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“What do you want, Nick? With me, I mean? Why this sudden interest?”
Shit, she was direct.
And then I knew why she’d tried so hard to stay away from me—she’d heard about my reputation and didn’t trust me.
“Hell, I don’t know, Jess. I just wanted to get to know you better,” I said, not used to being put on the spot in that way.
Her eyes, so blue in the sunlight, locked on mine in challenge. “Know me better? You don’t know me at all.”
“Why do you keep stopping me then?”
“Because.”
“Because of your boyfriend?” I spat out the word as if it tasted bitter on my tongue.
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
When she stared down at her feet, I knew she was keeping something from me.
“Did you guys break up?”
“Something like that.” She brushed her hand over her dress, not meeting my eyes.
Despite the fact that her tone was still off, I wanted to break out into a little dance like an idiot. This was my in, my chance. I couldn’t let her walk away so easily this time.
“When’s your next class?” Hopefully, she had a break long enough for me to take her to lunch.
“Not for ninety minutes.”
She finally lifted her gaze, focusing on something behind my shoulder. I
half wondered what the hell was so interesting beyond me, but I stopped myself from turning around to look.
“So you have time then.”
Her head cocked slightly as her eyes finally met mine and stayed there. “Time for what?”
“Time for us,” I said, and watched with amusement as her smile faltered for a second before returning. “Come on, spend the next ninety minutes with me.”
I was nothing if not persistent. Jess had become a bit of a challenge, and I owed it to myself to see if that’s all she was, or if there was something more there.
She studied me. “I’m afraid if I tell you no, you’ll just ask again.”
“I will.”
Her lips twitched. “Then how can I refuse?”
“You can’t. Let’s go; we’re wasting precious minutes here.”
As she gave me a big smile, I had to fight to hold in my own so I didn’t look like too big of a wimp. The two of us walked through the student union, each eyeing the various fast-food concessions before agreeing on the campus’s only fresh deli.
After waving my hand, I followed behind her toward the short line. I moved to grab a tray for her, but she reached for it at the same time and our hands brushed before she pulled away. It was a small thing, our fingers touching, but it sent shots of what could be and what if throughout my already tense body.
I handed her a tray before grabbing one for myself and sliding it across the metal countertop close to hers. A second later, I changed my mind and returned my tray to the stack.
“We’ll just put it all on one tray, okay?” I asked Jess, who was now staring at me with a confused expression.
Her cheeks turned pink as she looked away. “Okay.”
