Chapter 6
***TAYLOR***
Taylor watched Emily unpacking her supplies and lining them up just right on the table in front of her, a smile still on his face, his entire body filled with warmth.
He’d never felt anything like it before and wasn’t sure when he’d given in, only that he was enjoying himself too much to stop, but then it hit him, he was doing exactly what he wasn’t supposed to be doing.
He was flirting with Emily, teasing her until he got a rise out of her just so he could see her eyes sparkle and her cheeks turn pink, and baiting her just to throw her off balance.
It was embarrassing as well as frustrating.
He’d let his attraction to her take over, lost control over that part of himself, something he’d never done before.
He wanted to blame Emily, but deep inside he knew that she was innocent, it was his shortcomings causing his brain to short-circuit.
She wasn’t exactly coming onto him, in fact, he would guess that she hated him, or at least strongly disliked him, and she probably had good reason.
That was the feeling he should be nurturing, hate was so much safer than love, he thought, then wondered how love had popped into his mind.
Deciding that he’d really lost it, he grabbed his backpack, unloaded what he’d need to study, promising himself that he wouldn’t lose control again.
Emily was just a woman, no different than the hundreds of women he came in contact with every day.
There was nothing special about her; she had just gotten under his skin.
Time would dull the attraction; until then, he just had to be.
careful, keep his distance, and guard against making a mistake he might not be able to recover from.
“I came in earlier and reserved some of the reference materials I thought we’d need,” Emily said, getting to her feet. “I’ll just go grab them, and then we can get started.”
“You didn’t have to do that, I’m perfectly capable of finding what I need on my own,” he said, deciding being a jerk was his best defense. “I don’t need you to take care of me, I’ll pull my weight like I’m supposed to.”
Emily froze, then gave him a dirty look.
“I wasn’t taking care of you, I wasn’t even thinking about you when I did it.
I’ve got news for you, Mr. Gordon, the world doesn’t revolve around you,” she said.
“I reserved the materials because I was afraid Kimberly and Jonathan might show up and want them too.”
“Huh, how about that, you are good for something after all,” he said, then waved his hand in the air. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go get the stuff, we don’t have all night.”
Emily’s mouth opened and closed several times, her face turned a bright shade of red, then she turned and stomped off with a huff that had people looking in their direction.
She came back a few minutes later, carefully set a stack of books and bound articles down on the table, then sat back down in her chair.
Sensing that he’d pushed her as far as he should, he silently watched as she lined up a notebook, several brightly colored pens, then pulled a list out of the notebook and set it on the table.
She gave him a dirty look when she finally lifted her eyes to choose a book from the stack between them, but she didn’t say a word, just consulted her list, then opened the thick volume to the right page and began to read.
A few minutes later, she chose one of the colored pens and began to take notes, her hand flying across the page as she filled it with cramped writing he couldn’t read.
Deciding he could handle the silent treatment, he got to work himself, not about to let Emily think he wasn’t going to pull his weight and feeling better since the attraction had faded away.
Grabbing the next book on the stack, he opened the index and let his eyes roam over the entries until he found one of the cases they’d be assigned.
Proud of himself, he turned to the right page and sat back to read, glad that with his memory, he didn’t have to take notes.
He’d just started reading when Emily shifted in her chair, raised her arms above her head, and stretched, sending a wave of her scent over to him.
His body responded instantly, stirring to life; his attraction to her surged back with full force before he could regain control.
Shifting in his seat, he looked back down at the page and began reading, determined to ignore his feelings, but a few minutes later he realized he couldn’t concentrate; he’d read three pages and remembered not a single thing.
Frustrated, he looked up at Emily, who seemed completely unaware of what she was doing to him.
He was thankful for this, but it didn’t fix his problem.
He watched her writing furiously in her notebook again, this time in a different color, and the sound began to grate on his nerves.
Looking around the deserted room, he decided that was his problem.
It was too quiet. He needed more background noise, more distractions.
“It’s too quiet in here,” he said, putting the book down on the table with a little thud. “I can’t concentrate, especially with you scratching away over there. Is there someplace else we could study?”
“I’m sorry my scratching away is bothering you, but some of us have to take notes,” she said, then sighed. “But we could move over to the student center if you want, it’s not as quiet there.”
He was a bit surprised that Emily gave in as easily as she did, but he needed some fresh air, some more space between them, if only for a few minutes. “Great,” he said, jumping to his feet. “Do we have to take all these back to the desk, or will someone come get them?”
“I want to check out a few of them to study later,” she said, sorting through the stack and pulling out what she wanted. “We’ll take the rest back, the librarians have enough to do already.”
“Okay, I’ll take these back and meet you out front,” he said, grabbing the rest of the stack. “Don’t keep me waiting.”
Her gasp of shock was just what he wanted, and without another word, he turned and walked away, assuring himself that he was doing the right thing by pushing Emily away.
