“I think she liked it,” Crew murmurs, leaning over to scan the paper.
I turn toward him, not realizing he’s so close. “I’m mad at you.”
“I know.” He drifts his fingers across the top of my hand. I snatch it away from his reach. “I’ll explain everything later. I got called in. I was interviewed all morning.”
I’m frowning. “Interviewed? By who?”
“I’ll tell you later. Hey.” I blink at him. “You want to give this presentation now?”
“What? No way.” I shake my head.
“Come on, we can get it out of the way. Looking at her lack of constructive comments, I’m thinking we’ve got this thing on lock. We could give it in a couple of minutes, tops.”
“I don’t like speaking in public,” I admit.
“Are you serious? You’re always talking to people.”
“Not in front of a full class of students. Talking about myself and comparing and contrasting between the two of us. That’s just—intimidating.”
“Look, we’re going to be fine. Just follow the outline. Follow me. I won’t lead you astray.” He smiles, and I think with that smile alone Crew could lead me astray forever and ever.
“I don’t know…”
“We’re doing it.” He shoots his hand up despite my cry of protest. The moment Skov spots him, she nods in his direction.
“Please tell me you two are volunteering.”
He sets his hand on his desk. “We are.”
“All right. I’ll give you a few minutes to prepare. Let me know when you’re ready.” Skov makes her way to her desk, the rest of the classroom talking among themselves.
I glare at Crew, anxiety over this sudden presentation leaving me cold. A little shaky. “I am so not ready for this.”
“Wren.” He grabs hold of both of my hands and gives them a shake, his gaze boring into mine. “You’ve got this. It won’t be that hard. We’ll talk for three minutes tops, and we’ll be sharing that time. Ninety seconds. That’s it. I know you can do it.”
The way he’s looking at me, as if I can conquer the world, fills me with the tiniest flicker of courage.
“I don’t know…”
He squeezes my hands again. “Let’s go over the outline.”
So we do, me reading my parts to myself while he gives me pointers. I’ve seen Crew talk in front of a class before and it never seems to bother him. He has this effortless way about himself, a confidence I only wish I had.
“You’ve got this. Come on.” He rises to his feet and I follow on shaky legs, walking behind him to the front of the classroom. Skov watches us, a faint smile on her face.
“Are you ready?”
Crew nods. “Yep.”
Her gaze falls on me. “How about you, Wren?”
I nod. “Yes,” I lie.
No matter how much I prepare, I won’t be ready. I guess Crew is right.
We should just get this over with.
Crew starts talking and I follow his lead, interjecting with my observations. He explains our differences, while I offer our similarities, and after a while, we’ve established a rhythm, bouncing back and forth between each other. I’m feeling more confident. Standing taller, speaking louder. There are a few bored faces in the crowd, but for the most part, they seem interested and I have a realization near the end.
At least we’re doing this without Natalie here.
We’re just about to wrap it up when Crew mentions one last observation.
“I know I’ve talked mostly about our differences while Wren spoke of our similarities. I do have to mention that before I got to know Wren, I wasn’t a big fan of lollipops.” His gaze meets mine, a smirk on his face, and I suddenly want to die. “But she’s convinced me that they’re delicious, especially when she shares them.”
He pulls a couple of Blow Pops out of his pocket and starts tossing them, one directly at Ezra, who catches it with one hand.
Okay. He’s trying to make me die of embarrassment. Clearly.
“And that’s it,” I say, my voice weak.
Skov starts clapping and so does the rest of the class. “Interesting last point, Crew. Not sure why you felt the need to make it, but I’m glad you two could find some commonalities after all. I knew you would.”
“Thanks, Ms. Skov,” he drawls.
“Not the best usage of visuals, but I did spring this on you so I won’t mark you down for it,” Skov continues.
Smiling briefly over at Skov, I rush back to my seat, Crew following after me. I’m mortified he mentioned the lollipop thing, but no one else knows what it means.
Just us.
And if I’m being honest with myself…
I like that we have a secret, only the two of us can share.
“We still getting together tonight?” he asks once we’re both seated and Skov is trying to con more people into giving their presentation early. “We have a lot to catch up on.”
“You’re right. Like where you were earlier today.” I let my emotions shine through, my irritation obvious.
It doesn’t even faze him.
“I can’t talk about that now. Maybe later? Like tonight?”
This is a moment of truth. Agreeing to see him later means our “relationship” is most likely going to progress.
Sexually.
Am I ready for it? Is this what I really want?
“I’ve missed you,” he adds when I still haven’t said anything.
I lean in closer to him, not wanting other people to hear me. “I can’t believe you brought up the lollipops.”
“Blow Pops are now officially my favorite candy.” He’s smiling. Actually, it’s more like he’s— Grinning.
“It was embarrassing,” I whisper.
“No one caught on, Birdy. Don’t worry about it.” He slouches in his seat, something he does often, and I hate to admit it but, he does it really well. Why do I find his sprawling so attractive? “You’re cute when you blush.”
“You used to hate me. Is that why you still torture me?”
“I don’t hate you anymore,” he murmurs, his gaze warm. “I actually kind of like you.”
I arch a brow. “Only kind of?”
“Do you still hate me?” he asks, avoiding my question.
“When you do stuff like drag me up in front of the classroom and mention one of my most embarrassing moments, yes.” I sniff.
“Most embarrassing? Really? I thought it was hot.”
I’m growing hotter just thinking about it.
“Been thinking a lot about a repeat performance,” he continues. “Though we don’t have to involve candy this time.”
I glance down at my desk, letting my hair fall forward. I’ve been thinking about doing it again too. I’ve been curious about his body. As in, I want to see it.
All of it.
“Don’t get shy on me now,” he teases.
Turning toward him, I brush my hair away from my face. “You know I’m shy.”
“Shy and sexy. A good girl with a secret bad side. I like that about you, Birdy.”
“Really?”
He nods. Changes the subject. “I wish we could get out of here for the weekend.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“I’m sick of this place.” His voice drips with disgust. “It’s been a rough week. Today was brutal.”
I wish I knew what happened, but I’m sure he’ll eventually tell me.
“This week has been…a lot,” I agree.
His hot gaze lingers on me. “Would you run away with me for the weekend?”
I laugh at his joke, but he doesn’t laugh with me. His expression remains deadly serious.
Wait a minute.
“You actually want to run away?”
“We could leave tonight. Come back Sunday.”
“What would I tell my parents?”
“Nothing. You wouldn’t tell them at all.”
I glance around the room, watching as Skov goes over an outline with someone. She’s not paying attention to us. No one is.
“Finals are next week,” I remind him. “We can’t just leave. We need to study.”
“Really, Wren? You’re going to turn me down to study?” He arches a brow.
“I’ve never just—ran away before, Crew. My parents know where I am, at all times.”
“Tell them you’re going out of town with a friend, because that’s what we are, right? Friends?” His sly smile reminds me we are anything but friends.
“I’m not an impulsive person,” I say primly.
“Sometimes we need to change it up. Come on. I’ll make a couple of calls. Find us a hotel somewhere.”
“In the mountains?” The words slip from my mouth as if I have no control.