Page 7 of Confusing Hearts

“Nothing,” I assured her.

A pleasant tingle shot up my spine just as Anita jumped up from her seat and threw her arms around the source of said tingle. I bit back a hiss, swallowing hard to grasp some kind of hold on reality.

Mate.The word kept playing on repeat, echoing in my ears.

“Chase, this is . . .” Anita was cut off before she could finish the introductions as the professor called the class to order.

I knew I was being rude, but I was just so shocked I didn’t know what to do. Chase. His name was Chase. The last thing I needed was a mental image of what my mate would have looked like, but I stiffened, stood tall, and pulled my shoulders back, not thinking of what it would do to my breasts until I heard his sharp intake and somehow knew he had noticed.

I slowly turned to meet chocolate-brown eyes shining with confusion. I heard him sniff the air around him and saw his forehead crinkle. Dark eyes searched mine for any sign of . . . recognition? Answers? I wasn’t sure what he was hoping to find, but it felt as though he could see all the way to my soul. My palms began to sweat and I knew my heart rate increased, no matter how much I willed it not to.

“Chase Westin,” the professor called, and it seemed to jolt us both back to the present.

“Yes, sir,” said a deep voice that rumbled through my entire body. It wasn’t until the edges of my vision began to darken that I remembered to breathe.

“It is quite the honor as always to have you in class. Would you care to assist today?”

He turned to me and smiled. Two swoon-worthy dimples popped out as he got up and walked to the front of the class.

“Sure,” he said, grabbing up a marker and scribbling numbers on the white board as fast as the professor could read them off.

I’m not sure I heard a lot of what was said and I struggled to follow along, doing more staring than taking notes.

At the end of class, Chase was held up and I found my escape, but not before I heard the teacher ask him—no, beg him, really—to be his TA for the semester.Great,I thought. He’s gorgeous, panty-melting dimples gorgeous, and he’s got to be smart, too. Why couldn’t he be a panther? Life would have been so much easier for us both.

I headed to my next class, which was now computer graphics. I was really looking forward to it. I didn’t have a lot of artistic ability, but I had taught myself how to manipulate and change my photographs to better enhance them. I knew it was a more advanced class than I was probably prepared for, but I was up for the challenge, excited, and ready.

The room was lined with computers, two to a table with about a dozen tables in all. Most already had two people sitting at them, and a few with only one, but I chose the single entirely open table instead. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans as I took my seat.

Not five minutes later, the tingling sensation returned. Shocked, I couldn’t stop myself from turning to look for the source.

Chase Westin strolled in. He stopped and looked around until our eyes met. He flashed his dimple-perfect smile my way and headed right for me. My eyes widened, and my heart raced as I looked around for an escape.

“Hey, it’s you,” he said, his eyes still looking worried and unsure. I got the impression that Chase was not the kind of guy who was used to being unsure of himself. “I didn’t know you were in this class, and I would definitely have noticed.” He ran a hand through thick brown hair and I sensed he was as confused by what was happening between us as I was.

“There was a dropout last week, so I was able to grab the last spot.” For some reason, I felt guilty, like some stalker invading his space as I said it. I contemplated grabbing my things and fleeing the room.

Then he smiled at me again. “Well, Friday the dropout abandoned that very seat, so looks like you and I will be partners this semester.”

“What?” I asked a little too sharply. It was the way he said ‘partners’ with a cocky expression that unnerved me. I couldn’t be his partner, not in the way my body was already craving. I suddenly realized it was going to be a very long semester.

Chase didn’t mention anything about the bond, though I caught him looking at me in that way that made me feel raw and exposed, like he was searching for answers eluding him. I understood that look.

I wasn’t sure what Chase was, but I knew he couldn’t be panther. Could what I was feeling not be the bonding call after all? I had all the symptoms I’d been told about, but it didn’t really seem possible. Could we react similar to just desire? Chase Westin was a very handsome man. Could that really be all it was?

Then I remembered I had felt him before I ever saw him. That threw a kink in my rationale.

“You going to stare at the screen all day, or work on the lesson?” Chase’s deep voice jogged me from my thoughts. He was grinning when I looked over and my cheeks burned.

“Um . . .”

He passed me his notes and my stomach rolled. I was in over my head. None of it made sense. It was like staring at a foreign language.

“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry. I’m only taking this class for fun. Click here,” he said, pointing at an app on the screen. “Do you have a picture on your phone you can use?”

I shrugged, because I didn’t know what kind of picture was needed. Our hands collided as he reached for my phone. For that brief moment, everything else in the world faded away. We stared at each other, seemingly locked into the same shrinking universe where only Chase and I existed. He blinked and the moment was gone.

Scrolling through my phone, he laughed and smiled at the pictures he found.

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