Page 52 of Raise Hell

If Drake doesn’t already have a partner, it’s because he turned down everyone who asked him.

“Anyone else?” Dr. Hewey calls, sounding bored. The classroom is silent as a graveyard. Nobody knows what the reaction to this turn of events is supposed to be, myself included. If it’s a joke, we’re all waiting for the punchline. “Good. I hope you have all chosen wisely. Switch seats so you are sitting with your partners. Here are the project rubrics. I will give you some time today to start working, but most of the project will need to be completed on your own time. I hope you all have chosen partners whose company you enjoy.”

Someone makes a snorting noise, and the tension seems to break.

A girl near the front jumps up to help pass out the assignment papers like a good little lemming. Everyone else returns to their conversations.

Drake slides his chair closer to mine. I resist the urge to recoil.

The heat of his body burns against my side, even though at least a foot still separates us. The force of his presence extends well beyond the boundaries of his skin. I feel it wash over me like crashing waves even when we aren’t touching.

I glance around, but no one is paying obvious attention to us. I’m sure at least a few people are discretely eavesdropping.

Around here, someone is always listening.

“I’m getting a little tired of the games.”

Drake doesn’t so much as blink. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

“What’s your play, Van Koch?” I ask. “Planning to tank my grade on purpose, or something?”

He shifts to put his elbow on the desk and rests his head on his closed fist as he watches me.

“Not likely. That would require letting myself go down with you. Grades are shared.”

“And that wouldn’t be worth it to you?”

“My, someone has a high opinion of themselves.” The mockery in his voice is mild as a half-smile curves his lips. “Relax. Nothing is worth risking my 4.0 GPA.”

“It’s weird that nobody asked the guy with the highest grade in the class to be their partner. Like so weird, it’s basically impossible to believe.”

“You never know how these things will shake out.” His gaze passes over my face, lingering on my lips. “Or would you rather work on the project alone? We all know how passionate you are about economics. I’d hate to hold you back.”

Jerk.

But he isn’t wrong. If I insist on working alone, I’ll definitely get a failing grade. Even though I’ve done more studying this week than in the rest of my life combined, I’m still way behind the rest of the class.

But if Drake is building up to some grander humiliation, then I’m not going to make it easy for him.

“Maybe I will just work alone.”

When I raise my hand to get Dr. Hewey’s attention, Drake grabs my wrist and yanks it back down. He doesn’t hold me hard enough to hurt, but I’m not strong enough to pull away without making a scene.

“I told you to relax.” He presses my hand against my leg, holding it there for a long moment as if to make some sort of point before letting me go.

“This isn’t happening.”

“Don’t be stupid. Everyone else is partnered up.”

“I won’t work with you.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

That seems to be a running theme around here.

The girl with the stack of stapled papers in her hand stops next to Drake and slowly places one on his desk. She hesitates for a second with a coy smile on her face. Any excuse is enough to talk to him, even one as flimsy as eye contact.

But Drake doesn’t even look at her, and she finally flounces away in a huff.

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