Page 36 of Bachelor

“Are we starting now?” Whitney asked before I could answer him.

“We need to eat first, Bill. Whitney and I haven’t eaten anything yet today.”

“Why not?” I asked, turning to Whitney.

“I had time for a quick lunch today between classes but got stopped by Cassandra,” she said with a knowing look.

So that had been what spurred her asking if me and Cassandra had a thing.

“What did she want?” Jessica asked, suspicion flashing behind her eyes.

Whitney shrugged. “Nothing, really,” she lied. It was obvious by her tone and how uncomfortable she’d just become. “She just wanted to make sure I was going on the ski trip.”

Whitney ended that train of conversation there, and it quickly deviated toward the book as we finished dinner and moved on to book club.

I gave my opinion but didn’t join the heated conversation that took place for the next hour. My mind was on Whitney. Why did it grate on me so much that Cassandra had cornered her and upset her enough that she came to me, asking if we were together in any way?

I didn’t like that, to say the least.

Tyler eventually took off, saying he was meeting with someone at the library to study tonight.

I shouldn’t have wanted to walk Whitney home tonight, but I did. It was getting harder and harder not to want her, especially when we’d sat so close together all through the night, her thigh occasionally brushing against mine.

There was a tension between us now, something new, something much stronger than those weeks before she’d kissed me last semester and everything spiraled out of control.

So when book club ended, I walked downstairs and shrugged into my coat, Whitney still lingering upstairs with Jessica. She followed me down a few minutes later.

“Are you waiting to help me into my coat, too?” she teased.

I chewed the inside of my cheek as she took her coat from the hook and put it all, all by herself.

“Guess not.”

“I thought you prided yourself on being an independent woman.”

“You’ve really had it out for me today,” she groaned, giving me a playful smile as she turned at waved goodbye to Jessica, who was leaning over the railing, watching us. “See you tomorrow!”

“Bye!” Jessica called out before disappearing.

“I’ll see you later,” Whitney said to me, turning for the door. I pushed it open and held it for her.

“We’re going in the same direction, aren’t we?”

“Are you walking me home?”

“Technically you’re walking me home, since faculty housing is before your building.”

She smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Fine, come on. It’s freezing, and I want to hurry.”

We walked through town in silence, moonlight illuminating the street. It really was a frigid night, and all the stars were out.

“Are you excited for the ski trip?” she asked.

“I am, actually.”

“Have you ever skied before?”

“I snowboard.”

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