university | lrh

07 - jealousy

Elise Halder
————

I'm starting to think the unbelievably thick tension between me and Luke is completely one-sided.

And it sucks, because my heart races every time he looks at me, and I'm certain I don't have that same effect on him.

I stay behind after almost every lesson, and Luke gives me advanced writing exercises to help me prepare for my English Scholar program application. And each time I do, Cassie makes a very suggestive comment about us before she finally leaves the room. Luke pretends he doesn't hear her.

Maybe I'd misread our previous conversations. Perhaps his behavior towards me wasn't all that odd, and I'd just let my imagination get the best of me.

Whatever the case may be, I was disappointed in how the past few weeks had progressed. And I shouldn't be, really, because Luke had been extremely helpful with improving my writing, and I've learned a bit more about him during our sessions. It's begun to feel like working with a friend more than anything.

He told me about his role in his former Fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi, and how he'd been catching up with a younger frat brother when we had run into each other that night. I also learned that the room I stayed in was, in fact, his old room, at which I blushed profusely and he gave me a knowing grin in return.

He told me about how shocked he'd been when my original English Lit Professor, a much older gentleman under the name of Mr. Bulriss, had asked him to take over his class last minute. Luke wasn't even allowed to teach this class yet, as he was still technically only an Instructor's aid, but the older man had told him he would take care of the details.

This led to Luke telling me he was only 24, and I tried not to act relieved when I realized he wasn't any older than I'd thought. The man could pass for 21, in all honesty.

It was nice, talking to him in a casual manner. He would touch my shoulder or even my leg briefly, and he would always wear an amused smirk when I would stare at him for far too long, but it never went any further than that.

It was nice, but I wanted more. And that scared the fuck out of me.

I tried my hardest to push my hormones to the side as to avoid making an absolute fool of myself in front of Luke, again, but I'd grown increasingly restless over the weeks of being in his presence so often.

Every little thing he does winds me up, and as I watch him now, playing with the many rings clad on his long fingers, I can barely sit still.

He notices. He always notices.

"Everything alright?" There's a hint of amusement in his tone.

I stop my fidgeting and sigh. "Yeah, sorry, it's just really hard to sit here for so long." I shrug.

"Oh?" He raises an eyebrow. "Am I boring you, Elise?" His tone is playful.

"No!" I say a little too quickly. "No, um, I mean it's not that, it's just-I feel like I'm always in this room and-"

"You'd like a change of scenery, then?"

"I mean, yeah," I shrug again. "But it's not like there's anywhere else to really go, so-"

"My apartment," he murmurs quietly and I'm 100 percent sure I wasn't supposed to hear it.

"What?" His head snaps up.

"What?"

"You just said-"

"Forget it," he gulps and waves me off. "I didn't mean to suggest that." He shakes his head.