"So, the tangent of 'x' is...?"

"Um, 90?"

Rex smiled, and it was that dimple, butterfly bringing smile that instantly made every thought in my head go foggy. It took all my willpower not to drop my pencil and stare bug-eyed at the perfection that was his face.

"Exactly! See? I told you, you would get the hang of it." His smile didn't fade as that strong hand that was gripping the back of my chair reached up to squeeze the back of my neck. "Good job, Roza."

The sheer swell of pride that surged through me couldn't be helped, especially not when he was looking at me like I just won a medal. I gave him a bright smile of my own before dropping my eyes back to the paper on the table. I was afraid I wouldn't be responsible for my actions if I watched those dimples any longer.

"Why do you call me that?" I asked casually as his hand went back to resting against my chair. I wanted to pout as the warmth left my skin. I really liked his little touches—more than was humanly possible.

It was a problem.

I glanced up at him from the corner of my eye as he shrugged, but the dark look that replaced the light in his eyes tore at my chest. "My mom was Russian, and she loved planting flowers before she died... especially Roses."

"Roza is Russian for Rose."

He shot me that signature smirk of his, though the dark somber look in his chestnut eyes didn't fade. "Bingo. Why don't we take a break? You're doing great, and I'm getting fucking hungry."

I didn't miss the subject change, nor was I going to push it either. I hadn't mean to cross over into personal territory, especially since his mom seemed to be a sore subject. I barely knew my mom before she died, and I still don't like talking about her. I couldn't imagine how hard it was for him.

"Um, sure. I might have some mac n' cheese or something-"

"Let's go out for a while. I really want a burger from Suzie's." He was already standing to his feet and grabbing his jacket before I even closed the textbook.

"The Suzie's right across from the school?" I asked softly as I stood from the table and piled all our notes together neatly.

"The one and only." Rex answered as he tossed his keys into the air before catching them again. I couldn't help my nervous gulp, or the embarrassed heat that was slowly creeping up the back of my neck.

"Can... can your bike even carry two people?"

I had been more than confused that morning when the loud rumbling of a motorcycle roared down the quiet street, and I was even more shocked when that exact bike stopped right outside my house. I should have figured it was Rex, he was the perfect driver of one of those death traps—dangerous and incredibly gorgeous, in that sexy, unbelievable kind-of-way.

He raised an eyebrow before that smirk pulled completely across those beautiful, soft lips. "Of course it can." I wrung my hands together nervously as that smirk turned more into a sneaky smile. "Don't tell me you're afraid of my baby." He teased—like actually teased, as I bit my lip anxiously.

"N-no. It's just that—they're just... Aren't they, like, really dangerous?"

My heart beat harshly in my chest as I watched him push in my chair and step forward, his dark eyes shining brightly in the dim light of my kitchen. "Only if the driver doesn't pay attention." That didn't calm the unease sitting heavily in my stomach or keep the nerves from my chest.

"Hey..." He started softly, and I hadn't realized he had walked right up to me until that strong, calloused hand gripped gently at my chin. "I would never purposely put you in danger." He lifted my face until those dark eyes could lock on mine, and I felt the butterflies flutter at the soft look there.

"I know, but it's the accidental part I'm worried about." I grumbled before that rough thumb of his brushed barely over my bottom lip. I had no idea how my lungs still functioned with how often he made them stop working.

That sneaky smile was long gone as those dark eyes gazed almost softly down into my own, then he let out a small sigh. That boy was always sighing. "Alright, how about we go around the block once and if you don't like it I'll go home and grab my car." He sounded so genuine it pulled at my heart and made guilt instantly swamp my stomach.

"No, its alright! You don't have to go all the way back home just because I'm a scaredy-cat."

His grip fell away as those strong shoulders shrugged, a dark amusement flashing across his chestnut gaze. "It's not a big deal. Besides," He let out a small laugh and moved away to grab my—his—jacket off the other end of the table. "I'm fully counting on you loving it."

He held up the jacket for me, that smirky-smile back in full force as I stumbled forward. I kept my grumbles to myself though as I pulled the warm, worn-down leather over my arms and embraced that familiar scent I loved so much.

I followed him reluctantly out of the kitchen and towards the front door, my feet almost dragging against the hardwood of the floor. Don't get me wrong, I loved spending time with him more than anything. Luce and Tate were at the college for the entire day, dad was gone on another business 'trip', and no one was around to scold me for skipping.

The morning had been the closest thing to bliss I had ever felt, despite the fact that we spent the entire time studying Calculus—vomit central—and I never wanted the day to end. It's just, Jax had this friend one time at one of the places who had a motorcycle and he totaled the thing on a sharp corner. He barely survived the crash and was in a coma for months.

I made sure the door was locked before forcing my heavy feet down the porch's steps and towards that bullet-looking crash-monster. Rex had said it was some Yamaha, or something like that, then he had chuckled and said people usually just called those kinds of bikes crotch rockets. That made me laugh, but it was a lot easier to remember than its actual name.

