Would You Rather: A College Romance (Campus Games Book 3)

Study date

Madeline’s frown is the first thing I see when she opens the door. Most people wouldn’t like that, they’d be offended or even feel hurt by it.

But when she does it, I just smile instead. I wonder if she thought I was bluffing on the whole crashing her date thing. There is no way I’d let her be alone with him. I’ve only seen that guy twice, but he does not want to study. He wants her.

And much to Madeline’s dismay, I can’t let that happen. When she signed the NDA, she agreed to the rules, including the ones that weren’t on the contract, which means no other guys.

“You seem glad to see me,” I joke, my eyes drifting to the curls on her head. It’s the first time I’ve seen her with curly hair, and fuck, she looks good. Too bad she’s a pain in my ass.

“Delighted,” she drawls, opening her door and allowing me to enter.

I glance around, noting that there isn’t a single speck of dirt. Every inch of this place seems to have been freshly cleaned from the floors to the tables to the cabinets. “Nice place.”

Her head snaps to the left, those eyes widening at me. “Was that… a compliment?”

I let out a laugh, running my hand through my hair. “I am capable of those, you know?”

She hums, disagreeing. “Really? I wouldn’t know.”

I snicker, rubbing a thumb over my lip. If only she could hear my thoughts. “Maybe because you’re ripping my head off every chance you get.”

She lets out a sigh, heading into the kitchen when the microwave beeps. She pulls out a bag of freshly made popcorn.

“You made food?” I ask her.

She looks at me from behind her shoulder. “I wouldn’t really consider popcorn food,” she says, ripping open the bag, the steam filling the apartment.

She really likes this guy.

I don’t know why that bothers me.

Maybe because she’s been hellbent on hating me since that first shitty interaction, or that she never gives me the time of day when we’re together. But why does this guy get this Madeline? The one who smiles and cooks for him, and can’t wait to see him. And I get…

“Are you sure you want to stay?” she asks.

That.

“Are you trying to kick me out?” I ask her, raising a brow.

She shakes her head, filling the bowl with the popcorn. “I’m not kicking you out. I’m giving you an out. It’s probably going to be boring,” she says with a lift of her shoulders as she places the bowl on the table. “I know you want to make sure nothing happens, and I can honestly tell you nothing will.”

I don’t buy that for a second. She seems way too excited for someone about to study. No one likes studying that much, especially on a subject they hate.

I let my eyes drift down her outfit. Tight-fitting jeans and a long sleeve brown top clinging to her. Who dresses like that to study? Someone trying to impress a guy, that’s who.

I pull out a chair and take a seat, watching how her eyes narrow when I do. “I’m good here.”

“Seriously?” she asks, placing her hand on her hip. My eyes linger on her curvy figure, slim in the waist and full in the hips. There is no way this guy will be able to keep his hands off her.

“Very.”

Her eyes narrow in a squint. “You don’t trust me when I tell you nothing’s going to happen?” she asks.

I think back to the photoshoot when she was a nervous wreck, panicking when she thought I was going to kiss her. It pained me to think she was so afraid I’d cross her boundaries when I had given her my word. She doesn’t trust me. Why should I trust her?

“Trust is a two-way street,” I tell her, stretching my arms over the chair beside me. “When you learn to trust me, I’ll do the same.”

She purses her lips before heading to the sink, where the window is wide open, the air hitting her skin and her hair. Is she in fucking slow motion? I blink, begging myself to remember all of times she’s driven me crazy. “You’re going to get sick,” I tell her, gesturing to the open window.

She raises an eyebrow. “I’ll be fine,” she says, turning back around to finish off cleaning the counters.

I turn my head and grab a few chips she laid out on a plate before bringing them to my mouth, letting out a laugh when I see all of the snacks on the table. “Look at you,” I say, shaking my head at her. “You’re wearing jeans and heels to study, you have food out for this guy, cleaned the place, and you honestly want me to believe nothing’s going to happen?” I let out a strained laugh when she comes back to the table. “I’m not a fool, Madeline.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” she says, glancing down at me. “We made a deal.”

I want to believe that, but the way she’s fidgeting over the idea of this guy coming over doesn’t ease my suspicions.

When a knock hits the door, and her eyes widen, I see how nervous she is. Her eyes drift to me, and I’m guessing she would rather I not be here, but I don’t care about what she wants right now. She lets out a sigh and heads toward the door, but not without fluffing out her curls before she opens the door.

