Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Paige
Holding on to the handle and the frame, I close the door as slowly as possible, doing my best not to draw too much attention, but when I turn around, I freeze. The professor stares back at me with a sharp frown, along with half the lecture hall.
My cheeks turn red, and I offer a tight smile in apology, tipping my chin down so I can use my hair as a shield as I climb the stairs up toward the middle row.
“As I was saying before the interruption.” Professor Michaels enunciates his words a little louder than normal, going back to his lesson.
The girl on the end of the row rolls her eyes, dramatically swiveling her head to make it a point that I’m blocking her view of the overhead for the whole two seconds it takes me to scoot past her and settle into the spot that’s been saved for me.
Chase reaches out in offering, so I gratefully pass him my shoulder bag as I slip into the seat, taking it back just as quickly so I can pull my things out.
“Ignore him,” he mutters. “He’s been too busy giving us his opinion on budgeting for retirement to actually get the lesson started.”
The frustration hidden in his tone has my eyes shifting his way, spotting the small frown that’s pulling at his brows, and I wonder what caused it, what he’s really thinking inside that head of his.
He can be really hard to read sometimes, and at others, his emotions are right there for all the world to see, even if the reason behind them remains a bit elusive.
He is elusive.
The guy who is always there but never quite in reach. It’s almost as if there’s a part of him he keeps hidden from everyone else, and just when you think you might understand, he pulls back and suddenly you aren’t so sure. But there is something alluring about the way he guards himself.
Maybe it’s because I know what it’s like to feel the weight of self-deprecation, now more than ever since my grandfather suddenly landed into my life, offering me a new one.
Somehow, it only makes me want to know him even more.
Of course, the only guy I’ve found myself curious about since my dad passed away during my freshman year here at Avix University comes with a billion complications.
He’s a core member of the new friend group I’ve found myself welcomed into, so we’re a bit of a tangled mess of overlapping history and feelings, and sometimes it seems like Chase is as emotionally available as a locked door with no key in sight.
Or maybe it’s just you he’s not interested in, Paige, and it has nothing to do with the fact that your oldest friend and two-minute boyfriend is the guy who is going to marry the girl he thought he was in love with when you met him three years ago…
Dang, we are literally like a soap opera, aren’t we?
But at least in ours, everyone is still close, a family of irreplaceable friendships.
Chase’s eyes slide this way, locking onto mine, and I can’t help but notice they’re a little greener than hazel today. His gaze narrows in question, and I realize I’ve been staring at the side of his face this whole time.
“Sorry,” I mutter, quickly dropping my head to my notebook and hoping the heat crawling up my chest doesn’t make it past the high collar of my sleeveless bodysuit.
And because I’m clearly hopeless, I peek at him in my peripheral, just in time to catch the smallest twitch of his lips as he refocuses forward, but his tongue comes out, erasing it with a swift lick before I can be sure.
“I’m going to keep the slides up,” Professor Michaels announces.
“But I want you to work on the section questions the rest of class. When you’re done, drop them in the basket and you’re free to go.
Make sure to highlight or tab the answers.
We have our first exam next week and these will not be returned to you beforehand. ”
Soft murmurs fill the room as everyone gets busy, and I sigh in relief, turning to Chase just as he does me. “Thanks for saving me a seat again.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I have to do much but toss my hoodie down and wait for you to show up,” he teases, pulling his phone from his pocket.
“Well, I appreciate it either way. I would offer to do the same for you next class, but the way it’s going, neither of us might have a seat if we bet on that.
” I try to make light of the fact that I was late.
Again. Not that Chase pointed it out, even though I’ve repeated the offense at least once a week since the semester started three weeks ago, thanks to my grandfather’s random I need to see you messages.
So far, his requests for me to join him haven’t been urgent, but there’s a bit of a trigger in there for me, one that I just can’t seem to push past.
The last message I got from my dad’s nurse was that he “needed to see me.” I had waited until after class to go find what was wrong, but by then it was too late.
My dad, the only family I had ever had, was already gone.
A soft ache forms in my chest, and I take a deep breath. He would want me happy.
Be happy, Paige.
