Chapter 11 #3
I entered the library and located the room Rowan had reserved for the study session.
When I entered, it was filled with girls, every one of them talking loudly.
Since Rowan wasn’t there yet, I exited the room and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes.
I’d never be able to take a test in that environment because it was too chaotic and noisy.
A soft caress slid along my cheek and down my neck.
Startled, my eyes flew open. At the other end of the hallway, Rowan was headed my way, his focus on me.
My entire body heated up. The intensity of his gaze almost scared me.
As if he were literally undressing me with his eyes.
I wanted his lips on me. On my neck, on my breasts. He was probably fabulous in bed.
You have no idea the things I would do to you. It sounded as if he’d whispered in my head.
My core heated with intense desire.
Rowan stopped in front of the door, licking his lips.
I glanced at his large hands, imagining them on me.
His grip on the door handle tightened, his knuckles turning white. “Are you coming in?” His voice was thick and seductive.
I cleared my throat. “I’m, uh, here to take the make-up exam.”
“You can’t do that out here in the hallway.”
“I’m not sure I can do it in there either. There are too many people.”
“I’ll take care of it.” He opened the door, holding it for me.
I held his gaze for a moment before forcing myself to step around him and into the room. Rowan came in behind me. There were three long tables, each with a dozen or so chairs, each one full. A whiteboard took up one wall, and a handful of people stood off to the side of it.
Rowan slid his bag onto the closest table. The room went quiet as everyone turned to face him. “We’re going to run a silent study session tonight,” he said. “I am giving a make-up exam, so there won’t be any talking.”
Several people groaned.
“I’ll open a chat, and you can message me in there. I’ll go through and answer as many questions as I can. If that doesn’t work for you, save your questions for next week.”
About half the room got up and left.
“Excellent. Laney you’ll sit here next to me so I can monitor the test. The rest of you, jump into our virtual classroom. I’ll post the link to message me in there. You can only work on genetics in this room. If you want to do anything else, you need to leave.”
“Can we message you our questions from elsewhere?” one of the girls asked.
“Yes,” Rowan replied. “Which means you’re free to go. I’ll be online for the next hour, so be sure to message me before then.”
Everyone else left, leaving me alone in the room with Rowan Ward.
As the door clicked shut, my pulse spiked. It seemed as if the temperature rose a hundred degrees. I pulled off my sweatshirt, tossing it onto my bag.
Rowan handed me a booklet. “Here’s your ten-page written exam,” he said, not looking my way. “The professor wants you to use a black pen. Everything else needs to be put away.”
I rummaged through my backpack until I found a black pen. Sticking it in my mouth, I shoved my sweatshirt inside and zipped up my bag, setting it on the floor next to my chair.
When I glanced at Rowan, I caught him staring at my mouth. I pulled the pen out and uncapped it. “How long do I have to complete this?” Because it was ten freaking pages. Ten!
He cleared his throat. “She didn’t say. I glanced through it. I’m thinking it’ll take you between an hour and a half to two.” He sat in the chair next to me, less than two feet away. “But you can have as long as you like.”
He was a wall of heat. “Okay.” I got to work, trying to pace myself accordingly.
Rowan started reading a novel, his right leg bouncing as he did so. I kept glancing at his book, trying to see the cover, but I didn’t recognize it.
Thankfully, the test wasn’t as hard as I’d imagined it would be.
I finished in an hour and a half. I went through the test twice to double check my answers.
Satisfied with everything, I closed the booklet and slid it over to Rowan.
I stretched, glad that was off my plate and it was early enough I could still study for physics.
“Done?” Rowan asked, closing his book.
“Yes.”
He picked my exam up, sliding it in his bag.
“You’re not going to grade it?” I was dying to know how I did.
“No, not right now. It’s late.” He stood. “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”
“What is with you and Adan always wanting to walk me to my dorm?” It wasn’t that far from the library, and this was a safe school.
“Have you forgotten about the attack?” he asked as he held the door open for me.
Instead of answering, I headed to the stairwell and took it down to the first level, thinking about the dog attack. My gut told me it hadn’t been a random thing. That the animal had wanted to hurt me for some reason.
“You prefer the stairs to the elevator?” Rowan asked, a few steps behind me.
“Sometimes.” Right now, I was on edge and needed to burn some energy so I could focus on my physics work.
Outside, I breathed in the crisp night air, letting it wash through me.
“I caught your game last weekend,” I said as we headed toward my dorm.
“I saw you there,” he replied, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I’m glad they fixed the light.” He nodded to the light post that had been dark the night of the attack.
We continued to walk along the pathway, neither of us speaking. Since I’d been with him for the past two hours, my body had calmed down, and I felt almost normal around him. It was refreshing being able to think straight in his presence.
He walked at a slow pace, as if he wanted to extend our time together. Wishful thinking on my part, I’m sure.
“Listen, Laney.” He stopped.
I turned to face him. “Yes?”
“I want us to be friends.”
That word friends sounded wrong. I didn’t know if we could be friends, not with the strange physical connection between us. Not knowing what else to say, I replied, “Sure.”
“Sure?” He lifted a single brow. “Sure isn’t okay or yes.”
