She's gone insane.

Elyse has gone insane.

Pax Sandejas is looking at her like she's insane and she's grown two heads.

Well, maybe she has. She's gone mad after that kiss—after she kissed him. Her four-year crush and she just kissed him.

He doesn't wait until she finishes her breakfast. He grabs her wrist, never mind that their whole student population is watching—he doesn't care—and pulls her outside the dining hall.

"Sandejas," Elyse hisses, yanking her wrist away and skidding to a stop. She's in heels, damn it. "God, don't just pull me like a rag doll."

His jaw tightens and he slams open a door.

Elyse rolls her eyes and steps inside, then she faces him.

Pax is beautiful, oh, God. She has eyes, goddamn it.

His eyebrows are furrowed, jaw clenched, waiting for her explanation.

Elyse keeps her face composed and her posture straight. "You said you wanted to kiss me again. I'll do it if you date me."

He doesn't say anything. Just stares at her.

When a minute passes and he still doesn't say anything, she doesn't show the hurt in her face and shrugs. Elyse rolls her shoulders back and opens the door. "Okay."

Like always, she keeps her head high as she walks with perfect confidence to her class.

If Pax doesn't want to date her, fine. No kisses for him, then.

Elyse should take out his eyes while she's at it, too, because she feels his stare burning at the back of head, neck, and her legs crossed to the side because of her skirt.

Whatever.

Elyse packs up her things neatly, placing her highlighters back in its case and zipping her bag, and then she looks up when a classmate approaches her with a shy smile.

Ah. She reciprocates that smile and does not show the exhaustion in her face. "Hi."

"Um." Nervously, he scratches the back of his neck and looks behind Elyse.

At Pax.

Elyse's smile widens, remembering her spectacle this morning at breakfast. She focuses on her classmate and doesn't glance at Pax. "Oh, don't look at him. We're not together."

"Oh, great." He grins. "Would you want to go to dinner with me?"

"Sure. You can pick me up at my dorm at six."

Elyse pencils that in her digital planner on the way out of the room—without glancing at Pax—and across the hallway, her heels clicking against the tiles.

She sees Wesley with his friends out by the quad on the way to her dormitory after her last class, and she grits her teeth when he calls her name and waves.

Wesley was her third boyfriend in university. They lasted three months, and during those three months, he was nice. Sweet at times. Exasperated with her most of it.

"Hello," she politely greets with a wave of her hand. Wesley and his friends often rode in her car after their lacrosse games and they would play games and use the pool in her home, too.

Elyse hears something about them being next in line after Wes because she was such a 'good girlfriend', but she ignores it and continues walking along, not waiting to hear her ex-boyfriend's response.

She didn't know if it would be, "Yeah, but she never let me touch her. What a prude."

Or, "Yeah, but she's not as great as you guys think. When I first started dating her, I was excited. But then I became disappointed—she's boring."

Or, "Yeah, but I couldn't fuck her."

Elyse winces for a split second before schooling her expression back into her practiced, composed one, keeping her steps light and graceful towards her room.

It's fifteen to six and she's just finished getting ready when a two harsh knocks come at the door.

Elyse frowns and gets up after locking her earring in. She pulls it open and smiles. "You're earl—"

Pax Sandejas is right outside her door, looking like he's about to commit homicide.

He's tall enough to hold onto the top of the doorframe, and she shouldn't find it hot but God. She does. She wills her eyes to stay on his and not on the veins of his arms. "Yes?"

Elyse can see how hard he's clenching his jaw.

Still, he doesn't say anything.

Elyse takes pity on him, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest. "What, you don't want me to go on dates?"

His eyes flash. "How many do you fucking have?"

His harshness should be appalling, should be a turn-off because this is not her type, Elyse doesn't date guys who look like they could actually commit homicide because she's scared of them, and she might be a little scared of Pax Sandejas, but he wants something from her and he's not going to hurt her.

This is insane. Elyse doesn't know him except for the rumors—the Sandejases are scary and untouchable, Blaise Finch and Arden Bell are legends—but she doesn't feel like she needs to cower away from Pax.

She's Elyse Song. She doesn't cower away from anyone.

Remembering his question, Elyse takes her planner from the table and opens it. "Well, let's see. I'm booked every day this week—"

Pax slaps it out of her hand and snatches it. The sound of the case closing makes a loud snap. He glares at her. "What the fuck do you want me to do."

Without thinking, Elyse's mouth curves into a smile.

Oh, to have this power over a big, bad Sandejas.

"First, give that back to me." She tilts her chin at her tablet.

Pax's jaw ticks.

"Oh, calm down. I'm going to cancel all the dates since you're here." She holds out her hand.

Pax gives it back. He watches her delete all the scheduled lunches, dinners, afternoons, evenings.

Once she's done, Elyse tosses it on her table and smiles at him. "Since you scared away my supposed date today, threatening him to tell you my room number, I'm sure, I need to eat. But shopping first, because." She gestures with her hand over his body. "This is not my type."

Pax stares at her, still looking quite angry.

