My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 32

Chapter 32 Assigned Partners and Suspicious Smiles

AP European History was supposed to be my safe zone. I had held the highest grade in Mrs. Albright’s class since September. I sat in the second row, dead center, where the glare from the overhead projector didn’t hit the whiteboard and the hum of the air conditioning unit was muffled. It was a space entirely dedicated to facts, dates, and predictable outcomes.

Until Ryder Steinmann dragged the heavy metal desk from the back row and slammed it directly next to mine.

The loud screech of the metal legs scraping against the linoleum tile cut through the low chatter of the morning crowd. Several heads snapped in our direction.

I froze, my hand hovering over my open binder. My blue ballpoint pen slipped a fraction between my fingers.

Ryder didn’t ask if the space was taken. He just dropped into the molded plastic chair, his long legs stretching out into the narrow aisle. The heavy leather of his jacket creaked as he slouched back. He didn’t take out a textbook. He didn’t pull out a pencil. He just crossed his arms over his dark henley and turned his head to look at me.

“You usually sit in the back,” I whispered, keeping my eyes glued to the blank lined paper in front of me.

“Change of scenery,” he murmured.

His rough voice scraped against my completely frayed nerves. I could feel the heat radiating off his broad shoulders, a solid, heavy wall of warmth that easily bridged the six-inch gap between our desks. The scent of rain and peppermint completely overpowered the dry, clinical

smell of the classroom.

Mrs. Albright marched into the room right as the final bell shrieked. She dropped a massive stack of graded essays onto her podium with a heavy thud. She was a strict, no-nonsense woman with sharp gray eyes and a zero-tolerance policy for high school drama.

“Settle down,” she barked, uncapping a red marker. “We are finishing chapter fourteen today. The socio-economic impacts of the Industrial Revolution. Open your textbooks to page three-hundred and twelve.”

I grabbed the thick corner of my textbook and flipped the pages, desperate for a distraction. I needed to focus on coal production and textile factories. I needed to stop thinking about the absolute, terrifying realization I had reached at my locker ten minutes ago.

He was shaking. The memory of his bruised fingers trembling against my cheek burned in my mind. He wasn’t just playing a part. There was a raw, chaotic devotion hiding right beneath his indifferent mask, and sitting this close to him felt like sitting next to an unpinned

grenade.

I picked up my pen and started copying the bullet points Mrs. Albright was writing on the board. My handwriting, usually a perfect, slanted cursive, looked tight and jerky.

A heavy, scuffed combat boot bumped gently against the side of my sneaker.

I inhaled sharply, the sudden contact sending a jolt of electricity straight up my calf. I shifted my foot away, tucking my legs securely

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Chapter 32 Assigned Partners and Suspicious Smiles

under my chair.

:))

Ryder didn’t apologize. He just shifted his weight, his knee drifting sideways until it rested flush against the side of my thigh. The denim of his jeans was rough against my uniform skirt, but the heat of his skin bled straight through the fabric.

I stared at the whiteboard. The red ink began to blur.

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“Ryder, I breathed, barely moving my lips. “Move your leg.”

“There’s no room, he replied smoothly. It was a complete lie. He had the entire aisle to his left.

I chanced a quick glance at him. He wasn’t looking at Mrs. Albright. He wasn’t looking at the board. He was staring openly at the side of my face, his head tilted slightly to the right. The shards of gold in his hazel eyes caught the harsh fluorescent light, bright and entirely focused. He was tracking the rapid, uneven pulse beating at the base of my throat.

“You’re not taking notes,” I pointed out, my chest tightening. I couldn’t pull enough oxygen into my lungs.

“I have you to do that for me,” he rasped quietly.

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