Plain Sarah

The words made her freeze dead in her tracks. It was the very first time she had ever heard him speak from so close by.

She turned around slowly.

“*That* is your girlfriend?”

Sarah could see the overwhelming disgust written all over Nora's face. But her own face? Hers was pure, unadulterated confusion. Who was whose girlfriend? Definitely not her.

Blake stood up gracefully, walking straight over to Sarah. He slid his hand casually onto her waist, pulling her close against his side. A hundred and one frantic thoughts raced through Sarah's mind all at once.

Her hands trembled as she gripped the fabric of her skirt, her eyelids blinking rapidly in sheer shock.

“So why are you only saying it now? That this thing… this……”

Nora’s harsh words were cut short as her pupils widened in absolute horror.

Blake lifted Sarah up, straddling her across his lap as he crossed her legs over his hips. His lips met hers in a swift, commanding pace, catching her entirely off guard. He bit down gently on her bottom lip, making her gasp—which gave him full entry into her mouth as his tongue traced hers, exploring every inch of her mouth with effortless dominance.

Nora bolted out of the library, her heavy footsteps sounding like they could tear the entire building down.

Blake gently set Sarah back down on her feet. Her lips were slightly swollen as she kept her gaze fixed firmly on the floor. Deep down, she was utterly conflicted—thrilled that her very first kiss was with her longtime crush, yet deeply wounded because it was all just a cheap stunt to chase away another one of his persistent stalkers.

She wondered if he ever found out that she stalked him too, would he hurt her the exact same way he just destroyed Nora? She took a subtle step backward.

He ran a casual hand through his messy hair.

“I'm sorry about that…. I really needed a quick way out.”

She offered a small, stiff nod and turned to leave.

“Wait.”

His deep voice stopped her cold.

“Come here.”

Those words. She had imagined him saying those exact words to her a hundred times in that deep, gorgeous voice of his. Yet standing here now, she felt far less thrilled than she had in her fantasies. Regardless, her feet moved on their own as she walked back over.

She stopped just a few feet away from him.

“Let's date.”

“Do you offer that to every girl you meet?”

“Only the ones who stay for every…… No.”

“So why me?”

“She just saw me with you. I don't particularly want to be labeled a liar.”

“And what about me?”

“I'll pay you. Name any price you want. I'll fulfill every single duty of a boyfriend without invading your privacy, and I will strictly respect your boundaries until we supposedly break up.”

She nodded slowly. On the inside, her heart was doing a hundred dizzying flips, but on the outside, she maintained a cool, calculating mask.

“I see. Honestly, there's very little in this for me, but I'll do it. I'm a good person—a very good person, right? So I'll do it.”

A low, husky laugh escaped Blake's throat as he nodded slowly.

“Yes. You sure are a good person.”

Sarah let a small smile touch her lips as she extended her phone toward him. He took it, typed his number into the keypad, and dialed his own line so it rang. He handed the phone back into her waiting grip.

“We need rules,” she stated plainly. “First: no actual feelings.”

Deep inside, she knew she had already broken that one weeks ago, but the corner of her mouth twitched upward anyway.

“Second: no physical intimacy unless absolutely required in public. Thirdly: no invading my personal life. Do you agree?”

He nodded smoothly. “Yeah.”

“We should probably put it in writing.”

He stepped closer to her, raising his hand to rest his palm gently against her warm cheek.

“I think you should write this down too…. Because I want to break one of them before you even put it on paper.”

He leaned down, pressing his lips firmly against hers once more. He bit her lip again, gaining instant access to her mouth, letting his tongue slide deep to explore her interior.

Her heart battered wildly against her ribs. Everything she had ever imagined was happening all at once. Despite her best efforts to resist, she threw her arms around his broad shoulders, rising up onto her tiptoes as he bent forward slightly so she could hold onto him comfortably.

His tongue deepened the kiss, and Sarah, completely lost in the sensation, squeezed her eyes shut, tilted her head back, and let him take total control.

He finally broke apart from her, watching her struggle to catch her breath, a low smirk decorating his handsome face.

“Consider this a practical demonstration. Don't fret when we have to do it in front of people…… Girlfriend.”

He turned and walked out of the library, earning a sharp, reprimanding glare from the librarian who was just walking through the front door.

Sarah walked out of the library with the most unsteady steps she had ever taken in her life, her wide eyes darting nervously in every direction.

The walk back to the classroom felt utterly endless.

“So? Did you do it?”

Bunny's eager, itching voice was the very first thing that greeted her the second she crossed the threshold into the lecture hall. Sarah's gaze drifted slowly over to Bunny, scrutinizing her with intense focus.

“Guess what I'm currently thinking about.”

“I'm not psychic, Sarah. I can't just guess.”

“Ninety-nine different ways to murder you and receive a public award for eliminating a threat to society…… That's what's running through my mind.”

“Oh my……” Bunny gasped, feigning utter shock. “Whatever.”

She waved her hand dismissively and yanked Sarah down into the seat beside her.

“Tell me, girl! Where were you? Did you actually do it?”

Sarah swallowed hard, staring blankly into space, which prompted Bunny to tilt her head, staring at her eye-to-eye.

“I am completely doomed, Bunny…. And it is entirely because of YOU.”

Sarah snapped, turning around to grab Bunny by her hair, smacking her repeatedly on her back while Bunny squealed loudly, drawing immediate glares from every classmate sitting in the room.

“Hey… keep it down over there, will you?” a blonde girl shouted from the front row.

Sarah released Bunny's hair, glaring at the girl with eyes that looked ready to devour her whole.

“Hold onto her hair tight, Plain Jane… because pretty soon, you're going to be screaming a lot louder than she is.”