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“You know what I want.” He reached out again and swiped my other cheek. “I want to take you out on a date.”
My heart skipped a beat. “A date?”
“Yeah. Lunch, dinner, coffee… whatever you prefer.”
“Just one date?”
He shook his head with a wry twist of his lips. “You don’t have to act like it’s a sacrifice. I’ve been trying to ask you out.”
“Why?”
“Ahh, your favorite word again.” He ran a hand under his chin. “Why can’t it be as simple as I want to hang out with you?”
“Just hang out?”
“Yep.”
Contemplating his words, I smoothed a hand over my forehead. Why did it seem like I was being manipulated on some level? But I was at fault again, although I still couldn’t believe I didn’t see his car.
“So, what do you say? Are you gonna agree to this?”
A car honked, and I jumped, realizing there was a line of cars starting to grow behind Axel’s BMW.
I couldn’t believe it, but I could feel myself opting to say yes.Live with no regrets. The words reverberated in my head. Someone shouted angrily off in the distance about the hold-up in the parking lot. Axel didn’t seem to care too much because he kept staring down at me, waiting.
“Come on, man. Move your car. I’ve got to be at the library for a study group,” some guy called out from his car. Axel peered behind him casually and held out his hand as if to say,give me a minute.
Giving me his attention again, he pressed, “Do we have a deal?”
Finally, I nodded, wanting to remove myself from the chaos that was happening around us in the parking lot. However, could I remove myself from the chaos of him?
Natalie
“Hey, thanks for helping me out.” Tank tapped his finger on theIntro to Geneticsbook between us on the table that I’d used last year. “I couldn’t find this book anywhere.”
“No problem. It’s not like I was ever going to use it again, and I definitely wouldn’t get much money back for it anyway.” The resale value of textbooks was basically nothing, which was crazy considering how much money the campus bookstores sold them for, to begin with.
I was at the main library on campus, where Axel was meeting me to take me out to lunch. I’d run into Tank this morning and told him I had the book he was looking for. Hence the reason he was here.
“I owe you one.” He smiled brightly. “Just name your price, and it’s yours.”
“You owe her what?” Like a crack of thunder, Axel growled behind us. I looked up to see him glaring at Tank.
He raised his eyes mildly at Axel, like he was someone not quite right in the head, but said nothing.
“You owe her what?” Axel demanded again, taking a step closer, posing like he was ready to strike out at his teammate.
Tank’s forehead wrinkled in puzzlement. “Bruh, you serious? You need to check yourself.”
“Check myself?” he asked in disbelief. “Do you not remember what I told you about her?”
Tank chuckled, shaking his head and throwing his hands out. “I’m not even going to answer this.”
“Oh, yeah?” Axel took a menacing step forward with his chest bowed. “Well, let me remind you. I told you to stay the fuck away from her.”
“Stop.” I scrambled out of my chair and pushed myself between them, laying my palms on Axel’s chest, trying to ease him back, but he didn’t budge. “It’s nothing. Tank needed a book for class, and I gave him mine. That’s all.”
His eyes dropped from Tank down to my hands, which were firmly pressed against his rock-hard pecs. “That’s all?” he asked softly, with an edginess laced in his voice.
