beer on my head?
I regret it. It was callous and cold and I can’t blame her for what she did.
Gabe and Shep send each other a look before they turn their attention to me. “We know what that’s like,” Shep says slowly.
“Right,” I snort, taking another sip of my still hot coffee.
“It’s exactly how I felt when I started to fall for Jade,” Shep adds.
My appetite disappears. Just like that.
“I denied myself from going after Lucy for way too long,” Gabe says, shaking his head. “We played a real back and forth game. Drove me insane with wanting her.”
Last thing I want to hear. I shove my plate away from me. “I’m done.”
The matching incredulous expressions they share would’ve been amusing any other time. Not right now. None of this shit they’re telling me is funny. “But you barely ate,” Shep points out. He sounds oddly like my mother, the freak.
“Lost my appetite,” I mutter as I toss my napkin onto my plate. “I need to go. See you guys later?”
“Yeah,” they both say as I slide out of the booth and make my escape out of the diner.
The cold November air smacks me in the face when I walk outside, reminding me that winter is indeed coming. I huddle my face into my hoodie as best as I can and hurry across campus, heading to class. Girls smile and nod at me as I pass by and I smile and nod back. My reputation follows me everywhere I go and normally I love it. I strut like a fucking peacock, wanting the girls to flock to me. They all say the same thing, over and over again.
He’s a flirt. He’s got a big dick. He’s good in bed. He’s a sex god. He’s charming. He’s funny.
Those are the good things. But they say other things too.
He’s selfish. He goes through women like toilet paper. He’s cold hearted. Mean spirited. He drinks too much. He uses girls and tosses them aside.
Shame hits me and I mentally shove it away. I’m in college. If I want to be selfish and fuck around, I have every right. I shouldn’t care what other people think, especially jealous, vengeful girls who are pissed at me for not being into them long enough to want to stick around.
My gaze snags on a blonde up ahead and I slow my steps, contemplating her. She’s thin and willowy, just like Alexandria. Her hair streams down her back, the morning sun glinting it with threads of honey gold and I swear to God my heart picks up speed when I think it might be her.
But when she turns left at the next building, disappointment threatens to swallow me. It’s not Alexandria. My reaction to the possibility was way over the top.
And fucking scary as hell.
“Can I ask you a question?” I pluck at an imaginary thread on the inside seam of my jeans, my head bent. I feel super dumb for asking this but the words have hung on the tip of my tongue since the night of the party. I just didn’t know how to approach it. Approach her.
“Go for it.” Kelli pauses and I glance up to meet her gaze. “This isn’t about the latest chapter, is it? Because I don’t get the new formula.” She sighs and leans back against her seat. “I’m going to fail this stupid class, I know it.”
We’re in the library, hidden away on the fourth floor, our statistics books spread out before us on a table. We don’t know what the hell we’re doing but we’re muddling through. We have a test at the end of the week and I know Kelli’s nervous about it.
So am I. But I’m more nervous to ask her what’s been on my mind and I hope she doesn’t hate me for it.
“It’s not about the chapter.” I wave my hand at our books, grimacing. God, I hate math. “It’s about…Tristan Prescott.”
Now I have Kelli’s full attention. Her gaze narrows and her lips curl in this mischievous smile that makes dread coil in my stomach. “What do you want to know?”
I swallow hard, my throat dry. I told myself I didn’t want to know anything. He made me so angry when he made that casual remark Saturday night. Who says things like that?
Do we need to fit to fuck?
I’m getting mad right now just thinking about it.
“Were you two ever…together?” My words are tentative, unsure and I want to smack myself. The Alex of old