Page 27 of Scrimmage

This time I hope Alexi has enough sense to stay away from me. Hopefully over the weekend he found someone new to bother, and he’ll forget I exist. Luckily, I make it to class before the professor. I set my laptop out and place my sketch pad behind it. Darkness seeps from the pages so I flip to a new one. The nightmare I had haunts me. I draw the stars on the ceiling mindlessly.

“Ms. Bradshaw.” Alexi sits down next to me. I don’t acknowledge him.

Something appears on top of my sketch. A bottle of ibuprofen. I finally look up into his amused eyes. “What is this?”

“You’re hungover.”

I squint at him, trying to find a way to refuse, but my head is pounding so hard that I can feel it in my ass, so I take it. I dump four of the pills into my hand as he passes me a water bottle.

“Did you drug this?”

He grins, taking it and breaking the seal. “Fresh out of the vending machine.” The cool water soothes the back of my scratchy throat. He drops his eyes to my chest when I take the pills.

I raise my eyebrow in question. “My eyes are up here.”

He gives me a sneaky smile and pulls off his hoodie, handing it over. “Here. To help my wandering eyes.”

“I’m not giving it back."

“I didn’t expect you to.”

I notice the girls in the row in front of me glancing back and giving me the evil eye. I bare my teeth, and they promptly turn around. They don’t understand that I don’t fucking want this. They don’t understand that I’m being harassed.

If I could run out of this class screaming or punch holes in the wall, I would. I grab my phone and text Cole, begging him to show up early with extra caffeine and a phone charger because I only have fifteen percent until it dies. He enthusiastically agrees.

The professor walks in and immediately begins. I situate myself and slide back into my seat, taking the charcoal and paper with me.

“Drawing again?” Alexi whispers.

“No. You’re going to miss the lecture.”

“Good thing my study partner is smart." He winks.

I roll my eyes and keep tracing the stars.

“That stunt you pulled with the phone number was pretty slick,” he continues. “The guy from brunch?”

“Cole.”

“Right. Cole. So is he in Sig Ep?”

“That’s a weird question,” I mutter. “No. He’s not in a frat. He agrees that they’re all full of assholes who peaked in high school.”

“So he’s not your boyfriend?”

“Ew,” I blanch. “No. We’re just friends.” The twinkle in Alexi’s eye tells me I made a huge fucking mistake telling him that.

“Good. You’re out of his league.”

“And you think you’re in mine?” I huff under my breath, counting down the seconds until this class is over.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of assuming that.” He finally quiets, writing notes furiously in his notebook. They’re chaotic. I’m a mess, but if I took notes like that I would never be able to make heads or tails of them.

The professor keeps us five extra minutes. I’m already packed up by the time we’re released. I rush out, trying to escape Alexi. When I get into the hallway, Cole is leaning against the wall with two coffees in his hand. That’s enough espresso to send me into cardiac arrest. Thank God. Maybe today will be the day. Cole’s cool collected smile is practiced and so is his lean.

“You’re my fucking savior,” I groan as I take it. “And what about—?”

He holds up a white charger, flashing me a grin. “Brought it."

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