The Wrong Way: Hanson University: One

by McKenna Kerrick

  The other girl, who hasn't spoken yet, is staring at me rather obviously and is starting to make me uncomfortable. I shift towards Ian to tell him that she's freaking me the hell out, but before I can say anything, the girl finally speaks up.

  “Aren't you the girl who got dumped by Killian last weekend?” she asks. “Why are you over here?”

  Our entire little group goes eerily silent.

  “I didn't get dumped by Killian,” I roll my eyes in frustration that that seems to be what everyone thought happened. “We got in a fight. We're good now.”

  “Oh,” the girl frowns tightly. She looks up at Killian. “So you have a girlfriend now?”

  Killian and I lock eyes. Neither of us is saying anything. And now that's freaking me out. He's never hesitated in correcting someone about us being friends, and neither have I. But the fact that neither of us is saying anything at all makes me wonder if he's feeling this pull, too?

  “We're just friends,” Killian finally grunts.

  Yeah, okay. Or maybe it's just me feeling this way.

  Chapter Twelve

  Killian

  I can't read Lila’s expression as she stands across from me with Ian. And while I may not be able to know what she's thinking, Ian's shaking his head adamantly back and forth at me.

  What did I do wrong?

  “Best friends,” I add on, in case Ian thinks I'm selling Lila short. Which I definitely don't want to do.

  “Oh,” Brittney sighs since she asked the question to Lila. “Everyone's saying you dumped her.”

  Why would I dump Lila? I can't even get Lila to see me, let alone date me. It's like the universe thinks it's hilarious to finally make it apparent that the things I want in a girl, are the things that solely make up Lila.

  “He didn't dump me,” Lila repeats bluntly.

  “I didn't dump her,” I agree.

  “No one would believe you were even dating her anyways,” Brittney shrugs.

  “Why not? Lila’s great,” I frown.

  “I'd date her,” Ian smirks.

  Lila rolls her eyes at his remark, but I suddenly have the very strong urge to deck Ian for saying that. If his goal was to get a rise out of me, he succeeded.

  “I think Lila needs to go on a hiatus from guys for a while,” I huff. Maybe I'll scrape together enough money to send her to a lone island where she won't keep finding all these assholes. And then I could think straight for once.

  “Only if you'll go on a hiatus from girls,” Lila responds sweetly.

  Did she think I was joking? I drop my arms from around the two girls and step towards her, holding out my hand for her to shake. “Deal.”

  Her eyes widen and flicker around the lawn. “Killian, I was messing around.”

  “I wasn't.”

  Her grey eyes narrow at me. “I'm not going to take a hiatus. If someone comes along, then I shouldn't have to avoid finding happiness just because you want me to steer clear of anyone with a Y chromosome.”

  “Why? I think my reasoning is extremely valid.”

  “Well, it's not.” Lila folds her arms across her chest and it's distracting.

  She's wearing another pair of shorts that are far too short for my liking, but are probably considered pretty decent compared to what some of the other girls here are wearing. And she's got on one of my old t-shirts, the wide collar showing off a purple bra strap against her creamy skin. We're both wearing our cowboy boots, but she doesn't look like she's from a small town with that attitude she's tossing around.

  “You're being ridiculous again,” she adds.

  I take a step towards her, until personal space no longer feels like a real concept that exists. She throws her head back, angling her chin in defiance as she glares back at me.

  It's hot when she does that. She's more covered up than probably every girl here, and she's the most beautiful and stunning woman in her simplicity.

  “I don't think wanting to protect you from every asshole walking by makes me ridiculous.”

  “It doesn't. It's how you go about that,” Ian snickers.

  I look around, remembering that we have an audience, but it looks like all the other girls left. So it's back to just me, Alex, Ian, and Lila.

  “I go about it just fine.”

  “Uh-huh,” Alex snorts. “Sure you do.”

  “See?” Lila waves her arms around. “Everyone else agrees with me.”

