Friend Zoned

Chapter One

Sam slides his big muscular body onto the chair parked next to me about thirty seconds after the start of class. His thick jean clad leg presses up against mine as he settles himself in. Not taking my eyes off the professor, who has already launched into the lecture for the day, I carefully whisper from the corner of my mouth, "So nice of you to finally join us, Mr. Harper."

Even though I'm not looking his way, I know he's grinning from ear to ear. I can all but feel it. His smiles are just as brilliantly blinding as the sun. Heat radiates from them in thick heavy waves. Any minute his warm breath is going to feather right across my-

"Hey, I had to haul ass all the way from the stadium." He snorts before adding, "Coach scheduled a midafternoon practice just for the fun of it."

Well... that last comment is completely debatable. After all, it's early November. And damn chilly out. The Bulldogs have been on an incredible winning streak this season, which means ramped up practices and workout schedules so they can keep their number one seed going into the playoffs. At this point, everyone in their conference is looking to tear them down.

Finally glancing over at him, I notice his dark blond hair is all shiny and wet from the shower he must have just taken. His bright blue eyes spear mine with a sparkle of mischief simmering within them. His cheeks are flushed and his breathing is just a bit labored.

He looks...

He kind of looks...

I'm slammed with the notion that this is probably how Sam looks right after a rowdy bout of sex. Something deliciously hot arrows clean through me before settling deep within my core. Not knowing where the hell that thought sprang up from, I abruptly shift my body away from his. My brows pull together in bewilderment.

What the heck is that all about?

Not that I want to think about what it means, but those kind of pesky thoughts regarding Sam have been cropping up with a disconcerting amount of frequency lately. It's like I blinked one day and suddenly he just looked different to me.

That being said, I just need it all to go away.

Sam and I are friends.

Good friends. And I really don't want that changing.

We met when I moved in with my grandparents who live right next door to his family. That was eight years ago and we've been tight ever since. Somehow we lucked out, both of us choosing to attend Barnett University.

I wanted to stick close to my grandparents since I'm all they have and Sam plays football for the Barnett Bulldogs. Although I know he was offered full rides to play at half a dozen other division I programs both in and out of state, he chose to stay local as well.

Needing to refocus my runaway thoughts, I murmur under my breath, "I'm hoping for your sake that you finished up the paper that's due today on the power of the judiciary over the legislature." I don't even look at him as I say the words. The last thing I need is to incur the wrath of Dr. Rickets.

"Yup. Freshly printed with references cited up the ass."

I almost snort but thankfully rein it back in at the last moment. References had better be cited or Rickets will come after you with both barrels blasting. He's flunked people in PS 345- the Judicial Process for way less than that. Since Sam and I are both in the pre-law program, we have a lot of the same classes although this is the only one we have together this semester. So we end up hunkered down at the library on a fairly regular basis.