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Bryce
Class that morning seems super tense, as it should be. It’s the one we all have together, our Fucking Class, as Dereck calls it, and so much thick tension hangs in the air I’m not sure how anyone can even breathe. Rowan is already at the lab table when the three of us show up after shift that morning, and we all three hesitate at the entrance of the door. No one says anything, but we can all feel it. Even Dereck, who wasn’t even there this morning.
Who gets to sit by Rowan today?
“Gentlemen, would you like to come in?” Professor Jensen asks us, pointing to our near-empty table. “As far as I know, Ms. Bates doesn’t bite.”
Hard, I think with a smirk. Dereck rolls his eyes and shoulders past me and Matt, settling down on the same side as Rowan. Matt doesn’t say anything to this, but I can see the annoyance in his face. I’m sure Dereck will pay for that one later with a cock-shot.
“Good morning,” I say to Rowan, taking a seat with Matt across from her and Dereck. “Officially, I mean. In the real world.” She looks so beautiful today, even covered in a simple white-knit sweater and dark blue jeggings that accentuate the soft curves of her backside. “How was your night? I didn’t get a chance to ask you about it this morning, since we had a call right after.”
I’m not sure what it is I’ve said that makes Rowan flush red and drop her eyes from mine, but she does, and that makes Dereck and Matt stare at her, too. Matt, I notice, is popping his fingers, a tense habit I’ve grown to notice over time. Unconsciously, I scoot a few inches in the opposite direction and focus my attention back on Rowan.
“The night was fine,” she says airily, but under that confidence is a tone that shakes, just slightly. “Thanks for asking.” Her gaze wavers from me and lands on Matt. She still seems so surprised that he’d showed up at the ER this morning, fully dressed in PPO. Apparently she had no idea this entire time. I wonder how she felt about that.
“I heard you did well with the fire victims this morning,” Matt says quietly. “My chief told us you guys saved them all.”
Rowan flushes and shakes her head with a small shrug. “It was the physicians,” she says quickly. “I’m just an RN in training. Definitely not as cool.”
“That seems pretty cool to me,” Matt says, and Rowan says nothing to this. I wait for more, all of us do, but that seems to be the best we’re going to get out of her. As Professor Jensen begins his usual, boring drone, I keep my gaze on Rowan, having to focus extra hard today not to let my erection pop through my jeans. I can’t even be in the same room with her without feeling like I could explode. And she smells so good, like always. Today it’s lilacs and vanilla, a subtle, sweet smell that makes me hungry for both her and a piece of pie.
Rowan makes it a point to ignore us the rest of the class, including me. I don’t know why, and I’m in the middle of wracking my brain to figure out why she might be upset when I catch a quick glance between Matt and Dereck. I can’t read their expressions, but I know something is going on, because when Matt got home late last night, he and Dereck went at each other like a couple of angry bulls. I figured it was something stupid and stayed out of it, but now I’m wondering …
Were they fighting over Rowan?
No, no way. Neither of them is involved with Rowan, as far as I know. She would have told me.
Wouldn’t she?
As soon as class ends, Rowan bolts for the door, but we’re too quick for her, and I’m hot on her heels with Dereck and Matt right behind me.
“Rowan!” I call, taking hold of her arm to pull her to a stop. “Hey, what’s the matter?”
Rowan looks over my shoulder at Dereck and Matt, who are eavesdropping near the door, unspeaking. I wish they’d buzz off, but I don’t think they will, so I choose to ignore them instead and hope she can do the same.
“Look, Bryce,” she says, reaching out to squeeze my arm in a friendly sort of way. “I need some time to think about things, okay?”
“Think about what things? I thought we had a great time the other night.”
This seems to catch the attention of my friends, who step forward, uncaring if they look suspicious standing there or not. Rowan glances over her shoulder at Matt and Dereck, and the flush in her cheeks becomes even more vivid. She drops her eyes from them and looks back at me, taking a single step back.
“Look, I have to go.”
“But, Row—”
“I already told you,” she says, backing away from us. Dereck and Matt are on either side of me now, watching her go, silent. “Don’t call me Row, okay?”
She’s gone before any one of us can stop her. I turn and look at Matt and Dereck, who are standing together, scowling at me, looking like they’re about ready to knock my block off.
“What?” I ask. Dereck steps forward, and Matt is close behind him. I take an automatic step back, frowning. “Problem, gentlemen?”
“What did you mean when you said you thought you two had a great time the other night?” Dereck asks, cold eyes narrowing.
“Um.” I freeze. I don’t know what to say. The cat is about to drop out of this shitty little bag. “We went out,” I tell Dereck. Behind him, Matt’s fists are clenching and unclenching as he glares at me. Occasionally his glare returns to Dereck, so at least I know I’m not the only one who has done something wrong.
“Did you fuck?” Dereck asks me.
I must take too long to answer, because before I know what’s happening, Dereck has me thrown against the wall of the corridor, holding me there with one arm against my throat. He’s seething.
