Page 47 of Wicked Surrender

My mouth dropped. “What?” I scoffed, almost laughing. “Sure, because the name Second-Best means what, again?”

“No. I’m serious.”

“You didn’t even know my sister.” I struggled to accept this bizarro praise from him.

“I knew of her. I was a student here before she graduated.”

I furrowed my brow, not making the connection. “Okay?”

“I looked up her scores. They’re not that impressive.”

I refused to comment. It hardly mattered what her grades were. They were high enough and she was already cemented in this idea that she could do no wrong.

“One of my frat brothers said that you aced an exam in bio-chem last semester. A perfect score in a class that’s supposedly impossible to beat.”

Damn my cheeks.I hated the flush warming them now. “It’s not impossible,” I said, dismissing what he said.

“I looked up your grades too,” he admitted.

I shrugged, uncomfortable about his doing a one-eighty to praise me at all.

“You can’t deny it.”

“That I have no life and study all the time and love to learn? Fine. I’ll admit it.”

“You can’t deny that you’re probably a better student than your sister ever was.”

“I…” I shook my head. No one’s ever challenged that I wasn’t second-best to Mai, at least in terms of grades. I’d accepted that she would always be better.

Of all times to get shy, I wished it wasn’t now. But this was wholly foreign territory for me. I was not used to getting compliments from anyone like this.

And I couldn’t be sure whether he meant them or this was a trick.

“It makes me wonder if you’re wasting your time planning to become ‘just another doctor’ like your sister is.”

I lowered my gaze and swallowed.

“You ever think about that?” he said, almost using that teasing tone I was familiar with. “That you have more potential than just doing what your sister does?”

I had thought about it. Often. It was a huge part of what made me dream about going into bioengineering. He wouldn’t hear that from me, though. I hadn’t told anyone about my actual secret that I’d rather switch majors to better align my intelligence with my passion.

I certainly couldn’t trust him with that information. It was too personal, and he was already getting too close to the truth.

“So.” I hoped he wouldn’t push me to actually answer him. I wanted to leave his question as a rhetorical one only. “You have that trig test next week. Try not to forget about it,” I said to change the subject quickly. “Then again,” I added, “I doubt you’ll study since you have your famous party coming up.”

As soon as I mentioned it, I wanted to take it back. Things were already shifting and changing between us with him giving me a compliment.

Now, he looked curious. “You know about my Professors’ Nightmares party?” A slow, naughty grin lifted his lips.

Dammit. Just don’t look so stupidly hot. For once.

“Yeah.”

He laughed. “How? You don’t go to parties. Not mine.”

I’d already admitted moments ago that I had no life. Hearing him say it was worse. “I know. But I’ve heard. Everyone knows about your parties.”

He rested his elbow on the table to stare at me, and he almost succeeded in making me nervous, but I busied myself with putting my things into my bag to leave.

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