He cocked one brow, his composure disrupted. “What?”
“When you were just wearing a towel. I saw the bulge . . .” I teased, smiling at him.
His head tilted in concern and he paused for a moment to think. I eyed him carefully, curious how he was going to respond. Would he man up and defend himself? Or deny it?
“Okay, okay,” he finally said then sighed. “I did get a boner, I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
Reacting to his admission, I folded my arms across my chest and raised an eyebrow.“Don’t you see how that’s a problem for us being friends? I mean I’m flattered, but friends don’t make friends get boners.”
“I’m glad you’re flattered,” he said, amusement in his voice. “But it just happens sometimes, like sneezing or coughing. And even if I did, it doesn’t mean I’d act on it.”
I tightened my arms across my chest. “So you weren’t attracted to me?” I puffed.
“You were asking me about ‘what I did in my alone time’. I thought you were flirting with me and given how good you looked in my clothes, biology kicked in. But the bigger question is: why were you looking at my crotch?”
My cheeks heated from embarrassment. I didn’t expect him to throw that curveball at me. “I wasn’t looking! I just glanced out of the corner of my eye. Besides, you were practically shoving it in my face the way you were sitting in front of me with your legs spread eagle. You could’ve poked my eye out.”
“Psh, I was just sitting normally.” He waved his hand dismissively. “It wasn’t in any way as ridiculous as you implied. Plus you just said you glanced at it outta the corner of your eye like it was barely noticeable and then you said I could’ve poked your eye out. Those two statements together make no sense.”
“Makes perfect sense to me.”
His brows narrowed. “Is this really about your own self-control? After running across campus in just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I thought you were a strong girl. Are you saying you can’t handle yourself when you’re around me? Are you that attracted to me? Maybe we should go on that date after all.” A mischievous grin spread across his full, shapely lips.
I shifted on my feet, knowing there was a kernel of truth in his ridiculous statements. “I am a strong girl,” I retorted. “I’m also smart enough to know this is a bad idea.”
“You don’t know that. Neither of us knows that. Hell, if anything, I should be the one saying this is a bad idea. You stole my clothes. You even stole my trash. You’re one weird girl, Lorrie. But I can’t help myself. I like your company.”
“Hey, I was taking out your trash to repay you!”
He laughed. “Wow, what kind of person does that to repay someone? Here I was thinking you wanted to sift through my trash or something like some kind of stalker.”
“I was in a hurry,” I said, flustered. “It’s not like I had time to write a nice thank-you card.”
“Let’s face it,” he said taking a smooth step toward me and placing his hands warmly on my shoulders. Liking the thrill I got from his close proximity and his hands on me, I didn’t possess the will to resist. “We both don’t know each other well but I know you’re different from other people here. It takes a weirdo to know a weirdo. We need a proper chance to hang out instead of just meeting up by chance all the time.”
I looked into those gorgeous dark irises, still only half-believing I was with him in this odd place, alone together. “How are you a weirdo? You seem pretty well-adjusted to me.”
“Do I? I suppose that’s a pretty big compliment. Thank you.”
“Whatever.”
“C’mon, Lorrie. You’re running out of excuses.” He extended his hand to me as he had before.
He was right, I was running out of excuses. Was I really going to become friends with Hunter Jensen? What did I know about the guy? He was a fighter, had tats, was a senior, was incredibly gorgeous. And on top of that, he had saved my life. Come to think of it, what did he know about me? I’d tried avoiding him; I’d given him a lot of sass; I’d even stolen his clothes. What did I have to offer as a friend? He’d said he liked my company. But why? I thought about asking him why he wanted to be friends with me, but decided it was a dumb question to ask. What if I asked that to every person that wanted to be friends with me? “Hey, umm . . . so what are the reasons you want to be friends with me? Please present a list of bullet points on a 5x8 notecard.” It was a stupid question and for some reason had only occurred to me because of Hunter.
