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Maybe Tate could afford to repeat classes, but I couldn’t. And, again, I couldn’t risk my scholarship because I was shamelessly flirting instead of paying attention.
“Since I know I’m irresistible, I’ll stop distracting you so you can focus,” I leaned in, pressed my shoulder against his and whispered near his ear once Dr. Louden stopped glaring at us from afar.
A little snort came from my left where Tate sat. But that wasn’t the only thing coming from my left. He reached out his hand and squeezed my knee.
He squeezed my knee.
If I was a cartoon character, big heart-filled eyes would be bugging out of me right now.
But it was there and gone so quickly, I might have imagined it.
Did I imagine it? I snuck a glance at him.
He was staring down at Dr. Louden, listening to whatever words were coming from the professor’s mouth.
I was hoping he’d give me a little smile or a wink… Something to indicate he was attracted to me as much as I was him. Or, even better, that he was gay.
Or at least bi.
Or even bi-curious.
I just needed the tiniest crumb. A speck.
I got nothing from him for the rest of the class. But I had placed my hand on my own knee in the same spot like the desperate fool that I was so it felt like his hand was still there.
When class was finally over and I’d realized I missed half of what Dr. Louden had said, I sighed over my craziness and began to gather my belongings.
I noticed Tate had scribbled a shitload of notes in an actual notebook instead of on his laptop. Did I really miss that much material?
Maybe he’d be willing to share his notes. It could be the perfect excuse to spend more time with him so I could flush out who Tate Harris was and give him a chance to get to know me better, too.
“Hey… uh… do you want to go grab a coffee or something? I would love to copy your notes.”
Tate paused and I held my breath while waiting for his answer. I might have even crossed my fingers as I waited. But when he shook his dark head, I slowly released the air I was holding, though my disappointment didn’t go along with it.
However, I did notice that he kind of looked disappointed himself.
Huh.
“Can’t. I have to be somewhere.” He continued stuffing everything back into his backpack. I was surprised it wasn’t splitting at the seams. When he lifted his head again, he said, “But I can email them to you after I type them up.”
He handed me his notebook and a pen. While I jotted down my email address, I asked, “Why didn’t you just type them directly into your computer? It would be more efficient.”
“It’s one way that I ‘study.’ I handwrite the notes first, then type them up later. It forces me to go over the material twice.”
“Smart.”
“I’m not sure if it’s smart but it works for me.”
But did it really since he was repeating this class? And how many other classes had he repeated?
“I guess whatever works,” I mumbled and followed him down the steps once everyone else filed out.
Dr. Louden’s dark eyes followed us as we walked past the lectern.
“Great lesson today, sir,” I called out with a half wave and a smile.
Now who was kissing ass?
“You mean you actually paid attention?” the professor asked, knowing full well that I didn’t. I’d been too busy mooning over Tate.
“Absolutely. It was mesmerizing. I wish you taught all of my classes.” I didn’t wait for his response. Instead, we both rushed out of the door and into the busy corridor, trying to contain our laughter.
We stopped right outside the door.
“Well, I’m headed this way,” I said, tipping my head to the right.
“And I’m going that way. See you on Tuesday?”
Tuesday was four days away!
“Sure. Yeah.” I tried desperately to keep the disappointment out of my voice. I failed miserably.
Clearing my throat, I adjusted my backpack over my shoulder and began to walk away. Well, walk wasn’t quite right, more like dragged my feet since I wasn’t ready for us to go our separate ways.
“Hey…” Tate grabbed my arm and stopped my forward motion.
Was he about to profess his undying love for me? Right there in the hallway? Good. Because I wanted the whole world to hear it if he was.
I glanced over my shoulder at him and when he looked like he was struggling to get out whatever he was about to say next, I turned to face him and gave him the time he needed.
He dropped his gaze to his sneakers for a moment and when he glanced back up, those blue eyes of his hit mine and shot sparks through me.
Unlike Dr. Louden’s lecture, Tate’s eyes were mesmerizing and they held me in place.
