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“hi and congratulations”, and a quick exit was what the night had in store. That much I could do with my eyes closed. To avoid her , now that was a different story.
    But Creed continued to put me at ease. “You look gorgeous tonight.” I wasn’t sure about gorgeous, but I had done my best to look nice.
    My goal for the evening was to attract his attention. That was the plan anyway; a plan I’d thought about over and over since the invitation arrived.
    It had come in the mail a week ago, addressed in a swirly, very girlish, and very unlike-Nick’s scrawl to a ‘Miss Heather Robbins and Guest’. I might have thrown the invitation away before even opening it, had I not taken Professor’s words to heart. “Some good, honest competition isn’t a bad thing,” he’d said.
    Well, everyone better be ready , I thought to myself. Because tonight was going to be an interesting night, indeed.

Chapter 4
    Maybe there’s truth to the idea that one can sense someone’s stare. Because not ten seconds after I walked into the spacious yet crowded, lavishly decorated ballroom, my browsing came to a sudden halt when I saw him watching me from across the way. My blood began rushing in my ears. Or maybe it had been rushing before, but now as the entire room went mute, it was roaring.
    With the protection of the space between us, I stared back at the tall, dark figure, taking all of him in, everyone around him suddenly falling into the shadows. I knew right then that I wouldn’t be able to imagine him with long hair anymore; his short buzzed hair made his features nearly overwhelming. Three years, short hair, and a tailored black suit transformed him into a man. He looked severely handsome. And it didn’t surprise me that he wore his suit with such casual ease, but it still had me breathless. Like always, he made every other guy around him seem weak and wanting.
    It wasn’t his appearance that held my attention, however. It was the warm way he looked at me, suspicious and yet somehow devouring. The disarming look took my breath away. Overcome by the moment, my eyes secured themselves to the floor.
    But his look brought on a memory that exploded into my mind:
     
    She was sitting on a couch at the college student center, her foot twitching in agitation.
    “No, Nick,” she yelled, trusting the volume of her voice to hold back the smirk that threatened. “I won’t let Stacey get away with this. She is the nastiest classmate in the world! She’s a liar and a sneak. Someone has to tell Mr. Rowland that it wasn’t me, it was her.”
    Heather went to get up again, but Nick palmed the top of her head and pushed it back toward the couch as if he were playing the ‘can’t-get-off-the-couch’ game with a child. It was the second time she landed sideways, and the second time she held herself from bursting into laughter. When she looked up, he was rubbing his thumb back and forth slowly across his bottom lip. Oh, there was nothing that irked her more than when he found her frustration amusing.
    “Fine. I’ll let it go,” she said with a surrendering readjustment of her backside. “You’re right, it’s not a big deal.” She continued inching stealthily to the opposite end of the couch. “And I won’t be a little tattle tale, like her . And even though I’m totally in the right, I’ll let her win, again.”
    He stared her down with a warm look, suspicious and yet somehow devouring. The look took her breath away.
    She had to move quickly or be defeated, by his look alone. “Well, I better go. I’m late for class.”
    He easily reached over and captured her head before she’d made it half way up. “Nice try, Ace,” he teased, thrusting her back toward the couch. “But your class doesn’t start for another half hour.”
    Her fall was not graceful and she landed facedown across the expanse of the couch. The laughing attack finally surfaced, nearly causing drool to escape the side of her mouth. Thank goodness they were in