Page 12 of Innocent Princess

I do. He's no good for you.

My eyebrows dip in confusion. I ask why.

Trust me.

I bite my lip. I do trust Wells, but there's something about Ryker. I don't believe he's bad.How is he no good for me?Biting my lip, I shake my head at our notes. I make a mental note to have him explain his reasoning later. Right now, I need to focus on class.

A long thirty minutes later, class is dismissed. The butterflies in my belly take flight as I anticipate interacting with Ryker. The students around us are chatting, packing up, and leaving. I slowly close my binder, lean over, and put it away—dragging the whole process out and waiting for Ryker to turn around.

But he doesn't. He doesn't move to stand.

I must look confused because both Wells and Cameron are staring at me. My eyes go wide. "What?" I ask.

Cameron chuckles, and Wells huffs.

"You've got it bad, girlfriend." Cameron laughs.

Wells shakes his head.

I give them both a look to shut up. The last thing I need is Ryker thinking I've got a crush. Well, I do, but he doesn't need to know that yet. I drag my eyes back to where he sits.

Cameron stands, leans over, and pinches his lips together. "He's asleep." He's doing everything he can to not to laugh.

"For Christ’s sake," Wells mutters. "Just leave him. Let's go eat."

I stand and sling my backpack over my shoulder. I turn to Wells. He should be ashamed of himself. "You stop it. How would you like it if your friends just left you asleep somewhere?" These boys are using up all my glares tonight.

"Friends. Eh, I don't think so. Maybe a long, long time ago, but not now. And you don't even know him." He sounds like a teenage boy. Cameron went through a phase in high school where he was all growly and whinny when he didn't get his way. This is Wells right now.

"I'm going to wake him," I insist.

"Just leave him," Wells mutters.

I take a few steps to the side and step over the unoccupied seats to stand in his row, next to him. He's leaning back in his seat with his head leaning on his fist. His arm rests on the seat’s connecting desk.

I lean down and place my hand on his shoulder and shake him gently. "Hey, Ryker, wake up."

His body tenses ,and his head pops up. He looks at me and blinks, like he isn't sure what or who he woke up to. Next, he looks around the room and curses under his breath.

"Riveting stuff, huh?" I can't help my smile. He's really cute. He's just out of it enough that I can tell he probably fell asleep shortly after class started. Not to mention the red mark where his head rested on his fist.

He stretches to his full height. He’s so much taller than me. I'm a shorty, so ninety percent of the people I meet are taller than me. He's got at least eight inches on me. The hem of his shirt rides up as he lifts his arms above his head. My eyes snag on the tan skin of his lower abdomen. I drag my eyes away, and as I travel back up his body, I notice his smirk before I find chocolate brown eyes watching me.

I turn fifty shades of red right there, the second our eyes connect. I hear a chuckle from behind me, but I'm stuck in place. I can't move my feet. I can't take my eyes off his, and I can't speak.What is happening to me?

The chuckle turns into someone clearing their throat.

Cam nudges my shoulder from the level I just left. "Zella, dinner. Let's eat."

Ryker breaks our eye contact when he slides his gaze to Cam. It gives me just enough time to shake myself out of this daze.

I turn away from Ryker, then pause, look at him, and smile. "Want to get some dinner with us?"

Wells groans, and Cameron might have clapped. I'm not sure.

Ryker's slow and sexy grin nearly melts me from within. "I'd love to."

I don't want him to see what the nickname does to me, so I quickly turn and walk out of the row.

---