Judith laughed.
“What grade are you in?” she asked.
“I’m in my third year here.”
“Really? I’m just a freshman.”
“Are you? So, you’re not yet of legal age to drink?” Ashton asked with a smile.
“That’s right. All in good time, though. It’s not like I’m in a hurry.”
A student walked downstairs past them. Ashton read the time on the guy’s wristwatch.
“Have you got any classes left?” Judith asked.
“Just one more. Then I’m off.”
“Me, too. It’s this one, in fact.”
Ashton arched an eyebrow.
“You don’t like English?”
“What? No, I like it just fine. Why?”
“Most students schedule their least favorite class at the end of the day.”
“I’m not most students. The class I dislike most is science, and it’s the second one in my schedule.”
“Science?”
“Yeah. I mean, it sounds interesting, but I just don’t like it. I guess I haven’t got the mind of a scientist.”
“Me neither.”
Judith stood up. She put away her book inside her backpack.
“It was nice talking to you, Ashton.”
“Same. See you later?”
“Tomorrow,” Judith said, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. She smiled, and then walked down the stairs. Ashton watched her go.
Damn, this woman’s so attractive. I wish I could have taken her to my dorm tonight.
While Hughes drove Amanda back to her apartment, she placed a phone call for Marissa.
After a few rings, the other line picked up.
“Hello. This is Marissa Velásquez.”
“Good afternoon, Marissa. This is Amanda Tilley.”
There was a gasp on the other end.
“Amanda! What a pleasure to have you call. What can I help you with?”
“I didn’t interrupt you in class, did I?”
“No, I’m in my apartment.”
“Good. I was looking forward to talk to you. Nathan gave me your number.”
Marissa sounded excited to have received a phone call from Amanda.
“What would you like to talk about?”
“I’ve heard about your talents in fashion design. Clark Rhodes is a good acquaintance of mine, and he speaks highly of you.”
“I’m flattered.”
“When I heard about you at New York Fashion Week, I became interested in seeing your work. Clark showed me one of your designs, and I felt interested in trying it on.”
Marissa gasped in delight.
“It’s great to hear that from you.”
“It’s obvious that you have great talent. I’m also calling you because I thought you’ll find some of my contacts useful. I know a lot of important people in the fashion industry.”
“I look forward to hearing about that. How about we meet?”
“I’m flying to Manhattan this weekend to see my talent agent. I can drop by your place on the way.”
“That would be great,” said Marissa, and gave Amanda her address.
“I’ll call you later to tell you when I’ll be there.”
“Okay. I’ll see you on Saturday.”
“See you, Marissa. Have a good day.”
“Bye,” Marissa said, and Amanda hung up. She looked up to see that she was already outside her apartment. Hughes opened her door, and she stepped out.
“Thank you,” Amanda said as Hughes closed the door behind her. He then led her up to the elevator. On the ride up, Amanda thought of something.
“Hughes?”
“Yes, Ms. Tilley?”
Amanda thought her words with care before she spoke.
“I…I’ve been going through this in my head, and I think it’s time for me to learn something new.”
“What is it?”
Amanda looked at Hughes.
“The last time those goons jumped on us, they would have taken me if Nathan hadn’t been there. I can fight a little, but I’m not much against those guys.”
“I can’t help you,” Hughes said, knowing where she was going.
“Hughes, I want you to train me. I want to learn how to handle weapons.”
Hughes shook his head, looking determined.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Tilley, but I refuse your request. Simple self-defense basics are enough for you.”
“Are you afraid you’ll lose your job? It’s not like I want to be fully mission-capable. I’ll never reach the level of skill you and Grayson have.”
“That’s got nothing to do with my reasons. I just won’t teach you how to use guns. Just no,” said Hughes as the elevator door opened into Amanda’s apartment. She saw that his jaw was set.
“Why? Because I’m a woman?”
“No,” Hughes replied, growing exasperated. He was avoiding her gaze.
“Then why?” she asked as they walked forward.
“Look, Ms. Tilley. I am sworn to protect you with my life. What happened that day won’t happen again. I will protect you with my life.”
Amanda frowned, dissatisfied.
“If you want to make yourself a harder target, I’ll go as far as teaching you how to use Tasers and bear gas. Guns, knives, that sort of deadly weapons? They’re completely out of the question.”
Amanda nodded, knowing she wouldn’t convince him. She let out a sigh.
“I’ll get you a Taser, okay? Now, if you have any more questions, I’ll be close by,” Hughes said, disappearing into one of the rooms. Amanda went to the kitchen.
Hughes sat in his bed, thinking.
I can’t let you use real guns and knives, he thought, because you are too pure and sweet to use deadly force against another human.
The last day of the week arrived. Ashton and Nathan walked together to Rogan’s Corner.
“Did you find your girl yesterday?” Nathan asked.
“Yeah. I ran into Judith on my way to my last class. We talked a bit.”
Nathan’s eyebrows rose.
“You what?”
“We talked. Why are you so surprised?”
