Learning the Ropes Read online

  He’s got her tied up in knots…literally.

  After one failed magazine sex quiz and years of being the cautious one, Rory Puckett has decided to liven up her life a little bit. It’s too bad the only man she wants has already made it perfectly clear that he’s not interested in a relationship. But these days she’s not looking for everlasting love, just someone who has all the right moves and isn’t afraid to tutor her.

  Noah Sellig knows he made a technical error the last time he and Rory were together, but now his favorite teacher needs a little continuing education and he’s just the man for the job. And hopefully while he’s teaching her his favorite positions, she can teach him what it will take to win her heart.

  These two opposites are attracting in a very big way but when it comes to sex and love, can they learn the ropes in time to have a relationship?

  Learning the Ropes

  by Remy Richard

  Also available from Remy Richard

  Sexting the Limits

  Mardi Gras Magic

  To Mom, because even though I won’t let you read it, every bit of this is thanks to you. I love you more than words can say.

  Chapter One

  Rory Puckett ran into the restaurant door hard enough that the hostess whipped her head around to see what had happened. Already late and lacking any cool that would make the situation better, Rory calmly tried the other door and found it unlocked. Honestly, what kind of restaurant locked one of the main doors anyway? Rory brushed off the hostess’s concern and turned the topic to finding the table where her friends were undoubtedly waiting impatiently for her. She hated to be late. Never mind that Celeste was late more often than not or that Mac had developed the unfortunate habit of forgetting entirely to meet with her friends since she had started dating John. Rory prided herself on punctuality and she knew the other girls would take the seldom-experienced opportunity to lord it over her that she was the late one for once.

  When she got to their corner booth, though, Mac and Celeste barely looked up from their conversation to notice that she had arrived, much less that she was late. Rory decided to be grateful that they weren’t teasing her and pushed aside the small twinge of frustration that they also weren’t greeting her.

  “Hi.” She said brightly and waited for the two women to look up from the cell phone they were both staring at so intently.

  “Hey, Rory,” Mac grinned at her. “We were wondering if you were going to show tonight.”

  Okay, so maybe thinking that they would let her tardiness slide unremarked upon was a little too much, but that didn’t mean she had to take it lying down. “Oh no, I think you’ve gotten the two of us confused, Mac. You’re the one who seems to be a no-show lately for all girls’ night events.”

  “Ooh—she told you, girl.” Celeste taunted in her best Jerry Springer guest impression.

  Mac rolled her eyes but a telltale blush had started to creep up her neck and into her face. She was saved from having to comment by the last arrival in their little group, Brianna. As usual, Brianna strode up to the table in a loose tee and jeans with her hair caught in a damp ponytail that had left a wet spot on the back of her shirt. Brianna almost always had some sort of sports practice she was coaching after school so she was usually late. She always protested that she could make it on time if she didn’t shower in-between but the girls had put it to a vote and so now she showered. It was a testament to how far behind Rory had been that she had beaten Brianna by such a small margin.

  The waitress came over and took their drink orders—dirty martinis for the first round—before giving them a few minutes to make food decisions. “How did we find this place again?” Rory asked as she opened the large menu.

  “A guy at my office recommended it. He said it had the best drinks in town. I didn’t think to ask about food though.” Celeste smiled and opened her own menu. “Although on second thoughts, maybe I should have.”

  Rory silently agreed. None of the menu descriptions sounded remotely appetizing. She shrugged and closed her menu after deciding on a light-sounding mandarin orange salad. There was nothing she wanted to calorie-splurge on here. “Don’t even worry about it, Celeste. If the drinks are strong, that’s really all that matters right?” All of the girls nodded and closed their own menus so the waitress would know to come back.

  “And after all it’s not your fault we had to find a new spot for girls’ night.” Rory winked at Brianna and waited for the inevitable question.

  “Yeah, why are we in a new spot tonight?” Mac questioned.

  Celeste grinned. “I’m so glad you asked, Mac. We are in a new spot because the old spot is tainted. Yes, tainted! You can’t keep from making goggle-eyes at John when we’re at The Lucky Stripe. So we were forced to find a place where we could keep the two of you separated and you could concentrate on the actual girls of girls’ night.”

  Rory and Brianna burst into laughter while Mac sputtered, “You’ve got to be joking. Is that really the reason why we’re here?” She looked at them all for a long second before flipping her hair back. “Well if any of you had a man as fine as John is, you’d be distracted, too.”

  “Hey!” Celeste shouted.

  Mac put up her hands in a placating gesture. “Sorry, sorry. You do have a man. I forgot.” She turned to the other two girls. “In fact, he’s texting her again.”

  Rory moaned and dropped her head into her hands. “You and Grant are really making me sick with all of that lovey crap. You used to be cool, you know.”

  “Jealous!” Celeste stuck her tongue out at Rory. “He was just checking in with me. We haven’t talked in a while. He’s really busy at the bar—which is the other reason we’re not meeting there. I can’t stand to be so close to him and yet so far away.”

  “I certainly am jealous. He’s fine.” Brianna tapped her finger on the table as she made her point.

