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He stepped back, and the expression on his face was unreadable. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
Making a mental note to google how long you should wait before asking someone on a second date, I nodded. “Yeah. It’ll be fun. We’re the dream team, remember? Ace and E-Zee, just like when we were kids and used to pretend we couldn’t play pool, then we’d fleece people and use the money to feed your ice addiction.”
He growled under his breath, shooting me a warning look, although I noticed that he was trying not to smile. “I told you not to call me that name. Are you asking to have your mouth taped permanently shut?”
I grinned, rubbing my hand over the bulge in my shorts. “Your violent side makes me hard.”
His mouth clamped shut, and his cheeks flushed darker. “Stop flirting with me.”
“I actually don’t think I can. It’s hardwired into my personality or something.” Flirting was okay, right? He was used to me acting this way. It would seem weird if I didn’t flirt. I just had to make sure that he didn’t find out how much I wanted him. Not yet, anyway.
He sighed. “Yeah, I know it is. Come on, then, let’s go and see who we can fleece money from today. But do not refer to me by that nickname again, please.”
“Deal. My vote is for Levi. He’s rich as fuck—it’ll be like he’s doing a charitable deed, donating to us poor students.”
Elliot rolled his eyes, huffing out a laugh, and for a minute, it was like it used to be between us.
It was an illusion, though. Things between us could never be the same.
25
“Why does it have to be him?” Ander groaned dramatically, and I rolled my eyes, grinning.
“Because the universe likes to torture us. Well, you. But I’ll be with you to protect you from big, bad Dr. Wilder.”
“I should be the one protecting you,” Ander protested as we made our way down the corridor towards Dr. Wilder’s office.
“Yeah, but I’m not the one that fucked up the assignment,” I pointed out, which made him sigh loudly.
“Yeah, yeah. Pray that he’s in a better mood than usual.”
Laughing, I shot him a sideways glance. “That would take a miracle.”
“True. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Dr. Wilder needs to get laid, badly. It has to be the reason he acts like such a—”
“Mr. Loveridge.”
From behind us came a low, smooth purr, stopping both Ander and me dead in our tracks with what I was sure were identical expressions of panic on our faces. Shit.
“Uh, Dr. Wilder.” Ander swallowed hard as he slowly turned to face our international business management lecturer. “I was just, uh, coming to see you about my assignment, like we discussed.”
“Yes, I assumed that was why you were loitering around in the staff building. Mr. Clarke, why are you here? Your assignment was perfectly acceptable. Is Mr. Loveridge incapable of going anywhere without you?”
“Um…” I glanced over at Ander. “There’s so much history in this building, you know? I’m really intrigued by the, uh, the stonemasonry.” Words were spilling out of my mouth, and I had no clue what I was saying.
Dr. Wilder raised one dark brow. “Stonemasonry? Are you considering changing your major to history or architecture? Unless you are, I suggest you wait for Mr. Loveridge outside the building. And don’t let me catch you in here again unless you have an appointment.”
“Yes, sir.” Shooting Ander an apologetic look, I backed away, mouthing,I’ll wait outside, once I was safely out of Dr. Wilder’s eyesight. I would not want to be in Ander’s position right now, especially because there was no way that our lecturer hadn’t heard his comment about needing to get laid. To be fair, Ander was probably correct. The man was incredibly good-looking—the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome, and the way he wore a suit was…let’s just say, if you were into suit porn, you’d appreciate the sight. But his personality was like a human repellent. Unless he acted differently outside of the university…no, that couldn’t be possible.
Why was I even wasting time thinking about my lecturer? I needed to be thinking of ways to cheer up Ander because he’d undoubtedly be in a bad mood after Dr. Wilder had finished with him.
Fifteen minutes later, Ander appeared, his mouth turned downwards and a defeated look in his eyes. He came straight over to me, wrapping his arms around me and burying his face in my shoulder. My arms came around him, and I stroked his back soothingly. “That bad, huh?”
“He’s a wanker,” Ander said, his words muffled by the fabric of my jacket. “I know we were going to get coffee before our next lecture, but he wants me to rewrite this assignment now and bring it back to him by the end of the day.”
“Okay. Why don’t we go to the library, and I’ll get us a coffee, then I’ll go through your assignment with you? I did alright on it, so maybe I can give you a couple of ideas?”
His arms tightened around me. “What would I do without you? You’re thebestbest friend in the world, E. I’m so fucking lucky to have you.”
