CHAPTER FIFTEEN

HARPER

If I was confused about my relationship with Colton before, I’m near cationic as I walk across campus trying to process it all.

I barely slept, forced instead to get up and watch crappy rom-coms, which only makes things ten times worse.

You put your foot down. You did the right thing.

I don’t know. Did I? Because what happened by the river, that was intense.

The sun is out today, a rarity, the snow having turned to a slurry underfoot. I head past the admin building and left, about to turn the corner when James steps out.

I stop. Here we go. “Were you waiting for me?”

He clenches his teeth, shaking his head and approaching me with his hands in the pockets of his designer trench coat, the one I bought for him with a week’s worth of salary. “You know, Harper, you really should be careful who you share the more… intimate details of your life with.”

But I won’t be intimidated. Not this time. “And you should mind your own business.”

I make to walk around him, but he side-steps, blocking the narrow path. “You do realize I was basically assaulted the other night by someone who I must say looked awfully like a student here, someone a little too hasty to defend your so-called honor.”

So-called? I take a step towards him. “Really?”

“A student,” James continues, “who seemed to know a few things about your little problem.”

“My… problem?” I snap. I hate the accusation my ability to come had anything to do with me, with my body. “You’ll be pleased to know it’s no longer a problem then.”

I’m playing a dangerous game here, but I’m fed up. James needs to know the part he played, or didn’t, rather. But he’s wearing a smug, slippery smile I don’t like at all. I recognize it immediately, from the many times he talked down to me, like he was superior, like he was a freakin’ intellectual marvel lining himself up for the next Nobel Prize. That condescending tone… I never want to hear it again.

“Harper, Harper, Harper…” he says, the crocodile smile remaining. “Let’s see what happens, shall we?” He walks forward, pausing beside me. “I have a feeling the ice you’re standing on is thinner than you think.”

I let him walk on, my fists clenched and head beating, but he won’t get the better of me—not now, not ever. Still, I’m spooked, because as predictable as James is, he’s right about one thing: I’m a step away from going under.

*

I’m distracted during class. I make simple errors, much to the amusement of the students. Apparently, the great Khaleesi is not one of the great cultural influencers of the twentieth century.

Colton makes his way down to the front after class. “Everything good?” he asks, the concern clear.

I pretend to gather my notes, file them away even though I don’t have an actual folder. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

“After that train wreck? You’re not fine. Tell me what’s wrong. I can help.”

I stuff things into my handbag and switch off the lights, heading out the door. Colton walks beside me, easily matching my pace. “I’m not going to let this go until you tell me what’s wrong.”

I don’t want to cause a scene. I detour into a side hall and stop, facing him. “We shouldn’t be seen together, Colton. We shouldn’t even be near one another.”

“So you’re giving me the cold shoulder then?”

“No, I’m telling you to keep your distance.”

“Like this?” He reaches forward and takes me by the back of my neck, bringing his lips to my own in a firm kiss.

I can’t help it. I drop my handbag, hands idle by my side, and fall into it, my tongue pressing against his, my eyes closing to savor the sweet, exotic taste of his mouth and the forbidden riches it holds.

Forbidden.

His free hand is against my thigh, steadily heading north, when he breaks away, simply shaking his head as he walks back down the hall.

“W—, wait…” but he’s already turning around the corner, disappearing from sight.

My lips tingle, my hands trembling by my sides.

I’m gasping for air, frantically looking around to make sure we haven’t been seen, but this hall is in a disused part of the campus. Hardly anyone comes down here.

It’s only then, with the lingering taste of his lips, I realize precisely the depth of the danger I’m in.