04 ️

Once they’re finished, I stand up with Oliva, actually looking forward to this. « Hello, everyone, » I greet the class, gesturing towards Olivia. « This is Olivia McCausland. She’s a senior here from Georgia, majoring in pre-med. After college, she plans on going to med school and becoming a cardiac surgeon. »

I look over to Olivia who gives me a small, surprised smile and an approving nod for going off script, not needing notes in front of me like most students.

« And this is Bronx Miller, » Olivia gestures towards me. « He’s a senior, originally from Florida, and majoring in exercise science. After college, he plans on playing football for the NFL. » Now it’s her turn to look at me and I give her a grin, raising my fist to her for a fist bump.

Once we take our seats, the next table continues on with introductions, the class finally ending after the last pair goes.

After lab, I head to one of the dining halls on campus to meet up with Chase and some of our teammates. It doesn’t take long for me to find them after filling up my tray and paying, spotting them sitting smack dab in the middle of the dining area, causing a ruckus.

« Aye ! Look who finally decided to roll their ass out of bed. » Chase greets me with a grin on his face, prompting other members of the team to holler and give me a hard time as I sit down.

« Shut up, » I say, picking a fry off my plate and throwing it at Chase, hitting him in the chest.

« Seriously, if I didn’t see you at football practice I would’ve thought you were dead the past few days. You sleep like a rock, dude, » he comments before picking up the fry I threw at him, eating it.

« Well yeah, it’s tiring carrying all of your asses out on the field, » I comment, earning a bunch of ohhhs and burns.

Chase shakes his head. « Whatever. »

A well-manicured hand with black nail polish lands right next to my tray, causing the table to go silent. I look up to see Adrianna, her other manicured hand resting on her hip as she looks down at me.

« Bronx, » she says my name in that tone that makes me dread this conversation already.

« Adrianna. »

Her eyes narrow and her lips tug up into a closed lipped smile. « You didn’t want to be my partner ? » she asks in a sickening sweet voice that tells me she’s actually pissed.

I shrug, taking a bite of my sandwich. « Your table was already full. »

She lifts her hand from the table, crossing her arms and choosing to shift her weight onto one hip. « Nessa was going to move so you could have her spot. »

« Didn’t look like it, » I comment, continuing to eat my lunch. If I remember correctly, none of the girls at her table looked willing to switch tables. « Don’t worry about it, Ads. I like the partner I got. »

She scowls. « You’re at a table full of nerds. »

« More chance of passing the class, I guess. »

Fed up with me and my curt answers, Adrianna lets out a low sound crossed between a groan and a growl before stomping off, making a show of swinging her hips all the way to the door. She’s just mad she couldn’t snag me as her partner, trapping me for an entire semester. That and the fact that I left her low and wet after our little late night rendezvous in the showers over the weekend and haven’t talked to her since.

« You didn’t want to be her partner ? » Chase asks with slight amusement in his voice. He already knows the answer to his question, knowing my dynamic with Adrianna.

« Nope, » I say simply, opening my water bottle and taking a drink.

« Ouch, harsh, » Brennen comments, not sounding too sincere. « Who’s your partner then ? Some random nerd ? »

« Nah. Her name is Olivia McCausland, » I say.

« Olivia ? » I hear JC’s voice pipe up, and I look down the table a few seats to see him leaned in, looking at me. « Did you say Olivia McCausland ? »

« Yeah, » I say slowly.

A wide, fond grin spreads across his face, and he lifts the black baseball cap off his buzzed head, turning it backwards so I can see his dark brown eyes clearly. « Dude, Olivia’s awesome ! I had her as my physics lab partner last year, and she’s so fucking smart. Get this, the TA for that lab was a total dick. He made the lab way harder than necessary, but Olivia breezed right through it. She didn’t let me slack off either. Just when I thought she’d be the type to do all the work and ask me to say the hell out of her way, she actually sat there and explained the material to me by having me help her. She probably taught me more than the TA and teacher combined.