He made me uncomfortable and comfortable, restless and calm, annoyed and entertained—all at the same time. I was wary about his bad boy allure and how he could fuck me up worse than I already was. But as long as we were just friends, there wasn’t any harm right? It’s not like I was going to lose my head and fall for him. Dad said I was strong and I’d even told Hunter as much. Maintaining a friendship between us would only help prove that. Besides, didn’t I want to make new friends this semester?
I took a deep breath, looked him confidently in the eye, and shook his hand. “Alright, let’s be friends.”
He beamed.
“—But promise you won’t get boners around me. It’s awkward.”
He scoffed. “Are you cock-blocking me against yourself? You can’t say that. What if I asked you to not get hard tits when you’re around me?”
My eyes widened. “W-What? Where did that come from?”
“You think I didn’t notice? You weren’t wearing a bra after you showered at my place and I could see your nipples poking through your shirt after you touched my leg. And you were talking about getting your eye poked out . . . I could say the same thing.”
“Oh my god!” I shouted, completely embarrassed that he’d noticed that. That damn baggy t-shirt was supposed to hide my chest. “It was the temperature, not because I was aroused!” I lied. “It’s not like I can really control it.”
“Well, I can’t really control whether I get an erection or not.” He crossed his arms in mock distress. “Besides it’s my body, I can do whatever I want with it. And there’s no way you’d know anyway.”
I knew he was right even before he finished. “Fine, fine, fine. You have a fair point, but at least you know where I stand.”
“Great, now that we have that settled, as a first sign of our friendship, Ms. Lorrie, I suggest we exchange digits.”
I pulled out my phone, brought up the Contacts screen, and handed the phone to him. “Okay, here type yours in.”
He quickly tapped in his name and number then handed my phone back to me. I looked at his handiwork. It said Gunther Handsome. I laughed.
“What’s so funny?” he said.
“Nothing, Gunther Handsome.” I showed him my phone.
He grimaced. “Stupid auto-correct. My thumbs are too big to type on your tiny phone properly. Lemme fix it.”
He reached for my phone but I snatched it away. “I think I’m going to keep it this way. It’s much more amusing.” And adorable.
“Alright,” he grumbled, apparently displeased with the name Gunther. “Gimme a call so I can get your number.”
I called and his pocket vibrated. He pulled his phone out and began pecking at the screen.
“Lorrie, what’s your last name?”
I hesitated. “I don’t usually give out my last name to people I don’t know very well,” I lied, deciding that it was better Hunter didn’t know exactly who I was—my past included. I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard for him to look it up or catch word of it, but I got the sense he wasn’t the prying type. I could at least delay the inevitable.
His brows furrowed. “But we’re friends now aren’t we?”
“Friends, but not good friends. I gotta trust you before I give you more personal information.”
He looked at me funny.
“I know it’s weird,” I said. “But that’s just how I roll. Can you dig it?”
“So to most people you’re like Madonna? Only a single name?”
“That’s right.”
>
“Alright, I’ll make up a last name for you then,” he said, a glint in his eye. He tilted his head up and tapped his finger against his chin. “I’m thinking Lorrie Hide.”
I stuck out my bottom lip. “Are you saying I’m the wife of ‘Mr. Hyde’? That I’m two-faced like him?”
He laughed then shook his head. “Hide as in H-I-D-E. ‘Cause you like to hide yourself from me, whether that’s trying to give me the slip or avoiding telling me things about yourself. I’m handsome and you hide. I’m okay with that. Are you?”
I thought about suggesting “Pretty” or “Beautiful” as a more flattering last name but caught myself when I noticed a hint of a smirk on his lips. He was probably baiting me into flirting with him. Too bad I wasn’t going to bite.
“‘Hide’ it is then,” I replied, feeling smug about outsmarting him.
We both laughed. It was a good feeling. It felt normal—laughing, exchanging numbers with a hot guy. It’d been so long, that I’d forgotten how good it felt. It sure beat sitting in a courtroom across from your mother’s murderer.
