Page 27 of Trust Me

Jasmine whips around, facing me with determination in her eyes. “I’m not scared of you.”

I step into her space, my bare, glistening chest mere inches from hers. I so badly want to close the space and feel what it would be like to have her body pressed against mine, but I stop myself.

“Then come in the hot tub with me tonight,” I propose to her.

I’m playing with fire, but at the moment, I don’t care enough to stop.

She turns around, walking away from me to our door, where she unlocks it with her key. I follow in right behind her, about to ask her if she heard me, knowing damn well she did.

I don’t have to say anything though, because she turns around to face me once more, looking more confident than she did seconds ago. “I’ll pass. It’s late and I have an early class.”

It shocks me that I feel disappointed in her response, because part of me was hoping she’d do it. Not that anything could happen, but I was curious to see it through. She’s also the only woman to reject me, and I hate how much I like it.

“All right, dolcezza. Have a good night,” I coo, leaving her as I head to my room where I strip and step into the hot tub.

Heat engulfs me, the jets soothing my exhausted muscles, but it does nothing to ease my mind. It’s filled with thoughts of Jasmine, which is becoming my new normal and she’s only been here one fucking day.

This is going to be a problem.

Chapter 13

Jasmine

It’s the first Friday of the semester, which means I’m exhausted and looking forward to a weekend spent doing nothing.

Except I can’t sit here and do nothing.

I need to go over the notes from my classes this week, do the readings for next week, work on content for Minniebakes, and clean my room. It’s only been four days and the space is already messy.

If Elio stepped foot in my room, I think he’d have a heart attack.

Speaking of Elio, we’ve fallen into a comfortable routine. I make breakfast, we have small talk where I usually roll my eyes at him and give him a smart-ass remark. He grins, and then we part ways for the day.

At night, he cooks us dinner and I eat with him at the table. Then I retreat to my room, where I’ve been hiding whenever he’s home because of our interaction the other night.

Seeing Elio shirtless, his perfectly-chiseled body shining with sweat, I felt things only my vibrator can usually make me feel. It was bad, and that’s why I’ve been slightly avoiding him.

I nearly accepted his offer the other night, until I remembered that we shouldn’t. Besides, I’m not ready for that anyway.

When you have never been kissed, the event in itself becomes overhyped in your mind. I do want to get it over with, yet at the same time I get stressed thinking about it.

Kissing is one of the most intimate things in my mind, because it’s a way to express so many different things. It’s passion, love, desire, longing, and so much more. At least, that’s what my books say.

So I don’t want to experience that with just anyone.

Camille and I are currently on our way to the athletes’ cafeteria to grab lunch. Even though I’m no longer on the volleyball team, it’s still where I feel the most comfortable and they have the best food options on campus.

Once inside, we both head over to the panini press and make our own sandwiches at the DIY panini bar.

“Is this bread egg-free?” I ask the server, who retreats to confirm with someone else.

After the server confirms it, I pile my bread with hummus, spinach, tomatoes, and cucumbers, topping it with jalapeños and cheese. Camille pairs hers with avocado, lettuce, red onion, and falafel.

After pressing them, we make our way to a booth beside the windows that overlook the football field. We eat our lunch, discussing our latest assignment, when a familiar face comes into view.

“Jay Bay Bay!” Theo screams, literally, from across the cafeteria. All eyes turn to look at the person he’s looking at, which is unfortunately me. I want to sink lower into my seat from the attention, but instead, I wave and smile at Aurora’s friend, who’s slowly becoming mine too.

Theo’s a year younger than me, now the starting quarterback for RLU. He’s known for his witty antics and weird nicknames, making me like him that much more.

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