Page 96 of Sex Positive

She strolls out of the café, coffee in hand, and nearly smacks into Wes’s chest.

“Rogers.” He grips her upper arms, steadying her, his face full of relief. “Please, I really need—”

“I’m late for class,” she blurts, pulling out of his grip and darting across the lobby to the exit. She doesn’t look back.

A minute later, her phone buzzes.

Quinn

Very mature

Charlie

Are you stalking me?

Quinn

If that’s what it takes

She responds with a thumbs-down, perfectly aware that she’s acting like a child.

Later that afternoon, a shadow falls over her table in the library. When she glances up, she curses herself and her predictability.

Because he found her. Of course he did. Just like he did on a similar afternoon months earlier when all this began.

“God,what, Quinn?” she snaps.

He shoots her an aggrieved look. Dropping his bag to the floor, he slides into the chair across from her. She takes in the effect his light-blue Henley has on his arms before resuming her glare.

“This is the only place I know where you’ll let me talk to you,” he says.

Her heart patters erratically. “I can always leave.”

“And I can always follow you.”

“Stalking behavior is typically frowned upon.”

His lips twitch before he sighs, raking a hand through his hair. “Let me say what I need to say, and then I’ll leave. I promise.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “Fine.”

He exhales, dragging a hand through his hair, the fingers of his other hand drumming restlessly on the table, a nervous gesture that makes a knot form in Charlie’s gut. Just as he opens his mouth, however, the familiar sound of aggressive wind chimes trills through the quiet air. He jumps, lunging under the table for his bag.

“Shit.” He stabs the decline button on his phone, but not before she catches the caller’s name on the screen. “Sorry.”

“Call him back,” she blurts.

Wes frowns, turning his phone so the screen faces down. “No, he can wait—”

“Don’t ignore him.” She glances up and sees his confusion. “He’s your dad.”

“What are you—”

“Call him back and see what he wants,” she whispers, unable to keep her voice from trembling. Her hands shake, and she clamps them together in her lap. “You can’t ignore him.”

He’s peering at her like he’s never seen her before in his life. She looks away, unable to meet his eye.

“Rogers.” His voice is low, and she feels his gaze like a flame. “What’s wrong?”