“Uh… yeah.” She rolled her eyes and forced a giggle. “So you can come too.”
“We’ll think about it.” Jacob tugged me forward. “We’ve gotta get going or we’ll miss class. See you later.”
Once we were close to our building, I winced. “Do you want to go to that party?” I really didn’t want to, but I’d go for him.
“Nah, we have our first game this weekend, so we need to rest and not end up hungover.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s not against one of the better teams, but it’s at noon, and we’ll be getting up early for warm-ups. I was thinking we could go off campus to eat and watch a movie.”
“That sounds more like my speed.” I hated being around a lot of people. All those fake smiles and forced laughter were tiring me out.
“I know.” He adjusted the backpack on his shoulder. “And you should invite your roommate. Since Prescott is a wolf and you and Beth get along so well, I was thinking we could go on a double date.”
He was right. Hanging out with a couple would be fun, and that would be less alone time with Jacob. “That would be nice.”
Jacob opened the door to the building for me, and the smell of chemicals burned my nose as we entered the hallway.
He wrinkled his nose and blew out a breath. “Ugh… sometimes I wish I didn’t have a sensitive nose.”
“Stop being dramatic.” I smacked him on the arm. “You’ll get used to it in a few minutes.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” He headed to a door, and I followed behind him.
I stepped into the room and stopped. There he was again. How the hell did we have three classes together?
There were only two open seats, and they were across the room from one another. I’d known we would be getting here later, but I hadn’t expected to run into this issue.
“Yo, Jacob.” Adam from the football team waved and pointed to the empty seat beside him. “Since you two can’t sit together, might as well sit with me.”
Jacob frowned when he saw who I’d be sitting next to. I don’t want you sitting next to him.
I didn’t blame him, but dammit… I wasn’t disappointed like I should have been. I was thrilled, which was the whole fucking problem. He still had power over me after all this time. I can sit with Adam.
“Come on, man,” Adam hollered again.
No, I’ll look like an ass if I don’t sit with him. Jacob huffed and headed over to where Aidan sat and put my bag down.
Aidan watched him and smirked.
It was obvious how much Jacob didn’t like it.
“There you go.” He brushed his lips against mine.
My hand fisted, but I didn’t pull away. It would cause a fight if I did, and I didn’t have the energy for it. It surprised me when I heard a very faint growl from Aidan.
Jacob sighed and headed over to his friend, Adam.
As I slipped into my seat, I felt both sets of eyes on me. I had to ignore them both. Class would be starting any second.
Aidan
I’d resolved yesterday to be cold and distant. That’s what would get us both through this evaluation that my pack had sent me here for.
But the moment that arrogant asshole came in, staking her as his, it pissed me off. She wasn’t property. He was a controlling, manipulative asshole.
He might be an alpha’s son, but so was I. I should have gotten up and left, headed back to Mount Juliet and told them I’d taken care of her, but my brother had let it slip that an ally was here. Until I could determine who it was, I was stuck here, pretending to still be scouting her out.
Maybe if I pointed out that she wasn’t happy, it would make things easier on us. She was a smart woman, but she didn’t see how much she was worth.
Emma
“It isn’t a good sign when your boyfriend kisses you and you make a fist,” he said so lightly I barely heard him.
Sitting next to Aidan wasn’t going to be good. Jacob and I would have to figure out a way to sit together on Thursday. “It’s none of your business.”
“It’s not?” He arched an eyebrow.
“Just stop.” I glared at him. “Let’s cut the shit. Why are you here?”
“Well, I thought it was pretty obvious.” He twirled his finger, indicating the building. “An education.”
“Aidan.” I had to confirm it was him.
“Emma.” He leaned toward me, his scent sending my hormones into overdrive.
Okay, it was worse now. It really was him. There was no more pretending.
Emma? Jacob linked with me. Are you okay? Is he bothering you?
I winced and looked forward. No, I’m fine.
You don’t look fine. Jacob had stood from his seat when the professor entered the room.
“Sorry I’m late.” The older man’s gray hair was in complete disarray, and he hurried to the front of the class. “Now, let’s begin.”
Class was winding down, and I was at my wit’s end. Aidan hadn’t even pretended to take notes, and I’d struggled to pay attention since he was right beside me. I was aware of every time he took a breath, when his attention was on me, and the times he fidgeted. He’d brushed his arm against mine five times, causing the buzzing of my skin to reach levels I’d never experienced before.
“So… the last thing to address.” The professor placed a hand in his pocket and then lifted his other in the air and gestured across the room. “These are your seats for this semester, and your table mate is your lab partner. Please exchange phone numbers or email addresses in case something happens and you can’t make it to class.” He removed his hand from his pocket and rubbed his hands together and then dropped them to his sides. “Class dismissed. Remember to look over the next chapter and read through the lab work for Thursday. The more prepared you are, the better.
Whoa. Now I was stuck with him as a lab partner. I refused to accept those terms.
I stood from my seat, and Jacob was beside me in a flash.
“Hey, man.” Jacob nodded at Aidan. “How about we switch spots on Thursday? Adam’s good at science.”
“He said these were our seats for the rest of the semester.” Aidan’s eyes lightened.
“Well, yeah, but I’m sure if we change next time, it won’t be a biggie.” Jacob grabbed my bag and put it on his arm.
“No, sorry.” Aidan ripped a piece of paper from his notebook and scribbled his number on it with a black pen. He ripped the bottom section off and handed it to me with the pen. “I’ll need your number, too, like the professor said.”
“He has a…” I started but stopped. Aidan almost seemed hurt.
I schooled my expression into a mask of indifference and wrote down my number. “Fine, here.”
“Emma.” Jacob’s surprised voice hit me in the gut.
“It’s fine.” I grabbed the piece of paper with Aidan’s number on it, folded it up, and put it in my bag. “It’s just one lousy class and lab. It’s not worth fighting over.”
“You’re right, but…” Jacob switched to our mind link. I don’t like the way he’s looking at you.