“Hi, Liv,” Chase drawls, a knowing grin on his face as he walks past us to throw his backpack on his desk and toe his shoes off.
“Hey,” she says shyly, unable to look at him.
Chase chuckles, jumping on his bed and folding his hands behind his head. “So, what were you two up to?” he asks, feigning innocence despite the mischief sparkling in his eyes.
“Studying,” I bite out, giving him a warning glare that tells him to back off.
Chase hums in acknowledgment, his grin deepening. “Studying what?”
“Anatomy,” I say through gritted teeth, knowing he’s purposefully trying to piss me off and tease Olivia.
Chase lets out a laugh. “Well, I could definitely see that.”
Olivia lets out a small groan, hiding her face behind her hands.
Annoyed, I snatch up one of the water bottles I tossed to the side earlier and chuck it at Chase. The plastic bottle flies across the room, hitting him square in the knee.
“Ow!” Chase yelps, his body nearly folding in half as he abruptly sits up. He frantically rubs a hand over his knee, trying to ease some of the pain.
“That’s your patella, asshole,” I mutter, referring to the knee bone I just hit.
Olivia lets out the smallest laugh, leaning forward and pressing her face to my chest.
After Chase stops whining about his knee, Olivia and I get back to studying, Chase watching over us like an authoritative parent to make sure we actually study. We study for almost two hours before she has to go home, and I walk her out to her car.
She leans back against her car door, looking at me expectantly.
Grinning, I lean down and press a chaste kiss to her lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Finch. Good night,” I whisper against her lips, leaving her with one final peck.
“Good night.” She smiles, her voice just above a whisper.
She opens her car door, and before she can slip inside, I grab her wrist, remembering something that’s been weighing heavily on my mind since earlier today, unable to let it go.
“Hey, about what Delilah said earlier today,” I start, suddenly becoming nervous. “The whole boyfriend thing . . . is that—do you . . .”I cup my hand around the back of my neck, struggling to find the right words to say. “Is that something you’re interested in?”
Her lips twitch up at the corners, her eyes laughing at my humility. “Is that somethingyou’reinterested in?” she counters.
“Yeah,” I admit through awhooshed breath, relieved she doesn’t seem repulsed by the idea. I take a step forward, resting my forearm on the top of her open car door, caging her in between it and the car. “So, it’s official?” I ask, hopeful.
“I don’t know, you haven’t asked me properly yet,” she teases.
I take another step forward so that our bodies are almost touching. Bringing my hand up, I rest it on her cheek, looking down into her warm brown eyes. “Olivia McCausland, will you officially be my girlfriend?”
She smiles up at me, eyes bright. “Yes.”
I lean down, pressing my lips to hers once more as we both smile into the kiss. It’s slow, soft, playful, and it takes everything inside of me to finally pull away and let her leave.
When I walk back into my dorm room, Chase peers at me from his bed with an amused look.
“What?” I spit, trying to pretend to be annoyed to hide the huge-ass smile that threatens to break out across my face. I peel off my shirt and rummage through my drawers for some new clothes to change into after my shower.
“So you and Olivia, huh?” he asks with mirth. “It’s serious?”
I bite the inside of my cheek, doing my best to act neutral. “Yeah, I guess,” I say with a causal shrug. I try to downplay it, only because if Chase knew how serious I was about her I’d never hear the end of it. All I’d hear all day are comments about being pussy-whipped or going soft.
His grin tells me that he can see right through me, but he surprisingly refrains from telling me verbally. “She’s a good one, man. Don’t fuck it up.”
God, I hope not.
