Chapter 2

The next day, I drove my car and parked openly outside the boys' dorm, not bothering to hide at all.

It didn't take long before I spotted Adam and his roommates walking out, all buddy-buddy with their arms around each other.

Adam spotted my car right away, and his face instantly darkened.

He strode over and rapped on my window.

I rolled down the window, sunglasses on, and I gave him a cold stare.

"Nydia, what do you want now?" he snapped, his tone full of hostility.

"Waiting for my boyfriend," I replied simply.

"Boyfriend?" Adam scoffed, like I'd just told the world's biggest joke. "Who else could you possibly have besides me?"

Almost as soon as the words left Adam's mouth, Lucas walked out of the dorm, a black backpack slung over his shoulder.

Without a glance in Adam's direction, Lucas strode right past him, pulled open the passenger door, and got in.

He did it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Adam's smile froze on his face.

The air around us seemed to freeze as well.

Adam and his crew stood there, jaws dropped wide.

"L-Lucas?" one of the guys stammered. "Why is he getting into Nydia's car?

"What's going on with those two?"

Adam's expression was a wild mix of emotions.

Shock hit first, then disbelief, and finally, rage like he'd been stabbed in the back.

He whipped around to me, shouting, "Nydia, what the hell is this? You went for some broke loser to piss me off?"

I took off my sunglasses and shot him a cold look. "First off, I'm not here to piss you off.

"Second, don't call my boyfriend a 'broke loser'.] That shows you have zero class."

"And lastly," I paused, making sure every word landed, "we're done. Whatever I do now has nothing to do with you."

With that, I rolled up the window, shutting out Adam's twisted face for good.

Who the hell did he think he was, yelling at me?

I fired up the engine, and my Porsche roared to life, tearing off down the road.

In the rearview mirror, Adam's figure shrank until he was a tiny blur in the distance.

The car was dead silent.

Lucas didn't say a word. He turned his head to look out the window, watching the scenery fly by, and his jaw was clenched tight.

I knew what he was thinking.

He probably felt like I was just using him, and that hurt his ego.

"Thanks for stepping in back there," I said, breaking the silence.

Lucas kept his eyes on the window, his voice muffled. "Just doing what I should do."

He was really playing the part.

I pulled up in front of a fancy restaurant and parked. "Come on, let's go have lunch."

Lucas glanced at the restaurant's flashy sign and frowned. "At here?"

"Where else?" I arched an eyebrow. "You want to grab some street food?"

He didn't say another word and quietly unbuckled his seatbelt.

This place was members-only, so I checked in with facial recognition, and the waiter immediately led us to our reserved table with a view.

Lucas was clearly out of his element, sitting there all stiff and awkward.

I slid the menu over to him. "Order whatever you want."

He flipped through it, then closed it and pushed it back. "You decide."

I didn't push it. I ordered a few of the restaurant's signature dishes, like I'd done a hundred times before.

While we waited for the food, it was awkward as hell between us.

I whipped out my phone and started scrolling through my feed, while Lucas kept his eyes down, probably lost in his own thoughts.

Suddenly, a cheerful female voice called out from nearby. "Nydia, is that really you?"

I looked up and saw Linda Lewis, my mom's close friend, walking over with a middle-aged man, her arm linked with his.

Linda loved helping others, especially playing matchmaker for me.

"Hey, who's this?" Linda's eyes landed on Lucas, checking him out from head to toe.

Lucas, in his faded T-shirt and jeans, looked totally out of place in this upscale restaurant.

Linda's smile lost some of its warmth.

Before I could get a word in, Linda grabbed my hand and, in that motherly, worried tone of hers, said, "Nydia, I know you and Adam had a falling out, but you can't give up on yourself like this."

She wasn't exactly keeping her voice down, and a few people nearby started shooting us curious looks.

Give up on myself? I was just trying something different for the experience.

Before I could get a word out, Lucas suddenly stood up.

He looked at Linda with quiet confidence. "Hello, ma'am.

"I'm Lucas Sterling, Nydia's boyfriend."

He didn't speak loudly, but everyone nearby heard him. "We're doing just fine, so you really don't need to worry about us."

Linda's expression froze.

The middle-aged man next to her—her husband—was visibly embarrassed.

I was struggling not to laugh, secretly giving Lucas a mental high-five.

Nice one. He knew when to have my back.

"You... You two..." Linda was totally thrown off by Lucas's bluntness, left at a loss for words.

I stood up, hooked my arm through Lucas's, and gave her my sweetest smile. "That's right, Mrs. Lewis. Lucas and I are doing just fine. So you don't have to play matchmaker for me anymore."

I deliberately acted quite close to Lucas.

Lucas's arm stiffened for a second, but he didn't pull away.

Linda's expression kept shifting, and she could only force out an awkward smile. "Well... That's great. Enjoy your meal. We'll leave you alone."

With that, she grabbed her husband and made a quick exit, looking totally embarrassed.

Watching them walk away, I finally burst out laughing.

"Nice act. I'll bump your pay," I said, giving Lucas a quick pat on the arm.

He dropped his gaze, pulled his arm back, and sat down again.

"I just don't like the way they look at you," he muttered in a low voice.

I was taken aback.

He didn't like the way people look at me? Was he... actually defending me?

Something in my heart fluttered.