Page 49 of The Save

No. He wasn't my professor or my coach. And no, I didn't think he held some leverage over me. But there were so many reasons why this was a terrible, if not an irresponsible, idea.

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside. I hit the “three” for my floor.

It was past one thirty in the morning. Chase just overheard me talking about how I wanted him, and I had entertained the idea of an intimacy tutor with Sharla. Clearly, we were not thinking straight. I needed to go back to my room, get a good night's sleep, and wake up to study with Rory and Axel at eleven.

The elevator rose. I flicked Chase's card between my fingers.

If the team or Coach Blakely saw me entering his room, if anyone on the committee got wind of something going on between us—or my mom? No. The whole thing would be disastrous. Plus, he was apparently leaving at the end of the semester and?—

The elevator slowed. It dinged as the doors opened. I willed my feet to move, but they stayed planted, rooted to the spot.

That last thought rolled through my head like a marble.He was leaving at the end of the semester.

My pulse kicked, and my mouth went dry. Right now, we weren't on campus, and we weren't even in Alberta. I wasn’t on University time. None of the university staff was here now, and Chase wouldn't have given me his key if he thought there was any chance that someone would see me entering. Maybe he was on a different floor from everybody else?

The door started to close, and heat flashed in my middle.

I reached out and smacked my hand against the number four.

Chapter

Seventeen

I stoodin front of Room 413, my skin buzzing. He'd given me the key, but was I supposed to knock before walking in? Should I have gone to my room and freshened up? No, because then Shar would've asked questions and—damn it, Shar was going to think I was still in the parking lot. I had to at least tell her?—

The door opened, and I clutched the key card like a rosary.

Chase stepped back, pulling the door wide. "Were you leaving?"

"How did you know I was here?"

"I heard the elevator ding and checked."

He heard the ding? I glanced over my shoulder. That meant the walls were thin. Not that I thought we would, or that I would?—

The elevator dinged again, and I launched myself into his room, flattening myself against the wall as he closed the door. "Sorry. I didn't want anyone to see me."

Chase leaned back against the door, folding his arms over his chest. "Am I that embarrassing to you?"

I blew out a puff of air, and then just like it had in the study room, the dam to my thoughts opened. "We kissed."

Chase nodded gravely. "We did."

"We didn't talk about it."

He ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Did you want to talk about it? Because you bolted?—"

"I know. I didn't want to talk about it then."

"But you do, now?"

I nodded. "I have to know. Are you doing this because I'm—" My throat worked. Because I'm a total nerd and don't know anything about sex and look totally desperate? Pathetic? "I know about your mom," I blurted. Chase's eyes widened, but I didn't let him interject. "My mom said something about her being in prison, and I swear, I had no idea." I walked into the room and sat on the end of the bed. "She said you took this job because your dad had some connection, which I'm sure you hated since I know how you feel about your dad. Or felt, I guess. And then Sharla said you might be leaving at the end of the semester, so I know you might not be in the best place right now."

Chase leaned against the TV stand. "Well. That's?—"

"And you already know how I felt in high school, and now that you eavesdropped?—"

"I wasn't trying to eavesdrop."

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