“No problem.” He set down his black coffee in front of him.
“Won’t that keep you awake all night?”
He shot me a look. “That’s the plan.”
I felt myself turning red and he laughed softly.
“I drink coffee all the time. Honestly, I think I’m immune to caffeine by now. I just like the taste.” He leaned forward, his gaze turning intense. “This is how tonight is going to work, Tessa. We’re going to sit here and study. I’m going to make sure you’re as prepared as you can be for the exam. Only when I’m sure you’ll pass, I’ll take you back to mine.”
I nodded, feeling breathless. “I’ve been doing some study in my own time,” I said, taking out a few practice quizzes from my notebook and showing him.
He gave me a questioning look.
“I don’t want to stay here for hours,” I explained.
His lips curled into a smile. “Smart girl. I’ll mark these. You do this practice exam.”
I finished the practice exam as quickly as I could. Now, I could actually answer questions faster and more easily — the past week of studying had given me the ability to recognize patterns and figure out the best way to solve problems. But also, I was eager to get back to Ryan’s apartment. We were simply sitting in a cafe, not even touching, but I could feel myself getting aroused. I kept jiggling my leg, feeling impatient.
“Done,” I said, shoving the pages in front of him. I thought we’d leave immediately, but instead he told me to keep studying while he checked it. I felt like I was losing my mind.
Minutes ticked by. Hours. Soon it was almost ten o’clock. What time would I get home? I’d have to walk back to my dorm at two in the morning.
Finally, he finished marking the practice exam. “You did well,” he said. “Only made a few small mistakes. If you keep this up, you’ll definitely pass the redemption exam.”
“Great,” I said, packing up my things. “Let’s go now.”
He huffed a laugh. “Impatient, aren’t you?”
I stilled and gave him a look. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to. You’ve already done so much for me, Ryan. Now that I think about it, you’ve done enough —”
“No,” he growled. “I’m having you.”
I bit back a smile. We packed up in silence and I walked out of The Cozy Bean, Ryan a glowering shadow behind me. As we walked to his apartment, my heart rate started to pick up. Holy shit. This was really happening.
We entered the lobby and stepped into the elevator, the silence between us stretching out, heavy with tension. When we arrived in his apartment, Ryan dropped his things on his desk with a thud.
“Um,” I began, not sure what to do.
“My bedroom. Now.”
Ryan’s bedroom was not what I expected. I thought it would be an extension of the rest of his apartment. Neat but spartan, with no decorations. Instead, it was…nice. There was a king sized bed with dove grey sheets. A nightstand on either side, each with a lamp on top that emitted a rose-gold light. There was a bookshelf and a framed poster, and the entire room smelled clean, like fresh laundry.
It was cozy. Calming. Immediately, I felt my nerves begin to abate.
Ryan closed the bedroom door, then walked over to the window. Through the glass, campus was lit up by a hundredlights. It really was a lovely view. He drew the blinds, then turned to me.
I shivered in spite of myself. We were really doing this.
He walked over, resting his hands on my hips. I looked up at him. He was tall and gorgeous, and right now, all of his attention was on me.
“You’re so pretty.”
I blushed in spite of myself.
His hands found the hem of my sweater and pulled it up. I raised my arms to help him. He unbuckled my bra, letting it drop to the floor, and his gaze raked over my chest hungrily.
I reached out for him. “You too,” I said. “I want to see you.”
