Page 35 of Academically Yours

Had I scared her off? I didn’t think so, but then here I was, going out of my mind thinking about her.

And then—finally. There she was, in all her glory, standing in the middle of the quad and squinting up at the sky, as if she was trying to decide if it was going to rain or not today.

“Noelle!” I almost shouted, finding myself walking quickly to catch up with her.

She gave me a warm smile. “Matthew. Hi.”

“Hi.” I grinned back. “It’s been a few days.”

“Missed me that much, huh? I mean I know I’m unforgettable, but…” Noelle laughed.

It was good to see her like this. Flirting and laughing. Had she gotten more comfortable being around me? Normally she was always blushing, and while I liked that, I thought I liked this version of her even more. I wasn’t going to look too much into it, because all I knew was, she was here, standing in front of me, and looking absolutely gorgeous even in her t-shirt dress and a long, chunky cardigan.

So I couldn’t be faulted for going for it, really. “Do you want to—Do you want to have dinner with me tomorrow?”

She smiled. And then her smile dimmed. “Oh. Oh no, I can’t.”

“What?” I frowned.

Noelle bit her lip, looking up at me as she played with her hands. “You see, I sort of already have plans.”

I just blinked at her. “Oh.” A date? Why was I so worried she was going to tell me she was going on a date?

“I kind of… promised my residents that we’d take a field trip—” She stopped and thought to herself. “Well, maybe field trip isn’t the best word, but anyway, we rented a bus and I’m taking a whole bunch of my girls to the zoo.” Noelle pushed a wavy strand of her red hair behind her ear and peered up at me as if she was wondering what I would say.

Hell, I was wondering what I was going to say. The zoo? I raised an eyebrow. A bunch of college students wanted to go to the zoo? And why did I… “What if I…” It came out before I could stop myself.

Noelle looked at me expectantly.

“What if I come with you? I’ll be good company, I promise.” I would have gotten down on my knees and begged, but she didn’t need to know that. I just wanted to spend more time with her, even if it was crazy. Although I found that I didn’t care. Even if she was still a student here, there was something there that I couldn’t explain. A need to be with her.

“You… you actually want to come with me?” Noelle raised her eyebrow. “To the zoo. With a bunch of underclassmen?”

I nodded. What the hell—I really did.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re insane?” she asked me, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “No. I think you’d be the first.”

“Well, in that case…” she grinned at me.

“So, do you have room for one more?”

She blinked. “Oh, you were serious. Well… um. Yeah. I think we can squeeze you in.” Then she considered something. “If all of my girls spend the whole time ogling you, though, we might have a problem.” Noelle winked.

Were my cheeks warm? I thought they might be. I hoped the back of my neck wasn’t all splotchy in the way that it got when I was embarrassed, but from the way she was looking at me, well… I rather thought that it was.

“Oh my god,” Noelle gasped. “Are you blushing?”

“Shut up,” I mumbled, shoving my hands in my jacket, and trying not to make eye contact with her. But I couldn’t help it, because this was Noelle, and all of my senses were attuned to her.

And I knew my eyes had dropped down to her lips—pink and full and totally kissable, but I didn’t move from the spot where I was very rooted into the ground. I couldn’t.

I cleared my throat. “Yes, I would very much like to accompany you and your residents this weekend. If it’s okay with you.”

Noelle beamed. And that was when I realized—this girl was the sun. And I wanted to bathe in her warmth. “I’d love that. But seriously, fair warning, they can get a little… loud sometimes.” She winced, and a small laugh escaped from my lips.

“I think I’d like to see that,” I said, lips tilted up in a smile.