Just for Now (Sea Breeze #4)(22)

“Really? What’s your major?”

There was a pause. “Um, I’m having a few arguments with my parents about that. I’ll get back to you on it.” Weird. His parents were arguing with him about his major? “The reason I called wasn’t to bore you with talk about our courses. I was wondering if maybe you’d be free anytime in the next month?” He ended his question with an amused chuckle.

“Um, yeah . . . I think I have some openings in my schedule,” I replied, smiling.

“Then my next question is, how soon would your schedule be opening up? I was thinking of flying down . . . soon.”

This was the right thing to do. Jason liked me. He wasn’t pushing me away and giving me warnings. “How about next weekend?”

“Perfect.”





Chapter Eight



Preston



Calculus. Why the hell did I agree to calculus? Passing this class would be a miracle. Keeping my grades up was part of the deal with my scholarship. If I failed a class, then I lost it. I couldn’t lose this. If I played this season the way I played last season, I should have my next two years at a state college covered. I had to pass this one class first. I’d been putting it off. It was time I faced it.

Walking into the room, I did a quick scan for a desk close to the front. Instead, my eyes found Amanda. She was laughing at something another girl was telling her, while some guy was leaning on her desk looking directly down her shirt while laughing along with whatever the other girl was saying. The douche.

Amanda was close enough to the front. A few girls called out my name as I walked toward her, but I ignored them. I kept my focus on Amanda. Her eyes lifted to meet mine as I made my way to her. The smile on her lips faltered. She was trying to keep her distance because she was smart. I was the * not allowing it. I should be letting her run, but every little inch she pulled back I confused her. I was a shithead. This realization wasn’t going to keep me from sitting beside her, though. The other guy needed to back the f*ck off. His eyes were looking places they hadn’t been invited. Manda needed a damn bodyguard.

“Hey, Preston,” the brunette who had been making Amanda laugh greeted me first. The cooing tone of her voice was familiar. She was interested. She knew what I was like, and she was still willing. I got that a lot. I managed a small smile and nodded, but I didn’t take my eyes off Amanda’s.

“Hey, Manda,” I said as I took the seat on the other side of her.

“Preston. Uh, hey.” Her nervous reply was expected. She didn’t want me near her. I couldn’t blame her or take offense.

“You taking calculus first semester of college? I’m impressed. I’ve been putting it off.”

Amanda shrugged a shoulder. “I like math.”

Calculus was not math. It was a f*cking science experiment gone wrong. I started to reply when the guy standing beside her cleared his throat. I glanced up at him with an annoyed snarl. Why was he still standing there?

“You took my seat,” he said.

Now, that made me smile. “Then I guess you should have been sitting in it.”

I turned my attention back to Amanda, whose bright pink cheeks told me this was embarrassing her. I didn’t want to do that, either.

“I may need help. I’m glad you’re good with numbers,” I told her, leaning back and getting comfortable. The guy started to say something else, and I cut my eyes back his way in a silent warning. I wasn’t moving, but I’d sure as hell move his ass.

He let out a loud sigh and moved away. Smart boy.

“What are you doing, Preston?” Amanda whispered as she leaned over toward me.

“What exactly do you mean, Manda?”

“You know what I mean. Why are you sitting here? I thought we’d agreed to keep our distance. After . . . everything.”

I didn’t want to keep my distance. I might not get to have her again, but I liked being near her. She made me happy. She made the darkness not seem too smothering. “I want to be friends,” I explained, watching her chew her bottom lip nervously.

“How can we do that?” she asked in a low voice.

I had no idea. All I wanted to do was cuddle her up and keep her. That wasn’t an option, though. “We just do.”

The worried look in her eyes made me feel guilty. I was asking her for something that she wasn’t ready for. But I needed it.

“Okay. If that’s what you want,” she finally replied.

The professor walked in and started talking, so our conversation was over. For now.

She didn’t look at me during the entire class, and I had a problem looking at anything but her. Was the memory of what we’d done going to drive me insane? Normally, once I slept with a girl and I was over any attraction, I moved on. But something about Amanda was holding me. Was it because I was drunk and the memories are so blurry?

*

Once class was over, Amanda stood up quickly, grabbed her books, and shoved them into her backpack. She was in a hurry to get away from me. Not what I wanted.

“You have another class?” I asked, standing up and stretching.

Amanda looked over at me and her eyes zeroed in on my lower stomach. I lowered my arms slowly and my shirt covered back up the patch of skin she’d been checking out. The appreciative gleam in her eyes had me wanting to strip the damn shirt off. If that was what it took to hold her attention, I’d do it.