Free Big Man on Campus by Jayne Marlowe Page B

Math.”
    She
nodded, impressed. “Aren’t you a bit old to be playing Truth or
Dare? Or is this what passes for entertainment for you frat guys
these days? Cruising the bars and restaurants and scoring for
points?”
    She
didn’t mean to sound like an interrogation, but couldn’t help it.
Although polite, he was bold. Bolder than most men she’d
encountered lately—“Headbanger” Harvey notwithstanding. Harvey
wasn’t bold—he was a nuisance and lacked the charm and composure
young Mr. Adam Pierce exhibited.
    “ Well, for starters, I’m not in the fraternity—my roommates
are. Several of us live in The Village. Besides...I would have
approached you anyway.”
    His
admission caught her off guard and it made her study him closely.
Small-town boy gets a full academic scholarship to a ritzy private
institution...no wonder he exhibited a quiet assuredness. This
young man had it going on and he knew it; he didn’t have to boast
about it.
    She
wasn’t going to mention how Adam didn’t “sound Southern,” because
she didn’t either. She lost count of the number of times people
were surprised to find themselves talking to a black woman who
didn’t sound “Southern” or “black.” His voice didn’t carry a nasal
Texas twang but had a smooth articulateness that people in general
didn’t seem to have anymore. If he wasn’t a math major, Cass would
have guessed him to be in broadcasting.
    His
fresh face enticed her. If there was anything to suggest he was an
adult and not just a kid masquerading as one, it would be his eyes.
They were big and brown but had a hint of tiredness from long hours
of reading and studying resulting in slight darkness and puffiness
under his eyes. But this detail, something women like her spent
lots of money trying to camouflage, on him added a depth and
sultriness to his smoky gaze.
    His lips
were inviting too. His lower lip had a fullness making it jut out
ever so slightly from the upper lip, which mimicked the shape of a
recurve bow, thin but shapely and expressive.
    She knew
she was staring but didn’t care, and if he did, he didn’t let
on.
    “ Plus, you’re doing me a favor,” he said.
    “ How?”
    “ You’re saving me from having to spend the night with a bunch
of fraternity brothers. I can handle two or three at a time—but any
more than that? Pass.” He drummed his fingers on the table
and leveled a gaze on her. “Now it’s
my turn to ask questions. What brings you here?”
    “ Business.”
    “ Really? What kind?”
    “ Real estate. My partner and I just closed on a
deal.”
    “ Oh.” And for the first time since their meeting, he looked
uncertain. “Do you mean ‘partner’ as in business partner or...” He
let the rest trail off.
    Cass’s
mouth twisted up into a wry smile. “Business partner.”
    “ Where are you from?”
    She took
a sip of her drink. “Originally, I’m from DeSoto. But me and the
family moved to San Antonio years ago. I do manage to come to
Dallas quite often, though.” She looked him in the eye, giving him
that “fathomless” gaze Matt said she had. “So, Adam Pierce...are
you picking me up?”
    Adam
could have been playing poker, his face was so calm. It wasn’t
until he nodded that he gave his intentions away.
    “ Out of all of the women in the restaurant, why
me?”
    “ Because I’ve been watching you.”
    She
froze. She didn’t know whether to be flattered or unnerved. Yeah,
she did. She tried to suppress a smile.
    “ Apart from being the sexiest, you are definitely the most
intriguing woman here.”
    Cass
blinked. She didn’t consider herself a cougar because younger men
never registered on her radar. Then again, she never paid them any
attention. But this young man had honed in on her like a torpedo,
and he would definitely be the youngest man she’d ever hooked up
with—should it go that far. She swirled her drink in her glass and
willed herself to slow down. Looking at her drink, she realized
something.
    “ You