Chapter 6

My backpack dragged on my shoulder like it was packed with bricks as I hurried across the college campus. My heart hammered in my chest, loud enough I swore everyone could hear it. I kept whipping my head around, my eyes darting from one face to the next, sure that someone had spotted me yesterday with that damn journal. But if no one took it, then where the hell was it? I was always so careful with it, tucking it away like as soon as people were around me but now it was gone, and the thought made my gut churn.

That journal wasn't some boring notebook for class notes. No, it was full of my deepest, dirtiest thoughts and fantasies about my professors that I'd scribbled down in the dead of night or even whenever I even wanted to while my body heated up just imagining them. Wyatt with his strong build and that confident stare and Bryce with his easy smile and those hands that looked like they could grip you tight and not let you go. If anyone found it and read those words... God, I couldn't even finish the thought.

My face burned just picturing it, my cock twitching a little in my jeans from the mix of fear and those forbidden images flashing in my mind.

I rushed towards the library, my steps quick and uneven, hoping that I'd left the journal there after rushing through my assignment yesterday. My stomach twisted into knots, with every step that I took and I felt like I might puke right there on the path. I ducked my head low, avoiding eye contact with the other guys milling around, some jocks laughing, and some nerds buried in books. What if one of them asked why I looked like I saw a ghost? Or why my hands shook and my breath came short? I was a nervous wreck and I didn't want anyone questioning me right now.

Inside the library, I started my search like a man possessed, flipping the cushions on the study tables where I'd sat, peering into the corners of my favorite quiet spots in the back. Those corners where no one bothered me and was very perfect for letting my mind wander to steamy thoughts. I checked the shelves where I had dropped my bags, ran my fingers under chairs and even got on my knees to look beneath the long wooden desks but I didn’t find the journal.

Sweat beaded on my forehead as I straightened up, my fingers raking through my hair in frustration. “Where the hell is it?” I muttered under my breath but it echoed in my head like a shout.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket, making me jump like I'd been shocked. I fumbled it out, my heart slamming harder now. A new message popped up on the screen but there was no sender name, no subject line, just a blank envelope staring back at me. My thumb hovered over it as I hesitated because I didn’t know what the message could entail. I couldn't stand the thoughts filling my head and tapped open the message.

“I know what you're looking for.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut and my vision blurred for a second, my knees going weak as I gripped the edge of a table to stay upright. Who the fuck sent this? Was it a prank from some asshole classmate? I scanned the room, my eyes bouncing from people that were standing around me. There were a couple of whispers in the corner but no one looked my way.

My hand trembled so bad the phone nearly slipped, and I read it again, the letters blurring.

“Jonatha, calm down,” I whispered to myself, forcing deep breaths that did nothing to help me. “You need to think straight.”

But how could I? Whoever this was, they had to be watching me, close enough to see I was looking for something that I had misplaced. And if it was the journal... shit, that would be very bad.

My mind raced with images of my words in someone else's hands tracing the lines I'd written about wanting Wyatt and Bryce, their bodies pressed against mine in the dark.

Heat flooded my cheeks, mixing shame with a twisted spark of arousal that made me shift uncomfortably on my feet. I shoved the phone back in my pocket, telling myself it was nothing and it was just some creep trying to mess with me. I shook my head hard, trying to clear the fog in my head and was about to dive back into the search when it hit me that I was late for class.

I bolted out of the library, my backpack thumping against my back as I sprinted across the field. All I could focus on was getting to the classroom without falling apart but my mind kept circling back to the message, to my journal and to what might happen if those fantasies got out. What if Wyatt saw them? Would he laugh at me? Or worse, look at me different, like I was some pervert panting after him?

I slid into my seat just as the door creaked open, and there he was, Wyatt, striding in like he owned the place. The room hushed as he cleared his throat, his voice deep and commanding.

“Everyone quiet down. Let's begin the class.”

I sat up straight, my body reacting before my brain could catch up. Every move Wyatt made pulled at me, like an invisible string was tugging low in my belly. He had this presence, tall and solid, with shoulders that filled out his shirt just right, hinting at the muscles underneath. His posture was just too perfect, his back straight and chin up, like he was always in control.

It made me wonder if he'd ever let go, ever loosen that tie and shirt to reveal the heat I imagined simmering beneath. Did he unwind in private, maybe with a guy under him, his hands roaming free? The thought sent a warm rush through me, my gaze lingering on the way his pants hugged his thighs as he turned to the board. I bit my lip, forcing my eyes down to look away from him but it was no use, Wyatt had me hooked in a way that I couldn't explain.

My mind started wandering off in a whole different direction, pulling me right back to that creepy message on my phone. Just like that, my good mood crashed hard, and I sank into a pit of worry.

Was that text about my journal? Had someone picked it up and flipped through those pages full of my wild dreams about Wyatt and Bryce? Maybe one of the guys in this very class? I scanned the room quickly, my eyes sliding over the other students. Some were slouched in their seats, some were doodling in their books and others were staring blankly at the board. No one met my gaze and there were no sneaky smiles or whispers that screamed that they knew my secrets.

But that didn't ease the knot in my chest.