Enraptured(18)

Chapter 6

Come my second class on Monday I was thoroughly exhausted. I'd spent all day Saturday and all day Sunday working with Dace. We'd stocked everything there was to stock and even my muscles were sore. This morning, Dee refused to go to the gym without me. She wanted more Dace gossip - not that I had anything to tell her. From what I'd seen of Dace, he was nice. He joked with me and I'd even seen him laugh a few times. We both seemed to enjoy the time we spent together. I simply couldn't see him being the man-whore Dee claimed him to be. Even she was shocked at my findings of Dace and I knew she was worried about my spending too much time with him.

The thought was jabbed from my mind as a flock of whiny voices protested against something from the seats behind me. I rolled my eyes and rubbed my temples. I was so not in the mood to listen to bubble-gum chatter through the length of this class.

A dark figure slid into the seat beside me, pausing my annoyance. "Hey there, Angel."

My mouth formed an 'o' but no sound came out and Dace grinned, chuckling. I pulled myself together and frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you I'd seen you around." His blue eyes were trained on my face and I looked behind me as realization set in.

"You're the reason for the herd of bimbos in the back?" I shook my head. I was stunned. "When I applied to university, I thought I'd left all the drama in high school."

"Sorry to disappoint," the corners of his lips lifted in a grin. "but there's always going to be drama. It's life."

"Thanks." I grumbled. "You're a ray of light at the end of a long dark tunnel."

"Am I?" His voice was gruff and serious. I felt my stomach tighten and my eyes search his.

I changed the subject. "So, what are you in this class for?"

"Pre requisite to law." He slouched in the seat, getting comfortable.

My eyes widened. "Law?"

He nodded. "Yup."

"Seriously?" I sounded doubtful and he looked over at me with an 'I'm wounded' expression. "I mean; it's not that I don't think you can do it…but you're actually interested in law?"

"I am."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Someone's gotta be there to defend either my brother or my dad when their luck runs out."

I felt chills claim my body. "So you're basing your career on something you think they'll need in the future?"

"Knowledge is power, Angel." He quipped. "Haven't you heard that before?"

My mouth was still hanging open by the time Professor Hurley waltzed into the class holding his mug of coffee. "Good morning, class."

I was still looking at Dace as though he had no head and he smirked, poking me in my rib. "Pay attention, Angel."

I frowned, swatted his hand and turned to focus on Professor Hurley. Try as I might to ignore Dace sitting beside me, I couldn't. He was distracting. His breathing was distracting. And for the life of me, I could not seem to get his reasoning for wanting a law degree out of my mind. It was chilling. I was perturbed.

When class finally ended, I powered off my laptop, shoved it into my bag and stood swinging my bag over my shoulder. Dace stood with me. "What are you doing now?"

I raised a brow. "Like a normal person, I'm going to eat." I chuckled when all he did was gaze down at me from deep blue eyes. "It is lunch time."

"It is." He nodded, shoving his hands into the pocket of his jeans. "Can I join you?"

I stiffened. "You want to join me for lunch?"

His jaw worked and I could see he was offended by my obvious surprise. "I like spending time with you. You're normal." He threaded a hand through his hair. "Is there a problem with that?"

I took a step forward, bumping his shoulder with mine. "Nope. No problem at all." When I realized he hadn't started following me, I turned around to look at him. In the seats behind us, a group of bottled blonds glared. I rolled my eyes. "Are you coming?"

Dace's blue eyes were troubled as he nodded. When he finally caught up to me, I bumped his side with mine. "So tell me something."

I felt weary eyes settle on my face. "What?"

"What makes me so normal?"

"You don't like me." He said after a long moment of silence.

"Pardon me?" I sputtered. "I like you."

"I didn't mean it that way."

"Well elaborate please," I shifted my bag on my shoulder and Dace sighed. His hand moved to my shoulder and he slid it beneath the strap, his fingers hooking the material. I froze at the feel of his hand moving against my body and I was thankful the weather warranted long-sleeved clothing - because if he'd touched my skin, I knew I would have been on fire. Dace didn't seem even remotely affected as he pulled the strap from my arm, throwing it over his own shoulder. "I can carry my own bag."