Page 44 of Tanner

“She found me,” I say as I open the door. “And that’s all I’m going to say about that.”

“You can’t leave us hanging.” Ryan is on my heels.

“I can, and I just did.”

As Ryan heads in his opposite direction, Chris and I are off to Marketing Strategies. These halls have been my home away from home for four and a half years. Since I didn’t want to go home over the summers, I enrolled in classes and wound up with enough credits to graduate last year. When I realized this, I enrolled myself in the five-year joint bachelor/master’s program and started toward that degree.

Yes, that’s right; I opted to stay in school. Most guys my age can’t wait to finish and live life as an adult. I get it; trust me. Writing papers, taking long tests, and doing presentations to a lecture hall full of people looking down at their smartphones aren’t exactly my ideas of a good time.

I have my own reasons for kicking it around here a little longer, and, yes, it has everything to do with having to take on the roll of being Tanner Sexton in a city where my name actually means something.

Chris and I take seats in one of the smaller lecture halls. He takes out his notebook and slides in a wireless earbud. With his foot beating to the music, he waits for the professor to start the class.

I open my backpack and take out my laptop. As it’s running, I look inside for the charger and see a book sitting on the bottom. It’s the copy of To Kill a Mockingbird I checked out from the library.

What are the odds I’d meet a girl named after the author?

“Hey, Tanner.” Laney Schultz slides into the seat next to me.

“Hey, Nebraska,” I say.

“Hi, Laney.” Chris leans over in his seat and practically pushes me over, careening his body closer to the brunette from the Cornhusker State.

She politely half-smiles at Chris and then puts her attention back toward me. “I was looking for you last week at the Den.”

“I went to a bar on the Upper East Side.” I motion toward Chris. “This guy wanted to play with the grown-ups.”

Chris lets out a grunt. “This prick’s the only one who got lucky.”

Laney’s eyes widen. “Oh. Well, that’s cool. Anyone special?”

I look down at the book in my hand and smile. “Yeah. She’s pretty cool.”

She angles her body completely in my direction and rests an arm over my seat. Her breasts are leaning into my side, and I know it’s intentional.

“Whatcha got there?” she asks. Her fingers skim on top of mine as she takes the book from my hand. “Oh, we had to read this in high school. I didn’t understand the hype.”

“It’s the world through the eyes of a child. Her father puts everything on the line to defend an innocent man accused of a crime. It’s pretty powerful,” I respond.

She smiles. “It’s a good book. It just seems like it’s built up more than it should be.”

“It’s because of when it was written. In 1960, racial injustice was a taboo topic. Lee took a powerful stance when she penned such a prolific novel. It’s gripping, heart-wrenching, and—”

“Wow, you’re really into literature,” Laney states.

Chris pops his head back up from where he was slumping in his seat. “You’ve been going to school with this guy for four years, and you’re just realizing this now?”

I run a hand over my hair. I take the book back from her. “Sorry. I get carried away.”

She sweeps her long, dark hair from one shoulder to the next and then plays with the fabric at the neckline of her shirt. “It’s okay. I think guys who read are sexy.” Her teeth skim her bottom lip.

Laney’s always been flirty, but lately, it feels like she’s been kicking it up a notch.

I put the book back in my bag and turn on my computer. “So does the girl I’m seeing.”

The comment makes Laney’s hand stop. She sits back in her seat and takes a giant breath.

“Dude, what the fuck are you doing?” Chris whispers into my ear. “Laney is fucking hot and practically telling you she wants you to do her every way to next Tuesday. She’d let you fuck her while you read Tolstoy, for Christ’s sake.”