Page 3 of Too Safe

iPad guy’s head snaps up. He peers at me through a pair of nerdy glasses that give off a professor-meets-superhero-in-disguise vibe, assessing me from head to toe thoroughly enough that my cheeks flush. He’s slimmer than his friend, but lean and sinewy in a way that tells me he’s fast. And strong. He’s probably got exceptional endurance, too…

I blink to clear my head of all the naughty ideas it’s conjuring up about Peter Parker’s doppelgänger. I have never had a thing for nerds. And yet—

“You’re sure this is her?” the bossy one demands.

The big lug peers down his nose at me. His expression is measured at first, but then the smallest hint of a smirk teases at the corners of his mouth.

“You’re sure this is…them?” he clarifies, aiming his question at his friend without taking his eyes off me. “Since gender is a social construct and all.”

Clever.

Nerd boy snaps out of his trance long enough to nod, then he studies his iPad again.

“Yep. The make and model of the car match what’s on file with the registrar’s office. Want me to check the VIN, Cap?”

Cap.Cap?

Forget the dumb nickname—what the hell is Peter Parker looking at? They havewhaton filewhere? My uncle must have registered the car on my behalf. Guess that explains the parking pass that was hanging from the rearview mirror when he gave it to me.

I take in a long breath, working to control my unease as I look fromCapto his sidekick and back again. There’s no way they know who I am. They couldn’t. They didn’t even know my gender until moments ago.

“So the recipient of the Crusade Scholarship is a girl,” he concludes, finally removing his hand from my car door and cracking his neck.

And with that, he turns his back on me. Signaling, apparently, that we’re done.

Except we’re not. Because I can’t leave well enough alone.

Half the eyes in the parking lot are on us, burning my skin with intense curiosity. No one here knows me. Not yet. And I’ll be damned if I come off as weak—less than, like a victim—on my first day.

“Do you have any other catch phrases, Cap?” I sling my bag over my shoulder and shove past him, slamming my door harder than necessary.

I wince.Sorry, Honey.

Worth it, though. The massive man freezes where he stands and shoots daggers at me over his shoulder.

I take a calming breath and lock my car, then adjust my backpack. Squaring my shoulders, I spread my legs a little, taking a wider stance. Obviously, I’m no physical match for this guy, but I’ll be damned if I let his size intimidate me.

“She’s ahotgirl,” a low voice proclaims.

At the comment, I clench my fists and turn, ever so slowly, back toward the pretentious car and the other men lounging around it.

The prolific speaker is wearing a Lake Chapel Football T-shirt. It’s about three sizes too big, and the sleeves are cut out, showing off bulky, tatted arms. His dark brown hair is longer in the front, hanging over his eyes a little, but it’s cropped close at his temples so I can see the gauges in his ears. There’s a glint of silver in his eyebrow and an intricate black and red tattoo spanning from his throat to the edge of his jaw.

He looks like he should be passing out MDMA at Warped Tour, not leaning against a swanky car in the parking lot of a higher education institution.

He’s got the faintest smirk when I finally focus on his face. He checks me out unabashedly before biting his lower lip and giving me an almost-indistinguishable nod.

My anger dissipates on the spot, transforming into a different kind of heat as we check each other out in earnest.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Emo Boy.” I let my attention linger for a few more seconds. And linger, it does. That neck piece is something. I’d kill to see the rest of the design, the way it swirls down his chest under that ridiculous oversized shirt.

Focus.

Time to get to class.

“Should I be concerned that you’re all so curious about my sex?”

Three pairs of eyes blow out before I rewind the words and huff at my inadvertent innuendo.

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