Tempting the Player (Campus Wallflowers #4)

by Rebecca Jenshak

“A prodigy in the body of a god. Seriously, have you ever seen a hotter guy?” She hums and gets this dreamy look on her face that she only gets when talking about her boyfriend. “I have, actually.” “You know, they say love is blind but now I think I’m finally seeing it in action.” Dahlia narrows her gaze at me. She’s sweet as can be until you talk smack about someone she loves, and she is madly in love with her boyfriend Felix.

“It’s you,” I say, still locked onto his stunning eyes. His dark brows pull together, and his mouth is set in a straight line. His jawline is a work of art. He’s even hotter up close. Broodier, but hotter. “I mean, I recognize you. You run by my house every day. I’m Jane.” He moves us so I’m standing on my own two feet instead of swooning in his arms, steadies me and then steps away. “Careful where you’re walking, Jane.”

It’s only when Cam’s blurry body in front of me is pushed out of the way that I notice the dark head approaching me. I blink back what I now realize are tears in time to see my mystery guy reach up and grab me around the waist. I freeze under his touch, but then his voice is reassuring me as his big hands span out around my middle. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

There’s just something about her. She radiates this joy that makes simple interactions feel bigger. Even when I shouldn’t, I find myself watching her with an intrigue that throws me off balance.

There is something about him. I can’t explain it.” “You don’t need to,” she says as Felix steps into the open doorway. She looks at him in a way that tells the world just how crazy she is about him. “I get it.”

Dahlia closes the distance between them, and he takes her hand. They’re so cute together. So happy and so into each other. I want that. Or even a night of it.

As I approach, he glances up and directly at me. My pulse spikes and my heart flutters when I meet his dark hazel eyes. “You came? I mean, hey.” And then he does the craziest thing. He smiles at me.

She looks so excited, eyes lit up, lips pulled into a huge smile. She wears her emotions on her face and her heart on her sleeve. I dig that about her. Most girls her age want to play it cool, but not Jane.

“Hell yeah!” Felix moves over to make room. “You can have mine and Dahlia’s spots. Need to talk to my girl.” “And by talk, you mean make out where everyone can see?” Jane asks. “You know it, Hannah.” Felix winks at her.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Arch nudges him, and his lips pull into a small, knowing smile. “She thought he was into her and when she found out who he was, she realized she was just a job.” “She wasn’t just a job.” The words are out before I can pull them back. Arch’s smile just gets bigger. Fucker.

Hendrick. Thinking about him still makes my chest hurt.

It’s silly, considering I didn’t really know him that well, but I felt a spark with him. I haven’t felt that in a really long time. Maybe ever.

He kisses Dahlia again. They make out long enough that people all around are looking at them. My friend is blushing when they break apart. “You two are gross and adorable.” I shove a big spoonful of cereal into my mouth. “Weird combination,” he says back, not at all fazed by me.

We sit there in mostly silence, only her ragged breathing and sobs and the sound of my heart cracking wide open,

You’re not like everyone else. For better or worse, you need someone looking out for you. Let me be that person.”

“Favorite color?” He doesn’t answer right away, and I assume he’s not going to. He’s such a stickler. But just as a test paper is handed back to me, his voice is back in my ear. “Green.”

“I see you. All of you.

“And also,” he says, voice low. “Even if it wasn’t my job, I’d do whatever I could to keep you safe.”

“It’s beautiful out.” And so is she. I keep that cheesy ass line to myself.

Hendrick is hanging back with Felix. Dahlia grins at me. “I think my boyfriend has a dude crush on Hendrick.”

“Fine. It can’t happen, but first admit it. Admit that you want to kiss me again, and I’ll go back to sleep.” “I want to kiss you again more than I want my next breath,” I say the words with as little emotion as possible, but the air still crackles with tension between us.

He stares at me like he sees every piece of me—the good, the bad, all of it. Like he sees me and he still thinks I’m someone worth protecting.

“There’s no line,” I say. “Not anymore.” The smile on her face widens as she brings her arms up around my neck. “Good. Because I would fight them all.”

I squeeze him harder. “You are a good man, Hendrick Holland.” He doesn’t reply, but presses a kiss to the top of my head. I have a feeling I might have to repeat that sentence a few hundred times before he believes it.

When he smiles like he is right now, all big and carefree, I don’t mind so much that I didn’t have those experiences. Whatever my life was or wasn’t before, it led me here with him. I can try on different characters like favorite dresses while I figure out exactly who I am, and yet he still seems to see through it to the very core of me.

“I said I was your boyfriend because I wanted them to know that you’re mine. Bodyguard, boyfriend, friend, whatever you want to call me is up to you. I’m yours and that’s all that matters. But to everyone else, I want them to know that I’m the guy they have to answer to if they hurt you.”

If there was any doubt that I was in love with him before, there isn’t now. The thought of anything happening to him makes me want to set the world on fire.

“But boyfriend has a better ring to it, so I think I’ll call you that. Hi, boyfriend.” His lips pull into a real, honest to God smile. “Hi, girlfriend.”

“I want you.” That part I know for sure. “You have me. No matter what you choose.”

He’s not wrong though. I’m completely in love with her.

People are swaying and singing, totally enraptured with my girl. None more than me. She owns me.

“I love you,” I tell her and then kiss her again. “Two.” Her lips curve into a smile. “I’m so in love with you.” My throat is thick with emotion. “I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for not figuring it out sooner. Not getting there faster.”

“Three. And also, I’m in love with you too. Like really, really in love. I’m basically living out my own romantic comedy. Or maybe it’s a drama. A romantic dramedy.” Smiling, she brings her lips to mine again and lets them linger. “You forgot to count.” I cup the back of her head. Her eyes lock on mine. “Infinity.”

He makes me feel grounded and loved and just . . . content. Like this is exactly where I’m supposed to be. Here with him. Being loved so completely makes me feel like I can have and be anything I want, but also that it doesn’t matter nearly as much.

He thinks I own him, but he has it backward. I’m his. Every piece of me.

“God, I love you. Your big heart and your generosity, and the way you have come into my life and made everything feel exciting again. I don’t know what’s next for me, but I know it includes you.” He looks up at the building. “I can’t tell you what this place means to me.” Then his gaze flicks back to me. “Or what you mean to me. I love you so damn much.” “I love you too.”

“Almost had you.” “You do have me. All of me.”