Shattered Rose (Winsor Series) - By T L Gray Page 0,9
hand.
“He told me about his mom and how he came to live with you. That’s all. We really didn’t talk much. He did say you were his best friend, though.” I was hoping she would take the bait and change the subject.
“I am his best friend, and that’s why I know he’s intrigued with you.”
As I looked up at her, my eyes must have completely betrayed me.
“Ah ha, I knew you liked him,” she accused. “Yes, he’s intrigued with you. I know this because he mentioned you more than twice last night. But don’t be deceived. Jake is not the fall in love type. He’s just not.”
“Maybe I’m not the fall in love type either,” I retorted, feeling annoyed by the conversation.
“Oh please, you have hopeless romantic written all over you.”
I rolled my eyes and continued to make my breakfast. It didn’t seem to deter her and she continued on.
“Every once in a while a girl gets a glimpse of who he is and they immediately fall head over heels. But a glimpse is all you get. He doesn’t do more than that. Jake is complicated.” She seemed careful in how she said those last words.
“What do you mean?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just trust me. If I thought he would ever treat a girl the way he treats me, I would move out of your way, but he won’t. You need to hear this before it goes too far.”
I nodded and looked at her. “I hear you. I do. You don’t have to worry; I’m not going to fall head over heels for Jake. I’m much too practical,” I lied, searching my head for anything else to talk about. “By the way, I met some guys from apartment 315. I think one of them likes you.”
“Ugh, no thanks. I’ve already met Aaron and feel like I have to shower every time I see him,” she explained, grinning for the first time this morning.
I laughed in agreement. “Not him. It was his roommate, Danny, that was asking about you.”
“Huh? I haven’t met him yet. Doesn’t matter, I don’t date guys from our apartment complex.”
“Really, why not?”
“Because I only got out with guys once, maybe twice, and it’s hard enough to make them go away. It would be impossible if they were living just up the stairs from me.” She gave me another penetrating stare, almost a warning. “I’m a lot like Jake in that way.” I didn’t respond to her comment and she got off the stool. “Now, I’m heading back to bed. Don’t you dare wake me before two o’clock. It’s Saturday for crying out loud.”
I watched as she slowly threw herself on her bed, arms and legs spread out across the entire thing. Yes, it was Saturday, and I was already so behind. Two of my professors had posted the syllabus and expected three chapters read before the beginning of class. I put my cereal bowl in the dishwasher and headed to my room, determined to make today as productive as possible.
As I passed by my mirror, I stopped to examine myself. Jake was intrigued with me, huh? I wasn’t sure exactly why. I mean, I wasn’t ugly, but I’ve never seen myself as beautiful, and Jake definitely was the type who could get the beautiful ones. In grade school, kids teased me a lot. I’ve always had predominant features that seemed to get attention. Growing up, my blue eyes were too big for my head, and I spent most of my awkward years being taller than the boys. It also didn’t help that I was pretty chubby in junior high. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in high school that I finally quit growing and the boys caught up. That same year I joined the cross country team and learned how to run. Weight came off pretty easily after that and all of a sudden boys started noticing me in the halls. It didn’t last long, though. My shyness and insecurity kept boys at arm’s length, and they gave up without much of a fight. It still amazed me how I could look so different but feel exactly like that chubby girl they poked fun at all those years.
I continued to scrutinize my large lips and straight nose in the mirror and wondered how men noticed me at all. Then again, my courses were predominately in the math and science arena, so I didn’t have a whole lot of competition.