Virgin in the Middle(4)

Because that grin is too irritatingly sexy.

But I don’t have time to play games right now, so I just sigh and admit defeat. “Totally turned around. I’m trying to find room 305, but…”

“Yeah, this building is a complete maze. C’mon, I’ll walk you.”

I fall into stride beside him, trying to ignore the fact that there’s only an inch of space between his arm and mine. I can almost feel the heat radiating off of him, and I can definitely tell that he went home and showered after practice—he smells mint-fresh, with a hint of cologne, and something else underneath, a scent I recognize from our shared room. The scent that’s all him, pine and dark woods and mystery.

His dark eyes cut sideways to find mine as we walk, the ever-present smile still lingering on his narrow mouth. “Excited for your first day?”

“I guess so. More nervous than excited, probably,” I admit, sighing as our steps speed up.

“Not what you expected?” he replies, quoting our conversation the day before.

My cheeks flush. “At least now I know I have no idea what to expect, actually,” I reply, trying for a smile. It’s an olive branch, and he takes it in stride, his smile widening.

“Don’t worry. Between the three of us, I think we’ll do just fine here.” He comes to a halt, and I nearly walk straight past him because I was distracted thinking about what he meant by between the three of us.

Then I realize we’re standing outside a classroom. My classroom. 305. And not a moment too soon, either. The bell sounds overhead, signaling the start of the hour, and of my bio course.

“Thank you so much,” I gush as I step inside. But to my surprise, Vin follows me in, his grin widening. I swallow hard as we slide into the only two remaining seats at the back of the 80-odd person lecture hall, side-by-side. “I didn’t know you were taking bio,” I whisper as our professor turns on the screen at the front of the room.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me yet, Cassidy,” he replies smoothly, winking as he pulls a notebook from his bag, then assumes a jaunty lean in his seat, eyes on the board.

Even with his gaze directed elsewhere though, it still somehow feels like he’s staring at me. The space between us feels almost physical with weight.

As I figured, it’s difficult to focus on the professor, when all I can concentrate on is the feeling of him beside me. Wondering what he’s thinking. Why he’s taking this class, too. Is he also planning to be a Bio major, or is he just filling a science requirement? What does he want to do with his life, besides playing lacrosse?

There’s a break in the lecture as the professor tries to make his slideshow keep advancing, and Vin scribbles something on the corner of his notebook. Slides it sideways so I can see, and I have to stifle a laugh when I read it.

Might be a Bio pro, but he’s no techie, huh?

Vin offers me his pen, and with a reluctant glance at the professor—still lost in his laptop—I accept it and lean over his notebook.

Got to admit, I expected a little more from this class than just a PowerPoint presentation.

Don’t worry, he writes back, his letters long and looping. Prof. PowerPoint here is just the main lecture. The bio labs themselves are supposed to be pretty epic, and we have a better prof who runs those. So I’ve heard.

I cast another long sideways glance at Vin, again reappraising everything I thought I knew about him. If I had to guess, I’d have taken him for your standard jock, here on an athletic scholarship, willing to blow off classes, not actually interested in learning much aside from how to win at his chosen sport.

Clearly, I was way off the mark.

Something about the way I’m staring at him must tip him off that I’m surprised, because Vin leans across the desk between us to whisper in my ear, his breath hot against my cheek.

“What’s the matter, surprised that a jock actually gives a damn about class?”

He’s so close to the mark that my cheeks, bright red, answer enough for him. But I lean back over to whisper a reply all the same. “It’s a pleasant surprise, don’t worry. I’ll stop pre-judging you now, promise.”

Now it’s his turn to smile in surprise, eyes widening. “I knew I’d grow on you,” he replies, smirking. “It’s inevitable. Side-effect of the jock super-powers.”

I punch his arm lightly, but he catches my hand and squeezes my fist once, fingers curled around mine for a breath of a second, before he lets go and turns to face the front of the classroom.

The professor is talking again. Crap. I didn’t even notice.

“You should take your classes more seriously, Cass,” Vin joke-scolds me, even as he plucks his pen from my fingers and goes back to taking diligent notes.

