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The way she looks around has my gut clenching further in distress. Their encounter did have something to do with me.

Still, I can’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”

Her shoulders pull back, and she stands tall. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

No. Don’t do that. Tell me. I search her gaze and step closer. “I kind of feel like I need to worry about it.”

Her eyes close briefly. “Not here.”

Fuck. Someone’s suspicious of us and our secret relationship. The way she presses her lips together is a clear sign that she’s trying to protect me.

Thank God she has the control because I want to wrap her up and hold her until that tension is gone.

“We should go set up for the short film.” Sofia pushes her hair out of her face and takes a deep breath.

“Yeah. That’s the reason I’m looking for you.” Because she’s always early, and she wasn’t there when I went to pick up the stuff to take to the film location.

Sofia nods, so I lead. We have a lot to do to prep for filming before anyone else gets there. But she’s so quiet behind me.

Not the comfortable kind.

Film Club has grown tense over the last few weeks as they’ve workshopped the script from Michelle.

Leann has been giving everyone more attitude, questioning every decision Sofia makes, to the point that Sofia has had to shut her down.

“Why do you get to make the final decisions? Everyone just blindly follows you.”

“Because I’m the club president.”

“I thought this was a democracy. I didn’t vote for you.”

“That’s because we have the vote at the end of the year.”

But she’s shut down again in the middle of formulating her next comment. “I can’t baby you for the entire hour. Either you’re here to be a productive member of the team or you’re wasting all of our time. So choose.”

Leann gives her a calculated look but stays.

It’s made Sofia so much more serious on campus, so I try not to push. I know she relaxes when she’s at my apartment, so it can’t be me. Right?

Setup goes quickly, mostly smoothly.

That same weird tension is growing as Leann powders Sue’s face to be on camera.

They’re just blocking this out on camera to determine the best shots. It’s a learning experience, after all, and the younger students shadow the older ones.

Sofia is amazing, taking charge when there are questions or disagreements and standing back when they seem to be figuring it out themselves.

Usually, I would be happy that a student like Leann has learned to back off, but since she’s stopped obnoxiously flirting with me, she’s started sending me death glares instead. And that doesn’t bode well, either.

The fact that the attitude shift happened directly after the trip to New York City is what has me on edge. I can deal with a student hating me for half a semester. A whole semester, even, if the other option is whatever she thought was going on before.

But the worry is, does she know about what happened between Sofia and me while we shared a room? Does she even know that we shared a hotel room? Does anyone? Sofia was so careful coming and going.

It’s not something that can be changed now, at any rate, but the worry only tightens around my ribs the longer I think about it.

Leaning against a far wall to observe and stay out of the way, I earn another glare. The teacher in me stares back, challenging her with her own emotions.Are you being a mature adult right now?I ask without a word. It’s the best response I’ve got.

I’m hoping to God that the animosity—although obviously jealousy—is about how solid of a team Soph and I have becomeduring club meetings. Really, I try to stay out of most of it, but this girl has made this project far more difficult and trying than it needs to be.