Page 41 of Under Pressure

“Oh, so that’s what you were doing today? Researching?” he teases.

“Fuck off. I can be friends with her if I want. And you and I do all the same things together too. We study. We go to the gym. I’ll even let you bake me cookies.”

He lets loose an easy laugh. The idea of him baking is genuinely funny. The man has almost burned down our kitchen putting a fork in the microwave by accident. “Mia’s cute,” he comments casually. “If you two are just friends, I might ask her out.”

I open the Geology textbook again, staring blankly down at the page. “You do what you want, man.”

“So you’ll give me her number?”

An itching sensation creeps up the back of my neck, but I resist the urge to scratch at it. “I’m not giving you shit.”

“Will you give her my number?”

I slam shut the book. “Why are you trying to rile me up?”

He holds his hands up, as if I’m the one being unreasonable. “I only want a date.”

“Bullshit. You could get any girl on campus. Why are you trying to poach mine?”

His eyes gleam. Fuck, I fell right into his trap. Didn’t I just get done explaining to Mia not to fall for stuff like this?

Thankfully, he doesn’t jump on my unintentional admission. “Hmm.” He strokes his dark beard thoughtfully. “You really think I could get any girl?”

I snort. “You’re ripped and have a near perfect GPA. What more do girls want?”

“You have the same thing,” he points out.

“I don’t want any girl.”

“No, you just want Mia.”

Fuck, I should have known he wouldn’t let it go that easy. I finally give in and scratch my neck until the pressure’s gone. “We have this kind of… friends-with-benefits thing going on,” I admit.

“As of when?”

“The other day.”

“What happened?”

“None of your business.”

He grins. “That means you must have really liked it if you won’t give me details.”

I huff. “She let me suck her tits and get her off in the Stress Lab.”

His brows rise. “In your sacred space? How was it?”

“It was…” Fucking hot. Combustible. The whimpers she’d made trying to keep herself quiet were enough for me to almost shoot my load then and there. “It was good. Like any other girl I’m with.” I stand and grab my textbook. “I’m going to study in my room. Sincesomeonekeeps bothering me.”

“See ya,” he says, giving me a little salute as I leave, a wide grin on his face.

I settle on my bed, trying again to focus on categories of rock-forming minerals, but it’s still the most boring subject on the planet.

I lean back, thinking instead about Mia. I completed my mission today, proving to myself that we could hang out in a normal capacity. I have the willpower to be in control of my actions. And if she wants to touch me, that doesn’t make me weak or dependent on her.

I’m in control.

My phone vibrates with a message.

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