tired of sitting next to you always eye-fucking her. Do something. I’m tired of you moping around.”
“Fuck off.”
He laughs.
We enter, and she’s already in her seat, head bent down.
I tune out the girl who comes up to me, brushing past her to get to the front row.
I get hot all over as I approach. Her long silky hair is straight today and hangs in a curtain around the sides of her face, the pink back and mingled with her darker strands. She’s got red eyeglasses on, something she doesn’t do often, and I wonder if she’s tired.
My eyes move down, pulled by her sheer white shirt, the hint of a red lace bra underneath it.
My shoulders straighten. City girl brought her A game, and if her intention is to make me squirm…
I plop down in my seat, my hands getting out my notebook for class.
I clear my throat. “Hey.”
“Hey. Congrats on the Combine.” She gives me a hesitant smile. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. Big deal. I’m stoked. You never texted me back.”
She waves that off. “You’re gonna make it, Blaze. I always knew it.” She looks back at her desk. “I’ll be cheering you on when draft time comes. I’ll watch on TV.”
“Thank you,” I say. Her words tug at me, loosening the tight feeling in my chest.
We’re quiet again, the awkwardness building.
“Lovely day for the end of January,” I say after a few minutes, just wanting to talk to her and not really knowing what to say. “Welcome to the South where the weather is mercurial, right?”
She nods.
“Did you know it’s snowing in Memphis? I’d give anything to see snow. Maybe that’s why I love Christmas movies so much. Have you seen Elf?” Shit, I know I’m rambling, but I can’t stop.
She flicks her eyes at me, her gaze withdrawn, and I want that distance gone.
I tap my pen. “Back to Elf: Buddy is this over-the-top adult-sized elf who wants to find his dad, but his dad is too wrapped up in his job—until Buddy shows him the real meaning of family. Kickass movie. Gives me warm fuzzies. And Zooey Deschanel as the love interest? Hot. You look like her, by the way, all that long hair and the way you laugh. You snort a lot. It’s cute. I’m sure you know.”
She sighs.
Come on, give my shit back to me, Charm.
I rack my brain. “I want a pet now that I’ve met Vampire Bill. I’m thinking a soft furry cat. Kittens are a pain in the ass when they’re tiny, though, like little babies. I want babies someday, but not now. Maybe a dog? A big German Shepherd, one who’ll follow me around and sleep at the foot of my bed. We never had any real pets growing up except for mice in the barn. Maybe I can babysit Vampire Bill when you guys are out of town, you know, to get some practice in.”
I tap my pen on my desk harder, faster. Do something, Dillon said.
But I don’t know how. I’m not fucking emotionally equipped to do this.
“Speaking of barns…sometimes I think about that toga party. You know, the one I mentioned before?” I arch my brows at her. It’s pointless since she isn’t looking. “You won’t admit it was you, but it was. That night, damn, we kissed and made out for hours. Your tongue in my mouth, mine in yours…”
Thank God, Cartwright hasn’t come out yet.
“I can only imagine how you must have felt when my spin of the bottle landed on you. Did you even think twice? Of course you knew who I was. Everyone did. I was the baller from Alma. Future star wide receiver. I remember looking across at you, and you had this come hither look on your face. I can handle you, hotshot, it said.”
I chuckle, but there’s no mirth there. This is like talking to a wall.
“You were…trashed. You had your hair braided in those plaits and a skirt on…damn.” My hands clench at the memory. “If you’d had your rules then—I don’t really know if you did since you didn’t follow them that night—you might never have kissed me up in that loft. But you did. Wholeheartedly. With your soul, you worshiped my mouth. You couldn’t get enough.” I pause, going for gold. “I looked for you around campus later—never told you that. Didn’t know your name, and all I had to go on was a dark-haired girl with a pouty mouth. I saw you once or twice as