Fifteen

"Dude."Hayes chuckles next to me. "You are totally whipped for this girl."

"What?" I say mindlessly, not really paying attention to what he's saying because I'm too focused on trying to find Marley. I can't help it. Every time we left the dorms this weekend, I found myself searching the crowd for even just a glimpse of her blonde hair, her pouty lips, and her curvy hips. It's starting to feel like I'm an addict and she's the hit I"ve been craving.

"Oh, look, there's Marley," Hayes says.

"Where?" My head whips around so fast that I almost give myself whiplash.

"Point proven." He laughs.

I shoot him a dirty look. "Where the fuck is she?" I growl before searching the crowd again, getting frustrated because I can't find her. The only time I don't like her shortness: makes it hard to spot her.

"Relax," he says amused. "She's over there." He points near a fountain in the middle of the courtyard in front of the Fraser building.

When my eyes land on her, something inside me both settles and loses control. My heart skips just a little bit and my palms grow sweaty. Fuck, I am whipped for this girl. And I don't even care.

My stomach does this weird swooping thing when she smiles, tossing her head back with a laugh as she talks to a girl. Not just a girl, but one of her friends. I remember her from the summer. Stacy, that"s it. Her best friend.

Before I know it, my hooves have me moving in her direction.

"Marley."

She turns my way and my heart fucking hurts as her smile falls from her face. She blinks a few times, licking her lips before speaking.

"Lucius." That's not how my name should sound coming from her. Clipped and cold. I hate it.

"How was your weekend?" I shove my hands into my jeans pocket, my full attention on her but I can see Stacy watching, her eyes darting from me to Marley.

"It was good. Got settled into our dorm and then we went out for a few drinks at the bar. Met up with friends."

My spine goes stiff. "You did?" My jaw grinds, at the thought of another man there possibly dancing with her. This is a college, with horny frat bros.

"Yup." She looks away from me and over to Stacy. "Anyway, as I was saying. I totally think you should give that guy a call."

"What?" Stacy blinks at Marley, looking a little confused.

Marley glares at her friend and my lip twitches. "You know," Marley huffs. "The guy from the bar. The ones we danced with."

"Oh," Stacy says, not sounding convincing at all. "Right, those guys. Yeah, I'll totally give him a call."

"You should give his friend my number too," Marley adds.

Even though I'm convinced Marley is full of shit right now and is only saying this to piss me off, I can't help but feel jealous. Maybe that"s her plan and if it is, it's working.

"Ahh, yeah," Stacy says, her eyes flicking over to me. "Sure. We should go. We're going to be late for our first class."

"Yeah," Marley says, looking down at her phone. "Not something I want to do on my first day."

They both stand up from where they were sitting on the edge of the fountain. "Nice to see you again, Lucius," Stacy says.

"You too." I give her a small smirk. "I'll be seeing you around a lot, I'm sure."

"I doubt that," Marley huffs.

"Well, my buddy Brooks has been asking about you," I tell Stacy and her eyes light up.

"Really?" Her excitement showing.

"If you give me your number, I'll get him to text you."

"Yes!" She grins. "Here." She takes my phone when I hold it out to her and puts her number in. Marley is frowning the whole time. It's cute.

"I'll get this to him as soon as I can," I tell her, unable to hold back my grin as Marley glares at her best friend.

"Hooking your friends up with mine isn't going to get you back in my good graces." She shoots that sass that gets my cock hard, my way.

"I know." I grin. "I plan on doing a hell of a lot more to earn that." Stepping up to her, I lean in close. She sucks in a breath, making my cock twitch in excitement. "Because, baby, I plan on doing everything to win you back. And I will. Because you"re mine, Marley." When I pull back, I brush my lips against her cheek, leaving her stunned. "Have a good day, ladies," I tell them before heading toward the front door of the building.

"What did you say to her?" Hayes asks, joining me at my side.

"Just the truth."

* * *

I get into the lecture hall for my first class–Bio 101–and find it starting to fill up fast.

Looking around, I try to ignore the curious looks and whispers as I find a place to sit. I can tell right away, it's not a normal lecture hall. It seems like the rows, as well as the chairs, are wider, like they made it more accommodating for monsters. Another point for Coral Springs in my books.

Taking a spot toward the back of the room, I place my bag on the ground and pull outa blank notebook and pen.

A girl sits next to me, but I don't pay her any attention, my attention is on the front of the room, waiting for the professor.

That is until a blonde little pixie walks in. I sit up straight as I watch her look around the room for a place to sit.

She's in the same class as me?

Looking at the girl next to me, she catches me and gives me a smile. I feel like an asshole because right now, I'm annoyed with her. She's done nothing to warrant my shitty mood, but why did she have to sit next to me? Now Marley can't.

Not that she would have voluntarily taken the spot next to me.

Maybe I could ask this girl to move? Would that be rude?

But before I can think about anything else, Marley finds an empty spot. Next to a guy. A good-looking guy who is eye fucking my girl already.

My hand tightens around my pen until it snaps in my hand.

"Shit," I hiss, ink staining my hand. Thankfully, there"s a garbage can next to me, so I toss the broken pen in and do my best to clean up the ink with some napkins I kept from when I went to the cafeteria for breakfast.

"Are you okay?" the girl next to me asks.

"Yeah," I grunt, my eyes on Marley. She smiles at the asshole and I'm seconds from getting up and telling him to fuck off.

I don't because the professor walks in and addresses the class.

It's a struggle to pay attention with my focus mostly on Marley. The asshole keeps trying to talk to Marley.

Can't he see she's trying to concentrate?

"Alright, everyone, that's enough for today. Now, it's time to pick partners for the project I mentioned at the beginning of the class."

Wait, what? Did I miss something? Partners?

"Your partner for this project will be who you're sitting next to. That means, just in case I need to explain to you, you and you are together." She points at Marley and the guy next to her. I don't hear what else she says because all I can do is shoot death glares at the back of the guy who just got partnered with my woman. The asshole who's talking to my girl is a little too happy.

"Ah, do you happen to be Lucius?" a voice next to me asks.

I blink a few times, pulling my attention from Marley to face the girl next to me.

"Yes," I grunt. "Why?"

"Oh," she laughs awkwardly, "I'm Marie. Looks like we're partners."

"Marie," I say slowly.

"Yes?"

I'm assuming class has ended because everyone starts to stand up.

"I'll be right back," I tell Marie, leaving her sitting there stunned. I'm down to the front of the room in seconds, just in time to hear Marley say something to her partner.

"We can meet at the library on Tuesdays and Thursdays around seven PM. Would that work for you, Steve?"

"I'll make the time for you." He winks as they walk out of the room.

My jaw clenches so damn tight, I think I might break a tooth. But instead of following them, I find Marie making her way over.

"Is everything okay?" she asks me.

"Perfect. So, this assignment. How about we meet at the library."

"Yeah." She smiles a bit. "That sounds good. I'm pretty open with my time after school. What days work for you?"

I grin inwardly. "How about Tuesdays and Thursdays around seven? We can decide what our project will be when we meet for the first time."

"Okay." She nods. "Sounds good. See you Tuesday at seven."

As I step outside the building, I'm just in time to see Marley meet up with Stacy. I watch as they walk away, feeling like a little bit of a stalker.

Fuck it, I don't care. I'm not letting Marley go. I'm in this for the long haul.