“Plan on being late more often?” Chase teases after a few moments, and I glance over in time to catch a small curve of his lips.
I bite the inside of my own.
I’d like to see a full smile on him at least once. I’ve known him since his freshman year here at AU, having met through the whole “my friend fell in love with the girl he let down” situation.
I guess maybe that made me the enemy for a while, being that Noah was my only real friend and Ari, Chase’s best friend’s twin sister, became his entire world when, for a moment there, Chase thought the two could be more.
I think he realized pretty quickly they were never meant to be, but it’s clear the man still punishes himself for how he handled all that. But that was then, and this is now and a lot has changed.
And the Chase he is now doesn’t smile much, at least not a real, bright smile that isn’t built on something hollow—something that runs deeper than he lets on. He’s very cautious, polite in conversation, but avoids being the topic of any conversation at all costs.
“If I had it my way, I’d never be late,” I admit, trying to refocus. “I hate walking into a room and knowing everyone is staring.”
“Says the dancer.”
“I teach dance, I don’t perform. There’s a difference,” I chuckle.
His mouth opens as if he wants to ask me something, but he closes it on a swallow instead and looks to his notes.
“Don’t worry. Your seat will be waiting for you every class, and if Michaels keeps using the power of persuasion as one of his teaching strategies instead of actual teachable facts, missing those first fifteen minutes isn’t going to hurt you any. ”
“Unless it’s testing day.”
This time he chuckles, nodding lightly, though he doesn’t look up.
Flipping my book open to the tab labeled with today’s date, I get settled, folding my legs in my chair beneath me. To start, I read the questions and then go back to the first page of Section 12.
I’m skimming the paragraphs looking for common words, promising myself that I’ll read the material later this week, when Chase lets out a long sigh.
Peeking his way, I watch as he spins his pencil and starts tapping the eraser against the edge of his notebook, his phone drawn close to his eyes.
A small frown pulls at my forehead, and I drop my gaze to his open backpack. Looks like he forgot his book again. In fact, he has zero books in there at the moment.
I shift my things around and take out the thick binder in my bag, laying it sideways so it’s partially on my desk and his, using it as something hard to close the gap between our desktops.
His head lifts, gaze tracking me as I take the textbook, set it over the binder, and angle my body so I’m more facing him than forward.
His eyes snap up to mine and I offer a small smile.
“Looks like someone forgot their book again.” He goes to say something, probably tell me he’s fine, so I quickly ask, “Do you need to read the questions first?”
He clears his throat, shaking his head. “I wrote them down yesterday.”
“Then you’ve accomplished more than me already. Is it okay if we just sort of scan for the answers again like Monday, or do you want to read and find?”
His eyes find mine. “You didn’t read it yet?”
My cheeks start to pinken, as clearly that means he did—no wonder he didn’t bring his book; he likely assumed he’d remember enough to know the answers.
I huff, scowling at the page. “I planned on it but then—” I cut myself off, huffing again.
“Honestly, I am a serial skimmer. It helps that I have a knack for knowing what’s important and what’s not.
My brain sort of auto-categorizes data. I think it’s the whole eight-count choreographer thing or something because it’s always been that way. ”
“And then there’s me.” He glares at his notebook, flipping the pages to show dozens of notes, highlighted and underlined.
“But I do remember what I read most of the time, so I’ve got a good idea of the answers for half of these already.
I just want to make sure. I need all the points I can get on the easy stuff in case I tank a test along the way. ”
“You tell me what word to skim for and we’ll go from there?”
Chase gives a half smile, nodding, and we spend the next forty-five minutes with our heads together, finishing with ten minutes to spare.
We turn in our papers and walk out of the building, into the open quad area.
“Well, I guess I could have stopped for that dose of caffeine I was in desperate need of on my way here, after all.” I pause, telling myself just to ask. “Do you… Would you want to walk over and get one? The others won’t be headed toward the cafeteria for at least fifteen minutes.”
He’s glaring at his phone screen, but his eyes pop up to mine. “Uh…”
“It’s okay if not. I might still run over there, and I can just meet everyone in the dining hall if it takes longer.” I give a tight smile. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to save me a seat if I take a while.”