by Renee, Holly
“Are you ready for classes tomorrow?”
“I think so. I printed out all of my syllabuses and arranged my binders according to those.”
Theo snorted. “You are such a dork.”
“I am not.” I put my hand over my heart. “It’s called being prepared.”
“It’s called being a complete and total nerd.”
I wadded up my napkin and threw it at his head, but he caught the pitiful attempt before it even had a chance to hit him.
“Nice try.” He threw it down on the table before taking another bite of his pizza.
“Are you ready?” I arched an eyebrow at him. All Theo thought about was football. I would be surprised if he even knew what classes he was taking this semester.
“Not quite.” He grinned at me. “I was hoping we could do a little school shopping today.”
“The day before classes start?” I shrieked. “You’re going to give me heart palpitations.”
“That’s what all the girls say.”
I rolled my eyes dramatically, but something about his playfulness reminded me of Easton. I hadn’t stopped thinking about him since our run-in this morning. “You are ridiculous. College has really gone to your head.”
He smiled like he knew what I was saying was true but didn’t care.
“Don’t forget homecoming is in a couple weeks. You need to buy a dress for the Kappa formal.” He took another huge bite of his pizza.
“Why is that even a thing?” I huffed even though I was glad that he asked me. Glad was an understatement. I couldn’t believe that, out of all the options I knew Theo had at his fingertips, he’d want to go with me. “I thought we ended formals in high school.”
“Think again. I’ve had to get dressed up more times in one year of college than we did in all four years of high school.”
“That makes me excited to start the school year,” I said sarcastically.
“You look pretty in a dress.” Theo threw out the compliment like it was nothing, but my stomach felt tight as the words slipped past his lips.
“But I feel comfortable in sweats.” I saluted him with my pizza and listened to his deep chuckle.
“You’re not wearing sweats to the formal. Your mom would die if she ever found out.”
He wasn’t wrong. She would take more offense to that than if I started doing drugs. “Fine. I’m going to get the puffiest dress I can find. Puffy sleeves and everything.”
“That would be hot.” He took another bite of pizza. “I’ll have to fight all the boys away.”
“You will.” I nodded. “I doubt you’ll even get a single dance in, I’ll be looking so fine.”
“Look who has a big head now.”
I wiggled my eyebrows at him just as my phone started vibrating against the table. “Speak of the devil.” I watched the word Mom flash across my screen over and over.
“Are you not going to answer it?”
I shook my head and lifted my pizza to my mouth, but he was already grabbing my phone and hitting the speaker button.
“Hey, Mrs. Duncan. How are you?”
“Oh, Theo!” My mom sounded more excited to talk to him than she ever did with me. “How are you? Mr. Duncan and I have missed you so much.”
She didn’t even call my father by his first name. She never did when she was referring to him when talking to someone else. He was Mr. Duncan, the CEO of Duncan Enterprises, and the man who spent more time at the office than he ever did at home.
“I miss you all too.” Theo smiled down at the phone even though my mom couldn’t see him. “Maddy and I were just talking about you and what color you think she should wear to my homecoming formal.”
I groaned and Theo covered the phone as he laughed at my discomfort. He knew that I hated talking to my mom about anything clothing related. She had strong opinions on my wardrobe, or lack thereof, and she could go on for hours about why I should choose a certain dress.
“Well, you know I love her in a soft pink.” She gushed, and I practically gagged. “I could run into town and find her a dress. I’m sure I could find something lovely for her to wear.”
“I’ve got it, Mom.” I finally spoke for the first time as I flipped Theo off. “I think I’ve already found something.”
“Oh.” She sounded as affronted as I knew she probably was by the idea. “Well, remember which styles flatter your figure the most—”
“Yep,” I cut her off before she could go any further. I was embarrassed for Theo to hear her speech about the size of my hips and the way fabric should drape over them. He had heard it all before. I just wasn’t in the mood for it. I was never in the mood for it.
“Well, are you all set for your classes?” Her voice was tighter than it was just moments before, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
“Yeah. I have everything I need. Theo’s not though. He hasn’t even gone school shopping yet.” I threw Theo under the bus, and he laughed because he knew I was trying to get the focus off me.
“He’s so busy with football.” She sounded so worried. “Theo, do you need me to go get some things for you?”
“That’s alright, Mrs. Duncan. I’m going to force your daughter to go shopping with me in just a bit.” He smirked in my direction.
“Good. Well, you two have fun.”
“We will,” Theo answered her just before the phone clicked off.
“You are such a suck-up.” He always had been. My mother adored him, and Theo made sure it stayed that way.
“Just because I’m your mama’s favorite child doesn’t mean you gotta hate me.”
We both laughed, but he wasn’t lying. I was pretty sure my parents would adopt him if they could. I was pretty sure that they fantasized about the two of us ending up together more than I did.
And that was saying something.
Because I thought about it a lot.