  “Oh no, you should definitely avoid guys,” Ian shakes his head. “I'm with Killian on that one. I just think he needs a new approach.”

  “Yeah,” Alex gives me an evil grin. “Like maybe Killian should be the one to find you a guy.”

  “What!” Lila gapes.

  “What?” I growl. Like hell am I going to do that and he damn well knows it.

  “You're kidding me,” Lila scoffs. “I would never meet anyone that way.”

  “Maybe that's the point,” Alex smirks.

  I hate him. I really do.

  Of course Alex’s implication that it's because I want her goes completely over her head. “You can't just keep me away from everyone.”

  “Not everyone,” I grunt. “Just the entire male population.”

  “That would include you,” she defends.

  I shrug. It's not like I have a shot anyways. “Yeah, and?”

  “Seriously?” her voice rises. “This is insane. All of you are insane.” She stomps away from us to head towards Nina.

  Alex clears his throat. “I think that went well.”

  “I don't think you're going to be able to keep her away from guys, though,” Ian adds. “But she seems to have forgiven you for trying to plant your ownership with that little hickey incident.”

  I sigh. “I wasn't trying to do that.”

  “But you seemed awful proud of it,” Alex smirks.

  So what if I did? It let others know to stay away from her.

  “Uh-oh,” Ian says. “I don't like the look on his face.”

  Alex squints. “What look?”

  “Do you think Lila would agree to go out with me if I asked?” I question out loud.

  “That look,” Ian gestures to my face. “That I've gone completely off the deep end look.”

  “Woah, hold up a minute. You want to ask Lila out?” Alex gapes at me. “Like on a date?”

  “Do you even know how to date?” Ian throws out there.

  I scowl at both of them. “Of course I know how to date a girl. I've had girlfriends before.”

  “Not since high school,” Alex shakes his head. “You've had one night ‘dates’ all throughout college, sure. But never taken anyone on a date with the possibility of becoming your girlfriend.”

  “What about when I take Lila out for milkshakes?” I frown.

  Ian shakes his head. “Doesn't count unless she knows it's a date.”

  “So I should ask her out.”

  “Dude,” Alex scowls at me. “She literally just got dumped and then turned around and shot down another guy. I think she needs some time to recuperate.”

  “How long am I supposed to give her?” I demand. Where Lila is concerned, patience is not something that I deal with easily.

  “Is this, like, some sort of fling idea?” Alex asks. “Or are you serious? Because you're putting your whole friendship on the line here if you go after her.”

  Was I ready to put my friendship on the line with Lila to risk something more?

  “Two months,” Ian suggests. “If you still feel this way in two months, ask her out. That's enough time, I think, to get over someone. And it's enough time for you to decide if it's worth it or not.”

  “Two months?” I wince. God, that sounded like forever.

  “Until the banquet,” Ian shrugs. “There. You have a goal to work towards.”

  “So what am I supposed to do in the meantime?”

  “Act normal,” Alex rolls his eyes. “Duh.”

  Act normal? How was I supposed to act normal for two whole fucking months when all I could th
ink about was getting her by herself so that I could kiss her again. But to taste her mouth this time.

  That's what I want.

  And I doubt acting normal was going to get me it.

  “From the way he looks like he wants to hit something, I don't think he agrees with you,” Alex tells Ian.

  “He’ll be fine,” Ian says while eyeballing me. “Won't you, Killian?”

  “That feels like forever,” I groan.

  “Dude has it bad,” Alex smirks. “Totally called it.”

  “How can you call something like that?” Ian snorts.

  “Uh, hello, because I've known him and Lila since high school. I called it in my head a long time ago that this would happen,” Alex explains. “Therefore, I called it.”

  “It doesn't count if you're the only one who knows you called it,” Ian laughs.

  Alex scowls at him.

  Jesus, this is driving me over the edge. “Both of you really aren't helping the situation right now,” I inform them. “At all.”

  “What situation? You don't even technically have a situation,” Alex jokes.

