Tied To You

SLOANE

There are three things I hate.

One, people who chew with their mouths open.

Two, people who walk slowly in front of me.

And three, Jace Callahan.

Unfortunately, I attend the same college as all three.

"You're in my seat."

I looked up from my phone.

Jace stood beside my desk, one hand holding a coffee, the other shoved into the pocket of his black hoodie.

I blinked.

"Your seat?"

"Yeah."

"Does your name happen to be written on it?"

He looked down at the chair.

Then back at me.

"Actually, it is."

I glanced at the chair.

There was a tiny sticker on the back that read JACE.

I stared at it.

Then at him.

"That's embarrassing."

"What's embarrassing is that you can't read."

"What's embarrassing is that you put a sticker on a classroom chair."

He took a sip of his coffee.

"Move, princess."

"Don't call me that."

"Then move."

I rolled my eyes, grabbed my bag, and moved one seat over.

"You're genuinely insufferable."

"Good morning to you too, Bennett."

I hated him.

I really, really did.

Or at least that's what I told myself.

Twenty minutes later, Professor Anderson walked into the classroom.

He placed his books on the desk and looked around.

"Before we begin, I have something I'd like to discuss."

Nobody seemed particularly interested.

"Some of you have made this semester incredibly difficult."

My eyes drifted toward Jace.

He was drawing something in the corner of his notebook.

I smiled.

Finally. Someone was getting called out.

"And some of you," the professor continued, looking directly between our desks, "seem to have developed a rather interesting relationship."

My smile disappeared.

Jace looked up.

"Us?" he asked.

Professor Anderson sighed.

"Yes. You two."

I scoffed.

"He's the problem."

Jace pointed at himself.

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"That's crazy. I was sitting here peacefully."

"You called me a walking perfume advertisement yesterday!" I snapped.

"Because you smelled like one."

"Jace."

"What? She did."

Professor Anderson closed his eyes.

I think he was praying.

"Enough."

Silence.

"I've decided to introduce a little project into this class."

Oh, wonderful.

"Two students will be paired together and required to spend an entire day physically attached to one another using a pair of handcuffs."

Silence.

Then laughter.

I frowned.

"I'm sorry. What?"

"Handcuffed," he repeated. "For educational purposes, of course. You'll complete a series of teamwork challenges around campus and submit a reflection afterward."

I raised my hand.

"Can I opt out?"

"No."

"Can I choose my partner?"

"No."

"Can I transfer universities?"

Jace snorted.

I turned around.

"Shut up."

Professor Anderson picked up a sheet of paper.

"Now, for our first pair..."

I suddenly had a terrible feeling.

"Sloane Bennett."

My mouth dropped.

"And Jace Callahan."

I stared at him.

He stared at me.

Then he slowly leaned back in his chair.

"Well, this should be fun."

I turned toward the professor.

"You're joking."

"I'm not."

"Professor, with all due respect, I'd rather eat my own textbook."

Jace raised his hand.

"I'd rather eat hers."

"JACE!"

Thirty minutes later.

I was standing outside the classroom.

Handcuffed.

To Jace.

I looked down at our wrists.

Then at him.

"You're walking too fast."

"You're walking too slow."

"My arm is literally attached to yours!"

"That's generally how handcuffs work."

I glared at him.

He smiled.

Not a nice smile, either.

An annoying one.

"I hate you."

"Yeah, you've mentioned that."

We started walking across campus.

For the first ten minutes, we argued about everything.

The speed we were walking.

Which direction we were going.

Whether I was allowed to hold his coffee.

And whether he was intentionally making me walk into people.

He claimed he wasn't.

I didn't believe him.

Eventually, though, something changed.

We stopped outside the student center because I wanted a drink.

Jace looked at the menu.

"Get the strawberry one."

I looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because you like strawberries."

I paused.

"How do you know that?"

He shrugged.

"You order it every time we're here."

I stared at him for a second.

He was already looking at his phone.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

I ordered my drink.

A few minutes later, we were sitting outside on one of the benches.

And for the first time in my life, I wasn't actively arguing with Jace Callahan.

He was actually...

Kind of funny.

Which was unfortunate.

"So," I said, taking a sip of my drink. "Do you actually listen to all that depressing music?"

He looked at me.

"Do you actually spend three hours getting ready?"

