Page 89 of The Jack*ss in Class

She gave the room one last suspicious glance before closing the door. I waited, counting to ten, mostly to calm my beating heart, before whispering, “She’s gone.”

Flynn emerged from under the bed, a dust bunny clinging to his hair. “That was close.”

“Too close,” I agreed, plucking the dust from his hair. We looked at each other and had to stifle the giggles, the tension of the moment breaking.

Flynn sat on the edge of my bed, pulling me down beside him. “Maybe the universe is trying to tell us something.”

“That we have the worst timing ever?”

“Or that some things are worth waiting for.” He brushed a kiss against my temple. “No rush, Tempest. We have time.”

The passion of moments before had cooled, but in its place was something equally powerful, a tenderness that made my chest ache.

“But I’ll be gone for... spring break next week. I’m off to LA tomorrow.” I wanted to tell him why I was going to California, and I would, just not right now.

He grinned. “We’ll have to meet up. I’m headed there on Monday. The Bandits want to show us around the facilities, trying to schmooze us before the draft. I’ll have some free time after workouts and meetings.”

What? He’d be in LA the same time as me? Now, I really should just tell him why I was going there. He probably thought it was to party like normal college seniors did. But what if the meetings with FlixNChill didn’t pan out? I hated myself for still not being ready to tell him about my books. He’d done everything to try to gain my trust.

But a lifetime of hiding everything about myself from the world around me was a tough habit to break. Maybe if the meetings went well I’d finally be brave and tell him.

“It’s a date,” I said, surprised by how much I was now looking forward to seeing him outside of our regular lives.

Parker burst into the room, her hand firmly placed over her eyes. “Extraction team incoming. Put your clothes back on. Mrs. H found hot baseballer in his tighty whities in Jessica’s room and she’s on a mission to ruin everyone’s love lives.”

As much as I wanted him to stay, no one was safe when Mrs. Henderson was in one of those moods. “How do you feel about heights, Kingman?”

“I’m going out the window, aren’t I?” he asked with a grin.

Parker peeked through her fingers, saw that we wereboth mostly clothed, and then gave us a salute. “The donkey delivery system is still in place. Hope you’ve got rope skill, dude.”

Flynn waggled his eyebrows at me and smiled wickedly. “I’ve got skills with ropes you haven’t even seen.”

Oh. My. Gawd.

Parker leaned over and whispered, “It’s like he’s right out of a certain romance novel, isn’t it?”

Before I could respond, Parker shoved Flynn toward the balcony, and I followed, still a little dazed by the thought of Flynn doing naughty things with rope. Outside, he pulled me close for one last kiss.

“I’ll text you tomorrow,” he promised, then stepped over the railing, rope wrapped around one hand, ready to descend, “and we’ll figure out LA when we get there.”

“Be careful,” I warned. “Mrs. Henderson is likely to patrol the grounds next.”

“I’ll channel my inner ninja.” With a final quick kiss, he slipped down the rope and out into the night.

I had barely closed the balcony door when Parker jumped on me, eyes wide with excitement.

“Well?” she demanded. “How was it? Did you? Didn’t you? Tell me everything.”

“Nothing happened,” I admitted, collapsing onto my bed. “Mrs. Henderson interrupted us before we could... you know.”

“That cockblocking battle-ax,” Parker groaned, flopping down beside me. “All that planning for nothing.”

“Not nothing,” I said softly. I hesitated, unused to sharing my feelings. “I really like him, Parker.”

She propped herself up on one elbow, studying my face. “Oh my god. This is more than getting you laid by the hottest jock on campus. This is actually serious, isn’t it? You’re actually falling for him.”

I nodded, unable to deny it. “Yeah, I am.”

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