Page 46 of Crash Course

“Shay knows it, too,” Megan adds. “We were studying together. It was a late night.”

I shoot her a grateful look, but it’s still humiliating. Not because I need to get every answer right, but because of the reason I wasn’t at my best.

I was up until all hours studying but kept dreaming up ways to sabotage Jameson’s Porsche. It’s my new favorite hobby.

Obsession?

Semantics.

After class, I pack up with my friends and start to follow them out of the room, but Vogel calls me. “Miss MacDonald, stay back. You too, Mr. Ashford.”

Megan cocks her head and I make a face.

“I’ll catch up with you guys.”

When they leave, I force my gaze up, hoping Theo materialized out of thin air without me noticing. No such luck. She’s staring at Jameson.

“Give me a moment.” She steps outside when another faculty member flags her down.

The rest of the class trails out and it’s only the two of us. Jameson’s leaning on his desk, scrolling his phone. “That answer was in the text.”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” My tone isn’t the least bit grateful.

“I would have gone easier on you this semester if I’d realized you couldn’t read.” He lowers his phone.

I fold my arms and lean back against the wall. “I bet it’s a long walk from your new parking spot since Theo took yours.”

He shoulders his bag and crosses the classroom with impossibly athletic grace. “Don’t be embarrassed, literacy is a national crisis.”

“So’s nepotism.”

Jameson’s shoes brush mine when he pulls up. I try to ignore the muscled forearms folded across his chest, his lean hips, the arrogant tilt of his head.

He sighs, the long-suffering sound of a genius surrounded by idiots. “What’s your problem?”

“Someone carved their last name in my shifter.”

His eyes spark. “Maybe it was Theo.”

I fist the strap of my bag like it’s my sanity. “Theo wouldn’t do something so…”

“Violating?” he supplies.

“Personal.”

His smirk fades.

I barely have time to enjoy it because Professor Vogel is already returning.

“Shay. You’re a bright young woman, but you’re at risk of falling behind. All week, you haven’t been yourself.”

Dismay slices me. “Professor, I know I was distracted today. But I do want the internship.”

At Ohio State, I would’ve gone to office hours and fixed this. Here, everyone else seems to already know the answer. I’m the only one pretending I do.

I’m uncomfortably aware of Jameson standing close by, afraid Vogel will tell me there’s no chance in hell. Because as scary as it is to admit I want the internship, it’s less terrifying than naming the truth—that I might want a place here at Ashford. A job on the grid with the best engineers and drivers in the world. That I would dare to believe I’m good enough even though I haven’t been chosen the way Jameson or Theo has.

Instead, she only frowns. “Then you have work to do. There’s an entire school of worthy candidates.”