24. Julian
Am I in love with Wren? Not yet, but a growing obsession might be a good way to describe it. I can’t get enough of this girl. It’s to the point that I’m willingly studying just to have a reason to spend more time with her.
She’s tough, though; none of my usual tactics have worked, and for a second, I thought maybe she wasn’t interested.
But the camera seems to have gotten to her.
Some pretty words and a smile won’t do it, only things with meaning, and while that usually would be too much work, with Wren, it makes sense.
I wouldn’t want her any other way.
“Julian, when’s the last time you passed an assignment?” Nolan asks a little too loudly, and I glare at him to let him know how much I don’t approve of his snooping.
His father’s the dean, which means he can access the grades, something I’m sure his father isn’t privy to, or he would have taken it away already.
Now I wish he had.
Nolan doesn’t even look the least bit apologetic for announcing that I’m just about failing every class to the whole dorm, and I flip him the bird.
He’s lucky Wren’s here, or I’d do a lot more, and judging by the smug smirk on his face, he knows it.
Asshole.
I’d been hesitant when he’d sat down with us, his own books ready to go, but so far, he’s been okay with my Pookie.
He’s trying, and that's more than anyone else in this damn dorm can say.
“You're failing?” Wren asks, and damn it, why does she sound so sad about that? I’m not used to anyone but the guys giving a fuck about me. I mean, my parents will care because it looks bad, but they can just throw some money at the school and fix it.
It’s not the same, and seeing the concern shine in her eyes makes my heart swell in my chest just for her.
“I mean, I’m not failing… yet.” I rub the back of my neck and give her my best charming smile.
“But he will be next week when we do midterms.”
“You're not helping, Nolan,” I growl under my breath, despite the fact that we're all close enough that they, of course, both hear me.
“I’m trying to help you not get put on academic suspension." He arches a brow at me as if daring me to say he’s wrong.
I fucking hate it when he’s right.
Smug bastard.
“Ugh!” Pressing the back of my hand to my forehead, I fall back dramatically and, of course, land perfectly on my Pookie’s lap, looking up into her beautiful blue eyes.
She shakes her head at me, but her eyes shine, and failing or not, this feels like a fucking win.
I’ve never felt like this about a woman before. Titus, yeah, but a girl I’ve only known a handful of weeks…
Well, that’s crazy even for me, but here we are.
Her fingers find my hair, running through the longish blue strands she loves to admire, and I let my eyes fall closed.
“If I were a cat, I would be purring right now, just so you know.” I nuzzle further into her hand, and she chuckles, giving a slight tug to the strands currently trapped between her fingers, and it goes right to my cock.
Well, shit.
“If you're on academic suspension, I won’t be able to see you compete.”
Ugh, again, because she’s right, of course.
Unfortunately for me, fencing only has one big competition at the end of the year. We have monthly tournaments, but those are so easy and over so fast that I hardly count them. An academic suspension would definitely get me benched from that, or at least it should.
I’m pretty sure I could convince the coach to unbench me, but I can’t be sure. One thing I do know is that I would love a chance to show off for Wren, show her my skills.
Again, my cock twitches, and while I didn’t mean it like that, I’m also not opposed.
“In most of my classes I can swing a C to pass. It’s just calculus that might take me out,” I pout, peeking an eye open to look up at her. She isn’t looking at me; instead, her gaze is fixed on Nolan, who seems unsure what to do with her attention.
Big guy isn’t used to small talk. Usually, he picks a girl, fucks her, and sends her on her way. She’d be lucky to get more than a handful of words from him, let alone a real conversation.
That’s not who Nolan is, or at least I didn’t think it was. Right now, he seems very much like any other guy struggling to find the words to talk to the pretty girl.
“Yeah, he’d need at least an A- on his calc test to ensure he stays off suspension.”
A smile pulls at her lips, and when she looks down at me, I feel like I’m looking up into heaven, and she’s an angel.
“Why are you so close to failing, Julez?”
Fuck, hearing her say my nickname… The only thing that would be better is hearing her moan it.
Ugh, if I get much harder, it’s going to be impossible to hide it. I knew I shouldn’t have left sweatpants on around her.
“Julez has the attention span of a goldfish.”
“Hey!” I shout, lifting my head enough to glare at Nolan, even if I can’t deny it.
“Studying just isn’t really my strong suit. I like to move. I don’t do well with sitting still, reading.” I tell her honestly.
I’m not ashamed of who I am or my flaws; if anything, they make me a better fencer and maybe even a better violinist. A lot of people tell me they enjoy the way I move with the music.
Against my better judgment, I sit up when I see her eyes flick to the cup of coffee I’d made her this morning. The second I move, she’s going for it, chugging it all down in one go.
Adorable and full of caffeine rage, perfect for me.
She takes a second to check her phone, something she doesn’t do often, and I can’t deny I’m curious.
