Ray and I are chatting as the office door opens and Lincoln walks in. He looks more tired than usual. He had a quiz or something today, but I doubt that's what this is about.

"So how was your date last night?" Ray asks with a sly grin.

"It wasn't a date. She's kinda naïve if I'm being honest, I don't know if she picked up on me hitting on her at all," Lincoln groans, as he places his bag onto the floor and flops onto the worn sofa. I'm doubtful though, Lincoln has always been very forward with girls.

"Well speaking of Katie, I decided she's going to be our new secretary," I say, looking up from my laptop. "I asked her to come here after her class finishes to have a meeting with us." Her qualifications are acceptable, all the other applicants were kind of terrible if I'm being honest. So many keeners just looking for resume boosters.

Lincoln suddenly perks up. "Sick," he grins, sitting up on the sofa, "I'll see if she wants to go out afterwards." I can't help but feel the tiniest bit annoyed, girls always prefer me over Lincoln and Ray, I can't believe I'm the only single one between the three of us now. 

It's fine, if I was interested in Katie I'm sure I would've been dating her by now.

Feeling slightly flustered, I stand up. "Let's have our meeting in the common area outside the office, it's getting stuffy in here."

"Uh I feel fine but you're the boss I guess," Ray teases as they follow me outside.

We go outside and Lincoln and I sit on two sofas across from each other. Ray plops himself down into a large armchair next to us. A few minutes later, we see Katie come around the corner and approach us. "Hey Katie, you can sit here," I nod towards the space next to me on the sofa. She begins to walk towards me, but Lincoln interrupts.

"No I think you should sit here." He pats the space next to him.

"Sure," she nods, and sits down. Lincoln reaches around her waist and gently pulls her closer next to him. She blushes and smiles. I feel my jaw tense, but quickly push my thoughts away.

"Alright Katie, we're going to need you to take meeting minutes," I say.

She nods and takes out a metallic pink laptop. "So in two weeks we're having a social event, a welcome back to school sort of thing. Pretty simple, we're hosting in the bar on campus, we just need to organize an RSVP list, food, drinks, and music."

"This just sounds like a party," Katie raises an eyebrow. She's not really wrong I guess.

Ray laughs, "More or less. These two guys here love partying and will take any opportunity to throw one. ASA is known for our social events."

"Hey it's a 'mixer' event alright. Our faculty just knows how to have fun," I roll my eyes, defending my choice of event. We spend the hour discussing logistics. Booking, budgeting, marketing, and everything else we can think of. This whole 'president' thing is easy. As our meeting draws to a close, Ray and I head back into the office to grab our bags. I notice Lincoln and Katie still sitting on the sofa.

"Hey there's a movie I've been wanting to watch, are you free tonight? We could get dinner beforehand too," Lincoln asks as I'm about to get up from the sofa. He's asking me to hang out again?

"Sounds great," I nod, trying to sound casual, even though I'm internally nervous and excited. We wave to Jason and Ray and head towards the elevator. Ray gives us a warm smile, and I think I notice him wink to Lincoln. Jason just gives us a nod.

He's so cute, I think to myself, as I catch a glimpse of Lincoln in the mirror at the back of the elevator. He's definitely out of my league though, why would a sweet, funny, and attractive senior want an awkward freshman like me? I thought he might've been flirting with me yesterday, but it was probably just my imagination, there's no way.

Several other people get into the elevator, and I end up pressed against him and my heart skips a beat. His warmth and scent is strangely comforting. I can feel his muscles, his hard chest is pressed firmly against my back. I really hope he can't feel how quickly my heart is beating.

After what feels like an eternity, we get out of the elevator and get to his car. He searches up the address of a restaurant on his phone. His hair is styled today into a lightly tousled look, he's wearing a t-shirt and I can see the definition of his muscles in his arms, and even in the dim parking lot lights, his eyes are bright blue and enticing.

"Are you alright?" he asks, looking concerned. Oh god how long have I been staring at him?

"O-oh yeah just a little tired from class today," I quickly nod, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. Hopefully the parking lot lights are dim enough that he doesn't notice.

"Welcome to the university life, where you're always tired, stressed, and hungry," he jokes, and lightly touches my thigh. His touch sends a warm rush through my body.

He starts driving. "So are the events actually all like parties?" I ask. 

Lincoln laughs, "Not necessarily, we have academic events where guest speakers come to talk about things like careers and grad school as well."

"Oh OK," I nod, slightly relieved. I've been nervous about parties since starting university, I don't want to 'miss out' on the classic college experiences, but parties have never really been my thing. I'm one of those people who awkwardly follows one friend around all night.

"If anything, I prefer our more laid-back events. Don't listen to Ray, my partying days ended in my junior year. Jason on the other hand, he's still as wild as ever," he rolls his eyes. He definitely seems like someone who parties a lot.

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Soon we arrive at the restaurant. It's a nicer place this time, tablecloths, cloth napkins, candles, and formally dressed servers. "What's the occasion?" I tease.

"Just making up for yesterday's dinner," he shrugs with a sheepish smile. I grin at how sweet he is.

We're quickly seated, and order our food.

I find him so sweet and charming, I think to myself as we talk and eat. Oh god am I falling for him? I've always fallen for guys who didn't even notice my existence.

Is he flirting? Or am I so desperate that I'm just projecting my feelings and imagining it? 

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Thank you for reading! I hoped you liked this chapter :)