She Chased the Campus Heartthrob, Then His Friends Came After Her novel · Chapter 3 of 24

Chapter 3: A Gift From Above

Sabrina hears the whole scheme and is delighted. The next morning Elliott asks if she wants to study together.

I stood in the hallway with the thermos in both hands and did not breathe.

"You're serious?" Asher asked from inside the lounge.

He sounded honestly offended.

"Valerie's back," Caleb said. "I'm not dragging this out with Sabrina. It was never serious anyway."

That last part landed somewhere under my ribs.

I put it away for later and kept listening.

"You don't know her," Asher said. "She's clingy. She'd follow you into the sea."

"That's why I need you." Caleb's lighter clicked shut. "Flirt with her. Let her be the one who breaks up with me."

Asher sat up so fast the couch creaked.

"No way. I can't stand women like her. She's pathetic and desperate, and I get a headache when she walks in."

"I'm not interested either," Elliott said, pushing his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose.

Caleb didn't even look worried.

"Asher, you get my old motorcycle," he said. "The one you've been circling for a year."

Asher said nothing for a long moment, and his eyes went to the window, where the motorcycle sat in the lot.

"Elliott." Caleb took out his phone. "You get your photos deleted."

Elliott put his pen down very carefully.

"What photos?"

"The New Year's recital in third grade. You in the skirt. The whole class passed them around."

The room went still.

Then Asher swore. "You really do know where to hit a guy. Fine, we're in. I could make a rock fall in love with me."

"If those photos go out, I'll kill you," Elliott told Caleb, in a very small, very level voice.

"She's easy," Caleb said, smiling. "One spark, and she lights up."

I pressed my hand over my mouth so they wouldn't hear me laughing.

This was the best thing that had ever happened to me.

I want to be clear about my rule.

I do not kiss anyone while I am somebody's girlfriend, not even a little, not even when the offer is in writing.

But nothing in that rule says I can't look, and nothing says I can't be nice.

On the other side of that door sat two of the best-looking men in the whole department, and both of them had just been ordered to flirt with me.

Elliott had a clean, sharp face, a white shirt, and a mole at the corner of his eye that I had admired for a full semester.

Asher was six feet two, tanned, and so annoyed that he looked even better than usual.

I took a deep breath, fixed my face, and knocked on the open door.

"Hi!" I said. "Sorry I'm late. Water."

Caleb's hand closed on the lighter. "How long were you out there?"

"I just got here."

I crossed the room and put the thermos in front of him.

He held out his hand for my pocket thermometer and checked it himself.

"One oh four," he said.

"Of course it's one oh four. I love you most, Caleb. You're the best."

"Pathetic," he muttered.

The corner of his mouth went up anyway, and I took it as a win.

Then he lowered his head and typed something into the group chat, and Elliott's phone buzzed on the table.

Elliott looked at it for a long second.

I saw Caleb's message upside down.

She might not be that easy to win over.

That night, I lay awake and tried to guess who would go first.

It had to be Asher, I decided.

He broke rules for fun, and he'd once climbed onto the dean's roof to prove a point about gravity.

I was wrong.

The next morning, I came up the stairs of the teaching building and found Elliott waiting at the corner of the landing.

His shoulders were up around his ears.

His tie was straight, but his face looked like he had just failed a test he'd studied for all night.

"Sabrina," he said. "Do you want to study together?"

He said it in a flat, strained voice, and his ears were pink.

I stared at him.

He was supposed to be the quiet one.

He was not even trying to hide it.

I let the silence run for a moment, because I wanted to see what he'd do next.

He took out a small notebook and checked a page.

Then he looked back up at me and said, "I hear you're good at tutoring. Tonight at seven. Library."

"Yes," I said. "I'll bring snacks."

His whole body loosened with relief, and I almost felt sorry for him.

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