Page 3 of Under Pressure

A wide smile covered Sean’s ridiculously handsome face, making his dimples appear and her stomach tumble. “All right . . .Blue.” He gave her knee a little tap with his pencil. “Let’s get to work. We have a lot of it now that we’re doing it for six people.”

She slouched in on herself and wrinkled her nose up. “It’s not so bad.”

This time when he glanced her way he gave her a quizzical look—like he was trying to figure something out. And she had a feeling if he kept staring, he just might. And for the first time in four years, despite all the walls she put up, she wasn’t sure she minded.

Sean

Four Days Later

Sean hopped out of his jeep into the parking lot outside the university’s library, grabbing his backpack off the floor and a large thermos of hot chocolate. And not just any hot chocolate. It was the world’s best hot chocolate. His nonna made it for him after he sneaked over to his grandparents’ to pull a few weeds before he headed to the library for his study session with Blue. Still at five a.m. She was a stubborn one.

He would’ve done the weeds later in the day, but he had tests all morning, and then he had to go to work at two, delivering pizzas until eleven. People would be surprised by how many orders came in after ten.

Summers were always scorching hot in Tampa during the summer, but the early mornings had a crispness in the air he’d noticed got to Blue. She was constantly curling in on herself and rubbing her arms. He didn’t mind the short cutoffs she wore to the library last week—her legs could stop traffic. But they didn’t help keep her warm—a job he would be more than happy to addto his already full schedule. So, he’d bargained with Nonna. He’d pull weeds if she’d make her famous hot chocolate. Truth be known, he’d pull the weeds anyway, but Nonna had gotten in the habit of waking up at four lately, and would wander aimlessly, restlessly—according to Grandpa—around the house. Sean tried popping in, but Nonna wouldn’t have it—she’d gotten restless in the mornings. Irritable. Totally unlike herself. It was weird.

But she’d given in when he told her the hot chocolate was for a girl. As soon as she discovered that, it was the extra whipped cream on top for her. Nonna was such a softie. Plus, it gave her something to do in the mornings. It was a win-win.

Well, a win-win-win, really. The third win for him was watching Blue enjoy it. His stomach somersaulted as he thought of the way her lips touched the edge of the cup, the way her eyes closed, and the little moans of pleasure as she tried it for the first time. She’d been in heaven, and so had he watching her.

He jogged across the lot enjoying the crisp morning air against his skin, and the symphony of cicadas, as his mind wandered.

The first time he’d seen Blue, on the first day of class, sitting at the back of the classroom by the door, he’d been intrigued by her. She’d been in cut-off jean shorts and a large hoodie she’d pulled up over her head. Halfway through class, the room had started to heat up, and she’d yanked it off, letting him get his first real look at her. He wasn’t sure why he’d been so fascinated but he had. He’d never met a girl that looked like she looked so intent on vanishing into the shadows—her desire to downplay her looks instead of flaunting them was refreshing. She just was what she was. Her reserve wasn’t from shyness, though she seemed to want people to think it was.

He’d kept watching her as the semester went on. She didn’t speak up often, but when she did, he could tell she was holdingherself back. Like she wanted to say more but was stopping herself. It was strange, and fascinating all at once.

The longer he watched her, the more he thought everything she did was to draw as little attention as possible, from the clothes she wore, to where she sat, to what little she allowed herself to say. Problem was, she was the kind of person that was meant to stand out; smart, witty, drop-dead gorgeous—despite her attempts to hide it under baggy clothes and forced silences.

He’d learned well over the last week, with just the two of them working on the assignment, that she had plenty to say. Had plenty of bite too. He liked that.

Sean made his way up the stairs to the library Rocky-style, punching the air at the top of the steps, before pushing inside the building. The front door made a pop-hiss sound as air passed through. His gaze found her instantly, even though she wasn’t at their study spot on the sofas, and an eagerness inside him had him picking up his pace. She sat at the computers with her back away from him, intently focused on whatever it was she was looking at.

Careful not to stomp his way over and startle her, he came up behind her quietly. He was momentarily distracted by the way she’d pulled her long, dark blond hair into a ponytail allowing him to see the delicate curve of her neck. Then his gaze darted to the screen, and the word “acquitted” caught his eye.

“Thank goodness,” she whispered, clutching the strings of her hoodie in one hand.

He came up short and he shifted his full attention to the screen.

Behind the kid stood a courthouse in Chicago, or at least that’s what the moving banners at the bottom of the newsreel read. He had an attorney on one side of him, and a woman with auburn hair and a ton of makeup on the other who was probably the kid’s mom. He had dark hair and eyes, a bandage on hisjawline, and scowled at the cameras. But there was something in his expression that made Sean pause. Hurt? Fear? Frustration? A combination of it all that he was trying to hide under an angry mask?

Sean leaned forward, absently resting his hand on the back of Blue’s chair. “What’s this?”

In a flash, Blue reached up across her body, grabbed his hand, stood, whirled, and had him pinned to the table next to the monitor. He was still gripping his thermos of hot chocolate in his other hand, but his backpack had slid down his arm and to the floor with a resounding thunk that echoed through the lifeless building. He had four textbooks in there.

Whoa! “Blue?” he chuckled. Well, that was the last thing he’d expected of such a slight woman. Man, she was just full of surprises.

“Sean?” she snapped in a shocked whisper.

Then it was his turn to move. He grabbed her wrist where she was holding his against his back, ducked under her arm, spun her, and pulled her back against his chest, wrapping his arm over hers—thermos still in his hand. No way he was dropping it and risking losing its precious contents that made the girl in his arms so happy.

Blue was in his arms. Double whoa!

“Morning, Blue.” He laughed against the side of her head as he breathed her in. What was that scent? Mint? Heaven?

“Sean? What are you doing? How?”

Right now, he was trying hard to think clearly. She pinched his wrist where he held hers as if to remind him he was holding her—like he could forget. “Raised in a military family, remember?”

“So, getting pinned to a desk by a girl half your size, was what? Intentional?” She wriggled out of his grasp and turned on him, one brow raised. He liked her fire.

---