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“I am,” I said, snapping out of my stupor. “What are you doing here?”
He tapped a long finger off his notebook. “Had a meeting with my adviser last week to make sure I had all my credits. Turned out I still needed music appreciation, and this was the only class that wasn’t full. So I did a late add.”
Jase paused as his gaze slowly drifted over my face. His body was the epitome of relaxed, but there was an unnerving level of quiet intensity in his stare. “I was actually sitting in front of you. You didn’t see me, but I saw you.”
There was no way that Jase knew my schedule, and him being here had absolutely nothing to do with me or his late-night visit on Saturday. I totally knew that, but that knowledge did nothing to stop the bubbling of hope and excitement. “Well, that’s . . . um, that’s cool.”
The other side of Jase’s lips tipped up.
My cheeks heated as I hastily looked away. Okay. I could handle this. Jase and I had talked things over. We were cool. Everything was cool. We were friends. And the things he’d said and how he’d felt on top of me Saturday night didn’t matter. He had been drunk. Another mistake. I clung to that, because considering anything else was sure to bring on a world of hurting.
I peeked at him, stealing a sideways glance. His gaze was still fixed on my face, but slowly moved down to my lap. My right leg was stretched out, and the way I held my notebook did nothing to hide the length of the scar covering my knee. I felt the burn in my face deepen as I shifted my notebook to my right leg.
“The class is really boring,” Calla announced, shoving her hand over and drawing his attention away. “I’m Calla, by the way.”
He reached over with his left arm, shaking her hand as his gaze flickered across her face. His stare did not linger on her scar, and for that, he got bonus points when it came to compassion. “I’m—”
“Jase Winstead,” she said, sitting back. “I know you. Well, I don’t know you. I’ve heard of you.”
A faint pink stained the tops of his broad cheeks. Was he blushing? “You have?” he asked.
She nodded and a private, almost knowing smile formed on her lips. “I think every female on this campus has heard of you.”
I rolled my eyes.
He chuckled. “Ah, I see . . .”
“You do?” I arched a brow.
Focusing on the front of the auditorium as the professor strode in, Jase bit down on his lower lip. There was something boyish about the action, but in a strange way, also sensual. The muscles in my stomach tightened at the sudden image of him nipping down on my lower lip like he had on my neck. The skin there tingled as a reminder. An electric-like sensation shot through my veins at the memory of how he’d rocked his hips.
Good God, I needed to get laid or something.
“Some would say I’m quite popular . . .” he remarked finally.
“With the ladies?” I supplied as I pulled a pen out of my bag.
Thick lashes lowered as he sent me a sideways look. “Maybe.”
“Definitely,” Calla murmured under her breath.
I grinned as Jase shifted in his seat. He was uncomfortable addressing his oh-so-stellar reputation?
Goodie gumdrops.
“So,” I said, unable to resist poking at him. My voice was low as the professor started to discuss the six elements of music. “Would these ladies have good or bad things to say about you?”
He was silent as he scribbled the words rhythm and melody on his notebook. I didn’t think he’d answer. “Depends on who you ask.”
“What would it depend on?”
His grin spread on one side again. “Several factors, but I can assure you that most of them would have many good things to say.” His light gray eyes sought mine out again as he bowed his head until his warm breath danced along my cheek. “Actually, great things.”
My heart stumbled. Was he flirting with me? I swallowed. “Like what kind of things?”
He didn’t answer then, so I forced myself to focus on the lecture. I could feel Calla staring at me. She had no idea how I knew Jase and probably thought I was one of the girls who had many, many good things to say about him.
I wanted to say his comment was made out of arrogance and nothing else, but knowing how damn well he kissed, I was sure that he was just as skilled at everything else. The girls were probably boasting about his prowess on Internet message boards.
