Saying our goodbyes, Olivia and I head back to my room.
“Now, where were we?” I say, smirking, closing the door behind me and locking it.
Thankfully, I don’t have to worry about Chase barging in this time. His lucky ass finished with finals this afternoon and he headed straight home after.
Olivia gives me an amused but warning look. “Uh-uh. We have to study.”
Slowly, I stalk toward her.
“Bronx,” she says firmly, pointing a stern finger at me.
Abruptly, I charge her, grabbing her by the hips and pushing her onto the bed, falling on top her and straddling her hips.
“Bronx!” she squeals, giggling uncontrollably. “No!”
“Please,” I whine, leaning down and peppering kisses along her neck.
She places her hands on my chest, pushing me away. “Study,” she demands sternly.
I let out a huff and roll off her. “Fine. But it’s not like you even need me to study anyway. You could literally ace that entire final by yourself in your sleep,” I tease.
She rolls her eyes. “No, because I need mypartnerto help me since this is apartnersfinal,” she emphasizes, giving me a pointed look. “I’m counting on you, mister.”
“Oof, call memisteragain,” I tease.
She grabs my pillow and smacks me in the face with it.
“All right. All right!” I grab the pillow out of her hands. “Damn. I promise you can count on me. Although, I may just need you to double-check some of my answers for me,” I admit sheepishly.
For the final, we decided to split it evenly. She will memorize the top half of the skeleton while I memorize the bottom half. But I know as well as she does, she’s going to memorize the whole thing to ensure we get an A. I know I should be offended that she doesn’t trust me to memorize my half, but I guess I can’t blame her with my less than model track record of skipping class and not getting the best grades.
Olivia gives me a softer look and grabs her study sheets. We study for about thirty minutes until she has to go home, wanting to get some quality sleep for our earlier-than-sin final.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says as she slips on her coat, ready for me to walk her out to her car. “Remember, our final starts at eight a.m.”
“Already got my alarm clock set,” I assure her, gesturing to the digital clock on my nightstand. “Got my phone set too.”
She gives me an appreciative look, some of the anxiety dissipating from her eyes. I can tell she’s nervous about completing the final in pairs. I know if it was up to her, she’d prefer to do this solo, not having to rely on anyone. Again, I can’t blame her. I know I’m a liability.
Admittedly, the old me probably would have just expected my partner to carry my ass, pass or fail. I wouldn’t have cared or tried. But for her, I really want to.
“I promise, I won’t let you down,” I whisper, rubbing my hands up and down her arms.
After a short kiss, I walk her out to her car and watch her drive off.
Once her taillights are out of sight, I walk back to my room and get ready for bed. Crawling into bed, I double-check my alarms one last time before letting my head hit the pillow, Olivia’s sweet vanilla scent clings to the pillowcase, helping me drift off to sleep.
Thirty-two
Down the Drain
The sunlight pouring in the window pierces my eyelids and I roll over with a groan, trying to block it out.
After a few minutes of not finding myself drifting back off to sleep, I peel my eyes open and blearily stare at the clock on my nightstand, wondering what time it is. I blink a few times, trying to make out the numbers, only to realize there’s no numbers on the clock.
Alarmed, I shoot up and grab my phone to see the alarm going off with no sound. I stop it and a looming dread creeps up my spine and swarms my chest when I realize what time it is.
Fuck.