***Emily***
Emily could breathe a little easier as soon as she got away from Taylor.
She took her time making her way over to the circulation desk to check out the stack of books in her arms, glad for the break.
Taylor was driving her crazy. One minute, he’d been teasing and flirting with her, making her heart do flip-flops, her palms sweaty, and forbidden thoughts pop into her mind.
Then he’d sudden done a one eighty and become a jerk, pissing her off until she’d stopped talking to him.
It was keeping her off balance, and she wasn’t enjoying it.
She was supposed to be in control, she was supposed to be earning his trust, instead they were, well, she didn’t know what this was they were doing.
With a sigh, she shoved the books into her backpack when the man behind the counter handed them back with a smile, then made her way back to the front of the building.
She was a professional; it was time to start acting like one. Now would be the perfect time to ask a few questions. “Okay, all set,” she said, walking up to him where he was leaning against the building. “Hope you didn’t have to wait too long.”
“No, I just got here,” he said, pushing himself away from the building. “Shall we go?”
“Sure,” she said, falling into step next to him. “Let’s go.”
They walked in silence for a while, but she knew an opportunity when one presented itself. “I love this time of year—the smell of fall, the changing leaves, chilly mornings, and the first frost on the grass,” she said, then looked over at Taylor. “What’s your favorite time of the year?”
He shrugged, “I never really thought about it,” he said. “But I guess summer, since there’s no school.”
She waited for him to say more, but he just kept walking, and she realized she was going to have to do all the work. “This is such a beautiful area,” she said. “Did you grow up around here?”
“Kind of,” he said, and she held her breath, hoping he’d say more. “I grew up about a hundred miles to the north in a really small town. It looks a lot like this back home, lots of trees and thick vegetation where it hasn’t been cleared for farms. I guess it’s pretty, but I’m ready for a change.”
She let a silence fall between them, then looked over at him.
“You don’t seem like a small-town boy to me,” she finally said, shaking her head.
“I was sure you had city-boy written all over you, but you were probably at the top of the social ladder back home; that’s probably why I got that feeling. ”
“Not even,” Taylor snorted, shaking his head. “I’m as far from the top as you can get. Why would you think that anyway?”
Surprised by his answer, she missed a step and stumbled.
Taylor pulled her into his arms to steady her, and she suddenly found herself pressed against his chest, unable to breathe.
When she looked up, Taylor had a shocked expression, but then their eyes met, and the surprise faded, replaced by something that made her heart pound faster and a wave of desire wash over her.
Her eyes went to his lips, and the thought of kissing him suddenly popped into her mind. A wave of panic replaced the desire. “Oh, thank you. I almost fell,” she said, extracting herself from his arms. “That was a close one.”
The shocked look was back on Taylor’s face. “It sure was. Be more careful next time,” he growled, then turned and started walking again. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I just thought…well, this is an expensive school, I’m only here because they offered me a huge scholarship to cover tuition,” she said.
“And you’re in a fraternity, that’s usually expensive, you don’t go to class, you don’t seem to care that much about school…
and you’re…well. a little entitled and self-centered. ”
“Well, thanks for your honesty,” he said, clearly a little stung. “Remind me not to ask you any more questions.”
“Hey, you asked, don’t get upset when you don’t like the answer you get,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “If I read you wrong, I’m sorry. I was just going by what I’ve seen and heard.”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t just make assumptions about people without getting to know them,” Taylor said, his eyes flashing with annoyance and anger.
“Let’s get a couple of things straight, I’m not some rich city boy here on my parents’ dime.
I was raised by a single mother who worked her tail off to give me a good childhood.
I’m here on a scholarship just like you are, but unlike you, when I’m done with school, I’ll owe several years of my life in exchange for my education.
Then and only then will I get my freedom. ”
A silence fell between them, and it was clear by the look on Taylor’s face that he was as shocked as she was by his outburst. “Taylor, I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have…”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” he said, giving her a dirty look.
“And just for the record, the fraternity wasn’t my idea, it’s one of the requirements for the scholarship that we all live together.
I thought I would hate it, but those guys are like my family now, so it’s not so bad, and we’re not a party house.
If you’d just asked around, you would have found that out. ”
Before she could apologize again, he started walking faster, and she practically had to run to keep up, but she was fine with that; she’d opened the door with her questions.
She had a better idea who he was, and the fact that he’d told her so much, even if it was in anger, showed that he trusted at least a little bit.
Her instincts told her there was more to the story, that he was hiding something, and it might just be the key to what had been going on around campus.
It was time to do some digging, time to find out more about both Taylor and the fraternity.
She’d been putting it off, but she’d make some time in the next few days.
They weren’t supposed to meet for a study session again until after the weekend, which would give her plenty of time.
The next time they met, she’d have a few more questions for Taylor, and hopefully, he’d have some answers for her that would make the captain happy.