Chapter Sixteen

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Wes ~

A few days had passed and even though I had been texting on and off with Gracie, it wasn't enough. I wanted to see her - needed to see her, but she was so engrossed in her school work that it was hard to convince her to come out.

I took hurried steps toward my English professors office, but ended up finding his assistant, Rose, instead.

Perfect.

Turning on the charm, I leaned against the doorframe and sent a flirtatious smile her way, hoping and praying I could flirt my way into an extension for an essay that I had been avoiding.

"Hey Rose, how's my favorite Professor's assistant today?"

"Nice try Weston, but you're not getting an extension." Rose said without lifting her eyes from the papers she was grading.

"Extension? I don't need an extension. I was just on my way to the Coffee Bean and wanted to get your order."

The mention of coffee must have piqued her interest because her eyes stopped moving across the text and her expression changed.

"Large double shot vanilla latte." Rose said quickly, letting the corner of her mouth curve into a smile.

"You got it." I said, tapping the door frame as I went to retrieve her bribe.

"Oh and Weston? - One day that's the best I can do." Rose said with a smirk.

"Beautiful and merciful." I said, shooting her a wink that put a slight blush on her cheeks.

Turning on my heel I let out a sigh of relief that I had bought myself an extra day on a paper that I'd been putting off for weeks, hoping it would be enough for me to submit something that was at least passing in that short amount of time.

The coffee shop was busy as usual and I took a spot in line, repeating Rose's order in my head as I waited, so I wouldn't forget it.

There were people everywhere studying or eating lunch and the buzz and hum of the cafe was loud, but not loud enough to drown out the sound of familiar laughter flitting around in the air. The sound perked my ears and I searched for the source, swiveling my head over my shoulders back and forth until my eyes landed on Gracie.

My entire body seemed to come to life all at once, standing a little straighter and taking in a deep breath with all of my senses on high alert all of a sudden.

Running through every charming line in my head, I took one confident step in her direction before a large male figure blocked her from my view and took a seat across from her.

Emmitt. Shit.

I retracted my foot and righted myself, facing forward in the line, hoping she hadn't seen me or my sudden retreat as I regrouped. Pulling the brim of my hat down a little lower on my head, I tried to become invisible as I thought of a way to separate her from the ass clown she was sitting with. She was too good for Emmitt and I couldn't stand the sight of him sitting with her, the sight of him making her laugh. That should be me making her laugh.

Why am I so jealous right now? I don't get jealous.

Shifting back and forth on my feet, I pretended to read the menu of the cafe, keeping my eyes straight ahead despite the deep need I felt to stare at her - to drink her up and soak her in since I hadn't seen her in a few days.

I stood there in line as it slowly moved forward, stealing occasional glances out of my peripheral vision like a damn creep before I saw Emmitt stand and gather his things.

He's leaving. Hell fucking yes.

My blood was pumping faster than my veins could carry it and I could practically hear my own heart beat as it hammered against my ribs.

Am I nervous? Am I excited? Am I sick? What is going on with me?

I placed my order for Rose as Emmitt took a few steps away from the table, leaving Gracie alone as she refocused her attention on her computer.

"Hey there buddy." I said playfully as I approached her from behind.

The corner of her mouth lifted into a grin that traveled up the side of her cheek as she continued to type.

"Long time no see." Gracie said, lifting her gaze to meet mine with a smile on her lips that I wanted to taste.

"You're the busy one, not me." I joked.

"If you call pulling all nighters at the library busy, then yes, I'm extremely busy." She chuckled.

"But you've got time for coffee dates." I said, wiggling my eyebrows at her.

Scrunching her nose in confusion, Gracie cocked her head to the side at my statement.

"Emmitt Fields?" I said, motioning with my head over my shoulder in the direction that Emmitt had just walked in.

"Ew no." Gracie said immediately, pinching her face in disgust before regaining her composure.

"Sorry. That sounded harsh, but...Ew." Gracie repeated, shaking her head which was music to my fucking ears.

So it wasn't a date? But Shawn said he'd seen them together before. Maybe they are just friends?

"I tutor Emmitt. His parents pay me an absurd amount of money to make sure he doesn't fail his Lit. classes. I help him write papers." Gracie said, rolling her eyes as if Emmitt annoyed the living daylights out of her.

Thank God.

Picturing Gracie being romantic with Emmitt made me feel physically ill and I tried to hide my reaction as she explained the nature of their relationship which wasn't even friendship. She was being paid to spend time with him and clearly didn't enjoy it which was a huge relief to the big jealous monster inside of me that had just chosen to rear its ugly head.

