Page 2

TWO

I don't take out crippling amounts of student loans to babysit football players during class projects. It's exceptionally annoying that I can't have a different partner. Sawyer doesn't even remember the Renaissance unit. He was probably too busy partying and getting drunk all the time, hooking up with the entire cheerleading squad to pay attention.

I mean, I get it. He's good looking. I've kept my distance from him over the course of the semester because the two of us run in different circles. My friends and I aren’t exactly invited to a lot of the parties people like him attend. Being up close to him for the first time is strange. He's much better looking than I initially thought.

Of course, he's good looking from far away too. But sitting across from him, I can see the spark of excitement in his blue eyes as he challenges me. The light hits them, and they turn pale, almost glowing in the fading autumn sun. I can see the dimples on his cheeks when he smiles too. It pains me to admit that as he smirks at me when he says something it's a good look on him. It almost makes me want to fight with him more.

He runs his fingers through his short blond hair as he thinks and I catch myself staring, wondering what it would be like for my fingers to be there instead.

I force myself to stop thinking about it. There's a reason I stay far away from jocks like him. Especially after what happened in high school. I learned my lesson, and I don't repeat mistakes.

“I think the two of us got off on the wrong foot,” Sawyer says, flashing me a charming smile to try to disarm me. I want to roll my eyes, but unfortunately, it seems to be working. “I'll be the first to admit, I'm not the best student. That doesn't mean you'll have to pick up all the slack and do everything on your own. I'm here right now, aren't I?”

I nod and take a deep breath, relaxing my shoulders as I try to forget how today started. “You're right. Let's just focus on the project and figure out what it is we're doing. We can start with you telling me everything you remember about the unit so we can figure out what we want to cover in our report.”

“Can I borrow this?” Sawyer says, pointing at my textbook. I nod and push it toward him at the same time he reaches for it. Our fingers brush against each other, and my heart races a little faster. His fingers linger on mine, and I do my best to keep from blushing as I quickly pull my hand away.

“Sorry,” I nervously say, tucking a few stray strands of hair behind my ear. Sawyer nods and looks down at the textbook, skimming over some of the topics we discussed in class. “When I think of the Renaissance Era, I think of an era of innovation, so a project focusing on different inventions of the time could be interesting.”

“Maybe we could compare it to modern technology and show how things have evolved since then, too?” Sawyer says, sort of unsure of himself with the idea. I nod and offer him an encouraging smile because I think it's a good idea.

“That's always an effective approach,” I say, writing it down in my notebook. “I have experience with video editing, so maybe we could do a short documentary-style video presentation.”

We start talking about the different things we can include in the video and both of us seem to be relaxing a bit. I almost feel bad for prematurely judging him because he is contributing to the project. Though in the back of my mind, I'm wondering how long this is going to last. Is he going to bail on me to go to some big party the first chance he gets?

I start reviewing the textbook, making a list of different inventions, and comparing them to modern day technology. As I do, I kick my leg out, and it collides with Sawyer’s under the desk. Once again, my heart beats a little faster, and I straighten up, pulling my leg away.

He looks up from his textbook with a half smile on his lips that excites me in a way I don't expect. There's a slight thrill bumping into him that I can't wrap my head around. It's not like I've never held hands with a guy before. Sure, I've hardly done anything beyond that, but this feeling isn’t normal. Especially directed toward someone like Sawyer.

I stare down at his hands, and I can't help imagining what those might feel like touching me. They were soft and warm when I brushed against them. Just the idea of his hands climbing up my thighs and slowly inching their way along my body is enough to force me to cross my legs and blush.

“Rowan!” Corinne's voice says across the room. I look at her and see her wincing slightly as she spoke a little too loud in the library. She sits down beside me at the desk and looks at Sawyer with a wrinkle in her eyebrow. “Sorry, am I interrupting?”

Yes, actually. But God, am I glad she's here. My mind was going places it definitely should not have been, so this interruption is much-needed.

“We're just working on a project for world history,” I say, turning away from Sawyer and looking at her. Her blond hair is pulled back in a messy bun, and she’s in an oversized sweater and long skirt. I remember her telling me about an exam she had today, so her somewhat disheveled outfit makes sense. She's usually very well put together.

“I should actually get going to my next class anyway,” Sawyer says, grabbing his backpack and standing. He scribbles his phone number on a piece of paper and hands it to me. “I guess you and I will just meet up sometime later to finish talking about this?”

“I'll text you,” I say, nervously smiling and carefully placing the phone number in my notebook. Sawyer waves goodbye to both of us and walks away. I try not to turn around and watch him go.

I focus my attention on Corinne, who is narrowing her eyes at me with a half smile on her lips. “Okay, what was that about? You're working with Sawyer Jackson?”

“Don't get me started,” I say, laughing nervously and looking away from her. “It's just a random group assignment.”

“A random group assignment with Sawyer Jackson is just about every girl's dream,” Corinne says, a curious look in her eyes as she scans my face. “I'm sure you're really devastated to spend quality alone time with him.”

I shake my head vehemently, closing the notebook and pretending the fact that his phone number is sitting between the pages doesn't mean anything to me.

“Trust me, we’re group partners, and that's it. There will never be anything more than this project between us.” I try to sound confident, but I think it might be a little more defensive than anything because Corinne doesn't seem to believe me. “Besides, I can't stand jocks. I'd rather die alone with 100 cats than even consider going on a date with one.”

“That seems a little extreme,” she says with a laugh, nervously looking down in embarrassment as she catches the attention of other students in the room. “Seems like you have somewhat of a vendetta against them.”

“Haven't got to implies I'm trying to get revenge, doesn't it?” I shake my head, trying to appear more casual about my searing hatred. “I just prefer to stay away from them. People like that have screwed me over in the past, and I don't want it to happen again.”

“Rowan Peebles, do you have some drama you haven't told me about?” Corinne asks, inhaling sharply as she leans on her elbows to hear the story.

I haven't told anybody about what happened in high school. It happened in the past, and ever since I started college, I've decided to turn a new leaf. I don't want to linger in the embarrassing things that happened last year, but Corinne is my best friend here. If anybody is to know about this, it's her.

“Toward the end of senior year, someone on the football team asked me on a date,” I reluctantly begin, cringing to myself before I even get to the bad part. “His name was Tyler and I had a bit of a crush on him, so I was elated. I even thought that if things went well, we might go to prom together. It turns out that he and a bunch of other people on the team had made a bet. Everyone threw a hundred dollars in a pool, and whoever took one of the band geeks' virginity first won all the money.”

Her mouth hangs open as she gasps and stares at me with wide eyes. “That's disgusting. Please tell me you didn't sleep with him and instead broke his nose.”

“Thankfully, I didn't sleep with him. I was actually planning on it the next time we went out because I thought I liked him. I believed he liked me too. He called the night before and canceled the date. I asked why, and surprisingly, he told me the truth.” I practically shiver against the memory of that night.

I was in my room frantically looking through my underwear drawer to find something sexy for him. I had just picked out what I was going to wear when he called and canceled. I cried until dawn. Never in my life had I experienced something so cruel, and I was heartbroken.

Ever since, I've sworn to myself that I won't trust people like that anymore. So yes, I can admit that Sawyer is cute and a part of me is interested in possibly getting to know him intimately, but I've made a vow to myself not to. I won't get hurt again.