  “We’re not going to rest until you two have guys who are just as great,” Celeste vowed as she gestured for the waitress to come over. They all placed their orders and most of the other girls got salads like her, except for Brianna who ordered a cheeseburger.

  “Enough about me though. We all know that Mac is in luuurve with John. What about the two of you? Any yummy new love prospects on the horizon?” Celeste asked with a grin. Celeste was always getting on at her and Brianna to get out there and date more. She actually had included Mac in that group previously, but obviously felt that her job was done in that department.

  Rory busied herself with taking a deep sip of her martini so that she wouldn’t have to answer first. Maybe she could just slip in a, “Me, too” after Brianna gave her usual lackluster report.

  Brianna took a deep breath and leaned forward. The other girls subconsciously mirrored her movement. “Actually, I have met someone. He’s the baseball coach at the private school and he’s ‘seriously yummy,’ as you say, Celeste.”

  Rory almost choked on her drink and turned to stare at her friend. Well she certainly couldn’t add herself to that list. She hadn’t met anyone new in what seemed like forever. She pushed away a stab of jealousy that her friend may have found someone. More and more she felt her friends were passing her by in the relationship department. Now even Brianna seemed to be deserting her.

  “Come on, spill. Tell us everything!” Mac squealed.

  Brianna shrugged. “Unfortunately that’s really all I know about him. His name is Carter and he’s the baseball coach. He’s really hot and he’d never go for me in a million years.”

  “Oh shut up.” Celeste rolled her eyes. “Why wouldn’t he love you? You’re sweet and funny and wonderful. Plus you’re probably the only girl in town that has a hope of understanding his day job. What’s not to love?”

  B
rianna busied herself folding up a loose piece of straw wrapper. “You don’t understand. He is seriously beautiful. He probably dates models or something.”

  “Is this the weight thing again, Bree? Because I can’t take it anymore, I swear.” Celeste gripped her silverware dramatically and mimed stabbing herself in the face.

  Knowing how much Brianna hated to talk about her weight and that Celeste was about to launch into a diatribe about how it held her friend back too much, Rory jumped in with her report. “Surprisingly enough, I haven’t met anyone. There was one guy I thought might have some potential but he turned out to be married. So I’m back to square one.”

  Mac shook her head. “No surprise there, Rory. You need to put yourself out there more.”

  “Great—you’ve been in a relationship for three months and all of a sudden you’re the expert on putting yourself out there. You’re with a guy you’ve known for eight years, for goodness’ sake. You didn’t exactly go that far afield,” Rory shot back and then immediately regretted. She knew her friends were just trying to be helpful. It just so happened that their words so closely mirrored her own thoughts that she was tired of hearing them.

  There was a short pause before Celeste cleared her throat and launched into a story about the new temp at work. Rory found herself relaxing and shooting a rueful smile Mac’s way as they both shook their heads at Celeste’s antics. Their food was delivered shortly and Rory decided she’d made the right choice with a salad. Their new girls’ night restaurant definitely fell short of The Lucky Stripe’s menu. But the drinks weren’t bad at all. Rory took a deep swig of her last drink of the night in order to appreciate it.

  Rory tuned out of the conversation and watched as Brianna laughed at some outrageous story Celeste was telling. Her friend really was beautiful when she forgot to be self-conscious. As difficult as she could be sometimes, Celeste was usually right about this kind of thing. Maybe she was right about Rory too. She sighed and pushed the remnants of her salad around her plate. Putting herself out there was easier said than done however.

  For a woman who wasn�t too terrible to look at, she sure received a lot of rejections. The first being from her father when he had left Rory and her mother high and dry. Other men had followed suit over the years, from the guy she had loved in high school to the man she had pined over from afar in college. It seemed that she was doomed to want men who didn�t want her. It was easier, and safer to her heart, just to keep herself contained and not put herself out there too much. Taking risks only led to heartbreak.

  After their plates had been cleared, Mac pulled something out of her oversized purse and smiled at them all. “So today the whole back half of my fifth-period English literature class was paying attention to something they found much more interesting than Beowulf.”

  “Gasp. There’s no such thing.” Celeste deadpanned.

  “Exactly,” Mac continued. “So imagine my surprise when I got back there and found this.” She dropped a packet of papers on the table and all of the girls leaned forward to see what they said.

  “It looks like a biology quiz,” Rory said slowly.

  “Keep reading,” Mac advised with a smile on her face.

  Brianna was the first to understand. “This is a sex quiz!”

  Celeste grabbed a copy and brought it in for closer inspection. “Oh, the lessons they will learn in Mrs. George’s class.”

  Mac ignored her and continued explaining. “One of the girls found it in some magazine and brought it in to share with her friends. After school I found out that they had made copies in the library at lunch and pretty much all of the seniors were taking it. It’s causing quite the uproar. It’s called Pleasures and Positions.”

  “I bet it is. I think I’m too young to know half of that stuff,” Brianna pointed out.

  “You would be surprised at how many of our most upstanding young ladies scored very high marks on this particular test.”

  “Oh, please don’t tell me.” Rory moaned. “There is no way I can teach when I’m staring out into the classroom and imagining the head cheerleader in question number four.”