For my part, it takes me a few breaths to recover before I can hold the pen again without shivering, a telltale sign of just how much he affects me.

Dammit. This is exactly what I’d been hoping to avoid.

And yet, Vin is so much more than I pegged him for when we first met. He’s quietly serious, watching the professor with a steadfast gaze that’s almost as distracting as the warmth radiating off his skin or the faint whiff of his cologne that I keep catching when I turn my head to steal glances at him.

Toward the end of the lecture, our professor takes a break to fiddle with the PowerPoint again, and the class fills with chatter. I steal a sideways glance at Vin, feeling bad for pre-judging him. “Are you interested in this as a major?” I ask, genuinely curious.

“I’m considering it,” he says, leaning toward me easily, so fluid in his movements. “I want to study sports medicine. Too many people get injured playing sports; if I can help people avoid that, keep them on the path to their dreams…” His eyes catch mine, and my breath hitches in my chest. “I think that sounds like a pretty good career choice.”

“It does,” I admit, my cheeks flaring red from his attention. “I was thinking about going into medicine too. Not like, directly, but research in the lab. Working on developing new medications. Discovering cures.”

“You want to heal people too,” he guesses.

I nod, unable to tear my eyes from his.

“That sounds like a pretty good choice too, Cassidy,” he replies, and the sound of my name on his lips is hotter than I can explain.

Just then, the bell rings, and we both startle. A ping of regret sinks in my chest—I wish we had longer to linger here, stealing glances at each other, talking about our future dreams…

Then again, you’ll see him in no time at all, I remind myself, and then I’m blushing all over again at the thought of sharing a room with this sexy as hell guy—a guy with more depth than I imagined—all semester.

As I stuff my books into my backpack, pulling out my schedule and heading out the door, preparing to navigate to my next class, Vin rests a hand on my shoulder. I glance up at him, flushed again for no reason other than that his dark eyes are boring into mine, and he’s got that damn smirk on again. The one I can never resist.

“We should grab a drink sometime,” he says, grinning. “We can talk bio and career plans.” His smirk deepens. “If you need to borrow my notes, I don’t mind sharing.”

Dammit. Did he notice me staring at him for half of class? If I was blushing before, I’m a red-hot beacon now. But somewhere in the back of my mind, my brain is replaying the advice Nita gave me before I left home. Guys like it when you play hard to get. Be a little coyer. “Drinks would be nice…” I say, slowly, dragging it out. Then I let myself smile a little, imitating his grin. “But wouldn’t Anthony be jealous?”

To my surprise, Vin only laughs at that. “Of course not. He’d be coming along.”

I feel my smile drop away as I think about that. Crap. Did I just imagine him asking me out? Maybe he just meant friendly roommate drinks after all. Get ahold of yourself, Cassidy. “Oh…” I say, still trying to figure out what to think. That’s when I cast a sideways glance up the hallway and realize everyone else from our class has already filed past. We’re alone in here, the lights in the classroom flicking off behind us. It’s dark, secluded… And Vin seems to realize it at the same moment I do. He leans in, one hand resting on the wall behind me, towering over me. I try to take a step back, hit the wall, and find myself resting against the cool tile, gazing up at him. His eyes make it impossible to look away. I definitely did not imagine him hitting on me. He looks positively hungry, the way he’s eying me now.

“We told you, Anthony and I have known each other since we were kids,” he murmurs, and the line of confusion between my eyebrows deepens as I wonder what on earth that means. Why he’s leaning over me all sexily, smelling fucking amazing, gazing at me like he wants to devour me, and talking about his childhood best friend. He seems to enjoy my confusion, smiling wider. More dangerously. “We never fight. We always share, everything.” He tilts his head closer to mine, his lips just inches away. So close that I can feel his breath ghosting across my lips when he adds, “That includes women.”

Before I can help it, the image flashes in my mind. All three of us in our dorm room. Anthony and Vin both naked, me caught between them, light and dark, the all-American hunk and the smirking bad boy. What would it feel like to kiss both of them? To let Vin’s lips find mine now, taste me, and then Anthony’s next, softer, lighter, but every bit as hot…