Page 79 of The Casanova Complex

What the hell was that?

I look at the time on my computer and see that it’s after midnight.

I climb off the bed and walk over to the window, wrenching it open. Suddenly, Bennett pops up, slightly red-faced and out of breath, scaring the absolute shit out of me. I open my mouth to scream, but his hand flies to cover my mouth, silencing it as he climbs through the window.

Once he’s inside, his hand falls from my lips, and I reach out, flattening my palms against his stupid chest and shoving him back a full step.

“What the fuck, Bennett!” I sound breathless, and it’s because I almost just had a heart attack, definitely not because he’s wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and one of those shirts that has the sleeves cut off and is open halfway down the sides, showing off his sharp obliques. Not at all. “You scared the ever-living shit out of me. Why are you crawling through my window in the middle of the night?”

He barks out a laugh and flashes me a smirk that seems almost boyish. “Reinforcements?” Only when I watch him shrug off his backpack do I even notice that he has one. He sets it onto my desk, ignoring the chaotic state of the top of it, and unzips it. “You said you’d be up late working on your app to submit tonight when we texted earlier, and I figured you probably had nothing but Red Bull and a granola bar per usual, so…” He trails off, holding up a bag of Hot Cheetos and a cherry Sprite. “I brought you sustenance and figured you might, I dunno… need help?”

Need help pressing the Submit button on my already completed application? Oooookay.

I bite the inside of my cheek when a smile threatens to slip past.

And they say that chivalry’s dead. Impossible.

Because this man has paid attention enough to know my favorite snack and soda and is, of course, right in the fact that I may have forgotten to eat today because I’ve been so busy studying and working and freaking out over submitting.

“Thank you. That’s very… thoughtful of you,” I murmur, taking it from him. “Next time though, text me and warn me so I don’t die of a heart attack?”

Bennett chuckles, giving me a short nod before he brushes past me toward the bed, flopping down onto it.

My cheeks heat when I realize that had he been ten minutes earlier climbing through my window, he would’ve caught me with my fingers in my panties, fantasizing about him doing ungodly dirty things to me.

Specifically, the thing he does with his tongue when kissing me, but in the spot between my thighs that is literally aching for him.

“Did you do it yet?”

I blink, pulling myself out of my head. “Do what?”

Bennett arches a brow. “Submit your application. Duh.”

Oh.

“No, not yet. I was looking over it one last time when you got here.” Walking over to the bed, I sit down beside him, pulling the blanket into my lap, followed by my laptop. “I need to finish reviewing, and then I can submit.”

“Cool, then we can do it together. I’ll study for my Astronomy test until you’re ready.” When I look over at him, he’s propped against the headboard, a notebook spread out on his lap, wearing an encouraging smile that makes my heart gallop wildly in my chest.

What is happening to me?

One very hot make-out session and a heartfelt apology for the past, and suddenly, I’m putty when it comes to him?

This is ridiculous. I have got to get it together.

I settle in at the foot of my bed, lying on my stomach as I open my computer and force my gaze back to the screen. I find the spot where I left off and continue reading, attempting to focus.

But every few lines, I find myself sneaking in a glance at Bennett, watching as he lifts the thin, gold chain around his neck between his lips and rolls it with his tongue. His pale blue eyes are locked on his notes, while my attention is fixated on him.

It feels impossible to focus with him sitting so close. With the fresh, woodsy scent of his bodywash surrounding me.

He lets out a deep sigh, and I shift on the bed, trying to get comfortable.

I keep losing my place as I’m reading.

It’s not like I haven’t gone over this application so many times that I can practically recite it with my eyes closed.

I finally make it through to the end, where I’ve added my letters of recommendation, and then sit up, moving up the bed. “Okay. I’m done. I think this is it,” I say as my gaze settles on Bennett.