Before Sara could question his expression further, Bentley turned away.

Was he giving her the cold shoulder? Seriously?

Dr. Frost posted several more problems on the board. "I would like you all to work in pairs to solve the rest of these."

The students immediately found partners.

Trevor, of course, was Sara's.

But before Sara could shift her chair around to work with Trevor, Dr. Frost called out to her. "Oh, and Sara. I'd like you to partner with Bentley Prince today."

Sara's stomach plummeted to her feet. Wait. WHAT? But I'm supposed to IGNORE him!

Dr. Frost gave her an evil, knowing smile. "While you were able to say the answer on the board earlier, Sara. I want to be sure you actually understand how you got to your answer."

Dr. Frost turned her face to Bentley's. It was amazing how her expression could go from so cruel to so MUSHY in a matter of seconds.

"You wouldn't mind, would you, Bentley?" Dr. Frost asked. She seemed to bat her eyelashes again. PUKE!

"No problem," Bentley said, curtly. He stood stiffly and walked over to where Sara sat, visibly cowering in her chair.

"Ugh, who am I supposed to work with now?" Ella whined. She all but glared at Sara. As if it was Sara's fault.

"You're working with me now, Ella!" Trevor called. He collected his books. He pointed a finger at Bentley as he sat down beside Sara in the adjacent chair. "Sara's my girlfriend's bestie. You do anything to --"

Bentley waved a hand at Trevor to silence him. "I got it," he snapped.

Trevor nodded. He patted Sara's back again. "Later, Sara Sweet."

Sara could not look at Bentley. As wildly gorgeous as he was, sitting this close to him only reminded her of how absolutely delicious his mouth tasted.

Bentley, however, seemed to have nerves of steel. "You should probably turn to page eighty-four in the book. That's where this lesson begins," he said.

Sara felt an involuntary, nervous giggle escape her throat. Oh my gawd. DO NOT start laughing! Sara's brain warned her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"Okay, sure," she managed to choke out. She flipped the pages of the calculus textbook to the page Bentley told her. Her eyes blurred at the problems on the page. She still couldn't seem to focus at all.

Bentley studied her closely. "Are you all right?" he asked. He leaned closer to her. She could feel his warm breath on her neck. It sent her heart racing.

Sara nodded quickly. She still wouldn't meet his gaze.

"How did you answer that question on the board earlier?" he whispered.

Sara clasped her hands together. "Honestly, I'm not really sure."

She heard him clear his throat. "That doesn't make sense, you know."

His watch was still blinking.

"I...well...I just knew it," she said.

"Hmm," he said, stroking his chin. He sounded concerned. After a minute, he turned back to her.

"Read me the problem," he said quietly. His voice was soft now. Inviting.

She felt herself relax. Her vision cleared. She read the problem to him. "It's a function. We have to graph it." She met his gaze.

The sun was shining through the window beside him. It illuminated his face, causing his dark brown eyes to look almost gold.

Sara swallowed loudly. She forced herself to look back down at her book.

"Go on. You can do it," he coaxed.