Page 15

Nope, his name is asshole.
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, not gonna happen. Feel free to find another seat.” I look back down at my tablet and ignore the beautiful asshole of a man.
“You must not know how this works. I sit here in this desk, and you sit somewhere else.” He leans in. One hand goes on the flat part of the desk while the other moves to the back of my seat. He’s so close, his citrus and sandalwood scent is invading my nose.
I wouldn’t mind him invading other places.Shit, no, Phoenix. Think with your head and not with the girly parts.
Meeting his gaze, I lift the corner of my mouth. “Is there assigned seating?”
“Yeah, I’m assigned to this seat,” he hits back.God, why the fuck is he so good looking? It’s a shame that hotness is wasted on a dick.
“Really? That’s so fucking weird then. Because right there on the white board it says pick your seat for the year. So, I’m picking this one.” I give him my sweetest fuck-you smile I can muster. “You can pick another one. Toodles!” I wave and bat my eyelashes at him, then look back down at my tablet.
I hear a low growl and he pushes up. “That’s fine, Red.” Taking the desk in front of me by the chair, he shifts it over, creating an annoying scraping sound, and he plants himself in the seat next to me against the wall. “I’ll sit right here so we can be partners.”
I let out a laugh but turn back to my tablet, trying to figure the damn thing out. “Yeah, no thank you. I’ll find someone else less … you.”
He lets out a deep throaty chuckle but doesn’t say anything. I can feel the heat of his stare on me. He’s even sitting sideways in his desk so that he can lean over the aisle and be closer to me. There’s a flush that starts to burn my cheeks and a flutter in my stomach, knowing his gaze is fixed on me.
Before I combust under his watch, a voice booms from the front of the room, causing me to look up.
“Welcome to U.S. Government, ladies and gents. As you can clearly read from the board, the seat you are in is the seat you will have all year long. So, get comfortable.”
I turn my head and shoot the asshole next to me a big smile.
“Now, my name is Mr. Patterson. Introduce yourself to the person on your right, because that person is now your partner from here on out.” He turns to his desk, picking up a stack of paper to pass around, but I freeze at his words.
The king beside me snorts. “Hey, Red. Did you hear that? I told you we would be partners.”
“My name is not Red.” My eyes narrow at him. “It’s Phoenix.”
“Pretty name for a beautiful girl.” He shifts in his seat so he’s sitting more on the edge of the chair now.
“Worst fucking pickup line ever. And you haven’t introduced yourself, by the way.”
“Really? I get a lot of girls that way.” he sighs. “Well, my name is Mason. Mason Turner.” He holds his hand out to me as if he wants to shake my hand. I ignore his hand, and he pulls it back, acting wounded by placing his hand on his heart. “Do you have a last name, Red?”
I groan at his use of the dumbest nickname ever. I’ve heard it all my life, so old. “Again, it’s Phoenix, and yes, I do.”
He tilts his head, waiting for me to tell him what it is, but I don’t. Fuck him and his very good-looking ass.
“Okay, the syllabus for the semester is coming around. Study it, know it. That will tell you what we are working on, your assignments, and even your group project. Please take note of the due dates.” Mr. Patterson drones on about God knows what. I have completely tuned him out because of the idiot next to me. Mason hasn’t taken his eyes off me once.
As soon as the bell rings, I’m up and out of my chair. I’m not even bothering to put my stuff away first. I just grab it and run out the door, heading to my next class, which is conveniently down the hall.
When I get to my pre-calculus class, I find a seat again in the back row, but this time away from the windows. This way, if any of the king douches are in this class, they can have their precious window seats. No sooner than I sit down do Mason and another king asshole walk in and lock eyes on me.
Well, fuck.
The new king seems to not be as rambunctious as Mason. He doesn’t smile or show any emotion, and he doesn’t really stare too long at me once he enters the room. He turns towards Mason and says something too low for me to hear.
I put my head down and hope that they head to the other side of the classroom. Of course, I’m not that lucky. They walk right up to me.
“Hey, Red. How cool is this that we have another class together?” Mason takes the seat next to me.
“Don’t you have an assigned seat to get to?” I snap at him. I can feel myself clenching my jaw; I’m so tense around him right now.
“Yeah, I do. Next to you, of course.” Mason shrugs. “Red, meet Colton. Colt, this goddess here is Red.”Colton just stares at me, and I snap back to Mason.