I saw his face change instantly. He looked disappointed at first, then annoyed, then angry. Natalie seemed to notice this, too, because she tried to walk away from him.
“Wait—” he said, but Natalie cut him off.
“Jason, I’m sure you’re a really nice guy,” she started quickly. “But I just… You and I… It’s never going to happen. I’m sorry, I would really appreciate if you would leave me alone.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, and I saw his jaw set firmly. He looked like a bully at that moment, and I took a step forward. It was obvious that neither Natalie nor Jason were aware of my presence.
“Hold on,” he said, as he reached out and grabbed her arm. “You’re a tease; you know that?”
“Jason—”
“You’ve dressed like you’re asking for it,” he hissed. “What’s the point of the slutty outfit, huh?”
I gritted my teeth and rushed forward, reminding myself not to punch him. When he noticed me, Jason dropped Natalie’s arm instantly and took a step back.
“You’re not going to endear yourself to women if you insult them, Jason,” I told him coldly. “And, grabbing them certainly isn’t going to help any.”
He turned red, and he started to stammer over his excuses. “Get out of here,” I said, under my breath.
He met my eyes for only a second. I saw a flash of humiliation there, underneath a veil of anger. Then he turned on his heel and made for the nearest exit. I waited till the door had swung closed before I turned back to Natalie. She was looking at me with those beautiful blue eyes, and I felt the tension drain from my body.
“Hi, there,” was all I could think of to say.
Chapter Thirteen
Natalie
“Hi, there,” Chance said, with this charmingly cool smile playing on his face.
I stood there for a moment, nervous and tense and self-conscious all in the same breath. “Hi,” I replied. “Thank you…for helping me out with Jason.”
“Of course.” Chance nodded. “I would have done the same for anyone.”
“Oh...” I said, unsure of what that meant. “Right.”
An awkward silence fell in between us, and I lost all memory of what to say next. I had actually practiced with Missy prior to the lecture. We had decided that I would act calm and collected. I realized now how unrealistic our plan had been.
“Natalie, am I right?” he asked.
I wrung my hands together and nodded. “You didn’t know who I was that night, did you?” I didn’t sound calm and collected at all. I sounded like an unsure child, desperate for approval and totally besotted to boot.
“I’m sorry,” he said immediately. “I should have known… I think a part of me did know. It was just, you looked so different that night. You look a little different now, to be honest.”
I smiled. “I know.”
He looked around the empty lecture hall. “This is an odd place to talk,” he sai
d. “Why don’t we head back to my office? We can talk in peace there.”
I nodded and followed him out of the lecture hall. It felt a little strange to walk beside him through campus grounds, but it also felt exciting. His office was a small space on the fourth floor of the Spacey Building. There was just enough room for a desk, two chairs, and a few shelves. He ushered me inside and closed the door behind him.
“Take a seat,” he said politely.
“Thank you,” I replied.
It felt odd, to sit opposite him, knowing he was my teacher and knowing that we had shared an intimate moment so recently. Obviously, I was the only one affected by that fact because Chance looked completely in control. He was the one that was calm and collected and I realized just how confident a man he was.
“How long has Jason been harassing you?” he asked, breaking the silence.