“We were just wanting to know if you guys were headed to get something to eat,” one of them says.
“Yup,” is all I can manage.
“I was hoping we could hang out,” the only one talking says directly at me. Not to me, but at me like I don’t get a freaking option in it.
“Sorry,” I manage a polite smile. “But it’s just us tonight so you’re going to have to excuse us.”
“Alex,” she scowls. Her blond hair is in a rats nest on her head, not the cute little messy bun thing that Grace does when she’s dancing. And it’s bothering the hell out of me.
“Look,” I try and placate, “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”
She folders her arms across her chest and I’m suddenly very aware of the fact she’s in one of those party outfits girls throw together on the weekend. She looks cold, probably is cold considering it’s all of maybe forty degrees outside. There’s supposed to be snow this weekend.
“Dude,” Ian snorts next to me and jabs me in the side. Apparently I was too lost in my own head to realize that the girl was talking again.
“You don’t even know who I am,” the girl scoffs. “We met last fall, remember? You threw a party on campus?”
I shake my head. “Sorry, I don’t.”
“Jeez, I knew you were a pig but not this much,” she growls. “Whatever. Like I’d want to have lunch with you. No thanks for the offer.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder and moves along with her group of girls.
I just stand there and blink. “I don’t remember asking her to eat, though.”
Killian starts cackling behind me. “Oh man, the nerve of some people. That was epic. You really don’t remember her?”
“Nope.”
“Did you sleep with her?” Ian smirks.
“No,” I shake my head. “Believe it or not, I’m not the manwhore people think I am.” And it’s true. While I like to be flirty, the idea of going that far with a girl that doesn’t exude enough brain cells doesn’t get my engine revving. That doesn’t mean I don’t fool around some, but Jesus, you’d think people would make up their own opinion of me without all the gossip. “I don’t remember her.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Killian scratches at his cheek. “That’s a weird concept to me.”
“I wasn’t half the manwhore you were,” I scoff.
“I was only being a whore because Lila wouldn’t get her shit together and fall in love with me,” Killian states firmly.
“Oh, so it was Lila who did the chasing?” Ian grins as we open the door to the downstairs cafeteria. “It wasn’t you, going out to party and sticking your tongue down her throat?”
“First of all, I didn’t kiss her,” Killian points his finger at Ian. “And you damn well know it. And okay, whatever, so I was the one who needed to get my shit together. Either way she still fell in love with me.”
“He’s got a point,” I agree. “But Grace and I aren’t there yet.”
Both Killian and Ian roll their eyes. “You’re so full of shit,” Ian says. “You two are way more into each other than most couples.”
“That’s because they already did this song and dance,” Killian wiggles his eyebrows at me. “Did you hear what I said? Song and dance. And you think I’m not funny.”
“You’re not,” I deadpan.
“Doesn’t matter,” Killian says, “you’re totally in love with Grace.”
“Why is it every time my relationship comes up, you have to go spouting on about something that doesn’t involve you?” I frown. “Did you ever think that maybe when Grace and I were at that point, that it would be us who makes the decision to say those words? Not your pansy ass?”
Killian shrugs. “Just calling it like I see it. And FYI, even Ian sees it and he didn’t even know you two back then. So there,” he makes an explosion noise, “ha.”
“In your face,” Ian tacks on.
“You’re both juveniles,” I say.
“That’s your own title, actually,” Ian laughs. “Who knew Grace would be the one to make you finally grow up like a big boy?”
“I did!” Killian hollers, throwing his arm in the air before hopping to tap his hand on a low bearing wall. “Everyone did, to be fair. But I knew first.”
“You two suck,” I sigh.
“Okay, let’s put it this way,” Killian stops in front of us, gripping my shoulders and spinning me around until I’m facing the seating area of the cafeteria. “Look around.”
“Seriously?”
“Just do it,” Killian sighs.
I shrug my shoulders and look around at the tables in the cafeteria. It’s fairly crowded in here, but not so much that we couldn’t find a table or find a friend to sit with. “Okay, what am I supposed to be looking at? Because I see plenty of places for us to sit.”
“That’s what you’re looking at?” Killian says in a voice I can’t distinguish.
“Well, what the hell am I supposed to be looking at?” I demand.
Killian steps up to my side and sweeps his arm out in a grand gesture. “All the hot chicks? Some of which are staring at us like we’re crazy, but whatever. Did you not notice them when we came in?”
I scoff. “Seriously? That’s what you wanted me to notice?”
“No,” Killian sighs. “I wanted you to notice exactly what you did. The old Alex, pre-Grace, would have noticed those girls immediately without having to be told they’re there. You would have made some play at Ian about how you two could pick up some girls before leaving here after dinner. But you didn’t, and do you know why?”
“Grace,” Ian supplies in case I don’t know. Which I do.
Grace.
“You’re a good guy, Alex,” Killian goes on. “You’re definitely the same person who doesn’t cheat or have a wandering eye when you’re in a relationship. But you didn’t notice them at all, or acknowledge their existence, which is weird as hell. So maybe you don’t know that you love that girl, but trust me, the rest of us aren’t as blind to it as you seem to be.”
