Although, child services had always been in the back of my mind. Not living in the best environment growing up may have played a big part in that. I wanted children that were growing up in an environment like I had, to get help sooner. Memories of my past came rushing back and chilled me to the bone. No one should ever go through what I did. If I could keep just one child’s life from becoming what mine had been, that would give me a sense of accomplishment. The horrors of my past were not something I liked to focus on these days though. No matter how hard I wished for it, what had been done could not be undone.
“So who is your professor?” Kane asked, pulling me from my painful trip down memory lane.
“Um, Hanson. I hear she’s a real hard ass. I’m actually a little nervous, to be honest.” We had finally made it to the door of the class and I took a quick peek inside to see if the notorious teacher was inside. I didn’t see her, but I did see a few people already taking their seats.
“Ah, she’s not all that hard. I’ll let you in on a little secret, but you are sworn to secrecy”—He leaned in so close to my ear that his hot breath tickled the small hairs on the side of my neck—“it’s all an act.”
He pulled back and my eyes flew open—funny how I never even noticed they had closed in the first place. He crossed his arms and leaned against the door facing the class. “She likes to be all tough and give hard lectures the first few days making people think they are in for one hell of a hard class. Then she lets up after all the ones panic and drop her class because they think it’ll be too rough. Her class was actually one of my favorites.”
Well, at least that calmed my nerves a little bit. I had heard some horror stories about this woman and her obscene amount of work she gave out. Now that I knew it was all a ruse—all I could think was, well played madam … well played.
Feeling better about how this class was going to go, I held my hand out for my bag that Kane was still holding. “Thanks for walking me to class, and carrying my bag.” I mean, really, what else can I say? This is moving into first date—kiss or don’t kiss on the doorstep—territory.
Before things could get any more awkward, Kane handed over my bag and I turned to head into class. I had made it all of two steps in before I felt a light baseball-type slap right on my ass. Whipping around, I caught sight of Kane walking backwards out of the class, holding up both hands with a smile on his face so huge both dimples were clearly visible.
“Go get ‘em tiger. Give that class hell!” He winked before turning and disappeared from the doorway.
I could feel the biggest smile on my face as I shook my head; I might not have known him long, but he was sure growing on me. I couldn’t remember smiling this much in such a long time. There was just something about him that pulled you in and made you comfortable around him. And it was refreshing to finally meet new people and have them get to know Kelsey … not ‘that girl Kelsey with the fucked up past’.
After deciding on a seat, I slid in and began pulling my laptop from my bag, when my ink pen fell out and rolled across the floor. I stretched as far as I could, trying to catch it before it rolled too far; but when it was almost in my reach, I started to slip from the chair.
Oh, no. This is going to be embarrassing.
One cheek slipped from the edge of the chair, before the rest of my body followed suit. I braced myself for the impact of my body colliding with the floor—but it never came. All I felt was two large hands sliding under me and catching me mere inches from the floor.
And I’m so embarrassed that I don’t even want to look up at the person who was now cradling me like a small child. Only after I heard his voice did I raise my head.
“That could have been bad,” A deep voice lightly chuckled.
With me still in his arms, I could feel the vibrations from his chest as he laughed. It also reminded me that I was being held by a stranger … making the whole situation completely awkward. Finally turning to face him, I was met with his gorgeous eyes. They were so blue and clear, I almost questioned if they were even his real color, or if he was wearing colored contacts.
People had always told me my eyes were beautiful and unique. While their golden honey color was not very common, I hated them. They served as a reminder of what he did to me, to us. I had contemplated colored contacts for myself from time to time, but contacts would not change the fact that I had his eyes.
Realizing I was still in this guy’s arms, I untangled my body from his hold and hurried to stand. Who just lets some stranger hold them for an unknown amount of time like that? Oh yeah, that’s right, me! Because obviously I’m all kinds of weird like that.
When we were both vertical, he held out his hand to me. “My name’s Nate, by the way.”
I tentatively reached out my hand to shake his, and take a good look at him. He’s extremely good looking—as are most the boys I’ve met here so far. What, did I sign up to go to Abercrombie College, and didn’t know it? Sheesh. How was it possible that every guy here looked like he just stepped right out of a GQ magazine? Perfect hair, perfect teeth, and perfect clothes. This was beginning to be just a tad bit ridiculous.
“Kelsey.” I nodded.
Completely mortified, I began to collect my things and throw them back into my bag. When I finally took my seat again, I buried my face in my hands to hide my embarrassment and sent up a silent prayer that this class would pass quickly.
I slowly lowered my hands to the desk when I felt a light tap on my shoulder, and turned to find Nate standing there—with a tampon in his hand. At first I’m a little taken aback, not really understanding why he would be holding a tampon … and then I feel my heart drop to my stomach when I realize it’s the same brand I use.
Fuck my life.
Clearing his throat, he leaned down close to whisper in my ear, “I believe this belongs to you.”
Really? Is this really happening right now? What is my deal today? Are the Gods out to get me and curse me as ‘the girl who would forever go around doing embarrassing shit and making a fool of herself in front of good looking men’ for the rest of my life?
Well, it couldn’t get any worse. Might as well suck it up and get it over with. I mean, what else did I have to lose? The man was standing there holding my tampon, after all.
“Thanks,” I said as I retrieved the tampon from his hand, dropping it into my bag. I was never going to live this down. I just knew it. “And thanks for, um, catching me,” I added.