Page 61 of Wish You Were Mine
At least, that was what it was probably supposed to be.
So naturally…I read way too much into it.
And instead of heading back inside like a sane person, I made my way down the steps and toward the sidewalk so I could meet up with her just as she was passing by.
“Hey,” I said, boots crunching on the salted pavement.
She pulled one earbud out and glanced over at me. “Morning.”
“Heading to campus?”
She nodded. “Just heading to the dining hall to grab something to eat before class.”
“Nice,” I said, matching her pace. “How’s the semester going so far?”
“Pretty good,” she said, tugging her coat tighter. “I only have twelve credits this semester, so it’s been a dream compared to last semester.”
“Do you usually take more?”
“Usually,” she said. “But I only needed a few more classes to graduate. Which is good since competition season always kicks my butt.”
“I bet.” I chuckled softly. “You’ve got a full-time job just keeping your body from falling apart.”
“Pretty much.” She gave a little laugh. “Most of my classes are fine, though.”
“Even your chemistry classes?” I arched an eyebrow, trying to sound casual as I inquired about the classes she had with me.
“I mean, I had a bit of a rough start.” She glanced over at me, her expression teasing. “Totally insulted the professor. So that wasn’t great.”
“I’m sure it was an honest mistake,” I said, thinking back to that first class when she’d assumed I was a non-traditional student, wide-eyed and taking a crack at college for the first time.
“Maybe.” She shrugged, a playful smirk tugging at her lips. “But I’m a little worried he’s gonna be extra hard on me.”
“Why’s that?” I furrowed my brow. Had I done something to make her think I was upset with her?
Sure, I’d been surprised when I saw her in my class. Might’ve freaked out a bit when she mentioned her dad was President Archibald.
But I didn’t think I’d treated her any differently since that first day.
If anything, I’d probably been too nice.
At least in my head I had.
Hopefully, she hadn’t noticed the way I’d stared at her as she twisted her hair into that messy bun during last week’s lab, or how I secretly wished she’d sit in the front row of the lecture hall instead of the back just so I could actually see her face when she smiled.
“Oh, you know.” She glanced over at me, blue eyes dancing with mischief. “I just figured my chemistry professor might be a little tougher on me…just so no one suspects that I tried to seduce him into giving me an A before the semester even started.”
I stumbled slightly on a patch of ice, catching myself just in time.
Smooth. Real smooth.
“Too soon?” She laughed, clearly amused by my lack ofcoordination—or maybe by how hard I was trying to play it cool.
“Yeah, maybe,” I said, dragging a hand up to tug at the collar of my coat, trying not to smile.
Trying harder not to think about the truth behind the joke.
We walked in silence for a few seconds, the wind howling softly between us.
