Page 7 of Trusting Tanner
“That sounds an awful lot like a challenge.”
“Maybe it is.” She shrugged, a faint smile lifting her lips. “Wait, why are you taking Forensic Pathology? Is that your end goal? Forensics?”
“No. A friend talked me into taking the class with him. My end goal is to get into family practice. Someday I’d like to open my own low-cost or free clinic.”
Her smile morphed into something warm and appreciative. “That’s great.”
“What about you?” He picked at the grass, basking more in her proximity than the sun. “What’s your end goal?”
“I’m still undecided. I really like pediatrics, but I’m fascinated by cardiology.”
He nodded. “Have you taken cardio yet?”
“No, but we’ve covered quite a bit of it in Anatomy and Physiology, and it’s always been my favorite topic. I have Cardiology tomorrow morning, and I can’t wait.”
“Me, too.”
“We’ve had a lot of classes together,” she mused aloud. Then she sat up and wiped the grass from her hands. She grabbed her backpack and started shoving things into it.
“You rushed out of class earlier like the building was on fire, and now you’re racing off again. I’m starting to take it personally,” he teased, his heart seizing like it had earlier at the thought of her leaving.
“It’s not you. Devon will be out of class soon. We’re going to brave the bookstore then go grab some lunch.” She stood and slipped the strap of her backpack over her shoulder.
He stood, too, and wiped his palms on his jeans before scooping his bag off the ground. “How long have you and Devon been together?”
“Oh. No.” She shook her head, a faint laugh accompanying her movement. “Devon and I aren’ttogethertogether. Not like that. We’re just friends.”
“No shit,” he said before he could stop himself. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Why do you seem so surprised?”
“Because you two are together all the time. I assumed…” For once he was glad he’d been wrong, and he didn’t even care if that made him an ass. “You really do spend a lot of time with him for not being his girlfriend.”
“Have you been watching me?” There was a teasing lilt to her voice and a challenging twinkle in her eyes despite her expression being serious.
“I may have noticed you a time or two. At the frat house. In classes. On campus. Sitting under this very tree while you stared at me yesterday.” He winked.
Her face turned several shades of pink, and her mouth parted as if she wanted to say something, but then she snapped her jaw shut.
“Didn’t think I saw, did you?”
“No. And I’m not sure if I should be flattered or creeped out.” She adjusted the strap on her shoulder, and her hair got stuck.
He reached over, lifted the strap, and freed her hair. Then he tucked a few strands behind her ear, letting his fingers trace the line of her jaw. She had the softest skin. “You should be flattered,” he whispered.
She stared up at him, and her tongue peeked out, wetting her lower lip. The crotch of his jeans became noticeably tighter. He shifted on his feet, attempting to ease the tightness and sudden ache between his legs. He let his hand fall back to his side before he did something crazy, like lean down and kiss her. “Want to grab some coffee before class tomorrow morning?”
“No, thank you.” Her voice was tiny, almost like a whimper.
He did a proverbial double take.No?What the hell? She wasn’t dating Devon, so that couldn’t be the reason she turned him down. Unless there was someone else… But that didn’t make sense considering he never saw her with anyone but Devon. Maybe she didn’t like coffee. He opened his mouth to suggest something else, but instead of hearing his own voice, he heard Devon’s.
“Jules,” he said as he walked up and stood next to Juliana. “Sorry. Class ran late.” Devon narrowed his eyes. “Tanner.”
What was with the sudden attitude? His gaze darted back and forth between Devon and her. Was it possible Devon wanted more than Juliana’s friendship? Is that why he was acting like he had some sort of claim over her?
“Are you ready?” Juliana asked.
“Yeah,” Devon said.
