Chapter Three — Too Close
1124 Words
By the time I got to the library the next afternoon, Damien was already there.
Of course he was.
He sat at our usual table with his laptop open, two textbooks beside him, and a cup of coffee sitting near his hand.
I stopped when I noticed the second cup.
“Is that mine?”
He looked up.
“You’re twenty minutes late.”
I checked my phone.
“I’m seven minutes late.”
“Same thing.”
I rolled my eyes and dropped my bag onto the chair opposite him.
“And the coffee?”
He pushed it toward me.
“Take it.”
I stared at him.
“You bought me coffee?”
“Don’t make it dramatic.”
“I didn’t ask you to buy me anything.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you?”
He shrugged.
“You always complain about being tired during afternoon classes.”
I went quiet.
How did he know that?
I picked up the cup anyway.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
I smiled slightly.
“Trust me. I won’t.”
We started working.
For the first thirty minutes, everything was surprisingly peaceful.
Damien wasn’t annoying.
I wasn’t arguing with him.
We were actually getting things done.
Until he reached across the table and took my laptop.
“Hey!”
“You’ve been staring at the same paragraph for five minutes.”
“I was thinking.”
“You were distracted.”
“Give it back.”
He ignored me and scrolled through the document.
“You made a mistake here.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
I leaned across the table.
“Where?”
He pointed at the screen.
I stared at the sentence.
Then I frowned.
“That’s a comma.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s not a mistake.”
“It is if you’re submitting this.”
I snatched the laptop from him.
“You’re so irritating.”
“And you’re stubborn.”
“I’d rather be stubborn than arrogant.”
“You say that like there’s a difference.”
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Instead, I shook my head and continued typing.
A few minutes later, someone stopped beside our table.
“Amara?”
I looked up.
A guy from one of my classes stood there.
I recognized him immediately.
Ethan Brooks.
He was one of those people who somehow knew everyone on campus.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey. I didn’t know you were working here.”
“Project.”
He glanced at Damien.
Then back at me.
“With him?”
Damien’s fingers stopped moving on his keyboard.
I noticed.
“Yes,” I answered.
Ethan smiled.
“That’s unfortunate.”
I laughed.
“Very.”
Damien finally looked up.
“Do you need something?”
Ethan looked at him.
“No. I was talking to Amara.”
“I noticed.”
I frowned.
Why did Damien suddenly sound irritated?
Ethan didn’t seem bothered.
“There’s a campus event Friday night,” he said to me. “A few of us are going. You should come.”
I hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
“You should.”
Before I could answer, Damien spoke.
“She has a project.”
I turned toward him.
“I can answer for myself.”
He looked at me.
“I know.”
“Then let me.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
Ethan smiled.
“So, Amara?”
I looked at him.
“Maybe.”
“That’s good enough for me.”
He pulled out his phone.
“Give me your number. I’ll send you the details.”
I reached for my phone.
But before I could unlock it, Damien closed his laptop.
“We’re done for today.”
I stared at him.
“We are?”
“Yes.”
“We still have work.”
“We’ll finish tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
I blinked.
“Excuse me?”
Ethan chuckled.
“Okay, I’ll let you two continue your little argument.”
He looked at me.
“Text me.”
Then he walked away.
I watched him leave before turning back to Damien.
“What was that?”
“What?”
“You were rude.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You clearly were.”
He packed his books into his bag.
“You don’t know him.”
“And?”
“And you shouldn’t give your number to people you barely know.”
I stared at him.
“Since when do you care who I give my number to?”
He paused.
For a second, something unreadable crossed his face.
Then it disappeared.
“I don’t.”
“Good.”
I picked up my bag.
“Because you don’t get to control me.”
“I know.”
“Then stop acting like you do.”
He looked at me.
“I said I know.”
His voice was quieter this time.
I didn’t know what to say.
So I walked away.
I had almost reached the library exit when I heard him behind me.
“Amara.”
I turned.
“What?”
He stood a few feet away.
“Your bracelet.”
I looked down.
The thin silver bracelet my mother gave me was missing.
My eyes widened.
“Where is it?”
“You left it on the table.”
He held it out.
I walked back and took it from him.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
I slipped it onto my wrist.
Then I noticed something.
“You remembered this?”
He frowned.
“What?”
“You knew it was mine.”
He looked at the bracelet.
“You wear it almost every day.”
I stared at him.
Almost every day?
He noticed that?
Damien seemed to realize what he’d just admitted.
He stepped back.
“See you tomorrow.”
Then he walked away.
I stood there watching him.
Something about him was beginning to bother me.
Not because he was rude.
Not because he was arrogant.
But because I was starting to realize something I didn’t want to admit.
Damien Carter noticed me.
More than anyone should.
And I had no idea why.
As I walked out of the library, my phone buzzed.
A message.
From Ethan.
Friday. Don’t disappear on me. 😉
I smiled at the screen.
Then another message came in.
This time, from Damien.
Don’t go to that event.
I stopped walking.
I stared at the message.
Then typed:
Why?
The three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Then his reply came.
Because I said so.
I rolled my eyes.
Typical Damien.
But somehow…
I couldn’t stop wondering why he cared so much.
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