“We all know you don’t talk to women unless they’re friends. You hit on them and turn on the charm so they end up following you back to your dorm.”
“That’s funny.”
Nathan laughed.
“So, you and Judith haven’t…?”
Ashton blinked, and then understood.
“I wish I’d slept with Judith yesterday. I just didn’t get the chance. But today, I will.”
“And lock your room.”
“Hell no, I’m gonna lock the entire dorm. Judith is going to have the night of her life.”
Nathan squinted at Ashton in amused anger.
“And where am I going to go when I come back?”
“Don’t be coy. As if you didn’t like staying at Kayla’s dorm. I hope you put that time to good use. What do you two do in there, research international affairs?”
Ashton laughed at his own joke. Nathan shook his head, chuckling.
They both stopped talking when they approached the Starbucks. They walked in.
“Look, Claire’s here. Let’s sit with her.”
“I’ll order for you,” Ashton said, and Nathan nodded. He went to sit with Claire.
“Morning, Nathan.”
“Hi, Claire. Where’s Oswald?”
“I just texted him. He’s on his way.”
Nathan nodded, looking towards the order line. He saw that Kayla was there, too. She had lined up behind Ashton. When she spotted Nathan, she waved her hand. He waved back.
When Nathan looked back at Claire, she was grinning at him. He arched his eyebrows.
“What?”
“You love Kayla.”
The corners of Nathan’s lips rose.
“Yeah.”
Claire said nothing more as she looked towards the entrance. Oswald got in line four people behind Kay
la. Claire blew him a kiss. He winked at her.
Kayla sat down next to Nathan as usual.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hello, beautiful,” Nathan replied, leaning forward to give her a quick kiss. She giggled when he pulled back.
“So, there’ll a baseball game next week,” Ashton announced. “Cornell will play against Harvard. I was wondering if any of you guys wanted to go.”
Kayla and Nathan looked at each other.
“I’d like to go to a game,” Kayla said. “I haven’t been to a sports event in my life. I could use the experience for my writing.”
“You’ve never been to a game?” Claire asked, looking amazed.
“Yeah, I have. I attended a few football games when I was in high school. I liked seeing my team win.”
“This baseball game’s going to be next week, if you’d like to go,” Ashton told Kayla.
“Where can I buy the tickets?”
“I know where,” Nathan said. “I can take you.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re new here, aren’t you? I forget,” Ashton asked Kayla, who nodded.
“I’m unfamiliar with college sports around here.”
“It’s bigger than you’d think,” Oswald told her. “This is an Ivy League school, after all.”
“I didn’t know about Cornell until Nathan told me about it,” said Kayla. “And I researched Ivy League universities for my writing.”
“And for real life?” Claire asked.
“No. I associate Ivy League colleges with high tuition. It’s thanks to my success as an author that I was able to follow Nathan here.”
“That’s sweet!”
Oswald and Ashton laughed.
“You should write a book about how you guys met. I think it’d be great.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. Our story’s private.”
Nathan smiled at Kayla, and she kissed him.
“I do appreciate your not making me famous.”
“I know you enough. You’re not exactly a hermit, but you keep to yourself. I wouldn’t be mean enough to write about your life without telling you.”
Nathan and his friends continued to eat breakfast while talking about school and the upcoming holidays. At one point, Kayla had her hand on the table. Nathan put his hand on top of it and squeezed it.
Before they left, Nathan felt someone walk past their table. He looked up and saw a woman hastily leaving the restaurant. She looked so much like Amanda, so it made Nathan curious.
Then the woman looked back over her shoulder. When her gaze settled on Nathan, his eyes widened.
That definitely was Amanda. And she had seen him with Kayla.
Oh, dear.
Amanda stopped by a vending machine on her way from her second class. She only had one more class to go before lunch. Amanda couldn’t wait to just call it a day and go back to her apartment. What she had seen in the morning hadn’t let her mind rest so far.
Why do I even care that Nathan has a girlfriend? I don’t even know him much!
Amanda pressed a couple of buttons, and seconds later the machine dispensed an oatmeal crème pie. She grabbed it and then bought a dark chocolate Milky Way.
Just as she turned to walk away, Amanda almost ran into someone. She halted herself just in time, falling into the arms of a tall, muscular guy. When she looked up at his face, Amanda blanched.
“Be careful,” Nathan said, still holding Amanda’s forearms. He then bent down to pick up something. “Here, this is yours.”
Amanda looked at his hand and realized she had dropped her Milky Way. She grabbed it, preparing herself for the jolt of electricity that would run to her when she touched his skin.
It’s still there, Amanda thought when she felt it. Judging by Nathan’s expression, he felt it too.
“I have to go,” Amanda said, avoiding Nathan’s gaze. She put her snacks in her purse.
“Do you have a minute? I want to talk to you.”
“About what? There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Yes, there is. I wanted you to know that I’m not sending you mixed signals, even if it looks like it.”
Amanda’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Who said anything about mixed signals? You so don’t get it.”
