Page 46 of Sticks and Stones (Shadow Valley U)
I freeze at the sound of a voice I’m not expecting. Stone is standing in the back of the lecture hall, resting along the doorframe casually. His book is trapped in his large hand as he ignores all the puck bunnies trying to gather his attention.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
Everyone is staring at us.
He shrugs and walks beside me. “I switched classes to be in yours.”
“What?” I slam on the brakes. “No.”
He doesn’t pay any attention to me. Instead, he pulls out his phone, and when I glance at the screen, he has an email open from an academic advisor with the heading:Here is your new schedule.
I rip the phone out of his hand, ignoring the quick brush of our fingers, and zoom in.
When I meet his eyes—those annoying blue eyes—I can tell he’s pleased with himself.
“Did you seriously switch your entire schedule to match mine?”
Stone is so nonchalant with his casual shrug. “Yeah, except those godawful chemistry classes you’re taking.”
I wait for a beat, preparing for his jab over how ironic it is that I’m a chem major and used to cook drugs for my father, but surprisingly, he doesn’t say anything, which leaves me confused.
“What? No remarks about my pastchemistryskills?”
Stone walks beside me, eyeing everyone we pass with skepticism. I’m on edge. Not because of the staring from our peers but the death glareshe’ssending. The moment we’re outside, I see that he has parked his car right beside mine. I pick up the pace, which is completely pointless because he’s a hockey player, for fuck’s sake—his endurance is much better, and one of his strides is three of mine.
“Why are you rushin’ off, Sticks? You gotta work?”
I glare at him. He has on a backward baseball hat, and it’s annoyingly hot. His jaw flickers with impatience, but his eyes scan all over my face like he’s searching for something.
“What’s it to you?”
I throw my bag and books in the passenger seat of my car. “Are you planning to show up and punch every guy who looks at me?”
He chuckles, and I feel it everywhere. I drop my eyes to his mouth and sweat at the sight.Shit.The other night was supposed to be a punishment to him. It was supposed to fuck with his head, but instead, it fucked with mine.
“If they need to be punched, yes.”
“Well, don’t,” I snap. “They give me good tips.”
I shut my passenger door and stalk over to the driver’s side. The door creaks as I open it, and I half expect it to fall off its hinges. Stone watches me with amusement, and I’m growing more irritated.
“And why the hell did you switch your schedule to match mine? Are you trying to pay me back for the other night? Because this isn’t messing with my head. It’s just pissing me off.” I’m lying right through my teeth. “Or is that your plan? To piss me off so much that I just leave the house altogether?”
Stone’s hand falls to my bicep, and I pause at the touch.Why does it feel different all of a sudden?And why the hell am I not pulling away?
“I switched because I’m trying to prevent you from getting gang-banged.”
My jaw slacks with a gasp. Stone’s free hand pushes my chin up to close my mouth.
“I started a rumor, and it’s biting me in the ass. This is me trying to fix it. I’m…” He lowers his voice so much that I hardly hear him. “I’m trying to protect you.”
My heart thumps, and I know it’s because there is a severely broken part of me that craves to have someone protect me. But just as quickly as I fall for his words, I climb back up and shut him out.
“Well, I don’t want anyone’s protection.” I climb in my car with haste. “Especially notyours.”
I slam my door and rev my shitty car to life and speed away, hoping I can beat him home. But knowing Stone, he’ll beat me because he refuses to lose.
And that’s exactly what happens.