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Her hands trembled as she threw her notebook into her sports bag and nearly missed. Chloe struggled with it for a minute before I caved, reaching across her, closing the zip firmly.
"You okay?"
She swivelled sharply, and her ponytail flew on the horizontal, hitting me in the face. Again. I really didn't mind. She could hit me with that thing any day.
Her eyes widened. "Whoops?"
"Yes. Yes, you did." I watch her. “Library? Cafeteria? Bar?"
"What?" She rose, planting her hands on her hips, and looked at me like I was an annoyance or some curiosity she couldn't shake.
Her, on the other hand....
"Goddamn, you’re cute." Pushing myself up the wall, I held out a hand, noting the way the top of her head came up to my shoulder.Fucking perfect. “Why don't you choose the place, Chloe Duke? Show me where you like to study."
Her lips pressed into a thin line. "I think that's the problem. I don't study–"
"Because you play tennis instead? Why are you doing engineering?"
"I–" She shut down.
Completely.
Her face paled, those soft pink lips whitened, and she looked away, like maybe she brought her dad back to life for a few scant moments.
“Chloe. Do you love it?" My question seemed to surprise her.
"What?
"Do you love it? Engineering?"
“Um. Well. Sometimes. The concepts are interesting. I had the math skills and I suppose that's what I'm into."
I nodded sagely. "Your mom manages you?"
She grimaced. “My sister. Said I need something to fall back on when my tennis career falls over." She flashed me a too-bright smile that didn’t match her words at all.
"Not with those people skills," I groused.What kind of a sister gives advice like that?Okay, so cultivating multiple career options was smart. But with the money and influence she had over ehr years of tennis and whatever came from her family that let her attend Rippton U, she wouldn't be lacking in those any time soon. “Does your sister rate a paragraph in your journal too?"
Chloe laughed. "Oh, you have no idea."
Holding my breath, and with no real reason why I did it, I reached out again and tentatively closed my hand around her fingers like human contact with this girl was an experiment I needed to test over and over, to make sure she was real.
This girl is an island.
The thought hit me out of left field, blindsiding me, but I knew without question the unexpected assessment was correct. Chloe was completely alone in the world. The girl who made headlines and newspapers, with a huge social media presence, coveted by every boy on campus, and probably most of the dirty ass pervert teachers Rippton tended to employ, simply didn't seem to have anyone.
"When was the last time you dated?"
"What, you couldn't find that out from my socials?"
Ouch. "Nope." I threw her snark back at her.
"Fair enough." Chloe wrapped her arms around her. "Maybe I'll go to that party," she said suddenly. “Maybe...I’ll even find you there.”
My heart slammed into my chest and I managed to not disgrace myself at those words. “Even though your coach told you not to go?"
She flashed me a tight grin and didn't answer.
