CHAPTER THREE
1776 Words
The classroom buzzed with the usual Monday chaos backpacks thumping against desks, laptops booting up, and the low murmur of students catching up on weekend gossip. Ava slid into her usual seat near the middle row, her notebook open in front of her, though she hadn’t written a word.
She should’ve been focused on the lecture. On the fact that finals were creeping closer, or on Maya’s annoyed sighs as she unpacked her books beside her. But her mind was nowhere near the classroom.
It was still back on that rooftop.
Still trapped in the press of Ethan’s mouth on hers, the way he’d made the world tilt under her feet.
She tightened her grip on her pen. It didn’t mean anything. It didn’t mean anything.
“Ava?”
She jolted. Maya was staring at her like she’d grown a second head. “You okay? You’ve been spacing out for the last five minutes.”
“I’m fine,” Ava lied quickly, scribbling nonsense on her notebook to look busy.
Maya didn’t buy it, but thankfully, the professor walked in and started droning on about 19th-century literature. Ava tried to let the words wash over her, grounding herself in something familiar, something safe.
It almost worked until the classroom door opened.
Ava’s stomach dropped.
Because there he was.
Ethan Cole.
Late, of course, with that same effortless swagger that made everyone glance up as he strolled inside. A black hoodie, ripped jeans, hair slightly mussed like he’d just rolled out of someone else’s bed. He handed the professor a slip, muttered something, and then his eyes found hers.
That slow, wicked smirk curved his lips as if the rest of the room didn’t exist.
Ava’s heart betrayed her, stuttering in her chest. She forced her gaze back to her notebook, but she could feel him. Feel the weight of his attention as he deliberately took the empty seat two rows behind her.
Maya stiffened beside her, muttering under her breath, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Ava didn’t answer. Couldn’t. She was too busy trying to keep her hands from shaking.
For the next hour, she heard nothing the professor said. Every laugh from Ethan, every quiet shuffle of his chair, sent her pulse racing. She hated it. She hated how aware of him she was.
When class finally ended, she bolted for the door. But Ethan was faster.
“Running again, princess?” His voice was smooth, amused, too close.
She froze, spinning around. He leaned casually against the doorframe, blocking her path. His eyes glinted with that same dangerous spark from the rooftop.
“You’re in my class?” she demanded, trying for cold indifference.
Ethan chuckled. “Don’t sound so shocked. Believe it or not, I’m capable of sitting in a lecture.”
“Barely.” She crossed her arms. “What do you want, Ethan?”
He tilted his head, studying her like she was the most fascinating puzzle. “I want to know why you keep pretending last night didn’t happen.”
Her breath caught. “Because it didn’t mean anything.”
The smirk faded just enough to reveal something sharper beneath. “You don’t kiss like it meant nothing.”
Her stomach flipped, her defenses crumbling at the edges. Before she could respond, Maya swooped in like a shield, shoving between them.
“Move, Cole. She’s not interested.”
Ethan’s smirk returned, infuriatingly calm. “Funny, I think she is.”
Maya glared daggers, tugging Ava past him. “Don’t let him get in your head,” she hissed once they were clear.
But Ethan’s voice followed Ava down the hall, low and certain.
“This isn’t over, Ava.”
And deep down, she knew he was right.
The week trudged on, each day an exhausting cycle of classes, assignments, and Maya’s constant reminders to “forget about Ethan.” Ava tried. She really did.
But the universe, apparently, had other plans.
Friday morning, she sat in the back row of the lecture hall as the professor announced, “Your midterm project will be completed in pairs. I’ll be assigning partners today.”
A collective groan rippled through the room.
Ava’s stomach tightened. Please, she thought, please let it be anyone else.
The professor began rattling off names, pairing students at random. Ava exhaled slowly, relief washing over her when Maya’s name was called and then
“Ethan Cole… Ava Montgomery.”
Her pen clattered to the desk.
A muffled laugh came from two rows behind her. She didn’t even have to look to know who it belonged to.
When class ended, Ethan was already waiting by the door, leaning lazily against the wall like he’d been expecting this gift from fate all along.
“Guess we’re partners, princess,” he drawled, his grin infuriatingly smug.
Ava shoved her notebook into her bag. “Don’t call me that.”
“Fine.” He pushed off the wall, falling into step beside her as she tried to escape. “Partner.”
She groaned. “This is a nightmare.”
“Nah,” he said lightly. “This is fate.”