Elyse goes to pick up her tablet again. "Or you can just tell my supposed date to come back—"

He moves aside to let her through. Elyse smiles and slings her purse over her shoulder, and then they walk together to the parking lot.

Pax stops at his Jaguar, heading to the driver's seat, but Elyse crosses her arms and stands next to the passenger door.

He stares at her. She stares back at him, raising her brow.

Her past boyfriends never did this for her even when she said she wanted or liked it. They only laughed and said, "Just get in here."

Elyse wants to see what it feels like, wants to see if Pax would do it. Pax Sandejas—list all the gentlemen in the world and you wouldn't find a single Sandejas in there.

"Fucking hell, you're difficult," he bites out lowly, rounding his car and throwing open the passenger door. He gives her an impatient look.

Elyse purses her lips to keep from smiling as she bends down and settles inside. Finally. That feels nice.

She prepares herself to flinch for a slam of the door, but surprisingly, Pax just shuts it closed.

He follows her like a huge puppy at the mall, clenching his jaw and keeping his eyes on her face while she holds up several branded shirts.

Elyse tosses them in his arms and sits down, crossing her legs. She shoos him to the dressing room when he just stands there with gritted teeth.

He slides the curtains closed harshly, and Elyse has to laugh.

Every time he comes out of the room with his jaw still tight and angry eyes, the salesladies take a good look at him with an appreciative glance. Elyse grits her teeth and stands up, putting her hands on his collar and torso to smooth out the fabric even though it's very smooth already.

Her cheeks burn feeling his body. He obviously works out.

Pax doesn't move. Only watches her.

She wrinkles her nose and looks at the mirror. He is very handsome, but he doesn't look like Pax Sandejas. Elyse pushes him back in the dressing room and orders, "Go change back."

At the counter, she returns everything except for the black button-down that she found him the sexiest in. Black is still Sandejas.

"Thought you were going to run this store fucking dry," he says, looking down at the one paper bag she's holding.

Elyse shrugs and gives it to him. "You're not my usual type, but I don't like changing you. It feels wrong and you look wrong. So just accept this gift."

He slaps it. "I don't fucking want this, I want a fucking kiss."

His angry demand almost makes her laugh. She grins. "And you'll get it, darling, don't worry." Elyse tosses the bag in his arms and he catches it with a curse. "Now, where are you taking me for dinner?"

Pax watches her fold a table napkin on her lap before she eats her meal.

Elyse swallows thickly, waiting for him to say something like, "Oh, Jesus, you're such a princess, Elyse," or cover his face in shame and look around because no one else is doing it, but he doesn't say anything and just—stares at her.

They eat in silence until Pax surprises her with his voice. "Why?"

Why him. Why want to date him. Elyse dabs her mouth with a napkin before answering, "Because going on dates with different people is exhausting. Living up to their expectations of me is exhausting. If I say no, I get called a bitch, and I don't have time to actually find...a boyfriend to get everyone to back off. But if I have you..." Everyone's scared of you. "It will naturally happen. Plus, my ex hates you."

Wesley always complained about Pax's talent in lacrosse. Said he's an asshole.

Well, he is. But not to Elyse. Much.

Wesley's more of an asshole than Pax is.

"And..." She blinks, staring at him.

Pax raises an eyebrow, waiting.

"And you're attractive," Elyse says confidently, struggling to keep her eyes on his. Very. And I want to kiss you again, too.

His mouth twitches.

She swallows and focuses back on her food.

Pax doesn't say anything else, seemingly satisfied. He steals the check while she's in the bathroom touching up her makeup. It makes her smile.

At the parking lot, Elyse's hand reaches out for the door handle. She already finally knows what it feels like to have her door opened by her boyfriend, and Pax did everything she wanted today—

He opens the door for her, face blank.

Elyse blinks. "Oh. Thank you." She ducks and gets settled inside, pulling on her seatbelt while pleading her heart rate to go back to normal.

Pax walks her back in front of her room. She turns to him and smiles. "Well, that was—"

Pax surges forward with his surprisingly gentle hands in her face and kisses her, stealing her words and her breath.

His head is tilted down because of his height and he makes a sound low in his throat when she kisses him back, tiptoeing, pressing her back against the wall and looping her arms around his impossibly broad shoulders and neck, fingers stroking his hair.

Elyse has never been kissed like this before. Has never been desired like this before. She feels her stomach drop like she's in a rollercoaster when he swipes his tongue over her lip and grips her chin, parting her mouth open.

Elyse feels his hand on her hip and the other in her hair, and then he pulls away, brushes his mouth over hers, once, twice, kisses her again with a smirk in his mouth when she pulls him by his belt loops, and then she pushes him with one hand on his chest.

Elyse can feel his rapid heartbeat under his sweater.

She looks up at him and he's staring at her, and God. Her cheeks must be flushed, her hair ruined under his hold, lips swollen and lipstick smudged.

"Goodnight," Elyse whispers softly, stepping inside her room and closing it shut.

She sits down on her bed, numb, and covers her mouth with her hands, still feeling the tingling in her belly.

Oh, God.

For the first time in her life, she squeals into her pillow and kicks the mattress.