Hunter never prodded me on my past the rest of the night. He probably figured I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t probe him about his past either. We just continued walking around and joking with one another. By the time I got into the cab to go back home, I found myself thinking that maybe this semester wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Chapter Six
RUMORS
I woke up Saturday morning feeling pretty good. Last night seeing Hunter fight and going with him to the abandoned amusement park seemed like a faraway dream. Daniela gave me her notes for psych, and after lunch, I copied them into my own notebook. Some of the material was actually kind of interesting. Maybe Daniela was right: this class wouldn’t be too bad.
I was almost done when my phone buzzed. I thought it would be Hunter and my heart skipped a beat. Glancing at the caller ID showed it was Aunt Caroline. A pang of guilt shot through me. We hadn’t spoken since she’d dropped me off at the beginning of the semester over a week ago. I had visited my aunt and uncle regularly ever since Mom passed away but I’d been living with them just before Dad passed. After he passed, they practically adopted me. Although I sometimes took issue with Aunt Caroline’s overprotectiveness, I was truly grateful for their care considering they already had their hands full raising two adolescent boys. I felt bad that I’d probably made Aunt Caroline feel neglected because I’d forgotten to call her.
I put my pen down and answered my phone. “Hi Aunt Caroline,” I said sweetly.
“Hey! How’s my college girl?” my aunt asked. “I’m guessing you’ve been pretty busy since we haven’t heard from you.”
I cringed. “Sorry about that. I’ve been busy, yes. I was actually just doing some homework when you called.”
“Oh! I hope I’m not interrupting. Are you in the library?”
“No, it’s fine. I’m in my room.”
“That’s good. So how are your classes? Do you like them so far?”
“Yeah, it’s a little hard getting back into the swing of things but I’m managing so far.”
“That’s good, dear. You know you can come back and visit anytime, or even take more time off if you need to. Just let us know and Uncle Stewart will pick you up.”
“Thank you Aunt Caroline. But I think I’ll be fine here. It hasn’t been too bad so far. Actually, I think it’s helped me take my mind off things.”
I convinced myself I had to stay at Arrowhart because I needed a return to normality. The longer I put that off, the worse it was going to be for me. Dr. Schwartz had suggested that being around other people my age in a college environment could help and I agreed with her. These were supposed to be some of the best years of a person’s life. So far, mine had been a nightmare. It was going to be tough getting back to feeling normal, but I had to get there.
“Good, I’m so glad to hear that. You know you can call me whenever, if you want to talk. Even if it’s very late. It’s been hard on all of us. The boys and Stewart are doing better but I’m still trying to get over it, myself. Your dad—my brother—was a good man. I know he loved you very much.”
“Yeah, I know,” I said sadly.
“But hey,” she said brightly, quickly changing the depressing topic. “You’re back at college now! I must ask, you do anything fun this weekend?”
My thoughts flew back to the craziness of last night. “Umm . . . I went out yesterday night on a double date with my roommate and two guys, but they were creeps. I did meet another guy though and gave him my number.”
“Oh wow, look you at Lorrie,” she said teasingly. “Already attracting boys in your first week. That sounds so exciting! What’s he like?”
Let’s see, he has tats, big muscles, he took me to an abandoned amusement park . . . Oh and he fights and girls are attracted to him like squirrels to acorns—you know, your typical college male.
Telling her what Hunter was like would give her the wrong impression. Knowing her, she’d probably freak out and insist on staying with me for a while to make sure I was all right. “I don’t know, he’s tall, he has short, dark hair. He’s nice.” I considered telling her about falling in the lake and how he saved me, but that would be too hard to explain and it would make her worry. It was better if I kept it vague.
“Are you going out on a date?” My aunt had a way of cutting straight to the point.
“Nah, I don’t think I’m ready for that right now. I just told him we’d be friends. He hasn’t called me yet though, I just gave him my number last night.”
