Page 21 of The Jack*ss in Class

And I was bored to death right now.

Two weeks with Britt would be easy. Like a habit. My brand, practically. Everyone knew Flynn Kingman didn’t do relationships. Didn’t do complications. Didn’t do real feelings. Just fun.

For a good time, call Flynn.

But watching the pink-clad trio head toward their spin class, giggling and glancing back at me, my usual fun times with Flynn held absolutely no appeal.

At the end of this semester, my whole life was going to change. I had to hit the real world, and while I was looking forward to playing in the pros, it wasn’t going to be the same as this easy, comfortable life I’d been living.

I wasn’t going to be ready if the only prep I did was for playing ball. I needed to change things up in my life too. Maybe just for this semester, I abandoned my rules. Just to see if I could get past Tempest’s defenses, get her to actually like me instead of just tolerating me.

Not like I was going to fall in love with her. Or her with me.

Just getting her to let me kiss her would be a challenge. Into bed, would be practically impossible.

I smiled as I headed for the weights. I’d always loved a good challenge. I ate impossible for breakfast.

In fact... I was really good at eating a lot of things. Thatwas something else I’d love to surprise her with. And it would definitely be more fun than I’d ever had with any of my two-week flings.

BABY DONKEY SITTERS CLUB

TEMPEST

Ispeed-walked across campus, mentally cursing Flynn Kingman and his annoying habit of being... not annoying. It would be so much easier if he was just another dumb jock who thought Shakespeare wrote greeting cards. Instead, he had to go and be perceptive and intelligent and actually understand my favorite play.

And that thing about romance novels? About how they’re like Shakespeare, writing for everyone? I had lit professors who didn’t make that connection. But Flynn just casually drops it into conversation, like he isn’t completely upending everything I thought I knew about him.

Plus, he had to mention my book. Well, he didn’t know it was my book. But still. The way he talked about it, like it was something worth reading, something his sister and sister-in-law were excited about...

Parker’s text buzzed again.

Parker: Donkey EMERGENCY is escalating!!! Get home NOW!!!

Right. Focus. Donkey crisis first, Flynn Kingman crisis later.

I pushed through the sorority house doors and took the back stairs two at a time. The last thing I expected when I burst into my room was giggles and coos.

Bettie, the president of the sorority, did something very unpresidential. She squealed and grabbed me into a big hug. “The secret donkey mamá.”

I froze in her arms, my heart stopped, started again, and sped up to near panic speed. At least six of my sorority sisters were crowded into my room, all of them seniors, all of them staring at the baby donkey who was currently being hand-fed carrots by my roommate, Parker.

“I’m so sorry,” Parker said, though she didn’t look particularly sorry. “He got excited when Bettie came to borrow my economics notes and started making these little happy noises and?—”

“He’s so cute,” Hannah reached out to scratch behind his ears. “Why didn’t you tell us you were harboring a farm animal, most illegally? We could have helped.”

“I...” I looked from face to face, waiting for someone to be angry, to threaten to report me to the house manager. Instead, I found only delighted grins. “It’s temporary. The animal sanctuary flooded and?—”

“Ohmygod, is this the one from the viral video?” Alice, our rush chair, pushed forward. “The one Flynn Kingman was chasing at the pep rally?”

“The very same.” Hannah grinned. “I saw the two of you together at the coffee shop.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

“Nothing happened.” I dropped my bag and shut the door quickly. “We were just studying.”

Hannah’s grin widened. “There was definitely flirting.”

“There was... negotiating. About tutoring.” I tried to sound stern, but it was hard when the baby donkey had noticed my return and was making his way over, stumbling a bit on his gangly legs. “Which isn’t happening, by the way.”

“Because he doesn’t need it,” Bettie said. “I have business econ with him. He’s actually really smart.”

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