Page 312 of Small Town Firsts

Before he can reply, our food arrives, and I dig in, if only to save myself from crying. “Oh my God!” I groan, my tears long forgotten as the flavors of my burrito burst across my tongue.

“Told you.” Sterling cuts off a bite of the fluffiest pancakes I’ve ever seen and holds his fork out for me. “Taste these.”

Sterling feeding me feels intimate, maybe even more so than sleeping beside him. But even still, I part my lips, allowing him to feed me.

“Jesus. Where do you find these places? The food is amazing.”

He grins and winks. “Eat up.”

I dive back into my own meal, barely breathing between bites.

My skin still feels warm and a little too tight under someone’s watchful eye, but with Sterling, I feel safe, so I push it to the side and decide to ask a question that’s been eating away at me for a while now.

“Sterling?”

His gaze snaps to mine. “Yeah?”

“Did...did you assign Summer as my partner because you knew she’d leave me to do all of the work?”

He has the good sense to look guilty. “Yeah.” He nods. “I did.”

My throat is suddenly as dry as the desert, as I attempt to process his admission. If you can even call it that. It was pretty obvious why he paired us together. But... was there something more than wanting to break me motivating him?

“Did...were y’all?—”

“No!” Knowing where I’m going with my question, he doesn’t give me a chance to finish before he’s rushing to reassure me. “No. Not ever.”

“Nothing? There was nothing between y’all?”

“Why do you sound so disappointed?”

I shrug. “I’m not. I just figured maybe that was why she hated me on sight. It would’ve explained a lot, you know?”

“She’s just an insecure girl. You threaten her.”

“What? Me? No.”

“Yes, you. You’re beautiful, Emmalyn. And you’re kind, genuine. Girls like Summer don’t know what to do with that.”

“If you say so.”

“I do, and, Emmy, I need you to know, I’m sorry for assigning you with her. It was shitty of me.” He laughs dryly. “One of many shitty things, but I’m going to make up for it. For all of it—each and every sin against you, one way or another.”

My cheeks heat as I avert my gaze. The way this man makes me feel has me questioning my own sanity. How is it possible to go from fearing him and dreading his presence to feeling carefree and at ease in his company?

“You ready?” he asks as our waitress drops off our bill.

“Yeah.”

“Got any plans?” He leaves a wad of cash on the table to cover our meal.

“Studying. Lots of it.”

He grimaces. “Sorry. I’ll pull Summer aside and let her know she needs to pull her weight.”

I shrug as I stand. “It’s whatever. Honestly, I work better alone.”

“Well, let me get you home so you can hit the books then.”

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