Six
Charlie finds him the next day, bent over a textbook seated at a patio table in the middle of the Cortez Hall courtyard.
The weather is mild enough to sit outside, and a few other students are lounging on the chairs and benches shaded by trees.
Sunlight paints his arms, and he’s in a green T-shirt that accentuates his chest. This irritates her in a way she doesn’t want to think about.
Despite her attempts to ignore everything about Wesley Quinn, she’s painfully aware of his class schedule because he, like her, spends much of his time in Cortez Hall, where many courses for public policy and criminal justice majors are taught.
She watches him jot something in a notebook before marching up to him.
“Quinn.”
His head snaps up, his eyes widening in surprise—that fucking T-shirt—before he adopts an expression of cool passivity. He lowers his head again, scribbling something else on his paper. “What now, Rogers?”
There are dark circles under his eyes, and his hair is more disheveled than usual. She glances at his textbook, but she can’t determine what it is, and his penmanship is indecipherable from her angle.
“I need to talk to you.”
Capping his pen, he tosses it on the notebook and leans back in his chair. The ghost of a smile paints his lips.
“Oh? And why should I let you after the way you treated me yesterday when I asked—politely, I might add—to talk to you?”
She chews the inside of her cheek, holding back a snarl, knowing she deserves this.
Sliding into the empty chair across from him, she folds her arms on the table. “How long is Theo in town?”
“Why?” He arches a brow. “You want to sleep with him next?”
“Would you rather I sleep with you?” she snaps.
His eyes flash, his smile turning positively wicked. Leaning forward, he crosses his arms, mirroring her position. “I would never suggest anything so boring as sleeping, Rogers.”
Molten heat unfurls in her veins, her face warming when his eyes dip briefly to her lips.
Flattening her palms on the table, she quashes the images her mind conjures. “I need you to introduce me to Theo.”
He leans back in his chair again. “Why?”
“I want to ask if he’ll bring Victoria on his podcast so she can talk about the clinic.
” A flash of surprise flits across his face, enough for her to push forward.
“I think it could be an excellent way for us to get some national attention. She can speak about how we benefit our patients, all the good we do in the community in terms of sexual health and education, and talk about how people can donate and lend support. Theo has a wide reach, doesn’t he? ”
Wes’s brow furrows, his mouth pursed in consideration. “I don’t know all the details, but I think so.”
“It won’t be enough to save us, but I’m positive it will be a start.” She takes a breath. “Please, Quinn?”
He studies her for long enough that she shifts in her chair. The door to the courtyard swings open, and a gaggle of students emerges, laughing about something as they gather at a table nearby.
“What do I get in return?”
She stares at Wes’s unwavering expression, a coil of dread unfurling in her stomach. “The knowledge that you’re helping an important cause?”
“God, you’re adorable.” He flashes a saccharine smile. “Why don’t you use that big brain of yours and think a little harder.”
Charlie swallows, never taking her eyes off him.
She knows what he wants. And she suspected it would come to this.
Throwing back her shoulders, she tightens her ponytail, her unruly curls threatening to break free from her hair tie. He follows the movement, his knowing smile growing wider.
“Fine.” She clasps her hands in front of her like she’s about to make a very important deal. Technically, this is what she’s doing. And she hates it. “In exchange for introducing me to Theo, I will give you one LSAT tutoring session.”
“Five,” Wes says.
She scoffs. “Three.”
“Deal.”
He grins, and she hates how warm it is—like sunshine breaking through the clouds—and it’s just how she remembers, the smile she always liked most of all.
On the outside, she is calm, unruffled by this turn of events and his willingness to agree to her terms.
On the inside, her body sings, her heart thrumming with success, with dizzying relief, with something that feels like hope.
He extends a hand, and after only a moment of hesitation, she shakes it.
His skin is warm, and she feels the scrape of callouses on his palm.
Her body fizzes when he slides his fingers from hers.
A vision of those hands appears in her mind, fingers dancing across her skin, pulling gasps from her mouth.
She blinks, punting the image away.
He stands, stretching his arms above his head, his shirt lifting to reveal a strip of flat abdomen. Charlie averts her gaze, helpless against the heat rising to her face.
“You have to actually put in some effort to tutor me, by the way.”
She looks up and meets his gaze. Shoving his textbook in his backpack, he zips the front pouch before slinging it over his shoulder.
“I will,” she says. At his skeptical look, she raises her brows. “I promise. I don’t do anything by halves, remember?” She smiles sweetly.
He rolls his eyes. “I’ll talk to Theo tonight and let you know what he says. There’s still a chance he won’t do it.”
Charlie nods, trepidation replacing the brief feeling of relief. “I know.”
“If that’s the case, will you—”
“I’ll still tutor you, Quinn.” She huffs. “As long as you make a real attempt.”
He grins, smug. “Terrific. I’ll be in touch.”
“Great,” she says, attempting to sound confident.
He bends down, his lips grazing her ear.
“It’ll be just like old times,” he whispers. “We’re going to have so much fun.”
That’s what she’s afraid of.
She glowers at him, but when he shoots her a salacious wink, the heat travels all the way to her toes.