I shrugged. No, it wasn’t.
He kicked the ground with the front of his shoe. “When we see each other, you don’t have to run away. You can talk to me.”
I folded my arms, staring at him, trying to decide how to handle this situation. The last time we talked, I’d asked him if he’d been following me. He denied it. But when I’d asked Adan, he confirmed it. Right now, I trusted Adan more than Rowan.
“What?” he asked. “I can tell you want to ream me a good one.”
Fine. “If you want to be friends, then start acting like it and stop following me around.”
Instead of denying it, he said, “You got it.”
I somehow felt deflated. Not that I wanted him following me, but I wanted something from him. Something I couldn’t name or identify.
My phone beeped. I pulled it out and saw a text from my mom.
She was probably tracking me and wondering why I was standing in one place for so long.
I’d texted her before the test to let her know I wouldn’t be calling at seven thirty like I normally did.
I loved my mom, I really did, but I was twenty years old and needed some freaking space.
She needed to trust me. I’d never given her a reason not to.
“Is everything all right?” Rowan asked.
“I’m fine.” I was always fine. Story of my life.
“Hey, look at that.” He grinned, pointing up at the sky.
I tore my eyes away from his beautiful smile and glanced up. “Is that a shooting star?”
“It is. Make a wish.”
“There’s another one.” I pointed at it, excitement filling me.
“It must be a meteor shower,” he said, taking my hand. “Come on.”
A jolt of warmth shot up my arm. “Where are we going?” I asked, not bothering to pull away. Holding his hand felt right.
“We’re going where it’s darker so we can see better.” He led me back to the library. We went inside and took the stairs to the top level. Rowan led me to the end of the hallway to a locked door. I’d never been on this floor before.
He pulled out a key, unlocking it. “One of the perks of being a TA.” He opened the door. I stepped outside onto a narrow balcony surrounding the top dome of the library. It was the tallest point on campus, and this high up, I felt as if I were in the sky amongst the stars.
Rowan joined me, closing the door behind him. He sat and leaned against the building, patting the spot next to him.
I sat, gazing up at the sky. “I can’t believe there are so many of them.” I’d never seen a meteor shower before. Hundreds and hundreds of lights streaked across the sky.
“When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut,” Rowan admitted.
“What changed?”
“Life. Practicality. My dad expects certain things from me. A job like that isn’t in the cards.”
I tilted my head, looking at the side of his face as he watched the sky. I hadn’t realized Rowan was like me. Someone whose parents had certain expectations, regardless of what he wanted. Like mine. Someone who understood and didn’t fight back and rebel.
Feeling emboldened, I decided to open a small part of myself. “My mom expects me to major in genetics and return home to work with her.”
“You don’t have a choice?” His voice sounded curious, not judgmental.
“There’s always a choice.” I chose to obey.
He nodded, as if he understood. Perhaps he did.
“That explains why you’re doing so well in that class. You have the highest grade out of all sections being taught this semester.” He pulled his legs up, resting his arms on his knees. “So Laney Lake, if you could do anything, be anyone, what would you choose?”
I’d never really allowed myself to think about it. Wanting, wishing only led to disappointment. “I don’t know,” I admitted.
He bumped his shoulder against mine. “What do you love? What do you enjoy? What calls to you?”
I stared at the sky, not seeing as many meteors now as I had before. “I love working with children. Helping others brings me joy. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’d like to be a pediatrician. That, or I’d want to find a cure for diabetes.”
He nodded. “In reality, what your parents want for you and what you want, aren’t that different.”
“I guess not.” It was still hard not being allowed to choose and follow my own path.
“Who knows, maybe working in your mom’s lab will lead you to a cure for diabetes. You never know. At least you don’t want to travel the world and be a photographer or be a professional golfer.”
I snorted. “I’ll leave the athletic prowess to you.” Just thinking about him in his rugby uniform made my face warm.
He chuckled. “You don’t play sports?”
“No. Not at all.”
“I’m surprised.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you have a killer body. I assumed you did something athletic.”
Heat flooded through me from the compliment.
Wanting to shift the conversation away from me, I said, “My dad is a doctor. He specializes in genetic disorders. He does surgeries on babies who have major problems. He’s one of the top doctors in his field.
” I admired him and wanted to make a difference like he did. But I didn’t want to be a surgeon.
His brows drew together as he looked at me, like he was trying to solve a puzzle I hadn’t realized I’d become. After an uncomfortable minute, he said, “That’s impressive. You have quite the parents.”
I noticed he didn’t offer to tell me what either of his parents did.
“The sky is so clear tonight,” I said. “It’s beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here.”
“Anytime.”
“Have you ever gone camping?” I asked.
“I go all the time. Why?”
“I’ve never been. I imagine camping is like this. With the stars.” I’d have to add it to my list of things I wanted to do.
“You’ve never been camping?” he asked, sounding doubtful.
“Nope.” I couldn’t imagine my mom camping. She preferred heels to sneakers.
“We should go sometime. I could teach you how to fish and make a fire.”
I looked at him sidelong, unable to believe he’d just said that. Maybe these shooting stars were granting wishes. “I’d love that.” I couldn’t help the smile that pulled across my face.