Page 13 of Drawn Together

“I’m running late,” I said as I walked to the kitchen and stood on my tiptoes to reach my pink thermos, when an arm stretched over my head and grabbed it for me. I turned to face him and found him much closer than I’d expected, that it took me a few seconds to snap out of it and take the thermos he was holding out to me. “Th-thanks,” I said, walking around him to heat up the milk. Once warm enough, I added honey, then poured it into my thermos at lightning speed. “Can we go?”

Sebastian nodded, picking up a jean jacket and putting it on.

I opened the door without looking back and pressed the button for the elevator. His presence made me uncomfortable. I couldn’t help it; I was extremely attracted to him. We stepped onto the elevator, and as the doors closed, his Hugo Boss cologne filled my nostrils. I thought I might finally experience an orgasm right then and there.

I was anxious about what it would be like to have him following me around all day on campus. He was dressed enough like a college student to blend in, but what would people think if he was always right next to me, watching me at all times? I didn’t want anyone to know he was my bodyguard, so when we got to the car, I ignored his orders and climbed into the front passenger seat.

“You should sit in the back, Marfil.”

Once again, that tingling feeling returned when he said my name.

“You’re not my driver, Sebastian,” I said, enjoying the feel of his name on my lips. “I don’t want anyone to know what your job is. If I show up to school in the back seat, my friends are going to start asking questions.”

“The windows in the back are bulletproof; it’s for your safety.”

I put on my seat belt, ignoring him. “No one is going to shoot me.”

Sebastian clenched his jaw and looked forward. He started the car and I smiled, happy that I’d gotten my way.

“We have to think about what we’re going to say when people see you with me,” I said a few minutes later.

Sebastian acted like he hadn’t heard me.

“You might pass for a student, but if my friends see us always together, every day, they’ll think we’re a couple.”

“What others think should be the least of your concerns.”

Maybe that was true, but I didn’t want to give people any more reason to talk about me. They did that more than I was comfortable with already. “I don’t want anyone to know I have a bodyguard.”

“Well… tell me what you expect me to do, becauseI amyour bodyguard.”

I looked at him, annoyed by his condescending tone. “Pull in here,” I said as we neared the parking lot that was farthest from my first class, where no one would see us.

Sebastian shot me a confused look but did as I asked.

I grabbed a notebook out of my backpack and ripped out two pages. “Here’s a schedule of my classes and a map of campus. Don’t talk to me; keep a safe distance without looking suspicious. We’ll meet back here after I grab some lunch.”

I got out of the car without waiting for his response. If I didn’t take control of the situation, Sebastian Moore might get the wrong idea about me. I was the one who would be calling the shots; I wouldn’t let anyone boss me around, and I had a feeling Sebastian wasn’t going to like that one bit.

When I entered my Intermediate Microeconomics class late, the professor looked irritated. Silently excusing myself, I went straight to my favorite seat at the top of the room, right by the hallway door. Only after I’d taken out my laptop andopened my notes did I allow myself to look around. Sitting to my right, like he belonged there, was Sebastian, scanning the classroom until he spotted me. For some reason, I didn’t avert my gaze when my eyes met his across the room, but I should have. It turned out to be almost impossible to concentrate knowing he was watching me.

The rest of the day flew by. Asking the professor to let me make up the exam I’d missed because of the kidnapping was useless. I didn’t want to tell him the real reason for my absence, and my excuse of being sick was laughable to him.

“You’ll have to make up for it with the midterm and final, Miss Cortés, that’s all there is to it.”

I stormed out of class, making my way to the closest dining hall. As soon as I landed on the third floor of Lerner Hall, my bad mood turned worse. Regan, my betting ex-boyfriend, was leaning against the cafeteria glass wall, surrounded by all his asshole friends. They had to comment when I walked past, as always. “Hey, Marfil! We missed you. Some of us had to go back to watching porn.”

I ignored their stupid comments, crossed the cafeteria, bought a salad with arugula and cheese, then went straight to my usual table, where my friend group sat. Lisa and Stella were classmates more than friends, but they were some of the few girls I could more or less tolerate. I’d met Lisa at orientation and Stella in the campus infirmary, where we’d both landed with epic hangovers after our first college party.

I liked them, but it was hard for me to open up.

“Where have you been?”

“I was sick,” I lied as I took a sip of water. I watched as Sebastian sat down at the table next to ours after walking across the cafeteria with his eyes on me. I observed him as he tooka bite of a cheese sandwich. I liked seeing him eat, proof that he wasn’t actually a Greek god, just a mere mortal like the rest of us.

“Who are you looking at?” Stella asked, following my gaze until landing on Sebastian.

“No one,” I answered, quickly looking away.