Chapter 2

Seeing him hang out with his new friends was the reminder of how different they were now.  Aubrey was part of the university’s basketball team.  That had been his dream since he was a little boy and she was happy when he actually got a scholarship.  However, they both drifted apart once they made it to college. He was not the guy she used to know.


She saw a girl with long blonde hair sit on his lap and whisper something in his ear.  Of course. He smiled at the girl before placing a kiss on her neck.  Nicki rolled her eyes and kept walking towards him and his group of friends.  They all saw her and stopped laughing and talking.  She was a beautiful girl, a nerd yes, but beautiful.  She wouldn’t give any of them the time of the day though.

"Aubrey, I would like to have a word with you" she looked straight into his eyes, ignoring the girl that was still sitting on his lap.

"Um… Right now? Cause I’m kinda busy, you know" he said looking at his friends.

"Yes. Now." She didn’t wait for his response and started walking away. “Drake, now" she said again without even looking back at him.

She heard him say something to his friends and walk behind her.  She kept walking until she reached one of the classrooms, opened the door and waited for him to go in.  When he did, she followed him inside and locked the door.

"What do you want Onika, I really need to head back out there, practice starts in 15 minutes" his tone let her know he was annoyed.

"Oh?" She huffed “You are the one that asked for my help, Aubrey"

"And you are the one that said no, not in a million years" he said mocking her voice.

He was failing 2 classes, badly.  His basketball coach had told him that he needed to improve his grades if he wanted to maintain his scholarship. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to do it by himself so he had asked Nicki to help him raise his grades.  Of course she had said no, but things were different now…. She needed him for her project.

"I know what I said Aubrey" she leaned against a table and silence took over the space.

"Nicki, I have to leave, I al…" He was cut off by her.

"I’ll do it, I’ll help you pass the classes"

"Yo, are you serious?"

She just looked at him without answering  the question she thought was stupid.

"There are some conditions."

"I’ll pay you whatever you want Nicki, just help me pass the classes"

"I don’t want money Aubrey" the questioning look on his face let her know she needed to explain more.  "In exchange of me helping  you with your grades, you’ll help me with a project I have"

"Me?" He laughed “I am failing 2 classes and you want me to help you? Are you crazy girl?"

She took a breath and turned away from him.

"Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do great in this"

He was confused and the fact that she wasn’t looking at him made the situation that much more confusing.  He was always able to read her eyes, those eyes.

"Ok? Explain, what is the project about"

She stayed quiet. Was she really about to tell him this? Just do it Onika.

"You know what? I’m not even going to sugarcoat it.  It’s about sexual interactions, you know, sex and all those things sex-related" she still had her back turned to him “So basically, I need you to tell me about your experiences, answer some questions and….."

"And?"

When she didn’t answer, he grabbed her by the arm and made her turn to face him. Their eyes locked for a minute before she looked away.

"And what Onika?"

"I need you to have sex with me" as soon as the words left her mouth it was like the time had stopped.  His heart skipped a beat. Did he hear her right?

"What?!"

"You heard me Drake"

"You must be kidding me.  What kind of project requires you to ask someone to have sex with you Onika! And why the fuck are you going through with it?!" He knew he had no right to react that way, she wasn’t his anymore. But he couldn’t help being protective over her, even if they had drifted apart she was still part of his past and caring about her came natural to him.

"That’s not your problem.  Just say yes or no" she saw the doubt on his face

He couldn’t believe what she was saying.  Who was this? The Onika he knew some time ago would never do something like this but then again they weren’t the same.

"What if I say no?"

"If you say no, I’ll ask somebody else to do it, perhaps one of your teammates would help me, any recommendations? " of course she wouldn’t do it, but he didn’t know that.  His face expression changed from worried to mad.

Hell to the fucking no, he wasn’t letting that shit happen. Was she fucking crazy?!

"Deal, I’ll do it."

She was relieved to hear him say that.

"Ok, well there are some basic rules and procedures we need to go through"

"Which are?"

"Didn’t you have practice?"

"Forget about the practice Nicki! Tell me the fucking rules" he was beyond annoyed by this situation and how calm she seemed to be.

"First, you don’t call me Nicki while we are…. You know" she saw the look on his face, and ignored it “Second, you gonna get tested"

"I don’t have anything" she could tell he was offended, she could still read his face expressions and the tone of his voice.

"I don’t know that for sure and you have a looooong list of sexual partners so I’m not about to trust you with my health.  Also, I’m going with you to get the test done" he was about to argue with her but decided against it, she had a point.

"Fine, is that all?"

"You can’t sleep with anyone else while we are working on the project"

"Excuse me? Onika… I can’t… I have a… Friend"

"And?"

"Ok explain to me how am I going to tell my…friend.. with whom I’m having sex… That I can’t have sex with her for…how long?

"3 months"

"3 months?!?!"

"That’s not my problem Aubrey, figure it out"

"I have a request" he said getting serious and she raised an eyebrow.

"Which is?"

"If I can’t call you Nicki, you don’t call me Aubrey"

They looked straight into each other’s eyes as they took in what they had just agreed to.

"Done"