  My answering glare seems to snap them out of it.

  “Okay, okay,” Alex relents with his hands raised in surrender. “You have a situation.”

  “So what to do for two months?” Ian ponders. “That's the question.”

  “Be normal,” Alex immediately responds. “Don't be a creeper.”

  Ian snaps his fingers and points at me in silent agreement to what Alex just said.

  “I'm never creepy,” I defend.

  “Okay, maybe creepy was the wrong word,” Alex clears his throat. “Maybe homicidal would be better.”

  “You're definitely homicidal when guys come up to Lila,” Ian nods his head. “Or when one breathes in the same room as her.”

  “I hate you both,” I sigh.

  “We can't help it if you're crazy when it comes to her,” Alex shrugs.

  “So two months?” I try and steer the topic off of guys hanging around Lila. “I wait two months? That's the entire game plan?”

  “I think there need to be rules if you're going to seriously try and be with her,” Ian says calmly.

  “Definitely gotta quit whoring around,” Alex agrees. “Girls don't like that.” He pauses before correcting himself, “Girls like Lila don't like that.”

  “I doubt the football groupies like it either, but they're not to be taken seriously,” Ian adds on.

  “Okay,” I answer slowly. “So I don't party so much. Or at all. Seems like an easy fix.”

  “And don't flirt with anyone else,” Ian says. “That way she'll know you're serious.”

  “I don't flirt with anyone now,” I frown.

  “Dude,” Alex scowls. “You just had your arm around two girls that both weren't Lila. That constitutes as flirting.”

  Huh. Well okay then.

  “Try and ignore the groupies,” Ian continues on with his advice. “Eventually they'll get the hint without you having to be rude. But some won't and just be prepared to out your feelings for Lila if it comes down to it.”

  “If both of you have all of this wonderful advice I'm supposed to be taking, why do neither of you have girlfriends?” I ask.

  Alex frowns angrily. “Not after the last one I had.”

  “Haven't found anyone who interests me,” Ian answers.

  Great. So I'm alone in this.

  I can't imagine this ending well.

  “So I just roll with it, don't do anything I usually do so that way when I ask her out she'll know I'm serious?” I clarify.

  “Basically do everything opposite that you do with everyone else,” Alex nods his head. “Exactly.”

  I look around, spotting Lila easily dancing with Nina on the makeshift dance floor. The song is different, but they're dancing pretty much the same as the night of the frat party. What I wouldn't give to be able to walk over there and drag her against me to dance with.

  “He's back to staring again,” Alex sighs loudly, dragging my attention off of Lila. When I'm looking at him, he's grinning widely like the smartass he is.

  “You can't look at her longingly or she'll know,” Ian smacks the back of my head.

  I rub at the stinging area. “What the hell, man? I'm just looking at her.”

  “This is looking at her,” Alex glances over at Lila for a few seconds before looking back at me. “That's not what you were doing. This is what you were doing.” He glances back towards Lila and makes puppy-dog eyes at her.

  “See the difference?” Ian gestures towards Alex’s face.

  “I feel like this suddenly got way more fucking complicated than it needs to be,” I say and scrub my hands over my face in irritation.

  “Probably,” Ian agrees. “But it'll be worth it.”

  “Maybe you should go home after the game this weekend,” Alex suggests. “Get away from football parties and temptations. See if maybe it'll get your head on straight so you stop freaking yourself the hell out.”

  I sigh and glance back towards Lila. The setting sun is making her red hair shine like a rosey halo. “Yeah,” I clear my throat as I turn back towards my two best guy friends. “Maybe dad has some farm work that I can do.”

  “That'll definitely keep you busy,” Ian nods.

  “And maybe make you able to think straight,” Alex says.

  “And to come up with a plan on how you're going to win her over,” Ian tacks on.

  A plan to win her over?

  Suddenly the thought of having a girlfriend sounds like a lot more work than I imagined it would be.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lila

  Nina whistles, drawing her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose as she stares at the football players running around at practice in front of us.

