Page 17 of His Fractured Girl

“You didn’t wake me. Lukas just dropped me off.”

“Lukas? I thought you hung out with Willow last night?” They were supposed to be going over to Willow’s apartment and baking cookies together. Having a girls’ night.

“Lukas and Brennon ended up showing up and totally bogarted our entire evening.” She rolls her eyes. “Lukas claimed it was payback for crashing his party.”

“So, did you and Lukas make up?”

A look crosses her face that I can’t quite decipher. Her cheeks are turning red as if she’s recalling their argument and getting fired up again.

“Yeah, we’re good. So, tell me. How did the date go?”

I guess I’m not going to get any details, but that’s okay. I’m more than happy to talk about Travis.

“I’m going out with him again tonight.” I feel the butterflies rise in my stomach. Just the thought of him shoos all the bad memories away and makes me feel calm.

“Aww. Yay.” She claps her hands. “So, I take it the date went well since he got you to agree to a second?”

It went better than well. It was the best date of my life. Not that I have anything to compare it to, but it’s better than anything I could’ve dreamed of. Travis was sweet and fun, and such a gentleman. All throughout dinner I wanted to pinch myself and make sure it was real. It seemed too good to be true.

“It was pretty amazing, Torre. We clicked on every level. It’s so easy to talk to him, and he was such a gentleman.” And the way he made me feel… For the briefest moment, I was nervous about letting things go so far; I was worried I was setting myself up again for mass destruction. But it felt right. There were no red flags or alarm bells going off inside my head telling me I should put the brakes on. And to be honest, I wanted him to erase the memory of Maddock. I wanted Travis’s touch to make me forget.

“Oh, I love that so much. You deserve a nice guy, Soph. And Travis is such a sweetheart. So, what are you two going to do tonight?”

“We haven’t decided yet.”

Whatever we do, it doesn’t even matter. I just want to spend time with him.

The message popsup in the corner of my computer screen and the spark of giddiness floods in when I see Travis’s name.

Ms,Adams,

Please see me during office hours. We still have the matter of your extra credit assignment to discuss.

Sincerely,

TA Travis Hunt

I glance over my shoulder,but his head is locked on his screen. His hands typing away, transcribing Professor Maxwell’s lecture to post online later.

Dear Mr. Hunt,

I was under the impression that I had earned back all of the points. I thought I’d exceeded all expectations.

I’ve been rereadingthe text he sent me all morning, feeling the pounding in my chest every time I read over the worddevoted. I chance another glance over my shoulder and see the smirk on his face. I’m eagerly waiting to see what he comes back with.

Ms. Adams,

You certainly did exceed any and all expectations, but only half of your assignment has been submitted. There’s still another part, which needs to be completed in person. If youcome by during office hours, we can arrange a time tonight for completion.

Tingles rundown my spine as I think about the way he touched me. It was like he knew exactly what I needed. The pressure. The pace. I’d give anything for another date… another round. But what fun would it be if I gave in so easily? Then our little game would be over.

Mr. Hunt,

Thank you for the opportunity, but my schedule is a bit booked for this evening. Could we make arrangements for another day?

I smirkas I hit send, this time refraining from looking in his direction.

Ms. Adams,

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