before thinking about it. Hardin glares at me and stands up.
“I’ll be right back,” he says and walks off in their direction. I try to continue my conversation with Landon and watch Hardin at the same time, but I’m not sure what to do.
“Yeah, it isn’t the same without you, but I’m so happy for you. At least Hardin hasn’t been in class so I don’t have to deal with him,” Landon says.
“What do you mean he hasn’t been in class? Well, besides today. He was there yesterday. Right?”
“No, I figured he dropped again since you left and he obviously can’t be more than ten feet away from you at all times,” he teases and my heart warms despite my concern over his missing classes.
I look over at Hardin, who has his back to me, but I can tell from how stiff his shoulders are that he’s tense. The guy who I don’t recognize has a slick smile on his face and Zed is shaking his head. Logan seems uninterested in them and focuses on checking out a group of girls walking by. Hardin takes a step toward the guy and I can’t tell if they are messing around or not.
“I’m so sorry, Landon, but I will call you back,” I say and hang up. Leaving our trays on the table, I go over to them, hoping in the back of my mind that no one messes with our food.
“Hey, Tessa, how are you?” Zed asks and moves forward to hug me. I feel myself flush and politely hug him back. I know better than to look up at Hardin when our embrace ends. Zed’s hair is sticking straight up in the front in a very hot, messy way, and he’s wearing all black with this leather jacket that has patches all over the front and back.
“Hardin, aren’t you going to introduce your friend?” the stranger says. He smiles and it gives me chills. I can tell he is not a nice guy.
“Um, yeah.” Hardin waves his hand between us. “This is my friend Tessa; Tessa, this is Jace.”
Friend? I feel like I have just been kicked in the stomach. I try my best to hide my humiliation and smile.
“Do you go to WCU?” I ask. My voice is much more composed than I feel inside.
“Hell, no. I don’t do the college thing.” He chuckles coolly. “But if all the girls there looked like you, I would be happy to reconsider.”
I gulp and wait for Hardin to say something. Oh, right, I am his friend. Why would he? I stay silent and wish I had just stayed at the table.
“We are going to the docks tonight; you two should make an appearance,” Zed says.
“We can’t. Maybe next time,” Hardin says. I contemplate interrupting and saying I can, but I am too pissed-off to speak.
“Why not?” Jace asks.
“She has to work tomorrow. I suppose I can drop by later. Alone,” he adds.
“That’s too bad.” Jace smiles at me. His sandy blond hair falls over his eyes and he shakes his head to move it.
Hardin clenches his jaw and looks at him. I feel like I’m missing something. Who is this guy, anyway?
“Yeah, I’ll hit you up later when I’m on my way,” Hardin says and I stalk away.
I hear Hardin’s boots stomping behind me but I keep walking. He doesn’t call my name, since I’m sure he doesn’t want his friends to think anything, but he keeps following me. I walk faster and dip into Macy’s and turn a sharp corner, hoping to lose him. No such luck; he grabs my elbow and turns me to face him.
“What is wrong?” His annoyance is obvious.
“Oh, I don’t know, Hardin!” I shout. An elderly woman looks at me and I give her an apologetic smile.
“Me either! You are the one who just hugged Zed!” he yells. We are already attracting an audience, but I am fuming so I don’t care at the moment.
“Are you embarrassed of me or something? I mean, I get it, I am not exactly the cool girl, but I thought . . .”
“What? No! Of course I’m not embarrassed of you. Are you crazy?” he huffs. I feel crazy at the moment.
“Why did you introduce me as your friend? You keep talking about living together and then you tell them we are friends? What are you going to do, hide me? I won’t be anyone’s secret. If I’m not good enough for your friends to know we’re together, then