“I play baseball, Macey. Baseball.”
I cringed, mostly because out of every boring sport to watch and hear about, baseball was at the top of my list. That wasn’t saying much, though, because I had yet to find an enjoyable sport.
“I saw that,” Jayce said, brow furrowing as he leaned closer to me. “Not a baseball fan, I take it?”
“Must I be to get you to do your work?” I asked.
“Probably.”
“Still no, not a baseball fan.”
“That’s because you haven’t seen me play.” Jayce winked, which sent me into a small fit of laughter that only seemed to offend him more.
“Do you use that line on all women?” I asked. “And better yet, do they actually fall for it?”
Jayce pinched his lips, folding his arms across his chest. It was difficult not to notice the toned muscles in his arms pop as he did this or the way his short brown hair perfectly completed his complexion. Still, I forced myself to look past all that and focus on the issue at hand, even as the slight tingling between my legs became more prominent.
“Yes,” he said finally. “Yes, they do fall for it.”
“And you expect me to fall for it, too?”
“I expect nothing of the sort.” He winked again, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the table. “You’re different than the others. My charms would have already worked on them by now.”
“Maybe I’m not like the others,” I said softly, drawing a smile from Jayce.
“Neither am I.”
A tense silence settled over the table, and I watched Jayce look down at his hands, wishing I could hear his inner thoughts.Was he this cocky all the way through? Did he have a good side, a human side?
“Well,” I said finally. “We make quite the pair, don’t we?”
“Yes,” Jayce said, stunning gray eyes meeting mine. “We do. So, how about that date?”
I laughed mockingly, throwing my head back for effect. “Pass on the date,” I said. “But you’ll get me in trouble if you don’t pass your classes, so let’s focus?”
“I’ll focus today if we can circle back to the date thing later,” Jayce bargained. “Otherwise, I’d like to spend the entire hour flattering you until you just say yes.”
Shaking my head, I reached for his laptop and set it in front of him, ignoring the puppy dog eyes he gave me as I opened a notebook and took out a pen for notes.
He was good, but I was better.
“Work,” I said. “And not another word until we’re finished with this paper.”
~~
IT WAS LATE, AFTERten, when I finally stumbled through the doors of the on-campus apartment I shared with my roommate, Kylie.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” Kylie teased as I kicked my shoes off by the door, dropped my pack, and crossed the floor to collapse onto the couch, physically and emotionally drained but too tired to make it up the stairs and into bed.
“Tell me about it,” I mumbled, slapping my arm over my face. “I feel as bad as I look.”
“It’s late,” Kylie said, going to the kitchen for two beers. “You’re never out this late. Did something happen?”
“No, just tutoring.” Kylie plopped down next to me on the couch, setting her own drink aside. I sat up and gratefully took the can she offered me, popping the top to take a sip, relishing in the bubbly carbonation.
“Tutoring,” she repeated. “I almost forgot about that. Anybody we know?”
“His name is Jayce Something. He plays baseball.”
