How mortifying. Feeling my own face heat up, I lowered my attention to the books on my desk just as an arm swept them away.
“Wha...?” I looked up to realize Ten had grabbed everything that had been on my desktop as well as Caroline’s and Reese’s and was now holding them hostage under his arm.
“So now that we’ve established Hamilton’s perfect, and gorgeous, and heroic, and all that awesome shit, can we please find our real seats?”
“This is my real seat,” Caroline argued, scowling up at him. “Now give me by book back.”
Ten snorted. “I don’t think so, sweetheart. We are not sitting in loser lane.” When the guy who’d been sitting next to Caroline lifted his face from the book he was reading, Ten tossed him a chin bob. “No offence.”
“Yeah, I think he’s still offended,” Caroline reported dryly.
“Then maybe he shouldn’t be such a loser sitting in loser lane,” Ten tossed back before he took the stairs two at a time only to shoo off a pair of guys to get five desks in a row at the very back of the room.
When we all turned to watch him set our books back on the desks up there but didn’t move to join him, he sent us a brief frown and waved us up. “Well, come on already.”
“I think he wants us to sit with him,” Reese whispered in a conspiratorial manner.
“I don’t want to sit with him,” Caroline huffed, scowling as she jerked to her feet. Hooking her thumb over her shoulder, she motioned to the guy still gaping at us after Ten had yanked his attention out of his book. “He called this poor loser a loser. That’s just wrong.”
She didn’t seem to realize she’d just done the same thing as she angrily spun away and was the first to march up the aisle so she could sit at the desk next to Ten, where he was already slumped back in his chair with his feet kicked up onto the back of the empty seat in front of him.
The three of us still remaining on the ground floor shared an amused glance.
Then Quinn swept out a gallant arm. “Ladies first.”
Reese grinned at him and patted his arm. “Such a gentleman.” Then she found her shoes under the desk, slipped them on, and started up the steps toward Ten and Caroline.
Which left just Quinn and me.
Realizing we were alone, and he wasn’t going to move until I did, I sprang to my feet. “Oh! Uh, thank you.”
He fell into step just behind me. “I didn’t realize you were talking this class.” When he leaned in so I could hear him, I immediately smelled his spicy scent. “We’ll have to share our schedule to see if we have anything else in common. I know Cora’s taking Early American History with me next hour.”
I glanced back as I reached the last row. “I have biology next hour.”
He brightened. “I love biology. It’s one of my favorite subjects.”
I hated biology. And I think he read that answer clearly from the expression on my face because he only grinned wider. “I took it last year from Professor Gilcrest. I still have all my notes if you want them to help you study.”
I stopped in my tracks and spun around. “Oh my God, really? That’s amazing. I have biology with Gilcrest.” I began to bounce on my toes, which made him chuckle and in turn made me realize how dorkily giddy I was behaving. “I mean...thank you.” I cleared my throat and smoothed back my hair. “I’d appreciate that.” Beyond mortified, I spun away and hurried the last few feet to the seat next to Reese.
Quinn took the seat on the other side of me. “Not a problem. I can bring them when I pick up Cora tonight for our date.”
The mention of my roommate cooled my temperament even more. My face heated with shame. I hadn’t thought of Cora once during the past few seconds as I’d walked up the steps with her boyfriend.
I was such an awful, awful friend.
“Thank you,” I repeated, not even daring to look his way, though it was impossible to miss him next to me. His mere presence took up so much room, his aura invaded my personal space.
“Selfie time,” Reese announced, leaning in toward me so she could aim her camera phone at the both of us. “Quinn, get in here so I can send this to Mason and let him know who I’m sharing a class with.”
Quinn obediently came in closer until his face was nearly brushing mine. Reese was squished in closer to me on the other side, but she still didn’t feel nearly as close as he did. It only took her half a second to click off a picture. It felt like hours, though, that the warmth from his face radiated into the side of my ear.
Then Reese’s phone flashed and she jerked away with a bubbly, “Thanks.”
Quinn shifted away while Reese commanded Caroline and Ten to do the same pose with her as she’d made Quinn and me get into. Caroline paled but agreed, while Ten flipped her off before crossing his arms over his chest and tipping his head back as he closed his eyes.
“Where’s Noel?” Quinn asked his roommate.