« And back to the TA being a dick. Even after she would sit there and walk me through it, explaining everything, we’d still end up getting the lab done way before everyone else, but the TA wouldn’t let us leave until another group finished. Even after he checked our work, and even interrogated me about the material—that I actually understood thanks to her—he wouldn’t let us leave early. So to pass the time, Olivia actually calculated how much force it would take for both me and her to bust through the window and jump out, » he laughs, shaking his head. « She’s the best. You’re lucky, bro. »

I feel a smile tug at my lips. I already knew she was brains and beauty, but this just makes me even more excited for lab.

After lunch, I walk across campus to the language arts building for my English class. On my walk over, just ahead of me, I spot a powder blue backpack and some long caramel hair pulled over a white T-shirt clad shoulder.

« Olivia ! » I call out, jogging to close the distance between us.

She looks over her shoulder, some wisps of her caramel hair flying in front of her face from the hot summer breeze. She tucks the strands behind her ear, smiling when she spots me, slowing her stride to let me catch up.

« Hey, » she greets me when I finally reach her.

« Hey, where are you headed ? » I ask, shoving my hands in my front pockets, falling into step with her.

She pulls the textbook she’s holding away from her chest, flashing me the cover. « English. »

« Me too, » I say, feeling hopeful as we reach the old cobblestone building. I hold the door open for her. « What teacher do you have ? »

« Professor Hobb. »

That name sounds familiar. I pull my phone out of my pocket, double checking my class schedule to see that I am in fact also heading to Professor Hobb’s class. « Room 112, right ? » I confirm.

She grins, rounding the corner that leads right to room 112. « Right. »

« Looks like we have another class together, » I gloat, following her into the small classroom that seats about twenty-five people.

She walks to the far side of the classroom, slipping into a desk three rows back, and I take the desk right next to her.

« I guess this means we’ll be seeing each other every day, » she notes, bending over to reach into her backpack that’s on the floor, propped up against the back leg of the desk chair. She pulls out a white notebook and a pencil, setting them on top of her textbook in front of her.

I think about it for a moment, realizing she’s right. Our English class is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while our Anatomy class is Tuesday and Thursday, with the lab on Wednesday. « I guess so, » I smile, feeling excited that I get to see her more than once a week.

Suddenly, I feel a presence to my right. I look over to see a girl with short brown hair standing next to my desk, staring at me while tightly clutching her books.

« Um, hi, » I acknowledge her, not recognizing her whatsoever.

Her eyes narrow and she quickly turns on her heel, scurrying to sit in a desk at the back of the room with a huff.

I stare at her for a moment before slowly turning back towards Olivia, baffled. « Okay, I have no clue what all that was about. »

Olivia bites her bottom lip, trying to suppress a giggle. « I think you stole her seat, » she whispers.

« I stole her seat ? » I parrot, looking down at the top of the desk, as if it’ll have the girl’s name carved into it. « Were we assigned seats ? »

She shakes her head. « No. »

« Okay then, at least now I don’t feel like a complete dick, » I chuckle. « From her reaction you would’ve thought I committed first degree murder. Do you know her ? »

That earns me a small laugh. « I believe her name is Lacy. She was the president of the chemistry club for a semester, and she can be a little… tense at times, » Olivia admits with a slight cringe.

« I believe it, » I mutter just as the teacher walks into the classroom.

Professor Hobb’s heeled clog’s click against the tiled floor, and her black flowy pants with a wildflower print swish around her ankles as she gets ready at the front of the classroom. She’s in a long sleeve V-neck shirt and her dark curly hair is tied up into a bun.

« Alright, class, » professor Hobb mutters, loud enough for us to hear. She pulls out some papers from her tote, making stacks and laying them across the front of her desk. « If you missed the first day of class please come up and grab the syllabus, along with some other papers. »