As I push through the doors of the small lecture hall for sociology, I pause and scan the tiered rows until spotting the back of Daisy’s head. Even with her long hair pulled up into a bun, I would recognize that particular shade of blond anywhere.
She’s been absent from the apartment these past few days. I’ve been busy with football, so it’s possible that we’ve just missed each other. But I doubt it.
Daisy is operating under the assumption that I’m pissed about the crap she pulled the other morning.
And I let her think it.
But I’m not.
Far from it, actually.
Not that I would ever admit it to Daisy, but she did me a solid by getting rid of that girl so quickly. I had zero interest in meeting up with her later that night. The only reason I’d taken Jackie home in the first place was to get my mind off my delectable little roommate. Yeah, that turned out to be an epic fail.
I shake my head and bite back a smile.
That girl…
Daisy’s got a spine made of steel and brass balls to match. I wish I could say that those qualities weren’t attractive, but they are. And I’m certainly not the only one who thinks so, either.
Once my eyes fasten on her, they don’t deviate. I’m like a hawk zeroed in on its prey while making my way toward her seat in the middle of the room.
My gaze travels over the slim column of her neck. It’s long and swan-like—
My step falters. That thought is just disturbing enough to give me pause.
What I should do is give this girl a wide berth and not get more entangled with every breath I take. But I can’t seem to help myself where Daisy is concerned. I don’t want to be, but I’m drawn to her against my better judgment. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t feel this way.
Being on the receiving end of her ire is far safer than us being friends. I don’t think I could deal with that kind of intimacy. It would drive me over the edge. This whole living-together situation was a big mistake. I never should have agreed to it. But I caved because part of me wanted to be close to her before we go our separate ways after graduation. I mean, who knows if we’ll ever see each other after that.
If I had any brains whatsoever, I’d turn around and sit on the opposite side of the room. From the corner of my eye, I see two girls waving, trying to capture my attention. I really should sit by them and bask in their adoration for the hour. I need to avoid Daisy for the foreseeable future. Maybe then I’d finally get over my unwanted attraction for her.
With my decision made, I turn to—
Wait a minute…what the hell is going on over there?
My eyes narrow at the guy parked next to Daisy. For the first time since entering the room, I realize that she’s angled in her seat toward him. I’ve caught this motherfucker watching her more than a few times since the beginning of the semester. Apparently, today’s the day he makes his move.
Yeah, that is so not going to happen on my watch. Any thought I might have had about sitting elsewhere flies out of my brain. With a determined stride, I head down the steps. People greet me along the way, but I ignore them. I can’t focus on anything other than the chick who has been the bane of my existence since the day Noah introduced us. I knew at that point she would be a problem with her curvy body and attitude and I wasn’t wrong.
It sucks major ass to want someone you can’t have.
You know what’s even worse than that?
Watching her get together with an endless string of jerks. Already, she’s been out a handful of times since we moved in. Can you blame a guy for finally snapping and deliberately ruining her chances of getting lucky?
Just thinking about the shocked look on that guy’s face when I came out of the bedroom in my underwear makes me grin.
It was, in a word, priceless.
I stop in front of her row and slide down a few seats until I loom over her. Sensing my presence, she swivels her head until our eyes meet. The flirty smile that had graced her face falls.
Sure, we have class together three days a week, but we never sit by each other. By unspoken agreement, we pretend the other doesn’t exist. But that’s not happening today.
Oh, hell no.
I jerk my head at the guy next to her. “Up.”
His eyes narrow and I arch a brow in response, wondering if he’s going to argue.
Bring it on, dude. I’m not going anywhere.
After a moment of indecision, he must realize that this isn’t a battle he’s going to win. With his tail tucked between his legs, he gathers up his shit and vacates to the back of the hall. Cheeks beet red, he doesn’t even glance in Daisy’s direction as he slinks away.
Good. The guy’s smarter than he looks.
I turn my attention to Daisy.
Her eyes gleam with anger as she hisses, “What the hell are you doing?”
A slow smile curves my lips as I set my backpack on the floor and slide onto the chair next to her. “Whatever do you mean?” I ask innocently.
“You just chased that guy away.” Daisy grits her teeth.
I can almost hear her grind her back molars in aggravation.
Ahhhh…the sound is a sweet symphony to my ears.
I glance over my shoulder to find the dude I’d run off watching us with a pissed-off expression on his face. It’s a douchey move on my part, but I smile and jerk my chin in acknowledgment.
I raise my voice so that everyone around us can hear. “Now, what kind of boyfriend would I be to let my baby mama sit with another guy?” I throw my arm around the back of her chair.
The color drains from her face before rushing back in again. Her cheeks turn the mottled red of a tomato. It’s on the tip of my tongue to point this out, but I hold back. I doubt she’d appreciate the comparison.
“I am not,” she whispers, glancing around at our neighbors who are watching us with unconcealed interest, “your baby mama.”
“Really?” I scratch my chin. “Isn’t that what you told my new friend the other day?” Then I do something I’ve been dying to do for years. I flatten my hand across her lower abdomen and fan out my fingers. Heat floods through me at the contact and my cock twitches in response. “That we have little Junior to consider?”
Air hisses from her lips as she peels my fingers one by one from her belly and whips around in her seat, staring straight ahead.
I bite back my laughter. Like hell, she’s going to ignore me.
I glance toward the front of the classroom. Dr. Stein is in the middle of a discussion with another student. Taking advantage of the situation, I turn to our classmates sitting behind us. “This is my girlfriend, Daisy,” I tell them loudly.
Daisy spins back around and glowers. She shakes her head forcefully. “He’s joking. I’m not his girlfriend.” She glares at me again, looking as if she wants to throttle me. “I don’t even know him.”
“Now, sweetheart,” I cajole. “Is that any way to talk to the father of your—”
She slaps her palm over my mouth and grates, “I’m warning you, Carter! Shut up!”
I grin beneath her fingers. “What’s the problem? I’m just trying to do the right thing by my baby mama and little—”
She claps her other hand over the first. “I swear to God, if you say one more word, I’ll kill you.”
My shoulders shake with silent laughter.
Precariously close to losing it, Daisy growls, “I hate you.”
I pry both of her hands off my face. “That’s not what you said this morning when I was giving you the big O.”
The row behind us snickers and Daisy’s face goes up in flames as she slumps in her seat, burying her face in her hands. She sniffles as if she might be crying. After a full minute of silence, regret slices through me.
Maybe I should apologize and tell everyone behind us that I was kidding around.
No harm, no foul. Right?
Tentatively, I lay a hand on Daisy’s shoulder to get her attention. As soon as I do, she whips around to face me again. Her fingers wrap around the edge of her desk until her knuckles turn bone white.
She leans closer until her breath feathers across my lips and snarls, “Sleep with one eye open, Prescott. ’Cause I’m coming for you. That’s not a threat. It’s a promise.”
I force out a chuckle, but the sound dies a quick death on my lips.
Fuck me.
