My thighs buzz, wanting to feel that sharp stubble abrading against them. It’s tempting, really tempting, to break my appointment and find somewhere more private with Jamie right now, but I’ve put off doing this long enough.
“Come to my place after your classes today,” I tell him.
“Nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Before he unwraps me from his arms, he presses a warm kiss right behind my ear, where my jaw meets my neck. Excitementwashes through me, but what’s more notable is whatdoesn’twash through me.
Jamie just kissed me goodbye, which also felt like a very boyfriend-y thing to do. And I didn’t mind one bit.
After my meeting,I run into Harper, Scarlett, Maddie, and Jasmine as they’re walking outside together. They invite me to have lunch with them. We pick up some food from a food truck on campus, and they lead me to the dining hall where we find an empty table to sit down.
“I haven’t eaten at any of the food trucks here yet,” I say as I unwrap my meal. “I’ve thought about walking over and trying some for lunch, but never got around to it.”
“The one we ordered from is my favorite,” Maddie says. “They make really good nachos. And they always have peach tea in stock.” A dreamy look comes over Maddie’s face, and she gazes into the distance for a moment. I’ll have to try them sometime, because I’ve never had nachos that would make me look likethatjust thinking about them.
“How did your meeting go?” Scarlett asks as she bites into a wrap.
“Pretty good,” I nod. “Basically all my credits transfer over. So no matter what I major in, I won’t have to retake any gen ed requirements.”
“Still not sure what you want to study?” Jasmine asks.
I sigh. “Not totally sure. Honestly, I’m leaning toward English.”
“Woo!” Harper whoops next to me. “English majors unite!”
I giggle as I slap her hand that she holds up for me. “But I don’t know what I’d do with it, though. Like, you want to get your PhD and become a professor, right?”
“Right,” Harper answers before biting into a gyro with crispy fries sticking out of it.
“But that’s not really a path I’m interested in. I’d love to study English, but I just don’t know what I’d do with it. I spent so much time locked into a major I didn’t enjoy, preparing for a career I wasn’t really interested in, that I never figured out what I actually want to do.”
“You already have a bunch of science credits from when you were Pre-Med, right?” Scarlett asks. I nod. She continues, “Well, you could try majoring in English for a year. If you love it, and if you find it’s helping you with your writing, awesome. If not, you still have a ton of STEM credits and enough time to switch majors and graduate with something more practical.”
I nod slowly, mulling over her advice. “That’s true.”
“Speaking of the English language,” Harper says to Scarlett, “I never thought anyone could be such a master of the language that they could write a spanking scene a dozen pages long and keep my attention.”
Scarlett laughs. “S. Monroe knows how to write kink scenes, that’s for damn sure.”
“Your recommendations have yet to miss,” Harper says.
“And they never will,” Scarlett replies with a wink.
“And that scene where Demetrio bought the restaurant in cash from the owner mid-meal, just so he could kick everyone out because he couldn’t stand how all the men were looking at Yasmine in her red dress.” Harper laughs, shaking her head. “So ridiculous, but she wrote it so, so well.”
“I enjoy a good jealousy scene in a book,” Jasmine says. “But men being jealous in real life?” He sticks her tongue out. “Yuck.”
Scarlett tilts her head thoughtfully. “There was a time I would have definitely agreed. But when the right man gets jealous over you? I kind of hate to say it, but it can be a real turn out.”
“Definitely,” Maddie agrees.
“No doubt about it,” Harper chimes in. “I know where you’re coming from, though, Jasmine. Jealousy can be a huge turn-off. It really needs to be the right guy for jealousy to be hot.”
“If a guy gets jealous over you and you find it hot, it’s probably a good sign for the relationship,” Scarlett proposes.
I tap my finger against my chin. This gives me an idea that I should really be smart enoughnotto put to the test…
34
