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“Well, you seem to have yourself convinced, anyway.” Rowan shrugs.
Of course Rowan thinks I’m so awesome that every guy is in love with me. I appreciate the sentiment, but she’s dead wrong.
“Well, anyway, I think I’m going to head on out too.” I shake my head. “I’m sorry, guys. I’m not feeling really festive right now. This is a fantastic party—I love it—but I’m going to go home.”
“It’s okay, I understand. Nick kind of ruined it for you. You made an appearance, you hung out for a while, and next time you’ll come without a date and have a lot more fun. Love you, see you soon, stay out of trouble.” My sister hugs me.
I make my way over to the coatrack, where I hung my purse and a light evening sweater.
As I’m about to walk out, I bump into Pax. Again. It’s almost as if he got in my way on purpose.
“Go on, then, chase after your boy toy.” Pax glares at me.
I glare right back. He’s putting me on the defensive. “Nick had a bad night, and he is not usually like this.”
“Riiight.” Pax draws the word out in a long, sarcastic drawl. “Yeah, I’ll say this. He seems absolutely perfect for you.”
He stalks away before I can come up with a retort, which is probably the smartest decision he’s made all night.
6
RUBY
Scheduled for today at four o’clock: one torture session, minus the whips and chains, but plus one whiny annoying football running back.
In other words, I’m helping Nick study for the final exam. I mean, I could have scheduled an appointment to get a root canal without anesthesia, or I could play a recording of nails scraping across a chalkboard again and again, but this seemed like so much more fun.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” Clair whispers to me, as Nick settles down on my bed and sets his backpack on the floor. His hair is gelled into place as usual, and he’s wearing a polo shirt with a popped collar—hasn’t that been out of fashion forever? And he’s got a look of smug expectation on his face.
I’m not sure what he’s expecting, but if it’s anything other than studying, he’s in for a major disappointment.
“I can hear you,” he calls out. Clair shoots him a look of annoyance. She’s not a fan. Most people aren’t, when they get to know him, except for his little groupie gang and his equally obnoxious team members.
I grin at her. “I can handle Nick.”
Nick winks at me. “You sure can. Anytime.”
A swell of annoyance flares up inside me. The compulsive flirting is not cute and not funny. He’s got as much chance of winning me over as he does of growing gills and a tail and turning into a merman.
I already almost dumped my fake boyfriend for real after the party fiasco. He had to grovel, beg, call up my sister and Mason to apologize, and type up an email of apology to the guys on the team, and I still only agreed to continue with this charade with the greatest reluctance.
The good news is, it’s almost the end of the first summer semester. We have the final exam, and then we’re done. So I just have to put up with him for a few more days, and then never deal with him, and the professor, again. I am counting not just the days but the hours and the minutes.
“If you say so,” Clair says doubtfully. She leans in and whispers in my ear, “You’ve got that mace, right?”
“I won’t need it,” I assure her.
My sister reacted to the death of both of our parents by becoming incredibly overprotective, and one of the things she did was enroll me in all kinds of self-defense classes. Krav Maga, Brazilian jujitsu, karate, boxing—I’ve taken them all. I’ve fought off muggers in New York, twice. They limped away from me, cursing and dribbling blood from their noses and clutching their crotches.
So I’m not worried about anything that Nick might try, not that I think he would ever actually be dangerous.
“Call me if you need anything.” She’s heading over to a study session of her own, for her web design course, and I’m not going to bother her.
“Well, ciao for now. Good luck with the studying.” With a wave and a skeptical look, she grabs her laptop bag and heads out.
“Alone at last.” Nick leans back on the bed and smiles lazily at me, running his fingers through his thick wavy hair. I wonder how many panties have dropped just because of that little gesture.
“Yes, so we can study,” I say firmly.