"Arms up." Rex all-but demanded when I finally reached him and the bike. He had grabbed what looked like a super big, padded, line-backer jacket off the seat and was holding it out to me.

I tried not to frown as I let him pull the large, heavy jacket over my shoulders, and watched his strong fingers zip it closed before buttoning those heavy-duty buttons. The bulky material was huge, and the sleeves fell well past my hands. When I glanced up at him questionably he just shot me a quick smile with the words "just in case" slipping past his lips.

Well, that sure as heck was reassuring.

Not really.

"The padding will protect you on the very little chance we crash."

Right.

I let him take my phone and house keys from the hands I was trying to desperately shove those huge sleeves away from and stood like an incompetent child as he zipped them safely away in one of the jacket's many pockets.

I could tell he was trying not to laugh as I stood uncertainly to the side while he swung his leg over the death trap. Then he handed me a bulky helmet like I wasn't internally freaking out. I clutched the black, racer's gear tightly as that nervous heat on the back of my neck grew.

"I-I really don't know about this T'." I mumbled softly as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. His eyes narrowed at the nickname, but he didn't say anything about it as he sat back in the small, narrow seat and gestured me towards him.

I stumbled forward uncertainly and had to hide a cringe as my knee bumped into the cold, hard metal. He let out a small, dark laugh. "Relax, Rose. It'll will be okay." My hands were trembling as he took the helmet from them. "I promise you'll love it, just trust me." And I did trust him, which might not have been a good idea, but I trusted that boy more than I ever thought possible.

"Where's your helmet?" I grumbled as he had me lower my head before pushing one side of the super foamy insides aside and helped ease it onto my head.

Ugh, talk about a bad hair day.

"This is my only one."

My eyes nearly bugged out of my skull at that, but he couldn't see through the dark shield-like visor covering them. "Rex!" I tried to scold, even though my voice only came out slow and muffled through the helmet.

Besides a laugh he ignored me and climbed back onto the bike before letting the engine roar to life. I wanted to cross my arms grumpily over my chest and not budge, but the jacket was too bulky, and my attention had completely zeroed in on the spot behind him.

I wouldn't necessarily call that a passenger seat.

The space was barely the size of my thigh and I just knew if I leaned a little to far to one side I would fall completely off. I let out a really shaky sigh, which didn't make it past the thick foam inside the helmet. Rex revved the engine, and the loud roar seemed to ricochet down the street. I tried to gulp down the fear as he turned slightly towards me.

"Alright, hop on." He held his hand out as those dark eyes flashed in amusement even though the smile on his lips was sweet. I tried to keep my hand steady as I let his wrap around it, though I'm sure he could feel the small tremble go through me.

My grip on his hand was tight as death, but he didn't make any snide comment as he helped me onto the tiny padded seat. The entire bike wobbled as I did so, and my hand was ripping from his so my arms could wrap tightly around his waist before either of us could blink. The blood was pounding so strongly through my ears that I barely heard his muffled chuckle through the helmet.

"Okay Roza, all you need to do is lean with me on the turns and hold on as tight as you can."

Like I wasn't planning on doing that second part already.

My chest was pressed as close to his back as humanly possible and my hands were wrapped so tightly around his waist that I was afraid of hurting him—though that didn't make me loosen my hold one bit. I held my breath as he kicked the kickstand up and lifted his foot off the ground.

Please don't let us die.

I rested the chin part of the helmet on his strong shoulder and kept my eyes glued shut as he started easing us down the street. I refused to look even though he kept the bike at a slow pace down mine and Trey's street. Rex picked up the speed a bit as we turned down the main road of Briar Oaks. It took a solid two more turns before I was able to peel my eyes open.

We were at the back of the neighborhood, and excitement started to build in my chest as I watched the houses zoom past. The wind was hitting us head on, even though I could feel its chill through the bulky, padded jacket. The bike was thrumming beneath us, and the feeling of the hard planes of Rex back pressed against my chest put me on Cloud 9.

I wasn't sure if he felt me start to relax behind him since he had sped the bike up a little bit faster when I did—and then some more as we turned back towards my street. I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled past my lips as we shot past all the houses like a bullet from a gun.

Oh wow... This was fun.

I actually found my lips pulling into a frown when he pulled us to a stop in front of my house, though he didn't turn the engine off as he let the kickstand back out. "So, should I go get my car?" He shouted over the roar of the engine. I shook my head immediately and squeezed my arms tighter around him as he let out a loud laugh.

My mind completely shut off when that large hand of his squeezed the part of my thigh that was flush against his, before he kicked the kickstand up again. We were pressed really close together—like, there was no space between us. I suddenly loved every single thing about that bike.

It wasn't long before we reached Suzie's Diner, especially with how fast his bike was, and I felt like such a bad kid as my eyes fell over all the car's parked at the school. I never really skipped school before I met the Big Four, and I definitely didn't go anywhere near it if I did. I felt like such a little rebel.

Though that feeling completely disappeared when my eyes fell on the real rebels.

