Page 79 of Confusing Hearts

Without thinking, I reached for her hand, threading her fingers between mine. I needed that physical contact as much as I needed air to breathe. She looked over and smiled and my world righted itself again. She scooted in her seat a little closer to me.

It wasn’t until the end of class, as the whispers began, that I even realized what I had done. My heightened wolf hearing tuned in quickly to the gossip line running rampant throughout the room the moment someone said “Lockhardt.”

“Did you see Chase Westin with Tessa Lockhardt? They were looking pretty cozy in class. Can you believe it?” one girl said as we were leaving class.

She was near the aisle and when we reached her, I leaned in and whispered to my eager audience. “That’s Jenna, not Tessa. If you insist on spreading freaking gossip, at least get her damn name right.” She flushed, as did the two girls with her caught talking about us. I pointed to my ears. “Benefits of being of a wolf.”

Jenna was waiting for me at the door.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“I’m sorry. Seems every eye in the room was watching us today. I shouldn’t have reached for you like that.”

She looked back into the classroom as the girls I had just spoken to scrambled to look away and pretend they weren’t continuing to watch us. To my surprise Jenna just shrugged.

“Honestly, my best friend knows, my sister knows, screw the rest of them. Let them gossip. Who would believe them anyway? Chase Westin doesn’t do girlfriends. Haven’t you heard?” she said with a straight face. If it wasn’t for the twinkle in her eye, I’d have thought she was being serious.

“Girlfriend, huh?” I teased. “You really want to be my girlfriend?”

She gave me a look like she was judging my sanity.

“Let’s see, if you were my girlfriend, I’d walk you to your next class.”

She laughed, “And where else are we headed right now?”

I shrugged and grinned. “I would hold your hand, ‘cause it’s the only way I could keep from touching you all the time, everywhere,” I said, lowering my voice and watching her pupils dilate to my insinuation. I held out my hand and she took it with a nervous giggle.

“I’d steal a kiss when I could.” I brought our joined hands up and kissed the back of her hand as she sighed. “And I’m pretty sure I have my old letterman jacket I could dust off for you to wear. Maybe dig out my class ring. We could even go to the next school dance together.”

She stopped and let go of my hand, smacking me in the arm.

“You are not as funny as you think you are,” she said, laughing.

“Yes I am. I’m hysterical,” I told her.

The gossip continued to spread around campus. Jenna ignored it. I tried not to encourage it. I didn’t realize the news of me having a girlfriend would cause other girls, especially the Thetas, to become even more aggressive. It was like I was no longer unreachable. I think it gave hope to several that if Jenna could tempt me, then they’d have a chance, too. I wanted to scream out loud, “She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my mate and none of you will ever compare,” every time one of them tried to get close to me.

Wasn’t it just a week ago they were questioning my mating status? Did they really forget that quickly, or was the thought of a wolf and a panther just too much for them to even consider?

By Thursday I’d had it. After my last class, I went straight to over to the panther house. Tessa answered the door when I knocked.

“Hey, Tessa. Is Jenna around?” I asked.

She nodded and smiled. “It’s crazy how easily you can tell us apart. Even our own parents can’t do that.”

I smiled. “I’ve got that built-in Jenna-detector that’s all. But I’ll tell you, you confused the hell out of me at first.”

She laughed. “I hadn’t really thought about that, but yeah you were acting a little weird that first week or two.”

“Yeah well, I didn’t know there were two of you,” I said.

“There’s not,” she assured me.

I grinned back at her. “Touché. You are correct about that. So, where can I find her?”

“Come on in.”

I followed Tessa down a hallway lined with doors. She knocked on the second door on the left before opening it and peeking her head in.

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