Chapter Five
Five
The sun is blazing as I make my way through campus, almost too hot to bear.
A bead of sweat drips down my face, and I pause to lift my shirt and wipe it away.
I grab my water and open the lid, needing a sip.
As I lift the bottle to my lips, something crashes into my backside.
Spilling the water down my white tee and my gray sweat shorts.
“Oh, shit!” an unfamiliar voice chirps. I spin around and find the Howler Girl, Peyton, frozen behind me, pure shock written across her face, all while her books tumble from her hands and onto the sidewalk.
“I am sooo sorry. Let me help,” she squeaks, once she sees the amount of water I’m wearing. Almost instinctively, her hands go to my wet shirt and try to brush off any remaining liquid. Her hands sweep across my chest and my abs, eventually traveling even lower to the waist of my shorts.
After a few moments, I can’t help but chuckle at her efforts. Eyes wide, her round cheeks redden, hands dropping to her sides when she realizes how freely they just explored my body.
“I-I’m…” she stutters, then stops and tries again. Her mouth opening and closing like a cute little fish.
“It’s fine, really,” I reassure her with a big smile, and I see the worry drift away from her features. “A morning grope is a great way to kick off my Monday,” I tease.
Within seconds, her once relieved expression is now one of complete horror. Her hands cover her face as she mumbles into her palms. I reach for her hands and slowly lower them so I can make out what she’s saying.
“Want to repeat that?”
“I can’t believe I literally assaulted you in the middle of campus. I’m so frickin’ sorry.” Her big, dark-brown eyes plead with mine.
“It’s okay, I swear. It is so damn hot, the water felt good, and besides, I have another shirt with me.” I swing my bag off my shoulder and crouch down to find my MRU athletics tee. It’s most likely wrinkled as hell, but it’s better than nothing.
Finding my shirt, I straighten and rip off the wet one. Before pulling the dry shirt on, I glance in Peyton’s direction. Unsure if she’s the kind of girl who would look away and give me privacy or enjoy the show I’m giving her. Turns out, she’s the latter.
Her gaze traces up my naked torso and makes its way up to my face, which I’m well aware is sporting a knowing smirk. Her eyes go wide again in realization, and I wink before pulling the dry fabric over my head.
For someone who writes the way she does, she sure acts shy as hell in person. It’s really cute, if I’m being honest.
“I knew we were going to run into each other this summer semester, just not like this,” I say playfully as I bend down to pick up her dropped items scattered around us.
She bends down to help me, quickly gathering her things.
“Still taking Broadcast 101?” I ask, figuring we need to get our asses moving if we’re going to make it to class on time.
A smile spreads across her face, and she laughs. “Yup! Can’t wait to spend all summer trying to forget how I completely humiliated myself in front of you.”
“Hey, at least I had an extra shirt.”
“Yeah, but you wouldn’t happen to have an extra pair of shorts in there, do you?” she asks, her eyes dropping to my pants, then back up to meet mine.
Looking down, I realize her concern is focused on the huge wet spot right on my crotch. Perfect.
I rub the back of my neck as I try to think of a solution.
Peyton tries her best to stifle a giggle, and I quirk my eyebrow at her.
“Oh, you think this is funny now?”
She shrugs her shoulders, and an I-don’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about expression takes over. “Hey…you ain’t cool unless you pee your pants.”
Now it’s my turn to contain my laugh. “Did you just quote Billy Madison?”
That’s all it takes to break her restraint, and she breaks out laughing. Full-on belly laugh, and I can't help but laugh along with her.
“I mean, it was fitting for the moment,” she replies, wiping away her joyful tears.
“I’ll give you that…but you’re not the one who has to stroll into class looking like you just wet yourself.”
“Shit, you're right. We need to go!” she rushes out while situating her bag over her shoulder. Peyton then begins to walk off at speed, leaving me in her dust.
She turns around, seeing I haven’t followed, and waves her hand at me as she yells, “Today, junior!”
I jog to catch up with her and swish her ponytail. “I can't believe you movie-quoted me, not once, but twice, in a matter of minutes.”
“It’s a talent, for sure,” she beams up at me as I open the door to the Jensen Broadcasting Building. “One you will certainly be sick of by the end of our summer semester.”
Shaking my head, I follow behind her. Maybe these summer classes won't be as bad as I thought.
By the time we make our way into the classroom, there aren’t many seats available, so Peyton heads to the back row, and I grab the spot next to her.
“That’s a bold move, choosing to sit next to me,” Peyton says with a playful gleam in her eyes as she gets herself situated.
“I’m not sure if that’s a threat or a challenge.”
“Take it as you see fit,” she teases, just as the door opens and the professor strolls in.
The lecture flies by in no time, which I’m thankful for, especially if I’m going to be taking more classes in this field.