She’s not great at texting, leaves me on delivered and read for hours, and, as far as I know, only Nolan and I really talk to her, so who could she be messaging?
Or, I guess, who is messaging her is the more accurate question.
“D” is all the contact says, so that doesn’t tell me shit, but whoever it is appears to be having a conversation with themselves.
What can I do? How can I fix this Blondie?
I pull a face at the super unoriginal nickname, watching as her fingers hover over the keyboard for a moment before she swipes the app closed and sets her phone down, and I bite back a smile.
That’s what he gets for picking such a lame nickname.
“What if we made it fun?” she asks, her voice much quieter now as she chews on her lip, clearly nervous to have suggested it, which is silly because I’m already sold.
But who would I be if I didn’t take this time to tease her?
“Pookie, if you want a kiss, all you had to do was say so. You can get one any day.” I pucker up and lean toward her, and she freezes, her eyes going so wide I fear they might fall out of her head.
“Wh-what?” she manages to squeak out, looking like a deer in headlights, and I take pity on her.
“Just kidding, well, kind of. You really can kiss me anytime, though, Pookie. I’ll never be mad about that.”
Still, she remains frozen, so I bump my shoulder against hers, and she thaws, at least a little bit.
“What if you do movie night with us if he passes?” Nolan suggests, and damn, I could almost kiss him.
He’s not into guys as far as I know, though, so I keep it to myself, but man, am I tempted.
I’ve been trying to convince her to join us for our weekly movie night down in the theater for the last two weeks.
She said she was busy and needed to study, and I get that, but like, girl studies all day every day; she’s almost as bad as Nolan and his swimming.
No wonder she’s so damn smart; her brain doesn’t have room for anything else.
Other than her photography, I’ve never seen her do anything ‘fun.’
We wait, watching for her reaction. I swear I can see the gears turning in her head as she debates, but when she looks up at me, I know we’ve won even before she nods.
That’s the kind of person Wren is; she wants to help, to be needed, and, for whatever reason, I’m someone worth helping to her.
I get the feeling she would have agreed to the kiss if I pushed, more worried about me failing than her own discomfort.
But I don’t want her to kiss me because she has to. No, eventually, hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, I’ll be able to taste those lips as often as I want, and she’ll be begging me not to stop.
I’m not sure what I did in this life or the last to deserve her concern, but I’ll take it.
I’ll take anything she gives me.
The door swings open, and we all look to see who it is. Gavin wanders in, looking down at a book in his hand. He pauses and either feels our gazes or hears the silence before his eyes snap up. His face is blank for all of two seconds before he sees us, and his lips twist in disgust.
“Great, you too?” He jerks his chin toward Nolan, who rolls his eyes but doesn’t bother responding. Not that Gavin gives him much of a chance before he stomps over to the stairs and disappears.
It’s impossible to miss the way Wren’s mood collapses.
I’m going to beat his ass, I swear.
He’s being a spoiled brat who can’t see past his own nose, and it’s hurting Wren. She doesn’t deserve his shitty attitude.
I know his brother raised him better than that. D might be an ass, but not to girls or people who don't deserve it.
Hold on a minute…
There’s no way. Those can’t be the same people, could they?
“He’s just upset because my father won’t move you into another dorm,” Nolan tells her, pulling me back to the conversation, and I shelf my theory to look into later.
I give him points for trying to cheer up my Pookie, though I’m not sure it helps with Gavin being an ass; it does seem to distract her.
“Your father is the dean?” Wren asks, and, duh, I smack my hand to my forehead. Of course, she wouldn’t know that.
“Yeah, don’t think that will get you some kind of special treatment, though. If anything, he probably dislikes you more if you're my friend.”
Ouch.
While that’s true, I know it must not be easy to admit aloud.
I hear her heart rate as it doubles, and I have to repeat what Nolan just said in my head before it makes sense.
“Aw, new friends!” I toss my arms around each of their shoulders, pulling them in close. It’s easy enough with Wren, but I really have to heave with Nolan’s huge ass, and judging by the death glare, he isn’t very happy about it.
It only lasts about one second, though, before the most amazing sound fills the room, stopping what I’m sure was about to be an ass-whooping.
Wren giggles, the sound pure and happy in a way I’ve never heard. Her lips pulled up in a smile that transforms her whole face, making her look younger, happier, and even more breathtaking than I thought possible.
It’s as if my entire world has narrowed to her, and she’s the center of the universe. She’s all I see, hear, and smell. Wren is everything.
I’m not the only one to notice either; Nolan seems as trapped in her presence as I am, and I know that I want to see this version of her as often as I can.
This is Wren, pure and happy without the weight of this miserable world. She deserves all the happiness she can possibly get, and I’ll do whatever I can to give her that.
And that starts by not failing, which is how we end up studying, just the three of us, every Wednesday until midterms, and for the first time, I wonder if maybe I just lacked motivation.