“I don’t know why you think it matters,” I mumble. But it does, I know it does. In all honesty, I hadn’t been paying attention to much beyond football, my friends, and Grace, and not necessarily in that order.
“It matters,” Killian claps me on the shoulder. “Trust me. And Grace probably notices.”
“She was worried about my ‘harem of girls,’” I quote with my fingers.
Both Ian and Killian give me quizzical looks.
“About all the girls, like the ones that stopped us outside. Some came up to me at the library when I was with her. I think it makes her uncomfortable,” I explain.
“It makes Lila uncomfortable, too. I doubt that’s going to go away. But she’s used to it now for the most part. Girls don’t come up as often, so that definitely helps. Being popular because of our athletic ability will be there until the day we can’t play anymore. Same goes for Grace since she’s a dancer. I doubt this last semester and a half are going to matter in the long run as long you’re playing for the long run.”
The long run? With Grace?
A small smile tugs at the corners of my mouth.
Yeah, I’m playing the long run with Grace. So none of this other stuff matters.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Grace
“Hey beautiful.”
I turn just in time to watch Alex swing one of his legs over the bench opposite of me. On the third floor of the Union were massive picnic tables on the inside, where people could spread out to study if they wanted to. It was a hidden gem I’d found last week.
“You look stunned,” Alex teases.
“How did you know where I was?” I ask.
He arches a single eyebrow and smirks at me. “Give you two guesses.”
“Lila.”
“Correct-o. But don’t be mad at her, it took some persuasion,” he chuckles.
“Like what?” Though, knowing Lila, she would cave in to anything.
“Pizza. Which I told her Killian had waiting for her. It was a half-truth. He was grabbing a pizza when I left him after practice, but I figure he’d share with Lila anyhow.”
That makes me grin. “Smart bet. He loves her so it’s easy to see why she’d believe you.”
Alex gives me a funny look, the smile that was on his face disappearing just a smidge.
“What is it?”
“I, uh,” he coughs and glances away, “had some girls approach me yesterday.”
I’m not sure what to say to that, if I can say anything about that. “Okay?”
“I just thought you’d want to know.” He finally looks back over at me. “Do we tell each other stuff like this? We didn’t before, but this is kind of common stuff that happens to me. And now that we’re, you know doing whatever it is we’re doing, I don’t know the protocol for it.”
“Well,” I shift uneasily. “I guess it’s a good thing you told me? I don’t know either. I mean, did you used to date one of them or something?”
Alex gives a short laugh. “Not exactly.”
I fold my arms across my chest, ignoring the paper that I’d been trying to write on my laptop. “What does that mean?”
“Grace.”
“Alex,” I counter.
“You know that I haven’t dated anyone since we broke up.”
“But you fooled around?”
He doesn’t deny it. Doesn’t waver with the straight face he’s giving me.
“You brought this up,” I point out.
Alex runs his hand through his hair, the ends sticking up like a porcupine. “Yeah, I know. I thought it was something you were supposed to tell the other person. Like if some dude was trying to get a date with you, I’d want to know about it.”
“So you could beat him up?”
“Of course not,” Alex snorts. “Killian’s the one that likes to throw down. I’d tell him and he’d do it for me.”
“You don’t throw down?”
He laughs at that. “On the field, yeah. But I try my damndest not to get into brawls off the field. Could lose my scholarship for that.”
“Killian doesn’t.”
“Killian’s lucky.”
I don’t know how to respond to that either. Or what I’m supposed to think about this whole conversation because the only thing that’s happening is the pit of my stomach feeling like it’s full of lead. “So, some girls hit on you?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“And what?”
I narrow my eyes. “Well, did you want to go out with them or something? Is that what this conversation is leading to? You breaking up with me?”
Alex glares at me. “Seriously? That’s why you think I told you?”
“I mean, I don’t know, Alex. You just come over here and tell me some girls propositioned you. What am I supposed to think?”
He settles back in his seat and sighs. “You’re right. That was shitty. I didn’t mean it in that way, I just thought you would want to know.”
“Are you going to tell me every time it happens?” I ask.
“Well, it’s probably going to happen a lot. It took Killian a few months before the girls caught on that he and Lila were serious. So it’s just going to take some time for news to spread.”
“Killian still has girls come up to him,” I point out.
Alex shrugs. “He does. It’s not like we can pepper spray them away. He just doesn’t acknowledge them and they get the message after a while. Plus, Lila’s lit into a few of them and embarrassed them so that helps.”
I grin at the thought of small little spitfire Lila yelling at anyone. “So does that mean I get to yell?”
“If you want. I’m not above rooting for a cat fight,” Alex wiggles his eyebrows and I laugh at him.
“You’re such a guy.”
“But I’m your guy, so that makes it okay.”
“I don’t think that’s how that works,” I chuckle.
