Sea Breeze 04 - Just for Now

in.
    “I will. See ya then,” Brent replied.
    I nodded and slid out of the seat. I waved bye to both of them and headed for the door. Once I was outside, I texted Jason.
Me: Yes.
    My phone rang just as I was buckling my seat belt.
    “Hello.”
    “I’m not disturbing you, am I?” Jason asked.
    “Not at all.” More like giving me a good reason to get the hell away from Preston.
    “Okay, good. How were your first two days of classes?”
    I pulled out onto the almost deserted road. During the summer you couldn’t get out on this road this time of night. It would take hours to get a couple miles. But all the vacationers had gone home for the new school year. Although the weather was still warm, the crowds were gone.
    “They’ve been good so far. Tomorrow may change things, though. I’m taking calculus, and I am getting supernervous about it. What about you? Are your classes going well?”
    Jason chuckled into the phone. “I’ve had two classes so far, and I hate them both. Maybe tomorrow will be better. But calculus first year? Really? I’m impressed.”
    Math was my thing. “Yeah. I’m a math person.”
    “Me too.”
    “Really? What’s your major?”
    There was a pause. “Um, I’m having a few arguments with my parents about that. I’ll get back to you on it.” Weird. His parents were arguing with him about his major? “The reason I called wasn’t to bore you with talk about our courses. I was wondering if maybe you’d be free anytime in the next month?” He ended his question with an amused chuckle.
    “Um, yeah . . . I think I have some openings in my schedule,” I replied, smiling.
    “Then my next question is, how soon would your schedule be opening up? I was thinking of flying down . . . soon.”
    This was the right thing to do. Jason liked me. He wasn’t pushing me away and giving me warnings. “How about next weekend?”
    “Perfect.”

Chapter Eight
Preston
    Calculus. Why the hell did I agree to calculus? Passing this class would be a miracle. Keeping my grades up was part of the deal with my scholarship. If I failed a class, then I lost it. I couldn’t lose this. If I played this season the way I played last season, I should have my next two years at a state college covered. I had to pass this one class first. I’d been putting it off. It was time I faced it.
    Walking into the room, I did a quick scan for a desk close to the front. Instead, my eyes found Amanda. She was laughing at something another girl was telling her, while some guy was leaning on her desk looking directly down her shirt while laughing along with whatever the other girl was saying. The douche.
    Amanda was close enough to the front. A few girls called out my name as I walked toward her, but I ignored them. I kept my focus on Amanda. Her eyes lifted to meet mine as I made my way to her. The smile on her lips faltered. She was trying to keep her distance because she was smart. I was the asshole not allowing it. I should be letting her run, but every little inch she pulled back I confused her. I was a shithead. This realization wasn’t going to keep me from sitting beside her, though. The other guy needed to back the fuck off. His eyes were looking places they hadn’t been invited. Manda needed a damn bodyguard.
    “Hey, Preston,” the brunette who had been making Amanda laugh greeted me first. The cooing tone of her voice was familiar. She was interested. She knew what I was like, and she was still willing. I got that a lot. I managed a small smile and nodded, but I didn’t take my eyes off Amanda’s.
    “Hey, Manda,” I said as I took the seat on the other side of her.
    “Preston. Uh, hey.” Her nervous reply was expected. She didn’t want me near her. I couldn’t blame her or take offense.
    “You taking calculus first semester of college? I’m impressed. I’ve been putting it off.”
    Amanda shrugged a shoulder. “I like math.”
    Calculus was not math. It was a fucking science experiment gone wrong. I started to reply when the guy standing beside her cleared his throat. I glanced up at him with an annoyed snarl. Why was he still standing there?
    “You took my seat,” he said.
    Now, that made me smile. “Then I guess you should have been sitting in it.”
    I turned my attention back to Amanda, whose bright pink cheeks told me this was embarrassing her. I didn’t want to do that, either.
    “I may need help. I’m glad you’re good with numbers,” I told her, leaning back and getting