Free #Nerd (Hashtag #1) by Cambria Hebert Page B

“What do you think?”
    “A-about what?” she fumbled.
    Without thinking, I reached up and fingered a strand of her hair. It was silky soft. “The paper.”
    She jerked back like I’d tried to strike her. “It’s good. You don’t need to change it. Just finish the conclusion and it’ll be fine.”
    I wasn’t used to girls trying to get away from my touch. “Are you a lesbian?” I shot out, sitting up.
    She made a little squeaking sound and her mouth fell open. “What?”
    “Are you?” I demanded.
    “No!”
    I grunted. “Then why do you dress like that?”
    Her mouth snapped shut, then opened again. Hurt flashed into her eyes but quickly disappeared. What the fuck was I saying? What did it matter how she dressed?
    “You know what?” she said. “I’ve had enough tutoring for today.”
    “I just got here.”
    “And I’ve already had enough of you,” she snapped and packed up her things. The way she slapped them into her bag drew some stares.
    When she was done, she pushed away from the table and stalked toward a row of books and disappeared between them.
    My cell went off.
    I picked it up and looked at the message.
    SHE’S YOUR GIRL
    I really wasn’t in the mood for this cryptic shit.
    WHAT?
    A second ticked by and then I got a response.
    YOUR CHALLENGE. IT’S THE NERD
    I sucked in a breath and looked around for watchful eyes. I didn’t see anyone. Zach sure knew how to pick them. And at the perfect moment too. It’s like he knew she was a complete disaster and she was pissed at me.
    She was the only girl on campus who didn’t seem to be affected by my charm. And I’d just insulted her.
    Shit.
    I wouldn’t give Zach the satisfaction of my defeat. I pulled out my phone and texted back.
    GAME ON.

Chapter Eleven

    Rimmel
    My phone beeped with yet another notification from the #BuzzBoss. I winced and put the ringer to vibrate. Didn’t that guy have anything better to do than send out texts every five minutes?
    Still, I looked to see what he posted. I regretted it immediately . Of course it had to be about Romeo. I sank back against a row of books and took a deep breath. Usually people didn’t get to me. Usually I never gave them much thought.
    But not with him.
    Romeo got to me.
    It didn’t matter that I pushed him away, that I kept my distance. He was just a student I was tutoring. That’s all.
    But he wasn’t.
    Sometimes… sometimes just sitting beside him made my stomach do funny little flips. Sometimes when I caught the curve of his lopsided smile, I wanted to smile back. When I walked to class in the mornings, my eyes sometimes looked for him. At night when I lay in bed, I thought about the night of the bonfire and the way he gently stroked my sore wrist.
    I didn’t want it. I didn’t want any of it.
    But it’s like I couldn’t stop the softening of my insides. It was like driving way too fast and knowing you were going to crash, but your foot stayed on the gas.
    I brought him coffee.
    He insulted me.
    I leaned my head against a shelf and looked up at the ugly lights on the ceiling. Guys like him were dangerous. I knew it firsthand. They took what they wanted, wrecked your insides, and walked away while you stood in the center of chaos without anyone to pull you back.
    This was why I preferred animals. Since I ended tutoring early, I still had some time. Seeing Murphy was exactly what I needed right now. His unconditional love could heal anything, including a stupid insult from Romeo.
    When I got to the end of the row I peeked out toward the table to see if he was still there. He wasn’t, and I let out a breath. A loud roar of thunder shook the building, and I grimaced. Of course it would be raining right now. I’d left my umbrella and my scooter at the dorm and walked here.
    I debated just running back to my room and staying there, but the urge to see Murphy was pulling at me. I decided to just go grab my umbrella and a raincoat, then walk the few blocks to the shelter. Riding on a