Read Online Hard to Hold On by Shanora Williams - Free Book Online Page B

finally find the will to tear my gaze away and look around the room. There are plenty of open seats. There is only twenty people max in this class and we could each have our own table, but he decides to sit next to me?
    I turn to look at him again and he smiles down at me, his hazel eyes sparkling from the splash of sunlight coming in through the window beside me.
    “I hope it’s alright to sit here,” he says, his voice deep and somewhat hypnotic. He has a bedroom voice. A voice a girl would love to hear while she’s getting banged. I drop the thought and turn ahead with a nod, gripping my pen.
    “I guess it’s alright.”
    “You guess?” he asks. I can hear the smile in his voice.
    “Yeah—w ell I mean there are just a bunch more empty seats in this room. I’m not sure why you chose to sit next to me.”
    He chuckles softly and I watch as he looks from me to the professor. “You’re a bit blunter than I thought you would be.”
    “Rough morning,” I reply.
    He digs into his pocket for a pen and opens the blue notebook in front of him. He looks forward at our professor who is so enthused about Edgar that I wouldn’t be surprised if he was Edgar Allan Poe himself. “I see you around here a lot,” the guy beside me says. “I’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to know you—and I’m not being weird. Just honest.” He jots something quick down then looks at me, another smile hinting on those soft pink lips.
    “Why?” I ask, frowning.
    “I don’t know. I always see you come into class either late or extremely early. You pay no attention to anyone else, you just listen to Professor Doran teach. You write so many notes that you don’t even realize I actually enjoy watching you from back there.” He points his pen backwards and I glance over my shoulder, only to see there is an empty table.
    I narrow my eyes at him before brushing it off an d writing a few more things Professor Doran has written on the whiteboard. He might’ve just hit the creeper line with that one.
    “Am I coming on to o strongly?” he asks. As I look at him, he’s smiling . . . again !
    “Very strongly.”
    “You like to take things slowly, I see.”
    “Apparently not,” I sigh, leaning against my seat, “because the guy I date just told me we’ve rushed our relationship and now we’re on a slight “pause”.”
    T he guy’s eyes thin out and his lips press. His jaw ticks as he drums his fingers on top of the table but he never looks away from me. “Your boyfriend is an idiot for taking a slight “pause”,” he says, making quotation marks with his fingers, “because you are one a guy should never set free. You’re way too beautiful.”
    I smile at his compliment. “Who are you?” I ask, giggling.
    He lightens up and a charming smile spreads across his lips. “Tyler. Tyler Stokes.” He stretches his arm out, reaching his hand towards me and I shake it.
    “Natalie Carmichael.”
    “I knew your name would be just as remarkable as you are.” Smiling, the fire rushes to my cheeks. I blink quickly before grabbing my pen again to doodle on the edges. “Would it be wrong to ask you out for a bite to eat and a movie?” he asks.
    “Very wrong,” I say, pressing my lips.
    “Why?” he urges. “You’re on a pause. Why not make the break worthwhile?”
    I think on his statement before shaking my head. “We’re on a pause but we can always press play at any time.”
    “I hear what you’re saying.” He then leans back in his seat, picking his pen up. I watch him bite on the cap for a few minutes before finally sighing and watching Professor Doran flap his arms in the air as if he’s a raven.
    This Tyler guy. I have to admi t he’s hot and he’s in close comparison to Nolan but he seems too interested and I don’t need that. I have enough worries of my own. I’m not one who’s up for jumping from guy to guy but then again Nolan and I are on a break. Technically, I can do whatever the hell I want