"Well that makes sense. He wasn't really your type anyway." I said casually, giving her a sly grin.

Giving me a sassy smile in return, Gracie lowered her chin at me and laughed under her breath at my statement.

"Oh really? And what exactly is my type?" She asked, resting her chin on her hand and giving me a sarcastically eager smile.

I looked down at my own attire and appearance before answering her.

"Hmm. 6'2, 215 pounds, muscular, dark hair, white t-shirt, gray athletic shorts, devastatingly handsome." I said, shooting her a wink as I described myself to her.

Gracie tipped her head back with laughter which was a sound that I was slowly becoming addicted to as it flitted and fluttered in the air around me.

"That's awfully specific." She laughed.

"Yeah well, I can't help that you're so picky." I joked, loving the way her smile went all the way up to her eyes when she laughed.

"And what about you? Do I get to guess your type?" She asked.

"I'm just as picky as you are, unfortunately." I said, looking her up and down.

"Ah I see...so 6'2, 215 pounds, muscular..." her voice trailed off, lost in her own laughter as I shook my head and waved my hands, trying to get her to stop as I tried not to choke on my own drink.

"You're pretty funny" I said, recovering from my own laughter.

Gracie eyed the coffee cup sitting on the table and spun it to face her so she could read the name clearly.

"Funnier than...Rose?" Gracie asked, raising her eyebrows at me as she gave me a knowing look.

Shit.

"Rose is my professor's assistant. I'm currently in the middle of bribing my way to an extension on a paper that I've been avoiding."

Gracie's mouth curled into a devilish grin that made my shorts a little tighter.

"Well she might not want to fuck you if you let her coffee get cold." She taunted with a grin.

Damn we're really gonna test this whole just friends thing right off the bat aren't we.

I chuckled at Gracie's playful words and sipped my own drink before correcting her.

"And what makes you think I'm trying to fuck her? It's just coffee." I said holding the cup up as evidence.

"Yeah right." Gracie scoffed.

"Don't believe me?" I said, unable to hide the smile that Gracie was putting on my face as we went back and forth.

"Nope."

"Why not?" I asked, knowing the answer already, but wanting to hear her explanation.

Scrunching her face and tilting her head to the side, Gracie gave me a comical expression as if I had asked a stupid question - which I had.

"I don't know how to say this nicely, but... you're kind of a manwhore."

My shoulders and chest bounced with laughter at her admission before I clutched my own chest, pretending to be wounded by her words.

"Ouch." I said, playfully rubbing at the center of my chest.

"Oh come on, you know it's true." Gracie sassed, rolling her eyes at me which seemed to be a new favorite hobby of hers.

The truth that fell from Gracie's mouth was one I was aware of, but didn't want to admit to out loud, not to her at least. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't seduced my way to a good grade before, but for some reason I wasn't proud of that at the moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I denied with a grin. "All I know is that I'm God-awful at writing and this coffee is my saving grace."

Gracie laughed at my denial, knowing I was avoiding the topic and shook her head at me.

"If you're that bad at writing, I happen to know a good tutor." She grinned, holding her hands out as if to put herself on display.

Oh this couldn't be more perfect.

"Well I've only got a one day extension. You think you could pencil me in tonight?" I asked eagerly, hoping she wouldn't turn me down. I wasn't ready to go another five or six days without seeing her.

"I think I can make that work." She said with a bright smile that felt like it was made just for me.

"And what about payment?" My voice dropped and my mind went somewhere it shouldn't have as I contemplated all the different ways I could repay Gracie for the favor.

She must have picked up on my intentions and dropped her chin, eyeing me with an exasperated look.

"It's on the house...Buddy." She emphasized the word buddy as a not so subtle reminder that I had agreed to friendship. I'd promised her that I could do friendship and nothing else and she was testing me, reminding me of our agreement that I was now regretting wholeheartedly.

"That's what friends are for I guess." I chuckled, repeating the words back to her to see if she reacted to them the way I had.

The smallest smile curled the side of her cheek at the word friends, either knowing or hoping that we were more than that. But for now I'd keep my word despite the fact that my body physically rejected the idea of us remaining friends and nothing more.

"I'll be in the library all day and most of the night. Just text me when you're ready to meet."

Ready to meet? I'm not ready to leave.

"Will do."

I reluctantly stood, taking Rose's coffee in my hand, hoping I'd be able to find a microwave on my way back to her office.

An evening with Gracie. Just the two of us. Hell yes. 

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