"I was invited," I say.

She darts her head up. "You know what I mean," she says. "Why are you even involved in all of this?"

"You're dating the very reason why I'm here," I say, referring to our mutual involvement with Asa. "It's just a job."

She rolls her eyes as though she's heard that excuse before. The difference between my excuse and Asa's, is that mine is the truth. She just doesn't know exactly how much of a job it really is.

"Sloan, I think it's safe to say we both left a few important facts out of our class assignment today."

She laughs a desperate, pained laugh. "Yeah. He should have assigned us more than three. I think five would have covered it."

"Yep," I say. "Five facts probably would have been enough to clue me in to the fact that you have a boyfriend."

She glances up at me, her chin tucked in. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

She drops her shoulders and lowers her voice even more. "For the way I acted in class today," she says. "For flirting with you. I shouldn't have said some of the things I said. I swear I'm not that kind of girl. I would have never..."

"Sloan," I interrupt, hooking my finger under her chin. I stare down at her, knowing full well I need to drop my hand and back the fuck away from her. "I don't think that about you at all. It was harmless fun, that's it."

The word harmless looms in the air like a dark, ominous cloud. We both know that Asa is anything but harmless. Talking to her in class, standing with her in this hallway...it's the harmless moments like these that, if they occur enough, will end up being a hell of a lot more than just harmless. Asa's threat from earlier repeats in my mind. Everything about this girl is off limits. Asa has made that clear...my career makes that clear. Why can't I see it that clearly?

I begin to drop my hand when a voice from behind us causes us both to jump.

"You're missing the party, man."

I spin around and Dalton is at the top of the stairwell, eyeing me like he's about to beat my ass. He has every right to, considering the mess I almost just got myself in.

"Yeah." I take a deep breath and turn back around to face her. "We'll talk in class," I whisper. She nods and lets out a breath, relieved that the voice at the top of the stairs belonged to Dalton and not Asa. She's not the only one relieved by that.

She turns around and heads back into her room, rather than downstairs. I can see now, based on her environment, why she doesn't get any sleep.

As soon as the door closes behind her, I spin around and come face to face with Dalton. His nostrils are flaring, a dead giveaway that he's about to hit me. He shoves me against the wall and wedges his arm between my chest and throat.

"Don't fuck this up," he seethes. He slaps his palm against the side of my head. "Play smart."

* * *

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ASA - 5

Chapter Five

ASA

I fold my arms behind my head and lean back on the pillow. "Take off your panties."

She grins and bends forward, hooking her thumbs in her panties as she slowly slides them down over her hips. Her breasts are pushed together nicely in a black, transparent bra. I think I'll let her leave that one on.

"Come here."

She bends down on the bed and crawls toward me, her long blonde hair tracing up my legs as she slowly glides up my body. She positions herself above me, straddling me. This chick knows what she's doing. That can be both good and bad. I like a girl who knows how to fuck, but it also makes me wonder how many guys she had to fuck in order to get so good. I reach over to the nightstand and grab a condom, handing it to her.

"Put it on," I command. She keeps her eyes trained on mine as she opens it, then brings her hands to my dick. I grab her wrists and shake my head. "With your mouth."

She grins and begins to lower her head when I hear the footsteps. Then the bedroom doorknob makes an unsuccessful turn. Fuck."Asa, open the door!" Sloan yells from outside the room.

"Fuck!" I shove the girl onto her back. I stand up and grab my pants, pulling them on as the girl on the bed looks back and forth between me and the door. I pick her clothes up off the floor and throw them toward the closet, pointing for her to go hide.

She stands up and scoffs at my demand, shaking her head.

If this bitch really thinks she's about to walk out of this room with Sloan on the other side of the door, she's delusional. I grab her by the shoulders and shove her toward the closet.