Studying Boys by Stephie Davis

"Come on in."
    Unbelievable. We were going to sneak into a club, both of us underage, through bribery. Where was my brain? There was no way I was going in there.
    Then Theo tightened his arm around my shoulders, and we walked inside.
    Okay, I was inside, but no way was I going to stay.
    Theo grabbed my hand and held it out. Big Guy stamped the back of it, and then did Theo's. And then he thumped Theo on the shoulder and walked away.
    Leaving us in the back hall of some over-eighteen club.
    "What was that about?" I asked. "Bribery?"
    "He was captain of the football team my freshman year at Mapleville. We've stayed in touch."
    Oh, great. That male athlete bonding thing. Gotta love that.
    That did explain why he looked vaguely familiar though....
    Theo unzipped his jacket.
    "You aren't seriously thinking of staying?" I asked.
    Theo lifted a brow at me, then shrugged off his coat. "Yep."
    "But..."
    He grinned and unbuttoned my jacket and tugged it off my shoulders. "Leave your stuff here. We'll come get it before we leave. They'll get stolen for sure if we take them off out there."
    Theo had undressed me. Granted, it was just my coat, but come on! No guy had every taken anything off me before. Ever!
    Then he grabbed my hand again and led the way down the dark hallway, as if he knew exactly where he was going. "You've done this before."
    He grinned at me. "Yep."
    "Always with a different girl?"
    "Not always. Occasionally, there's a repeat." He lifted his brow. "Jealous?"
    "Not a chance."
    Something flashed across his face, and he didn't look quite so amused anymore.
    But he also didn't let go of my hand.
    * * *
    When Theo pushed open another door and we walked out into the club, I almost passed out from terror right then.
    It was dark. Really dark. And loud. Music was blasting so loud I could actually feel it vibrating in my chest and thudding in my ears. And there were people everywhere. Not boys and girls. Men and women. Dancing. Wearing black and silk and some of the women weren't wearing all that much at all. No one even looked close to my age, and there sure wasn't any woman there without makeup, wearing jeans, sneakers and a baggy cotton sweater.
    Except me.
    Holy cow.
    "Want a drink?" Theo asked.
    "No." I pulled my hand out of his and backed against the wall. Oh my God. What kind of place was this? Where had I let him take me? It was one thing not to be uptight, but this was something else entirely.
    I was way out of my league. All those people on the dance floor! Going crazy! Making out! There was no way I was going out there!
    Then Theo moved in front of me and blocked my view. "Frances? Are you okay?"
    "No!" I shoved at his chest, and he caught my hands. "Let go of me! How could you bring me here?"
    "Sorry."
    The simple comment caught my attention, and I stopped railing long enough to look at him. "No smug remark that it proves I'm uptight?"
    He shrugged, still holding my hands. "I didn't mean to scare you."
    He sounded like he really meant it. I didn't understand. Where was this Theo coming from? "Why aren't you being a jerk?"
    A grimace pulled at the corner of his mouth. "I don't know."
    "Oh." Not the best answer. It would have been nice if he'd said it was because I was so amazing that he couldn't bring himself to be a jerk to me. That might have helped alleviate the fact I was about to have a full panic attack.
    "You want to leave?" He frowned. "We can leave."
    "Well..." Now that he was being all nice, and blocking my view of the raunchy stuff happening on the dance floor, it didn't seem so bad to be there.
    "Want to just hang here, against the wall, for a few minutes while you decide?"
    I nodded. "Fine."
    He gave me a slight nod, then dropped my hands and moved to the wall beside me, leaning against it, his arm pressing against my shoulder. Like he was being supportive.
    We stood like that for a while. I watched the people, thought about Theo still leaning against me, not saying anything jerky or anything. Just