“Are you going to leave me hanging or are you going to help me?” Theo pouted his bottom lip out and batted his eyelashes in my direction. He didn’t need to put in the effort. I would do anything for him.
“I’m all yours, slacker.”
Five
My first classes were going better than expected. I didn’t fall asleep during Probability and Statistics, and I was at least fifty percent sure I would be able to take the class without completely bombing it, but that percentage was iffy.
Because I didn’t math.
By the time English rolled around, I felt more confident in my surroundings and the subject, and I arrived ten minutes early to make sure I didn’t miss a thing.
I watched as student after student made their way into the room. Some of them were early like me, and some of them were sprinting in the door and looked like they had just run across campus. One of the latter took the seat right next to me, and I tried not to laugh when she asked me if I had an extra pencil.
“I’m Imani, by the way.” She took the pencil I was holding out to her. I had at least ten more in my backpack.
“Maddison.”
“You’re a lifesaver.” She saluted me with the pencil before pulling a notebook of her own out of her purse. I tried not to stare at the doodles that covered page after page as she tried to find a blank one, but they were incredible.
She didn’t even look up as the professor started talking. She just started scratching my pencil into the page in a random pattern that made no sense to me.
Professor Bryant was an older man, and I watched the way random pieces of his hair stuck out to the side as he introduced himself. He had been with the University of Georgia going on twenty years, he was passionate about English and literature, and even though he seemed a bit crazy, I was oddly fascinated by him.
“I would love to know your name and your favorite book, if you even read,” he grumbled just as there was a commotion at the door. “Ah, it’s nice of you to join us.”
The entire class looked toward the door ready to see an embarrassed student who was late for the first day of class
, but it was his dark brown hair that made me sit up straighter in my seat. It looked different than it did when I ran into him in the bathroom. No longer disheveled, it was perfectly pushed back out of his face and made him look more mature. Older than I would have originally guessed.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like for you to meet my teaching assistant for the semester, Easton Cole.”
Easton moved around Professor Bryant’s desk, and I heard a small groan from one of the girls behind me, followed by muffled laughter.
My stomach tightened as he set his bag down next to one of the chairs and faced us. He was attractive in a way that it almost felt wrong to call him handsome. It was something else. Something wildly alluring. Something that felt tempting in a way that you knew shouldn’t.
“It’s nice to meet you all.” Easton’s voice was as rough as it was the morning I met him, and I swear half the girls in the class weren’t even breathing.
It was impossible not to be captivated by him, to not notice him, but he didn’t notice me. Hell, he probably hadn’t given me a second thought, but I had thought about him.
He pulled off his leather jacket before taking a seat behind the desk as Professor Bryant pointed to the first student and the introductions began. Each person said their name and the name of a book they probably had never read, but I was barely listening. Instead, I was sneaking glances at Easton as he pulled things out of his bag.
A smack to my arm pulled my attention away from him, and I looked over at Imani just as her hand left my skin.
“What?” I whispered.
She pointed a finger toward the professor, and I looked up just as a few laughs rang out around me.
“Oh.” I sat up straighter in my chair, embarrassed to be caught ogling the TA. “I’m Maddison Duncan and my favorite book is… that’s a hard question actually. My first instinct is to say the Harry Potter series, but I also love The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, I could keep going.”
Professor Bryant smiled. “All excellent choices.”
“Thanks.” I tucked my hair behind my ear as he moved on to the next student.
I glanced up in Easton’s direction, hoping to catch another glimpse of him, but this time he was staring straight at me. I shifted in my seat and looked away before allowing myself to look at him again. His gaze didn’t shift an inch.
He seemed to be studying me. My breathing slowed as I watched the way he was looking at me. I felt exposed by the one simple look, like he was seeing more of me than I was willing to show.
His brow crinkled as he looked down at his desk, and I would have given anything to know what he was thinking. But when he looked back up, there was a sudden aloofness that hadn’t been there only a moment before, and he didn’t look in my direction again.
I knew because I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
The professor continued around the class before he handed out our syllabus. The list of assignments and projects for this class seemed overwhelming compared to the simple syllabus that was posted online. He went over paper after paper that were listed with due dates, and I knew that I would have a long evening of writing everything into my planner.
Professor Bryant started shaking a baseball cap in his hands. “Let’s start this semester off right and pick your partner for your group project.”
Deep groans of frustration echoed around the room, causing Professor Bryant to roll his eyes.
“You’re college freshmen. Just think, your partner could be your first friend while you’re here or maybe even your enemy if you get a lazy partner.”
A couple people laughed, probably the lazy ones, as more groans rang out. The professor ignored the groans and walked to the back of the room. He held out the ball cap to each student as he walked by and had them draw a piece of paper.
