Page 24 of Oar Than Friends

‘Kate!’ Oz snapped, yanking me out of my spiralling panic. ‘What have you been hearing?’

His eyes had hardened when I next looked into them; the glisten of excitement he’d greeted me with had vanished. The pale Cambridge blue of his eyes had darkened to a shade more suiting of Oxford. It wasn’t quite a glare I was now on the receiving end of, but it was more than a frown, and it certainly wasn’t friendly.

Imogen’s words floated in front of me.

‘That you’re arrogant. Ruthless … slept with most of Oxford and half of Cambridge … womanizer. Arrogant.’ I repeated.

Even as I spoke them aloud it was hard to believe they were associated with the guy I’d met. The one who’d teased me. The one who’d given me his sweater, shared a bottle of gin, and listened to me talk about Jake. The one I’d confided in about opening my lobster roll restaurant, and not wanting to study medicine. The one who understood exactly what I was feeling, because he felt it. The one now standing in front of me, his jaw clenched hard.

Even angry he was breathtakingly handsome.

Though maybe that’s how he got all the girls into bed.

‘I see …’ a single thick eyebrow disappeared under the peak of his cap, ‘anything else?’

I swallowed thickly while trying to stay as still as possible.

‘Kate. What else have you heard? Tell me,’ he asked through gritted teeth.

‘Nothing. I’ve heard nothing. This was a mistake, and you shouldn’t be here. I’m not the type of girl you’re looking for.’ My voice trailed off and I could feel my shoulders desperate to curl in under his piercing stare, but I held firm.

His nostrils flared as he breathed out. ‘And what exactly is the type of girl I’m looking for?’

‘I … I …’ I stuttered, as every word I had in my vocabulary seemed to have vanished into thin air.

‘Okay, well while you think on that, let me assure you that I am not rowing’s answer to Hugh Hefner, and I havenotslept with half of Cambridge university. Was there anything else I need to dispute?’

I shook my head, mutely.

‘You believed it all,’ he whispered, almost to himself, though I could still make out a hefty dose of hurt in his tone.

‘It doesn’t matter what I believe. You’re the president. Of Oxford.’

He waited, looking at me just like he had last week whenever I needed to provide further information.

‘You’re the enemy,’ I clarified.

‘Are you serious?’

I didn’t know what I was, and my head was so heavy I had to force myself to nod. ‘I’ve got a medical degree tostart and finish, piles of coursework, not to mention all the training. I don’t have time for anything else.’

‘Wow,’ he replied, his stare hardening another degree. ‘It seems we were both wrong, because up until ten minutes ago I thought you were exactly the type of girl I’m looking for, but alas.’

He hissed out his final word, the ice-cold tone of his accent sending goosebumps over my skin, and my mouth drew into a hard line.

His eyes narrowed just as mine did, and soon it became clear that neither one of us had any more to say. Yet neither of us seemed to be able to leave, or maybe neither of uswantedto leave.

Except he wasn’t the one who’d get in serious trouble if we were caught, and from the way he’d waltzed into the girls’ bathroom it was clear he did whatever he wanted.

He was right about one thing, I’d been wrong about him.

The only thing I knew for certain – I had to get out of here and as far away as I could from his piercing stare and the intoxicating scent which was still buried in the sweater he’d given me.

‘I have to go.’ I spun on my heels and wrenched open the door, sprinting down the corridor to find the girls before he could follow.

Tears prickled in my throat. I was so angry I was expecting them to burst forth any moment. Yet as my eyes began stinging, I realized they weren’t angry tears.

And the dull ache in my chest was in fact a crack, widening by the second.

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