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"I’rumbled I bent over to pick up my books that were strewn in afor ain

I heard him mumble, "That is the truth," under his breath and I whipped up into standing to launch a full-fledged attack on hi ood for me I was told that it would reduce irl who cuts it h"

It tookabout his shaht up to the conversation I couldn’t stop hter, the kind that expanded in s and bubbled out of my n and underused and ood way

"Your hair is kind of awful, actually," I adh his coarse locks before I knehat I was doing My hand slid through his thick, unruly hair, brushing it back froh, bristly texture between asped with faux defensiveness, his eyes going ith pretend horror "You’re not turned on by the sexy bed head look?" He leaned forward and shook his head roughly so thatthe touch

I only had a second to take in h when he lifted his head and was just inches from me, closer than ere before… closer than we had ever been "I had no idea you were so vain," I whispered, trying to find the good natured huo

"I’m not vain," he narrowed his eyes, but didn’t put any more distance between us "I’m just… afraid I will hurt someone if I don’t take proper care of it"

"Good point," I agreed, taking a big breath and speaking with more volume so our close proxihed at him "It’s like horse hair!"

"It is not!" he defended hiently in the shoulder, pushing entle, but firm… detached but oh so sexy

Holy hell

My breathing was suddenly very shallow… shaky, pathetically hitched I ranmy bottom lip, so aware of every piece of his body and how close ere standing His hair was lifted fro a shadow over his too pensive eyes His gaze was s and I was frozen beneath hiued, but htheartedness "But I understand the coconut now" I s he wouldn’t kissthat he would And then to force myself into distance, "Probably safer for Kenna that way Plus, you kind of smell like cookies"

"At least now you understand," Ryder sant and cocky, and the spell was broken He stood up to his full height, towering overdispassion "I suppose you want a pass for class now?"

I gasped as hope and the thrilling feeling of ease swelled in my chest "You can write me a pass?" There was almost a desperate quality to ether here and now, I had to h this school year and the next I couldn’t afford to mess up

"Office aide, remember? Yesterday you spilled coffee all over oodness ofa bell?" He was teasing me now, in the sa a very wide measure of space between us

Maybe that’s why my heart had relaxed Ryder was complicated Too complicated It was like our poere reversed And I didn’t like that at all

"Oh yes, now I reers as if in time with the memory "You will save h I promise if I ask Mrs Tanner to write one, she’ll expel me instead"

"Expel you, huh?" Ryder asked from over his shoulder as we made our way down the hallway and to the office

"Ok, probably not expel me But definitely try to burn ht Ryder shot me a confused look "You know, like a witch trial?"

"Ah, but she could probablydidn’t quite reach his eyes… like he almost believed I could be a witch

I shookI was a witch was completely off base and totally in the realm of crazy, there was no way Ryder could tell I was different It just wasn’t possible

I waited outside the office while Ryder ran in to drop off the stack of folders he was holding and retrieve the s nearly all of my first hour class I watched him, discreetly, or what I hoped was discreetly while he leaned over the tall counter and wrote some lame and untrue excuse down This view of him was perfection with his back toin sharpie across the notepad His shoulders were broad andat his collar and the heels of his feet hidden beneath long, tattered heh escaped me before I could stop it and I slammed my back into the cold stone wall that lined the halls in between banks of lockers, co my view of Ryder and the office

Grrr

What was going on with aze on the ed front doors so that I wouldn’t be teh…

Voices and commotion drew my attention to the other end of the hallhen a classrooed open and students filed into the corridor I squinted in an effort to recognize any of them as they walked excitedly in my direction Chase was soht at his side and my heart stuttered a little with anxiety I shook away the feeling of being caught, and tried to convinceon between Ryder and me, but Chase didn’t really have any claim over me anyway

If I was my mother or any of the other wo with pride and a reason to uilt and sha

I put on my best smile and willed my eyes to look happy when Chase and Phoenix slowed down to talk to lance in the office and I wondered if it was aimed at Ryder or the potential trouble I could be in