“Each of you will be paired up with another student in this class and you will have five weeks to complete the project. You each have an approved list of literature that you can choose from, and as the project is outlined on page three of your syllabus, you will each read the literature, compare your views of the work, and find a point that the two of you disagree on.” Professor Bryant snapped his fingers. “That’s where the magic happens. I want the two of you to argue about why you feel the way you do while trying to convince your partner to see your viewpoint. Then you will present your points to the class.”
He held the hat out to me, and I said a quick prayer that I got a partner who would do their part of the work. I had enough on my plate already. I didn’t need the added pressure of carrying one of my classmates.
My fingers connected with one of the last papers left, and I pulled it out before he continued on.
“I got ten. What did you get?” Imani was leaning over her desk toward me.
I carefully unfolded the white slip of paper to see it was blank. I flipped it over in my hands and the opposite side was empty as well.
“Alright. Get up. Get up.” Professor Bryant waved us out of our desks. “Go find your partner.”
I stayed in my spot and looked over my slip of paper again. When no number magically appeared, I raised my hand.
“Can’t find your partner?” He put his hands against my desk.
“My paper is blank.” I turned it over in my hands for him to see.
“Ah. Yes.” He looked toward his desk. “Follow me.”
I hesitantly climbed out of my chair and took a step down toward his desk. I tried not to look at Easton as we came closer and closer to him, but it was impossible.
“This class has an odd number of students, so you will be partnering up with Mr. Cole.”
My feet skidded against the tile floor and I stopped in my tracks. “What?”
“He’ll do his part. I promise you that.” Professor Bryant smiled like he had just told the funniest joke just as Easton looked up at me.
I didn’t dare look away from my professor.
“That’s not necessary. I can do the project on my own.”
“You’re going to have an opposing view and argue with yourself?” He arched an eyebrow at me like I was insane.
“I can come up with an opposing view and figure out what that viewpoint might argue to make me see things their way.”
Professor Bryant looked in Easton’s direction then back at me. I could feel Easton watching me—his gaze burning into me. “I know you pulled the short straw here.” The professor chuckled. “But Mr. Cole won’t bite. He’s actually got pretty strong opinions about each piece of literature on the list. I’d say that gives you a leg up.”
He started heading back toward the other students. “I’ll let you two get to know each other.”
I shifted on my feet and slid my hands into my back pockets. “So.” I finally slid my gaze to Easton. “Do you have a preference for which book we choose?”
He rubbed his hand over his jaw as the corners of his mouth jerked up. “It’s your project, Maddison. You choose.”
“The Awakening,” I said the first book that came to mind from the list.
“Good choice.”
“So, can you meet at the library on Friday to get started or do you need more time to read?”
“I’ll be prepared. Don’t worry about me.” He tapped the edge of his red pen against the desk.
I looked around the room and everyone seemed to still be talking about their project.
“Okay. What times works for you on Friday?”
“I can be there by four. Does that work for you or will you need to be getting ready for the party?”
“What party?” I crossed my arms.
“There’s a party at our house every weekend.” His gaze ran over my neck as I toyed with my necklace. “I assumed you’d be there.”
“Don’t make assumptions about me.”
His small smile turned into a full-fledged grin at my attitude, and I didn’t even know why I had one. Easton made me feel nervous. He felt unpredictable and risky, and I hated that I had spent so much time thi
nking about him since I first met him.
“I just thought since you and Theo are best friends.” He said it like it was a question. “You’d be there with him.”
“I don’t even know if Theo is going.”
“Theo’s going. Trust me. He never misses a party.”
The fact that he felt like he knew something more about Theo than I did or the fact that he actually did made me even more irritated.
“What about you? Isn’t it your frat too?”
“It is.” He nodded his head. “I’m not much for parties these days.”
“Why not?” I didn’t know why, but I was intrigued by him. Even though he was the last person in this entire room who I wanted as my group project partner, I wanted to know more about him. But my interest in Easton was less than professional. I knew plenty of guys like Easton Cole, and I had no business having any interest in him whatsoever.
“Alright.” Professor Bryant’s voice called through the room. “That’s it for today. I hope you and your partner scheduled some study dates.”
I looked at Easton as he looked back down at the paper in front of him with a smile on his face. “I’ll see you Friday, partner.”
Six
The rest of my week seemed to drag by. I had two other classes throughout the week, and they both went by without an ounce of excitement.
When I got to English again on Wednesday, I couldn’t concentrate as I watched the door for any trace of Easton, but he never showed.
But I shouldn’t have cared.
Easton was funny and handsome, and even though I couldn’t stop thinking about him, he was also my TA, Theo’s frat brother, and completely off-limits.
Dillon was sitting at the table we had claimed all week in the campus cafeteria when I walked in with my tray of food on Friday.
“Do you have a date?” She ran her narrowed eyes over every inch of me.
“What are you talking about?” I pulled out the seat across from her and pulled the plastic lid off my salad.
“You look different today. What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything. You’re crazy.” I tried to avoid looking at her as I covered my healthy salad in a tub of ranch dressing.