oh. Dating?”
Auden sniffed. “Not your business, Len.”
But O’Neal felt weird leaving Lennox out of the loop. No, it wasn’t his business, but he’d been so open with her since they’d met—not to mention that she’d kissed the guy—that she felt the desire to share. “It’s not dating,” she said. “I asked Auden to…teach me things.”
Lennox’s lips parted, and he quickly glanced at the rearview mirror to look at Auden. “Fucking hell.” He let out a long breath and ran a hand over the back of his head. “Youaskedhim?To teach you things in bed?”
She nodded, confused by his response.
He shook his head. “Damn, Sweets, you’re the boldest virgin I’ve ever met.”
The words made her stiffen.
He must’ve read her expression because he quickly added. “I don’t mean that as a bad thing. It’s a beautiful thing. A fucking sexy thing. Now I know why Aud’s not talking. His head is about to explode because he can’t believe his luck.”
Auden laughed quietly, and her gaze shifted to him. He reached out and squeezed her hand. “He’s not wrong.”
“Of course, I’m not,” Lennox said. “I rarely am. But good for you two. Count me jealous.”
O’Neal looked toward the back seat, her ears catching on the wordjealous.
Lennox’s lips hitched at the corner. “Don’t look so surprised. I didn’t kiss you that night just to piss off Aud. I would’ve happily taught you anything you wanted to know too.” He gave her a full smile, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Feel free to reach out later if you want. You can get your bachelor’s degree with Auden. When you’re ready for your master’s, come and find me.”
Her mouth opened, the shock of his words leaving her speechless for a moment, and a ripple of something shedid notwant to acknowledge moving through her.
She looked to Aud, expecting him to be pissed, but he simply snorted and playfully flipped Lennox off with his right hand.
O’Neal looked between the two of them. “Is this normal? A guy’s friend flirting with the girl he’s with?”
“Not really,” Auden admitted. “But Len and I don’t do the territorial thing. A woman can make up her own mind on who she wants to be with. That’s not a decision for us to make.”
“Exactly,” Len said, leaning back, his inked arm stretched out over the back seat. “Him. Me. Both. Whatever.”
Her breath caught, her brain short-circuiting for a second.
“But if the flirting makes you uncomfortable,” Lennox added. “I’ll shut up. I’m not trying to woo you away from Aud. I saw you two on the dance floor tonight. I know what’s what.”
She probably should feel uncomfortable that Lennox was putting all this out there, but for some reason, she couldn’t break eye contact with him. He was almost daring her not to look away. This whole dynamic felt foreign to her, like she’d landed on another planet, but after a lifetime of being locked away from boys and avoiding their attention, feeling the weight of two guys telling her they wanted her was quite a rush.
“I don’t mind,” she said, impressed she kept her voice steady.
His lips curved ever so slightly. “Excellent.”
This was just a game. A fun one to play. It wasn’t like she was going to pursue anything with Lennox. He’d called her bold, but she had her limits. She had a feeling he wasn’t lying about the master's degree. Lennox was full of charm and easy smiles, but some instinctual part of her recognized the sharp teeth beneath, the edge. He was not the boy next door like Auden. He was like jumping into the deep end with no lifeguard in sight. She didn’t even know how to tread water in this pool.
She turned back to Auden and took his hand again, lacing her fingers with his, the touch grounding her.
“Still with me, freshman? You can always change your mind at any time.”
She took a deep breath and smiled. “Still with you. Nervous as all get out. But I don’t want to change my mind.”
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “It’s okay to be nervous, but I promise I’ll take it as slowly as you need. Things might not go very far tonight, and that’s totally fine.”
He slowed the car as an unexpected line of traffic appeared around the next turn. The side street was dark, but a parade of taillights stretched in front of them.
She groaned. “How is there traffic?”
“Looks like a fender bender.” Auden peeked at the rearview mirror. “Damn. And now we’re trapped. Two cars behind us. I can’t back up.”