Page 46 of Betting on the Bad Boy

No longer able to concentrate on work, I threw my things into my bag and decided to head to the classroom early. I could drop off my application on the way. Now if I could only find it again. As I rummaged through the pile on my desk, I saw a sticky note on the keyboard of my laptop.

Headed to class and figured I’d drop off your application for you on the way.

Later,

Murph.

Crap. At least I’d sealed the envelope so he couldn’t read it on the way. With him gone, that was one less confrontation I’d haveto worry about in the immediate future. I turned off my laptop and slid it into my bag.

I’d have to deal with Dante later. Right now, I had another crisis to handle. My mother’s plane would be arriving soon. The fallout from the bomb Dante just dropped would cause some ripples. After everyone figured out my relationship with Claire, I feared I’d be doing disaster recovery from tsunami-level waves for months.

CHAPTER 25

Dante

I pushedthrough the throng of students coursing down the hall, embarrassed at the stunt I’d just pulled. It hadn’t been necessary to dangle her bra in front of Murph. But she was so damn sanctimonious. It pissed me off that she’d gotten under my skin so bad.

How could she keep it so under control? An undeniable chemistry surged between us. Hell, I could practically see it crackle when I got near her. Yet she seemed to be able to turn it on and off at will. Damn.

Maybe it was just a physical thing. The guys at the office and at the bar had been telling me for weeks I needed to get laid. I guessed they were right. Whatever hold Faith had over me must be purely physical. Now that we’d consummated our combustible attraction a couple of times, I should be able to put her behind me and move on. Sounded good in theory. She probably wasn’t going to let me get within a hundred yards of her now anyway, so I should be safe.

I walked across the snowy sidewalk to the student center. With about fifteen minutes before my check-in with my group’s professor, I had time to kill. As I set my bag down on one of themauve cloth loveseats in the main room of the student center, Jess waved at me from a table a few feet away. I slumped down onto a cushion and scanned the room for another place to sit. It was too late. She’d already started my way.

“Hey, Dante.”

“Hi, Jess.”

“How was your break?” She reached the couch and gave me a smug grin as she towered over me.

“Um, it was fine. How about yours?”

“Pretty good. It was nice to see the family again. Did you do anything special?”

“No. Not really. Just worked a lot.”

“I heard you might have seen Faith over the holiday?” The look on her face told me she already knew the answer to that question.

“Oh yeah? Who told you that?” Was Faith talking about me to Jess?

“I saw Murph in the hall a few minutes ago.”

“Shit.” I shoved my hands in my front pockets and glanced around the room for the giant douche bag. If Murph was still around, I’d pummel him.

“Faith didn’t mention you guys are seeing each other.”

“Oh yeah? Well, we’re not. Listen, are you through interrogating me? I’ve got some work to do.”

Jess gave me a small smile. “I suppose. Just...”

“What?” I asked, finally making eye contact.

“Faith needs to loosen up a bit. She’s so wrapped up in planning for the future, she’s not having any fun in the here and now. I think you’d be good for her. Let me know if I can help.”

“Nothing to help with. She’s made it crystal clear that I’m not part of whatever plan she’s got going. Besides, I’m not interested.” I picked up my bag. I could find somewhere else to kill the time. “See ya, Jess.”

Jess’s mouth screwed up, and she brought a finger to her lips as if deep in thought. “I’ll work on her.”

I whirled around at her words, continuing to take steps backward. “Don’t bother.” I’d done just fine before I met Faith, and I’d be just fine now. I’d make sure of it.