"Yes."

"That's unfortunate."

"You're unfortunate."

He laughed.

Actually laughed.

I looked at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're weird."

"And you're loud."

I smiled despite myself.

He noticed.

But, thankfully, didn't say anything.

We were walking toward the library when someone called my name.

"Sloane?"

I turned.

A tall guy in a university basketball jacket was approaching us.

Oh.

I knew him.

Ethan Brooks.

One of the basketball players.

And, honestly?

Pretty cute.

"Hey, Ethan!"

He smiled.

"Didn't know you were around today."

"Well, here I am."

His eyes moved toward Jace.

"Who's your friend?"

Before I could answer, Jace spoke.

"Unfortunately, I'm her partner."

I shot him a look.

Ethan laughed.

"Right. The project. That's actually kind of funny."

"Yeah," I said. "I'm having the best day of my life."

Ethan smiled at me.

"You look nice, by the way."

I smiled back.

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself."

He laughed.

"Maybe I could take you out sometime?"

I tilted my head.

"Maybe you could."

And then—

A sudden tug.

I stumbled backward.

Straight into Jace's chest.

I looked down at our connected wrists.

Then up at him.

He was looking at Ethan.

And then he leaned down, his voice dropping beside my ear.

"Thought we were doing a school project?"

I froze.

Excuse me?

Before I could respond, he straightened and started walking.

Pulling me along with him.

"Jace!"

He didn't stop.

"Jace, what the hell was that?"

Nothing.

"Hello? I'm talking to you!"

He kept walking.

I practically had to jog to keep up.

"You're actually insane!"

"You're welcome."

"FOR WHAT?"

He glanced down at me.

"Saving you from a conversation about basketball."

I stopped walking.

He stopped too, mostly because I was attached to him.

I narrowed my eyes.

"I was enjoying that conversation."

"Clearly."

"What's your problem?"

"Nothing."

"Then why'd you pull me away?"

He looked at me for a moment.

Then shrugged.

"Project."

I stared at him.

I was going to kill him.

By the time we reached the dorms, my feet hurt, my patience was gone, and I had officially decided that Professor Anderson was my worst enemy.

Madison was waiting in the common room.

The second she saw us, she burst out laughing.

"Oh my GOD."

"Don't."

"YOU TWO LOOK SO CUTE."

"Madison."

She held up her hands.

"Okay, okay!"

Theo appeared from the kitchen, holding a bag of chips.

He took one look at us.

Then started laughing too.

"How's married life?"

"Shut up, Theo," Jace muttered.

Madison grabbed the key Professor Anderson had given her and approached our wrists.

"Ready?"

"More than you know," I answered.

Click.

The handcuffs fell open.

I rubbed my wrist.

Finally.

Freedom.

I looked at Jace.

He was already putting his hands in his hoodie pocket.

"So..."

He looked at me.

"What?"

I shifted my weight.

"What's next? Do I just leave or something?"

He glanced at the empty handcuffs.

Then back at me.

"I mean... we're all done with the project. So yeah?"

I blinked.

Oh.

Okay.

"Right."

"Right."

Madison looked between us.

Theo looked between us.

Neither said anything.

I grabbed my bag.

"Well, bye."

"Later, Bennett."

I walked toward the stairs.

And I was almost at the first step when I heard him.

"Hey, Sloane."

I turned.

"What?"

He held up my phone.

My phone.

Which I had apparently left on the bench.

I walked back and took it.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

I turned to leave again.

"Try not to miss me too much."

I stopped.

Slowly turned around.

He was smirking.

I rolled my eyes.

"Trust me, Callahan. You're not that memorable."

His smile widened.

"Whatever helps you sleep, princess."

I walked away.

And I absolutely did NOT smile.

Maybe a little.

JACE

I watched her disappear up the stairs.

Theo appeared beside me.

"So."

I ignored him.

"Interesting day?"

"Shut up."

"She was flirting with Ethan, you know."

I looked at him.

"And?"

Theo grinned.

"Nothing. Just interesting how you suddenly remembered you had a project to finish."

I picked up my coffee.

"You're annoying."

"You're jealous."

I took a sip.

"I'm going home."

Theo laughed.

"Sure, Romeo."

I flipped him off and walked away.

But, annoyingly enough...

I was still thinking about her.