“Well you’ll have to let me know how things go with Mr. Short-Dark-Hair.” She chuckled.
“I’ll be sure to let you know.”
“Well, it sounds like you’re doing okay.” She released an audible breath. “I’m so relieved. I was worried you might have had a rough start.”
“Nope, so far so good.” No falling-into-frozen-lakes-and-almost-dying here. I gave a thumbs up sign though I knew she couldn’t see it.
“Okay,” my aunt said. “Well I’m glad to hear you’re doing well. I’ll let you get back to studying. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and let us know if you need anything.”
“Will do. Bye Aunt Caroline.”
“Goodbye dear.” She paused for a moment. “We all love you, Lorrie.”
“I love you too.”
I ended the call and went back to Daniela’s notes. My aunt—Caroline Perkins—was so good to me. When I thought about what life would be like without her, it made me shudder. The Perkins family and Daniela were just about all I had in the world at this point. Thinking about how close to alone I was scared the hell out of me.
Just as I finished with Daniela’s notes, I heard my other two suitemates who shared the double—Kate and Petra—come in the suite. My door was open, so I called out a cheerful greeting into the common area.
Kate stopped in her tracks and peered into my room with Petra hiding behind her. “Hi Lorrie,” Kate said. She shifted on her feet, apparently debating whether to continue walking by or to linger for a few more words. “Everything okay?” she asked delicately.
Petra leaned her head out from behind Kate to catch a peek at me but then jumped back behind Kate like a frightened child.
I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, I was just copying Daniela’s notes from lecture. Why wouldn’t things be okay?”
“Sorry, no reason. You just surprised me. Anyway, me and Petra are going to the gym. Catch you later!”
As far as I could tell, Kate and Petra were pretty close to being literally attached at the hip. It was kind of annoying the way they always did everything together like they couldn’t exist apart. Also annoying: the way Petra acted like I was a rabid beast liable to snap at any instant. Why did people like Petra have to be so awkward around me? All she had to do was say hi back. Instead, she acted like my eyes were red from crying all morning.
I took my stuff and went into the common area, plopping down on the futon. A few m
inutes later, Kate and Petra left for the gym. At least Kate waved goodbye. Ten minutes later, I was still stewing on why people couldn’t treat me normally. Couldn’t they understand it just made things worse for me?
Daniela came into the suite, smiling with a gym bag over her shoulder and her hair wet. I hadn’t seen her since the previous night, which meant we hadn’t caught up.
“Hi,” I said brightly, as soon as the door had closed.
“Hey there,” she said, a mischievous smile still playing on her lips. “Haven’t seen you since last night.”
“Yeah, I got home and crashed. Did you and Cody, you know . . .”
She shook her head. “We all left the bar and came home not too long after you went off with your fighter man. Cody got a little wasted so I came home alone, of course.”
“Gotcha. I hope you didn’t have too much trouble with my date. Justin or whatever. That guy was a douchebag.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t know he’d be such a jerk. Speaking of guys though, it finally popped into my head who the guy with the hammer tattoo is.”
I nodded. “The fighter guy I left with turned out to be him. Hunter Jensen.” Just saying his name sent an unwelcome quivering to my belly.
She eyed me, amusement in her green irises. “Where did you go with him?”
I didn’t like the look on her face, so I answered her question with one of my own. “Why?”
“You know that guy’s reputation, right? Surely, you’ve heard of the rumors.”
“No, I haven’t. Remember? I’ve been gone a year and I try not to listen to rumors.”
She shrugged. “That guy’s a serious player. He has girls all over him. Like all the time.”
The quivering in my belly turned slightly nauseous. My mind unwittingly recalled the condoms I’d seen in his bathroom trash. I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, I figured as much when I met him. He has that kind of bad-boy-loner thing going on that makes some girls go crazy. I may be screwed up but I’m sane enough to know not to fall for a guy like that. We just went on a walk, that’s all. There’s nothing romantic between us.”
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