Page 8 of Dare to Fall

“Come on, girl. We’re going to be late for lunch.”

He chuckled, and the husky sound made the hairs on my arms stand tall. A shiver coursed through me as I stumbled after Paulina.

As we made it out the door, I turned around to see him walking toward the front of the room where the professor leaned against the podium. The mystery man opened his arms and took my professor into a manly embrace. And just as the doors closed, those hazel eyes turned back toward me.

Something wild unleashed itself within me. As it clawed its way to the surface, I did everything I could to shove it back down. Because I knew if it were to get out, everything I knew of this world, everything I had expertly built, would go up in smoke.

4

Garth

I leanedagainst the back wall of my brother’s lecture hall. He had been teaching in this room since he started as an assistant professor at Waterview University. Now, he was one of his field’s most coveted scientists, paving the way for younger generations to make a stamp on the world.

Movement caught my eye as I glanced toward one of the students sitting in the back row. Her entire body was turned toward me, completely unconcerned with the lecture taking place in front of her.

My gaze narrowed as I took her in. Long auburn hair draped over her shoulders in soft waves. Her smooth skin was perfectly tanned, but it didn’t have the subtle orange tint one would get from sitting in a tanning bed. No. That skin was kissed by the summer sun. Her face was perfectly symmetrical with a cute button nose that tilted slightly upward. High cheek bones gave away her Native American heritage along with those chocolate-brown eyes.

Damn, those eyes.

The warmest color of brown I’d ever seen. I could get lost in those eyes for days.

Her plush lips parted slightly as we studied one another. Transfixed on the moment growing between us, the rest of the world fell away as I drank her in like a tall glass of frigid water on a hot summer day. There was just something about her. Something that didn’t quite make sense, but I wanted to figure it out all the same.

Her friend leaned over and whispered something into her ear that made her blush the same pink color of her shirt. My gaze raked down her body, noticing that she was wearing a polo shirt and a distressed jean skirt. A glance down past her long, athletic legs revealed that she was wearing Dockers. The choice of clothing matched well for any college woman living in Florida, but it was a stark contrast to what her beauty lent itself to.

Something edgier and darker.

Judging by the look of her friend, it seemed that she was simply living up to the expectations of others, attempting to blend in with the crowd when she was clearly born to stand out—typical for someone in college looking for any method of belonging.

I smiled at my own memories of college and all the trends I tried just to find some friends while I was away from home. Not just with clothing, but my art as well. It wasn’t cool to be a mixed medium artist the entire first year I was at Parsons. I foolishly rode the wave of vogue and wasted an entire year of my academic career learning shit that didn’t even matter to me.

But we live and learn. Hopefully, this young beautiful woman before me would be brave enough to do the same.

My brother called out the dismissal for class, and I moved out of the way of the rush before turning my attention back to the beautiful woman. Much to my surprise, she was glaring at me with those piercing eyes, and for some reason, it made me laugh just as she pivoted back toward her laptop. I watched over her as her friend let out a string of words while she typed vigorously.

The pair was the last to leave the classroom, and as she made her way toward the door, I couldn’t help but take the entirety of her in. She was taller than I first suspected. Her golden-brown legs were silky smooth and toned to perfection. And the way her hips swayed made my throat tighten.

Fuck, she’s beautiful.

With those steely eyes set on mine, all coherence of the world ceased to be as I lost myself in waves of molten brown and swirls of honey. Light meeting dark. I wanted nothing more than to spend eternity painting with every color of her body, getting lost in the richness of it all. She stepped closer to me, the intoxicating scent of lilac dancing around me. I took a deep breath in, relishing in the smell of her.

And as we just stood there, inches apart, the air between us buzzed with vibrant currents of electricity. The sudden urge to reach out and touch her velvety skin overwhelmed me so much I took a step back.

“Can I help you?” I asked stupidly, saying anything to break the tension.

Her gaze was unwavering, and then her perfect little pink lips opened up as she said, “Uhhh.”

I smiled and tried to choke back a laugh, but before she could recover, her friend grabbed her by the arm and whisked her away. The sudden loss of her presence felt palpable, as though all the air in the room had been sucked away, and I was left unable to breathe.

Shaking my head to clear away the absurdity of what just happened and the unnerving sensation in my chest, I made my way down the aisle toward my brother.

“Hey, man! So glad you could make it for lunch. I’m almost done here.” He typed away at his keyboard for a second before closing the laptop and shoving it into a soft leather messenger bag.

I gave him a brief hug with a slap on the back. Then, with a glance back over my shoulder, I sawherlooking at me again. I held her gaze until the metal door finally swung shut, then I took in a deep, silent breath in an effort to cleanse my mind.

Turning back to my brother, I said, “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m glad I had some time to meet up with you today.”

He smiled at me. “I was almost worried you wouldn’t end up making it after the three unanswered calls I made last night.”

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