Page 21 of Love to Hate You
I jerk my head at the guy next to her. “Up.”
His eyes narrow and I arch a brow in response, wondering if he’s going to argue.
Bring it on, dude. I’m not going anywhere.
After a moment of indecision, he must realize that this isn’t a battle he’s going to win. With his tail tucked between his legs, he gathers up his shit and vacates to the back of the hall. Cheeks beet red, he doesn’t even glance in Daisy’s direction as he slinks away.
Good. The guy’s smarter than he looks.
I turn my attention to Daisy.
Her eyes gleam with anger as she hisses, “What the hell are you doing?”
A slow smile curves my lips as I set my backpack on the floor and slide onto the chair next to her. “Whatever do you mean?” I ask innocently.
“You just chased that guy away.” Daisy grits her teeth.
I can almost hear her grind her back molars in aggravation.
Ahhhh…the sound is a sweet symphony to my ears.
I glance over my shoulder to find the dude I’d run off watching us with a pissed-off expression on his face. It’s a douchey move on my part, but I smile and jerk my chin in acknowledgment.
I raise my voice so that everyone around us can hear. “Now, what kind of boyfriend would I be to let my baby mama sit with another guy?” I throw my arm around the back of her chair.
The color drains from her face before rushing back in again. Her cheeks turn the mottled red of a tomato. It’s on the tip of my tongue to point this out, but I hold back. I doubt she’d appreciate the comparison.
“I am not,” she whispers, glancing around at our neighbors who are watching us with unconcealed interest, “your baby mama.”
“Really?” I scratch my chin. “Isn’t that what you told my new friend the other day?” Then I do something I’ve been dying to do for years. I flatten my hand across her lower abdomen and fan out my fingers. Heat floods through me at the contact and my cock twitches in response. “That we have little Junior to consider?”
Air hisses from her lips as she peels my fingers one by one from her belly and whips around in her seat, staring straight ahead.
I bite back my laughter. Like hell, she’s going to ignore me.
I glance toward the front of the classroom. Dr. Stein is in the middle of a discussion with another student. Taking advantage of the situation, I turn to our classmates sitting behind us. “This is my girlfriend, Daisy,” I tell them loudly.
Daisy spins back around and glowers. She shakes her head forcefully. “He’s joking. I’m not his girlfriend.” She glares at me again, looking as if she wants to throttle me. “I don’t even know him.”
“Now, sweetheart,” I cajole. “Is that any way to talk to the father of your—”
She slaps her palm over my mouth and grates, “I’m warning you, Carter! Shut up!”
I grin beneath her fingers. “What’s the problem? I’m just trying to do the right thing by my baby mama and little—”
She claps her other hand over the first. “I swear to God, if you say one more word, I’ll kill you.”
My shoulders shake with silent laughter.
Precariously close to losing it, Daisy growls, “I hate you.”
I pry both of her hands off my face. “That’s not what you said this morning when I was giving you the big O.”
The row behind us snickers and Daisy’s face goes up in flames as she slumps in her seat, burying her face in her hands. She sniffles as if she might be crying. After a full minute of silence, regret slices through me.
Maybe I should apologize and tell everyone behind us that I was kidding around.
No harm, no foul. Right?
Tentatively, I lay a hand on Daisy’s shoulder to get her attention. As soon as I do, she whips around to face me again. Her fingers wrap around the edge of her desk until her knuckles turn bone white.
She leans closer until her breath feathers across my lips and snarls, “Sleep with one eye open, Prescott. ’Cause I’m coming for you. That’s not a threat. It’s a promise.”
I force out a chuckle, but the sound dies a quick death on my lips.
Fuck me.