Page 43 of Palm South University: Season 2

The moment his skin touches mine, I freeze.

I don’t even have to turn around. I don’t even have to look down at the hand hooked around the crease of my elbow. I think I felt him before he even touched me, and that’s even scarier.

Slowly, I climb off the table, fixing my hair as I come face to face with deep, chocolate brown eyes — eyes that are absolutely on fire.

“What the hell are you doing?” Adam asks, scowling, his hand still on my arm. I shake it off and hang a hand on my hip.

“Running the table. Want downs on the next ass-kicking?” I try my best not to slur my words, but I’m eighty-seven percent sure I fail.

His frown deepens. “You’re drunk.”

“And youuu are a buzz kill,” I say sweetly, booping his nose with my pointer finger before prancing off to my spot behind the table.

Adam follows, hooking my arm again and pulling me away from the crowd as I protest.

“Hey!”

“You need water.”

“I’m fine,” I argue, ripping my arm from his grasp once more. This time I stand firm, crossing my arms over my chest, trying hard to focus on his slightly-blurry face. “And, once again, I need to remind you that you’re not my boyfriend. Or my father, for that matter.”

Adam sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t realize I had to be either of those to care about you.”

I scoff, rolling my eyes as he lifts his to stare at me with more questions than I care to answer right now. “Whatever. Is this not enough, Adam? Am I not ring girl material yet? Want me to strip off this jacket and hold it over my head like around threesign?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hey, there you are.” Grayson slides up beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me into him for a panty-melting kiss. My brain fuzzy from the alcohol, I let the kiss sink in, feeling it weakening every limb.

“You came,” I whisper against his lips.

Grayson pulls back, smiling, his blue eyes hot on mine. “I came.” Adam clears his throat and Grayson turns to shake his hand, but his other arm stays fixed around me. “Hey man, nice to see you again.”

“Likewise,” Adam says, but his eyes don’t move from where they’ve pinned me. “Cassie, please, drink some water. Just a little and I’ll leave you alone. You don’t need to be stumbling around in this with all these horny pledges around.” He gestures toward my outfit, pain etched in his forehead for reasons unbeknownst to me.

“I think she looks hot,” Grayson says, grip tightening on my hip. “And I’m pretty sure I can handle any asshole who even thinks about touching her. And I do meananyasshole.” With that last line he glares pointedly at Adam. Adam’s jaw tenses and Grayson stands taller.

And now we’re in a pissing contest.

“Grayson, can you grab me a cup of water from the kitchen? I’ll meet you in there.” I say the words softly, but it does nothing to pull his icy stare from Adam. Framing his face in my hands, I press my lips to his and make him look at me, instead. “I’m right behind you. Promise.”

With that he relaxes, kissing me back with purpose before finally letting me go and making his way inside. When my eyes find Adam again, a sharp, tiny pang shoots through my chest.Why is it so hard to breathe?

“I’ll grab a water, and then I need to get back to the table.”

I make to turn, but Adam stops me, gripping both my arms in his rough hands. “Cassie, look at me.” I don’t. Tucking my hair behind my ear, I look down at my freshly manicured toes, instead. “Look. At.Me,” he demands again, but the moment I do, I wish I wouldn’t have. I’ve never had eyes look straight through me before. Adam takes a breath, one that takes mine with it, and then he says what we both know to be true.

“This isn’t you.”

Swallowing, I stand as straight as I can. “Don’t act like you know who I am.”

“Oh, but he does?” he gestures to where Grayson just disappeared in the crowd without taking his eyes off mine. “I call bullshit.”

“Well, he doesn’t confuse me.”

“And I do?”

My ears fuzzy, I answer only the way an intoxicated, uninhibited girl can.