we’ll be able to hear each other? You know, since you’re a mile away from me?” I point at the chair next to me. “Wouldn’t this seat work better?”
A shrug comes from her. “This one’s just fine.”
I mutter under my breath.
“What did you say?”
I look up, grin, and cup my mouth. “I said, SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT TWO TIN CANS AND A PIECE OF STRING!”
Everyone around us stares, giving us dirty looks.
“Now look what you’ve done,” she hisses. “Next thing you know, the librarian will be up our asses.”
“Dead Zone’s always free. It’s dark up there and no one’s around. Remember?”
She throws a pen at me and I dodge it, laughing.
“Blaze Townsend, you better shut your mouth, get those notes out, and start studying. Focus.”
Damn. “I like you bossy, as long as you know I’m really in charge.”
“Weren’t you always?” she grumbles.
I curve my hand around my ear. “What was that? Did you say I was always in charge?”
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, you’re the alpha male. Everyone knows it. Girls beg to be with you, and men adore you.”
“You trying to hurt my feelings? It won’t work,” I say with a grin. “Know why? Cause this place has memories—good ones. I had you begging for it, right upstairs.” I’m teasing, of course, but her face stills, and I backtrack and clear my throat. “Hey, I didn’t mean to say it like that. I don’t want to make you feel weird—”
She blinks, as if clearing her mind. “Fine. We had sex here and it was awesome. Whatever. Friends, right? We can joke around.”
I lean back. “Awesome? Good to know. Of course, I thought it was—”
She holds her hand up and smirks. “You want to pass your classes, right?”
That knot of worry settles in my chest again, and I sigh. “Yeah.”
I tap my pen against my notebooks and stare down at the notes. Regardless of what happens with the NFL, I want my degree more than just to get by and have a fallback. I want it because no one in my family has ever had one.
“Tell you what—I can hunker down for a good stretch if I know I get a prize at the end.”
Her brow arches and my hands twitch, wondering what it would feel like to have her face close to mine, to trace the lines of her features—
“A prize? What are you, a toddler?”
“Just my personality.” I dart my eyes around the room, thinking. “How about once I get my notes copied, you come sit next to me? No funny stuff.” I lean in over the table. “Truth is, it’s cold over here, and I could use the warmth.” I’m on a total roll, and I can’t stop the stupid shit from coming out of my mouth. But, it’s like she’s here, and I…
“Fine, but…”
My lips part. I can’t believe she agreed. “Yes?”
“You have to walk me to my car after we’re done. It’s late already and it creeps me out.”
My eyes widen. “Of course. You don’t even have to ask. I’d have done that anyway. Isn’t there something else you’d rather me do? Rub your shoulders, maybe? You know, to work out the tension from all that studying?”
“Nope.” She pops the P and looks back at her notes.
An hour in and I’m done rewriting notes and reading. My mind is jumping, and I know why. She’s just a few feet away from me, and I’m in Charisma overload. I went three months without a glimpse, and now I can’t stop staring at her. She’s got a little pucker on her lips, and she keeps bouncing her legs under the table like she’s jittery. She’s never jittery. She’s cool and controlled, the exact opposite of me.
I tap my pen on the table.
She doesn’t even look up, and I take in her face, the curve of her cheek, the way she chews on her pen. I’m back to her mouth, staring, taking in the way the lower lip is twice as big as the top, giving her a just-kissed look. I imagine her mouth on me—
“I’m bored.”
“Uh-huh,” she murmurs. “Ten more minutes. I’m still working on something.”
Sooner or later, she’s going to let go…she’s going to look at me…she’s going to see the real me. She’s going to see the truth.
I start at the thought as it enters my head, swallowing thickly. I mean, I’ve shoved everything about her so far down inside me, and most days I think I have it beat, but…damn, I’m losing my mind—