Page 63 of The Cheerleader

“Of course we’ll win. Our team is definitely better.”

Bryan opens the heavy door for us, and we go inside.

“I’m going to the reference room,” Liz says. “See you back at the dorm, Susie.”

She gives Bryan’s arm a squeeze like she has a right to and takes off, and I turn to him. “Where do you want to sit? The reading room⁠—”

“Not the reading room.”

I nod. Of course not. There’s always a crowd of people in there.

“Where, then? You know this library better than I do.” I’m not going to suggest the stacks because I don’t want to be presumptuous. People go there to be alone.

“Let’s go to the stacks. I know a place we can be alone.”

Shit. My stomach dips and turns like he’s just sent me on a roller-coaster ride—the kind of ride I’m finding far too exciting.

“Okay,” I say unnecessarily as I follow him. He’s not holding my arm or my hand or touching me in any way, so I’m being an idiot for reading anything intimate into him wanting us to be alone. He doesn’t want to be alone with me. He just wants to be left alone by others. And I should be ashamed of myself for getting excited about the prospect when my best friend, Liz, is clearly crazy about him.

Is he crazy about her? I don’t think so. They share something, but not that.

We climb the stairs and find even the stacks seem to be full. I wonder if it’s a Wednesday thing because I’ve been told Thursday is party night. But Bryan leads me to a private spot tucked away from everywhere and everyone after studiously ignoring all the stares and not meeting anyone’s eyes along the way.

Then we’re all business. We go over an essay we’ve been assigned to read, and it becomes clear to me that he has trouble with the order of words and sentences somehow. I know something’s wrong, but I don’t know what it is.

“Which paragraph do you think makes the most important point?” I ask.

“The third one.” He’s not unsure in the least.

I nod. “I agree. So you see the pattern?”

“Now that you’ve broken it down, putting numbers next to the paragraphs for each point works. I didn’t notice the bridges between the points or the way they build, but now I do.”

“We should read a few more examples⁠—”

“Not tonight. I have an early class tomorrow. I need to get to bed.”

I check my watch. “It’s only eight thirty.”

“My class is at six a.m.”

My eyes widen before I remember. “That’s right. Farmers always rise early, don’t they?”

“You’re not making fun of farmers, are you?” The right side of his mouth twitches in an almost smile, and even more telling that he’s teasing is that glint in his eye and the crinkles in the corners.

I grin. “What if I am? You going to punch me in the nose?”

“I wouldn’t want to ruin your pretty face. For you, I might have something else in mind.”

And there it is. He’s flirting again. Every cell in my body instantly heats up like he just lit me on fire. I don’t know what he has in mind, but the way he said it, I know it’s something wicked and sexy.

“How are your ribs feeling?” Shit. What made me choose that question to diffuse my discomfort?

He snorts a laugh. “Now you ask about my ribs? Why didn’t you ask when Liz was around?”

My face heats up, but I resist the urge to look away.

“I don’t want to get involved in whatever’s between you and Liz.”