Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
My nerves are at an all-time high as I make my way to biology later that afternoon. All I could manage for lunch was a blueberry muffin. I pull my hood up and slide into a seat in the middle of the lecture theater. I focus on setting up my tablet so I can take notes and avoid searching for the one person I’ve been hiding from but desperately want to see.
A body drops into the seat next to me. I’m hit with a waft of familiar cologne. My nether region drools, my nipples tighten, and a kaleidoscope of butterflies unleashes in my stomach. Chase is sitting beside me. In class.
“Hey.” That single word feels like a caress on bare skin.
I glance at him, mouth going dry as my heart skips a beat and then takes off at a gallop. “Hey.”
His gaze moves over my face, and he swallows thickly before he asks, “Is it cool if I sit here?”
“If you want,” I croak.
“I haven’t seen you around since we got back into the dorms.” It’s mostly an observation, with a hint of accusation.
“I’ve been at the library working on assignments,” I offer weakly.
He arches a brow. “And avoiding me?”
“I didn’t want to make it awkward.” Guess I failed at that.
“I knocked on your door three times yesterday. And left a note on your message board,” Chase says.
“You did?” I was probably so focused on getting into my room without running into anyone, that I didn’t even look at the whiteboard stuck to my door.
“The message is still there. Didn’t you sleep in your room last night?” His jaw tics.
“What’s this?” I poke his cheek.
“What’s what?”
“There’s a muscle jumping in your jaw.”
His nostrils flare and he leans in closer, dropping his voice to a whisper and brushing his lips on the shell of my ear. “I like you. I missed you.” I feel him take a deep breath before continuing. “And the idea of someone else touching your precious when I want it to be mine makes me unhappy.”
I lean back so I can see his face. He looks serious. I can’t believe we’re having this conversation in the middle of a lecture theater that’s quickly filling with students. “Why would you automatically assume if I didn’t sleep in my bed I slept in someone else’s and allowed them access to my body? I’m not the Hookup Champion between the two of us.”
“I don’t know. But I didn’t see you at all yesterday and I didn’t like it, and I also didn’t get a chance to get your phone number and I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours in worst-case scenario-ville,” he admits.
“Oh.”
Brody drops into the seat next to him. His hood is pulled up to conceal his face. Looks like we’re both hiding from the world, but probably for very different reasons.
“Hey, Cammie. Hey, Chase.” He waves and starts pulling things out of his backpack.
“Hey,” we say in unison.
Another large guy sits down who I presume must also be on the school hockey team based on his size and haircut—most of these guys sport a slightly shaggy mop covered with a Tilton University or Terror ball cap. Except for Brody. He usually sports a plain black one.
He greets Brody and Chase, then leans forward to give me a two-finger wave. “You must be Cammie.”
Chase’s head whips around in his direction. “Dude.”
Brody stifles a snicker.
“What? This is the girl you were talking about at the gym earlier, right? The edgy one you can fit in your pocket?”
Chase called me edgy? And that he could fit me in his pocket? Both are true, I guess. My wardrobe is fairly monochromatic and next to him I’m pretty darn small. But what else did he say about me?
“I’m Mac. I play defense for the Blaze. Chase couldn’t stop talking about you through our entire workout. I get it, you’re cute.” He winks.
“I will end you if you keep it up,” Chase growls.
My entire body likes that sound.
I lean into Chase and extend my hand. It means my boob is pressed against his forearm and my cheek brushes his chest. Brody leans back, smirk firmly in place as Mac’s grin widens. He takes my small hand in his giant mitt and gives it a light shake. “I’m Cammie, the pocket-sized edgy girl Chase apparently couldn’t stop talking about. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Cammie.” Mac is ridiculously flirty. Everything about him screams one-night stand.
“Don’t use that tone with Cammie,” Chase grumbles.
Mac gives him a two-finger salute. “Sir, yes, sir.” He winks at me again and leans back in his seat.
The professor takes her place at the front of the lecture hall, ending any further conversation. It’s hard to focus on her with Chase sitting beside me. He rests his knee against mine and leans into my space to look at my notes every few minutes. He smells divine and it takes literally every ounce of resolve not to reach out and trace the thick veins on the back of his hand.