Page 28 of Trusting Tanner
“Thank you.” He flung his arm around her. “C’mon. Let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
“That should be your motto.” She elbowed him, the beginning of a smile trying to displace her frown. But her appetite was gone, replaced with a lead weight in her gut. What if she and Devon were wrong about Tanner?
Chapter Nine
Tanner checked his phone—again—and frowned when there still wasn’t a reply text from Juliana. It had been almost a week since they’d gone to the disco roller-skating party, and it had been three days since she’d told him to stop asking her out.
She’s pulling away.He could feel it and see it in her actions. She’d barely responded to any of his texts since Monday night, and when she did, they were curt, one-word answers. She spoke to him in class, but as soon as it was over, she was out the door, giving him one excuse after another about why she had to rush off. She’d turned down every offer he made to hang out as friends, too.
Something was wrong, but he didn’t know what, and if he didn’t know, he couldn’t fix it. He took a seat in the back of the lecture hall, which gave him a direct view of the door, and he waited for Jules to walk in. A moment later, she did. He waved to her, and she took the seat beside him. That was a good sign.
“Hey.” He smiled.
“Hi.” She didn’t look at him but rather dug through her bag.
“How are you?”Shit. She becomes standoffish, and I turn into a moron who can’t think of anything to say other than,how are you? He needed a swift kick to the ass.
“Fine.” She set her notebook on the desk and opened it, pen poised in her hand. Then she proceeded to stare straight ahead. Like a fucking robot programmed to avoid him at all costs.
“Okay, what’s going on? Why have you been avoiding me?”
“I’m not,” she said. Her gaze never so much as wavered in his direction.
He scowled. “Right. That’s why you won’t even look at me?” He leaned over and clutched her chin, gently turning her toward him. He searched her face for some clue as to what was going on in her mind, but she was expressionless. Her eyes, though, they told a different story. They were dull. And sad. “Did I do something to piss you off?”
“No.”
“You changed your mind about going out with me and you’re afraid to say so?” His lips twitched with a smile.
“No.” She pulled away from his hold.
Damn. What was it going to take to get more than a one-word answer out of her? Frustration bubbled up, and he took a deep breath to avoid snapping at her. Doing so wouldn’t help the situation, and he needed answers. “So, what’s going on then?”
She set down her pen and smoothed her hands over her hair. “Clearly you want a relationship. I don’t. So…” She momentarily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she looked at him, her eyes were red and wide, like she was seconds away from crying. “If there’s someone else who can give you what you want, you should do it. Pursue her. I mean, if there is a her.” She shook her head. “What I’m trying to say is, I don’t want you to feel guilty about getting into a relationship with someone else, someone who wants the same things you do. I’ll understand. I mean, I do understand.”
He tilted his head in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?” He’d heard from Lucas that Devon had been asking around about him, and so help him God, if Devon pumped her full of lies and bullshit, there were going to be problems.
She looked away again, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth so hard, it made his mouth hurt. He cringed. Professor Sloan entered the room, and Tanner stood abruptly. Once class started, he wouldn’t be able to talk to Jules, and he wasn’t going to lose this opportunity, not now that she was finally talking.
“Come with me,” he said.
“What? Class is about to start.”
“It won’t take long. Promise.” He held his hand out to her, his gaze darting between her and the front of the room. The latecomers were still filing in, but the second everyone was seated, they wouldn’t be able to get out without being noticed. He didn’t want to cause a disruption, and he was certain she didn’t, either.
“Can it wait until after class?” she asked.
“Only if you promise not to rush off and to actually talk to me.”
“I promise.” She smiled.
God, she was breathtaking. Tension coiled tightly in his stomach. He could not go another day without her. Granted, she wasn’t his—yet—but even hanging out with her as friends was better than nothing. And shit, he’d missed her this past week. As crazy as that sounded, he actually missed being around her. He returned to his seat.
Professor Sloan began class, but Tanner’s concentration was shot. He was lucky if he heard every tenth word. His cell phone sat on the desk, and he constantly turned on the screen to check the time. Beside him, Jules frantically took notes. Where on earth had she gotten the idea he was pursuing someone else? Or that he wanted to get into a relationship with anyone but her? He nervously bounced his knee and tapped his pen on his notebook.This class is never going to end.
Juliana reached over and put her hand on his leg, stopping his nervous bouncing. It was like she’d poked him with a lightning rod. A tingling buzz radiated from where her hand rested, spreading up his legs, pooling in his gut, and erupting in his chest. The blood in his veins heated and turned to pure lust. Adrenaline spiked with a paralyzing need had his heart seconds away from exploding.
“Stop,” she whispered, holding his gaze. “I promised we’d talk after class, and we will, but keep it up and you’ll be talking on the way to the hospital because I will cut off your damn leg.”
