Page 122 of Study Buddies

“When you redo the ponytail.” Kyle made some kind of motion with his hands on his head that made no sense to me. “You know, when you bend over and let your hair fall forward and then gather it up. When you bend over in those skin-tight leggings that make your ass look… shit, what was I saying? Oh yeah, then when you pop back up, the ponytail looks perfect.”

“I do that?” Embarrassment flooded my system. Bending over at the waist in a houseful of men was probably not the best idea ever.

“Allthe time.” He drew the words out, and the expression on his face was downright wicked.

It was too intense to look at for long, so I trained my gaze on his empty plate. But I couldn’t help the way my lips twitched upward. “And while I’m doing that, you’re sure it’s myhairyou’re watching?”

“Absolutely.” Amusement filled his voice. “Why, what else would I be watching?”

“I don’t even want to think about it.”

“As I said, men are idiots.” He grinned. “I have no idea why young women don’t give up on us altogether and just make out with each other and let me watch.”

A laugh escaped as I shook my head. “Not sure what to do with that statement. It ended in a very different place than it began.”

He scoffed. “And you call yourself a tutor.”

A waiter showed up. “More champagne, sir?” Kyle accepted, but I put my hand over my glass. One was enough for me. I needed to keep my wits about me on a date with a man like Kyle.

“Why are all the waiters men?” I asked after he left.

“Because the female ones are called waitresses.” He cocked his head to the side, giving me a disappointed look. “Seriously, I may need to find a new tutor.”

I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean. All the wait staff are men.”

“Notmen, pledges.”

“They’re pledging a fraternity?”

“One of several. Which makes them cheap labor.”

“Can we get them to finish clearing out the basement?”

He laughed. “Tempting.”

“Jayden’s got a whole plan for how it’ll look down there. He’s got every corner plotted out.” I smiled. “And it’s not even his house.”

Kyle shrugged. “He can do what he wants.”

“Don’t you care what it looks like down there?”

He shook his head. “Not really. I know what I’m good at. Sports. Carrying heavy shit up and down the stairs. Making pretty girls blush. I don’t need to be a great brain.”

“You’re smart, too.”

“Not smart enough to major in cryptocurrency like the chief nerd himself.”

Why did he keep bringing up Lucas? “Cryptology,” I corrected.

“Whatever.”

I studied his face, and a memory surfaced. “You know his major is Cryptology.”

Kyle looked irritated. “Yeah, so? I was making a joke.”

“At your own expense.”

“Again, I repeat, so?”

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