Page 30 of Collide
Forest green eyes watch me. “Good?”
“It’s…it’s—yeah. It’s good.”
His eyes flicker, and the curve of his smile does something swirly to my chest before it starts to burn. Though that might be the spoonful of cinnamon I just ingested. With an itchy throat, I put the cup down. “I'm going to change. I’ll be right back.”
I’ve just slipped on a sweatshirt when a curse pulls me from my room. Aiden’s standing at the counter, my cup in hand and a look of disbelief on his face. “This is disgusting.” With a sour face, he places the cup in the sink. “It’s a good thing I already ordered you an actual drink and some food.”
“You didn’t have to do that. It wasn’t that bad.”
“Summer, it was so bad that you were beingniceto me. That tells me everything I need to know.”
“Hey! I can be nice.” His barbed look irks me. “The only reason you’re here is because I was being nice by giving you a chance.”
“Yeah, after I begged you.”
“That’s what you call begging?”
His smirks, all too intrigued. “Wanna teach me? Maybe with those handcuffs…”
“They are not what you think they’re for.”
He nods with a suppressed smile. When his phone dings, he pulls it out. “Food’s here.”
When we’ve eaten, I hand him the assessments. The sooner he gets this done the sooner I can write my analysis.
“Are you done?” My impatience seeps into my tone.
“Almost. I wanna make sure I do it right.”
“It’s really not that difficult.”
A short beat passes before he sighs and his warm hand stops the anxious movements of my bouncing leg. “Summer, what’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” The exasperated look I give him makes him take a long look at me.
“Imeanyou’re irritable and have this faraway look like you’re stressing over a million things.”
“It’s nothing. Can we just get this done?”
He sits back and crosses his arms. “No.”
“No?” Did he not know how close I was to strangling someone? “This is not a good time to test me, Crawford.”
I clench my jaw as his gaze drags over my face in a slow assessment. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“You know you’re notmycaptain, right? That whole demanding thing won’t work on me.”
He leans in, eating up my personal space. “Won’t it?”
The challenge in his eyes is clear, but I oblige. “Langston said my intro needs work, so I’m re-doing the entire thing, along with the methods section, because Donny thinks it’s missing something.”
“You’re just as smart as Donny. Smarter. Why does his opinion matter?”
Aiden’s dislike for Donny isn’t something he bothers to hide. And as much as I may feel the same, I’ve become so accustomed to Donny’s feedback, that I can’t imagine making a move without it. “Because he knows what he’s doing. Besides, there are only three of us eligible for co-op—Donny, Shannon, and me. I’m his competitor, yet he’s still willing to help. I have to be grateful for that.”
Aiden doesn’t comment, only shakes his head. “Okay, let me help you, too. You still have a few weeks, and I can read over your paper.”
I stare blankly. “No offense, but what do you know about psychology papers?”
