Page 7 of Do It With Me

“That’s what I thought,” I said, knowing I sounded a little bit smug, and then I walked to my seat, sitting down and leaving him to chew on that until class began.

He launched straight into a lecture about business models, projections, and some other jargon that I had been reading about while I was trying to get ahead, but I could tell he was distracted. It seemed like he was clearing his throat a lot, glancing at the door and then back at me like he couldn’t make up his mind about whether to focus or just watch me all night.

Holden seemed completely thrown off his game, and while I knew I hadn’t achieved much by it, it still gave me a quiet little thrill. He’d made me feel so small after our first class and at least this made me feel like I’d reclaimed a little bit of ground.

Every time he glanced my way, I returned his stare with a slow, challenging look of my own, just enough to remind him I was aware of his wandering eyes. He was still Holden Langton, effortlessly smooth and intimidatingly attractive, but I could tell when he stumbled over a word or trailed off mid-thought.

Each tiny misstep he made felt like payback. He’d judged me without knowing a damn thing about my life and now, here I was, savoring my quiet, private victory. Not that I would let him see it.

I didn’t need anyone’s pity or charity. I was here to learn, to survive, to scrape together a little business acumen to keep my store afloat. And maybe also just a little bit to prove that I was more than just some cartoon-frog T-shirt disaster.

When class finally wrapped up, I gathered my things and turned toward the door, strutting just a little because, hell, I had earned this, but then I heard his voice.

“Ellora?”

I froze, my stomach hitting the floor. He knows my name?

“Can you stay behind for a second?” he asked, and though the words were simple and his tone nonthreatening, it felt like the request thickened the air between us.

A few short words, and suddenly, I wasn’t strutting anymore. My heart started hammering. Had I taken it too far?

I paused and gripped the strap of my bag a little tighter, wondering exactly what kind of trouble I’d just invited, but since I couldn’t really say no, I turned around again. Walking back to him, I stopped on the other side of his desk, scared, curious, and oh. My. God. Am I also a little bit turned on?

Standing at his full height, he looked down into my eyes, unwavering and looking impossibly broad as he crossed his arms. Although he was wearing a long-sleeved button-down again, I could see muscle rippling under the fabric even if I couldn’t see his actual arms.

“Do you want to go out with me?” he asked, blunt and surprisingly steady.

“Absolutely not,” I said without hesitation, my eyes widening and my heart lurching into my throat.

He nodded, as if he’d expected that answer. “Good. In that case, let me buy you a cup of coffee. I have a business proposal for you.”

I blinked hard. Coffee? Business proposal? What the hell? Also, he knows my name. He knows my freaking name. That can’t be a good thing, right?

My brain was still running replays of our little standoff during class, and now he wanted to drag me somewhere? Suspicious didn’t even begin to cover it, but curiosity got the better of me and I nodded.

Holden slung a leather satchel across his shoulder and motioned toward the door, walking in the direction of the campus cafe after we left the classroom building. I fell into step beside him, feeling the kind of dread I suspected was usually reserved for being walked to the gallows.

“Business proposal,” I muttered under my breath, glancing up at him.

From this angle, I caught the curve of his lips as he smirked, but he kept his gaze dead ahead, not giving anything else away. Meanwhile, I felt more and more like I was walking into a trap, and yet, despite everything, my stomach wouldn’t stop flipping.

Why didn’t I just say yes when he asked if I wanted to go out with him? Even a date with my professor sure would’ve been a heck of a lot less terrifying than whatever this was going to turn out to be.