Page 48 of The Save

I froze and looked over my shoulder. "What?"

"The biology thing or whatever the hell you were saying in the study room."

Nothing he said computed. "With Rory?"

"No." He let out an exasperated sigh. "The thing you were saying. About me. That you were trying to fix or get over."

My heart picked up speed. The biology thing. Ohhhh.My biology in response to his.That's what he was talking about.

Chase glanced sheepishly back at the bar, then walked forward and stopped in front of me. He shoved his hand in his pocket, searching for something. He pulled out a thin white card. My heart stalled.

"I heard you were looking for a tutor."

The swoop in my lower belly made my vision darken at the edges. Was he—did he just?—

“Do you—?" He bit his lip and looked away, muttering something that sounded a lot like"shit"under his breath. When he turned back, his eyes locked on mine. "I'm not your professor."

"No." I shook my head.

"I'm not your coach."

I shook my head again.

“I’m not your brother.”

“Correct.”

"And you don't answer to me on the committee."

That was true. We were partnered up, but I reported to Lamont.

"Is there anything else that makes you feel like I'm in a position of power over you?"

I blinked. "No?"

“Say it more definitely if you mean it, Maddie.”

That was part of the problem, wasn't it? I didn't view him as Coach Wilson. I viewed him as Chase.Hot Chase.Chase,who had been in my shower naked. Chase, who leaned against lockers. Chase, whose shirt rose a little above the waistband of his jeans when he reached for a water glass.

I shook my head. “No.” It was the honest truth.

He handed me the key card. I took it with trembling fingers. "Since I apparently suck at poetry responses, maybe this is something I'd be better at . . . helping with." He wet his lips. "Room 413."

He hesitated another moment, then stalked past me.

I stood there. Speechless.Chase Wilson just handed me his room key. Chase Wilson—I whirled. "Chase won't you—how are you going to get in?"

He turned back, and the corner of his mouth lifted. "I have two keys, Maddie."

Right. Two keys. I only had one because Sharla had the other, which meant he had his own room. Of course, he had his own room.

I started to hyperventilate. "Like, right now?"

His nostrils flared. "Your study schedule is up to you, I guess." He took a step backward, momentarily bleached in the parking lot spotlight, then turned and crossed through the circular drive for check-in, disappearing behind the sliding doors.

I waited until my body remembered how to breathe then hurried inside. I scanned the empty lobby, forgetting which direction the elevators were. When my brain rebooted, I strode past the check-in desk and turned left, then stood in front of the elevator bank a moment before pressing the button.

I couldn't do this. Just show up at his room and—what? My heart punched a staccato rhythm against my ribs.

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