She shot me a strange look, thinking. “First of all, no way. You cannot be everywhere I am. And do you even need a job?”
I shrugged my shoulders. It gave me anxiety talking about my problems, when I didn’t even know what the hell was going on. “I don’t have ball taking up my free time anymore.”
“I’m assuming your family can cover it. I mean, I don’t have a brand-new Mustang.”
“Touché,” I said, wanting to drop the subject. The thing about a new relationship was, you had to ease them into your crazy. I couldn’t unload my dad, my accident, and my utter lack of direction in life. She would run for the hills.
The professor strolled in, dropping a bag onto her desk to get our attention. “Does anyone in here know what MLA format is?”
“Autumn, do you know what an MLA format is?” I whispered, and she nudged me.
“Shut up,” she threatened.
“Liam Shafer,” the professor practically rolled my name off her tongue in disgust. “It’s so good to have you back in the classroom.”
“Good to be back, Professor. I prefer the students better than my first go-around.” Chatter and laughter filled the space as she rolled her eyes.
“Cute. You’re chatty, so would you like to explain to the class what format I’m looking for.”
“I’m assuming MLA.” I shrugged my shoulders, and Autumn was sliding further down in her seat by the moment.
She let out a loud sigh, “Anyone else?”
An eager freshman in the first row babbled on about an answer, but I had zoned out. “Very good. Write that down, Mr. Shafer.”
I leaned over to Autumn, whispering, “Write that down. It’s important.”
“Got it.” Her face was as red as her hair. A pang of regret stabbed through me, but it quickly faded when the corner of her mouth lifted, and she shook her head at me. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Love me…my jokes. Love my jokes.” I stumbled through that sentence with as much grace as Autumn attempting my stairs drunk.
She laughed nervously, continuing to take notes. I, on the other hand, had completely zoned out. What the actual fuck did I just say? I couldn’t already love her. That was weird.
I glanced over at her, watching as she looked between the professor and her notes. The crease between her brows was prominent, and she let her hair fall between us, creating privacy from my intrusive stare.
“Okay class, I’ll see you Wednesday. Please work on correcting your papers. And putting them in the proper MLA format.” I swear to God she looked directly at me. I gave her my best charming smile and she looked away, flustered.
“Did you get all of that? I have a feeling I’ll have questions.”
“If you had paid attention…” She threw her small backpack over her shoulder, giving me her best pointed look.
“I just had the most distracting thing sitting on my right.”
She rolled her eyes. “Society would crash without women doing the dirty work.”
I laughed, wracking my brain for a response. She always caught me off guard. My phone buzzed. I ignored it and looked back at Autumn, but the buzz kept persisting.
“Maybe you should get that,” she said, glancing down at my hands where my phone was gripped tightly.
“You’re probably right. Walk with me?” I asked, and she nodded.
“Hello?” I was walking out of the room when Autumn grabbed my hand, taking it in hers. I squeezed, letting her know I appreciated her more than she would ever know.
“Liam. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I lost my phone,” I lied.
“When that happens again, please find another way to get in touch. I do worry. You know that, right?” I could almost physically feel his lies assaulting my ears.
“Will do. I’ll catch up with you later; I’m walking Autumn to her dorm.”
I stopped. My blood ran cold. Autumn followed me, confused. She didn’t realize what the hell I’d just walked into.
“Autumn.” He let her name roll off his tongue, almost disapproving of my secret.
“Yeah, my girlfriend.”
“Interesting. Well, this will make things easier. I know you’re done with ball, so I thought you might want to hear something I have lined up for you. What do you have planned for tomorrow night?”
I sighed, just wanting to get this over with. “Nothing.”
“Good boy. Be at the house at seven. And do bring Autumn—we would love to meet her.”
“You got it,” I said through clenched teeth before ending the call.
Autumn grabbed my arm, stopping me. “Are you okay?”
“Are you free for dinner with my dad and his child bride tomorrow?” I asked, pissed.
“I mean, when you put it that way…” She offered a small, sad smile.
I kept walking to her dorm; she struggled to keep up. The phone in my hand was almost at its breaking point as I squeezed the only thing I could. When her building was in sight, and no one was around, Autumn jogged ahead of me. Putting her hands on my chest to stop me she jumped up, letting me catch her before pressing her lips to mine. I walked her to the door, letting her back rest against the flimsy glass barrier between us and the rest of the dorm. I grabbed the back of her head, not knowing how much I needed her. I needed this. I needed someone to calm me down, to be there when I couldn’t take it anymore and my only solution was to punch a hole through a wall and get in a truck drunk. I fucking needed her for all that I couldn’t do.
She hopped down, breathless. Her hands were on my chest, afraid to meet my eyes. I knew the feeling. I couldn’t stop this nagging anxiety that crept up. Maybe I was right earlier. This was what falling for someone felt like.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six,” I said. And for some reason unknown to me, I turned around and left the only thing that could keep
