Settling his ankle on his knee, he kicked back and said, “You’re heading back to campus tomorrow?”
I nodded.
“How early?”
Shrugging, I said, “A little after breakfast. Can’t miss Mom’s Sunday pancakes.”
“Funny how I’ve only ever heard about those pancakes.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’ve never been invited over to experience them.”
“Only my girlfriends who spend the night enjoy Mom’s Sunday pancakes. Male friends don’t spend the night, so they don’t get breakfast.” I shrugged again and added a smirk for good measure.
“You’re evil.”
“Stating facts.” I drank more tea to cool off hot thoughts of spending the night with a certain male friend... Why my mind refused to stop going there even after five years in the friend zone and the whole Aaron Jones debacle was a mystery only an oracle could explain.
A weird expression flitted over Danny’s face before he schooled it back to a scowl. “It’s only a two-hour drive back to campus. Why do you have to leave so early?”
“I have an afternoon shift at the coffee shop tomorrow. Plus, I have a quiz on Monday I still need to study for.”
Shaking his head, he eyed me through narrowed slits. “Why do you need to take a class this summer?”
Blowing out a sigh, I said, “I told you about adding a business administration minor, remember?” I paused. “Wait. When I told you, you were headed to a base in Germany for a year. Understandable you’d forget.”
He shot me a dark look. “I didn’t forget. But that doesn’t answer the question.”
Caught up in trying to decipher his new combative attitude, I tucked my foot beneath my thigh and eyed him back. From the moment he arrived, I’d detected something was off with him. No doubt it had to do with his dad, who apparently hadn’t held back on sharing his low opinion of Danny’s plans to go to college.
“Taryn.” My name on two long syllables dragged me back to the conversation.
“Certain classes aren’t as rigorous if you take them in the summer,” I explained. “Business Management is one of those classes. It’s rarely offered during summer semester, so when I saw it was on the schedule, I jumped on it.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Come again? It’s the same class as the one offered during the regular school year, but it’s easier?”
“When you put it like that, it sounds kinda sketchy.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Everyone on campus is super laid-back in the summer, especially the professors. They cover all the same material as they do in the fall and spring classes, but maybe don’t ask for as many assignments. Plus, there are fewer students, so those of us who are in class get more one-on-one time.” I tugged at a stray thread on my shorts, worrying it with my finger. “I’ve been putting off taking this class because the prof has a reputation as a hard-ass and I need to keep my grades up to get into grad school. I guess the dean of the business college wanted to teach something over the summer, so she chose this class, and I jumped on it.”
“I always thought school was easy for you.”
“Which is why you had to help me with physics.” I smirked.
“Mutually beneficial. Between us we rocked the shit out of that class.” He smirked back.
“Yeah, well, unfortunately, you’re not taking senior-level Business Management, so we can’t help each other with this one.”
“I had this idea we’d have some time together before I started football camp.”
The pouty expression on his face made me laugh.
“Don’t worry. Once word gets out that you’re back in town, I doubt you’ll be bored.” A certain former cheer-squad captain’s face flashed in my head, and the drink of yummy tea in my mouth turned to piss. I had no idea if Kaitlyn Frost was in town for the summer or not, But if she was, her Danny Chambers radar had likely already picked up, and she’d be waiting at his place after he left my parents’ house. The thought made me want to gag.
“What’s that face for?”
Deliberately, I smoothed my features into a bland mask.
He chuckled. “Uh-huh. You just figured out you’re going to miss the fun while I’m home.” Leaning forward, he whispered conspiratorially, “There’s an easy way to fix that.”
