Page 47 of Off Limits

“Did you guys ever…" I can’t finish the sentence.

“No. God, no. She’s pretty, but no. I’ve always turned her down. We just had that one class together one semester. But every time she sees me, she tries.”

“Why was she shooting daggers at me? I mean, aside from the fact that we’re together and she’s very clearly jealous.” Maybe it’s naïve of me, but I don’t think that's the best reason to look at somebody like you’d love nothing more than slowly watch all the air leave their body.

“At the end of the semester, it came to a head. Every week she invited me for coffee, and every week I turned her down. So she asked me what my deal was. I told her I don’t do relationships. She said she wasn’t looking for anything like that, but with how desperate she’d been just for a coffee, I knew there was no way.” His eyes lock on mine. “She wasn’t who I wanted to be with.”

“I almost feel bad for her.”

“Really?” His face scrunches as he says it.

“I do. I mean, look at you. Everywhere we go, you turn heads, girls,andguys. You always have. Remember my birthday? And you said you don’t do girlfriends, and now here you are, with a girlfriend.” Things about the look are a little clearer now. Still seems a bit extreme to me, but for Lochlyn, I get it.

“How do you know the guys aren’t looking at you?”

“Trust me, when you’re around, nobody’s looking at me.”

“I am.” He stops suddenly, pulling me against him, holding my face in his hands as he kisses me. Smiling as he separates from me, he takes my hand and starts jogging toward a large building. “Come on, I think this is going to be your favorite place.”

When we’re outside the door, he puts his hands on my shoulders as he stands behind me. “This is Uris Library,” he whispers against my ear. There’s an air of mystique to his voice.

The building itself is beautiful, but once we get inside and through an interior door, my eyes widen and my jaw drops. I take slow steps into the room. There are three floors of wrought-iron shelves, filled with books upon books. You can see through the whole room and all the volumes it contains. It’s a magnificent sight.

“You like it?”

All I can do is nod in response, causing a chuckle to come from Lochlyn. He wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder as I continue to look around the room, completely awestruck. I hadn’t toured campus before applying. The only time I had seen it before was with my parents when I was younger. If I’ve seen the library before, I surely didn’t appreciate it.

After a few minutes and a kiss to the neck, I’m able to come to. I spin around in his arms to face him, hands resting on his chest. “Thank you for bringing me here. It’s amazing.”

He smiles and pulls a curl straight, grazing my breast with his hand. “You’re welcome. I knew you’d appreciate it.”

“Can I just live here next year?”

“Trust me, there will be times you’ll feel like you do.”

“That will be okay with me.”

“At least I’ll always know where to find you.” It’s not lost on me that we’ve only been together for a little over two months, but that he’s already talking about things more than six months away. Repeatedly.

“Now we leave campus. You ready?”

“Just one more look.” Both hands wrap around his forearm as I take one last glance around the room, even more excited than I already have been to be coming to Cornell in the fall.

Lochlyn takes me on a drive through Ithaca, showing me some of his favorite spots, like where he thinks the good Chinese and pizza places are. He explains that the town has a lot to offer and if it had been warmer, we’d be walking.

Finding a parking spot along the street, he takes me into a bookstore. Lochlyn stands close behind me, fingers through my belt loop, thumb under the waistband of my pants as I browse through the shelves.

He doesn’t rush me. Keeping pace with me, hand at my hip the whole time, chest pressed to my back. Every so often, he’ll pick something up with his free hand and give a quick flip through. I’ve started to collect a small pile that he takes from me and holds under his arm.

“Okay, let me go through my stack and decide which ones I’m going to get.” I reach out for the books, but he pulls them away, walking toward the checkout and placing them at the register.

“Lochlyn, no. I can’t let you buy my books.” I try to reach for them, but he puts a hand on my chest, holding me in place.

“Yes, you can.”

I point at him. “You’re an enabler.”

“At least it’s a good habit.”

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