BY THE TIME I’m leaving my last class, my mind is numb. There’s no way I can process one more theory, formula, or equation. Since Rob texted me around noon, asking me to hit a movie with him after class, my feet are moving a little faster to the doors.

I weave by a few girls gossiping about some hook-up to reach the outside and hopefully my new, well, what is Rob exactly? I ponder the question in my head. We were roommates, then friends, but I have no clue if we’re exclusive. When I shove open the doors to the sun shining down, my mood lifts immediately and all the worries about what Rob and I are, evaporates.

I move to the side of the doors, basking in the sun. As my skin soaks in the Vitamin D, I wait for Rob to meet me. Just as my eyes begin to droop from the warmth, I hear my name.

“Very good feedback today, Miss Kensington,” Professor Bridges, my Economics professor, compliments as he breezes past me.

My head snaps down and I give a polite smile. “Thank you, Professor.” He startles me because Professor Bridges isn’t known to compliment a student. Persuading to think through negativity is his usual course of teaching.

He nods and my eyes search for Rob. Then my polite grin widens when I see him strutting up the stairs. His hair is gelled up and he’s got a black T-shirt on with some faded-out saying that’s supposed to make people laugh. Which they usually do. Paired with his low-slung jeans and converse shoes, he screams rock God, and from the amount of girls fighting for a second glance, I know I’m not his only admirer.

My stomach somersaults waiting for him to reach me, but he’s stopped at the top of the stairs by Professor Bridges. I creep over to them and am surprised by what I hear.

“Mr. Winters, have you returned to Western?”

“No.” Rob shoves his hands in his pockets and his eyes glance back and forth between me and Professor Bridges.

“Oh, I was hoping you had seen the light.”

“I have.” Rob stares up at the sky, smirking back down to him.

“One day, Mr. Winters, you’ll find that humor doesn’t deflect.” He slides by Rob and I’m surprised Rob doesn’t shoot back with a sarcastic comment. It’s not his style to not have the last word.

As though the confrontation didn’t just happen, Rob comes up to me, his arm sliding behind my back, as he kisses my neck. “I missed you.”

“How do you know Professor Bridges?”

His lips leave my skin, but his hand remains on the small of my back. “He’s the reason I dropped out.”

I pivot to face him, and even without hearing Rob’s side, my respect for Professor Bridges decreases. “Why?”

He slides his hand off my back and laces our fingers together. “The movie is going to start, let’s go.” He tugs me forward but I dig my heels in, staying firm. He finally figures out I’m not leaving without an answer and a long exasperated breath falls from his mouth. “You want details?” His shoulders fall.

“Yep.”

He props up on the cement ledge and I slide in to occupy the space between his legs, resting my hands on his thighs.

“It’s simple. He gave me shit in the middle of class. Spouting how I’m wasting my life and crap. I walked out and never returned.”

“What an ass.”

“Not really.”

My eyes shoot up to see his casual expression. “Why?”

He shrugs his shoulders. “I deserved it. He was trying to bully me into studying, doing the class work, and being the student he recruited.”

“Recruited?”

How much do I not know about this man?

He inhales a deep breath and then releases it. “I was on a scholarship.”

My eyes must widen because he shakes his head. “Don’t look so surprised. The dipshit guitarist can read.”

I step back and huff from his assumption that I thought he was stupid. He jumps off the cement ledge. “Let’s just go.” He leaves me in the vacant strip of sidewalk between the buildings.

“Really? You actually think I’d be with you if I thought you were stupid?” I catch up to him before he can descend down the first step. “I’m just surprised you threw it away.”

His icy eyes flick to me and then forward again. “I’m not the same person. You don’t know the Rob from back then.”

I lightly grab his elbow to slow him down and he whips around already in defense mode. “I know the Rob now and you’re not stupid, far from it. So, how about you stop running and actually talk to me.”

He roams over to a bench and I follow, sitting down next to him. His arm rests along the top and his hand cups my shoulder, pulling for me to slide closer. Loving the warmth he gives me, I go. “I’m sorry,” he mumbles and kisses my temple. “Professor Bridges just has a way of making me see red.”

“Why?”

“Because he reminds me of my biggest regret.”

His lips dip down and I wish I had some way of cheering him up.

“Then come back.” The answer is simple, right?

“You don’t get it. Then he wins.”

“This isn’t about winning. You’re being stubborn.”

He unhooks his arm and stands. “Let’s just go home; I don’t want to go to the movies anymore.”

“Oh stop being such a lump. We can talk about this later, but you’re taking me to the movies.” I don’t wait for him to answer, but instead I stride straight to his illegally parked car.

At first I don’t hear the footsteps behind me, but he comes to his senses and before I reach the car door, he’s there opening it for me. When I peer up at him, arching my eyebrows, his eyes ping anywhere but at me. “You win, okay?”

I place my hand on the side of his stomach and step closer. “I don’t want to win. I want you to win.” With a small smile, I climb into his car.

In the solitude of his car for the limited time it takes him to jog around, I try to absorb the information he gave me. By no means did I think Rob was some slacker that Western kicked out, but a scholarship? That’s a whole other realm. Since it’s a touchy subject, I’m not going to press because regardless if he comes back or not, he has to make that decision.

“What are we going to see?” he asks once we’re on the road.

“You choose.”

“No, ladies choice.” His hand finds my thigh and I draw in a breath, relieved things aren’t awkward after the Professor Bridges and returning to school discussion.

“We can decide when we get there.”

“Sounds perfect.” He shoots a smile over to me in passing. It’s like a flick of a light switch how fast his mood can change. As though he’s gradually transforming back to who he is, or inspires to be.

WHAT THE HELL is wrong with me? Thank God we’re going to the movies so I can shove my mouth full of popcorn to stop the secrets from spilling. She must think I’m an all-round fuck-up. First I tell her about the accident and Carly, now she knows I threw away a scholarship because of pride. Pride of what, I still don’t know.

Even without thinking about Paige, Professor Bridges threw me off my game. I should have figured out he was Paige’s professor and asked her to meet me at home, or down the street. When he whispered to call him as he sauntered by, it only brought guilt of what I did. If I even decide to enroll again, our paths will cross, so maybe I should get the slaying of my ego over with and meet with the man who once referred to me as a new mind with brilliant ideas.

By the time we’re stepping up the stairs to the movie theater, with our arms filled with popcorn, drinks and candy, Professor Bridges has vanished from the depths of my mind with Paige’s swaying ass replacing him. She glances over her shoulder to make sure I’m following her. What, is she crazy? I’d follow her into a storm of gunfire.

I’m not sure why Paige’s choice to sit in the last row surprises me. Sometimes it’s like our minds are one. When I suggested a movie, you better be damned I expected some lip action. Especially since we’re back to platonic-a foot away-roommates with Dex and Chrissy’s return.