Page 73 of Attractive Forces

I tug Jake gently toward the side hallway by the biology labs, where there’s more privacy. My mind spins.

Jake’s talked about how he needs to maintain a good grade average to get a scholarship to university. I knew he needed to study last night, but I wasn’t actually actively encouraging him, was I?

Guilt overtakes me.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I distracted you last night when you should have been studying.” Without realizing it, my hand comes up to touch Jake’s arm.

He runs his other hand through his hair, ruffling it up. I like Jake with ruffled hair, probably because it’s usually me who gets to mess it up. He puffs out a deep breath. “It’s more than that. Someone offered me to cheat, and I was going to do it.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “Cheat? How could you cheat?”

“They had the marking scheme, and they were going to show it to me.”

I blink at that revelation. “Really?”

Jake looks at the ground, scuffing his sneakers across the linoleum floor. “I was going to. I was going to cheat. I came so close.”

“But you didn’t,” I remind him.

“I wanted to. I wanted to take the easy road. I was so tempted. What does that say about me?” There’s a depth of pain in his voice.

My hand grasps his bicep tighter. “Jake, you’re the best guy I know. Nothing changes that.”

His eyes meet mine, softening. “There’s a chance you’re slightly biased.”

“I admit I’m totally biased. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

We stand there for a few seconds, my hand still on his arm, and he smiles at me. I feel the warmth of his gaze. I know I should drop my arm, stop touching him, but at that moment, I want to bask in Jake’s smile, in the knowledge that I’ve cheered him up, done something small to help him.

Eventually, Jake blinks a few times, breaking the connection.

I drop my hand and scratch the back of my neck awkwardly.

A movement catches the corner of my eye. I see someone down the corridor, turning away from us.

It’s Brewer. The bright red of his rugby jersey faces me, his name stamped across the back.

Shit.

Did he just see us?

If so, what did he see?

“I gotta go,” I say quickly to Jake. “Talk later, okay?”

“Okay.”

I feel bad leaving Jake now, but I need to catch up to Brewer. Because he’s just walked away from me without saying a word. Which never happens.

“Hey, man,” I call when I get closer to him.

Brewer stops still. He turns to look at me, his expression wary.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“What do you mean, what’s up?”

“I mean, you just saw me and turned around without saying anything.”