"Oi! Over here!" That familiar voice of Trey Maguire reached our ears the second we walked through the diner doors. He and the twins were seated at a booth at the back of the restaurant with giant, devious smiles plastered on their faces.

I glanced over at Rex who didn't seem fazed as he rolled his eyes and scoffed. "They ditched like an hour ago." He answered my unspoken question as that large hand of his circled around my back and ushered me gently through the many tables.

"I can't bear to be in that place with out you, Buttercup!" Denton sighed dramatically when we finally reached the table, though he quickly straightened in his seat at the look Rex shot him. "I was just saying..." The younger twin mumbled as Trey squished out of the booth.

I gave Denton a soft smile as Trey held his arm open in an 'after you' gesture. I slid down into the wrap-around booth and squished over until I was sitting almost snuggled against Brett. "Hey Brett." I shot him a smile as Rex slid over next to me.

"Hey kid." He nodded before turning his attention back to his phone. He wasn't bickering with Denton for once, which was a little strange—but Rex's arm was circling around my shoulders and pulling me into his side before I could dwell too long on the subject.

"So, how was your day off?" Trey asked with a beaming smile after he sat down next to Rex, his green eyes blazing in the light streaming through the windows across from us.

"We've been doing Calculus all morning. I wouldn't really call it a 'day off'." I grumbled as Rex's arm left my shoulders to rest against the top of the booth beside my head. I didn't move away from his side though.

Both the Dimajios and Trey cringed as the word Calculus slipped past my lips, and I was somewhat relieved that they shared my pain. I wasn't sure I would be able to handle it if they were all as freaky smart as Rex. No one should be that good at math—or school in general.

Trey opened his mouth to say something, though whatever words were on the tip of his tongue completely died away as his eyes flickered behind us. "Oh shit..." His voice came out as a harsh whisper before he reached over and nudged Rex.

"What?" The beautiful boy beside me grumbled as Trey nodded to something behind us. I frowned and turned in my seat to glance over the back of the booth, but only saw a few servers standing near the entrance to the kitchen.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Rex's voice came out as a dark groan as he glanced over at the servers. "I thought you said she quit." He hissed at Trey whose green eyes were practically glued to the people behind us.

"I thought she did!"

"What's the matter, Rex?" I asked softly as that arm wrapped around my shoulders once again and pulled me even tighter against him. Their reactions were way too confusing for me to even notice the butterflies at the action.

"It's nothing, just one of the waitresses is a fucking crazy bitch."

My eyes widened at that, and I wasn't sure what to say as Trey let out a small sigh and Brett chuckled. "That server back there—what's her name? Tracy or something?—was like obsessed with Rex awhile ago. Like, his own personal stalker, obsessed." Denton's tone was a little too enthusiastic to settle right in my stomach, and I wasn't the only one who noticed.

Rex's dark eyes turned to glare at him as Brett reached up and slapped the back of his head. Denton pouted and crossed his arms over his chest all-huffing-like. "What? It's true." He grumbled before slumping down in his seat.

"Fuck, she's coming over here." Trey suddenly groaned and spun quickly back around in his seat. All four of the boys grew instantly tense, and the arm wrapped around my shoulder stiffened.

"This is fucking perfect. Last time we're coming here." Rex growled as the Dimajios shifted uneasily and Trey ran a heavy hand through his sand-colored hair. Rex suddenly dropped his mouth to my ear, his lips impossibly close to my skin as he whispered against me.

"I'm going to need you to play along for a minute."

He barely waited for my nod before the hand that wasn't wrapped around my shoulders reached over, hooked onto the back of my left knee and pulled my legs straight up and over his lap. I sucked in a sharp breath and blinked up at him as that smirk pulled across his lips. The action had been so quick and effortless it made my head spin.

I wasn't sitting completely on his lap, but my skinny-jean cladded legs were thrown over his and the arm that was wrapped around the back of my neck dropped to my waist until I was practically molded against his side and chest.

"Put your arms around my neck."

Those butterflies were on full blast as I reached slowly up and let my arms wrap around him. My heart was beating so hard I'm surprised it didn't run a marathon out of my chest—especially when Rex leaned further into my grasp and placed his free hand on the outside of my thigh.

Holy moly.

This was better than ice cream—and I loved ice cream.

I was really, really, really worried about all the feelings rushing to my head. God, it would be so embarrassing if I fainted because of this.

"Hey guys, haven't seen you around here in a while."

My attention was drawn, reluctantly, from the beautiful boy I was practically wrapped around as the waitress they must have been talking about stopped in front of our table. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, her brown eyes sparkled off the lights of the restaurant, and the server outfit she had on hugged her waist nicely. She was really pretty, and I was surprised the boys didn't seem to like her.

"Hi Trisha." Trey put emphasis on her name as he read her name tag, before shooting a look at Denton. "I thought you were going to quit?"

Trisha flicked her ponytail off her shoulder and cast Trey a flirty glance that was pretty hard to ignore. I thought they said she was obsessed with Rex? Not that I was complaining. I could never compete with her, and I didn't want Rex to notice that either.