  All of the girls laughed except for Celeste. “What’s wrong?” Brianna asked.

  “I sometimes forget that all of you work together. It makes me feel left out at times.”

  Mac waved away her concern. “We barely see each other during the day. We all teach different grade levels in completely different departments. Rory teaches freshmen and it takes four years until they even get to me. Brianna’s the one with all of the good stories about who fell flat on their faces during the Presidential Fitness Test.”

  Rory leaned across the table and put her hand on top of Celeste’s. “Don’t worry, I’m jealous of you and your fabulous work clothes and your lunches out with co-workers. I hardly ever get to leave campus during the day. It’s either cafeteria or brown bag. Neither of which is a very glamorous choice.”

  “Yes, we temp secretaries are a very glamorous lot,” Celeste smiled back at her gratefully.

  “You may be glamorous, but we’ll soon see if you can back up all of those wild and crazy stories.” Mac dug around in her purse and pulled out pens for all of them. “I decided to follow in my students’ footsteps and I made some copies this afternoon. There’s a quiz for all of us. Time to find out who’s a virgin and who’s a vixen.” At their skeptical looks, Mac held up her hands. “Those are the quiz categories, not mine. I know none of you are virgins.”

  “Oh, ha, ha.” Celeste pulled a pen out of Mac’s hand and then passed the stack of papers to her left, taking a quiz off the top. “Will this be a timed exercise or is there a prize for coming in first?”

  “I would imagine that getting the most answers right means that you are also having the most interesting sex, based on these questions. That’s kind of like a prize in and of itself,” Brianna pointed out.

  “See, we’re all winners already and all that jazz. Let’s go,” Mac directed.

  All of the girls picked up their pens and began to study the test. Rory smiled as she saw the first question. It asked what gland was responsible for releasing moisture when a woman was aroused. If all of the questions were about the biology of sex, she was in for an A+ for sure. As the biology teacher, she’d better score 100%, otherwise she was in the wrong line of work.

  The next question wasn’t so easy though. It was a multiple-choice about the most common place outside of the bedroom for a couple to have sex. As someone who had never had sex outside of the bedroom, all of the answers seemed implausible. They ranged from a party to a pool to a backseat. Rory didn’t consider herself much of an exhibitionist so she had never considered the logistics of having sex in a populated area, much less at a party. She hoped the question referred to sneaking off. She tried to keep her mind away from how her students would answer these questions. She was sure that they wouldn’t be taking nearly as much time as she was over each question.

  Rory decided to employ a test-taking strategy she often recommended to her students: answer all of the questions you know first and then go back to reason out the harder ones. She skipped down the page and was only able to answer two more questions that were mainly biology-focused. The rest were questions about favorite kinks and diagrams asking the responder to identify the sex position. The answers were completely beyond her though. It wasn’t that she only had sex in missionary; it was more that she had no idea what the names of the positions were. And one of them didn’t even look anatomically possible. Or maybe it was possible for a woman who did more yoga than she did.

  If this quiz was showing her anything, it was that maybe her friends were a little bit right. It was possible that she did need to get out there and date more. She never considered herself picky about those kinds of things, but perhaps she was. Rory had always ascribed to the belief that there was no reason to go out with someone that she couldn’t really see herself with. After all, there were only two reasonable outcomes of a romantic relationship: it either broke u
p or stayed together forever. Her friends, especially Celeste, would protest that sometimes dates ended in really good friendships. Upon pressing, though, she had never been able to supply the name of one man with whom that had been true for her.

  Whether or not Rory ultimately decided to go on a date had very little to do with physical attractiveness either. So no one could accuse her of being shallow in that regard. Rather, her reluctance always stemmed from the fact that she had never experienced that magic zing. The falling in love at first sight feeling that her friends and books and movies always promised but didn’t deliver. She thought she had felt the zing once, but it had turned out only to be a fling. Maybe she was zing-proof.

  Rory shook herself out of her musings and realized that all of her friends were finished and laughing over their answers. Her page was still mostly blank and no amount of time was going to change that. Rory quickly circled the rest of the answers in a random pattern and put her pen down to signal she was done.

  Mac smiled at her. “Okay, everyone pass their papers to the left for the person next to you to grade. I’ll call out the answers from the key.” She waved a sealed envelope in front of them. “Just so everyone can be sure I didn’t cheat.”

  Rory reluctantly passed her quiz to the left and took Brianna’s to grade. She skimmed the other woman’s paper and felt her heart sink as she realized that most of their answers differed. She lightened up considerably as Mac began to read out the correct answers, though. Although Brianna hadn’t done terribly, her quiz certainly didn’t qualify her to be a vixen. Maybe she wouldn’t be the lowest score after all.

  She should have known better. Celeste handed back her quiz with a big fat F written at the top. Rory supposed it was her luck that Celeste had been in possession of the only red pen in the bunch. “An F? Are you sure that’s necessary? I was under the impression this wasn’t a letter-graded test.”

  Mac laughed and proudly displayed her mostly correct paper. “I bet this is the first time you’ve ever failed a test, isn’t it, Rory?”