Once the pizza has gone down and I have enough wine in my system to last me a lifetime, Nate scoops me off the couch and carries me down to my brand new bedroom. “Come on,” he says. “You need to sleep today off so you have the energy to pretend to be happy for your parents tomorrow.”
I let out a sigh. “I don’t want them to go.”
Nate deposits me down in my bed and reaches for my shirt before pulling it up over my head. “I know,” he says. “But your dad has no choice and your mom wants to be with the man she loves. Just like I’d follow you to the ends of the earth to be with you.”
I let out a breath and wind my arms around him. “You’re the best. You know that, right?”
I raise my chin and he brings his lips down on mine before pushing me back into the softest bed I’ve ever laid on. He comes barreling down with me, pressing his hard body into mine. “I know,” he tells me as he grins against my lips. “You’re one hell of a lucky girl to be with all this.”
I roll my eyes and kiss him back before letting him finish this day off right.
Some things never change and I hope to God that they never will. As frustrating as it can be having a guy like Nate Ryder teasing you and constantly pushing your buttons, I can’t help but love it and love him for it.
Chapter 6
I push through the big double doors of my English class with a groan. Nate only just stepped out of his Business class and asked me to go to lunch with him, and instead of being there, gazing into the deepest eyes I’ve ever seen, I’m here, walking up the steps of yet another classroom.
I say a quick hello to a few of the girls I’ve met over the past few weeks and make my way up a few levels before crashing down into my seat. I let out a sigh as I dig through my bag and pull out my things before shooting a text off to Nate, apologizing for the millionth time for ditching him.
I mean, it’s not like it’s a bad thing. He supports me learning and bettering my future, but the disappointment behind his eyes killed me when I said I should go to class instead. I’ll have to make it up to him tonight.
I set up my laptop on my desk, ready to take notes for one of my hardest classes. I’m feeling pretty good about it though. Even with the big move over the weekend and spending time with my parents before they flew out, I still managed to get on top of all my work. I don’t know how I did it, but I did, and it feels great. I even handed in my English essay so today, I can give every single ounce of my concentration to my professor as he babbles on.
I look up from my laptop screen as Professor Harding walks through the door and straight over to his desk before placing his briefcase down beside it. He removes his coat, hangs it on the back of his chair, and does it all as though he hasn’t noticed the room full of students sitting behind him, patiently waiting for him to get the show on the road.
Finally, after a solid three minutes of going through his things and getting himself set up, he turns to the class, takes a step forward, and opens his mouth.
The door of the room barges open and my eyes instinctually flick across to take in the latecomer as Professor Harding shoots a nasty glare his way.
The guy is built like an athlete and walks forward with the swagger of an asshole, completely ignoring the Professor as he struts through the classroom without a care in the world. I instantly don’t like the guy, especially as he wears his hat low on his face, completely disrespecting the whole ‘don’t wear hats inside’ rulel.
As he begins slinking up the stairs, searching the rows for an available seat, something pulls at me that I know this guy. It’s like a strange familiarity, but I can’t figure out how the hell I’d know a big guy like that. If only the asshole would remove his hat and stop wasting everyone’s time.
It’s not until the guy is shuffling his way across the row before me that I get a glimpse of his face underneath the brim of his hat. My stomach sinks and I suck in a sharp breath.
No. It couldn’t be.
My palms begin to sweat as my heart rate picks up and threatens to beat right out of my chest. I don’t know if I want to fear the guy or barge my way down there and beat the ever loving shit out of him.