Free Give Me You by Caisey Quinn

her assessment of the situation. “Seriously, you can tell me to mind my own business, but what’s the deal with you two?”
    I smile at my reflection—thankful that I don’t have food in my teeth. “If I knew, I would tell you. But honestly, I have no idea. He knows he’s not going to get a hook up from me, so I don’t really know what his deal is. I’ve told him I’m not playing, that I’m serious about not sleeping together. No matter how much I like him, that I’m not going to change my mind.” I find the new lip-gloss I bought at the drugstore in my purse and put some on. “If he’s pursuing me because I’m a challenge, then he’s an idiot who’s wasting his time. But if I can get help with Calc and a place to hang occasionally so you and Landen can have some privacy, then I don’t see the harm.” I shrug one shoulder. “His friend’s studio apartment was pretty bad-ass, by the way, so everybody wins.”
    “Well, everybody except Skylar.” Layla shakes her pretty blond head. “I mean, all you can do is be up front with him I guess. But Corin, be careful. He doesn’t strike me as the type of guy who gets turned down a lot.”
    I can’t help but grin. No, he probably never gets turned down. Except by me, but for some reason, he still wants to hang out with me. His words play again in my head. Who needs sexual gratification when they can have snarky insults and blatant rejection?
    “Deal. And hey, if you ever don’t want to be alone with Landen, you can, like, signal me or something, and I’ll just refuse to leave the room.”
    Layla looks horrified at the thought of not wanting to be alone with Landen. “Um, actually—”
    “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”
     

     
    “You guys ready?” Layla asks the boys as we approach them.
    Something is going down though because Skylar and Landen are toe to toe with shoulders squared.
    Layla and Landen do that thing where they forget the rest of the word exists and Skylar and I walk outside.
    “What was that all about?” I jerk by head toward our dinner companions “You and Landen looked ready to throw some bows.”
    Skylar shrugs. “Landen always looks like that. He’s an intense dude.”
    I frown. “True, but he seemed pissed at you specifically this time. What happened while we were in the ladies room?”
    He side eyes me as we walk. “He was warning me to not push you into anything. To behave myself, I guess.”
    “Really? Have to admit, I didn’t know O’Brien cared so much.” But I know it’s mostly because he cares about Layla and she cares about me, so I get the Landen O’Brien concern in an indirect sort of way.
    He doesn’t comment, just holds the enormous library door open for me.
    The library smells like hundred-year-old paper and dust. But I love it. It’s peaceful. Like a church—minus the judgment.
    Skylar watches my face as we enter, and I pretend not to notice. But I know what he sees. My mouth dropping at the sight of the cathedral ceilings, my eyes brightening as they scan sky scraping towers of books.
    “This place is really getting you off, isn’t it? I can’t help but wonder if you’d look this worked up after a raging orgasm. Let’s find out, shall we?”
    I ignore him. I’ve gotten used to his in inappropriate banter. Mostly. When he whispers dirty things to me in public, and especially in close proximity to our roommates, I still blush. And worse, used to it or not, Skylar Martin affects me. My stomach tenses at his request. He’s only half kidding, maybe not even half. My heart beats a little heavier against my chest and I work hard to appear unfazed.
    We trade under the table kicks and above the table flirty jabs for the next hour while I study. A few times I go to the tables where the tutors are and get help with a few Calc problems. Each time I can feel Skylar’s appreciate eyes on my body. At one point I catch him watching me chewing on my pencil as if I’m purposely seducing him with my nerdy