What is it with her and always having to look perfect?

She opens the door with a smile, and he smiles back. I don’t like that at all.

I rub my jaw, watching how they interact. How she smiles and laughs with him, a little shy – something she never is with me – and how he eats it up, laughing with her.

But as soon as he walks inside and sees me, the laughter stops.

I lift my eyebrows and give him a wave, trying not to find his reaction amusing as fuck, but it’s hilarious. He definitely didn’t expect to see anyone here, let alone a guy.

“Connor, this is Lucas,” Madeline tells her little crush.

“Her boyfriend,” I finish for her. Yeah, this dude did not like that, and neither does Madeline. I can tell by the way she’s narrowing her eyes at me.

Sorry, princesa, but I’m not letting you ruin this for me, for both of us. When this is all over, she can giggle with him all she wants, but in the meantime, the only guy she’ll be seen with is me.

He turns his head to Madeline and scans her face. “Oh,” he says. “Sorry, I didn’t realize.” I wonder what they talk about. Do they flirt? Has she told him she’s single?

Madeline shakes her head. “It’s fine,” she says. “I should have told you.”

Yeah, she should have.

Connor is even more confused as he looks at Madeline again. “Is he in our class?” he asks her. “I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”

“No, I’m not,” I say, leaning over to grab some popcorn before stuffing it in my mouth. “Came to pick up my girl for a date, and she’d told me you two were studying together.”

Madeline gives him a warm smile. Hate that. “He wanted to stay,” she tells him.

I munch away, my eyebrows lifting when he turns to face me. “Is that a problem?” I ask him.

He swallows, shaking his head. “No, I guess not.” I can see how much he wanted to be alone with her. That sucks… for him.

He takes a seat and glances up at Madeline, her eyes dropping to the empty seat beside him. Absolutely fucking not. “Come here,” I say, pushing out the chair beside me.

She looks up at me with wide eyes and squares her shoulders, but the asshole in front of me speaks up. “Um… I actually forgot my books. Mind if I share yours?”

He came to study without any books? I almost scoff. Is she really buying this? “I’m sure you’ll manage,” I drawl, glancing up at Madeline. “Now, come and sit beside me.” I let out a sigh. “I miss you, amorzinho.” I push my lips into a pout, loving how she narrows her eyes. God, it’s fun to fuck with her. Even more fun to watch Connor swallow at the term of endearment.

But when she walks around the table and drops into the seat beside me, I break out into a smile, unable to stop it from spreading across my face. Connor frowns as he stares at the snacks in front of him. Yeah, tough luck, buddy.

“You’re an asshole,” Madeline whispers low enough, only I can hear as she tries to shuffle away from me.

I grin, grabbing the back of her chair and pulling her until she’s pressed up against me. She gasps a little, but I don’t even give her time to think before I stretch my arm around the back of her chair. “Much better,” I murmur, loving how her crush is blanching every second he spends in front of us. “I love having you next to me, meu coração.”

Madeline faces forward, avoiding my eyes. I don’t even know if she knows what it means, I can tell by the way she’s fidgeting that it got to her. She places her textbooks on the table, along with a small planner filled with color-coded sections and sticky notes on the edges. She places a blue and a black pen perpendicular to each other on the table, adjusting their position. Jesus. This girl isn’t just organized. She’s meticulous.

My eyes widen when I scan her planner, noticing every little detail she has marked down. I lean down close to her ear. “You plan your meals?” I whisper. She ignores me as she keeps flipping through her planner until she reaches today’s date.

I chuckle, lifting my head, but when I see Connor’s eyes locked on her, my smile disappears, my jaw tightening in its place. I fucking hate how he looks at her. He can’t keep his eyes off her, and she’s completely oblivious to it, her eyes locked on her planner as she writes away.

His eyes lock with mine for a second when he notices I caught him looking at her, and he looks away, grabbing a handful of chips before shoving it in his mouth.

She might have told me she doesn’t date or kiss, but one thing is clear. It won’t stop him. He wants her. I can see it plain as day.

But there’s one big problem.

Fake or not, Madeline is mine, at least until our deal is over. And this guy isn’t going to make her fuck me over, no matter how much she’s crushing on him.

If I have to crash every one of their ‘study dates,’ then so fucking be it.