Chapter 20: Twenty

By the time the next class rolled around, I had convinced myself to move on.

Okay, I was trying to move on. And truth be told, in the past two days since we had not had Declan’s elective, I had been doing well in my moving on mission.

Cassie had talked me through it many many times. Her advice had been brutally simple: “If he won’t draw the line, you have to.” And maybe it was petty, but I wasn’t above a little visual reminder to Declan that I wasn’t some girl he could just have around and play with.

I wore a fitted pink top and my favorite jeans. Hair in a cute ponytail. Lip gloss. Effort, but casual. I looked good.

The class was buzzing with low chatter when I walked in. Jacob spotted me immediately and waved me over with a grin that made my chest loosen, just a little. He was leaning back in his chair, his shirt tight around his arms.

I sat down beside him just as Declan entered from the side door, carrying his usual thermos of coffee and a stack of handouts.

My chest tightened. I looked down at my notebook and forced my breathing to slow.

You’re fine. He’s just your professor. That’s all he is.

“Alright, everyone,” Declan said, setting the thermos down and glancing across the room. His eyes skimmed over the rows until they landed very briefly on me. I didn’t look away this time. I held his gaze for half a second before flicking it back to Jacob. I smiled a little.

He noticed.

“I want to shift us into group work,” Declan said. “Final project proposals are due in three weeks, and I’m pairing you up so you have enough time to collaborate. The details will be on your emails.”

A few groans filled the room. Jacob leaned closer to me. “Please tell me you’ll be my partner. I don’t have the emotional stamina to deal with Mara. I mean I love her but she is so bossy.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I’d love to be your partner.”

Declan was reading off the assignment prompt, explaining expectations, but I raised my hand anyway.

He paused, his mouth still open mid-sentence, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Yes, Miss Whitefield?”

“Can we pick our own partners?” I asked innocently.

A pause. “I was planning to assign them.”

Jacob raised his hand too, grinning. “Come on, Ashwell. Don’t punish us for no reason.”

A few students laughed at his tone. Declan’s jaw tightened very visibly, but he said, “Fine. Choose your own. Just stay focused. As long as its good work on my desk at the end of the day.”

Jacob immediately turned to me, triumphant. “Let’s go, partner.”

I nodded and smiled, not bothering to look at Declan as I said, “Sounds good.”

But I felt his eyes on me. He was watching. I liked that.

We spent the next fifteen minutes discussing topics, bouncing ideas off each other. Jacob was surprisingly good when it came to this stuff, quick, articulate, full of ideas and energy. He would actually be a good partner for this project.

And then I did something impulsive.

Declan was walking across the front of the class again, talking with another student. I noticed the way his eyes flicked toward us every few minutes, never long enough to draw attention; but often enough to know he was listening in on our conversation. He was quietly noticing. And I planned to take advantage of that.

So I stood up slightly, leaning into Jacob as I laughed at something he said, and then, without really thinking about it, wrapped my arms around him in a quick hug.

Just a second. Warm. Familiar. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Thanks,” I murmured, pulling back. “You’re making this less hard than it should be. You know I hate group projects.”

Jacob grinned, his arm briefly settling at the small of my back before I sat down again. “Just wait until I do none of the writing.”

I laughed again, but my ears were tuned elsewhere.

Across the room, I heard a loud crack.

Declan stood behind his desk, looking down at his shattered mug, coffee seeping across the floor in a slow, dark stain. Pieces of ceramic lay scattered at his feet.

Everyone looked up.

“Shit,” someone muttered.

Declan didn’t say anything for a moment. He just stared at the mess, one hand flexing at his side like he wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or furious or both.

Then he cleared his throat. “Continue working. I’ll take care of this.”

A few students turned back to their groups, whispering under their breath. I glanced at Jacob, who raised an eyebrow. “Yikes. He’s been on edge lately.”

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t need to.

Because I knew exactly why Declan dropped that mug.

And deep down, I think he knew I wanted him to.

But the worst part?

It didn’t make me feel better.

It just made me realize how tangled this had all become.

And how much of it I wasn’t ready to admit to anyone—including myself.