Man, she looked good, bent over. The little minx scratched her face with her middle finger as I walked by. Guess she didn’t like me checking out her ass.
“Behavioral Change, yeah? Looks like we’ll be spending the semester together.”
She sucked in a breath and, her brows pinched together.
Good. I needed to get under her skin the way she burrowed under mine since she’d been pressed against me at the club. My body hummed with a rash idea, and I picked up my pace, putting a decent amount of distance between us. Then I pulled one of the weirdest asshole moves there was. I held the door open way too fucking early and waited. It always looked super polite, but it put the other person in an awkward position. Do you pick up your pace? Do you smile? Do you keep smiling all the way there, or do you smile twice?
Two girls walked through. “Thanks, Jax,” they both said in a singsong voice, as if I was holding the door for them. I took a step back, nodding in their direction, but my gaze stayed on Sidney.
Her brows pulled together, and she bit the side of her cheek, trying to figure me out. She must have noticed my mischievous grin because she slowed down, ignoring me altogether. Her movements were exaggerated as she casually checked her phone, taking her time. I could see a slight grin as she turned her head away from my stare, looking sexy as hell. That earned her points in my book. She wasn’t backing down—she was enjoying the game.
“Could you go any slower?” I called out.
“Some of us like things to last more than a few seconds.” By the way her eyes sparked to life and dared me to say something back, she knew exactly what her words implied.
I couldn’t hide the laugh from my voice. “Fast or slow. All that matters is everyone gets to their destination. Right?” I held the door at the top, forcing her to walk beneath.
“Sure, keep telling yourself that, big guy.” She was so close, the top of her head skimmed the bottom of my arm, and her shiny, dark hair bounced as she walked. I couldn’t help but breathe her in. She smelled delicious, her citrus-vanilla scent immediately drawing me back to the night at the club. I shook my head and did my best to snap out of the memories.
I tried to reach the next door first, but she beat me by a second. She spun and hauled it open for me. Her eyes narrowed in challenge. “Don’t worry. I’ve got it.”
She stood there, hot as fuck, and I had to take a beat to shake out my head. She looked fucking devious. Somehow she turned opening doors into a fucking dare, like she knew exactly how to get to me.
Game on, Trouble.
“Thanks, but I wasn’t worried. I knew I could count on you.” I wet my lips and walked toward her, giving her a side-eye. As soon as I got past her, I hauled ass up the stairs, taking two at a time. The stairwell was crowded, but people moved out of my way when I wore my game face.
Sidney was forced to slow down, trying to avoid bumping into people, and I could hear her apologies as she struggled to follow me. Her laugh was breathy as she panted, finally breaking through the students. We shared a conspiratorial glance, and I grinned. I couldn’t fucking help it.
My heart pounded in my chest as I beat her to the next door. I pulled it open and did a little bow, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. “After you.”
Already at a half run, she had the advantage and raced past me, yanking the classroom door wide with so much force she nearly hit herself. Her coffee sloshed as she dodged the impact, and she looked at the now near-empty cup with disappointment. She was going to miss that.
I stalked toward her, blood rushing through my ears as adrenaline pumped through my veins. God, I loved chasing her. I moved slowly, no longer in a hurry to get inside. She was cornered between the door and wall, exactly where I wanted her.
“I win.” She smiled triumphantly.
I hummed in appreciation. There was something about this girl I couldn’t resist. “That’s a case of perspective.”
I placed one hand on the door and the other on the wall, effectively trapping her between my arms. A thrill went through me when her wide eyes darkened when they met mine. The world quieted around us, all my attention on her shallow breaths that came out in pants as her gaze dropped to my mouth, and her tongue snuck out, wetting her bottom lip before biting it. Fuck, I wanted to free her lip from her teeth and replace them with mine. My heart pounded in my chest, and it took everything for me not to close the distance between us. She visibly shivered, watching me with dark eyes, and it took an obnoxious amount of willpower to back away. “I wouldn’t want to break your rules.”
Her brows pinched together, and I inwardly smiled at her look of disappointment. When this was over, she would be chasing after me. I clenched my jaw, leaving her before I did something desperate, and walked into the room. We were still five minutes early, but the class was practically filled to the brim. It was tiny, with only a few rows of desks, not surprising for such a specialized course.
Looking up, I couldn’t help but grin. There were only two seats left.
FOUR
SIDNEY
My heart pounded in my chest, and I had to take several deep breaths to get it under control. What the hell just happened? One second, we’d been bickering, and the next, I was chasing after him through the halls. He walked into class without a hint of defeat and more than a bit of humor in his eyes. Like he hadn’t just pinned me to the wall, making me burn for him. For a brief moment, there was a possessiveness about him, like he was going to kiss me then and there, and then a wall went up between us, and he reminded me of my rules.
I would be a liar if I said I hadn’t thought of him since that night at the club. Oh, no. He’d played a starring role in more than one of my fantasies. It kept replaying in my dreams like I was mourning the night that could’ve been if I hadn’t shut it down.
Why did he have to be a hockey player, of all things?
In hindsight, he had all the typical markers: messy hair, giant build, cocky smile. I normally had a radar that spotted them a mile away. Apparently, I had let a much lower region control my actions that night, or I would’ve clued in sooner.
I would love to say I was behaving like a prickly porcupine because the barista tried to skip me in line, but the reality was all my defense mechanisms snapped into place the second I saw him. It was that or nuzzle into him like some desperate puck bunny. I hadn’t been obsessed with him or anything. I just hadn’t not not thought about him.
I walked into class and gulped down the last sip of coffee before tossing the empty cup into the garbage with a frown. Dammit, I was looking forward to drinking that. I skimmed through the classroom, looking for a spot, and scrunched up my nose when I spotted the remaining empty seat.
Of course it was beside him. Of course it was. I laughed, putting my hands up in the universal—I surrender—gesture as Jax held the chair for me. He looked chivalrous, but the gleam of victory in his eyes told me otherwise.
As I got closer to him, I could practically feel his gaze track over my body, like he couldn’t quite figure me out. I did the same, taking in his appearance. I’d been too caught off guard in the cafe to check him out. He looked strong and sturdy, like he’d find it easy to pick me up and toss me around, and his wide chest stretched his dark shirt, making the barest definition of his muscles visible. He wore fitted gray sweats that hung low on his hips. It was a typical jock outfit, but he made it look sexy as hell. I dragged my eyes up over his sharp jaw, landing firmly on his full lips, which turned into a cocky grin at my gaze. I snapped my eyes away, acting extremely interested in the floor tiles, and tamped down all my indecent thoughts. This guy was completely, one hundred percent off-limits.