Page 116 of I Don't Need Your Romance

“You are when you’re trying to protect me.”

“If you behaved, I wouldn’t have to protect you,” she retorts.

“I can’t help it if my foot wants to be close to your foot.”

That causes her to cover her mouth as she laughs. She quickly glances at the teacher to see if she has her eyes on us, but thankfully, she’s engrossed in her work.

“Are we going to finish this assignment or do I need to pick another partner?” Sophie says.

I straighten up and shake my head. “No, ma’am.”

As much as I love having fun with Sophie, I don’t want to distract her from her schoolwork. For the rest of the class, I behave and help her finish the assignment. I’m surprised by how much I actually contribute to it. Spending all those tutoring hours with Sophie has definitely made me smarter.

Lame as this might sound, she’s changed my life in more ways than one. And I can’t wait to see how else she enriches it.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Sophie

“Damian’s changed ever since you two got close,” Carly says during lunch. “Do you remember the epic scowl he wore on his face since day one?”

“Oh, I remember it all right,” Addie says.

“And now he’s smiling all the time!” Carly continues.

“And he wears the largest ones when he’s near you, Sophie,” Raven adds.

“I’ve noticed it, too,” Ryder says. “He almost looks like a different person.”

“Same,” Caleb says.

I beam. “What can I say? I’m just so amazing.” My body perks up. “I never listed our romance tropes! Let’s see…” I start ticking them off. “There was a bit of enemies to lov—” My cheeks cook. “Um, well, I can’t say the lovers part—”

“Yet,” Addie stresses.

“Anyway. We have enemies to friends, tutor, forced proximity, rich boy poor girl, motorcycle, bad boy…Geez, that’s a whole lot of tropes.”

“And don’t forget the he changes for her trope,” Carly reminds me.

“Of course! That’s like the best one.”

“And grumpy sunshine,” Raven adds.

I frown. “Damian isn’t grumpy.”

“He sure as heck was in the beginning,” Ryder says, which has all of them laughing.

“Hmm, I guess you’re right.”

“Speaking of the boyfriend,” Addie says. “Look who just walked in.”

We all turn to the door and notice that Damian has indeed just walked in and heads for the buffet tables.

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Yet,” they all stress.

We watch as he piles food on his plate. My friends are right—he doesn’t wear that epic scowl anymore. His face is brighter and the way he carries himself is lighter, as though a burden has been lifted off his shoulders. I think it’s the burden of grief. He must feel ten times better since he opened up about his dad. It’s not healthy to keep all your feelings inside.