Sara gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She gave a slight wave.

"Studying diligently?" he called.

Sara did a mental sigh of relief. He wasn't calling her out for staring at him. But it made her wonder why.

"Nope," she said, truthfully.

He slammed his book shut and pushed it into his black bag. To her surprise, he stood up from his chair and walked over to where she sat at her tiny desk. He rested his arms over the top of the cubicle.

Oh my gawdddd he's like a friggin' mile high, Sara thought. Can't he at least take one step back from the cubicle or something? That would be a TON more manageable.

She clenched her fists. Her palms felt sweaty. It was like trying to be stealthy while under the beam of a spotlight. Come on, Sara. Breathe. You breathe every freakin' day. It's the SAME as always.

It took her several long seconds before she could make eye contact with him. And when she did, it was only a quick glance. That was all she was capable of at this moment. But it was worth it.

His eyes looked tender from that angle, staring down at her in all their milk chocolate glory. It was a precious look. But there was a hint of danger there, too. No, not quite danger. A hunger. She suddenly realized she'd seen that look on his face before. At the bonfire. While she'd sat on his lap.

"What are you thinking about? You're smiling," he said.

Sara's face immediately flushed. "Um...um, NOTHING!" She tapped her pencil on her paper. Gawd, if she could just act normal, it would be fine. But her heart was in the middle of a sprint.

"Erna says 'hi'." His words came out as a whisper.

Sara stopped tapping her pencil. She forced herself to look up at him again. But it was soooo hard to do. Her mouth kept wanting to open in a crazy smile. Just being near him made her ridiculously happy. A bomb could go off and she probably wouldn't even notice.

"Oh, um, I didn't know that um...those things could think."

He snickered. "Those things?" he repeated.

She met his gaze.

He had raised one of his eyebrows. Was he mocking her?

She forced herself to not look away. To hold his gaze. One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three heartbeats.

On the fourth beat, he did something to her he had never done before. Leaning farther over the cubicle, he stretched out his arm. It was almost like watching in slow motion. The soft palm of his hand gently caressed her cheek. He let his fingertips slide over the sensitive skin of her neck, and so, so cautiously, he brushed a strand of her long hair away from her face.

It would have been an entirely different experience had she been looking anywhere else. But their eyes were locked. Entangled together. There was something between them. A kind of fire. She knew that for sure now. And she realized he sensed it, too. But why did he --

Bentley suddenly looked away. He pulled his arm back. Out of the cubicle. "I have to get going." He turned to leave, but before he did, he paused. "Section 3.5. Make sure you know that." Then he walked away.

Sara stared down at her open book. Her brain buzzed with electricity. What. Had. Just. Happened?????

While the clouds in her mind started to clear, she realized he had just helped her prepare for tomorrow's math test. But how could he know what to expect?

She bit her bottom lip. She decided it didn't matter. Something had just happened between them. And it was wonderful.