Page 5

Lifting my head, I watch as Olivia climbs the stairs with a smirk on her face. I huff out a laugh and return her compliment. “And you look as wide-eyed and bushy-tailed as ever.”

She rolls her eyes. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Hollingsworth.”

Grinning, I pop the Advil into my mouth, swallow it dry, and hold my hand out. “Want to walk with me? I could use some fresh air after being cooped up in here.”

Olivia nods and links her fingers through mine. We walk out of the lecture hall, hands swinging between us, and into the bustling corridor. The surge of students rushing to their next class propels us out into the courtyard.

I inhale deeply, relieved to be free of Mr. Monotony. If it weren’t a required class and Olivia didn’t sign up with me, I’d have dropped it already. History has always been my least favorite subject. Give me complex formulas any day.

“I still can’t believe you knew the answer to Hargrove’s question,” Olivia says, breaking the comfortable silence. “I thought for sure you were going to make a fool of yourself.”

“What can I say? I’m more than just a pretty face.”

“More of an insufferable know-it-all, if anything,” she mutters.

“Ouch!” I clutch my chest and stagger back. “Break my heart, why don’t you? And here I thought you appreciated my intellect.”

“I do. But I think I appreciate your ass more.”

She pinches my left butt cheek, and I let out an undignified squeak. My eyes widen as I take in my girlfriend, who’s never been this brazen before.

“Who are you, and what have you done with sweet Olivia Rose?” I ask as I rub my butt, because damn, did she pinch me hard.

She shrugs, not in the least bit bothered by such a public display of affection. “It’s been a while since I’ve felt your big ass up.”

Internally, I grimace. Externally, I wink and say, “All you had to do was ask, beautiful.”

“All right. Then here I am asking. Daniel Joseph Hollingsworth, why in the hell are you wearing flip-flops in March?”

I blink, not expecting the subject change. “Huh?”

She glances down at my feet, snug as a bug in a pair of black flip-flops. The kind with the strap that goes between the big toe and its neighbor. Following her gaze, I wiggle my toes.

“My feet like to be free. You know this, Liv.”

“Do I? Lately, I feel like there are things about you that I thought I knew, but I don’t.”

We come to a stop in front of the fountain at the far end of the courtyard. The spring sun is high in the sky, and between its rays and Olivia’s comment, I’m beginning to sweat profusely. I take a seat on the concrete ledge and pat my palm on the open space beside me.

“Like what?” I ask after she sits down and places her messenger bag on her lap. I take mine off and set it down at my feet.

“Like, I’ve barely seen you. I haven’t been over to your place since before New Year’s, and you haven’t been to mine since well before then.”

“I’ve been?—”

“Busy. Yeah, that’s what you always say. But, Daniel, baseball only started last month. How busy could you have been in January?”

I don’t know what to say. No, that’s a lie. I do know what to say. But I can’t seem to make the words come out of my mouth.

Olivia, I kissed two guys. One of them was Charlie. It turned me on, and I’ve jerked off over it more times than I can count.

I pick at a toothpaste stain at the edge of my shirt. I can’t meet her eyes; if I do, she’ll see the guilt written all over my face.

“I have a proposition for you,” she says as she trails her multicolored fingernails through the shimmering water. “There’s a poetry slam tomorrow night in Brooklyn. I want you to come with me. I even got an extra ticket for Charlie.”

My eyebrows lift in surprise. “A poetry slam? Really?”

Poetry slams aren’t exactly my scene, nor are they Charlie’s. We’re more the sports bar type.

Olivia nods enthusiastically. “It’s at this funky art gallery. Some of my girlfriends will be there with their boyfriends. It’s supposed to be raw and gritty. The kind of poetry that’ll make you shiver and ache in places you didn’t know existed.”

I swallow hard, my mind conjuring up all sorts of provocative imagery. “I don’t know, Liv…”

“Please? It would mean a great deal to me if you came with me. You never know, you could end up enjoying it.” Her hand slides up my thigh, unbidden, and my next words get stuck in my throat.

Her touch is electric through the denim of my jeans.

I can almost see the sparks shooting from her fingertips. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Oh? And how do you plan to do that?”

She grabs my chin and turns my head so that our noses are mere inches apart.

I go cross-eyed, trying to stare at her pink lips as she drops her voice to a husky tone that’s full of sinful promise.

“If you come, I’ll give you a blowjob that’ll make your toes curl.

And if you want to wear your flip-flops while I do, well, I won’t yuck your yum. ”

Holy. Fuck.

My dick twitches at the mere thought of getting a blowjob. It’s always been one of my favorite things, that and having my balls sucked on. “You drive a hard bargain, Miss Rose.” I don’t even have to think about it. “You have yourself a deal.”

She grins triumphantly and pecks me on the cheek before standing up. “Excellent. I promise you won’t regret it.” She glances down at the sizable bulge in my pants and laughs. “Looks like you have a hard bargain yourself there, Hollingsworth.”

Before I can come up with a witty retort, she presses her palm to my chest and shoves me. Hard.

I yelp as I lose my balance and topple backward into the fountain with a mighty splash.

The water is fucking freezing, instantly dousing the heat coursing through me, and killing my boner. I sputter and gasp as I rise to the surface, stunned.

I want to say, “What the hell, Liv?” but she’s already gone.