Page 40 of Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Is this some kind of prank? Or worse, does Gio thinkshowing up unannounced isromantic? Some grand gesture? Is he trying to impress me?
I click my pen, gripping it tighter, ignoring the way my heart skips at the idea.
This isn’t a rom-com! I’m not a quirky heroine, and Gio Montagalo is definitely not the charming lead.
He’s a disruption.
A distraction.
And yet…
The thought of him waiting for me at my desk…flashing me a smile when I walk back in… sends an uninvited spark of warmth through me.
Professor Casey clears his throat, pulling my attention back to the present.
“Adams,” he says. “I trust you’ll handle your end of the workshop preparations?”
“Absolutely.” I nod briskly.I have no idea what I’ve just agreed to, but I’ll figure it out later.
As our meeting finally wraps up, I gather my things and make a beeline for the door, managing to mutter a polite goodbye to him and the other colleague who had been in the room.
The moment I step into the hallway, my feet quicken their pace toward my office.
Red face.
Beating heart.
As I grow closer, I hear his voice.
His laugh echoes down the hallway, rich and deep, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Because he probably doesn’t!
When I turn the corner, the scene that greets me makes me stop dead in my tracks.
Gio is sitting on the edge of my desk, leaning back on his hands with the kind of cool confidence that should be illegal. Paul is standing to his right, doubled over laughing, and another student—Rachel from my Tuesday morning seminar—has joinedthe audience, leaning against the doorframe, wide-eyed and completely captivated.
“I’m telling you, it’s true!” Gio is gesturing animatedly with his hands as he tells the story. “Third period, Coach loses his mind. We all get stuck running suicides for an hour because Parker Fiffe decides to tape his water bottle to the ceiling in the team room. To this day, none of us know how he got it up there.”
Paul rasps, tears practically forming in his eyes as he stares at his new hero. “No way!”
“My lips to God's ears.” Gio kisses his fingers and holds them up like he’s delivering the gospel. “And the worst part? Parker blamed it on me!”
Rachel is in love.“That is insane.”
“It was,” Gio says, his grin widening. “But hey, those were the good old days when I was your age.”
Oh lord.
Time to break up the party.
I clear my throat loudly, and all three of them turn toward me.
“Am I interrupting?” I ask, my voice sharper than I intended.
“No, no—come in,” Gio says smoothly, gesturing like he’s the one who owns the place.
Rachel giggles, and Paul tries to hide his smile.
I roll my eyes and step into my office, setting my bag down on the chair with a little more force than necessary.