“What are you working on?” Alex leans forward to peer at my laptop even though he can’t see the screen. “How come you’re here instead of the library?”
“The library is distracting.”
Alex looks around the empty room. “I never would have thought to study here. It’s quiet. You know what else this place would be good for?”
I can hear the intent in his voice, but I still respond with, “What?”
“Making out.”
I laugh and throw one of my pens at him. “I am not making out with you right now.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m trying to write my English paper and making out with you isn’t going to get me a good grade in English.”
“Your grade will be fine. But serious, no to making out?”
“Quit being a distraction, I’m trying to work,” I snicker. “How is it that anyone gets anything done with you around?”
“I don’t know. I have a gift.”
“An annoying one.”
“It still counts.”
We both crack up at that and I turn so my laptop is facing a little more towards him. “Here, will you look this over for me? You’re always better at finding grammatical errors than I am.”
Alex turns the laptop fully towards himself and rolls his eyes. “That’s because you always swear that you use the correct punctuation but you’re the only one who’s able to see it on the paper when it’s not actually there. Have you ever thought that maybe if you didn’t wait until the last minute you could reread your paper and actually notice all the mistakes?”
“Why do that when I have you?” I smile sweetly.
“Who did this for you before?”
“Uh,” I squint at him while trying to remember the name of the place, “the Student Center. The English and History departments were set up in there and they would look over your essays for classes and help. But it cost twenty-five dollars each time and they wouldn’t look at it for days. And they were all so snooty like they were better than everyone else just because they could find mistakes.” I roll my eyes.
“Obviously they’re better than you to have to help you,” Alex teases.
I throw another pen at him.
“Jesus, woman! Chill out, I’m just messing around.” He scans my laptop before smirking. “How many times are you going to reword the same sentence before you realize that you have a bullshit paper going on?”
I sigh. “Is it that obvious?”
“You got bored and rushed it, it’s pretty damn obvious,” Alex snorts. “‘The lesson in which to take away is the lesson that needs to be taken in the sense that the lesson is…’ Really, Grace?” He makes a tsking sound with his tongue. “You’re so much better than this.”
“I know,” I huff and lay my head down on the table. “I hate English.”
“Why are you taking your Comp II class as a senior?”
“Because Comp I tried to assassinate me and almost succeeded.” I sigh heavily, my breath ruffling some of the loose papers on the table. “I’m great at everything but English.”
“I mean, the non-bullshit part of your paper sounds good. You just get really lost in what you’re trying to say in the middle part.”
“Really? So it’s fixable?” I lift my head up and eye him quizzically.
“Yes, you dork, you can fix it. Just pay attention and stop repeating yourself so many times.”
“I don’t like you for being right.”
Alex grins at me. “Hey, I offered to make out instead of doing schoolwork. You’re the one who said no. This is really all your fault.”
He’s right, but my paper is a little more important than him shoving his tongue down my throat. “Just keep reading it, will you?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Alex smiles while his eyes move back to the laptop screen. He looks good, a little sweaty from practice still, and his hair is a bit messy. It’s no wonder those girls came up to him. He probably has it happen all the time with how he looks. “You’re staring,” he says witho
ut lifting his head.
“So?”
A small smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. “I’m trying to do you a favor here and you’re checking me out, Grace. It’s a little distracting.”
“You came up here to find me, not the other way around.”
Alex shrugs while he continues to read. It takes a few more minutes before he finishes my paper, pushing my laptop back towards me and pinching his chin with his fingers.
“Well, what did you think?” I prompt. “Besides the whole talking in circles thing?”
“It’s a really good essay. Just fix the middle, replace a few commas with periods and you’ll be good to go. When is it due?”
“Next week. There’s three essays, this is the second one, and the third one will be my final. I’m just getting nervous because they’re a big portion of my grade and I didn’t do so well on the first one.”
“Why didn’t you ask for help?”
It’s my turn to shrug. “Pride, I guess? I don’t know. I wanted to be the put together Grace that everyone sees, not the floundering Grace that only exists in English class.” I lean back in my seat. “It’s good to be able to work with you again, you know. Without all the bickering.”
“Eh, sometimes our bickering is charming.”
“Well, it’s definitely a bit different than it was three weeks ago,” I sigh. “That feels like a whole different realm of existence.”
“The you versus me thing?”
“The lovers versus enemies thing,” I correct.
“So we’re lovers now?” Alex grins.
I should have known as soon as the words left my mouth that that would be the word he got stuck on. In all the time of knowing Alex, he’d always find the humor in things. “You’re being incorrigible.”
“Ooh, see now that’s a big word you could have used for your essay,” Alex says cheekily before flicking the top of my laptop. “Say another big word.”
“Puerlie.”
“You got me, I don’t know what that one means.”
“It means you’re being incorrigible,” I grin.
“You want to know the biggest word I know?” Alex smirks.
“Sure, why not.”
“Sphygmomanometer.”
“What?” I laugh.
The Wrong Girl_Hanson University_Book Two Page 16