Chapter 6 #2
I ran my eyes over her smart blazer, soft-knit crew neck sweater, and black jeans.
“Dante?” Her gaze flicked past me and back, her brow furrowing slightly.
“Savannah?” I smiled at her reaction; she looked so confused. “You look surprised.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked me suspiciously.
“First time I’ve seen you in daylight.”
Savannah blushed as someone passing us let out a low chuckle and misinterpreted what I meant.
“How can you make that sound sordid?” she grumbled as she closed her bag, her hand hovering over the opening almost . . . protectively.
I leaned in toward her, amused when she automatically leaned back. “Do I make you nervous, Sav?”
She made a choking noise and then cleared her throat. “You have a very big ego, Dante Spence.” She stepped around me and resumed walking.
It was the opposite direction I was heading, but she was one of the lighter moments I’d had today, and I needed to know what she heard last night, if she heard anything. She wasn’t acting differently. That was a good sign, right?
She glared at me as I kept pace beside her. “Why are you walking this way?”
“I wanted to apologize for last night,” I said smoothly. “I’d had a tough practice session, my shoulder needed an ice pack, and I was—”
“An ass.”
I held back my smile. “I was going to say not my charming self.”
“That’s what I said,” she said plainly. “An ass.”
“To-may-to, to-ma-to.”
We walked a few more feet before she stopped. “Seriously, what do you want?”
You, naked on my bed. The thought startled me and broke my concentration.
“Dante!”
Her insistent tone snapped me out of my internal floundering. “Savannah!” I paused. “Wait, we did this whole conversation just a minute ago, no?”
She looked down at her boots. “Oh my God, you’re freaking infuriating,” she muttered. She looked back up at me. “Dante, what do you want?”
“I told you. I wanted to apologize for last night.” I looked around us, pretending to be confused. “Wait, did we just experience some kind of weird déjà vu?”
If I didn’t know better, I’d have said my Education Policy and Governance tutor was swearing under her breath.
“Dante, Mr. Superstar Quarterback,” she said, giving me that fake smile. “I have somewhere I need to be. Can I help you? Or, can I go?”
I placed a hand over my heart. “Aww, you think I’m a superstar?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m going to hurt you, Spence.”
I grinned. “There’s my savage little Savvy.”
Her eyes rolled in exasperation. “Why are you calling me Savvy?”
I gasped. Loudly. “Wait . . . are we not friends?” I mock pouted.
She took a deep breath and resumed walking. I could hear her muttering, “Do not kill the quarterback, Savannah. He’s not worth the jail time.”
“So,” I asked as I caught up, “where are you headed in such a hurry?”
“None of your business.”
“Secrets between us already, Sav? I’m wounded.”
She stopped dead, her glare piercing. “Why did you go back to the library last night?”
I knew she’d listened. Shit.
“I just told you. I wanted to apologize. I figured you’d still be there.”
“Because I have nowhere better to be?” Her gaze was steady as she challenged my assumption. “You wanted to get out of our session pretty badly, why?”
It was my turn to watch her. My head tilted slightly as I assessed her. Her fingers tapped against her thigh, and I knew she had surprised herself by confronting me.
Which was exactly what I wanted.
“I’m not sure that’s your business, is it?” I looked her over, more slowly.
“You sounded pretty upset on the phone. Twelve of what won’t see you through the next month?”
Fuck.
I couldn’t let her see my panic. “Boundaries, Sav. Have you heard of them?”
“Don’t call me ‘Sav.’” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re diverting.”
“Diverting what?”
She inhaled deeply, her eyes narrowing. “I can’t with you, do you know that? You are the single most infuriating person I’ve ever met.”
I smiled. “It’s so nice when I get compliments.”
She took a breath, ready to let loose, and then I watched as she caught hold of herself, squared her shoulders, and started walking again.
“Go away, Dante. I’ll see you next week.”
Nuh uh. I needed to know exactly how much she heard. How much she’d thought about it since hearing it.
“Should you be listening to people’s conversations?” I asked coolly.
She turned, and her composure slipped a little more. “I wasn’t—”
“You just admitted by omission that you were.”
“If you paid this much attention in our study sessions, you’d be better prepared for the pop quiz next week.
” She shoved her hand into her pocket, the other still clutched on her bag.
When I said nothing, she rolled her eyes.
“I didn’t know you were there, especially since you were so eager to leave, and then I realized you were on a call.
So I did the polite thing and walked away. ”
“Mmhmm.”
Her nostrils flared. “Mmhmm? What is that supposed to mean?”
I shrugged. “What do you want it to mean?”
“Jesus Christ, I . . .” Once more, she composed herself. “Dante, I have somewhere to be, so . . . are we done?”
“You tell me.”
“We’re done.”
“Sav?” My voice was low and coaxing.
She shook her head. “I’ve never been a violent person, but the urge to smack you is very close to overriding all my senses.”
I laughed out loud. “You wound me.”
Savannah gave me a flat stare. “I’m definitely thinking about it.” She looked away. “Are you always this irritating? Your whole football persona is being cool and calm on the field.”
“You watch me play, Sav?”
That same stare, guarded but exasperated. “You just won the championship. Show me someone who hasn’t watched you.”
“Did you watch the game . . .” I leaned in closer. “Or just me?”
Her lips parted in surprise as she looked up at me, confusion fleeting but definitely there, until that cool mask — the one she wore as well as I wore mine — slipped back in place. “Isn’t it the same thing?”
“Might give you that one,” I conceded with a grin.
“Okay. So . . . can I go?” She was turning away when my question stopped her.
“You heading to that shed behind the arts building?”
Savannah licked her lips as she turned back to face me, her expression wary. “What?”
Yeah, that’s right, Sav. On impulse, I followed you last night, and now I’m collecting. Ah, there it was, the familiar feel of a firm footing.
“The shed, behind the arts building. It’s where you went last night, I’m guessing the night before too.”
She looked incensed, and damn if it didn’t send a thrill through me as I saw the spark of fire in her eyes. “You followed me?”
I gave her a mock look of shock, mirroring her own. “You listened in on my private conversation?”
She stepped forward, worry creasing her brow. “You can’t tell anyone.”
I shrugged. “Okay.”
She stepped closer. “Dante, you can’t mention it to anyone.”
“I said okay, Sav.” I sniffed, looked past her toward the very arts building she was heading to. “You say nothing about what you heard, and I’ll say nothing about whatever you’re hiding.”
“Who was on the call?” she asked suspiciously.
“What’s in the shed?”
We held each other’s stare. I’d faced down an entire defense in a championship game; Savannah Cole was nothing compared to that.
Though I don’t think I’d mind if she wanted to tackle me to the ground.
As I thought she would, she caved first. “We never talk about this again, understood?”
“Agreed.” I pulled the chisel out of my bag. “Yours?”
The speed at which she snatched it from me and shoved it into her bag made me grin. She looked over her shoulder, her breathing rapid. “Can I go now?”
“I didn’t think I was stopping you.”
Her mouth opened, and she shut it with a snap. “Dante, I’ll see you next week.”
“I can’t wait, Sav.”
She hesitated, no doubt to tell me not to call her ‘Sav’ again, but instead, she clenched her fists, dipped her head, and turned away.
What was she hiding in that shed? I was almost tempted to break into it and see. But we had a truce. She would keep my secret, I would keep hers.
I chuckled when I saw her look over her shoulder to make sure I wasn’t following her. I gave her a casual wave, and she flipped me the finger in return.
Savannah might be more fun than I first thought. It seemed the dean’s daughter wasn’t as untouchable as she appeared.
Instead, she might be the only thing I wanted to touch.