Free Emanare (Destined, #1) by Taryn Browning

spaced for a second. I was just admiring your picture of the bat.” She redirected her attention to Chase. “Anyway, how was the gym?”
    “I lifted really heavy weights and ran on the treadmill. The usual.” He smirked.
     Sam tried to return his playful banter, but her head suddenly started to hurt and she felt really hot, like she had a sudden onset of a raging fever. “Can I sit down? I’m not feeling that well.” She reached for something to steady herself. “This has been happening a little too frequently today.”
    “Here, sit on my bed.” Chase offered her his hand.
    Sam doubled over and started to shake. Then she saw it. Another memory, putting clothing into the washer in the dormitory laundry room…
     
    Sam grabbed one of the two uncomfortable-looking chairs, eager to read her book. The washing machine screeched to a halt and the obnoxious buzzer went off. She transferred her clothing over to the dryer and headed back to the chair to finish the chapter.
    The laundry room door opened and a nice-looking guy walked in, carrying a laundry bag over his shoulder. He nodded in her direction and gave her a sideways smile. She returned it and buried her face back in her book. 
    “I’m Chase,” the jock finally said. At least, she assumed he was a jock. He was washing his locker-room-smelling university football uniform.
    “I’m Sam.” She extended her hand.
    Chase leaned down to shake her hand. His short sleeves exposed his well-built arms. Sam’s eyes wandered to his black Adidas shorts and back up to the medium-length sandy-blond hair peeking out from under his baseball cap. He was definitely cute.
    “May I take the seat next to you?” he asked politely.
    “Considering the university only provides us with two chairs, I don’t think you have much of a choice.”
    He laughed. “I guess you’re right. It sucks having to wait for your clothes. I wish I could trust that no one would come in and steal them if I left the room.” Chase leaned over to check out Sam’s book. “Good book?”
    “Yes,” she said quickly and continued to read.
    “So, do you ever go to any football games?”  He interrupted the sentence she had already read four times. He must’ve realized he was disturbing her because he immediately apologized. Sam decided to look up and act somewhat interested in what he was saying.
    “It’s no problem,” Sam dismissed, suddenly feeling bad for ignoring him. “It would be nice to take a break from reading. To answer your question, I haven’t been to a college game. I’ve been to NFL games, and too many high school games to count. High school football is kind of the ‘thing’ in my town. Is Tolbert any good?”
    “So far we’re undefeated.” A cocky smile formed on his face. Sam had seen that smug smile before on her conceited football player ex-boyfriend’s face, but Chase’s smile seemed to express more pride than arrogance.
    “Congratulations, what position do you play?”
    “Running back.”
    “You have a tough job. You must be good if you’re undefeated.”
    “I hold my own.” His bronzed cheeks blushed. “You should come to a game sometime. We’re playing Hopkins next Saturday. It’ll be a good game.”
    “I’d like that. I’ll talk to my friends and see what their plans are.”
    “What floor do you live on?” he asked.
    “The fourth. My room is to the left of the elevators.” Sam gestured with her hands. She often did this, many times knocking drinks out of people’s hands.
    “I’m below you on the third floor, opposite side of the building. We’ll have to hang out sometime.”
    “The girls and I are often around. Come up and visit whenever you want.”
    His warm smile exposed two adorable dimples. “I notice you keep saying ‘the girls.’ Do you want to hang out, just the two of us, sometime?”
    “Oh—” She hadn’t even realized. He was asking her out. She was always so naïve when it came to guys. “I have a boyfriend, but I’d love