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There was another pause while she considered it. Honestly, anyone would think I was making an indecent proposal the way she was looking at me suspiciously, as if she couldn’t quite believe anyone would want to help her.
“Umm, yeah, that would be great, thanks.”
She pushed the laptop toward me when I sat down next to her. I quickly went through the motions to recover an unsaved file and in less than a minute, I was done.
“There. Now you can get back to work.” I grinned at her, and she gave me an awkward smile in return. “I’m Quinn, by the way.”
“Thanks, I…erm…appreciate it, Quinn. I’m Stella.”
I wasn’t convinced she did appreciate my help. She was hardly effusive in her thanks, but whatever. I decided not to overstay my welcome and quickly returned to my table while she turned her back on me again.
After another hour, my brain was close to shutting down. I needed more coffee if I had any hope of finishing this bloody assignment.
“Hey, Stella, I’m getting a coffee refill. Do you want one?” I asked as I paused at her table.
She looked up from behind thick glasses. If I looked closely, I could see turquoise eyes, like a warm ocean in the tropics, staring up at me. I realized that despite her appalling sense of style and thick glasses, she was actually very pretty. Which made me wonder why she was hiding her charms.
To my surprise, given how unfriendly she’d been thus far, she said yes to the coffee. I hurried down to the vending machine in the cafeteria to fetch two coffees. The coffee from the machine wasn’t great, but caffeine was caffeine. If it kept me awake a bit longer, I’d be willing to drink it.
“Thank you,” she smiled when I handed her a cup.
I glanced down at her screen. “You’re a business major?” I asked.
Stella nodded. “Yeah.” I waited for her to pick up the conversational batten, but she dipped her head again, dismissing me now I’d served my purpose. I probably should have been irritated, but instead, it amused me. It was refreshing not having a girl fall at my feet. I much preferred a challenge.
Just as I was about to walk away, my phone rang. I looked at the screen. It was Brax.
“Hey. What’s up?”
“We’re ordering pizza. Want some?”
“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll be back in 30 minutes or so. Save me some extra hot pepperoni.”
Stella scoffed quietly as I ended the call. “Hawaiian is the only pizza worth having.”
“Nooo!”
Stella laughed at my horrified grimace. “It’s delicious. You’re missing out.”
Her whole face lit up with amusement. It was such a shame she chose to hide behind those awful glasses.
“Maybe you should come back to our room and taste-test extra hot pepperoni, just to be certain,” I winked, expecting her to jump on my invite, but instead, she immediately shut down.
“Thanks, but I still have a lot to do here.”
“You know what they say, all work and no play...” I gave her one of my best flirtatious smiles, but it was like a lightbulb had blown, leaving the room in darkness. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to offend her, but I presumed it was the invite back to our room. Maybe she assumed I was bullshitting her, dangling something in her face I thought she’d want, only to take it away again?
Well I wasn’t that kind of guy. Besides, she seemed like an interesting person, and I was curious about her. I also had a sneaking suspicion she was hiding a killer body under her frumpy clothes, and I liked the idea of finding out.
“Nah, I’m good, thanks.” She turned away and stared at her screen, ignoring me.
Whatever. I shrugged. Her loss.
She barely gave me a second glance when I left the library a short while later. I was surprised at how much that bugged me.
Chapter 9
Stella
