stuff while we waited for class to start. Tall, lanky, and cute in that guy-in-an-indie-rock-band sort of way, Devin’s passion was in digital media.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. A little embarrassed for getting caught talking shit about my professor.” I chuckled. “But I’m okay.”
I couldn’t wait to tell Jamie.
He’d laugh his ass off.
Devin smiled down at me from his great height. The guy had to be at least six four. “It was kind what you did. Talking to Cassie. Sticking up for her. No one else seemed to give a shit that he’s been on her for weeks, and she looked seconds from bursting into tears.”
“Well, at least he apologized.”
“Yeah, because of you and what you said. I still think he’s a dick.”
I shrugged. “I think he’s just a tough critic. A dick wouldn’t admit he was wrong.”
“Do you always see the best in people?”
Had Devin been around me enough to surmise that? I shot him a look.
He laughed. “I notice you, Jane. You’re sweet to everyone. And someone … someone who looks like you doesn’t need to be nice to anyone.”
Irritated, I huffed, “That’s a little cynical and shallow, isn’t it?”
It bothered me that people automatically assumed something about a person based on their looks. Cassie didn’t even want to be friends with me at first because she assumed I was one of those “gorgeous cheerleader types” she had nothing in common with. I gave her another shot, despite her judginess. We lived in a shallow world, and it affected us whether we wanted it to. Even Skye had once asked me to audition for The Sorcerer, and God knows I’d shown no talent for acting, so that offer was based on how good her agent thought I might look on camera, and nothing else.
I should cut Devin a break.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” He ran a hand through his dark hair and drew to a stop.
I hesitated but halted with him as he struggled with his words.
My heart beat a little fast, my suspicion growing.
Devin nervously licked his lips. “So, okay, I’m just going to say it, so I stop messing it up. Jane, will … would you go on a date with me?”
I felt my cheeks grow hot. “I have a boyfriend, Devin,” I reminded him. “You know that.”
He nodded, his neck turning red. “I just … I just thought … I didn’t know if you were serious, and we have a lot in common …”
Did we?
I wracked my brain trying to think over the conversations we’d had. Devin and I spoke to each other in class. We’d eaten together at lunch with a few of our other classmates, including Cassie, but I couldn’t remember us having any deep, meaningful conversations. “Well, I appreciate it, but I love my boyfriend. I’m sorry.”
Devin flushed hard, rubbing his neck. “Right. Sure. Okay. Bye.” He strode off, leaving me in the wake of the awful awkwardness.
Crap.
I hoped things wouldn’t be too weird between us.
I talked about Jamie all the time. He’d even had lunch with me at school on a number of occasions. My friends all knew I had a boyfriend; so did some of my other classmates. I didn’t expect to be asked out by someone who knew about Jamie.
Did that mean girls were still asking Jamie out at USC?
Of course, it did.
Classes were way bigger at USC. They wouldn’t know he had a girlfriend.
Possessiveness bothered me as I walked out of school toward the bus stop.
I trusted Jamie.
It didn’t mean I liked the idea of girls hovering around him. And they must. He was protective, sexy, witty, talented, brooding, and a track star.
But he’s also all mine, I reminded myself with utmost certainty.
I smiled as I put in my earbuds and flicked through Spotify to my latest playlist. Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes thundered in my ears as I strolled to the bus stop. Pomona College was only a forty-minute bus ride from the house I now lived in with the McKennas.
Despite my distant but polite relationship with Willa and Nick, they’d offered to let me stay at their apartment while I was in college. They weren’t legally obligated to as I was an adult, so it was kind of them to offer. However, Jamie had spoken to Skye, and Skye had offered me Lorna’s room now that she was pre-law at Columbia in New York.
I’d jumped at the chance.
If Jamie was cool with me living with them, then I was all for it.