Page 21 of Her Second Chance

“Oh, fuck no. Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza. We can put your veggies on a meat lover’s. If I order rabbit food with pineapple and Canadian bacon from Sam’s, I’ll never live it down.”

I laugh. “Fine. As long as there are black olives, I’ll eat your meat.” I slap my hand over my mouth when I realize how that sounds.

His cheeks turn an adorable pink. Instead of teasing me like I thought he would, he picks up the phone and calls the pizza place. I sit in front of the TV and find something for us to watch.

“It’ll be here in twenty minutes.”

I jump, tossing the remote into the air at the sound of his voice. “You snuck up on me,” I accuse, placing my hand over my pounding heart.

He chuckles. “Hannah, we’re in a 14 x 14 dorm room. There’s no sneaking in here. You were daydreaming.”

I press my palms to my cheeks, wincing. They’re on fire. What the hell is wrong with me? It’s like I forgot how to interact with a hot guy, and Brock is one fine specimen of man. Hell, he’s probably the most attractive person I’ve ever seen in real life. His t-shirt clings to his lats, showcasing his lean muscles. Even his muscles have muscles. The dude is fit. I’m in way over my head here.

Oblivious to my inner struggle to keep from mounting him right here and now, he sits next to me on the loveseat. Brock Martin is a big guy. If I remember his stats correctly, he’s 6’6” and weighs 235 lbs. His body takes up so much of the small sofa, our thighs touch. This does nothing to smother the fire building inside me.

I try to ignore the tingling in my pussy each time his forearm brushes against mine. Suddenly, this friendly dinner doesn’t feel so innocent. I have to wrestle with my hormones to keep from climbing into his lap and kissing him senseless. This man is enticing.

He places his way too large hand on my upper thigh. “Relax. I know you’re with that guy for now. I will not force you into something. Ever.”

I swallow hard, wishing I wasn’t wearing shorts, yet thankful I am. The feel of his rough palm on my leg tells me if he wanted something more from me, I’d give it to him willingly. Second chance be damned. The pull of Brock’s orbit is almost too much for me to resist.

I move away from him, forcing him to retract his hand. “Um, do you want to watch this?” I gesture to the TV where I’ve stopped the channel on some reality show where people do daredevil events in teams, trying to win money.

“Sure. I love The Challenge.” The way he says it makes me think he’s talking about a different challenge. God, how I want to be that challenge he conquers. Except I can’t be. That’s not why I’m here.

We watch in silence until the pizza arrives. That proves to be the perfect tension breaker. With food in my mouth, I’m not thinking about what it would be like to put my lips on him. It’s so strange that this time around, I have this super sexy, soon to be famous guy interested in me. I’m not sure what lesson this sexy roadblock is meant to teach me. In fact, I’m pretty certain I’m not going to learn it.

“What’s your major?” Brock asks, distracting me from my inner dialogue.

I dab my lips with the paper towel he gave me to use as a napkin and swallow my bite before answering. “Art. Well, Art with an emphasis on Art History. I wanted something more employable than just Studio Art. Spoiler alert, people aren’t in desperate need of Art Historians. I’m never going to have a job in my field. Of course, Hunter is partly to blame.”

He laughs. “Wait, did you say Hunter? As in my pledge brother Hunter? What does he have to do with anything?”

Oh, shit. “Nothing. He’s sort of a jerk, is all. I’m just teasing you for being friends with the guy.” I hope he buys that because the excuse is flimsy at best. I really need to be more careful.

He tilts his head to the side. “I didn’t even know you knew Hunter.”

“Everyone knows Hunter.” I shrug.

He studies me. “He’s not your ex, is he? Because, if that’s the case, I can’t date you when you finish with your rebound guy. Hunter and I aren’t close friends, but we are pledge brothers.”

I scrunch my nose, making a face of disgust. “Bro code, right?”

He laughs. “Yep. Although it might be worth upsetting the status quo for you.”

I reach over, patting his forearm. “You have nothing to worry about. I plan to steer clear of Hunter.”

He nods, grinning. Why does he have to be so sexy?

I roll my eyes, not wanting to let him see just how much that stupid, sexy grin of his affects me. “I didn’t mean it like that. Don’t get any ideas. Jason and I are going to get married one day.”

“Whatever you say, doll.”

“Doll?” I grin.

“Yeah. You’re like those china dolls my sister collects. You have dark hair, but your eyes are green. And your skin is super pale.”

I hold my arm next to his golden brown one. “Well, compared to you, I am.”

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