“Who?” His bottom lip stuck out as he frowned.
“She has red curls and a Texas accent.”
“Oh, her.”
He pursed his lips and sighed, shoulders slumping. “It’s early in the semester for this. Your grade can’t be that bad already. Just study harder.” He slid the drink back toward me.
Pulling out a chair next to him, I picked up the cup and set it near his elbow, then plopped on the seat. “I would like to think that if I was bribing a professor for good grades, I could do a little better than one latte.” I smiled at him, making sure he got the one that always made people stumble over their words.
His face flushed a bright pink as he stared at my lips. After almost a solid minute of him looking at me, he chuckled, gaze darting around until his attention settled firmly on me again. I rested my chin on my fist.
Micah twisted the cup around on the table. “Sure, it isn’t much, but you would be surprised the lengths some students will go to in order to simply avoid studying.” He leaned back in his chair and glanced between the drink and me, almost like he had no idea what he was doing. It was painfully awkward and kind of adorable.
Grinning, I took the drink and moved it directly in front of him on the table.
Micah gave me a long look, then picked up the cup. I held my breath as he sipped, and his eyebrows flew high. “Thank you. It’s just the way I order it.”
I snagged the pen lying in the crease of his notebook and twirled it around before dragging the top along my cheek. He gasped out a small breath that let me know he wasn’t as cool as he was playing it. “I do want something from you, though.”
His Adam’s apple bounced and he cradled the cup with both hands, a small frown settling on his very kissable lips. “I knew there had to be a catch.” The sad note in his voice made me feel like a jerk, so I set the pen down and patted his arm, then held up a finger.
“Just a small something.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“I would like you to go out with me tomorrow night.” He began to shake his head again, but I held up a hand, and he stopped. “My band is playing here.” I tugged a small flier out of my pocket, with a QR code on the front, and handed it to him. “Yukio Nights. I can hang out after we’re done.”
“Is that an eponymous name?” He sipped his drink while his eyebrows furrowed, then raised before dipping again, which made me want to laugh. “No.”
“No? Why?”
“Are you certain this isn’t about grades?”
Stretching out, I rested my arms on the table and leaned toward him. “Am I in any of your classes?”
He tilted his head and his gaze flitted around my face while he blushed some more. “Uh, no?”
I snickered as Micah’s cheeks blazed brighter. “You have no idea if I am or not, do you?” With a hum, I snatched the small flier from his hand and turned it over. I used his pen to write my full name on the back, then slid it toward him along with the pen. “There. If you don’t find my name on your class lists, you have to promise to go out with me.”
His nostrils flared and his round cheeks puffed out. “What if this isn’t your name?”
“You’re very suspicious.”
“I’m trying to figure out why you’re doing this,” he murmured, and my heart squeezed. He was a good-looking guy. He had to know exactly why I might be interested, but he didn’t seem like he had any clue.
“You’re smart. You can’t figure it out?” I winked at him. When he still stared blankly, I reached out and tapped my thumb to his bottom lip.
He gently nudged my hand to the side, then sipped his latte, barely breathing.
Grunting, I dragged my wallet from my back pocket and pulled out my California driver’s license. I set the license on the table near his elbow, and he snatched it up.
Micah leaned down to look closer and winced. “You’re twenty-one.” His eyebrows dove again, almost as if he was accusing me of doing something wrong.
“So?”
“I’m thirty-eight.”
I shrugged. “And?”
