Hooped #5 (The Hooped Interracial Romance Series #5) by Claire Adams

against me, starting to get hard.
    “Maybe I could use a little help,” he suggested,
murmuring lowly in my ear. I chuckled and wrapped my arms around him, kissing
him hungrily. I was only too happy to oblige.

 
    The next morning, I woke up to find Devon already
awake, lying in the bed next to me and looking up at the ceiling. For a long
moment I debated whether or not to skip class; I knew there was no point to it, but the temptation wavered nonetheless. It
wasn’t as though I could go with him into the testing center—that would only
make it seem like Devon was cheating again. In any case, I needed to be in
class. I couldn’t just put my life on hold—I had to keep my grades up, and if
there was no reason for me to be out of class for the day, I should just go.
    So after a quick session of fooling around, Devon and
I both got dressed, and I made myself gather up my things and give him a quick
kiss before I ran out of the frat house, headed to my class. I had wished him
luck, and Devon looked as calm as a person possibly could be, considering that
he was taking a test that would determine whether or not he would be able to
continue going to school. I knew I had made the right choice—after all, if I
skipped class, all I would be doing would be sitting around or pacing the
length of Devon’s room or the living room at the frat house. I couldn’t go with
him, I couldn’t do anything else to help him. He was either going to pass or he
wouldn’t.
    As I sat in class, trying—and failing—to pay attention
to the lecture going on, to take notes that made some kind of sense, I thought
that even though I couldn’t actually do anything to help Devon, I was so
invested in his success that I might be more nervous than he was for him to
pass with a high score. I’m going to have
to get the notes from someone else, I
thought ruefully, glancing at the clock on the wall, out through the window, as
if I would see some kind of sign or omen of what was going on with Devon. It
was pointless for me to be in class; I would get points for being physically
present, and the class was attendance-mandatory, so at least I wouldn’t have to
come up with an excuse, but I was absolutely useless. I couldn’t keep my mind
on what was going on around me, and I didn’t even participate in the
discussion. You did everything you could.
If he doesn’t pass, he doesn’t pass. But he has to pass. Whatever happens, you
and Devon will find a way to deal with it. I had to be content with the
knowledge that Devon and I had done everything we could together to make sure
that he would be able to clear his name and get the score he needed; if he
wasn’t able to get it, then neither of us could really be blamed. I checked my
phone again and again, wishing I could get some kind of news of what Devon was
doing, how he felt, what he thought his score would be.

 
    Chapter
Eight
    I tried to put my worried about Devon’s test behind me
as I went to my classes for the day, but it was impossible for me to not think
about it every few minutes. I didn’t even know where on campus he’d be taking
the test—or even if it was on campus. I didn’t know how long they were giving
him. I had no idea when I would even be able to find out. Throughout my classes
I was a distracted mess, and my only saving grace was the fact that the
professors seemed to have decided to take it easy on me; I didn’t contribute anything
to the conversations, yet I wasn’t the one they were calling on when the
in-class discussions languished.
    At the end of the day, as I was headed back towards
the frat house, walking across campus, I finally spotted Devon; he was coming
towards me, a smile on his face. “Dev!” I hurried to close the distance between
us, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.
    “Hey, babe!” Devon kissed me, giving me a slight spin
as he lifted me up off of the ground. “I was looking for you.” I giggled.
    “I didn’t even know when