Free Never by Ellery Rhodes

eyes when I said I was leaving.
    "Don't you two have class on the other side of the campus?" I snapped, ignoring the shudder that rippled through me. I just wanted to get to class and forget all about last night and the huge mistake I'd almost made.
    "This conversation is way more interesting than anything I'll learn I'm stagecraft," Dean grinned.
    I didn't say another word, plowing forward. The only thing that kept my blood from a full on boil was the fact that I knew they didn't realize how serious I was about Juliet.
    I knew this was weird for them. They didn't know about me and Juliet's history. To them, I'd seemingly changed my stripes overnight. So they made jokes. They were just waiting for me to wake up and go back to the way things were.
    It still didn't make it any easier to swallow.
    "Hey Lucas, wait up!"
    I didn't slow down, focusing on my destination, until I saw the guy standing against a lamp post near the library. He was ridiculously tall, but that wasn't the reason I paused. There was something familiar about him. When a girl walked up to him and a lazy smile crept across his face, it sent a white hot current of anger through me.
    He wore the same disarming smile in the picture Candi showed me—and he'd been flashing it where it didn't belong.
    At Juliet.
    I had tunnel vision, everything but the prick's face blurring. All the frustration I'd felt over the past week was his fault. It all went back to him. He looked like somebody beat him down with a hipster stick. Shaggy, oily looking blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail. A ponytail . The dude had a hoodie and a scarf on for fuck's sake. The closer I got I could tell the girl was eating it up with her little giggles and the way she flipped her hair, face flushed pink. I recognized her from somewhere.
    Blake was huffing behind me and even though he was panting, his dread still came through loud and clear. "Carmen."
    I narrowed my eyes. That's where I knew her from. Carmen Diaz, one of the few girls that Blake let under his skin. Unfortunately for her, he still didn't like her enough to stay monogamous for longer than a heartbeat. He'd ultimately dodged a bullet because he woke up the morning after cheating on her with all four tires slashed.
    "...and Dr. Suarez is just driving me completely insane!" Carmen pouted, not even noticing us. "I feel like every class I'm hoping she's sick or decides to go on sabbatical. I just feel like we would learn so much more from you, Lance."
    The guy had the nerve to blush like he wasn't enjoying every second of it. "Carmen—"
    I stopped right behind them, battling the urge to wipe that coy little smile right off his face. "Carmen, why don't you get off your knees for a few minutes so me and the good TA can have a conversation."
    Carmen whipped around, her thick, ebony hair almost slapping me in the face. From the angry set of her jaw she was clearly ready to tell me off until she saw my face—and looked behind me to Blake.
    Her mouth was an O that she spread into a ‘Whatever’ before she stomped off in the opposite direction.
    Lance wasn't amused. His eyes hardened. "You can't talk to her like that."
    "Don't worry," I sneered. "That whole thing just endeared you to her even more. I know how you like to play savior to all the girls around here. Helping them with their books and assignments."
    He arched an eyebrow. "Who are you?"
    "Lucas McNamara," I growled, puffing my chest out. If I was expecting his demeanor to change at my name, I was disappointed.
    "Who?" he said, arching an eyebrow in bemusement.
    "I'm Juliet's boyfriend," I said, nostrils flaring.
    His jaw twitched with recognition. "Okay. What can I do for you?"
    "You can stay the hell away from her," I said, stepping closer. Eye to eye. "I don't want to hear about you talking to her, touching her—"
    "Hold up," Lance cut in, face tensing. "I'm not sure where this is coming from—"
    "I'm not one of your students," I said darkly. "You know exactly what I'm