  “Gee-zus,” she breathes. “They look so good out there. All sweaty and stuff.” She tugs on the front of her shirt. “I feel sweaty just watching them.”

  “Mm,” I make a noncommittal noise.

  “Oh my God,” Nina breathes out. “Look! That guy is flipping over a tractor tire. A tire, Lila! Why do you not look the least bit surprised?”

  Because I'm not. “It's a normal workout routine for them,” I shrug.

  It's Monday afternoon, three days since the cookout that had my stomach jumbled in knots. Which had been a week since we fought and made up.

  Three stinking weeks that made my life feel like it was slipping out of my grasp and fumbling around in the wind all willy-nilly.

  “Where's Killian?” Nina asks, leaning forward in the bleachers seat next to me.

  “Over there.” I point off down the field a ways where Killian's wearing a practice jersey, like everyone else, with his number on it. He takes off into a sprint, twisting around other players until he breaks off into a clearing and catches the ball, comes to a stop and then repeats the process over and over.

  “Why can't my boyfriend look that good doing that?” she sighs.

  “Because he's over there,” I point towards the other end of the field where all the linemen are slamming into one another.

  “Right,” Nina says dreamily.

  Good Lord. She's hopelessly in love when it comes to her boyfriend. Which I guess is a good thing, I suppose.

  “I can't wait until Jackson and I move in together next year,” she says happily. “We'll get to see each other every day and night. I'll get to cook for him and he'll give me foot massages. It'll be great.”

  “If you say so.”

  “What's the matter with you, Debby Downer?”

  “Do you think I go through guys pretty fast?” I ask her. It's been something that's been bothering me since the quick turn-around from Jared to Brad.

  “Where is this coming from?” She puckers her lips and frowns.

  “Well,” I answer nervously. “ I was just thinking about how fast I went from Jared to Brad. It was barely a week.”

  “Big difference,” Nina shakes her head. “Jared was a jackhole
who forgot to dump you while he went and got himself a new girlfriend. And then Killian took Ian's advice to pimp you out to get you over the whole jackhole issue.”

  “He wasn't trying to pimp me out.”

  “Close enough,” she waves one hand dismissively. “And in that process of being pimped out, you realized that you like Killian. So, no.”

  “But what about before Jared?”

  “Babe,” Nina sighs heavily and lays her hands on my shoulders so I'm forced to look directly at her. “You like relationships. Clear, precisely drawn-out relationships. And that's perfectly fine. You're not cut out of the whole one night wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am type ordeal. And that's something to be proud of.”

  “Is it, though?” I question. “I feel like I'm missing out.”

  “On what? Getting an STD? Feeling guilt and shame? There's a reason it's called the walk of shame, and it doesn't involve feeling like kittens and rainbows.”

  “I don't know if I want another relationship. Killian doesn't even do relationships.”

  “Maybe he'll change his mind.”

  I raise my eyebrows at her.

  “Okay, point taken,” she relents. “Not likely to happen, but it still could.”

  “But it won't.”

  “Jesus, your mom should've named you Negative Nancy with that kind of attitude,” Nina grumbles in irritation.

  “Sorry.”

  “So, what's so wrong if you don't want a relationship and he doesn't do relationships? That's almost like fate slapping you in the face and handing this opportunity to you on a silver plate. Take it.”

  “But my friendship with him means something.”

  “Honey,” Lila laughs, “your friendship is already in tatters when you look like you want to get jiggy with him.”

  “Get jiggy?” I stare at her in horror. “Who the hell says that?”

  “Me.”

  “You need to have a different approach to that.” I start listing off things on my fingers one at a time. “Sex. Boink. Bow-chicka-bow-wow. Fuck. Hell, I would even accept poke as an answer.”

  “Seriously?” Nina rolls her eyes. “Poke is okay but jiggy isn't?”

  “You sound like a toddler when you say jiggy.”