“You sure? That guy seems to be a trigger for you.”
I scoff and mumble, “Yeah, triggers my desire for self-immolation.”
He huffs out a laugh at that and his smile has my stomach doing a slow flip at how damn beautiful he is.
“Well, you know what they say, the easiest way to get over someone is to…get under another.”
I almost choke on my own saliva at that and the dimple that flashes at me. Subject change! I tap at one of the open books.
“This was four assignments ago. Are you behind? Already?”
His smile flips to a frown and he runs one of his big hands through his hair with a groan.
“Yeah, I fucked up. Too caught up with team shit and I let it slide. If I don’t get this in with a decent mark, my coach is going to bench me.”
I chew on my bottom lip, torn. I mean, he didn’t even remember my name after working with him before but…
“I can lend you my annotations if you want. It…it could help speed this up a bit.”
He tilts his head and studies me for a moment, a guarded look coming into his eyes.
“You would do that? Why? What do you want in return?”
I flinch back a bit and then shake my head in annoyance at myself for once again being an idiot when it comes to good-looking men.
“You know what? Forget it. Good luck.”
I turn away and reach for another book from my cart but my hand stills when he speaks from behind me.
“Savy, wait. Listen, I’m sorry.”
He trails off with a deep sigh and the noise is packed full of emotion I don’t understand so against my better judgment, I turn back to him and just wait for an explanation. He runs both hands through his hair again in a frustrated gesture, making the dark green, long-sleeved t-shirt he’s wearing stretch across bulging muscles and then shoves the chair across from him out a bit from under the table.
“Sit for a minute?”
I look at the offered chair like it’s going to electrocute me if I sit in it. I don’t sit at tables with guys of his caliber and after what happened with Hunter, I’m more than a little gun shy. I look into his eyes, searching for the trick but don’t find any so I slide slowly down onto the chair and squeeze my hands together in my lap. Tate looks around like he’s making sure no one is near enough to hear him and then leans that big body of his over the table.
“I’ve been burned before. I get a lot of women wanting to be with me for everything that comes with being my girlfriend. They want the popularity, the prestige, and a shot at the payday after I’m drafted.”
My mouth drops open in disbelief at this guy’s freaking ego. I can’t stop the bark of laughter that flows past my lips as I start shaking my head and pushing the chair back to stand.
“Unbelievable! I offered you my notes, not my freaking virginity.”
As soon as I say that my face goes beet red and my eyes dart over to where Hunter is now looking my way with a frown of confusion. He’s too far away to have heard what I said but my laughter must have snagged his attention. I clench my jaw and shoot to my feet but Tate’s big hand snaps across the table to grab my wrist causing me to freeze.
“No! Fuck, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant!” His head turns to where I’m looking and a dark look covers his face. “Did that fucking guy…”
I cut him off. “What do you want from me, Tate? I was trying to be a decent human being by offering you my notes to help. That’s it. No strings, ulterior motives, or anything else. I don’t want anything from you.”
He drops his hand from my wrist and I ignore the way my skin burns where he was touching it.
“I get that, I’m sorry. I’m not used to someone offering help just to be nice. I would really appreciate you lending me your notes. Again, I’m sorry.”
I push my glasses back up my nose and give him a small nod.
“Fine. My next shift is Friday afternoon. I’ll bring them for you then if you want to swing by and grab them.”
I don’t wait for his reply, just turn away and push my cart to a different section of the huge library wishing I hadn’t offered to help in the first place.