They ended up at the campus library later that afternoon, Ava hoping the public setting would keep him in line. She claimed a table near the back, spreading out her notes like a fortress. Ethan slouched into the chair across from her, stretching his legs until his foot brushed hers beneath the table.
She yanked her leg back. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” he said smoothly.
She shot him a glare. “We’re here to work. That’s it.”
“Sure,” he said, flipping her notebook toward himself and scanning her meticulous handwriting. “But you make it hard to focus.”
Her pulse stumbled. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t play innocent,” Ethan said, his eyes locking on hers. “You’ve been thinking about that kiss all week.”
Her cheeks heated. “You’re delusional.”
“Am I?” He leaned forward, his voice dropping just enough to curl around her spine. “Tell me you haven’t replayed it once.”
She opened her mouth then shut it quickly, biting her lip hard.
Ethan’s smirk widened. “Thought so.”
She shoved her notes back, desperate for control. “You are impossible.”
“And you,” he said softly, “are lying to yourself.”
The words hit harder than she wanted to admit. Because late at night, when she closed her eyes, she had replayed it. Over and over.
The air between them grew charged, heavy.
Then Maya appeared at the end of the aisle, arms crossed, eyes narrowing at the sight of them sitting too close, Ethan looking far too comfortable.
“Ava,” she said sharply. “Can I talk to you? Alone.”
Ava scrambled to her feet, relief and dread tangling in her chest. She muttered a quick, “I’ll be right back,” before following Maya out of earshot.
“You cannot be serious,” Maya hissed. “You’re really going to sit here, smiling at him like....like he hasn’t made a sport out of breaking girls’ hearts?”
“I wasn’t smiling!” Ava protested.
“You were glowing,” Maya snapped. “And he knows it. That’s what he feeds on.”
Ava glanced back at the table, where Ethan lounged with that maddening smirk, watching her like she already belonged to him.
And for the first time, Ava wondered if she did.
Ava followed Maya into the hallway, clutching her notebook like it could shield her.
“Maya,” she started, but her best friend spun on her, eyes blazing.
“You can’t keep doing this,” Maya hissed. “You know what he’s like. You know....”
“I know,” Ava cut in, her voice sharper than she intended. She ran a shaky hand through her hair. “But I can’t exactly choose a different partner, can I? What do you expect me to do, fail the project?”
“Yes!” Maya snapped, then groaned. “Okay, no. But you need to put up walls, Ava. Like, Great Wall of China levels of walls. Because Ethan will climb over, knock them down, and dance on the rubble if you don’t.”
Ava forced a weak laugh, though her chest felt tight. “I’m not that easy to manipulate.”
Maya gave her a look that said really?
Before Ava could argue, Ethan’s voice floated from the library entrance, lazy and mocking. “You two done conspiring against me?”
Maya muttered something under her breath about homicide, then brushed past him without another word.
Ava lingered. Ethan raised an eyebrow. “She doesn’t like me much, does she?”
“She’s smart,” Ava retorted.
“And you?” His grin turned slow, dangerous. “Do you like me, Ava?”
Her breath hitched. “We’re here to work,” she said again, sidestepping him to head back inside.
He followed, of course, sliding back into his seat across from hers like nothing had happened. The next thirty minutes were torture. He kept interrupting her reading with offhand comments, stretching out so his knee bumped hers, tilting his head in ways that made his hair fall into his eyes.
“You’re impossible,” she muttered finally, scribbling furiously at her notes.
“You’ve said that,” Ethan replied casually. “I’m starting to think it’s code for you’re irresistible.”
She shot him a glare, but he only leaned closer.
“Want to know something, Ava?” His voice had dropped again, that low rasp that curled around her nerves.
“No.”
“I think you like this.”
Her pen froze mid-sentence.
“You like fighting with me. You like pretending you don’t want me when every look, every word....” he smirked “gives you away.”
Her chest rose and fell too fast. “You don’t know me.”
For the first time, his grin faltered. Just a flicker. “Maybe not yet,” he murmured, almost to himself. “But I want to.”
That landed differently. No smirk. No teasing. Just raw honesty that left her breathless.
She scrambled to gather her books. “I’m done for today.”
Ethan leaned back, watching her with something unreadable in his eyes. “You can run, Ava. But you’ll think about me tonight.”
Her throat tightened. She hated how right he probably was.
She left the library in a rush, her heart pounding, his words echoing louder than she wanted to admit.
- Writer
