Chapter 17

I've never hada serious girlfriend before.

I've dated. But between being premed and working, on top of school, there was never time to squeeze in a relationship. You can only cancel on a girl so many times because you need to pick up an extra shift at the supermarket before she stops returning your messages.

And now I'm as busy as I've ever been. Anatomy and biochemistry and three nights a week at Dr. Kovak's clinic doesn't leave much time for a girlfriend. I need to keep my head down and focus on getting through the next four years.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Heather is ridiculously out of my league. The more I get to know her and we become friends, the more painfully obvious that is. I'm kidding myself by holding out even the tiniest hope I'll end up with her.

As we're studying the female pelvis side by side in the library, Heather crinkles her nose like she always does when she doesn't understand something (which I'm sad to say is a lot). She leans forward over our anatomy atlas, and I get a whiff of her shampoo. Peaches, like usual. I'm starting to love the smell of peaches. I bought a bunch of them for our refrigerator, just so I can sniff them.

Okay, as I'm saying it, I realize how weird that sounds.

"Why is the female pelvis so confusing?" Heather moans.

She flips the anatomy atlas upside down as if that might clarify things.

"I know, it's confusing," I agree. Although truthfully, I'm not that confused. I've always learned things quickly. But it seems to comfort Heather when I agree with her about the difficulty of the material.

She yawns. "Oh God, I am so tired right now."

I expect her to reach for her coffee and take another sip (she's an addict like I am), but instead, she does something unexpected. She drops her head onto my shoulder and shuts her eyes.

I freeze, scared to move because I don't want her to pull away, and I really don't want her to realize how much this is turning me on. Don't look down, for crap's sake! She's got to hear my heart pounding in my chest. The people at the next table can probably hear it.

Then Heather lifts her head and yawns again. "Maybe I need to take a break. I'm going to walk around a little."

"Sure," I reply, too quickly. "Do you want to grab some more coffee?"

She shakes her head.

"Actually," she says. "I was thinking I'd give Landon a call. Is that okay?"

Landon.The asshole boyfriend. I hate that guy.

"Go for it," I say, forcing a smile. "Tell Landon hi," I add, then I hate myself.

My hands clench into fists as I watch Heather fiddling with her phone as she leaves the library. I need to stop thinking about Heather. For one, she's got a boyfriend. Also, I've got enough on my plate.

"Quit staring at Heather, you perv."

The voice above my head nearly makes me jump out of my skin until Mason slides into the seat next to mine, a knowing grin spreading across his face. Mason can be annoying, but it's hard not to like the guy. He's entertaining, and he's incredibly funny, especially if you're not someone who's easily offended. Before classes revved up and I got my job, we shot pool together a few times at a local bar and had a great time, but now, we're both far too busy. I've got to admire all the hours he puts into his schoolwork—he sleeps as little as I do, even though he's not working a job on the side.

"Hey, Hulk," Mason says, that grin still plastered on his face. He's been calling me Hulk, after the Incredible Hulk from the comic books. I admit it's not an entirely unfair comparison. "So what's going on with you two?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lie.

"Bullshit," Mason says.

I shrug innocently.

"Yeah, okay." His grin twists into a smirk. "I can see why you don't like her. I mean, she's only a five. Maybe a six at best."

Asshole.

"Just 'fess up," he says. "Maybe I can help you."

I look at Mason with some interest. I've noticed the way the pretty girls in our class drool over him. Maybe he actually could give me some decent advice.

"Okay, fine," I say. "I'm interested in her."

"No kidding."

I fold my arms across my chest. "So what do I do? How do I get her?"

"First off," Mason says, "you need to grow a pair, Abe. Seriously, man. Have some confidence—Heather isn't that great. She's just Heather. She's not out of your league or anything."

That's debatable.

"What about the boyfriend, though?" I say.

Mason laughs. "Boyfriend? Come on—that won't last. Give it two more weeks."

And as it turns out, he's right.

Two weeks later,on the dot, Heather knocks on the door to my dorm apartment. I hadn't been expecting her, and strangely enough, when she sees me, her face falls.

"Oh," she says. "Is, um, Mason here?"

Why is she looking for Mason? She hardly talks to him, even in the lab. She seems to hate him, based on the comments she's made.

"No," I say. "He's probably at the library."

"Oh," she says again. And then her face crumples.

"Heather…" I follow her to our futon, where she collapses into deep, wracking sobs. She buries her face in her small hands, and I rub her shoulders to comfort her. Comforting Heather is not a chore. I feel sleazy, though, about using the fact that she's sad as an excuse to touch her. Then I feel like a tool for feeling sleazy.

"Landon broke up with me," she blurts out between tears.

Landon broke up with her? The asshole boyfriend is out of the picture? Holy shit, that's the best news I've heard all year. Except…

Why the hell did she come here looking for Mason?

Oh. Oh.

I get it now. She's looking for a little rebound hook-up. And the first person she thought of was Mason. Mason. Not me. I'm not even on her short list.

Shit, if Mason were here instead of me, they'd be in our bedroom hooking up right now. Well, maybe not. Mason wouldn't do that to me. But just the fact that it was even a remote possibility makes me furious.

Mason's the biggest asshole in the class, and Heather wanted to hook up with him. There's probably a lesson in that. If I want Heather, I should be a jerk to her. Being a nice guy is getting me nowhere.

But I'm not a jerk. I'm a nice guy who's never done a bad thing in my whole life.

Still, Mason's right about one thing. It's time to grow a pair. So I lean forward, and before I have a chance to chicken out or overthink things, I kiss her.

"Abe?" She gasps for a second before she melts against me.

And here's the shocking part… She doesn't slap me. She doesn't pull away either. Against all odds, she's kissing me back. She's surprised, but it turns out she wants me too. Not as much as I want her, but no pressure there.

Just like that, she's mine.