Page 6 of The Study Session

“Is that really what you think of me?” she asks with a faint laugh. I raise my eyebrows, inviting her to correct me. “That couldn't be further from the truth.”

“Enlighten me.”

She takes a deep breath and leans forward, noticeably resting her elbows on the table as if trying to prove a point.

“My family definitely couldn't afford etiquette classes. We're not some wealthy socialite family, if that's what you're thinking,” Corinne explains with an eye roll. “I know people from Glendale look at us and think we've had everything handed to us on a silver platter, but that doesn't apply to everyone. Both of my parents worked hard, and I had to bust my ass to make sure I could get into college.”

She wraps her hands nervously around the cup of tea and looks down at them as she talks. I study them for a moment, noticing how she shakes ever so slightly. Her cheeks are tinged pink, and she struggles to make eye contact with me. It's clear she's nervous, and something about that excites me. I want her to be comfortable, but knowing that she's nervous about this date means some feelings must be involved.

“You're really nervous,” I say, sitting up straight and leaning forward, close enough for me to whisper without anyone elsehearing. She looks up, her face inches away from mine. “Is this your first date ever?”

She wrinkles her eyes slightly with a mischievous smile on her lips. “No.”

I stay exactly where I am, motionless as I stare into her light blue eyes. Corinne doesn't look away from me as I expect her to. But something in her eyes shifts when she sees exactly what I'm thinking. She knows my mind wanders back to the other day on the field when she was talking to the guy in the band. I can't help but wonder who else she's been on dates with. My grip tightens around my coffee, and I take a deep breath before speaking again.

“Why don't you give me a list of their names so I can visit them then,” I say just as I sit back and stare at her from a near painful distance.

The pink on her cheeks turns red, and she looks away, pushing up her oversized glasses with three fingers. She looks away bashfully, but when she meets my eyes again I can see a hint of amusement on her face. She might have been confused about my possessiveness at first, but she likes something about it.

My phone is face down on the table in front of me, and the sudden vibration almost makes me jump. Corinne's eyes fall to it as I attempt to ignore it for a moment. It doesn't stop vibrating, which means I must have a call coming through, so I turn it around to silence it.

It’s Adrian.

My chest tightens at the idea of him calling me right now. Of course, he doesn't know anything about this date, but when Adrian calls, it's not usually good news.

“Do you need to get that?” Corinne asks, and I shake my head, pressing the silence button twice to send the call to voicemail.

“It can wait,” I say before shoving my phone in my pocket. I try to focus on the conversation again, but I can feel vibrations against my thigh as text messages come through, then more calls. After a few moments, I stand and pull the phone out of my pocket. “I'm sorry, this might be an emergency. They keep calling.”

“Of course, take it. I can wait,” Corinne says, flashing me a courteous smile before I stand and leave the table. I walk outside to the empty patio and finally answer the phone.

“What the hell took you so long answering? You ignoring me now?” Adrian's voice cuts through the speaker, anger dripping from every syllable.

“I'm busy. What is it?” I ask, not making any effort to apologize.

“Blake got in a fight with some punks, and he's really hurt. We need you to help us. We're going to find those fuckers and show them who they're messing with,” Adrian explains, practically yelling over the phone.

The word yes is on my tongue, and I'm almost ready to drop everything I'm doing to go with him and jump whoever hurt Blake. But I freeze. I turn around and stare at Corinne through the glass window as she sits in the café, nervously tucking her blond hair behind her ear. In the past, I wouldn't have thought twice about saying yes to Adrian. I would have jumped at the opportunity to roll up to someone's place and show them we're not to be messed with.

But the risk is too great now. Corinne already doesn't trust me entirely, and I want to change that. I can't do something to jeopardize my place here on the football team, and the potential relationship I have with her.

“I can't,” I say, bracing myself for Adrian's response.

There's a pregnant pause between the two of us, and I almost wonder if the call dropped. Before I can pull it away from my earto see if it's still on, I hear a sharp inhale as I clearly envision Adrian running his fingers through his hair and clenching his fists tight.

“You think you're better than us now?” Adrian asks, and before I can answer, I hear a loud crashing sound on the other side. “I guess I need to remind some people where the fuck they come from.”

I open my mouth to reply, and the distinct sound of the call hanging up is all I hear.

CHAPTER FIVE

I don't know what that phone call was about, but Jax hasn't been the same since. A part of me wants to reach out and make sure he's okay, but I don't know if that would be overstepping. There's probably a lot about his past I don't want to know about, and if reaching out to him now would open my eyes to something, I'd rather not.

Ignorance is bliss. The Jax I'm with right now is one I want to get to know more. The last thing I want is to learn something about him that makes me want to run for the hills.

“You never told me what you're actually studying here,” I say, swaying my hands at my side as the two of us slowly walk toward my dorm building. The afternoon sun quickly fades, painting vibrant orange and pink hues along the sky, illuminating the clouds to look like something from a painting.

“Right now, I'm just general education,” Jax says, the back of his hand brushing softly against mine and immediately reminding me of our kiss in the library. “Let's just say I didn't have the best education growing up. I never really found anything I was passionate about pursuing other than football.”

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