BIT OF BLUR
LAURA
Laura
The hallway was buzzing with the usual pre–class chatter, but my brain was too busy spiraling to notice. Friday night. Art guy. A date.
What the hell had I been thinking? My mouth had just run off without consulting my brain, and how I was stuck in the world’s most colossal lie.
I had no date. No art guy. Just a ticking time bomb of a promise I couldn’t keep.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t see the arm until it slammed across the doorway, blocking my path. I froze mid- step, staring at the muscular forearm in front of me. Slowly, I shifted my gaze forward, already knowing who it was.
Josh.
Of course.
I inhaled deeply, forcing myself to keep calm. Without so much as a word, I ducked beneath his arm and stalked into the classroom. My heart was racing, but I ignored it.
Sliding into the front row, I exhaled. Josh was a jock. Jocks. didn’t sit in the front row unless they were forced to by the teacher–and Mr. Davis was too old and tired to bother. Sitting
0.00%
111
O
1224
BIT OF BOUR
1280 Mouchers
here was my sanctuary.
Or so I thought.
The screech of a chair being dragged across the floor made me stiffen. I didn’t have to look to know it was him. I could feel his presence, heavy and inescapable
Josh dropped into the seat beside me with all the subtlety of a brick wall, his long legs stretching out like he owned the place.
I rolled my eyes but stayed silent, sliding deeper into my chair.
The classroom slowly filled with students, and I focused on my notebook, pretending to scribble something important. But Josh didn’t seem to care about my lack of attention.
He leaned back, his chair creaking, then turned toward me.
I ignored him.
“Fine,” he muttered under his breath.
Before I could process what he was doing, his large hands gripped the edges of my desk and chair. In one swift motion, he dragged me–and the desk–closer to him.
The entire class fell away. The air between us grew thick as I stared at him, wide–eyed and incredulous. I was close enough to catch the scent of his cologne, woodsy with a hint of spice. Stop thinking about his cologne, Laura
He leaned in, his voice low enough that no one else could hear. “We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t,” I whispered back through clenched teeth,
12:24 1
BIT OF BLUR
11 288 Vouchers
refusing to meet his gaze.
“Yes, we do,” he said, his tone unyielding. “I wasn’t that drunk, Laura. I remember. I fucking touched you.”
My stomach dropped.
He remembers.
My jaw nearly hit the desk. Did Josh just say that out loud?
“Keep your voice down!” I snapped, panic threading through my whisper.
A smug grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Why? Worried someone will overhear?”
Heat flushed my cheeks, and I scrambled to shuffle my chair back into position, making a show of it as Mr. Davis entered the
room.
Josh leaned back, swiveling his chair like he didn’t have a care in the world. But his eyes never left me.
I stared straight ahead, gripping my pen so tightly it might snap.
I could still feel his gaze on the side of my face, its weight making my pulse race.
Class began, but I didn’t hear a word of it.
All I could think about was Josh’s whispering, his hands effortlessly dragging me closer, and his cologne lingering in the air between us.
And most of all, the way he’d said, “I fucking touched you,” like it was the worst mistake he’d ever made.
54.511
12241
PIT OF BLUR
“I don’t recall. The whole night was a bit of a blur, really,” I muttered, hoping he would buy the lie.
“You don’t have a date on Friday because you don’t meet anyone at the party other than me,” Josh whispered.
Shit
Double shit.
11 288 (Vouchers
I need a date… Otherwise, Josh would know that I bluffed. That I ran home and cried myself to sleep because I didn’t have the guts to let the guy I like actually fuck me. Because I have this delusional dream that one day, he would want to date me.
How fucking pathetic.
“You have no idea what happened after I left your drunk ass in that room. I do have a date asshole and it’s got nothing to do with you.“I gritted while Mrs. Davis was busy with a student in the back, hoping my voice carried enough venom to let Josh know he needs to back off.
