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“Are we heading back to yours or grabbing something at the cafeteria?” Mack asks, slipping a clean t-shirt over his head.

After a grueling workout, we cleaned up in the locker room instead of returning to my place.

Coaches' orders are that we have Friday afternoons off from training to ensure we're refreshed and ready for our swim meets on the weekend. But since competition season hasn’t started yet, Mack and I decided to hit the weight room this afternoon.

“Let’s do the cafeteria. I’m too hungry to wait much longer.” As if on cue, my stomach growls at the prospect of food.

“You hit the weights pretty hard earlier. You had some frustration to work off or something?”

I run a towel through my wet hair, causing my already fatigued shoulders to scream in protest. I hit a PR on my bench press today, but it had nothing to do with frustration. It's more like pent-up lust, which hasn’t let up since a certain someone moved into the apartment two doors down from mine.

“Nah, just had some extra energy to burn.” The lie falls easily from my lips as I swap the towel around my hips for a pair of boxer briefs. I’m not ready for a heart-to-heart about my new little obsession.

I haven’t seen Bear since the night at Static, but that hasn’t stopped me from waking up every morning with a rock-hard dick which has me chasing relief while images of her flash through my mind.

When she turned down my offer of a ride home, it felt like a punch to the gut. But I knew she had every right to refuse. I haven’t given her much reason to trust me. Even though I know I’m a good guy, Bear doesn’t. And that’s on me.

Not to sound cocky, but I’ve never had to work this hard for a girl’s attention. Being on the other side of this is new territory for me. But something tells me she’s worth it.

“Should I see if the twins want to meet us there?”

I grab my bag from the locker before sitting down on the bench. “Sure, they’re probably done with their class anyway.”

When Mack’s phone buzzes through the empty locker room, I look up from slipping on my shoes, figuring it’s one of them with a reply.

“Twins are in,” Mack confirms.

“Cool, let’s get out of here,” I say, zipping up my bag. “My stomach is about ready to eat itself.”

***

With our trays stacked full of food, Mack and I head to our usual table by one of the large windows. We’ve deemed it our lucky table. Despite having one of the best views of the campus grounds, it’s always empty whenever we eat here.

As I scan the courtyard, the lucky table strikes again. Amongst the sea of students, I catch sight of golden-blonde hair blowing slightly in the breeze.

The fork full of pasta I was so damn eager to dig into stops midway to my mouth before dropping back onto the plate. My mouth waters for something else, or rather someone else. And she’s directly in my line of sight.

Sitting on a bench, totally oblivious to my ogling, is Bear. Thank fuck for the reflective window film. Her head is bent over an open textbook, a slight frown creasing her face as she reads whatever is on the page.

A piece of hair tucked behind her ear falls forward, and I watch, mesmerized, as her delicate fingers push it back into place. My fingers tingle at the memory of those soft strands beneath them, and my stomach clenches at the thought of how close our lips came to touching.

What is this girl doing to me?

When the breeze picks up again, she sprawls a hand across the page to keep it from blowing over, and I find myself wondering what class she’s prepping for. She’s too far away to make out any details, so I scoot closer to the window.

Thank fuck Mack is too occupied scrolling Instagram to notice, and the twins aren’t here yet. Otherwise, I’d have some explaining to do.

I want to know everything about her. Where is she from? Her likes and dislikes. Her favorite food. And if she tastes as good as I imagine. That last one? I’ve thought about it over and over.

My desire to get to know Bear is all-consuming as the days pass. I thought the less I saw of her, the more she’d fade from my memory, but it’s been the opposite.

Watching her concentrate is my new favorite pastime. She momentarily plucks her lower lip between her teeth before releasing the plump skin. Her lip is now redder and more delectable looking than ever, and I bite back a groan.

My view is momentarily obscured when a group of students walks past. I frown in annoyance, wishing they would hurry up and move along. They take longer than necessary, and thankfully, Bear is still there when the path finally clears.

But hold up, what the fuck is this?

A guy breaks off from the group and steps in front of her. With his back to me, all I can see is his brown hair and athletic build.

Bear squints up at him from the bench, using her hand to shield her face from the sun. She offers him a smile that irks me for two reasons.

One, it means they’re on friendly terms, which automatically makes me hate him. And two, this one stings to admit, she’s never given me a smile like that.

Bear has the kind of smile that makes you want to lean in and be part of whatever is causing it. A foreign rush of jealousy grips me, knowing I’m not on the receiving end of it.

The longer he talks to her, the more restless I get. She nods along to whatever that douchebag is saying, and then he does something that causes my blood to spike.

He rubs the back of his neck.

He’s nervous.

Which can only mean one thing: he’s about to pull a move on her. A muscle in my jaw ticks.

Over my fucking dead body—

“Hello, Marino?”

The sound of snapping fingers in my face causes the cafeteria noise to flood my ears. It takes all my effort to drag my gaze away from the window and back on Mack.

He raises a brow. “Have you heard a word I’ve said?”

Blinking, I think hard about what he could have possibly been talking about while I had my face practically squished against the window. It’s Mack, so it’s one of three things: girls, partying, or swimming—not necessarily in that order.

“The party this weekend?” I ask, remembering he mentioned something about it during training.

“Oh, so you were listening. You looked like you zoned out on me.”

I did, but I don’t bother saying as much.

“So, as I was saying…”

I try to concentrate on his words. But when Mack’s mouth moves, I barely register a thing. My focus drifts between him and the courtyard, and that’s when I notice Bear handing her phone over to him, and she looks uncomfortable as fuck doing it.

The last straw is when I see him typing something in it—his number, no doubt. The spike of possessiveness that hits me has me bolting up and out of my seat before I fully register what I’m doing.

“Sorry, Mack, gotta stop you there. I’ll be right back.”

“What? Where are you going?” He frowns.

“Uh…” I stall as I push my chair back, using the few seconds to think of a viable excuse.

The moment I turn to make a beeline for the doors, something hard hits me square in the chest. I’m so focused on getting out of here that I don’t even register the sting.

“Whoa, sorry, Levi,” Sam apologizes, steadying the milk carton wobbling on his tray from the impact.

“You going somewhere?” Austin pipes up from behind him, also carrying a tray.

“I have to use the restroom.” I blurt.

It’s not the most original excuse, and it's the second time I've used it, but at least they won’t question it.

There’s a good chance they’ll see me through the window, but right now, it’s a risk I’m willing to take.

“Dude, no way! We just got here. You can’t leave,” Sam complains, dropping into a chair.

“Yeah, Levi, you can’t leave.” Mack echoes. “Sit your ass back down so I can finish my story.” “Sorry, but you gotta answer when nature calls.” I shrug like I have no choice.

And weirdly, I don’t because every fiber in my body is screaming at me to get to Bear and make it known to that asshole that he’s overstepping.

As I walk away, Mack calls after me, “Wash your hands!”

I flip him off over my shoulder, their laughter fading with each step I take toward the doors.

I knew there was something different about Bear when I saw her picture.

I tried denying it. I tried playing it off like it meant nothing. I stupidly convinced myself it was just sexual attraction.

And yes, the attraction is there, but it goes deeper than surface level.

Every interaction—the good and bad— is ingrained in my mind because it involves her .

Seeing someone else think they can lay their claim solidifies it for me.

She’s mine.

No more holding back.