Page 35 of Merry Kissmas

They both laugh, and I toss a wadded napkin at Kenzie since she’s closer.It falls on Nolan.

“Trying to kill my kid?”she jokes.

They both sober up and stare at me.I guess it’s time I let myself remember the humiliation I felt that day.If anything, it will help solidify exactly why I shouldn’t give him another chance.

I’d woken to a text message from Pierce asking how it was possible that having me in his bed for two nights had already ruined him.He wanted to see me that night and said he’d be available for dinner.

I stopped at the café, ordered a coffee, and added cinnamon, thinking of him and the comfort I’d felt around him that weekend.I’d never been someone who got close to someone I was dating really fast.I made friends quickly, but when it came to relationships, they were slow to build.Mostly because I was the youngest Russell.The little sister of Tre and Carter.The boys I’d grown up with had been intimidated by that fact.

And truth was, if they didn’t want to date me because they were scared of my brothers, then I didn’t want to date them anyway.

I was pretty sure I was in this love bubble that Pierce had built around us.

We figured out when and where we’d go to dinner, and I told him I’d meet him there, but he said he wanted to pick me up.I sent him my address and that’s where our messages left off.

I walked into my first class of the day excited to finally take some classes that had to do with my major, unlike my freshman year back at the University of Oregon.The minute I stepped into the room and stood at the top of the stairs of the lecture hall, something felt different, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

I stepped down to the first row because I was the kind of student who wanted to be front and center, and that’s when I stopped dead in my tracks.

Pierce was standing at the end of the other row, his gaze on me as if it had followed me since I walked through the door.

I smiled, wondering why he was in this class, but we’d never talked about what each of us did.I thought maybe he’d started school late since he was older than me, but what were the chances we’d be in the same class?At the same time, I didn’t care.I was just elated to see him.

“Hey,” I said, and he looked over his shoulder as though he was checking for someone.

I noticed right away that the energy around him was different than the weekend, different even than his morning texts.

“I thought you were a tourist?”he asked in a blunt tone that made me draw back.

“Yeah, kind of.I’m studying abroad this semester.”I smiled like an idiot who wasn’t connecting the dots.

“So, you’re in this class?”

I nodded then forced a smile.“Are you too?Want to sit next to each other?I promise not to cheat.”I laughed, but he didn’t, and my stomach sunk.

Oh my god, he had a girlfriend.Although there had been no trace of another woman at his flat, I figured that had to be it.

“Is she in this class?”I asked, attempting to restrain my fury.

His head reared back, and he stared at me the way I assumed I was staring at him.Both of us confused.“What?”

I didn’t appreciate his tone—it was rude and dismissive.It made me think that I had been so wrong about him.

“Your girlfriend,” I said.

Of course he had a girlfriend.He was gorgeous, and I’d seen all the girls’ heads turn when we were walking around the city.

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, take your seats.”The man who I assumed was the professor came in looking very scholarly in his tweed jacket and slacks.In my head, I envisioned him in a leather chair, sucking at the end of a pipe.

I took the first seat by me, but Pierce slid two seats over, grabbing his bag from the seat next to me.Okay then.Tears welled in my eyes, but I sucked them back.How could I have been so wrong about him?

The professor didn’t waste any time.“I’m Professor Jorgensen, and welcome to Principles of Marketing.If you’re not supposed to be in this class, then find your way out.”

No one left.

“Okay then.Along with me, you get the assistance of a teacher’s assistant this year.Stand up, Mr.Wainwright.”He signaled in Pierce’s direction, and I turned my head to look behind Pierce, but Pierce was the one who stood.

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