Free Promise Me by Monica Alexander Page B

“I’ve heard a lot about you and your roommate.”
    And then he smiled, and oh my, what a beautiful smile it was. Maybe I’d been wrong to judge him so quickly.
    “And she’s not going to tell Cullen that I told her he liked her,” Micah interjected, “because she already sort of knew. So you won’t either, right?”
    “Yeah, sure. Whatever,” Jack said, seeming just the slightest bit irritated with his friend.
    I had a feeling it wasn’t the first time Micah’s mouth had gotten him in trouble.
    “Jack, we have to go,” his girlfriend said then, and he turned his intense gaze on her. “My next class is on the other side of campus.”
    “Yeah, sure,” he said jovially. And then he turned to me. “It was nice meeting you, Kate. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
    “Nice meeting you too,” I told him and felt my cheeks get hot when I heard how hoarse my voice sounded.
    What was wrong with me?
    As he and his girlfriend left, I fought the urge to watch them walk away, because a shameless part of me sort of wanted to check out Jack’s ass. I had a feeling it was exactly how I was picturing it, and I knew it was going to be a sight to behold. But as soon as that became a conscious thought, embarrassment washed over me, and I forced myself to think of as many non-sexual things as I could.
    Seriously, what was wrong with me? I didn’t usually walk around with the desire to check out guy’s asses, but in the span of five minutes, I’d essentially become a complete voyeur.
    “I should get going too,” Micah said then and stretched his arms over his head, revealing a strip of his tanned stomach. “I feel a nap coming on.”
    As soon as I realized that seeing his abs did nothing for me, I sent a little thank you up to whoever was listening. It was a relief to know that I wasn’t completely losing my mind.
    “Are you done with classes for the day?” I asked Micah as I felt myself return to normal.
    “Nah, but my next class isn’t until later this afternoon. As a rule, I don’t schedule classes before noon, but Jack made me come to this one since it was the first day. I’ll watch it online from here on out.”
    I nodded. “Sounds like a good plan.”
    “Maybe we could watch it together,” he suggested, his expression brightening. “That would make it less boring. Jack won’t watch it with me. He’s planning to come to every friggin’ class in person, the schmuck. I told him it’s insane of the school to expect us to get out of bed at the crack of dawn and think we’ll actually retain the information they’re pushing on us, but he didn’t agree with me.”
    That actually surprised me to hear. After what I’d seen before class started, I’d have assumed Jack would have also been more inclined to sleep in than to get up early to learn. Maybe I’d judged him too quickly.
    “Sorry, Micah,” I told him, “but I’m actually going to come to every friggin’ class in person too. I guess I’m a schmuck as well.”
    I watched Micah’s cheeks get red. “Oh, I didn’t mean you when I said that. I just like to rib on Jack, because he studies all the damn time. It’s just a thing I do.”
    “But I bet he won’t have to take Macroeconomics twice,” I teased him, making him grin.
    “Touché, Kate. Touché.”
    I hitched my backpack higher on my shoulder as I told him, “I should get going. I’ve got class in the next building over. Good seeing you.”
    “Always good seeing you, neighbor,” he said jovially.
    “Bye Micah,” I said as I turned away from him.
     

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
    Jack
     
    “Hey, there’s Sara,” Cullen said excitedly, stretching onto his toes to see across the game room of our frat house that was filled with too many girls to count and the majority of our brothers.
    “Who?”
    I had no idea who he was talking about.
    “Our neighbor,” he reminded me, as if that made things clearer.
    We had a lot of neighbors in our apartment complex, and my roommates