Page 23 of Changing the Play

I follow him to the door and shut it behind him when he walks out. I let out a heavy sigh as I make my way to the couch. After spendinghours with Darcy’s enthusiasm and excitement, my living room feels cold and empty, so I decide to pack up the notes and head to bed.

Professor Sinclair drops my quiz in front of me, face down. I’m half-terrified to turn it around, but I know I have to. I feel confident about it. More than I have for any test in a long time. Mostly because anytime I got stuck on a question, I closed my eyes and pictured Darcy. His hands moving as he talked through the timeline. The smile on his face when I got something right. The sound of his voice as he explained things to me.

With a deep breath, I flip the paper over. My eyes widen as I stare down at it. I only missed one question.What?I felt confident while taking the quiz, but I’ve felt confident before and still failed. I flip the paper back and forth, worried that maybe I missed something, but when the grade doesn’t change, I relax into my seat with a smile on my face.

Professor Sinclair catches my eye from the front of the class and gives me a short nod.

He starts in on his lecture, and I studiously take notes. Notes that don’t make any sense to me right now, but notes I know Darcy will help me unravel later. I really want to send him a message, but he’ll probably have my ass if I text him during class. It seems like the kind of thing he’d get bent out of shape over.

As soon as class is over, I step into the hallway and snap a photo of my quiz to send to him.

I’m not expecting a quick response, but I get one almost immediately.

Darcy

You’re joking! That’s so awesome!

I can’t help the smile that forms on my lips.

Me

Couldn’t have done it without you.

Darcy

You’re right. ;)

That makes me chuckle. I love his witty sense of humor.

Me

So humble. Celebration dinner soon?

I stare at my phone for a few minutes and when he doesn’t text back, a wave of disappointment rushes over me. He’s probably in class, though, and even if he’s not, I have no reason to be disappointed.

Slipping my phone into my pocket, I continue my walk down the hall. Truthfully, this calls for a coffee celebration, so when I step out of the building, I make my way across campus to the coffee shop.

When I push through the doors, the scent of coffee almost overwhelms me. In a good way, though. The place is packed, so I get in line and pull my phone out. Darcy still hasn’t texted me back. It’s possiblehe just doesn’t want to hang out with me outside of tutoring. Which would be fine.

And again, he may be busy. I really need to calm the hell down.

Shoving my phone back into my pocket, I look around the room. My stomach does a little jump when I notice Darcy sitting in the corner. Coffee forgotten, I step out of the line and make my way to him.

He’s sitting with someone, but the two of them aren’t talking. Darcy is staring down at a notebook, writing away, lost in his own world. When I get to the table, I freeze. This is a little awkward. Why did I come over here?

I’m about to turn around and walk away when Darcy looks up. He looks confused for a split second, then he’s smiling. “Oh, hey.”

I wave, still feeling a little awkward. “Hey. I’ve never seen you in here before.”

Now why in the fuck would I say that?

The guy sitting with Darcy laughs, and I can feel my face heating up. Darcy shoots him a glare and then turns back to me. “I’m in here all the time. I see you come in. This is just the first time you’ve noticed me.”

Oh. “Well, that was a real shame on my part, then.”

The guy snickers again. Darcy huffs. “Must you be a menace everywhere you go?”

“Yep. It’s my brand.”

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