“Then enlighten me.”
“I believe I’m the one who needs to be enlightened. What do you want from me?”
Nathan sighed, thinking his words through. Amanda waited for him with crossed arms. He tried hard not to get distracted by the unintentional display of cleavage.
“Look, I know I avoided telling you I have a girlfriend. I was, um, hoping that—”
“Hoping what? That I would fall for your charms? That you would conveniently forget you’ve got a girlfriend?”
“No! I’m not that kind of guy.”
“Then why do you look at me like I’m the last woman on Earth? It’s your girlfriend whom you should look at that way, not me.”
“You know you can’t blame me. You’ve seen yourself on a mirror.”
You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. I’m having a hard time keeping myself from kissing you.
Amanda couldn’t keep from rolling her eyes. She uncrossed her arms.
“I’m not dumb, Nathan, of course I know what I look like. That’s no excuse to cheat on your girlfriend.”
“I wasn’t planning on that.”
“You know, it’s best if we didn’t continue seeing each other. You’re better off without me.”
Nathan froze, wondering if he’d heard right.
“What?”
“I must go to class now, Nathan. Thanks for keeping me company. You should refrain from doing it again.”
With that, Amanda walked around Nathan and out of sight. Hughes appeared out of nowhere and followed after her. He shot Nathan a sorry look before disappearing.
What in the world was that? Nathan thought, puzzled. He felt as though he’d just bungee-jumped and plowed straight into the water.
Did she just ask me outright to stay away?
Nathan walked away without heading anywhere in particular, losing track of time. Everything had turned into an utter mess. He didn’t know what to make of it.
Simple, dude. Amanda isn’t interested in you.
Nathan walked to his next class in a daze.
Although he wanted to pretend getting rejected by Amanda didn’t hurt (in spite of his already having a girlfriend), it did feel as though someone had punched him in the gut. Nathan was terrified to realize he’d held too much hope.
I’ll be damned. I should have been more realistic.
As he entered the building where his next class was, Nathan vowed to pull Amanda from his heart once and for all. He had to learn not to like those alluring green eyes so much. Or that friggin-kissable mouth. Or those waves of shiny golden hair.
As he walked, Nathan recalled what the weather was like outside. The weather wouldn’t remain warm for long, which was necessary for what he had in mind to forget Amanda. He would make Kayla a happy girl.
Nathan found her waiting outside the classroom. She looked up when he approached.
“Love,” Kayla said, smiling. Nathan walked right into her and kissed her lips.
“How are you, baby?”
Kayla waited until he broke the kiss to answer.
“Fantastic. I made real good progress last night. The book…are you all right?” she asked, only just noticing his slightly let-down expression.
“What do you mean? I’m fine,” Nathan said. “Listen. You up for some fun this afternoon?”
“Duh. It’s Friday. Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. We’ll have a great time. Just meet me in front of your dorm building, and I’ll pick you up.”
“Are we going to a restaurant?”
“Something like that,” Nathan told her, smiling. “But better. You’ll love it.”
“What time do I wait for you?”
“Let’s say…five o
’clock. I’ll bring my car.”
“Deal,” said Kayla, looking excited.
Just as he was heading to class, Ashton saw Judith walking through the hallway. He waved at her.
“Hi, Ashton,” Judith greeted when she approached him. “How’s your morning?”
“Great. Yours?”
“Same,” she replied. “Are you heading to class?”
“Yeah, but I have ten minutes.”
“I don’t. My class starts in five.”
Ashton smiled.
“That’s still plenty of time to talk.”
Judith smiled too, showing off her white teeth. Ashton tried not to let that kissable mouth distract him too much.
“Are you going to be too busy tonight?”
“No,” Judith said. “You have any plans?”
“If you agree to be in them, the answer’s yes.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know,” Ashton told Judith, closing the distance between them. He stood inches above her, so close that he could smell her perfume. “I was thinking we could get to know each other better.”
Judith exhaled, looking down at Ashton’s lips. She was starting to forget how to breathe. He looked into her green eyes, wondering what she was thinking.
“That sounds…good,” Judith said in a breathy voice. “Uh…when do we meet?”
“Um…how about six o’clock?”
“O-kay?”
Ashton laughed at Judith’s hesitation.
“You’re so darned adorable.”
Judith giggled, shaking her head.
“Did I also mention you’re hot?”
“Damn, you’re bold.”
Ashton laughed again.
“Hand me your phone.”
Judith frowned. She did what Ashton asked. He typed something into it, and then returned the phone.
“There. Now you have my number.”
“Great. I’ll let you know when I’m coming.”
“Okay. I look forward to it,” Ashton said with a sly smile. “See you.”
“See you tonight,” Judith told him, unconsciously checking him out. That made Ashton feel proud. He gave her his most seductive smile. That was the one that women couldn’t resist.
Judith melted when she saw that smile, too. Ashton walked away, leaving her wanting.
Neither of them noticed that Grecia was watching them from afar.
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