Just as we’re packing up our things, Professor Spect grabs our attention with a booming announcement.
“Oh, and by the way, the person sitting next to you will be your partner for the remainder of the semester. We do a lot of group projects, and rather than have to continuously pair you off, this seems to work out easier. If for some reason you don’t have a partner, please come see me after class. See you on Thursday.”
The majority of the class are paired off easily, and we file out of the room.
Peyton’s sporting a big, beautiful grin that seems to come easily to her.
I enjoy her spirited energy. She’s quieter in person than you’d think when reading her Howler Reports, but I can tell she has a fire in her.
At least if I’m stuck in classes for the summer, I know I’ll enjoy who I’m spending my time with. That reminds me…
“Okay, if we’re going to spend a decent amount of time with each other, I have some ground rules,” I say, stopping Peyton’s stride as we exit the building.
She quirks her eyebrow as she looks up at me. “Is that so? Please, share.”
“Rule number one: you may not use anything that occurs during our time together for your Howler Reports.”
“That’s fair,” she complies easily.
“Rule number two: we share the workload. I’m no Einstein, but I’m a hard worker, so don’t take it easy on me.”
“Wasn’t planning on it,” she quips, and her full lips pull into a cute smirk.
“Okay, last rule,” I start, knowing I need to throw her some of my Leblanc charm. “Try not to fall in love with me.”
She stares at me incredulously, then laughs. “Oh, you’re serious?”
I nod and give her my biggest smile.
“I’ll try my hardest, I guess,” she teases with a blush tinting her cheeks, then hikes her bag higher onto her shoulder. “I’ll see you Thursday, lover boy.”
I find myself watching as she walks away from me, admiring her curvy body.
Chuckling to myself, I pull out my phone and head back across campus. Checking my notifications, I see one that makes my smile even bigger.
Shay
I hope you had a great first day of classes.
Considering my mind is ninety-nine percent of the time stuck on Shay, I’m surprised I’ve spent the last two hours without thoughts of her.
Me
Professor Spect is pretty cool. Doesn’t seem like it’ll be too tortuous.
Shay
I’m sure you’ll survive.
Me
More than likely.
Shay
Joey wants me to confirm we’re still on for Saturday?
I smile at the mention of her brother’s eagerness to continue our riding lessons. It’s pretty amazing to watch how much he’s learned and mastered in a short amount of time.
Me
Tell my buddy I said heck yeah, we are! I’m thinking we might even leave the ring and head out to walk the property.
Shay
Oh Mav, he’d love that! Kid’s been saying he’s a professional already, so I know he’s dying to take the horses on an adventure.
Me
Give him a few more months, and he might be joining Bell in the rodeo.
Shay
Please don’t put ideas into his head. Let’s tackle riding on trails…
Me
No problem, babe, I’ll see you Saturday.
Shay
See you, Beauty.
Me
you just had to do it.
Shay
Couldn’t help myself.
Before I know it, I’m back at The Wolves Den, and considering it’s the beginning of summer, the place is uncomfortably quiet.
Soon enough, the guys will be back for team summer workouts, Hudson will finish with baseball, and then he and the girls will be moving in.
So while I have the place all to myself, I plop my ass down on the couch and put my feet up.
Scrolling through my phone, I open Instagram and check some of the newest posts I’ve been tagged in.
Most are from our Frozen Four game and the end-of-the-year party we just had.
There’s a group photo that brings a huge smile to my face. It’s of Graham lying on his side, suspended in the air across all of our arms. He’s posing with a dumb-ass grin on his face while we all huddle around him for the picture.
I browse comments, laughing at how everyone’s pointing out that Graham looks like a king being worshipped by his subjects. One unhinged comment in particular grabs my attention, and I click on the profile.
Peytonexplainsitall: All hail King Jock Strap!
I open her page and realize she’s already following me, so I follow back and start scrolling through her photos.
It’s not long before I’m back in her high school years and laughing at her ridiculous posts and captions.
I stumble upon one that has me wanting to know more.
It’s one of the only serious posts she has on her grid.
It’s of her outside, during a rainstorm; she’s clearly soaked but doesn’t seem to care.
The caption reads: “I feel more at home now than I ever did.”
Of course, I’m not going to ask her right away what this is all about. Doing so would clearly admit I’m deep into her photo history. So instead, I open my DMs and send one to her.
M.Leblanc23
Hey, realized we didn’t exchange numbers, partner.
Peytonexplainsitall
Oooo Mav Leblanc slid into my DMs… Most girls would be swooning right now.
I chuckle.
M.Leblanc23
You’re not like most girls?
Peytonexplainsitall
Nope, not at all.
M.Leblanc23
How so?
Peytonexplainsitall
Guess you’ll have to find out…