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paintings. I’d write plays and direct them.” Her fingers played with the strand before she dropped her arm to her side. “I’m not sure why I’m telling you this…”
    “Because I asked.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest then avoided my gaze.
    But I didn’t stop staring at her. Now I was obsessed with her. She was interesting, talented, passionate…beautiful. She was unlike other girls I met. She had a hippie attitude, but she was headstrong and mature.
    Athena started looking at different areas in the room. Now I was intimidating her, but for once, I didn’t want to. My usual tactics wouldn’t work on her. “You have a beautiful name.”
    She looked at me. “Thank you.”
    “And where does it derive from?”
    “My family is Greek.”
    I nodded. “Your skin is dark, but not dark enough to make me suspect that.”
    “I’m also Welsh. I have a very interesting mixture.”
    “What was your mother?”
    “She was Greek. And beautiful.”
    I noted the past tense. “Is she no longer with you?”
    Her eyes saddened. “No.”
    Why? What happened? Wait. Why did I care? I just wanted to fuck this girl and be done with it.
    But she was a student. This was dangerous and stupid. I let my desires control my mind and I got carried away. I was a man that always got what I wanted, but in this case, it wouldn’t work out. I’d have to wait until the end of the semester until I got between her legs. But getting to know her made me want her even more.
    The next class started to file in.
    No. I wanted more time with her.
    Athena looked over her shoulder then turned back to me. “I should get going. Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Clearwater.”
    “You’re very bright. You’ll be successful in anything you pursue.” I didn’t know her well enough to make such a comment, but I meant it anyway. She was a special woman. Her confidence and maturity was u nique. She was classy and elegant. And her beauty was unparalleled.
    And I wanted her.

Chapter Eight
    ♬
    Athena Riley
    “Jasper won’t leave me alone.” I sipped my beer then looked at the TV. Heather and I were decked out in our Manchester United gear. Neither one of us could afford a ticket so we decided to head to the local pub.
    “What do you mean?” Heather asked. She was already on her second beer even though we’d only been there for twenty minutes.
    “He keeps popping up everywhere I go. And he keeps asking for another date.”
    “Isn’t that what you want?” Heather asked. “I thought you really liked this guy?”
    “I did but then he fucked some other girl immediately afterwards. He only wanted me for sex.”
    “Then why is he trying so hard now?”
    “I have no idea. But I’m not interested.”
    Heather yelled at the screen when Beckham scored. “Jasper is really hot. I’d sleep with him in a heartbeat—if you hadn’t claimed him first, of course.”
    “You can have him.”
    Heather eyed me. “So what if he just wanted to get laid? Athena, you need to loosen up a bit.”
    “Loosen up?” I asked incredulously.
    “You had sex with one guy your entire life and you’re going to graduate soon. Not every relationship is a fairy-tale. It’s okay to fuck someone’s brains out then never speak to them again.”
    That wasn’t me. “I just can’t do that.”
    “Why?”
    “I want to have some sort of connection to the person. We don’t have to get married but I would like to have some sort of emotion.”
    Heather rolled her eyes. “Orgasms are good for you. You should have one on a daily basis.”
    Now we were just getting into awkward territory. “Don’t worry about my personal life. I’m just irritated Jasper won’t leave me alone. I made it clear I’m not interested and won’t ever be interested. I don’t open my legs to just anybody.”
    “And the one guy you did turned out to be a jackass,” she snapped.
    Thanks for hanging that over my head. I sipped my beer and ignored her comment. When a commercial came on, I