Page 50 of Chasing Xander
He stepped closer, and she sucked in a breath. This right here—the teasing, the laughing, the fluttering stomach and heart—was why she was so upset. Xander made her happy, and she didn’t want to lose that.
Their faces were inches apart. “How about lunchanddinner tonight? No, every day this week.”
She placed her hands on his chest, a teasing smirk on her lips. “I’m starting to think you have an unhealthy obsession with feeding me.”
“What can I say? I like watching you put things in your mouth.” He winked, then cringed, which was weird considering he never seemed to care what he said before.
She laughed. Happy warmth spread through her at the realization they were back to their normal, teasing banter. This was the Xander she wanted.
“So?” He took her hands from his chest and brought them to his mouth, kissing each of them in turn. “Am I forgiven?”
Goose bumps spread up her arms. “Lunch and dinner, huh?”
“Mm-hmm.” He kissed each of her fingers, his heated gaze trained on her.
Every nerve ending in her body was on fire, and she wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around his neck and demand he give her lips as much attention as he was giving her hands. “I want an explanation, too.”
He froze mid-kiss. “What?”
“I want to know what you were doing all weekend that kept you so busy.” If she was going to forgive him for breaking a promise, she needed to know why.
“Okay.” He nodded. “But you’re going to be disappointed. My weekend was a bust.”
“I doubt it.” So long as he didn’t mention another woman, she wouldn’t really care what he was doing.
“Are you coming back to class?” he asked, releasing her hands.
She really didn’t want to, but now that they were speaking again, sitting next to him wouldn’t be so bad. “I guess.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and led her into the lecture hall. Professor Jamison didn’t so much as acknowledge them, but several other students watched them knowingly. She ignored them, and so did he.
When class finally ended—which felt like hours later—Xander took her to Nelson Dining Hall. He grabbed a sandwich, chips, and cookies while she grabbed some fruit, water, and a salad. Then they went outside to sit beneath one of the trees behind the building.
“So, spill it,” she said once they were settled.
He nudged her shoulder with his. “Someone’s impatient.”
“No. I’m just nosey.” She smiled.
“Okay, but I have to warn you, this is really embarrassing, so please don’t laugh.”
“I won’t.” She had no idea what he had to be embarrassed about, but he was finally willing to open up to her, and she wasn’t going to do anything to make him regret that.
He took a deep breath. “I flunked a few classes last semester. My dad’s on my ass about it, threatening to cut off my trust fund if I don’t pass all of my classes this term. And to top it off, Brad, my fraternity president, is trying to use my academic probation as an excuse to get me kicked out of the house.”
Kylie’s jaw dropped. Well, that wasn’t what she’d expected. She closed her mouth and cleared her throat.
“And,” he continued before she could speak, “to make matters worse, I failed the first test in my Business Ethics class. My professor gave me an assignment to do to make up for the bad grade, but he only gave me the weekend to do it. So, I spent the last three days studying.”
“I had no idea.”Could I have said something dumber?Of course she didn’t know. How could she have? “You could have texted me, though, and told me you needed to do homework. I would’ve understood.”
He nodded remorsefully. “I partied a little too hard last term, and it finally caught up with me. I’m sure if my dad knew I was close to being kicked out of RAT, he’d be thrilled. He hates that I joined a frat.” Xander shook his head, frowning. “It’s bad enough he thinks I’m a flunky. I don’t want him to think I’m a failure in other aspects of my life, too.”
Her heart cracked at the way he talked about himself. “You’re not a failure.” She put her hand on his knee. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”
He covered her hand with his. “Thank you for not laughing at me.”
She nodded. Relief settled deep in her bones. Xander hadn’t been with anyone else. He hadn’t been out partying or getting drunk or even flirting with another girl.
