Chasing Jenna by Micki Fredricks Page A

taking an exaggerated deep breath – obviously done with my interrogation.
    “How is it that you’re older than Marcus, but you’re both first years?”
    His face dropped and he gave me a confused look.
    “I can’t keep up with you, woman.” He walked back toward me. “My brother and I have always said we wanted to go through the house together. I waited for him. There’s a junior college near where we grew up. I took classes there while he finished his last year of high school.” He put his hand softly on my back, encouraging me to move.
    “Now, let’s go. You really shouldn’t make Cale Davis wait.”
     

>CHAPTER TEN<
    The library took up an entire block. The historic looking stone front was a stunning cover for the massive building behind it. Trees surrounded the building, and the grounds around it were perfectly maintained. A large grouping of steps lay out in a welcoming fan from the front doors to the side walk.
    Even as impressed as I was with the beautiful library, I knew it was not that or the ungodly amount of steps that led up to it, which made my heart pound so heavily in my chest.
    I was scared to death.
    I forced myself to keep moving. There were multiple ways I could handle this situation. I could be serious and tell him that I would need some time to consider his proposal – or silly and act like either way, if he chose me or not, it was not a big deal. Insulted was another option – tell him I didn’t need his charity and walk away.
    None of them seemed to be the right answer, so I just kept moving forward.
    The inside of the library looked just as you imagined it would. There were staircases everywhere I looked, leading up to different floors of bookcases and study rooms.
    What I hadn’t expected, was the back wall of the building, to be windows from floor to ceiling. It looked out onto the beautiful gardens the college was famous for. Even though the sun had started its early decent, once again reminding everyone of the changing season, students lounged outside on the benches placed along the winding paths.
    I looked away from the windows and my eyes found him. I desperately drank in the sight of him – fearful, that after this talk, the hope of our relationship being more than friendly would be gone. My apprehension melted away and a small smile spread across my face. Even if he wasn’t interested in being in my life the way I wanted him to be, I knew there was no way I was ready to let him go. He could be part of my life in whatever capacity he wanted, as long as he didn’t leave.
    Warmth spread through my body when he looked up and acknowledged me with his eyes. He really was perfect.
    He stood as I got closer to him, nervously looking back and forth, between the stack of books in front of him and me. He pushed his hands into his front pockets while he waited. It was the most attractive thing I had ever seen. I sighed to myself, wondering, what I could possibly be doing to have such an effect on him. I wanted to do it over and over.
    Simply being near him made my heart pound wildly in my chest, and I was grateful, it was the only thing that reminded me I wasn’t floating.
    “Hey,” he half whispered as he stepped around the table to take my book bag from me. Sitting it down on the table, he pulled out a chair for me to sit in.
    “You made it,” he teased.
    He sat in the chair next to me and laid his hands on the table. I reached over and placed one of mine on top of his. I’m not sure why. I guess I felt like he needed to be centered. I wanted to be that comfort for him. He turned his hand over so he could hold mine.
    “Has anyone told you how beautiful you look today?” he whispered.
    I tried to maintain some sort of composure, but it was nearly impossible. I was unable to speak. The twisting of emotions, every time he was near, was painful.
    “I had planned a speech about all the details involved in sponsoring, but the moment I looked up and saw you coming toward me, my