Flirtexting

Seraphina

I sighed softly, glancing up at the clock at the very front of the science classroom. I still had ten minutes left of class.

I barely bit back a groan.

I hated chemistry with a passion, even if I was good at it.

Chemistry was my last class of the day, and then I could go crawl into my warm bed in my dorm and sleep for a few hours. I wanted it so badly. My brain felt fried. I could barely focus on anything anymore, and every time I tried to focus on the professor’s droning, I could feel my eyelids drooping closed.

I really needed to stop staying up so late reading. It was seriously beginning to tire me out. But the books I was reading were so good.

“Now for your science project,” the professor suddenly announced.

I snapped my eyes open. What had I missed? We had a freaking science project? Kill me now. I hated science with a passion.

“You’ll be doing this project in pairs. At our next class meeting, I expect a layout of who will be doing what work, meet-up times, and your decision on which project you’ll be doing. Any and all information you need will be in this packet,” he said, holding up some papers. I was too far back to see what they said. “You do not get to choose your partner. I’ve already assigned them based on your strengths and weaknesses from your assignments.”

I barely bit back a groan. I hated working with partners, much less teacher-assigned partners.

And when I realized who my partner was, I wanted to scream.

Theo Murphy.

Theo was the campus heartthrob. He didn’t date. He never did serious relationships. I’d gone to high school with him, but I wasn’t even sure he knew I existed. And I had the hugest freaking crush on him. I thought it would wear off with time, but nope. He just got cuter and hotter, and I kept falling more and more in love with him. And he wasn’t even a bad guy. He was smart, a bit cocky and self-assured, and friendly. He was so nice to everyone.

The only turn-off was that he was extremely popular, and he had a bad rep amongst the female population, though they all continued to clamor for his attention anyway.

“That’s it, class. Make sure you exchange phone numbers. And also, move to sit next to your partner. That’s your new seating arrangement for the rest of this semester.”

I was going to die of heart failure. How was I expected to sit next to Theo for an entire semester?! My heart couldn’t take this.

“Hey,” Theo’s deep voice washed over me as he dropped his bag next to the table I was sitting at. He plopped down in the chair next to mine before he turned to look at me, aiming those dark eyes at me through his glasses. I pushed my own up the bridge of my nose, suddenly so nervous my poor hands were shaking. “I’m Theo,” he told me.

I swallowed thickly. “I know.” Thankfully, my voice didn’t come out as choked as I felt. “I think everyone knows.” He laughed and grinned, making my heart skip a beat in my chest. “I’m Seraphina—Seraphina Williams,” I tacked on. I tucked my blonde, curly hair behind my ear and pushed my glasses up again. “Um, we should probably exchange numbers or something.”

He unlocked his phone and passed it to me. “Go ahead and type your number in. I’ll text you so you have my number, too.”

I quickly typed my number into his phone and then passed the device back to him. He tapped at his screen for a moment, and I busied myself with looking anywhere but at his handsome face and his messy hair. God, I so badly wanted to sink my fingers into his hair and see if it was as soft as it looked.

Get yourself together, Seraphina!

I jumped when my phone vibrated in my lap. I quickly grabbed it and looked at the screen. My cheeks flamed red.

Hey, gorgeous.

I looked up for him, but he was already gone, the rest of the classroom already filing out the door. I pressed my hand to my chest.

I was so screwed.

~*~*~

I was focusing on homework in the library when my phone, which was normally always silent, suddenly vibrated for the second time that day. I was pretty much a loner. I didn’t have a roommate; she dropped out the second week of school. My friends and I had drifted apart by the end of our first year of college since we all went to different schools. I hadn’t bothered trying to make new friends. I liked my peace and quiet.

It’s not nice to leave a guy hanging on read, gorgeous.

My cheeks flamed red again. What was it with Theo calling me gorgeous? And why did my freaking skin have to react so violently to it? I hated that he could make me look like a freaking cherry tomato so easily. It wasn’t fair.

You’re going to bruise my ego if you keep leaving me on read.

I snorted. He was such a guy, and one clearly used to female attention.

Your reputation says your ego could use a little bruising from time to time.

I set my phone down and tried to focus back on my homework, but it was hard. Now I was too eager for his response, and I was second guessing what I had sent him. God, did every girl feel like this when their crush finally texted them, finally noticed them? Or was it just me?

Touché. What if I told you the only girl I was interested in at the moment was the cute blonde with glasses from our science class? She’s got a nervous tick of pushing her glasses up her nose when she’s uncomfortable.

My mouth dropped open. My cheeks were so red I could feel the heat radiating from them onto my hands as I held my phone up in front of my face.

He couldn’t be serious! This kind of thing didn’t happen in real life. There was no way Theo Murphy was actually interested in me, was there?

No. He couldn’t be. I was probably just another conquest to him.

I like relationships, Theo. If you’re looking for someone fun to pass the time with, I’m not your girl.

His response came a heck of a lot faster than I’d been expecting.

Contrary to what you believe, gorgeous, you are that girl. And if you really paid attention to the rumors, you’d know I haven’t screwed around with anyone since the beginning of the semester. I’m looking for something real, and I haven’t found that real until I met you.

My heart went pitter-patter in my chest.The poor thing was going to give out, and it was going to be all Theo Murphy’s fault.