“Global Business.”
I tilt my head. “No shit.”
Her brow furrows.
“I’m going there now. I was on the waitlist.”
Her mouth parts a fraction. “Good. You can carry my bag the whole way.” She smiles, playfully.
“And you can be my personal tutor.”
We make it to class with minutes to spare. The classroom has stadium seating, packed with fellow students.
I follow Hadley up to the fifth level and set her bag down beside her before sliding into the empty chair beside her. I reach for my phone to remind Hudson I’m going to be late to weights when movement catches my attention. A guy wearing a red shirt with “Superman” stamped across the front. He stops at the girl in the chair opposite Hadley. “Hey, sorry, would you mind if I trade you seats?” I recognize him then as the idiot that showed up at our house party. The guy I’d intervened with.
The girl who hasn’t unpacked her bag shrugs and gives up her seat without question.
The guy plops into the chair, glancing at me before focusing on Hadley. “Hey. You look nice. I mean, you always look nice, but you look really nice.”
Anger and jealousy coil and rage like a storm that has me clenching my jaw.
“Thanks. I had to give a speech and I read that if you dress the part, it can help you feel more confident.”
“Did it work?”
She laughs. “Not really.”
He laughs with her. “Luke this is my friend Nolan. Nolan this is Luke.”
“Hey. Nice to meet you,” he says.
I nod in reply. “Yeah. You too.
I grab my laptop, listening too closely as Luke prattles on about his weekend. I wait until he takes a breath, and lean closer to Hadley, my arm resting on the back of her chair. “Mind catching me up?”
Luke shifts his gaze to me, but I refuse to meet his eyes. “Actually, we’re still talking. Maybe someone else in the class could help you.”
I glance at him, my jaw set. He’s got balls, I’ll give him that. “Oh, sure. I’ll get the notes tonight while we watch the next episode.” I turn to Hadley. “And you ice your ankle.”
Her eyes prod me with questions I shouldn’t recognize, but do, reminding me my jealousy is showing.
The professor stands from his desk at that moment, calling the class's attention.
Hadley bends, reaching for her bag, and I have a clear shot of her cleavage and the edge of her navy-blue bra before she rights herself, laptop in hand. On her other side, Luke clears his throat loudly to draw my attention, then frowns at me.
I want to meet him on the football field, the only place I’m allowed to hit another person. I’m tied to a contract that prevents me from any physical or verbal altercation. Another fucking rule.
* * *
Four hours later, I pull up to the house on Hickory Lane and grab the bag of clothes I’d brought to the dorms, a sack of groceries, and my school bag from the cab of my truck.
“Hey,” Katie says as I open the door. She’s on the couch, curled up next to Carsen, watching one of the foreign films Katie’s always loved. She lifts the remote, hitting pause.
“Hey.” I nod to Carsen. “Hey, Carsen.”
“Good to see you,” he says. “Nice game last week.”
“Thanks, man.” I dangle the plastic grocery sack. “I picked up ice cream.”