Page 76 of Ruled Out

She cocks her head to one side, throwing me a look. “Bullshit.”

“What’s bullshit?” Leo cuts Hugh off mid-flow and looks at us both.

I feel the blood rush to my cheeks as I scramble for an answer.

“Oh, Mia thinks she’s going to fail the journal critique assignment we just submitted,” Tara responds.

I could reach across the table and kiss her for saving me twice in the past couple of weeks.

With his hands folded together and his elbows resting on the table, Leo leans down to the side, bringing his mouth closer to me, and I feel the way his breath fans my ear. “You’re way too smart to fail anything, Mia.”

His compliment should please me, but somehow, it doesn’t feel sincere.

“Thanks,” I push out.

Tara looks between us both, her brows slightly raised. Maybe she can tell I’m uncomfortable.

“Tara! I’ve got orders stacking up over here!”

She looks over at her manager and jumps up from the booth, straightening out her skirt before rushing off, leaving me alone with the boys.

Call me suspicious, but when Hugh gets up from his seat and leaves the bar, making a fake-ass excuse that he forgot to submit the assignment I know he turned in, the fact that I’m alone with Leo feels all too convenient.

Discreetly, I shift a couple of inches away from him, trying to put some space between us.

Leo does the same, closing the distance I created. He unfolds his hands and drops his right one onto the cushion between us. “Tara’s right though. Feels like I haven’t seen you much since that night at Riley’s.”

I smile at him innocently. “Like I said, I’ve been really busy.”

Leo clears his throat, the awkwardness unbearable. “I get that; what with trying to balance hockey and studying, there isn’t much personal time left for me.”

He pauses and brings his right hand around my lower back. I want to pull away from the contact; instead, I freeze, shocked at how forward he’s being.

“What time I do have, I want to spend more of it with you. Just you, Mia.”

Frantically, I scan the room. Half desperate for Tara to rescue me, half hoping no one has seen us. But Tara is nowhere to be found, and the bar has emptied out since the game ended an hour ago.

I turn back to Leo and sit forward on the bench, breaking the contact above my ass. “I’m not looking to get into anything with anyone right now, Leo.”

“Okay, well, we could still have a lot of fun. I’ve liked you for a while now,” he says, bringing his hand back to my ass.

Touch me once without my permission, and I’ll be shocked. Touch me twice, and I’m pissed.

Grabbing my bag and jacket from the floor beside me, I stand from the booth. “Look,” I say, running a stressed hand through my hair, “I said I didn’t want to get intoanything.I’m just looking for friendship.”

Leo narrows his eyes as he looks up at me from the booth. “You’ve been sending me mixed signals for months. Now you blow me off?”

I throw my hands up in front of me. What the fuck is this guy on? “I’ve done nothing to make you think I wanted anything more than your friendship. Whatever you’ve read into us is on you.”

Leaning back into his seat with a thud, he dismisses me with a condescending wave.

I should really drop it and walk away. But this guy just pushed all my feminist buttons.

With my palm braced on the table in front of me, I lean closer to ensure only Leo can hear me as he continues to refuse eye contact. “Let me offer you some advice for future reference, Leo. Next time you try to impress a girl, wait until after you’ve got her in your bed before admitting you’re a dickhead.”

I stalk out of the bar, pushing through the door and out into the mid-February air. I’m terrible at confrontation, and my heart hammers in my chest the entire walk back home.

When I pull out my keys, the lights from my dorm building come into view just as a bus heading into town pulls up along the sidewalk, and a couple of students board, scanning their passes as they find seats.

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