Page 13 of Trusting Tanner
“No, do you?”
“God no. Do I look like a hippie?” He laughed.
She took a moment to study him, and he remained perfectly still, allowing her to stare at him for as long as she wanted. Her gaze heated his body, and a slow burn started deep in his gut and spread like a wildfire throughout the rest of him.
“No, you’re definitely not a hippie.” Her eyes darkened slightly, and if he hadn’t been looking at her, he wouldn’t have noticed. But there was an intense burning in her gaze he hadn’t seen before.
He cocked his head. The way she’d said that, it was like she wanted to say more but for reasons unknown to him, she didn’t. “We should go buy some costumes.”
She twisted around in her seat again, her gaze scouring the lecture hall. “Where is this professor?”
“Good question.” Tanner checked the time on his cell phone. Class was supposed to start at nine fifteen, and it was now nine twenty-two. “My buddy Jason took a psychology class during his sophomore year, and the first day of class the professor intentionally didn’t show up, but he was watching from a video feed he’d set up in the room. It was a social experiment to see how long everyone would stick around.”
“No way,” she said with disbelief.
“I swear. It was the funniest thing ever.”
“Funny? I would’ve been pissed.”
“Nah.” He shrugged. “The professor played the video back to the class, and they had a good laugh about it. They all got an A for their first assignment.”
“I hope that’s not what’s going on here,” she said.
Just then, a short, plump man rushed into the room. “Sorry, everyone. I’m Brandon Weirs, the TA for Professor Cameron’s Cardiology class. She had something come up unexpectedly, and she won’t be able to make it today. She asked me to relay a message.” He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “Have your textbooks by our next meeting time. Read the first two chapters and answer the questions at the end.” Brandon looked up. “That’s it. You’re all free to go.”
Almost immediately, people started getting up and leaving. Tanner closed his notebook and sliced a look at Juliana, who was moving slowly to put her stuff away. “Hey, sorry.” He nodded toward the front of the room. “I know you were really excited for this class.”
She shrugged. “It’s okay.” She stood and flung her backpack over her shoulder.
He stood, too. “Feel like getting some coffee or something?”
She covered her mouth with her arm and yawned. “Actually, I think I’m going to head back to my room and try to take a nap before my next class this afternoon. Hopefully my roommate will be gone.”
“Want some company?” He smirked. “I’m the king of naps.”
“Uh, no. I have a feeling there wouldn’t be any actual napping if you’re involved.”
His eyebrows rose with surprise. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing, you know.”
“Maybe not, but we’re not going to find out.” Shaking her head and giving him a playful smile, she turned and headed out of the lecture hall. He followed. Once outside, she said, “Thanks for the donut. I’ll let you know about costume shopping.”
He’d almost forgotten about that. “We should exchange numbers.” He held up his cell phone. “So you can let me know if you want to go shopping.”
“Smooth one, Collins.”
He grinned like a buffoon and gave a one-shoulder shrug. “What can I say? I’ll do whatever it takes to get what I want.”
“I’m sure you will.” She rattled off her phone number, and he called her right then. “There. Now you have my number, too. Don’t be afraid to use it.”
“It’s a good thing you’re charming.” She stepped up to him and patted his chest. “Otherwise, you’d just be pushy and arrogant.”
The feel of her hand on his chest was too damn good, and his entire body tensed in preparation—for what he had no idea, but God he wanted more of her touch. The need was alive inside of him, demanding to be set free.
He smiled down at her. “Honey, you haven’t seen charming yet.”
She rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t hide a tiny grin from forming.Yes!“I’ll see you later.” She walked away, and he took a moment to enjoy the view, her hips swaying with each step as if she wanted him to watch her.
He hadn’t expected her to agree to exchanging numbers, but she had. It was a small step in the right direction, and hopefully, after the roller skating party Friday night, he’d be another step closer to moving beyond the friend zone.
