“It was really good. Totally held my interest. New York was awesome too, though way too big a city for me. Too many people,” I say, hating how close we’re getting to my class. “Looks like we’re next door to each other.”
“We are. Thank you for walking me to class,” she says, smiling up at me.
“Anytime.” I lean against the wall, watching her. She takes a step closer, and I lower my voice to say, “I really want to kiss you right now.”
“No one is stopping you.” Her smile is warm.
Glancing around, I push off the wall and move in slowly, dropping a kiss on her cheek at the last second.
She mock-pouts. “That’s it?”
“There’s more where that came from,” I say, my voice full of promise.
Addie laughs and darts into her classroom, making me laugh too.
Our flirtatious interaction takes me straight through the morning, leaving me on an Addie-fueled high. Even through lunch, when I was stuck meeting with the rest of the team and the offensive coach, who showed us tape of the team we’re playing this Friday. I’m distracted as fuck, trying to concentrate on all the plays this team makes, when really, my head is full of images of Addie.
Addie straddling me. When I first pulled the front of her shirt down. The taste of her lips. The way she whimpers when she’s close. How good it felt to have her fingers wrapped around my dick.
I’m also glad Liam is stuck in here with us during lunch, because it keeps him away from Addie. I’m going to have to talk to him. Tell him to back off, once and for all. I thought he got the picture that she wasn’t interested on Friday, but looks like he didn’t. The fucker. I don’t want to have to lay hands on him—he is my friend, but not when he’s pulling shit like this.
A dickish thought, but here I am, thinking like a dick. Embracing it really.
By the time I’m walking into our World Religions class, I’m eager to see her. Unfortunately, she’s not at her desk and I settle into mine, checking my phone with one eye on the open doorway. Lots of people walk inside, some of them saying hi as they pass me by, and I mumble a greeting, hating how anxious I feel.
This is what she does. Leaves me twisted up inside every single time.
Finally, she appears.
With Liam looming right behind her.
I keep my eye on him, glaring the entire time. He doesn’t look in my direction, too entranced with Addie. My gaze goes to her, noticing how annoyed she appears, how she’s trying to get away from him. I’m about to go help her, but she must say something to him that makes him mad, and he storms off.
Good.
Addie settles into her desk next to me, irritation flashing as she plops her backpack on her desk noisily, digging into it until she pulls out a notebook and lets it drop with a slap on top of her desk.
“You all right?” I ask carefully.
She flashes me a tight smile. “I’m fine. Great.”
The bell rings and Hardison immediately starts talking, ending our conversation. Which is frustrating, considering how angry Addie seems.
Is she mad at me, or Liam? I didn’t ever get a chance to tell her where I was at lunch, though it’s not like we made definitive lunch plans. This is where I suck in the relationship department. I should’ve made plans with her yesterday, when we were texting.
Instead, I have to sit here, wishing I was talking to her. Unsure of how she’s feeling.
Hardison ends up lecturing the entirety of class, and the minute the bell rings, I’m on my feet, my backpack already thrown over my shoulder as I stand in the aisle between mine and Addie’s desks.
“Ready to go?” I ask her.
She glances up at me, her expression blank. “Sure.”
“Cool.” I nod, feeling decidedly not cool.
Addie zips her backpack closed before she rises to her feet. “Ready?”
“Let’s do it,” I tell her, indicating she can walk in front of me.
We leave the classroom and exit the hall, until the sun is shining down upon us, making me immediately break out into a sweat. August where we live is hot as hell during the day, and I’m living for the moment we can finally get a cool down, so practice isn’t such a sweaty nightmare.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her when she still hasn’t said anything.
A sigh leaves her. “It’s Liam. He keeps trying to talk to me, and it’s annoying. I’m not interested in him.”
She comes to a stop and so do I.
“Want me to talk to him?” I ask, my voice tight.
“I don’t want to cause any trouble. You guys are friends—” she starts, but I shake my head, cutting her off.
“If he’s making you uncomfortable, I’ll speak to him. He needs to back off.” I clench my hands into fists, letting the anger course through my blood.
I’m not in the mood to deal with him sniffing around my girl. He needs to back the fuck off.
“Maybe I’m overreacting,” Addie says, as we resume walking toward the library. “He might be just making friendly conversation, but I don’t know…”
“What exactly did he say?”
We pause just outside the library’s front doors. “He asked if I would give him another chance.”
What the hell?
“That is definitely not friendly,” I say as I breathe through my nose. My nostrils are literally flaring, I’m so pissed. “It’s a little too friendly, if you ask me.”
“He doesn’t know,” she says, her voice soft. “About us. No one does. I mean, we hung out Friday at the party, but no one really saw us there either.”
“Is that what you prefer? To keep it a secret?” That is the last thing I want. I want to shout to the world that I’m with this girl. That she’s mine.
“No, I just…I don’t know.” Her gaze is imploring. “What are you thinking?”
“Hey guys!”
We turn to see Emma heading for us. Addie greets her, her voice weak. I don’t say a word.
I’m too busy clenching my jaw and silently stressing the fuck out.
“What are you guys doing? Headed for the library?” Emma asks.
“We’re Hardison’s TAs, remember? She doesn’t have us really doing anything yet, so we hang out here and do homework,” Addie says.
“Oh. Right.” Emma looks from me to Addie. “You two seemed cozy just now. Still do.”
Addie rolls her eyes. “Stop trying to make something out of nothing, Emma.”
She doesn’t even wait for her best friend to respond. Instead, she walks into the library, never once looking back.
“Touchy,” Emma says once Addie is gone.
I glare at her, not saying a word as I follow Addie into the library. She’s already seated at the table we were at last week, and I settle into the empty chair directly across from her.
“Sorry about that,” she mumbles as she keeps her head bent while she digs through her backpack.
“Sorry about what?” I lean across the table, lightly touching her arm, making her go still. “What just happened out there?”
Addie shoves her backpack away, her gaze finding mine. “Emma can be—a lot sometimes. I’m tired of the snide remarks she makes. She’s been doing it all day.”